The Latest Denunciation Of Our Order.

of their Order . These are Brotherly Love , Relief , and Truth . They who observe these are the enemies neither of religion nor of society . Bishop Dupanlonp cannot but remember that —to mention a single case only—a Bull was launched against

Freemasons by Pope Clement VIII ., in 1738 . Since then Freemasonry has gone on flourishing more and more every day . In those days , we were , comparatively speaking , a small and uninfluential Order . Now we are legion , and are recognised by Kings and Princes , between whom and

revolution there is certainly nothing in common . This prelate appears to have ' aken a leaf out of the book of a certain Professor Robison , who sought to prove that Freemasonry was at the bottom of everything opposed to

religion and good government . He might have studied to far greater advantage " The Ingoldsby Legends , " especially that particular legend , the " Jackdaw of Rheims , " in which we read : —

Tho Cardinal rose with a dignified look , He call'd for his candle , his bell , and his book ! In holy anger , and pious grief , He solemnly cursed that rascally thief ! He cursed him at board , he cursed him in bed ;

From the sole of bis foot to the crown of his head ; He cursed him in sleeping , that every night He should dream of the devil , and wake in a fright ; He cursed him in eating , he cursed him in drinking ,

He cursed him in coughing , in sneezing , in winking ; He cursed him in sitting , in standing , in lying ; He cursed him in walking , in riding , in flying , He cursed him in living , he cursed him dying!—Never was heard such a terrible curse ! But what gave rise to no little surprise , Nobody seem'd one penny tho worse !

Labour And Refreshment.

LABOUR AND REFRESHMENT .

THERE is , we fear , too marked a tendency in very many Lodges to hasten through its labours , with a view to entering , as soon as possible , upon the business of refreshment . Refreshment , after the Lodge is closed , is often necessary , and always proper , for the Brother who has not

done a good day's work by the time he attends the meeting is the exception , not the rule . It may be recorded as an axiom , that every member of every Lodge in town and country will take , at home , a something to recruit " the inner man , " when the Masonic duties of the day are ended .

There is not only no harm therefore , but , on the contrary , much good done by his taking that something in the company of his brethren . It promotes , aye , is intended to promote , good fellowship . Man , being a gregarious animal , can never fail to reap some benefit from the society of his

fellows , and Masons , who never assemble formally but for mutual enlightenment or the promotion of some worthy object , are not likely to be an exception . But it is possible to carry a matter too far , and doubtless it is within the experience of most of our readers that the time set apart for

labour often compares somewhat unfavourably with the time devoted to refreshment . The other day we commented on a recent article in the Saturday Eeview . The good taste of the writer was about on a par with his knowledge of our art . His idea of an " Emergency Meeting , " and the reason he

assigned why Popery denounced us so strongly no doubt answered the purpose for which they were written . The ignorant laughed at the sorry jest , while it fell quite harmlessly on ns to whom Masonry is no secret . For ourselves , we saw in the reception by the Great City Lodge of our respected

Brother , the Lord Mayor , only an act of homage , gracefully rendered to a Mason , who , by his own merits , had risen to be Chief Magistrate of this city . To this the banquet , though on a grander scale than usual , was , as all our banquets are meant to be , certainly subsidiary ;

and few , we imagine , will deny in this particular instance its necessity , considering the number of hours that had first been set apart to the fulfilment of Masonic duties . While , then , we readily concede that all men who have laboured

diligently are entitled to take not only rest , but refreshment likewise ; while we admit that an occasional banquet is perfectly legitimate , and promotes good feeling among members , we must still caution our readers against making the banquet of primary instead of subsidiary importance . Lodges which , encourage " feeds" that are either too ex . -

Labour And Refreshment.

pensive or too protracted , furnish such silly writers as our Saturday Reviewer a certain shadow of an excuse for their attacks on Masonry . Moreover , apart from this , there are many reasons why the business of a Lodge should not needlessly be curtailed .

Masonry inculcates many sublime truths by means of a very beautiful symbolism . To what better purpose can we devote a portion of our time in Lodge than to an earnest study of these truths , and the symbols by which they are illustrated ? We have more than once expressed our

conviction that those who seek and gain admission into our Order , do so with a sincere desire to obtain , to use a familiar phrase , more light . But how shall any obtain this light , except by study on their own part , and the instruction of older and more experienced Masons ? A knowledge

of Masonry is no more to be obtained by the unaided light of nature , than is the knowledge of any other art or system ; nor can a Mason , who has learnt by rote certain formidce , and is able to repeat them faultlessly , be said to have acquired a full knowledge of the Craft , any more than

a man who has learnt by heart the rules of the Latm Grammar can be pronounced a good Latin scholar . Just as in the study of the Latin language a man must know not only the rules of grammar , but become familiar with the meaning of words , of sentences , of idioms , just as afterwards he must master the different constructions

of sentences , and their relation to each other , and then advance to the more difficult , yet far more enjoyable task of reading an author , so as to grasp his meaning , and the allusions he makes to the history or social habits of those who spoke the Latin tongue ,

as well as note the beauty of style that should be imitated , or the looseness pf construction that must be avoided , so in Masonry . Familiarity with certain formulas , the nature of which our readers will understand , though we are forbidden to specify them , is only the first step

in the acquirement of Masonic knowledge . When we have mastered these , and—seeing that nothing can be writtenthe effort is no light one , we have only , so to speak , mastered the grammar of Masonry , and a mere knowledge of words and sentences . We still have to learn its construction ,

how this fits with that , how these with those . Then , as in the study of everything that is veiled in allegory , there is still to be acquired the hidden meaning of the many symbols we use , and why we use them . Hence the Lodge of Instruction , so that novices may gradually become more

and more proficient in our ritual . Hence , also , the lecture by some experienced and learned brother , when the hidden meaning of all that is beautiful and good in Masonry is made clear to us , so that we can realise , in some measure at least , the immense value of the art we have taken upon ourselves to

study . If brethren will only bring themselves to think so , this kind of Masonic work is infinitely preferable to the mere study of the want of the inner man . We fully appreciate the good things of this life . We feel , indeed , something akin to contempt for the man who decries ,

avoids , or wilfully misuses them . But mere enjoyment of this particular kind is not the " be-all and end-all" of Masonry . Non-Masons enjoy themselves , and are all the better for the enjoyment . But , in becoming a Mason , a man voluntarily commits himself to the fulfilment of certain

duties . He hopes that , in the fitness of time , he will attain a certain rank in the Craft , that so his sphere of usefulness may be more and more extended , and his ability to serve Masonry and mankind in general become greater and more effectual . But all this is only attainable after a zealous

course of labour , and the Lodge it is which must afford the opportunities for labour . A Lodge which meets periodically for the purposes of instruction in our mysteries may justly take a pride in the work that it does . A brother who takes upon himself to enlighten his fellows in the

beauties of the Masonic ritual , and the lessons to be learnt therefrom , does equally good service . With all due respect to our brethren , we should like to see more acconnt taken of labour , and less of the banquet . This latter , as we have said , is mostly necessary , but it is not of primary

importance . Let silly people laugh at us if they will . He laughs longest who wins , and Masonry is bound to win the respect and affection of all , as it has of most , creeds and nations .

And he who laughs loudest has the least sense , in accordance with the old and often quoted adage—none the less true because old and often quoted— " The loud laugh betrays the vacant mind . " The Pope may damn us—let not our readers be affrighted at the word , which is Scrip-