An Earnest Proposition Forthe Further Propagation Of Tomfool Ery Among Masons.

shall be authorised at his own expense to hare his own banner and coat of arms placed over his stall , there to remain by night and by day , and when frequenting the house he shall be entitled to sit in his own stall at all times , unless private customers object . The Sovereign of each Chapter shall be mine host

• of the house , unless she be a hostess ; and it shall not be necessary for the Sovereign to be a Mason . The Sovereign shall be called Xour Majesty , and shall represent King Edward I . or King Edward III ., whoever it was who was the founder of the Garter . I have not at hand my school catechism of the

History of England , and my eldest boy , who is learning the History of England , does not know . I think King Edward the Black Prince was a Knight of the Garter , and he was the son of King Edward the 1 st ¦ or 3 rd , or of King Richard the 2 nd . The Sovereign < shall sit on the throne of King EdwardA stone

. may be introduced in his seat to represent the -coronation stone of Scone in Westminster Abbey ; 'but if the Sovereign find it cold , he may place over it ¦ a covering of cloth of gold or other material .

The Sovereign shall be bound to find a suitable barmaid to represent the Countess of Salisbury ; and the candidate shall take off her garter and drop it on the ground , and afterwards replace it . This may take place in the Grand Hall of the Chapter , or in the bar parlour . If mine hostess be a widow , she may be

the Countess of Salisbury . There shall be Sir Knightesses as well as Sir Knights ; but no Sir Knightess , the wife of a Sir Knight , shall be allowed to be present at the mystic -lite of dropping the garter , even if it be performed in the bar parlourThere shall be Garter

. a Queen ¦ at Arms , as well as a Garter King of Arms , and she shall sit on a throne at the right or left hand of the Sovereign King Edward whenever Sir Knightesses are invited . The Sovereign shall take a solemn vow never to admit the Knightesses to the most solemn rites .

The fee for initiation shall be fifteen shillings , ex--clusive of the certificate , which shall be beautifully printed and illuminated on paper . The Sovereigns of the Order shall constitute a Grand Chapter of Sovereigns , to which Knights of the Order , not keeping public-houses , shall be

eligible . Over every three Chapters shall be a Chief "Sovereign , with a College of Chief Sovereigns , to which members shall likewise be eligible on paying ¦ the sum of five shillings . The whole Order shall he governed by some nobleman as Grand Sovereign , with a conclave of Grand Sovereigns . Each Grand .

-Sovereign shall have assigned to him some empire or kingdom in Europe or Asia from which to take his title . District Chief Sovereigns shall be appointed for the counties and leading towns , and also for the colonies . There shall be a Grand Referendary of the Order ,

who shall receive the several fees . He shall give an account once a year of the charity fund . I propose that I shall be the Grand Referendary . Each Knight of the Garter shall be entitled to be made a Knight of the Bath on payment of an extra sumof five shillings , and of beer and pipes for the officiating Grand Officers . He shall make a declaration that in honour of the Bath he will never drink

water , hot or cold , by itself ,- but that he will put gra or other spirit in it . On payment to me of another sum of five shillings he Avill receive a suitable certificate of K . B . Sovereigns will be entitled to be exofficio Knights of St . Patrick ; Chief Sovereigns shall be Knights of the Thistle ; and Grand

Sovereigns shall be Knights of the Guelphic Order . Any member may , by permission of the Grand Chapter of Sovereigns , the College of Chief Sovereigns , or the Conclave of Grand Sovereigns be admitted to the respective Knighthoods on payment of five shillings for each successively .

The Knights of the Garter shall wear a suitable apon , with a garter emblazoned upon it . There shall be a Masonic jeweller attached to the Order , and he shall supply the Sovereigns gratis . The grand word is " Honi soit qui mal y pense , " and the watchword is " Dew et mon Droit . " The

word of the Order of the Bath is " Trio juncti in una , " with suitable words for the other orders , " ik dean , " & c . The Order allows Queen Victoria and the Sovereign of these realms for the time being to bestowthis decoration , but reserves to itself the genuine ritual

of the Garter . The manner of its institution are as follows : King Arthur instituted the Order of the Garter at the Eound Table , but fearing it should be forgotten by his successors , as it turned out , had the precaution to send for the Grand Master Mason of England , in succession to St . Alban , and intrusted

him with the secret , authorising him and his successors to keep up the Order . This was confirmed by a charter of the King 3 of Scotland , and communicated by them to the Knights Templars and Knights of St . John ; but by the persecution of Pope Clementthe Order of the Garter

, was , as a means of precaution , kept quiet . It would not be a bad measure to send to Scotland , or advertise in the Freemasons' Magazine , for the charter of King Macbeth , or King Banquo , constituting operative Masons Knights of the Garter .

King Edward I . and Queen Eleanor , having been initiated in the Order of the Garter by Saladin and the Knights Templars in the Holy Land , made a vow on being poisoned to restore it to its ancient lustre ; but this remained unfulfilled hj him and his successors until the casual circumstance of the Countess of forcibl

Salisbury dropping her garter at a State ball y recalled the circumstances . The Order of the Garter in its genuine state has always been preserved as an inheritance of Masonry , and a striking confirmation of this is that the late Duke of Wellington being driven btempestuous

y Aveather into a public-house , and finding that a chapter of the Order of the Garter was held there , sought admittance until the gale abated . He was so much struck by what he saw that he acknowledged never to have fully understood to what extent the Order might be carried until that time , and promised to mention it he did

to King George IV ., which it is supposed , as he was known to have seen the king soon afterwards . All Knights of the Garter , belonging to the Windsor Chapter , may be regularised on paying half fees , and Knights Commanders of the Bath of the ordinary creation may be made Knights Grand Crosses of the Bath on the payment of five shillings , receiving a