Ears Of Wheat From A Cornucopia.

of the oldest of the minute books now in possession of the Lodge of Kilwinning ; aud for the sake of brethren unaccustomed to decipher such MSS ., - we present the following verbatim copy of it : —¦ "At the ludge of Killwining the twentie day

of december 1677 yeares , deacons and Avardanes aud the rest of the brethren , considering the love and favour showne to use be the rest of the ¦ brethren of thecannigate in edinbroughe , anepart of our number , being Avilling to be boked & inroled ,

the qch day gives power & liberty to tliem to enter , receave , and pase ony qualified persons that they think iifcfc , in name & behalf of the ludge of Killwining , & to pay ther entry and booking monyes due to the sd ludge as we do our selves , they

sending on of ther number to us yearly , and we to do the lyk to them if need be . The qlk day ther names are insert into this book . . . . "

The phrase " enter , receave and pase" is that used by some of the guilds and trade incorporations of the period to indicate the admission or reception of new members , and does not in any way point to the existence of Masonic degrees

which , so far as Scotland is concerned , were only introduced on or aboub the year 1735 . This record is undoubtedly founded upon a previously receiA r ed communication from the brethren to whom it bears special reference ; for in an

early minute of the Canongate Lodge ( as has been shewn by our old colleague , Bro . Oneal Haye ) , reference is made to " petition or . application" which in 1677 had been presented to the Mason Court of Kilwinning by the Masons in the Canongate of Edinburgh . That petition is not now extant ; neither has a verbatim copy of it been

preserved . The Canongate Lodge seems to have applied for a copy of this document ; but as at a subsequent date the brethren of Dunse , in reply to an inquiry regarding the antiquity of their lodge , were apprised of the inability of any one in

Kilwinning to read its old Masonic records , most probably from the same cause the Canongate Kilwinning had in ] 730 to rest contented with , as near as could be given by the officials of Mother Kilwinning , the substance of the petition iu

question and the deliverance thereon . The tenor of the application as furnished by the then secretary of the Mother Lodge , is as follows : — " To the Right Worshipfull the Master of the Ancient Lodge of and at Kilwinning , the humble

Petition of the Free Masons in the Cannon o-ate of Edinburgh , Avritten the Gth day of December 1677 ,

and signed by them . Eight Worshipfull , and the worthy brethren of the said Lodge , we had your answer by our truly and Avorthy Brother William Cochran , and have considered the proposals contained therein , and find them very consonant with

reason , so wee send you our worthy Brother Thomas Gib , with power to him to present this , our said Petition , humbly craving that as we are part of the company belonging to Kilwinning Lodge , your Worship and the other members of

the said lodge , Avould authorise to meet together as a lawful lodge , and to enter and pass any qualified persons as Free and Accepted Masons , in the name and the behalf , and as a part of the Lodge of Kilwinning , and to receive the entry

moneys due to the said lodge , from such qualified persons as are passed by us ; and We bind and oblige ourselves ( collectively and severally ) and our successors , to maintain and defend the ris-hts and privileges of Kilwinning Lodge , and never to

do anything prejudicial ! thereto , for Avitness whereof , Ave have subscribed these presents , and affixed our marks thereto- Sic Subscribitur . . . . "

That this is a rather free rendering of the Petition is apparent ; for the terms " Right Worshipful the Master / ' and " Free aud Accepted Masons , " as applied to designate the head and members of the Kilwinning Fraternity , had not at the date of

the petition been adopted . And the same remark applies also to Avhat in 1736 was given as " the tenor " of the minute Avhich forms the subject of our illustration -. —• " Kilwinning , the 20 th December 1677 years .

Tlie Eight Worshipfull the Master and other Members being convened in the Mason Court of the Antient Lodge in Kilwinning , and having the above Petition presented from their Brethren in the Cannongate of Edinburgh , by Thomas Gib ,

took the same into our consideration , and unanimously granted the desire thereof , in all points , authorising the said Brethren Petitioners to meet iu a regular Lodge , enter Freemasons , and receive dues for the same as Avee do ourselves . They sending one of their number to us yearly , and Avee to do the like to them if need be . . . . "

Had not the original record of this " deliverance " been preserved , the foregoing version of it might have been held as proving what has not hitherto been done , viz ., that in the seventeenth century members of the Mason Craft were in Scotland

known by the distinctive appellation of " Freemasons . " The production of such documents as