Freemasonry.

which forms the lex scripta of Freemasonry , declares that the officers of a lodge are the Master and his two AVardens , two deacons , au inner and an outer guard , the latter being- more usually known as the Tyler . There must also be a Secretary and Treasurer ; and there are also in many lodges

a Chaplain , Master of the Ceremonies , and Stewards . The Master , and Treasurer , and Tyler are elected yearly by the members by ballot . The appointment of the other officers rests with the Master of the lodge . The fee for initiation varies in the different

lodges : but the minimum is , except in certain cases , three guineas for a county , and five guineas for a London lodge . There is also a yearly subscription by each member of a lodge , varying in amount from a few shillings to as many pounds . The Freemasons are not , like the Odd FelloAvs

and Foresters , a friendly society , in the legal sense of that term , They are not legally entitled , in case of illness , to any pecuniary assistance from the funds of the Craft , nor Avill the Avido'v of a deceased brother be entitled to anything from her late husband ' s lodge . But Avhat Freemasons are not legally bound to do , they will often do voluntarily and for charity ' s sake . There is a very handsome school at Battersea Rise for

maintaining , clothing , and educating children , daughters of decayed Freemasons . There is also a Masonic Institution at Tottenham for the sons of indigent or deceased Freemasons , of Avhich excellent Institution our most gracious Queen is patroness ; and there is also a Royal Benevolent Institution at

Croydon for aged Freemasons and their Aviclows . In addition to these , there is a benevolent fund of some four thousand pounds a year distributed monthly to distressed Masons . For all these charitable purposes , portions of each candidate's initiation-fee and yearly subscription are paid into the treasury of the Grand Lodge . From Avhat has been already stated , it Avill be seen that the ladies are excluded from all Masonic

honours and secrets , giving rise , Ave dare . say , to many matrimonial " tiffs . " An anecdote is related of an occurrence at Vienna , showing that the fair sex are the same there as here Avith respect to curiosity . Several German ladies having been baffled in their attempts upon the secrecy of their

husbands' and admirers , converted their curiosity into revenge , and attempted to inflame Maria Theresa , the empress-queen , against the lodges in Vienna . Their attempt was in some measure successful , as they persuaded her to issue an order for surprising all the Freemasons in the city Avhen

assembled in their lodges . This plan was , however , frustrated by tho intervention of the Emperor Francis I ., Avho , being himself a ' Freemason , declared his readiness to be ansAverable for the conduct of his Masonic brethren . It is one of the inviolable rules of Freemasonry that none but males can be admitted . The ladies are therefore rigorously , and , as they say ,

unfeelingly excluded frem a participation in the mysteries and privileges of the Craft . Notwithstanding this , one instance is on record of a young lady of noble birth having been made a Freemason ; but the means she took to obtain the honour were dishonourable in themselvesand

, therefore unworthy of being adopted by other members of the fair sex . In France , the fair creatures , excited perhaps by the perfection of character which their husbands bad reached

through being Freemasons , or , what is much more likely , roused by the spirit of inquisitiveness Avhich has accompanied all of them since our mother Eve , introduced a Masonry of Adoption for women . The members were called sisters ; and the labours of the lodge being ended , balls and

banquets pleasantly wound up the evening .- The first of these females lodges , called La Candeur , was opened in Paris in 1785 , a duchess being the Grand Mistress . After the Revolution , the Empress Josephine presided over the Loge Imperiale d'Adoption des Francs Chevaliersat

Stras-, bourg . The Royal Arch is the highest degree in Freemasonry recognised by the Grand Lodge of England . The Masons in this degree are called companions , and when assembled , a chapter . In addition to those we have already mentioned ,

there are nearly thirty other degrees—to which , however , but very feAV Masons aspire . There are several Masonic Orders of chivalry , such as Knights Templars of Jerusalem , Knights Hospitallers of St . John of Jerusalem , Palestine , Rhodes , and of Malta . These hold encampments , and the members assume the most strange and

high-sounding names . After the revival of Freemasonry in the last century , it was customary to hold the lodges at taverns , each lodge being usually distinguishd by the name of the house in which it assembled . But since Masonic halls have come into vogue , other

distinctive names have been introduced , Avhich are of a somewhat strange and fantastic character . Falmouth rejoices in a Lodge of Love and Honour ; Winchester , iu a Lodge of Economy ; Gravesend , in a Lodge of Freedom ; the London Tavern has a Lodge of Felicity ; Fetter-lane , a Strong Man

Lodge ; Cambridge , a Scientific Lodge ; Whitehaven , a Sun , Square , aud Compasses Lodge ; Burnley ) a Lodge of Silent Temple ; Warrington , a Lodge of Lights ; Preston , a Lodge of Unanimity ; Avhile Madras has a lodge of Perfect Unanimity ; Calcutta has a Lodge of Humility Avith

Fortitude , and another of Courage with Humanity ; CreAA ^ e has a Lodge of the Four Cardinal Virtues ; HaAvorth , a Three Graces Lodge ; Freemasons ' Tavern , a Lodge of the Nine Muses ; Avhile Heckmondwike has an Amphibious Lodge , composed , Ave presume , of frogs , crocodiles , and

hippopotami . There are nearly eleven hundred lodges under the control of the Grand Lodge of England : of