Royal Arch.

ROYAL ARCH .

ALDERSHOT CAMP CHAPTER , No . 1331 . THE monthly meeting was hold ou Monday , 13 th ult ., at the Masonio Hall , Aldershot , the Principals present heing Comps . H . Williams Z ., W . Cpekburn H ., and E . Downs 3 . The meeting was asked to ballot for and , if approved , exalt Bro . Clarke , of the Aldershot Camp Lodge , and Bro . A . Weller , of the United Military Lodge , No . 1536 . The ballot proved unanimous , and both being in attendance the exaltation \ yas duly carried out in accordance with the

principles of Eoyal Arch Masonry . An interesting feature at the opening , says the " Aldershot News , " was the assistance of two Provincial or District Officers , who have recently joined this Chapter after an absence of some six years on foreign service . Both promised to take an interest in its future working . This , together with the intended joining of an old Past Master from the Panmure Lodge , will no doubt provide in the future for some slight relaxation on the part of those who have constantly been in harness for the past four years , and to whom all credit is due for the persistent energy with which thev have carried out all the duties of their offices .

Mark Masonry.

MARK MASONRY .

— : o : — ALDERSHOT MILITARY LODGE , No . 54 . THIS Lodge met on the 16 th ult ., under their W . M . Bro . J . Jenkins Kennett , to advance two Brethren who had already been approved , and to ballot for another candidate from the Aldershot Camp Lodge . Two of these Brethren were present , a , nd they were consequently admitted to tho full privileges of Mark Masons .

A warm welcome was extended to them , as they wero almost the "first fruits " from the adjoining town of Farnham , which , viewed from a Mark Mason ' s point of view , is almost virgin soil . No doubt others will soon follow their example . The exigencies of the service having removed the Junior Warden to Malta , the W . M . explained that although the Lodge would feel the loss , still as it had come in the form of promotion to the absent Brother , they must

not complain . He added that as the Junior Warden ' s chair was an important one , being entrusted with very special duties , he would confer brevet rank on his Master Overseer , and ask him to discharge the duties until the time came for rearrangement . It was unfortunate , indeed , that at this meeting most of the letters ot apology for non-attendance should come from the ranks of the Past Masters , and earnest hopes were expressed that in the New Year memories would be better , and difficulties much less than now appeared to be tho case .

, After the W . M . had given an impressive address on the courtesies observable between sister Lodges and the Brethren generally , the Lodge was closed .

DE TABLEY LODGE , No . 396 . AT a recent meeting of the Lodge , held at Prodsham , Bro . Joseph Abrahams , of the Ellesmere Lodge , No . 758 , Runcorn , was accepted and duly advanced to the degree of Mark Master . Afterwards Bro . F . A . Smith S . W . P . G . J . O . was duly installed in the chair by Bro . S . Davies I . P . M . P . P . G . J . W ., in a very impressive manner .

Wisdom, Strength And Beauty.

WISDOM , STRENGTH AND BEAUTY .

A practical view of the case . ONE of tho greatest beauties of Masonry is the way in which its mysteries appeal to all intelligences . To the Hebraist and to the Mystic it opens out a vista in which the Kabbalah plays an important part , and by its aid he may see lhe glorious perfection of all things under the symbol of King . Solomon ' s

Temple ; to the historian in a lesser degree it opens a vista of historical research dating from the Pyramids of Egypt to the present day ; to the antiquarian it appeals through scrolls and manuscripts , jewels , rebus , and what not . And , above all , it appeals to the ordinary man , whose time and tastes do not permit him to extend his reading in any of the above directions , as a

perfect system of morality , a state of fraternal equality elsewhere unknown , and as a system of symbolism , in some measure within the compass of his attainments . I use this phrase advisedly , not that I have any wish to decry the power of the ordinary Mason in grasping symbolism , but on account of the very complicated systems of Masonic symbolism which sprangup in thelast century ,

and nourished in the Masonic lodges held by such men as Cagliostro , Swedenborg and others in various parts of Europe . And perhaps more truth underlies the symbolism of the threo columns than in any other path of Masonry . I have in a previous notice of the Se \ jhirath in these pages mentioned the KabbalisHc derivation of the names and relative positions of the three columns

and shown h > w apt the translation is which we assign to them ,-it this day . But there is a practical way of regarding them , which is none tho less interesting , which every Mason is at liberty to work out for himself . As we now understand it we find the three columns : Wisdom—SKI ; Strength — HKT ; Beauty — IIAB ;

and I propose to show that no building can be complete without ; the conjoint action of these qualities , as the Temple of King Solomon wns not complete without the joint action of three great original Master Masons . Let us then consider the subject categorically .

