Masonic Gleanings.

and what , if any , was the authority followed by Eckert in stating the discovery ? Many places in Scotland have names that associate them with the Templars ; e . g ., Templelands , near Dundee , & c , Probably these all indicate seats of the Order in olden time . Is there any

good account of the Temple establishment in Scotland during the early Middle Ages , before the Hospitallers succeeded to their lands ? Is the list of its chief officers in Scotland to be found in any accessible book ? A valuable tract , entitled " Templaria" gives a good list of lands that had

, belonged to the Order . " C . H . E . CAEJIICHAEL . To this query George Vere Irving , K . C . T , re- , plies thus ( p . 213 ) : — " When my friend Mr . Carmichael returns to town I shall be happy to give him more full

information on this subject than would be suitable for your columns . In the meantime I may state , iu regard to the Knights Templars of Scotland , that a most

capital account of their history was written by the late lamented Professor Aytoun , who was Grand Prior , as a preface to a new edition of their rules . I have mislaid my copy of this ; bnt , speaking from memory , I may venture to give the following epitome : —

It was a rule of the Order that no knight should fight against a Christian foe , except in self-defence ; but confine his exertions to the cause to whieh he had devoted himself—the liberation of the Temple from the Moslem . The excitement which was roused in Scotland during the great

contest with the Edwards of England , led the Scottish Knights to draw their swords in support of the independence of their country . In consequence of this they were cut off from the Order ; but still maintained their existence , and chiefly in the more northern parts of the island .

Professor Aytoun gives in cxtenso a remarkable letter , written when Charles Edward was at Holyrood ; wherein there is described a meeting of the Knights , at ivhich His Eoyal Highness , after having been made a Knight , was elected Grand Master . Between that period and the present century the succession of the Order is a little obsure .

When I joined it , that distinguished naval officer , -Sir David Milne , of Milnegraden , was Grand Master . He obtained in Paris , and presented to the Order , the collar worn by that officer . This had been lost sight of since the execution of Jacques de Molay , the last of the continental

Grand Masters , whose memory is always remembered at all the festive meetings of the Order , Sir David was succeeded as Grand Mas ' ter by the late lamented Duke of Atholl , and I think few who were present at his inauguration by Aytoun , as Grand Prior , will ever forget it .

Tlie French Templars originated with Sir Sidney Smith . I do not know upon what authority , but the tivo branches of the Order can

easily be distinguished . Both have the imposed cross in red ; but the underlying one is , in the French Order , white and gold ; in the Scotch , black and silver . Both , however , must be distinguished from the extraordinary body which have chosen to call

themselves Knights Templars , and are , in fact , a simple attempt to extend the Masonic Orders Avithout any reason whatever , and pass themselves off for what they never could be ; as it is a sine qua non that every candidate for admission into the real Order of the Temple shall prove his right to

armorial bearings , not through a seal engraver , but through the College of Arms in England , or the Lyons Office in Scotland . " Mr . Irving ' s unfounded attack upon the Masonic Knights Templars elicited the following remarks ( p . 234 ) : - " Keeping to the above heading ( the Templars

in Scotland ) , not because I am about to treat of the subject itself , but simply for the purpose of reference , I beg leave to enter a protest against Mr . George V . Irving , K . C . T ., when he endeavours to exalt the modern and dubious French Order of the-Temple , and decry that of the more ancient and

authentic descendants of the Knights Templars , yet flourishing in connection with Freemasonry .. To open this much debated qtiestioji , or to cite the long list of authorities I have collected on the matter would be to occupy entire numbers of " Notes and Queries" in a discussion in which

neither side could claim a victory ; because we should enter the lists , like boxers , having both hands securely tied behind them , and remain exposed to every blow aimed at us , without the power of returning or parrying * it ; our mouths being * effectually closed on the very points on which persons are desirous to examine us . Mr . Irving seems to fancy Professor Aytoun wrote an introduction to the statutes ofthe French

Order of the Temple , whereas it was connected with the " chapter general of the religions and military Order of the Temple" in Scotland , a Masonic Order , of which the late Grand Master Mason of Scotland , the Duke of Athole , and the present Grand Master MasonJ . Whyte Melville of

, Bennochy , were respectively Grand Masters ; and under the former , Professor Aytoun , himself a member of the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of Scotland Avas Grrnd Prior .

Mr . Irving is right about the Templars fighting for the Bruce : hence the Masonic Templar Order ,, called the Eoyal Order of Scotland , founded by King Robert in 1314 ; of which the Grand Master Mason of Scotland , J . Whyte Melville , is Deputy Grand Master and Governor ; the Grand

Mastership being hereditary in the crown of Scotland . There- is no doubt about Prince Charles Edward being installed a Knig ht Companion , and afterwards Grand Master of the Masonic Templars , considering * that the Chevalier Ramsay—the great Masonic light of Scotland—was in attendance on him and