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Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. ← Page 4 of 4 Article CORRESPONDENCE. Page 1 of 2 →
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Masonic Notes And Queries.
up to the grave ; ancl the clergyman , and the officers of the acting lodge , taking their station at the head of the grave , with the choristers on each side and the mourners at the foot , the service is rehearsed , an anthem sung , and that particular part of the ceremony is concluded with the usual forms . " I am not the original queristbut I re-echo his with an
, query addition of my own . Does the above mean that the clergyman of the parish is to follow out the scheme as laid down above , and not to admit the body to the church , where those hopeful portions of the most beautiful liturgy ever compiled are sung or said , or is the Masonic lodge ceremony to be considered as an equivalent for this ?
Also , if a brother receives Masonic burial does _ that justify his lodge taking away his body from his friends—performing over it a ceremony unblest by pastor , priest , or church , and then , in the face of heaven taking to themselves the place of mourners at the head of the grave and thrusting the relatives to the foot ?—CHRISTIAN CHARITY .
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents . THE GRAND LODGE LIBRARY . 10 THE EDITOB OF THE 1 J ___ . l __ ikS 0 VS' 3 IA 8 AZWE AND MASONIC JIIniiOH . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In your last number there appeared a short letterheaded "Records of
, Modern Freemasonry , " drawing general attention to that mysterious cupboard so long preserved in Great Queen-street . " Alieni Appeteus " has done good service and deserves the thanks of all Masonic students for reminding them of the existence of those concealed treasures .
From trustworthy authority I have frequently heard of this hoard of Masonic documents and papers , and , from equally reliable sources of information , have been given to understand that during several yearstwelve or fourteen—no human eye has seen the interior of the closet that contains them indeed
; , there is some confusion in the statements made as to the precise locality where these records are deposited , the balance of assertion being in favour of the Tavern itself , and against the tradition that they ever occupied any part of the premises just vacated , and lately known as the Grand Secretary ' s offices .
If my informarts are correct—and I have not the slightest reason to question the accuracy of their information—these papers were collected by our venerable Past Grand Secretary , Bro . Wm . Henry White , and it is very probable they are his own personal property and have not yet been removed into the new buildings
, even if they are ever destined to be so . The very location—according to report—in the Tavern and separate from the official apartments tends , somewhat , to corroborate the prevailing idea of their being private property . If , however , they should turn out to belong to the Craft , and have found their way , as your hints
correspondent , into the custody of the present Grand Secretary , then they might just as well have remained where they have reposed so long , or have been deposited in the most inaccessible place in Great Britain for all the use , information , or benefit the Craft will ever derive from them , it being the peculiar itudy of that gentleman to prevent , by any
impediment or discouragement his brain suggests , all attempts at study or the elucidation of most points in our history—— " Scilicet improtas Crescunt divitite ; tamen Cui'ta ! nescio quid semper abesfc rei . " Your oriinal correspondent's letter is not onl
g y valuable for having dealt with a subject of much interest to the studious brethren , but it is suggestive of Masonic literature in general and of the Grand Lodge Library in particular . With your permission I shall turn my attention to the latter , and if my suggestions appear crude , or ill-digested , I must ask the
indulgence of your readers , and hope to elicit from some of them a more able expression of opinion than I lay claim to . For a score of years and more , every now and then , there appears to have been a mild form of agitation on behalf of a library for the Craft . Admitted on
all sides that such a provision was not only desirable but requisite , for want of some one to lead the way , the scheme has , hitherto , always ended in talk . Now , however , something may at last be done in the matter , for I believe—but am not sure on the point—that in the original plan for the new buildings a library was included as one of the requirements . Common report
says that there is to be both a library and coffee room , but as no one I have inquired of knows whether they are to be separate and distinct or comprehended in one apartment , I can only hope for the former and fear for the latter . The coffee room should be furnished with the newspapers ancl periodicals of the day
, in which they may be read ; refreshments served , gossip carried on , appointments made , and that room should be , to all intents and purposes , the lounge for such as may drop in from time to time . In the library silence and quiet ought to be maintained , all refreshment forbidden , and small talk and talkers excluded .
If we are to have a library we must , as it were , commence de novo . It is true there are some three hundred volumes or thereabout , which have hitherto been dignified by the appellation of the Grand Lodge library , and although many of them are both scarce and interesting there must be other books , beyond those of our own immediate speciality , for daily use and reference .
Before we enter upon the question as to what books are necessary the first object must be to provide the requisite funds for their purchase . For the next five or six years we ought to have an annual grant from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter—the latter body should come out liberally on this occasion as it has considerable funds which no one seems to
know the appropriation of—and this grant , if it is to be of service , must be one of a good round sumsay one thousand pounds—for what will the purchase of a general library and AI asonic books , the latter being eagerly bought up , iu all directions , for America , and the opportunities for enriching our
collection , with this class of books , having heen let slip one by one , we shall have to go into the market and compete for works which , even , ten years since could have been obtained at a merely nominal price . This will cause the larger portion of our proposed grant to be appropriated and leave but a small fraction for working expenses , such as a librarian ' s salary , binding , and stationery .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
up to the grave ; ancl the clergyman , and the officers of the acting lodge , taking their station at the head of the grave , with the choristers on each side and the mourners at the foot , the service is rehearsed , an anthem sung , and that particular part of the ceremony is concluded with the usual forms . " I am not the original queristbut I re-echo his with an
, query addition of my own . Does the above mean that the clergyman of the parish is to follow out the scheme as laid down above , and not to admit the body to the church , where those hopeful portions of the most beautiful liturgy ever compiled are sung or said , or is the Masonic lodge ceremony to be considered as an equivalent for this ?
