Visits Between Lodges.

VISITS BETWEEN LODGES .

W"E note with pleasure that a proposition was made last week in the Confidence Lodge of Instruction that a deputation of its members should , a short time hence , pay a visit of courtesy to the United Pilgrims ' Lodge of Instruction at the Surrey Masonic Hall . Bro . Jas . Stevens , with whom the suggestion originated ,

deserves great credit for endeavouring to bring about so amiable an interchange of good fellowship between two Lodges , each of which is unceasingly engaged in teaching Masonic novices the way they should go . Nothing , indeed , ( is so likely to secure a complete uniformity of

practice in the working of our ritual as for members of different Lodges of Instruction officially to visit each other . The grounds on which Bro . Stevens principally based his ' proposal was , that it would tend to promote the kindlier feelings of our nature . No doubt this would be

a prominent result of visiting . We incline , however , to the belief that this would not be the onl y result . In a ritual which is not committed to writing , it is inev itable that occasional -variations should occur in rendering it . If slight differences are to be found in the different

published versions of a service that is printed , a fortiori , will such be met with in one that is delivered orally ? This may not , perhaps , be thought , at first sight , of any great moment . It must not , however , be overlooked that our forms of worship—for such they really are—were

settled deliberately , after mature reflection , by our earliest doctors , and only when they had taken counsel among themselves repeatedly , with a view to selecting the best and most expressive language . It is incumbent on us , therefore , to use our best endeavours to ensure the

observance of a literal accuracy in all our forms and ceremonies . It is not easy to select the best modes of expressing a particular meaning . It may appear to be a small matter whether " a" or " the , " " and " or " or " is used in this or iliat sentence , but even the substitution of one apparently

insignificant particle for another will oftentimes convey a meaning other than was intended by the fraraer of the sentence . When we acquiesce in the ideas which a man expresses , we accept the very words in which he conveys them , and no other . No two different combinations of

words or sentences will convey exactly the same signification . They may approximate very closely to each other , so closely , indeed , that the shadow of any difference is

hardly perceptible . When , however , we come to submit them to a thoroughly searching test , when we weigh the two combinations against each other critically , we find in the second of the twain a deviation from the first which

is more than merely verbal . It is common enough to hear people say—I like A . ' s version of the text better than I do B . ' s ; and there may be sufficient reasons for the preference . Were we now engaged in settling the language of our ritual , such , opinions would be of great value ; but

the ritual is already settled , and has been handed down to us through successive generations for a very long period of time . It is not , then , a question as between A . ' s version and B . 's version , which is the better of the twain , but whether either of them is the text as settled originally

by the Fathers of Freemasonry . As has already been remarked , these learned men took counsel with each other again and again ; in the first instance , what meaning it was they wished to express , and then what words would most accurately convey that meaning to craftsmen throughout all ages . This ritual , then , which has been handed down to us ,

Visits Between Lodges.

must be regarded as sacred from any and all verbal cbanges , lest by sanctioning tbe slightest departure from the original language we bring about an alteration of the original meaning . Words are but tbe clothing in -which we array our ideas . A being , forsooth , retains always his

identity , regardless of any change of apparel , but the idea varies as we vary its dress . We are bound in honour to respect the ideas of tho early fathers , and we shall best exhibit that respect by scrupulously retaining every word of the ritual they compiled for the edification of future

Masons . But we have said that slight verbal differences are inevitable in a ritual that is not committed to writing ; how , then , shall we secure that literal exactitude we proclaim as so necessary ? By the counsel one with the other of our most learned men . They it is who can best determine what was the exact meaning which the founders of

our ritual were most desirous of conveying . That once settled , it is then a comparatively easy task to point out tho language which expresses that meaning the most accurately . Here , then , is an excellent reason why Lodges of Instruction should meet and take counsel together .

In these Lodges are all , or nearly all , of our most brilliant Craftsmen . We all , indeed , at some time during our career , find it necessary to go thither , so that we may acquire the requisite knowledge of our duties . We may be very deeply imbued with the spirit of Freemasonry ,

acting on all occasions most strictl y in accordance with its beautiful principles . But a just appreciation of these principles will be of no assistance in the discharge of our official duties . Nor , for the matter of that , do we think that any brother ever fully comprehends the beauty of

Freemasonry , who has not—we will not say a literal , but at all events a good—general knowledge of our ritual . We can learn much at home in our own Lodge and by visiting other Lodges , but after all , it is to the Lodge of Instruction we must go , if we wish to attain to any degree of

perfection in the working of our ceremonials . The more , then , these latter cultivate among themselves the relations of friendly intercourse , the more comprehensive will be tho benefits they confer on Craftsmen . For these reasons wo rejoice most heartily that Bro . Stevens was minded to

bring forward his proposition the other evening , to the effect that the Confidence Lodgo of Instruction should pay a friendly visit to the United Pilgrims , at the Surrey Masonic Hall . If not as wide asunder as the poles , these two Lodges of Instruction are at some distance from each other . It is not

likely that many brethren are members of both . It will be a step in the right direction if the visit is paid . A return visit will , of course , follow , and thus gradually may spring up between the two not only those feelings of good fellowship which Bro . Stevens anticipates , but likewise greater accuracy and uniformity of knowledge .

These are the prospects that may be looked for from the interchange of such courtesies , and against these the most captious brother will experience some difficulty in setting any evil that is at all likely to follow . Brethren living north and south of the Thames , who are now without

knowledge of each other , will have the opportunity of becoming acquainted . A feeling of emulation may spring up between the members of the two Lodges , but it will be an honourable feeling , without the sli ghtest taint of jealousy about it . The rival schools of Larlham and of Gottheil will

find themselves vieing with each other which shall most distinguish itself in the pursuit after knowledge . As in the battle field , two regiments cheer each other onward in tho struggle who shall first reach thp post of honour , so will the Confidence and United Pilgrims' Lodges of Instruction