The Welsh Man's Inventory.

THE WELSH MAN'S INVENTORY .

rpHE following burlesque upon the goods and chattels of a Welsh JL gentleman is copied from a quaint old broadside which formed one of the miscellaneous collections of the British Museum Library . " Thc Infentory : —Han infentory of the Couds of William Morgan , ap Renald , ap Hugh , ap Richard , ap Thomas , ap Evan , ap Rice , in the county of Glamorgan , Shentloman .

Imprimis , m the Pantry of Poultry ( for hur own eating ) . —One creat pig four week old , one coose , two black-puddings , three cow-foot . Item , in the Pantry of Plate . —One cridiron , one fripan , one tripan , three

wooden ladle , three cann . Item , in the Napery . —Two towel , two table-cloath , four napkin , one for hurself , one for hur wife Shone , two for cuseu ap Powell , and Thomas ap Hugh , when was come to hur house .

Item , in the Wardrope . —One Irish rugg , one frizo skirkin , one sheepskin tublet , two Irish stocking , two shooe , six leather point . Item , in the Tary . —One toasting shees , three oaten-cake , three pint of cow-milk , ono pound cow-putter . Item , in the Kitchen . —One pan with white curd , two whito pot , two red herring , nine sprat .

Item , in the Cellar . —One firkin of wiggan , two gallon sower sider , one pint of perry , one little pottle of Camarden sack , alias Metheglin . Item , in the Armory of Weapon to kill hur enemy . —One pack-sword , two edge , two Welsh-hook , three long club , ono cun , one mouse-trap . Item , in the Garden . —One ped carliko , nine onion , twelve leek , twelve worm , six frog .

Item , in thc Leas-way . —Two tun cow , ono mountain calf . Item , in-tho Common field . —Two Welsh nag , twelve long-leg'd sheep , fourteen and twenty coat . •: Item , in the Proom-closo . —Three robin-run-holc , four hare : hur own coeds if you can catch hur .

Item , in the Parn . —One half heblot of oato , seven pea , two pean . Item , in the Study ( py Cot hur was almost forgot hur!)—Ono Welsh Pible , two almanac , one Erra Pater , one Seven Champions ( A ) , for St . Taffy sake , twelve pallat ( B ) , one pedigree . Item , in the Closet . —Two straw-hat , one "louse .

Item , in the Pod . —Two naked body , one shirt , one flannel smock at hur ped ' s head . Item , more Cattle apout the house . —Two tog , three cat , twelve mouse ( hur was eat hur toast cheese ) , 1 , 000 white flea with plack pack . Item , more Lumber about tho house . —One wife , two shild , ono call hur plack Shack , and t other little Morgan .

Item , in the Yard , under the wall . —Ono wheel , two pucket , one ladder , two rope . This infentory taken Note in the Presence of hur own Cusen Rowland

Mendeth , ap Howell , and Lewellin Morgan , ap William , in Anno 1849 ( c ) upon the Ten and Thirtieth of Shun . The above-named William Morgan dyed when hur had three-score-and-twenty years , thirteen months , one week , and seven days .

A Note of somo Legacy of a creat deal of Goods bequeathed to hur Wife and hur two Shild , and all hur Cusens , and Friends , and Kindred , in manner as followeth : — Imprimis . —Was to give hur teer wife , Shone Morgan , awl hur coods in the ped , over the ped , and under the ped .

Item . —Was to give hur eldest sun , Plack Shack , 40 and 12 card to play at Whipper-shinny , 4 try to sheat hur cusen ; beside awl hur land to the full value of 20 . and 10 shillings 3 groats per annum . Item . —Was to give to hur second sun , little Morgan ap Morgan , hur short ladder under the wall in the yard , and two rope .

Item . —Was to give to hur cusen Rowland Merideth ap Howell , and Lewellin Morgan , whom was made hur executor , full power to pay awl hur tetF , when hur can get money .

Seal'd and delivered in the Presence of Evan ap Richard ap Shinkin ap Shone , hur own Cusen , the Tay and Year above written . "

( A ) Tho " Seven Champions of Christendom . " ( B ) Ballads . ( c ) It is supposed that this broadside was published about the middle of the seventeenth century , and it may have been antedated for the sake of adding to its grotesqueness . " Book of Rarities , " by Edward Roberts P . M .

The Secrets Of Freemasonry.

THE SECRETS OF FREEMASONRY .

Paper read by Bro . Capt . J . H . Leslie D . G . J . W . Punjab , at the Communication of the District Grand Lodge of the Punjab , on 27 th

December 1894 . WHEN you reflect what Freemasonry really is , you will at once perceive that it is not every educated man or cultivated mind which is so constituted as to be able to appreciate the beauties of its imagery . How much less then is an imperfectly educated man , or a mind of a lower order likely to appreciate it ? The characters and attainments of men should be considered before they are admitted , or even proposed as Freemasons . The Constitutions

speak distinctly on the point , and Masonic writers in all times have noticed how great an injury has been done to the Craft by neglect of this matter . We must aim at a high standard , and it lies with all Freemasons to trv to attain that standard . The majority of uncultivated minds demand , require , or are satisfied with , a lower state of things than most cultivated minds rc-quire , and the lowered requirement inevitably leads to a general debasement of ideas and a grosser standard of thought . That this has occurred in Freemasonry by indiscriminate admission of members is certain . By this in the

The Secrets Of Freemasonry.

past , the shadow has been mistaken for the substance , pure ideal emblems have been treated as though they wero a fetish-like power . Even our Lectures have not been understood , or , if understood , not properly appreciated , and are thus uninstruetive . And so it has come to pass that the highest Masonic principles produce no inspiration , and have no vivifying influence OT many members . The training contemplated in our Ritual shows that

this was , ages ago , foreseen as a possible calamity ; and the preparation b y the chisel of education for a higher perception of duty is thus insisted on as tutoring tho mind , before tlie beauty of the imagery of Freemasonry is acquired . Without this appreciation , the Mason _ cannot pass beyond a grovelling performance of ceremony , with no higher intelligence than marks the performance of a parrot , or that of an animal in a circus .

