Masonic Duties.

rituals and reference to the " Volume of the Sacred Law unfolded " in a room the atmosphere of which is reeking with beer ancl tobacco smoke . So fully have I been impressed with this feeling , that from a very early period of my Masonic career I have taken every opportunity of enforcing the necessity for a change , and of assisting movements in the right direction . I am happy in the ht that

thoug the idea is spreading fast , and that the statistics of the Order prove that Masonic halls and in small places private rooms of meeting are becoming increasingly adopted . The Grand Lodge of England has set a noble example in this respect , and I may add that in each of the four places in which I have successively resided during the last twenty years such a building set for

apart our purposes has been provided . This letter has extended far beyond the limits at first proposed . _ I hope to send you another in continuation of the subject , which will commence with some numerical comparisons as a test of progress . Yours fraternally , H . H .

The Province Of Bucks And Berks.

THE PROVINCE OF BUCKS AND BERKS .

TO THE SUITOR OS THE TBEEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEBOE . Dear Sir and Brother , —I have looked in vain in the pages of the Magazine for a report of the proceedings of the Prov . G . Lodge meeting , which I am informed receently took place at Maidenhead . Now as I , an old Mason and a member of Prov- G . Lod had ri

ge , a ght to expect some intimation would be ¦ conveyed to me in due time as to when and where the Provincial meeting would be held this year , but no such notice was sent to me . It may be said that the fault lies with the present Master of my lodge ; but , Icontend that it is the duty of the Prov . G . Seo . to take care that Present and Past Master and Present Wardens

every of lodges in the Province , as well as those who are Present and Past Prov . Grand Officers , should have a notice sent to them at their private address , or that the Master or Secretary p f each lodge should be ; directed to address each subscribing member , and request his attendance as well as that of the officers of the lodge ; and for that purpose a sufficient number of summonses should be

forwarded to the W . M . or Secretary . At present this is not the practice , and as in county lodges the Secretary is perhaps more frequently changed than in London lodges , and the time of election of W . M . ' s varies considerably ; and moreover , ns was the case in the present instance , the meeting of our lodge fell inconveniently , and it was not until after the Prov . G . Lodge had met that the official

communication was opened and read to those present ; for , as may be the casein other lodges , metropolitan and county , letters and votes for the charities addressed to the W . M . or the Secretary of the lodge at their usual place of meeting—generally an inn in the county—remain in the letter-box or with the tavernkeeper until the next meeting takes place

. Now , as the Freemasons' Magazine is exclusively devoted to the interests of the Craft , we look to its pages for announcements connected with Grand and Provincial Lodges , the meetings of Prov . G . Lodge for several weeks beforehand , so as to ensure , as far as possibly can be done , the attendance of all who are entitled to attend Prov . Grand Lodge meetings .

Fraternally yours , P . M . Berks and Bucks .

The Rose Croix Degree.

THE ROSE CROIX DEGREE .

TO THI EDITOE OP THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEBOE . Dear Sir and Brother , —I do not know from what source a brother , who signs himself a P . M . and P . Z .,

The Rose Croix Degree.

derives his knowledge of the high , grades . It may be well enough known that the IV se Cross degree , which I never heard of before , was hatched and worked up in Prance by French philosophers ; but the Rose Croix degree did not originate in France at all , and the correct words are neither French nor Hebrew . It is astonishing how much better the outer world are acquainted with our secrets and rites and ceremonies than we are

ourselves ; but as General Choke observes to- Martin Chuzzlewit , " It isa very extraordinary circumstance that the knowledge of Britishers themselves of their own institutions is not to be compared with that possessed by our intelligent and locomotive fellow-citizens . " So , no doubt , members of the Supreme Council and Grand Conclave are grubbing on in the dark , till it is the will and pleasure of the great triumvirate brothers P . M ., Circle , and Harris to shed their benign influence over us and enlighten us in the paths of virtue and science .

Considering I am one of the oldest Rose Croix Masons in this country , and have devoted a very considerable portion of a tolerably long life to investigate the history of this degree , I may flatter myself that I do not require the assistance of my French brethren , however highly I respect their Masonic acquirements , to expound its mysteries . But I certainly do not agree with P . M . that the

object of the Rose Croix degree is to illustrate the superiority of philosophic Masonry over Christianity , and I shall be obliged to Bro . Circle if he will give me tbe name and number of the Craft Lodge in London which he says is composed exclusively of' Deists , and also to show me by the Book of Constitutions that " Jews , Deists and Mahommetans are Masons of right , " whatever that

may mean , and though Preemasonry may be Deistie ( I do ' .-aot say ( it is ) , 7 l am very much afraid that Bro . P . M . ' s knowledge of Christianity is much upon a par with his knowledge of Preemasonry . Bro . P . M . attacks Rose Croix Masonry , but as au intelligent man he should ask himself the question whether H . A . was murdered in the Templeand that King

, Solomon put to an excruciating death the assassins , and indeed whether , on ihe contrary , H . A . married one of King Solomon ' s daughters , and is believed to have attained a good old age ? What say you , Bro- P . M ., to that ?

Byron and Shelley were the last who tried to make infidelity fashionable ; and what their gigantic intellects failed to accomplish , such small fry as the present amongst Freemasons can hardly hope to achieve . The religious cant of 20 years ago is at a discount , and a more healthy tone of Christian feeling now pervades good society .

Some years ago I called the attention of your readers to a passage in Sir Walter Scott ' s novel of Woodstock ; it is from the speech of Colonel Harrison in the forest scene : " Down on your right knees , front rank . Spare not the spoiling of your blue aprons , Zerubbabel ; ay , that is the word . " To this I received no response ; but can there be any connexion between the blue apron and

the curious description of the blue blanket , or Craftsmen ' s banner , for which we are indebted , amongst other valuable extracts , to Bro . W . Hughan ; the same article also supports the tradition that a large number of our brethren joined the first Crusade . Bro . Harris is mistaken ; the Templars have not annexed the K . S . I . ; the two Orders are kept as distinct as

that of the Garter and the Bath . Is Bro . Harris seriously going to attempt to found Masonic Orders of the Knights of the Garter and the Bath ? They would be quite as legitimate as the other hundred and fifty degrees with , which Bro . Ramsay inundated Masonry—but why does he chose Stamford Hill for his new lodge , they have surely accommodation enough in Freemasons' Hall . Yours fraternally , ROSA CBTJCIS .