Original Correspondence.

circumstances the chief men of the Democratic and Radical party have been joining the Masons and helping each other into office , and at this moment , owing to the solidarity between the Masons in office , the power of the Order is unimpaired . " I am , yours fraternally , A NON-POLITICAL ENGLISH FREEMASON .

THE RIGHT OF VISITING . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , _ Clauses in our Constitutions , Nos . 150 , 151 , and 152 , plainly show the right of Masons in good standing to visit any lodge , but Clause 151 , on the other hand , reserves the power to every W . M . to exercise his own discretion as

to the admission of any brother . The whole matter is exceedingly plain , and I suppose the sole cause of the correspondence on the subject has been the erroneous statement in the Freemason that one of the by-laws of the Royal Alpha Lodge excluded visitors . Such a by-law would unquestionably be unconstitutional . I do not suppose that any brother would desire to obtrude

himself where his presence was not acceptable , and it is quite a common occurrence in the provinces for a W . M . to request all visitors to withdraw for a period , when any specially private lodge question is about to be discussed " , nor did I ever hear of any objection being raised to such a request . My good friend Bro . Charles Fendelow has raised a wide

question by his query as to our Land Marks . These have been discussed at various times . Some years ago I published a paper on the subject in the Freemason , taking as a basis the 25 land marks as laid down by our late Bro . Dr . Mackey , than whom I know no better authority ; amongst these is the right of every brother under certain conditions to visit lodges , and there can be doubt that the

right of visiting constitutes one of the most important of our land marks . The W . M . of a lodge is supreme , and if he chooses to decline to admit any visitor on any occasion , I take it that he has a perfect right to do so , nor has any brother the right . to object . Wc may , I am certain , be quite sure that no W . M . would take such a step without cogent and ample reasons . —Yours fraternally , T . B . WHYTEHEAD .

OLD BOOKS AND MSS . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Nearly every week I read in either your correspondence or Notes and Queries columns about certain old books and MSS . relating to the early history of the Craft , & c . Many of these works are often quoted as authorities

in Masonic discussion . Is it possible to get authentic copies of these and translations of those not in English , or to see the originals ? Have any of the MSS . ever been printed in the Freemason ? A little information on this subject through your paper might be acceptable to others besides , —Yours fraternally , YOUNG STUDENT . April ist .

LODGES OF INSTRUCTION -u . INSTRUCTION MEETINGS . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I must apologise for a statement in my communication last week which would have been all right with an explanation I intended giving , but did not supply it .

Only on reading my letter to-day have I discovered he omission , to my great regret . I stated that the law had been laid down that" all Masonic meetings for practice must be under the direct sanction of a lodge and take minutes . " Practically this is so , because no one would doubt the application of Rule 15 S to a Lodge of Instruction . The actual ruling refers however to a weekly " practice

meeting , " held in the committee-room otour Masonic Mall at Shipley . For 58 years these meetings have been held , formerly at Baildon , then at Bradford , and for some years at Shipley . They were always strictly private , and minutes were not taken . I ought to add that these meetings were generally presided over by the W . M ., or , in his absence ( and

sometimes on special occasions ) by Past Masters . The officers sat in as convenient positions as possible , and as they would do in a private house exactly . The latter were appointed each night , so that the O . G . this week might be S . W . the next . In fact these " rehearsals , " for they are nothing more , are just the same as if held at my own house , and hence it would appear that to meet at a private residence the sanction of a lodge is necessary , & c .

It is a new theory , but it ought to be more widely known , for many are the transgressors at present . Of course I must accept the ruling of G . Reg ., and G . Sec , especially so as 387 wili benefit by the change in my opinion . Whether some lodges I know would find the change beneficial is to say the least very doubtful , and it is on that ground of more general utility that I interest myself in this matter . — Yours fraternally , J . RAMSDEN RILEY . April 4 .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , It appears useless and unprofitable to pursue this subject . The replies of Bro . "E . L . H . " in your impressions of the 14 th and 2 Sth ult ., are alone to the point , and I perceive he acknowledges the " crux" of the matter in his lastandlike me , he desires an authoritative

