Light Comes From The East.

ington , aided by Right Worshipful Joseph Clark , Grand Master pro tern , of the Grand Lodge of Maryland , and the Worship ful Masters of the three lodges present . The marble gavel used , as I have before remarked , was afterwards presented by Bro . Washington , to Bro . Reintzel , Master of the Georgetown Lodge , who was subsequently the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge

of the District of Columbia . I doubt nob that there are ¦ man y present who enjoyed the privilege , as I consider it , of hearing from the lips of our venerable Bros . John Mountz and J . Thompson ( both deceased but a few years since ) their personal reminiscences of this interesting occasion , when the Pater Patrim , clothed as a Freemason , aided iu laying the corner-stone of yonder majestic

pilfi-The Father of his country 11 ms publicly countenanced Freemasonry in the great act of commencing the erection of a home for the rulers of the then infant nation , and in his subsequent history we find repeated proofs of his devotion to the Order . When he returned to tho peaceful shades of Mount Vernon his Masonic brethren sent

him the prayerful expression of their wish that he might long enjoy all the happiness which the terrestrial lodge could afford , and finally be received into a celestial lodge , where cherubim and seraphim should hail him brother . Washington , in a reply redolent with the

purest sensations of fraternal affection , assured his brethren of his prayers for their happiness while they remained in this terrestrial mansion , and that they might " meet hereafter as brethren in the eternal temple of the Supreme Architect of the Universe . " Freemasonry , thus inaugurated into the District of Columbia , was soon in a flourishing condition , and many

of the members of Congress and other officials used to visit the lodges here and in Georgetown with great regularity , and to mingle without passing from labour to refreshment . It was then the custom at all gatherings — at funerals as well as at weddings , at the ordination of clergymen as well as at the election of militia officers , in the cloak-rooms of Congress as well as in Masonic

lodges—to indulge in libations of punch or of wine . " Temperance " then meant the temperate use of exhilarating beverages , and nearly every lodge had , under the charge of its closet-steward , a huge punch-bowl , with decanters , pitchers , wine-glasses , and tumblers , bearing appropriate devices . I would not seek in these days of adulterated aud brain-maddening wines and spirits to

restore a custom which would shock the moral sense of those who are pledged to total abstinence , but I wish that there might be some innocent social enjoyment devised to enliven the labours of the craft . It is also an

important question , I will here remark , whether Lodges of Adoption , which enlist the gentler sex beneath the protecting banners of our Order , are not beneficial to craftsmen . True , the fair neophytes may not be content with this partial withdrawal of the vails which conceal our secrets ; . but I do not share the apprehension of a distinguished craftsman , expressed at Boston , that within

the next hundred years we shall see women wearing the mystic apron , and handling the emblematic trowel , and debating whether men should any longer be initiated into tho secrets of the Order . Where the craftsmen assembled in this city I have not been able to ascertain with certainty , but it is asserted thas they occupied what has been known as the Library

Building , on Eleventh Street , opposite Carusi ' s Hall . The valuable labours of a committee appointed by the Georgetown Lodge to collect its records , from which I have copiously drawn , shows that the corner-stone of the first Masonic Hall in that town was laid in ample form on the 18 th of October , 1810 . After the corner-stone had been laid , Potomac Lodge , with its visiting brethren from Washington , repaired to the Presbyterian Church , where an appropriate discourse was delivered by Rev . Bro . Elliot , and the craftsmen then returned to their

Light Comes From The East.

hall , where they wero called from labour to refreshment The building was held by the lodge and stockholders until 1840 , when it was sold . It is still standing on the west side of Jefferson Street , just north of the canal . The Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia was organised on the 11 th of December , 1810 , by delegates from Federal Lodge , Potomac Lodge , Columbia Lodge ,

and Washington Naval Lodge , of the jurisdiction of Maryland ; and Alexandria Brook Lodge , of the jurisdicdiction of Virginia Lodge , which had given Washington its charter , and to unite with tho other craftsmen of the district . At subsequent meetings grand officers were elected and installed , Valentine Reintzel occupying the Oriental chair ; and in May , 1811 , a committee informed

the parent bodies of Maryland and Virginia that the Grand Lodge of Masons of the District of Columbia had been organised and . opened in due form , with full apellant and corrective powers , which , under superintending care and direction of the Supreme Architect , would improve the interest of the craft and extend the empire of Masonry . It is a curious fact thaf , for several years tho Grand

Lodge was opened in the fourth or Past Master ' s degree , " according to ancient usage . " The " work " was thatof the York Rite , with several features of the Scottish Rite , one of which has been handed down to our generation by Naval Lodge . In 1812 the Grand Lodge resolved , in accordance with a report from a special committee on work , that it was then " unnecessary to make any

changes in the long-established usages of each Lodge , and that each lodge be at liberty to use such rules and ceremonies as they shall see fit : Provided , That they do not infringe any of the ancient landmarks of the order . Subsequently the Grand Lodge further conciliated the brethren who clung to the Scottish Rite by voting "that the designation York be omitted in tho record

and papers , and that the style and title of Ancient Freemasons be adopted and used in all masonic communications and proceedings . " In due time the Preston work was introduced , and then the work and lectures of the first three degrees , was compiled by Bro . Thomas Smith Webb , of Sliode Island , aided by his favourite pupil , Bro . Benjamin Gleason . This work , slightly revised at the

Baltimore Masonic Convention of 1843 , is now in use here . ( To le Continued ?)

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

CANDIDATE OBLIGATED ON THE VOLUME OF THE SACKED LAW . " And since Freemasonry is based on the confession of God , and the candidate is obligated on the volume of the Sacred Law , that candidate , if a sincere manwill make the Holy Book his studyand so

, , he led to know his God , aud to serve him as lie himself has appointed , to discharge his religious duties as he ought . " Atthe same time he will discharge his social duties ; for these are so intimately connected with the former that the two cannot be separated . He cannot

love God without loving his brethren also . His connection with God as his Father aud with all human beings as fellow-offsprings of God with himself renders this impossible ; and consequently if he be a genuine Mason , he is a living proof that Freemasonry is conducive to promote the religious and social welfare of our species . " From a bundle of Masonic Excerpts . — 'GHAELES PUSTON' OOOPEE .