High Life Below Stairs.

HIGH LIFE BELOW STAIRS .

/ "IT ~ HERE'S high jinks in the kitchen , of the craft . ° An ex-militiaman , from Uxbridge , has got in among the domestics , and half turned their heads . Even thc demure , stately housekeeper of the establishment plays second fiddle to the charming youth ,

and he is doing his best to turn the house out of the windows . Like all pampered menials , many of whom are often better off than their masters , this militiaman that was finds his good , wholesome bread too well

buttered , and aspires to be parlour company . Plain food no longer suits his palate , and , unthankful for the bread we give him , he is turning the knowledge gained in our service to his own private ends by carrying off the scraps and refuse to a deluded set of followers , who hail him at once as their master-mind .

For his dupes there is pity , for himself reprobation and admonition . If it was not that this servant may be laying the foundation of future complications , we might pass over his puerilities with a smile , and after having seriously

reprimanded him , permit him to resume his domestic duties . But , as he sets himself up to be greater than his employers , the matter must be brought to a definite issue , and every brother is bound to decide

whether the Grand Secretary's Office is to be used as a place of organisation for the sale of degrees and rites not contemplated ; by Grand Lodge , as well as that the matters there transacted should be made the subject of private pecuniary advantage to the domestic in question , and a tradesmen who has admitted he

pays him a heavy commission for such information . To test these matters and expose the nefarious traffic , notice of motion for Grand Lodge , and Grand Chapter , lias been given , in the following terms : — " That whilst this Grand j £ jJjer 1 recognises

the private right of every j brother . I t 0 belong 1 B J \ companion J = > . to any extraneous organisation lie may choose , it as firmly forbids , — now , and at any future time , — a 11 { companions } ' while en S S ed as salaried officials

under this Grand < Chafter I ' t 0 mix tnemselves U P > —in any way , —with such bodies as The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite : the Rites of Misraim and

Memphis ; the spurious Orders of Rome and Constantine ; the schismatic body styling itself the Mark Grand Lodge of England ; or any other exterior organisation whatever ( even that of the Order of Knights Templar , which is , alone , recognised by the articles of Union ) , under pain of immediate dismissal

from employment by this Grand i o ? , . \ •" There is no hardship in this course . An employee cannot be serving several distinct , and , —in some

High Life Below Stairs.

cases , —antagonistic interests at one and the same time , and therefore , so long as these men eat our bread , they must be restrained from dabbling in matters above their position . If they do not like the service all they have to do is to go about thenbusiness , the craft can do without themand then they

, will be able to indulge their plebeian aspirations for high jinks to any extent they may choose . At present they are our servants , and if they value the service must not attempt to play the masters .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for the facts , or opinions , expressed by any correspondent . He reserves to himself the right of deciding when any subject shall he discontinued , and of rejecting such matter as he deems unsuitable to THE MASONIC EXAMINER . Ez-cry communication must be accompanied by the full names , masonic rank , and address of the writer , not necessarily for publication , unless desired , but as a guarantee of good faith . These Particulars will always be treated as a confidential trust , close tyled . ]

THE NEW BASIS OF THE SUPREME GRAND COUNCIL OF THE 33 ° . To / he Editor of THE MASONIC EXAMINER . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER : —The S . G . C . of the 33 ° , sitting at Golden Square , London , arrogates to itself the right to supersede all masonic authority above the Master Mason ' s degree in this country . It totally ignores the rights and privileges of the "time immemorial" conclaves of Knights Templar , and , in its

published by-laws , places them under its ban . For such extravagant assumption the S . G . C . of the 33 ought to have an unimpeachable title in the validity of its own Rite . I propose in this , and some following communications , to investigate the foundation of its claims . In this letter I shall confine myself to the questionable authority it pretends to derive under the alleged Statutes of Frederick the Great , as these have

been recently reprinted , in Latin and English , by thc S . G . C . 33 ° , and advanced as the new basis of its pretended powers . My object will be to show that there is no external evidence , whatever , in favour of these Statutes , —said to be dated May 1 st , 1786 , —but that , on the contrary , they bear upon their face direct evidence of being a clumsy forgery . The most obvious and primary doubt that must first strike a

reader perusing these Statutes is the improbability of an astute monarch , like the King of Prussia , sanctioning certain unknown mediocrities assuming the power to create Knights , Princes , and even Sovereigns , for the gain of a few guineas . This , of itself , is so astounding as to be fatal to a favourable reception of the precious document . But when we have the most explicit testimony to rebut such an utter absurdity thc doubt must resolve

into a certainty . A glance at these disclaimers must dispel the illusion ; and the following are cited , from an abundance of similar declarations , to show how impracticable any such an occurrence must have been . Mirabeau , in his Ilistoire dc la Monarchic Priissiemie , states

that Frederick was never , even , Grand Master of the craft . VIlistoire Secrete de la Com- dc Berlin , ( 1789 ) , Vol . I ., p . 215 , shows that Frederick the Great was imbecile on the 1 st of May , 1786 , —the day these spurious Statutes are dated , —and that he had been gradually in a dying state for five months previous . The following authorities assert King Frederick was never a member of the novel grade of " Empire of the East and West , "

while they affirm it was well known that Rite had penetrated as far as Berlin , soon after its invention in 1758 , and though the king was cognisant of the fact , he altogether disapproved of the organisation . See this , borne out , in Vassal , Essai Uistoriqite stir P Institution da , TRit TEcossiiis , ( Paris , 1827 ) ,