Original Correspondence.

< iz . with the 17 th Freemasonry—but they were not acquainted with our Freemasonry , for it was then still in the womb of futurity . Bro . D . Murray Lyon some time ago stated that our Freemasonry " was manufactured by Dcsaguilliers and Anderson " about A . D . 1717 . And at ,,. 23 of the " Freemasons' Magazine and Masonic Mirror " for Inly nth-i iSfiS , wc find him saying— "The fact that

the Master Degree abounds with archaisms does not of itself contribute much to the settlement of the question of its antiquity . It is no breach of charity to suppose that its fabricators knew their mission too well to frame the ritual in language that would point to its modern orig in : hence tlic antique garb in which it is masked . " lt is not long since I read Bro . Hughan ' s words to the

effect that he could find no evidence to support the supposed existence of our three degrees before 1717 , nor , he added , of any degrees proper at all . As to the value of Dr . Plot ' s wording , little dependence can be put upon it , unless it can be practically proved that a horse-chestnut is just the same as a chestnut-horse . It is not mere verbiage that will do good here , but things .

And unless " a Masonic Student" can prove that the Pope and his advisers in 173 8 were ignorant of the subject , and there fore wrong when they stated that our Freemasonry at that time had only been recently formed , I fear that I must still hold on by the 1717 theory . " A Masonic Student " I dare say feels proud of the nominal adhesion of Bro Hughan to his " Guild Theory , " but although he had

half-a-dozen Bro . IIughans to cheer him on , I think it quite possible to send a shot through his said theory . As to what Bro . Hughan ' s Guild Theory is we have yet to learn . I asked him several weeks ago to give an independent explanation thereof , but as yet it has not been forthcoming . I am , yours fraternally , W . P . BUCIIAN . Glasgow , August 28 th .

HIGHRODIAMS . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — I am of opinion that the word " Highrodiams , ' is a corruption of " Herodians , " the latter being the name of a Mascnic Order formerly well known in England . Under the pseudonym of " Antiquarius , " I called attention

to the " Herodinn Order , " in the " Freemason , " of Oct . 1 , 1870 , and to save reference it may be well to repeat what was then stated as a quotation from Finch . " The Ilerodian Order , " treats of the Third Temple , built by Herod , King of Judaea , and what was there found , which , with the particulars relative to the attempt to build a fourth temple by the Emperor Julian , together with the Arch of

Constantine , and the Arch of C 1 , B of ] m , fully completes the discovery of Royal Arch Masons ; and ends the Order of Arch Masonry in a grand and sublime manner ; and renders the Arch with all its parts , the finest Arcanum in the whole Order . " The next degree mentioned by Finch is the " Red Cross \ of

Rome and Constantine , " and he also refers to " part of the Royal Arch secrets discovered by Constantine the Great , " being " no ways connected with the Christian degree called the " Red Cross of Rome and Constantine . " Under the title of Rosycrucian , " Finch observes , "This degree consists of five points ; the end of the third closes with the A of I C ; the other two carry us to the

discovery made in the year when the Emperor Julian impiously attempted to erect a fourth temple , contrary to the prophecy relative to the final destruction of the T—¦—C , & c . " I may add that these traditions are preserved in the K . H . S . Order , vide" Notes and Queries , " in "Freemason , " Oct . 15 , 1870 , and the principal legend may be found in

"Nicephorus Calhstus . " " Highrodiams , " or " Herodians , " evidently date back to 1746 , the interesting records of the lodge of Industry , Gateshead , conclusively proving that fact , they cannot , therefore , be identical with the " Order of Harodim , " which was " instituted at the Mitre Tavern , Fleet Street , January 4 , 1787 , " according to their " Plan and Regulations , "

now in my possession , and which I intend to publish . May 1 suggest that the words " Domaskin or Forin , " refer to the distinction made between " Operative and Speculative , " " Domatic and Geomatic , " ( sic ) " Home and Foreign " Masons , in the earlier decades of the eighteenth century ?

This is purely conjectural , but , in any case , I quite agree with Bro . Hughan "that 'Highrodiam' does not mean 1 Harodim , ' " and I venture to suggest that " Herodian , " considering the hazy orthography which prevailed in 174 6 , is somewhat nearer the mark . R . WENTWOHTII LITTLE .

THE "MASONIC MAGAZINE" AND WESTHORPE CHURCH . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — I am greatly obliged to you for your kind interest in my great work , and for the insertion of my appeal in the September number of the Magazine . I trust

that it will commend itself to my brother Masons , and that from them I shall receive substantial aid . These old churches were doubtless built by our ancient brethren ; and it is fitting that we should save their work from ruin and decay . The Masons of many parts of England have honourably distinguished themselves in tliis good work , and my Suffolk brethren , with our good Prov . G . AI . at their head , are taking the matter up warmly .

' trust that the fraternity generally will do the same , and they will earn the gratitude of Vours faithfully and fraternally , J . J . FAHNIIAM . Wcsthorpe , July 26 th , 1875 . [ We beg to refer all our readers to Bro . Farnham ' s interesting and Masonic statement in the September Magazine . We trust that it will both be read and answered by many of our Order . —ED . ]

Multum In Parbo; Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo ; or Masonic Notes and Queries .