Wisdom, Strength And Beauty.

( i ) WISDOM . This was the Wisdom of construction . By this may be understood the general lines of the building and the conception of its undertaking . This was , as is well known , the province of the fh'st of our Grand Masters , and it was from his hands that the

general lines of the building emanated . They were , as I have shown in a previous article ( The Jews and their Temple ) , exactly twice those of the Mosaic Tabernacle . The next point after the dimensions would naturally be the selection of materials , and the readiest method of employing those materials in an economical

and scientific manner , and this branch may very aptly be termed the civil engineering of the building ; the binding together of the weaker parts and massing of materials where they are most needed to resist pressure or thrust from the roof . This it will be seen is purely a matter of science in which beauty has no part whatsoever ,

as witness the highly utilitarian construction of such Government buildings as barracks , workhouses , and such buildings , which are erected solely with a view to efficiency consistent with cheapness . In this way construction should never be the sole object in erecting any architectural edifice , but should be modified to a great extent

by the hand of the architect , who , as will be presently shown , disposes of the beauty of the building . For whereas the civil engineer disposes his materials so as to combine a minimum of cost with a maximum of strengh , the architect so arranges his work as to allow a margin of strength that he may to a certain

extent take liberties with his building , and by this means alone even obtains architectural effects of solidity , which no amount of applied ornament could effect . Take for instance the Egyptians or the Greeks , who were , as I have shown in a previous article , fully acquainted with the use of the Arch . How often do we

find it in their buildings ? Very seldom . Why ? because it would introduce complications in construction , thrust and pressure , which would tend to tear their edifice to pieces . In later days , however , this principle became much neglected , particularly by the French and German Freemasons , who rather

prided themselves on their skill in construction , and who , in the end , reduced some of their cathedrals to a mass of thick ungainly piers and buttresses . In England , however , it is satisfactory to note that the beautiful vaulting of some of our cathedrals saved the English Freemasons from falling into the

evil ways of their French aud German confreres . But let it not be supposed that the construction must be disregarded or concealed . The eye naturally seeks for it , and though " mass " is an important factor , it must not overlie construction . Take St . Paul ' s Cathedral in London , or its prototype St . Peter ' s at

Borne ; these all have sufficient strength for architectural effect , but the construction is lost , hidden away , and the main supports grouped together in a few huge masses , so much so that the spectator cannot estimate the dimensions of the building . Bead what Mark Twain says about St . Peter ' s at Borne , and you will

at once see that he did not estimate the size of the building until he saw a workman repairing a pillar hanging by a rope to do so , and he at once described him as being like a spider hanging by a strand of his web . This at once explains all ; the huge dimensions of St . Peter's were lost to Mark Twain ' s eye , and he

was unable to grasp them . The Gothic Architect would have of course adopted a far different plan ; he would have split up his masses into a series -of piers and thus accentuated the construction instead of hiding it . From these few points both

for and against construction , we may see that Wisdom , or in other words purely scientific principles , can never be utilised alone in the rendering of any great Architectural construction , but must be aided by the two following considerations of Strength — " Stability aud Material , " and Beauty— " Artistic Adornment . "

( ii ) STRENGTH . By this is meant not only the sheer strength which is to support the roof and resist the various forces at work to disintegrate the building , but also the artistic strength over and above the mere mechanical strength above referred to , which

makes the building as it were a monument likely to withstand the shocks of time . Look at the Pyramids , what more stable than they and the Parthenon , which has been used as a powder magazine , the contents of which even have exploded , and yet ifc remains . Those readers of the I . M . B . who have heard Mr .

Henry Holiday lecture on the Parthenon , and who have seen his beautiful model of the building as restored by himself , can realise its stability . Look at the area of its grand columns at their base , tbirfcy-three feet , an area almost unequalled in the history of that particular epoch . The Pantheon at Bome , though a majestic building , sinks into comparative insignificance beside the

Parthenon , though both are much of the same size . Why ? Because the pillars of the Pantheon are smaller and taller , because they were more constructive . Take again the chapel of St . John , in the Tower , how grand and strong are its columns , though it may be whispered that this was due to clumsiness of the Masons , rather than to anything else . But the principle applies wherever one looks . Does a brick and slate cottage look