Revile Not Masonry For Its Secrecy.

poor , frail sons of humanity . Masonry endeavours " to make the crooked ways straight and rough places smooth ; " and thus prepares the way for religion , by teaching man to subdue his unruly passions , to have " Faith in God , Hope in

immortality , and Charity to all mankind , " and to "discharge his duty to God , his neighbour , and himself . ''

The exclusion of females from our society is another complaint , and remains to be answered . That woman is not permitted to participate in our rites and ceremonies is most true ; but it is not because Masons deem her unfaithful or unworthy ,

or deny her the mind to understand , or the heart to appreciate our principles ; but simply because , by the very organisation of Masonry , men alone could fill the duties it inculcates or perform the labour it enjoins . Speculative Masonry is but an

application of Operative Masonry to moral and intellectual purposes . Operatives wrought at the construction of the Temple at Jerusalem , while we are engaged in the erection of a more eternal edifice—the temple of the mind . They employed

their implements for purely mechanical purposes ; we use them symbolically with more exalted designs . Thus in all our emblems , our language and our rites , there is a beautiful exemplification and application of the rules of Operative Masonry ,

as it was exercised at the building of the Temple ; and as King Solomon employed in the construction of that Temple only hale and hearty men , and cunning workmen , so we , in imitiation of that great exemplar , demand , as indispensible

prerequisites to admission into our Brotherhood , that the candidate " shall be a man , free-born , of good report , of lawful age ; " and in possession of all his physical and mental faculties , that he may be capable of performing such work as the Master

may assign to him . Hence , it must be apparent that the admission of women into our Fraternity would be attended by a singular anomaly . As they wrought not at the Temple , neither can they work with us . But Masons love and cherish them

none the less . One of the holiest of our mystic rites inculcates a reverence for the widow , and pity for the widow ' s son . The wife , the mother , the sister , and the daughter of a Mason , exercise a peculiar claim upon each Mason ' s heart and

affections . And while we kuow that woman's smile , like the mild beams of an April sun , reflects a brighter splendour on the light of

Revile Not Masonry For Its Secrecy.

prosperity , and warm with a grateful glow the deep chilliness of adversity , we regret not the less deeply , because unavailingly , that no ray of that sun can illuminate the recesses of the Lodge and call our weary workmen from labour to refreshment . — Vo'ineroy ' s Democrat .

Masonic Jottings, No. 67.

MASONIC JOTTINGS , No . 67 .

By A PAST PEOVINCIAL GEAND MASTER . THE FOUR OLD LONDON LODGES . Brother , —You will find the following passage somewhere in "Preston ' s Illustrations . " "Thefour old London Lodges always preserve their original

power of making-, passing , and raising Masons , being termed Master ' s Lodges ; while the other Lodges , for many years afterwards , had no such power , it having been the custom to pass and raise the Masons made by them at the Grand

Lodge only . " THE APPELLATION OP ANCIENT YORK MASONS . According to Preston the Appellation of Antient York Masons is well known in Ireland and Scotland ; and the universal tradition amongst

the brethren is that the appellation originated at Auldby , near York . This , observes Preston , carries with it some marks of confirmation , for Auldby was the seat of Prince Edwin . *

WARRANT OP A HEAD LODGE . A Brother asks when , in the absence of a Royal Charter , was the Warrant of a Head Lodge first necessary in the South of England for the establishment of a new Lodge . — [ See a Jottingfurther on . ]

DR . PLOT , ASHMOLE . According to the only work in my possession ^ giving- information upon the subject of "A Brother's " inquiry , Plot was keeper of the Ashmole Museum in 1683 , when he was appointed Professor of Chemistry ; and the first part of his

" Natural Histories of Oxfordshire and Staffordshire" was published in 1677 , and the second part in 1686 . It is the second part which Bro . Findel cites in his history . Plot died in 1696 , Ashmole died in 1692 . Of the suo-o-ested communications between Plot and Ashmole respecting Freemasonry I know nothing .