An Outsider's Opinion.

liquidate the debt on the recent improvements on their hall , Mr . A . H . B . Constable , replying- , to an introductory address thanking him for his attendance , said the duty he had been asked to perform was to him a very pleasant one , and at the same time a very interesting one . He had not the

honour of being a member of the great Brotherhood of Freemasons , but as far back as he could remember he had always looked upon the Freemasons and their very curious rites with something of the superstitious sort of wonder with which the ancient Briton must have looked on and trembled while

the Druids performed their mystic rites on those old stone circular temples that still remained amonp- them to that day . It was a curious and impressive institution , the Institution of Freemasons , with their strange signs , their wonderful emblems , their curious devices , their high-sounding titles , and

even their gorgeous apparel . It had always seemed to him one of the most interesting and impressive things about Freemasonry that in spite of all the efforts of Eve and of Eve ' s daughters they had never yet succeeded in getting at the secrets of the Craft . There were people who told them that

as women progressed poor mankind must sooner or later be content to take a back seat . Ladies were beating them at school and college ; they had now invaded every profession ; they conducted pioneering expeditions in unknown lands ; they had fallen fighting in the trenches . They had

even taken to wearing men ' s clothes , or , at any rate , some of them . Though . women never could or would be Freemasons , they had that sweet forgiveness about them that on an occasion like the present they turned out to help them . In spite of the treatment they had received , whenever

Freemasons were in difficulties , whenever a Lodge like theirs wanted a helping hand , they were ready to turn up smiling , and do what they could to help in the achievement of the object in view . Proceeding , he said Lindores Lodge were doing yeoman service in promoting the great cause of

universal Brotherhood . There was , he said , no nobler sentiment which any society could set itself to promote , and it was due to that that Freemasonry had made the position which it held throughout the world to-day . If that was a good object to serve , then there remained but one thing to do , and that was

to serve it with all their might and main . They had before them everything that man , or even woman , could desire , and he was sure the members would have the double satisfaction of knowing that not only had they made good bargains , but that they were serving a great and a good cause .

Influence Of Masonry On Architecture.

INFLUENCE OF MASONRY ON ARCHITECTURE .

AS to the influence of Freemasonry on architecture much has been said , and great authorities are divided in their opinions as to what extent Freemason influence prevailed . As early as the time of Canute , associations under the name of " guilds" were established for religious

purposes . Similar brotherhoods afterwards developed into comoinations of merchants for mutual assistance and protection , and were followed in the fourteenth certury by " craft guilds , " which , as their -name implied , were unions

of handicraftsmen—the- principal guild being- that of the Freemasons . These societies' were the trade unions of the middle ages , and flourished at a time which has been called the " Golden Age of Architecture . "

The Brotherhood of Freemasons arose from the circumstances in which the travelling builders of the middle ages found themselves placed . They could not settle down in their towns or villages and labour like shoemakers , tailors , bakers , and others , as their work brought them together

from distant towns—away from their homes—to be employed for a considerable time on such great works as our mediaeval cathedrals and churches . When travelling from one town to another in search of work , it was thought that great assistance and mutual benefit could be given to

one another if the Masons possessed a set of signs by which all Masons could recognise one another as such , and also by which each man could make known his grade to those of similar rank , without further trouble than a manual sign or the utterance of some recognised pass-word . This was

decided on and assented to by groups of Masons , who , meeting in a shed near the structure upon which they were employed , established the original " Masons' Lodge . " Before all other things it was necessary that Masons should be "Free and Accepted . " The entrance into this order , as indeed into all others , was , in accordance with the spirit

Influence Of Masonry On Architecture.

of the times , surrounded by mysterious rites and ceremonies , and all such societies had their peculiar lore and traditions . One of the Masons' rules was that each member was bound by oath to give notice to his Lodge of any bad work done by any member , and the penalty , if such charge be proved

was expulsion from the Order . The tenets of the Freemasons were guarded in a most jealous manner , a remarkable instance of this being in the fact that in 1099 the Bishop of Utrecht was murdered by a Mason because he had extracted the secrets of the Order from another Mason .

The Brotherhood of Freemasons before the middle of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth centuries , it is generally admitted , was not sufficiently organised to have much influence on architecture , but at that time it is supposed to have assumed more importance , and to have been the

principal guiding cause in the great changes which were then in progress . The main influence of the Masons was architectural , and their organisations were both national and international , their gatherings being ruled over with great pomp by Master Masons , Wardens , and other officials .

The Masons were not the architects of the cathedrals and churches upon which they were employed during the prevalence of the Early English style ( thirteenth century ) , as during this period most of these ecclesiactical pieces of architecture were designed by their bishops and other well

educated persons . In the case of Exeter Cathedral , the transformation from Norman to Decorated was designed by Bishop Quivil . But in the fifteenth century , during the prevalence of the Perpendicular style , the Masons took the designing of buildings into their own hands , and thus became the architects .

Upon the origin of the term " Freemason" there is divided opinion . Some affirm that " Freemason" meant " Free-man , " others say it was derived from Free-stone , which is stone that can be easily cut into blocks and worked with a chisel , and may therefore be cut into any direction .

There is little doubt that the Masons were reverent men , and loved their work . One fact that will tend to prove this is that the most beautiful pieces of carving in many of our cathedrals are sometimes in corners and crevices where they have very little , if any , chance of being seen by the ordinary

observer . As the Masons were obliged to travel from one part of the country to another in search of work , it will be seen that , as an organised body , they must have had no small influence on architecture , as they carried their notions and ideas into all districts where they were employed .

Hundreds of Masons' marks are to be seen on the stonework in Hexham Abbey , an evidence of the precautions taken to prevent bad workmanship . Every Mason was required to cut his own special mark on the stonework he had executed , so that in the event * of its being condemned

the workman could be punished . This assured the hi ghest standard of excellence . Writers on the architecture of the middle ages refer eulogistically to the influence the order of Masons had upon the workmanship of the period . It is beyond doubt that it is to the exacting methods of this

Fraternity that we owe the remarkably good condition of our magnificent cathedrals , structures which will be standing intact when much of our first-class modern work has hopelessly perished . —Guy Wilfred Hayler , in the " British Architect . "

It is wonderful how the deli ghts and griefs of life blend together and cannot be separated . The one enriches the other , and from their union there results a blessing to all who

are rightly exercised thereby , as they broaden and sweeten our lives . How sweet the memory of our beloved dead . How their virtues grow and errors fade , and what comfort to know that they were our friends . —L . L . Munn , Illinois .

* * There are , says an American writer , nearly a hundred Masonic publications in the United States , ranging in price from cents to two

50 dollars a year , any of which , by constant reading , would break off the rough corners of ignorance and polish the mind to such a degree that the possessor would behold beauties in Masonry of which he never dreamed

Good ritualism is no sign that a Brother is a good Freemason ; nor is it evidence that he is a bad one , but it is evidence that he thinks enough of the Order to devote much valuable time to it , which should always be something in his favour , — " Texas Freemason . "