ex-, , position as to what constitutes a lodge of instruction within the meaning of the Book of Constitutions . This is what I want and asked for on the 7 th ult ., and to which luminary I may now apply to solve the difficulty appears more perplexing still . The letter of " PX . " in to-day s Freemason gives some " modern instances " worthy of consideration . Whilst I

hope to see both it and Bro . Ramsden Riley's in the same issue receive more attention than my own , neither touch the question , What is an instruction lodge to which Rules 15 S and 161 apply ? The exclusion of the word " general " from Rule 158 may , as " P . Z . " says , be an improvement , but I do not see that it leaves the meaning of the rule a whit clearer , and is therefore quite a doubtful amendment . Seeing that it is the only difference in this rule between the

Original Correspondence.

1 S 6 7 and 1 SS 4 Coestitutions , how can either the G . Reg . or anybody say that what Grand Lodge laid down in 1 S 74 is not correct , so far as Rule 15 S is concerned to-day ? If Grand Lodge is not an authority who is ? Surely it would be absurd to say that one of the meetings named by " P . Z ., " as held within the privacy of a purely Masonic

edifice , was and must be an instruction lodge within the meaning of the Book of Constitutions , but the other two were not ? If not , what are they ? I am appealed to in my own lodge , generally , as an authority—at present I find the distinction peculiarly inconvenient . — Yours fraternally , JUSTITIA ; April 4 th . ¦

THE ABUSE OF THE BALLOT . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I notice in your impression for March 28 th a letter from a correspondent who signs himself " Ballot , " in which he says he can vouch for the truth of an assertion which he makes that several candidates for admission into our ranks

were blackballed out of spite to other brethren of the lodge in which they were proposed . Such conduct is most unseemly , and although we may assume that such cases are exceptional , does not reflect creditably on the brethren who would be guilty of such mean and contemptible behaviour . With respect to a candidate not being in a financially

good position when proposed for initiation , I am of a very different opinion to many of our brethren , inasmuch as I would freely , admit any person proposed who was of a strictly good moral character , such being , in my idea , the most important consideration . —I enclose my card , and am , dear Sir and Brother , yours most fraternally , London , April 2 nd . MASTER MASON .

FRENCH FREEMASONRY . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I notice a correspondence in the \ Frcemason re French Freemasonry , perhaps the following notes , or some of them , may be useful : — " Logede la Chambre du Roi . " —This lodge was

constituted the 20 th October , 1745 . It was not originally " purely a military lodge , " as suggested by a correspondent ; but was composed of individuals attached to the person of the king , such as valets de chambres , pages , officers of the guard , & c . It is stated that amongst its members were several Capucins , and an almoner of the king . "Grande Loge Anglaise . " —The nth December , 1743 .

The Paris lodges elected as Grand Master the Due de Bourbon Comte de Clermont , a few votes being in favour of the Prince de Conti and the Marecha ! de Saxe . The Duke was installed the 27 th December . It was at this time that the Grand Lodge took the title of Grande Loge Anglaise de France , which title was retained until 175 6 , when it proclaimed itself as Grande Loge de France .

Le Chapitre de Clermont was established by the Chevalier Bonneville in 1754 , the High Grade being ^ that of Petit elu , as it was then termed , the same as practised by the High Grade Lodge formed at Lyons in 1743 . The "Chapitre d'Empereurs and d'Occident" was founded in 175 S at Paris . Its members were entitled " Souverains Princes Macons , Substitute generaux de l'Art

Royal , Grands Surveillans and Officiers de la Grande et Souveraine Loge de Saint Jean de Jerusalem , " Its working consisted of 25 degrees . In 1750 this chapter founded at Bordeaux a chapter entitled "Conseil de Princes du Royal Secret . " At this time there existed a lodge under the name of Saint Jean d'Ecosse , founded at Marseilles , 1751 . This lodge afterwards took the title of Mece Loge

Ecossaise de Marseilles , and , after the French Revolution , that of Mfcre Loge Ecossaise de France . It founded several other lodges in France and its Colonies . There was another lodge which also took the title of Mere Loge Ecossaise de France , the lodge originally called Loge dc Saint Alexander d'Ecosse , founded b y Louvain de Peocheloche . " Sovereign Council , Sublime Grand Lodge of the Great

