The So-Called Exposure Of Freemasonry.

swered 'No . ' Upon ivhich he let me pass by him into a dark entrance ; there mine , it reads , " The Holy Lodge of St . John . " Though most of us are aware that the latter is oftentimes introduced in connection with Freemasonry , the association with it of the former is apparently not so capable of explanation ; unless its introduction into this exposure is to be accounted for by the fertile imagination of the author of this "senseless pasquinade . " Passing on , I note

two questions in mine Avhich are not in Bro . Gould ' s , namely , as to the position of the said Lodge of St . John , and as to when the catechist was entered . Instead , in Bro . Gould ' s version , the question " What lodge are you of ? " is immediately followed by a request for a definition of a just ancl perfect lodge , the answers being identical in both , save that in mine no mention is made of the "five apprentices , " nor is there a " N . B . " to the effect that " one of them

must be a working Mason . " The omission of the latter is perhaps the more remarkable , as the working Mason is more likely to have been referred to in the earlier than in the later year . The questions that follow , namely , " Where was yon made ? " with its answer , " In the Valley of Jehosophat , " etc . ; " Where was the first lodge ? " and " How many orders be there in architecture ? " with their respective answers , agree in both A'ersions ; but as to the next , which relates to the points

in fellowship , the answer in Bro . Gould ' s is " six , " " tongue to tongue " being one of them ; but in mine the number is given as " five " only , the tongue point being the absentee . As to the place of Masons iu their ivofk , in Bro . Gould ' s this is . said to be for "The Master S . E ., the Wardens N . E ., and the Fellows Eastern Passage ; " in mine " The Master ' s place East , the Wardens East , and the Fellows the Eastern Passage . " Again , as to the number

of jewels in Masonry ; this , in Bro . Gould ' s , is set down as " four : square , astler , diamond , aud common square ; " aud there are said to be three lights , " The Master , Warden , and Fellows ; " but in mine , I read one question only , " How many precious jewels be there in Masonry ? " to which answer is given " three : the Master , Warden , and Fellows . " The next questions , from " Whence conies the pattern of the Arch ? " down to " Where does the Master

place his mark on the work ? " are found in both , except that which asks for a definition of the " key " to a lodge , which is not in the later or 1730 Catechism . The answers , likewise , are nearly alike , save that in fixing the locality of the lodge key , the second part of the answer reads in Bro . Gould ' s " or under the lap of my liver , where the secrets of my heart are not ; " while in mine the word " not " does not appear ; ivhile , as to the " key of the Working Lodge , " the concluding words in the answer in Bro . Gould ' s are " under a green turf and one square , " in mine , " under a green turf or under a square astler . "

The catechitical portion of the 1723 " exposure " ends with the question as to whereabouts the Master Mason sets his mark upon the work , but in that of 1730 this form of examination is continued to the end , Avith directions and explanations interpolated where the author thought them necessary . Thus , the paragraphs in the former explaining how you may recognize an "Entered Apprentice " by reference to the " kitchen , " ancl an " Entered Fellow " b y

mentioning the "hall , " are put in the form of question and answer ; in the latter the answer to the " Hall " being stated as a means for recognising a , " brother Mason , " the term " Ent ' red Felloiv " not being used . There is also the question " How old are you ? " with directions for a particular answer to be given , according to the degree a brother may hai'e taken . Here , also , occur the reference to having " pass'd the Master ' s part" until it is pointed

, out that a brother is " only an Enter'd Apprentice . " A note is added : " There is not one Mason in an hundred that will be at the expense to pass the Master ' s part , except it be for interest . " FolloAving this in mine is the question " HOAV Avas you admitted ? " the answer to Avhich begins thus : " When I came to the first door , a man with a drawn sword asked me if I had any weapons . I an-