Also , if a brother receives Masonic burial does _ that justify his lodge taking away his body from his friends—performing over it a ceremony unblest by pastor , priest , or church , and then , in the face of heaven taking to themselves the place of mourners at the head of the grave and thrusting the relatives to the foot ?—CHRISTIAN CHARITY .
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents . THE GRAND LODGE LIBRARY . 10 THE EDITOB OF THE 1 J ___ . l __ ikS 0 VS' 3 IA 8 AZWE AND MASONIC JIIniiOH . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In your last number there appeared a short letterheaded "Records of
, Modern Freemasonry , " drawing general attention to that mysterious cupboard so long preserved in Great Queen-street . " Alieni Appeteus " has done good service and deserves the thanks of all Masonic students for reminding them of the existence of those concealed treasures .
From trustworthy authority I have frequently heard of this hoard of Masonic documents and papers , and , from equally reliable sources of information , have been given to understand that during several yearstwelve or fourteen—no human eye has seen the interior of the closet that contains them indeed
; , there is some confusion in the statements made as to the precise locality where these records are deposited , the balance of assertion being in favour of the Tavern itself , and against the tradition that they ever occupied any part of the premises just vacated , and lately known as the Grand Secretary ' s offices .
If my informarts are correct—and I have not the slightest reason to question the accuracy of their information—these papers were collected by our venerable Past Grand Secretary , Bro . Wm . Henry White , and it is very probable they are his own personal property and have not yet been removed into the new buildings
, even if they are ever destined to be so . The very location—according to report—in the Tavern and separate from the official apartments tends , somewhat , to corroborate the prevailing idea of their being private property . If , however , they should turn out to belong to the Craft , and have found their way , as your hints
correspondent , into the custody of the present Grand Secretary , then they might just as well have remained where they have reposed so long , or have been deposited in the most inaccessible place in Great Britain for all the use , information , or benefit the Craft will ever derive from them , it being the peculiar itudy of that gentleman to prevent , by any
impediment or discouragement his brain suggests , all attempts at study or the elucidation of most points in our history—— " Scilicet improtas Crescunt divitite ; tamen Cui'ta ! nescio quid semper abesfc rei . " Your oriinal correspondent's letter is not onl
g y valuable for having dealt with a subject of much interest to the studious brethren , but it is suggestive of Masonic literature in general and of the Grand Lodge Library in particular . With your permission I shall turn my attention to the latter , and if my suggestions appear crude , or ill-digested , I must ask the
indulgence of your readers , and hope to elicit from some of them a more able expression of opinion than I lay claim to . For a score of years and more , every now and then , there appears to have been a mild form of agitation on behalf of a library for the Craft . Admitted on
all sides that such a provision was not only desirable but requisite , for want of some one to lead the way , the scheme has , hitherto , always ended in talk . Now , however , something may at last be done in the matter , for I believe—but am not sure on the point—that in the original plan for the new buildings a library was included as one of the requirements . Common report
says that there is to be both a library and coffee room , but as no one I have inquired of knows whether they are to be separate and distinct or comprehended in one apartment , I can only hope for the former and fear for the latter . The coffee room should be furnished with the newspapers ancl periodicals of the day
, in which they may be read ; refreshments served , gossip carried on , appointments made , and that room should be , to all intents and purposes , the lounge for such as may drop in from time to time . In the library silence and quiet ought to be maintained , all refreshment forbidden , and small talk and talkers excluded .
If we are to have a library we must , as it were , commence de novo . It is true there are some three hundred volumes or thereabout , which have hitherto been dignified by the appellation of the Grand Lodge library , and although many of them are both scarce and interesting there must be other books , beyond those of our own immediate speciality , for daily use and reference .
Before we enter upon the question as to what books are necessary the first object must be to provide the requisite funds for their purchase . For the next five or six years we ought to have an annual grant from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter—the latter body should come out liberally on this occasion as it has considerable funds which no one seems to
know the appropriation of—and this grant , if it is to be of service , must be one of a good round sumsay one thousand pounds—for what will the purchase of a general library and AI asonic books , the latter being eagerly bought up , iu all directions , for America , and the opportunities for enriching our
collection , with this class of books , having heen let slip one by one , we shall have to go into the market and compete for works which , even , ten years since could have been obtained at a merely nominal price . This will cause the larger portion of our proposed grant to be appropriated and leave but a small fraction for working expenses , such as a librarian ' s salary , binding , and stationery .