It is a lamentable , yet an undoubted fact , that there are many thousands of men who style themselves Freemasons , who , because Freemasonry allows anyone to enter its communion who practises Morality and believes in the existence of an Architect of the Universe , because , I say , Freemasonry allows them to enter its institution with this elementary qualification , apparently believe , and do not hesitate to state that Freemasonry itself is narrowly confined to a belief in a Deity and the practice of Morality .

In other words , despite that they know that Masonry is asserted to be a progressive science , they assume that thc dark state in which they enter our Institution is never lightened by Masonic teaching , but that Freemasonry will allow them to remain in the condition in which they first entered it ; that we are supplied with the rough ashlar and never render it a more perfect stone . What can be more monstrous than this ? What can bo the use of

Freemasonry , and what sincere and honest man can remain in it if this is all ? The object of Freemasonry is to raise its members above the elementary condition which was required at their entrance . Does any Institntion act in this manner ? Does any Academy , College , or University which requires certain qualifications in candidates , before admitting them to thc benefits of tho Institution , content itself by allowing the newly created

members to remain with no further enlightenment than that which they possessed before they joined ? It is open to every Freemason , as it is open to any secular or theological student to instruct himself . But if he will not do so , he must he instructed . Tho first principles and the original conception of Freemasonry must be forced upon his understanding . We know what the neglect of the first principles has led to . ,

I beg that I may not bo understood as meaning that the monopoly of appreciation , or refinement of ideas lies with any particular social class . I should be no Mason did I say or think so . Tho Operative Masons who first saw how admirable an emblem could bo evolved from thc application of the uses of Masonic tools to the Morals of mankind , and who saw that tho emblematic uso of the building of a material temple could be applied with an

exquisite fitness to the building of a spiritual temple in the minds and hearts of all , were surely not deficient in their appreciation of the beauty of Allegory . The Mason who now fails to grasp that Freemasonry is but an Allegory illustrated by various symbols is still in the condition he was in when he first entered a Lodgo in an emblematic state of darkness . He has not yet received that light he onco stated he yearned for , and as is stated in

one of our Lectures , he still possesses the shackled , contaminated , and unenlightened mind of the slave—not the mind of the man who has loosened himself from the shackles of vice and superstition , with his soul properly free to take wing to the boundless and unexplored expanse above . By progressive study in Freemasonry , many of tho anomalies he has imagined to exist will disappear , and the Institution will stand out before him as a powerful engine for the regeneration of mankind .

It is from a sense of the imperfect knowledge which exists of Freemasonry that we ought to insist so forcibly on the necessity for instruction in Lodges . Not only instruction by means of the Lectures , which are to be found in any book of Ritual , although these of course are primarily important , but also by the delivery of addresses , or Lectures , by any Brother who is competent on matters relating to Freemasonry . The Lectures to some

extent explain our symbolism , and Lodges of Instruction aro most useful in securing regularity of working and the consequent preservation of Allegory and symbols in their original state or purity . Any alteration of either must render a real comprehension of Freemasonry impossible . Many of our Allegories and symbols would be utterly imcomprehensible , if they were even but slightly altered , so that a correct working in Lodge is , as I have said ,

primarily essential , and no change of words , even if they apparently convey the same sense as the original ones , should be allowed . With correct working the comprehension of Freemasonry becomes comparatively easy , but before it can be entirely comprehended , or its principles and object fully grasped , a correct knowledge of its history is required . In France , as you are probably aware , the principles of Freemasonry have been so entirely lost that the Institution is now purely a secular belief .

The Master of a Lodge , and in his absence the Wardens , are responsible for the instruction of tbo Brethren and Members ; and Article 183 of the Constitutions particularly emphasises this . The Secrets and objects of Freemasonry are to be found in the Ritual of every degree , and consist in good being done to ourselves and others . THE OBJECT IS THE SECRET . The necessity for a society which should hold up a

light in dark places has been felt in all ages , and , advanced and enlightened as the world now is , I believe Freemasonry would still be a bright light , and Freemasons take a place far in advance of the civilised world in general , if we only practised our professions . No one can deny that tho professions of a Freemason are not sufficiently high , nor can the Freemason himself deny

that the actual aim of our Society is estimable . The object , and how it is to be attained , is to be found in the Ritual . Are you tanght , or are you guided by Freemasonry ? Have you made any change in your life since you were initiated ? These are the secret questions . What are the secret answers ? There is only one person who can give the answer . Each Brother must himself give it to his own heart . — " Indian Freemason . "

There are some things they manage better in Scotland than in this country—the holding of Bazaars for the provision of Masonic homes for Lodges being among the number . A recent example is that in connection with Plantation Lodge , the takings at which amounted to £ 2 , 170 , with expenses totaling up to £ 756 .

Of the balance , £ 1 , 288 was spent over the new Hall for the Lodge , an entertainment was given to those who had assisted in the Bazaar , the Secretary was paid a commission , and the Lodge had

a small surplus , besides being in the satisfactory position of having a new suite of rooms and a pretty good income from rents . How many of our Provincial Lodges could bring about so successful a result ?