A Profane's Ideas Of Masonry.

" Longwy consists of an upper and a lower town Tho former is the fortified part , ancl . the latter is open , under the guns of the fort . Watson and . 1 - * o Whhwe' 1 had ridden there the evening previously —while I waited for letters , arranging to follow

; h-:-r-i by train in the morning . In their ignorance nC ! In-, localit y they rode rig ht into the fortified - . rave o ? tho town , Avithout . being challenged , inrwrMitg to renort themselves to the authorities as

y-yy . \ tis they had arranged their horses and their ko'l- . ^ 'fes ; but while they were dressing they were £ ; : ¦ :: it for by the Commandant , Avho stormed and : . ' » v ? L rofnsed to look at their papers , and packed then ; out of town under charge of a gendarme ,

ur-. vmg their horses behind . After waiting some himo , deciding that it AA'ould be better to let the irascible Colonel get his breakfast before facing hi . y , again , their horses made their appearance ; "bu "' :- they still thought they had better ask

periviisaiun to go past the town . This time he was :: JG : ' C- angry than ever at their having " , as he said , presumed to appear again , and threatened them v , i-i .. i ' . Uimaginable punishment . Just , however , < iii- " . r ha had « -iven final orders to the rrendarmo to

yyyjxa thorn , he suddenly , to the great astonish-::- ) . . '¦! :. « of ' : ' Watson , changed his manner , hurriedl y v . lil-S'J . them into his private room , aud showed tiK ' . rr-. every possible attention , and wrote them out safe conducts . He talked to them for some time ,

fM-. d finall y showed them out , hat in hand , so that they AVIIO had been mistaken for prisoners under guard AA'hen they Avent in , walked out through the r . lvva Avithout even a gendarme . ' '• The reason for all this is the most

extraordinary pari . Whitwell , it appears , is a Freemason , and remembering that many of the Imperialists v , e ; e- said to be the same , he gave tlie Colonel a ayn . The first time , he showed some slight mark

of ; . U ; ei ; tioD , bnt the second time the result was as I have described . Let those doubt it Avho VPLY . Although I AA'as not in the secret , I have r . vr-elf no further doubt of the extraordinary viewers of Freemasonry . " —Landmark .

Non-Affiliated Masons.

NON-AFFILIATED MASONS .

V ' e mid . ee the following extract from an article under tho above heading from " The Gavel . " Tlu : editor gives this as the principal reason wh y there are so many non-affiliated Masons :

Non-Affiliated Masons.

Again the miserable system of dues becomes irksome . This paying out so many dollars a year for the privilege of retaining one ' s good standing in the fraternity is , to say the least , an extraordinary state of things . " Once a Mason ahvays a Mason , " was one of the mottoes of our forefathers , but we by this

annual taxation , have almost violated that good old privilege . In our own jurisdiction Ave cut off a brother from the rights of Masonic aid in sickness , Masonic assistance in distress , Masonic burial in death , and Masonic relief to his widow—for what ? For not paying some three or four dollars a year

towards lodge funds . Now , we maintain this is an outrage upon Freemasonry . In other jurisdictions again , it is worse . Men and brothers are actually expelled for non-payment of dues . But some may ask how are lodge expenses to he .

kept np without some such system ? Very easily . Increase your fees for initiation , passing and raising . Instead of twenty and twenty-five , make them fifty and sixty , then let the surplus accumulate , and it will soon be found that a sufficient fund is in the treasury of the lodge to pay all annual expenses , and leave a handsome balance behind .

The system of dues may be irksome , but at the same time , in most vicinities , it is necessary . An applicant for the honours of Masonry , should be informed of tbe amount of yearly dues , and he best knows whether he can afford to pay

them or not . After being admitted as a member of the Fraternity he should not begrudge the small amount that comes from him to swell the income of his lodge . It is but few lodges that are comparatively wealthy—a large majority barel y

paying their expenses . In small places where lodges exist , the system of non-payment of dues might possibly succeed , but in all large cities , toAvns , & c , a lodge Avould not pay its running expenses , Avithout a regular income from dues .

A lodge in this vicinity cannot be run much less than 1 , 000 dollars per year . Most of them put their initiation fee at 50 dollars . From ten to twenty initiations in a year is a good amount of work , and put it at the highest number , it

would then barely pay its ordinary expenses , this does not include the funeral expenses , assistance rendered , & c .

The editor suggests that lodges raise their entrance fees . This is easil y done , but Avould it not be the means of keeping from the benefits of Masonry the very class of applicants which he now proposes to benefit by abolishing all dues , on the