The Secrets Of Freemasonry.

Master of a Lodge will know the secret 3 of the Craft , and every initiate will receive them when the degrees are conferred upon him . Mny the Grand Architect hasten the arrival of that happy day . —Keystone .

The Mallet.

THE MALLET .

PERHAPS no Masonic appliance or symbol is possessed of such deep and absorbing interest to the Craft as the Master's mallet or gavel . Its name is derived from its shapr * , which is that of tho gable or gavel end of a house . It comes from the Gorman " giebel , " or " gipfel , " gable or peak . Mackey says that its true force is that of

the stonu-mason ' s hammer , having a cutting edge that it may be used to break off the corners of rough stones . No Masonic emblem can lay claim to an antiquity so remote . So early as the year 1462 its use as a Masonic symbol was clearly recognised ; it was also used as a religious -symbol

in the Middle Ages , and was made use of to establish proprietary rights over land and water . This was done by throwing the mallet at full swing , and all ground travorsed was immediately acknowledged as the possession of the person casting tho hammer . In very early stages

the mallet was used as a signal , by which Gothic Courts were convened . When the Judge ordered a tribunal to assemble , a mallet was carried round , and tho people , seeing the emblem of judicial authority , instantly repaired to the appointed place . Grimm informs us that the

hammer-stroke with which the auctioneer concludes a sale is derived from this custom . In Northern mythology , Thor , the strongest of the Norse gods , was always represented with a mallet , called Miolner , which possessed most wonderful properties and virtues . When belted with

the meginjardir , or girdle of prowess , and armed with his hammer , the god was irresistible . It will thus be seen that , as an emblem of authority , the mallet has been handed down through successive ages to our own day , and when , in the hands of the Master of a Masonic Lodge , it

sounds the decision of any question , the blow is merely the re-echo of a power which has been current for centuries . At the installation of the Master of a Lodge , he is presented with this implement of labour and informed that it is an emblem of power and the outward symbol of his

authority over the Lodge , and of the tenure by which he holds his office . Without it , he is impotent to rule and govern tbe assembled brethren . When it is wielded with skill , the Freemason within hearing of its knock at once bows with alacrity to the emblem of might . The Lodge is

convened by its blow , which signifies that the Master has assumed the duties of his office , and calls to order and submission ; and as , when Thor lost his mallet , a portion of his divine strength was gone , so , when the Master lays his gavel aside , his authority is at an end . —San Francisco Gall .

Worcestershire And Freemasonry.

WORCESTERSHIRE AND FREEMASONRY .

A PLEASANT series of events has been associated with the Centonary of Lodge 280 of the Order of Freemasonry . Few secular institntions have created so much attention and interest as this Order . In the first place , it possesses all the glow aud piotnresqneness which come from historic prestige . Nobody knows , for instance , the derivation of the word Mason in its primitive sense .

The greatest philologists have tried to trace it back to its ori gin , bnt have failed . The literary origin of the word is lost in obscurity , bat Masons have been a factor in history since Hiram , King of Tyre , sent a number of them to David in order to build a house for him . From

the earliest days strength and art were combined in this occupation , To this moment , nobody quite understands how the ancient Masons among tho Egyptians managed to raise stone structures as mnch as thirty feet in length without mortar . All we know is that

Obedient to the Mason's call , They roll the stone and raise the wall . How came this term to be associated with what is now known as Freemasonry ? The answer is not easy . It may be that Freemasonry can be dated back even to tbe time when the Tower of Babel was

erected . ThiB is one extreme theory ; the other—extreme perhaps on the opposite side—is that it came iato existence in this country about the time of the Crusades , and that as the Masons moved from place to place , seeking employment upon Cathedrals , Abbeys , or other ecclesiastical edifices , they exchanged secret sigDs by which

they recognised each other , and proved that they were real profioientB and not mere pretenders iu their art . This last idea as to tbe comparatively recent origin of MaBonry is inconsistent with the

faot that it has long since prevailed in remote corners of the world , and that men with no language or nationality in common can understand each other by Masonio signs . Perhaps one of the moat remarkable features of the Masonio

Worcestershire And Freemasonry.

Order is the fidelity sbown to the pledges of seoresy entailed iu initiation . One of the greatest evils of the present age is unrestrained garrnlousness . Every day characters are whittled away , indelible wrong is done , and hearts are broken , by idle words—not consciously charged , perhaps , with the poison of mali ' ce , but barbed with the equally deadly destroyer of flippant calumny . Bnt there is

one virtue which , even to the knowledge of outsiders , Freemasons possess in a supreme degree . They know how to keep a secret . The ingenuity shown by ladies in the extraction of confidences baa always been a source of admiration to the IHSS flexible sex ; but the most fascinating wife fails to lnre her husband into a dishonourable violation of the mysteries which attach to the Masonio Craft .