French Globe . "—That this is the last name of the Sovereign Council of the Emperors , as stated by one of your correspondents , appears correct . I have set out above the whole of the latter ' s titles in full , by a copy of the acceptation by the Due de Chartres of the Grand Mastership in 1772 . Le Grande Globe de France would appear to be a Grand Lodge ( Scottish ) quite apart from the Grande Loge de

France and Conseil d'Empereurs , which two bodies appear to have been to some extent consolidated in 1762 by the appointment as Deputy Grand Master of the Grande Loge de France of Chaillon de Joinville , "Chef de grades eminen . " ( The Duke continued Grand Master until February , 1793 , when , for political reasons , he abandoned the office ) . uaiea 1701 trom

worm's patent , ^ cn « ugusr , , appears the way it is worded to have been issued by the Conseil d'Empereurs Grande et Souveraine Loge de Saint Jean de Jerusalem , with the approval , and at the request , of the Grand Master of the Grande Loge de France , Louis de Bourbon , whose seal was attached to it , it being signed by his Deputy . Morin appears to have made his application for the patent to the Grande Loge de France , who

communicated it to the proper authority , clearly showing that the High Grades were fully recognised by the Grande Loge de France , and that the last named was in harmony with the other powers who took part in the granting of the patent . It is probable that Don Martinez Pasqualis , armed with authority from Charles Stuart , dated 20 th May , 173 S , wandered about France founding lodges in various places . In

the year 1762 he appears to have been engaged in founding some lodges at Bordeaux . In the power given to Pasqualis Charles Stuart is described as King of Scotland , Ireland , and England , Grand Master of all lodges on the face of the earth . Pasqualis claimed that a lodge was founded at the sign of" La VilledeTonnerre , "RuedeBoucheries , Paris , by virtue of a charter granted by the Grand Lodge of London

dated 15 th May , 1732 , and another at Valenciennes ( French Flanders ) at the sign of the ' * Royal Exchange , " founded 27 th December , 1733 . It is stated by M . Eoubee ( writing about 180 S ) that there was in the middle of the thirteenth century a certain Jean ,

son of Phillipe de Valois , who created in trance the Order of " L'Etoile , " the Chevaliers wearing suspended from the neck a five-pointed star . —Yours fraternally , Paris , March 30 th . G . C . D ., 1744 . P . S . —The Grande Loge Symbolique Ecossaise dated its existence from the 12 th February , 18 S 0 ; their Temple was inaugurated the zGth March .

Original Correspondence.

ROYAL ALPHA LODGE . ; — To the Editor of "The Freemason . " T 7 r Dear Sir and Brother , . ; t Your leader in the Freemason , page 156 , reminds me of another version given at . the time in question ( I S JT ' I of the reason why Prince Albert did not join our Order / I was then told , by one who might have known it , that our

M . W . G . M ., the late IJuke of Sussex , expressed himself > . t 0 those in his immediate Masonic circle in regard to it tnu £ - When her Majesty married Prince Albert she told Him although he could not be allowed to take any share in her duties as Sovereign yet she would nevertheless promise not to have any secrets from him , to which Prince Albert made a similar promise that he also would never have any secret from her Majesty .

This promise on the part of Prince Albert was the . reason which prevented him joining our Order , although the Duke of Sussex may , perhaps , have wished him so to do . Excuse me for troubling you with these few lines ,- but they seem to me to be the more likely part of the story , and believe me , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally ' P . M . 192 . Ober Esslingen , March 31 st ..