HinilKODIAMS . Your translation of " Highrodiams " seems to me very likely to be correct as Harodim ( or Heredom ) . Would " Mcnatschims " occur to you for " Domaskin . " Some brother living at , or near , Gateshead should be able to assist you with the dialect of the district , which is very peculiar as you doubtless know , they ( in Newcastle ) cannot sound

the letter " R , " but give it the sound of W—as America , becomes " Amewica "—still there is a faint sound of the ' R , " and perhaps the way to spell it would be Amerwica —again , to-mowwow for to-morrow . Thus , a century ago , if they tried to spell the words as they pronounced them , it is now difficult to get at , and perhaps the middle class then spoke no better than the lower class do

( there ) now . I have heard foreman" pronounced frequently as " form un , " but this does not seem near enough to " forin , " but how they might pronounce it I cannot say . These are only rough ideas , but they may present the names to you in a fresh light , and enable you to work them out . If Hi g hrodiam is accepted as a corruption of Harodim ( or Heredom ) , and is taken to mean a grade , or degree ,

such as , for instance , provost ( which is really a chief ) , or priest , or whatever Herodom is believed to mean , then does not " Domaskin" seem likely to indicate another grade or degree when it is regarded as a corruption of " Menatschim , " prefect or overseer . " Prefect" means really " a governor of a Province , " therefore , a second ( or lower ) grade . If " forin " was originally " foreman , " it is , at once , but another name for " overseer . " S . B . E .

" Harodin , " as suggested by Bro . Woodford , seems a very probable solution of the difficulty , especially as it is not only similar in form , but also because there was a "Grand Chapter of Harodim" opened in London in 1787 . It was a school of instruction under a " chief Harod " ( Preston says ) , divided into different classes ; each class was presided over by a " Sectionist , " each section was subdivided under

" Clauseholders ; " when a member knew all the sections he was called a " Lecturer . " It was probably in existence as lately as 184 O . In this Grand Chapter , however , there seems to have been no recognised title ( at least recoided ) as " Highrodiams , " or anything like it , so , I venture to offer the following suggestion , not as a better one than Bro . Woodford ' s , but as

one which , being within the bounds of possibility , may lead to some further discovery . In the " Ancient Scotch Rite " there was a term " Sovereign Prince of Rose Croix de Heroden , " Heroden being the name of a mountain in the north-west of Scotland , where the first , or metropolitan lodge of Europe was held ( " Haeredum " [ Latin , heritage ] is also given [ by Ragon ] as the derivation ) . In 1754 the

" Kite of Perfection , " or " Heredom , " consisting of twentyfive degrees , mostly thesame as those of the "Ancient Scotch Rite , " and including "Rose Croix , " was established in France by the Chevalier de Bonneville . Recognizing in these two rites the " Rose Croix , " and taking into account

the titles " Heroden and Here'dom , " is it not possible that a corrupt form of them might have arisen , partly based , too , upon the term " High Rood " ( or Cross ) , or , as it was more anciently spelt , " Rode " ( Chaucer ) , thus : —Heroden or Heredom , High-Rode- ( ians ) , High-rod-iams ? WM . TEUIIS .

MASONIC MEDALS AND TOKENS . I described a medal in the " Freemason " of the 14 th of August , which , I believe , was presented to every brother who advanced money towards the loan raised in 1779 for the purpose of paying off the debt on Freemasons ' Hall , and I have just examined another medal which relates to the same subject . It is of silver , 12 inches in

diameter ; the obverse contains a female winged figure , draped in flowing robes ( Fame , I suppose ) , in the act of inscribing on a column " In honour of the subscri . " In her left hand she holds a trumpet , and also a scroll bearing an elevation of a building . The floor is a tesselated pavement ; in the background , to the left , is a building in course of erection surrounded by scaffolding . From the

top of the medal extend rays of light . There is also the date 1780 . The reverse contains this inscription , "To John Allen , Esq ., G . W ., in grateful testimony of a liberal subscription towards compleating their Hall , " surrounded by the words " Grand Lodge of Freemasons in England . " A ring at the top of the medal seems to indicate that it was worn by its original possessor , who , I observe , held

the office of J . G . W . m 1777 . The Emulation Lodge No . 21 , and the Britannic Lodge No . 33 , are each in possession of a precisely similar Medal , which is worn by the W M ., suspended within the square . Bro . Brackstone Baker , in his interesting notice of the former lodge , says : " The Emulation Lodge contributed to this fund ( Hall Loan Fund ) , and subsequently resigned its

claim for repayment , making the subscription a gift to the Society , and received the thanks of Grand Lodge for ' its liberal and generous present , ' and as a mark of distinction for the service thus rendered a medal was presented to it , to be worn ever afterwards in lodge by the Master for the time being . " Here we have a clear instance of the reason for which this medal was presented , and Bro .

