Masonic Notes And Queries.

missal of a poor brother , or appropriate a portion of the money that may be squandered upon the travelling mendicant , to the payment of his dues . —Bro . the Ee \' . J . N . M' . Tilton . " ELECTIONEERING A MASONIC MISDE-MEANOE . — "In regard to the practice of canvassing for office previous to election , it may be said that such conduct was unknown among ancient Craftsmen , and is inconsistent with true Masonic character . If a brother desire a Masonic office , his first thoughts

should be directed to the fearful responsibilities connected with any official Masonic station , and if he can face these responsibilities without emotion or concern , he is in no wise qualified for the position . And if he does feel as ho ought , upon a survey of the duties that await him in the office , he will not persist in seeking it . These declarations are self-evident to the true Mason , and the principle they involve will never for a moment admit of the entertainment of the desire for

office , much less the expression of it . " The impropriety of seeking Masonic office is not only apparent and reprehensible in the Mason that seeks office for himself : it is but little less so in the mistaken friend that would canvass for the election of another , further than to learn the will of the brethren iu regard to his elevation . Electioneering is a Masonic misdemeanor . It is so , because in most cases it prevents the success of the will of the majority , and sometimes places an incompetent ancl objectionable brother in a position to Avhich he has no claim whatever . Notwithstanding the

reprehensible features which appear in the introduction of any system of electioneering in Masonic lodges , it does sometimes happen that a designing brother operates among the unsuspecting members of his lodge , and induces them without reflection , aud in their personal desire to gratify him , to cast their ballots for parties that not only do not possess the requisite qualifications for the office , but are otherwise exceptionable . It is by such unworthy procedure that the unscrupulous succeed in

multiplying votes for themselves when the brethren they have favoured are called upon to perform a like service in return . The damage done to Masonry by this insidious and deceitful process is more than can be repaired by all the services that can be rendered it by the parties that practice the deception . It is in this way that cliques and factions are formed , and when the lodge is under such control , the farewell must be exchanged between it and Masonic character and propriety . The

busy schemer that proceeds from one to another of his brethren and secures their individual favours in the accomplishment ofhis purposes , is the evil spirit of the lodge , and if he is successful in his own lodge , he will be likely to proceed further , and extend his labours among bis brethren of other lodges , and in this Avay he may render himself popular , ancl secure success to his efforts by producing a party or parties in his schemes . There is no honesty—of course there can be no Masonry—in such procedure , and it ought not to be countenanced in any way . " —Bro . the Itev . J . N . M'Jilton .

THE BEST WAV OE ( JETTING TJT TIIE CEKEMONIES . - "What is the best Avray of getting up the ceremonies ? I am just appointed to office , but fear I shall never master them . —E . M . —[ Go to a Lodge of Instruction and try . Dr . Oliver , in his Booh of tha Lodge , says : — "The great secret for improving the memoi-y may bo found in exercise , practice , and labour . Nothing is so much improved by care , or injured by neglect , as the memory . " ]

THE 3 LVRK DEGREE , ITS HISTOItY AND OBJECT . As an old Mark Master , the folioAving remarks on that degree may be IIOAV to some of your readers . —S . 0 . " Before the JJuion in 1813 , this degree was practised by many lodges , in conjunction with others , which were unitedly denominated " Ark , Mark , Link , and AYrestle . " The Mark ' was conferred without the authority of a separate warrant , being

considered as an integral portion of the Fellow Craft ' s degree ; the Ark , Link , and Wrestle are now , it is believed , practically obsolete . Under some systems , the Mark is divided into two degrees ; while in others it is all composed in one degree as a necessary link to connect the second and third . A Lod" -e of Mark Masters ivas called a Congratulation ; and a candidate , on his admission , AA'as said to be congratulated . AA'ith this brief history of the degree , I shall pass on to its objects . In the first

of the above named grades , the distinction was simple . The Mark men Avere historically in number two thousand , and were appointed for the purpose of placing a peculiar mark , and probably two , on every prepared stone and beam of timber , the one

denoting tbe lodge , the other the workmen , consisting of certain mathematical figures which constituted the designation of every lodge and every Mason ; that when the stones and timber were collected at Jerusalem , every man ' s work might be clearly distinguishable , whether conveyed from the forest of Lebanon , the quarries of Tyre , or the clay ground between Succoth aud Zavadetha . On the other hand , the Mark Masters aro represented as consisting of a thousand chosen and trusty menwhose office

, it was to examine the materials after they were brought to Jerusalem , for the purpose of detecting any deficiencies which might exist either in stone or timber , casting aside the imperfect , to the openly expressed disgrace of the workmen , and placing a mark of approval and congratulation on those which were fitted for the building ; that when put together , all confusion and disorder might be avoided , and nothing heard in Zion but harmony

aud peace . The Mark degree , besides its utility , affords a most intelligent and important link between operative and speculative Freemasonry , which is in strict accordance with the original customs of the operative fraternity . The marks entrusted to the skilful craftsmen , serve not only ^ to distinguish their particular work , but in a superior degree , when more fully comprehended , ivere found to contain the principles of the design . " Recent investigation have shown their great importance in

an archeeological point of view , and also in elucidating the continuous history of the Fraternity , inasmuch as the marks used by the ancient Craftsmen , all having some hidden symbolic reference , are found among the ruins of every important old building still existing on tbe face of the globe , ancl we are by these means enabled , from actual inspection , to trace the connecting links existing in structures erected by our ancient brethrenfor a period looking backward more tham forty

cen-, turies . AVe seem thus to uplift the veil which throws the pall of its dark shadows upon the past , ancl to admit a ray of light , Avhich , though faintly visible , serves to illumine the gloom left by tbe lapse of ages , and enables us to discover those broken links and scattered fragments ivhich , Avhen re-united , will constitute the perfect chain of true Masonic history . "

A CHINESE VISITOK . Freemasonry is an expansive institution . At the meeting of the Grand Lodge in Trenton , a traveling card was handed in inscribed with the name of the visiting brother . The officers scanned it up and down , down and up , crosswise and obliquely , but no intelligible revelation would it make of the patronymic of its bearer . The

surmise Avas that a chicken had stepped into an ink pot and tracked the paper . It happened that a brother Avho was learned in Oriental Calligraphy detected " celestial marks" upon it , and it turned out that a John Chinaman was at the door , desiring to work his way iu . This he readily effected , and exemplified the comprehensiveness of the fraternal embrace of the Order , greatly to tho satisfaction of the membex-s . —Jersey City Sentinel .

NOT CLOSE IVIED . A certain American lodge had been complained of to the Grand Masterfor Avorking in an exposed andinseenre place . Upon inquiry it Avas discovered that the charge was not without foundation , the lodge holding its meetings in a second story , Avithout glass in the sashes , or curtains in the Avindows , the floor loose and open , and the room

beloAV occupied by a very popular and acceptable liquor dealer . The Grand Master reported the case to the Grand Lodge , who demanded of the delegate an explanation . The latter pleasantly responded that the room in as slightly open , but not too much so for purposes of ventilation , and that the floor was left loose for convenience of spitting . As for any danger of exposing

the secrets of Masonry , he laughed at the idea of that , for , said he , " I have been a member of that lodge for nearly four years , and I have never learned any of them yet !"

BISHOP H 0 ADIEY . Was Bishop Hoadley a brother ? He was a remarkable man in his day , and I have seen it stated that in 1798 Bishop Hoadley defended the Masonic Institution in the House of Lords , ancl as a result it Avas exempted from the bill to suppress secret societies , then before Parliament . —P . P . ANGL .