AHIMAN REZON . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , In further reply to "A Student in Masonry , " I send you the full titles of the two books of 1 S 07 and iSjg ; " By permission of the Grand Lodge of Ireland . Bro . Downe ' s 2 nd Edition 'The Constitution of Freemasonry ;

or , Ahiman Rezon , ' to which is added a selection of Masonic Songs , Prologues , and Epilogues , and an Oratorio , entitled ' Solomon ' s Temple . ' Revised , corrected , and improved , with additions . Dublin : Printed by Bro . C . Downes , P . M . 141 , Whitefriar-st ., Printer to the Grand Lodge of Ireland . 1 S 07 . " Svo ., 220 pp . " The Constitution of Freemasonry ;

or , Ahiman Rezon , ' to which are added certain lectures , charges , and a Masonic Ritual . Dublin : Printed by Wm . Underwood , Eden Quay . 1 S 39 . " With it are "The Masonic Ritualist and Lecturer , " containing Lectures and certain parts of the Rituals of Freemasonry , by Bro . Ven . Archdeacon Walter Bishop Mant , P . G . M . of Carie and Dunluce , and the Ceremony of Dedication . J . E . L . F .

Reviews

REVIEWS

THE MAGAZINES ( Continued ) . " All the Year Round" has nothing very notable this month . Perhaps the most striking story is " Prince Ferendia ' s Portrait , " which is weird and sensational enough in all conscience . " Russet and Green " is effectively drawn out and ended . We cannot shut our eyes to the fact , however unwilling to do so , that our good old friend is becoming rather dull . Let us all hope for more lively numbers , and a somewhat more intellectual tone generally .

"Temple Bar" is distinguished by two biographies-Georges Sand ( Madame Dudevant ) and George Eliot ( Mrs . Cross ) , —which certainly stand out from the normal level of similar contributions , and markedly so . They deserve careful perusa \ . In both it is clear that the writers seek to do justice to the great centre figure of the story , and on the whole we deem successfully . George Sand , who braved

criticism in her lifetime , is , we think , deserving of fair consideration now that she has passed away . At the same time , allowing for the abnormality , so to say , and the eccentricities of genius , we cannot rightly justify her defiances of the constitutional laws and habits of Society and the world . Women are women , and ought to be women , let us bear in mind ever , and any attempt to adopt the dress or the tone

of men is always sure to bring its own _ punishment , and is deplorable in every sense for the best interests of Society . Erratic social arrangements , and a refusal to conform to the normal" customs and prejudices , if you like , of the world in which we live , are never , and can never be ; right or justifiable under any circumstances . As to Madame Dudevant ' s ability there can be but one opinion , —she was

an exceptionally gifted woman , and her works will remain " monumentum aire perennius " after her harassed and peculiar earthly struggles are forgotten altogether . Oj George Eliot ' sllife , we agree with her biographer , we shall never now find the real clue or the true secret . Like in this respect " stat nominis umbra , " or , like the man in the Iron Mask , we in vain attempt to | penetrate the "' mystery .

We can onlylspeakof herin tenderness and thoughttuiness . Those of us who have read , and read pleasantly , her many vivid and striking tales , constituting a very landmark m English imaginative literature , will always feel grateful for her many happy creations , her fertile works of power and of grace . But we should not be doing right if in this , as in the former case , we held up her " norma vivendi" p

subject of imitation or commendation . We can fairly y heartfelt tribute to her gifts and excellences as a S and we maysafely add , though her fame will not perhaps , li * c J ane Austin ' s , increase in living reality and effort as the years run on , yet that for our generation , at any rate , ka ™& Eliot ' s works will still have for us the charm whicn her contemporarieslhave most undoubtedlfound in tnein .

y We need not particularize here sundry popular character or rustic touches . Mrs . Poyser will , perhaps , live longe than any as a very truthful portraiture of common , realistic life . Of her other works , some will find fot favour than others , just as some seem to fall and otne Jjler rise above the ordinary flow of her forcible utterances , anon literary power . It is a curious fact in her story , that « 1

veritable authorship was once contested , and while local features of her effectively painted country scenery seemed to point unerringly to one locality , the claims or ^ pseudo author were soon contemptuously dismissed , ana Ccr-rrre . VMMt an / I r . anrcra ITIInH- zinnia , were P' ° " . .

honour , and praise at last accorded . Despite however , , huge admiration which her contemporaries have exP ^ jn and the homage they have professed , it seems to u ^ conclusion that it is somewhat doubtful whether alter she will really " hold her own " so to say , in the position ^ has acquired , beyond our passing generation .