Allen's was probably earned by a similar act of generosity . I therefore conclude that this medal was given to those who surrendered their claims for repayment , while that which I described on the 14 th of August was no doubt issued to each and every subscriber . A list of the contributors to this fund used to be given in the " Freemasons' Calendar . " In the publication for the year 1813 the names of 26 lodges appear ( all that sub-

Multum In Parbo; Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

scribed , I believe ); of these the following 17 are still in existence : — Grand Stewards ; Royal Somerset and Inverness , 4 ; Friendship , ( 1 ; Emulation , 21 ; Castle Lodge of Harmony , 26 ; St . Alban's , 29 ; Britannic , 33 ; Royal Cumberland , 41 ; Old Union , 4 6 ( then Union Lodge

of Freedom and Ease ); Love and Honour , 75 ; Shakespeare , 99 ; London , 108 ; Caledonian , 134 ; Unanimity , 154 ; Nine Muses , 235 ; Indefatigable , 237 ( originally Gnoll Lodge , Neath ) , and Harmony , 255 . It will be observed that I have given the present numbers

of the lodges . I am indebted to the valuable list in Bro . Hughan's " Memorials of the Union " for the means of doing so . It is quite likely that all of these lodges were not entitled to this medal , but it would be interesting to know how many of them possess one at the present time . E . S .

MAIIK MASONRY . We hear a good deal of Mark Masonry just now . Can any brother throw lig ht on its early history in this country ? That in old days the Guilds ) used marks is certain , and probably the old operative lodges did so . What . is the earliest date of a warrant for the present grade ? and how comes it that it was ignored completely at the Union ? A MASONIC AIUMI . KOLOGIST .

Snt CiiiusTOPiiEii WHEN . In answer to my friend Bro . Buchan , I spoke of the year 1720 as ( so far as my memory of the records served me ) , the period when the list of members of the " Lodge of Antiquity " commences , which is still preserved in the

archives of that ancient lodge . I he earlier documents are lost , excepting the MS . charges of A . D . 1686 , which are to be found in my " Old Charges of British Freemasons . " but even at that date mention is made of a Masonic Society , not connected with the " Company of Masons . " WILLIAM J AMES HUGHAN .

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS .

The General Committee of the subscribers to this school assembled at their usual monthly meeting , at Freemasons ' Hall , on the 26 th ult . Major J . Creaton , V . P ., presided , and was supported by Bros . Thomas W . White , H . A . Dubois , James Mason , Griffiths Smith , F . W . II . Ramsay , M . D . ; H . Browse , A . H . Tattershall , John A .

Rucker , Raynham W . Stewart , Robert Kenyon , Thomas Massa , S . Rawson , Thomas Kingston , Wm . Jones , Henry Dubosc , Leopold Ruf , D . Nicols , Major E . H . Finney , H . C . Levander . E . H . Thiellay , Joshua Nunn , and R . Wentworth Little ( Secretary ) . After the formal business of the committee had been transacted , an important notice of motion « as given by Bro . Joshua Nunn in reference to enlarging the

establishment . Two candidates' petitions were read and approved , and the committee afterwards adjourned .

A New Chapter At Barrow-In-Furness.

A NEW CHAPTER AT BARROW-IN-FURNESS .

Craft Masonry has been very flourishing for some time in this town , but hitherto the only Royal Arch Chapter in the neig hbourhood has been that held at Ulverston . This has been a great disadvantage to the Barrow companions , as the distance between the two towns is nearly ten miles ,

and it was felt that it would be most desirable to form a chapter to be holden in the town of Barrow itself . We have , therefore , heard with pleasure that a meeting of companions was held on Monday evening , 23 rd ult ., over which Comp . Cornfield , H . 995 , presided , at which resolutions were adopted expressing the desirability of

holding a chapter in Barrow , and a committee appointed for drawing up the necessary petition to Grand Chapter , and for taking all other needful steps for carrying out the idea . Companions Brooke , Hooker , and Haslam were nominated as the first three Principals . It is proposed to call the new chapter " The Abbey Chapter , " and to attach it to the Hindpool Lodge , No . 1225 .

Great Masonic Conference.

GREAT MASONIC CONFERENCE .

A great Masonic conference is announced to take place at Lausanne this month . Delegates from every Grand Lodge in the world are expected . It seems that there is a dreadful schism among Swiss Masens . Until a few years back they lived in republican style , without a Grand Lodge . A Supreme Council decided questions that arose . Just

before the war it was resolved to make a Swiss Grand Lodge , and the members of the Council cheerfully resigned their office . When the great war broke out this new body , speaking for the Masons of Switzerland , protested against it . By this act they gave umbrage to their Prussian brothers , who declared the protest an insult , seeing that the war had been forced upon their country . An apology

was demanded , and the Grand Lodge granted it . There were , however , many dissentients , headed by the members of the defunct Supreme Council . The breach has grown wider , and at this moment there is a talk of a secession . Peacemakers have applied to all the first authorities of the universe , and out of this dissension has sprung the idea of

a conference . The last was held in 1819 . French Masons have taken the leading part in arranging this great ceremony . I h ; ar no particular mention of English or American delegates , who , indeed , if all tales be true , would find themselves in an atmosphere quite strange amongst the Orients and the professors of the Scotch Rite , so called . — "London Daily Telegraph , " Aug . 26 th , 1875 .