Even the old Latin motto , in vino verttus , does not apply to Freemasons in their most convivial moments . Self-restraint is * n excellent habit , and self-restraint seems to be a Masonio characteristic . Still more successful than the hospitalities and sentiments generated by Freemasonry are the splendid Charities it maintains . According to returns given in annual publications open

to all the world , in the course of last year the Board of Henevolenoe assisted cases of distress to the extent of about £ 10 , 1500 . The Girls' School boards , clothes , and educates 243 girls , and the Boys' School 263 boys , while the Benevolent Institution grants annuities to 409 persons , there being now 180 men and 229 widows on the fnnds . It is said that every Maaon becomes , in a small way , a philanthropist by tbe very faot of his admission to the Order , for

every one initiated in n Lodge under the English Constitution contributes a Bum towards the Fund of Benevolence . In addition to this , however , voluntary subscriptions amounting in the aggregate to more than £ 50 , 000 annually , apart from looal benevolence , are cheerfully bestowed . An organization which not only inculcates principles of goad nature and true charity , but gives practical expression to them to the extent indicated , must surely make an appreciable contribution in the world ' s stock of happiness . — Worcester Eerald .

The Lord Mayor P . G . W . and the Lady Mayoress , with their daughters , paid a formal visit to the Freemasons ' Girls' School , Battmea Rise , on the 10 th inst . Brother Robert Grey , the chairman , and the other members of the House Committee were in attendance to receive the Civic

party , who on arrival were conducted over the establishment , especial attention being devoted to the new Centenary Hall , now near completion . The children went through their calisthenic exercises with admirable precision , and

several part-songs were ' sung in a manner highly creditable to their teaching . Afterwards the Lord Mayor addressed the children and the staff of the School in exceedingly iaudatory terms . The Civic equipage and outriders excited much interest in the neighbourhood of the School .

The adjourned meeting of Life Governors of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , for considering the revised rules , was held on Wednesday , at noon , at Freemasons ' Hall . Bro . George Plucknett P . G . D ., Treasurer of the Institution , occupied the chair , and there were also present

Bros . C . H . Webb , J . S . Cumberland , A . M . Cohen , W . Harris Saunders , Stanley J . Attenborough , J . E . Le Feuvre , H . Dickey , W . A . Scurrah , Edward Hobbs , George Everett ,

George Corbie , W . Masters , J . Glass and the Rev . H . A . Hebb ( Head Master of the School . On the motion of Bro . John Glass , seconded by Bro . Le Feuvre , the following motion was carried : —

" That the by-laws , as amended by the Provisional Management and General Committee be submitted for approval at the next Quarterly Court . " Bro . W . H . Saunders gave notice of the following motions for the next Quarterly Court , on 31 sfc inst .:

—" 1 . —That a Petitions Committee be formed for the following , among other purposes , viz ., ( a ) To report , after striot inquiry , on every petition . (&) To report whether case should be for admission into the School , or , under Law 69 , to be educated out of the establish , ment , say at a voluntary or Board Sohool . ( c ) To make strict

inquiry into all last cases , with a view to their eleotion if really destitute and friendless . " " 2 . —That sons of Freemasons may be reoeived into the Institution , by election or otherwise , at a fixed sum of say £ 40 to £ 50 per annum . "

" 3 . —That all officers and employes shall contribute to an insurance and superannuation fund in connection with some high-olass insurance office , ouo-half of the premium to be paid by the

Institution , the other half by monthly deduction from salary or wages . " " 4 . —That brethren who have subscribed one guinea for six successive years shall be constituted Life Subscribers , and after twelve successive payments Life Governors , with all the privileges thereof . " A cordial vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings , after an exceptionally long sitting .

HOLLOWAY s PILLS . —Nervous Irritability—No part of the human machine requires more constant , supervision than tiie nervous system—for upon it our health—and even life—depends . These Pills strengthen the nerves and are the safest general purifiers of the blond . Nmisea , headache , giddiness , numbness , and mental apathy yield to them . They reliave in a summary those

manner distressing dyspeptic symptoms , stomachic pains , fullness at the pit of the stomach , abdominal distension , and regulate alike capricious appetites and confined bowels—the commonly accompanying signs of defective or diminished nerve tone . Holloway ' s 1 'iils are particularly recommended to persons of studious and sedentary habits , who gradually fall into a nervous and irritable state , unless some such restorative he occasionally taken .