On The Probable Origin Of Freemasonry.

ON THE PROBABLE ORIGIN OF FREEMASONRY .

LONDON , SATURDAY , FJEBETTABT 2 i , 1 S 66 .

By Bro . the Rev . SALEM TOAVN , of New Yorlc . { Continued from page 123 . ) In the year 626 , . King Athelstan convoked all brethren of the kingdom to a general convention ; he issued a decree , and established a Grand Lodge that has continued to exist up to the present day .

From thence is derived the origin of the ancient York Masons . Under the mgis of such high patronage many noblemen joined the Craft . In 690 , King Edgar became the illustrious protector of the Order . In the year 826 . , King Alfred

the Great , having been expelled from his kingdom hy the Danes , became a zealous and sincere friend of Masonry . He was so much attached fco the Order , that he appropriated one-seventh part of his income towards the propagation of the Institution .

In the year 1066 , the erection of Westminster Palace and London Bridge Avas commenced under the joint patronage of the Bishop of Rochester and the Earl of Shrewsbury , both Masons of distinction . During the reigns of Henry I . and of

Stephen , the Order was liberally protected by the Crown , and Westminster Chapel , the House of Commons , and many other buildings of equal magnificence were erected . When Edward III . was king , the lodges became more numerous , and

Masonry enjoyed full honour and protection . Richard IL , Henry IV ., Henry V ., and Henry VI . were very active in , and devoted much time to , the promotion of the welfare and the development of the Craft ; for though King Henry VI . Avas very

hostile to it during the first years of his reign . Having once overcome his prejudices , he became initiated in 1442 , and from that time he was as conspicuous for his attachment as he had previously been for his hostility to the Order .

James I . of Scotland honoured the lodges with his attendance ; he presided over them several times , and decreed that the annual income of an English nobleman should be paid to every Scottish Master Mason .

On the 24 th of June , 1502 , Henry VII . assembled a Grand Lodge in his palace , proceeded with great pomp to the extreme , east of Westminster Abbey , and with his own hand laid the foundation stone of that truly splendid and magnificent edifice .

During the reign of James I . of Great Britain , literary men flocked from all countries of Europe to England , to attend the proceedings of the lodg-es as a school for instruction in science and art . King Charles I ., the successor of James I ., assembled all the brethren and laid himself the foundation stone of St . Paul ' s Cathedral , with

unusual solemnity . Sir Christopher Wren was prominent for his indefatigable zeal in promoting the diffusion of Masonry . Subsequent to the great conflagration of

London in 1666 , abundant work was supplied to Masons who were skilled in their art and equal to the task that was laid before them .

We find , therefore , that in all probability Masonry has existed in England ever since the time of the Druids , who received their first instruction from Pythagoras , about 500 A . c . and irrespectively of all that has taken place in modern

times , Ave find that from the expulsion of King-Alfred the Great by the Danes in 896 doAvn to the reign of William III . in 1688 , there were commenced and finished , rebuilt and restored , under the auspices and the direct superintendence

of the Masonic Order , upwards of one hundred public edifices , being all the most important colleges , chapels , towers , palaces , cathedrals , convents , churches , abbeys , bridges , as well _ as the

Houses of Parbament . After the Great Fire of London in 1666 , Sir Christopher Wren was entrusted with the design of the plan for the building of the new City , and he then became Grand Master of England .

The plan proposed by that eminent Mason for the reconstruction of the City , though admirable from the points of view of salubrity , elegance , and comfort , was disgracefully rejected by the citizens Avho insisted with a kind of enthusiastic

superstition on the preservation of the former arrangement of the roads and localities . Thus , the most favourable opportunity of making the finest ornament of the world of this ancient capital was lost for ever .

This account will suffice to show in what manner and by Avhat men Masonry was promoted in England . Its most active and zealous adherents were at all times those occupying the highest ranks in Church and State . The kings vied

Avith their vassals in doing honour to the Order , and true wisdom was taught by philosophers in all the lodges . The proudest and mightie st mon-