The Pope And Freemasonry.

their similarity to those of the Buddhists and of the still more ancient Society of Freemasons . And now , Mr . Editor , I will conclude before I bave quite exhausted the patience of yourself and your readers . To my Masonic brethren I must apologise for my very inadequate defence of onr

• ancient society ; but I shall be quite satisfied if I have succeeded in persuading the uninitiated that Freemasonry is , at any rate , a very respectable society , and that the " brethren of the mystic tie " do something-more than " eat and drink and make

merry . " I must not omit to mention that I am greatly indebted to Dr . Oliver ' s able " History of Initiation , " ivhich is a work of immense learning and value .

P . S . —I may mention that when in Cork the other day I met a gentleman , a very high Mason , who informed me that in consequence of my letters he had been induced fco brush up his classics , and that he thought he had detected some

reference to the old mysteries iu the accounts given of the Argonautic expedition . He will be glad to find on a reference to Apollonius JRhodius , that he is not far wrong in his conjecture , for before setting out the Argonauts were initiated

at Samothrace ( where the mysteries had been introduced by Eumolpus or Davdanus ) , in order to procure a propitious voyage .

Where The Laugh Comes In.

WHERE THE LAUGH COMES IN .

We beg to be understood as by no means intending a joke . We have no desire to Avaste time , patience , ink and paper , for the sorry purpose of demonstrating a pun . On the contrary , we Avere never more serious ; and if Ave assert

that there is a point at which the risible faculties may be indulged it is because Ave see things which , enacted in all dignity , and supposed by their perpetrators to be producing the most serious and praiseworthy effects , are in reality of such an

irresistibly comic nature , have in them so much cachinnatory poAvder , that one must be more or less human to refuse a guffaw , even though ifc be that silent merriment which unfolds the Avrinkles of the soul and brings tears to the eyes , while it

makes no outward nor visible sign . For instance , Bro . Walkit is a member of our loclge ; he is a gentleman of lively imagination , of persevering industry ; whole-souled , generous and unsuspicious . He looks upon Masonry in

general as the greatest institution the Avorld has ever known , except our lodge , which , in his opinion , is one point above everything else on this mundane sphere , ancl he is determined to make it the envy of all Masons . NOAV , among his weak

points—for he is not perfect—is that of taking every man he meets , with genteel exterior and plausible address , for a good felloiv ; whom he at once becomes anxious to clo a good turn , and whom he as soon as possible proposes to become a Mason ,

in our lodge . His enthusiasm hi the matter communicates itself to his friend , who is TLO ^ only willing bufc anxious to enter the charmed circle and participate in the labours of the Craft . Indeed , the more he thinks of it the greater is his hurry ,

and he anxiously inquires of Walkit if there is no Avay of getting along Avithout the aAvkward delay of a whole calendar month . If he were only in , he could at once begin to make himself useful ; he knows a whole grist of felloAVs whom he would

propose , and then , too , he reflects that he is obliged to go east , or Avest , or south , as the case may be , to attend to some business affairs likely fco occupy his attention for another month . Two months' delay is " tolerable and not to be endured . " Can't the thing * be shortened

somehow ! 0 , yes , to oblige a friend , of course ; we can . get a dispensation ; cost you a little more ; but then you can be put through at once . With this understanding Walkit calls on the Grand Master , states that a case of emergency has arisen ,

and asks for a dispensation to confer the three degrees forthwith on a gentleman who will undoubtedly prove a great acquisition to the Fraternity . What is the special cause of emergency , asks the Grand Master . Oh , he is going on a

journey , and wants to get the degrees before he starts ! Is he a resident ? Yes , lived among us all his life—first-rate man . Well , how is it , then , that he has never before made application ? This question of course nonplusses Walkit , and the

upshot of the interview is that the coveted dispensation is refused . Walkit retires in high dudgeon , and at the next regular communication rises in his place to state his grievance and pour forth a torrent of eloquent denunciation on the head of

the Grand Master , in which laudable purpose , however , he is cut short by the sound of the gavel in the east , and he subsides . At this point , the right-thinking Mason , the Mason who wishes the prosperity of his lodge fco be gauged by the excellence of its material rather than the multi-