The Good Old Times Of Masonry.

THE GOOD OLD TIMES OF MASONRY .

EVE RY now and then you meet a Brother who laments what he styles the decadence of Masonry . Ho deplores the fact that Masonry is not now what it once was—in " the good old times . " You might fancy that these " good old times" were in the remote past , in the pristine days when Masonry was young , a century

or a mulennary ago ; but , no , the " good times " that are now no more were in the earlier days of our pessimistic Brother ' s life . He pretends to speak whereof he knows , and to draw merely from his own experience . No doubt he is honest , but he is certainly mistaken . Distance

always lends enchantment to the view , and the past is usually veiled in a tint conleur de rose . It is a common mistake to praise the past at the expense of the present . Masons are by no means the only ones who fall into this error . In Church and State there are those who not

infrequently become discouraged at certain seemingly untoward events , and then imagine that everything is going wrong , the world is being turned upside down , and that the " golden age " was in the past , and will never be reproduced . We are convinced that in every

such instance—civil , religious and Masonic—the true " golden age" is in the future , and that the present is to be preferred before any era that preceded it , because it is nearer to the culminating period towards which events are tending . Let us examine into the Masonic aspects of this subject .

Some quernlons old , or croaking middle-aged Freemason may tell you , that the same class of men are not in the Fraternity now as formerly . Then they were all of the best—the Washingtons , Franklins , Marshalls and De Witt Clintons of their time ; but now the Fraternity

is mixed , awfully mixed . They forget that Washington , Franklin and the large majority of the old worthies , when they were alive , had their enemies and detractors , as not a few eminent men have to-day . It is only distance that renders them now immaculate to our view . They were

men of like passions with us , imperfect as us , and if they could look at us at the distance thafc we look at them , they would magnify our virtues as we magnify theirs . Depend upon it , the difference between men now and fifty or a hundred years ago is not great , and it is in favour

of the present generation . All things are progressing , advancing , improving ; the intellect is brightened , education is far more generally diffused , and in every respect the world is growing wiser and better . Almost every man you meet is a Briareus . The inventive genius of man has

mastered the five old elements , and made them do his bidding . Instead of being down in the hollow of a billow , we are on the crest of a wave , that will carry us forward we cannot tell how far . The Freemasons of to-day are in every respect the peers of those of any generation

or era that preceded them ; nay , they are in advance of all who have gone before . They know more , they do more , and they will bequeath to those who shall succeed them a richer legacy of Masonic wealth . Our Charities are

enlarged , and on every radius of Masonic influence diverging from the Craft ' s centre there are broad lines of light , and myriad brethren doing their utmost to diffuse it to their fellows .

We are told again , that in the " good old times we had the "old work , " the true work—not the mongrel , often-changed ritual of to-day . You might suppose , to hear these brethren descant upon this subject , that they had in their early days the very work that King Solomon

himself taught the Craft , that it had been religiously preserved and imparted to them then , and that since that time it has been bartered away for a mess of Masonic pottage . What a difference the crossing of a t , or a dotting of an i , makes to some brethren ! They and their

Preceptors were faultless ; whatever they learned was truth , and any departure from it is error . For King Solomon ' s sake let us hug our so-called error . In many instances the memories of those good brethren are at fault , and what they claim for truth is only their own variation

of what was originally taught them . We are ready to assert , and prove , that the Masonic work of to-day , especially in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of

Pennsylvania , is as pure and good , if not purer and better , than it was twenty or forty , or sixty years ago . It is pointed , free from surplusage , and conveys the primitive truths of Masonry in choice and impressive language . We believe

The Good Old Times Of Masonry.

that we are living nearer to the " golden age" of our Fraternity than any of the brethren preceding us . The work of the Craft is at least as pure and good as it ever was ; there are now living as true , earnest , able Craftsmen as at any preceding era in our history ; and the outlook

for the future is more promising than ever before . Never let the present be degraded in your view , for it is yours to command ; it is the gift of the Supreme Architect to you ; Freemasonry is a heritage that you need only cherish as

you ought , to transmit to posterity not merely unimpaired , but advantaged by the user ; and it is a Fraternity as nearly as may be , without spot , or wrinkle , or any such thing . —Keystone

Reviews.

REVIEWS .

All Books intended for Review should be addressed to the editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , Belvidere Works , Hermes Hill . Pentonville , London , N . " On the Sqnare . " Dnblin : Hodges , Figgis and Co ., Grafton Street . London : Simpkin , Marshall and Co .

AN interesting novel has been written by the author , who succeeds in sustaining the interest of the reader throughout the work before ns . The way in whioh Freemasonry and a reference to the Higher Grades are introduced make it of special interest to brethren of fche Craffc , fche faithfulness of whose members is forcibly set forth in one of fche chapters . Although marred by one or two blemishes , " On the Square " will well repay the reader for fche time expended in its pern sal .

The " Agnostic " is the title of a new monthly magazine , the firsfc number of which is announced to be published on the 1 st January by Messrs H . Cattell and Co ., 84 Fleet-street , London , E . C . The first nnmber will contain an important paper on " Agnosticism and Theism , " from the pen of Dr . W . B . Carpenter , and also the commencement of a popular exposition of Herbert Spencer ' s philosophical teachings , written by an accomplished UtUrateur .

On Monday next ( 22 nd December ) , in anticipation of fche Christmas holidays , several attractive Novelties will be added to the Programme afc fche Alhambra Theatre of Varieties , foremost amongst whioh will be an entirely new " Grand Fantastic Ballet , " entitled " Melusine , " in whioh Madlle . Sampietro will make her first appearance at the

Alhambra ; she will be supported by Miss Matthews , and an increased Corps de Ballet , numbering 100 . This Ballet , whioh will be on a very elaborate scale , is invented and arranged by Mons . J . Hansen , the mnsio being specially composed by Mons . Jacobi . The scenery is painted by Mr . C . Brooke , and the costumes , which are being supplied by Alias et Cie ., are said to be very elegant .

The / Solus Waterspray and General Ventilating Company , of 235 High Holborn , have received instructions from Her Majesty's Office of Works to apply their complete system of Inlet and Outlet Ventila . tion and supply of warm or cold fresh air ( purified ) to the Registry Room of the General Post Oflioe ( new building ) .

Death Of An Old Freemason.

DEATH OF AN OLD FREEMASON .

ON the Sth inst ., the remains of one of the oldest inhabitants of Brightlingsea ( Essex)—Mr . Samuel Coppin—were interred in the churchyard , and as a mark of respeot for his memory , most of the business establishments were olosed . A number of members of the Freemasons' Lodge " Hope" attended the funeral , deceased being , it is said , the oldest Freemason in this district , he having been a Mason over fifty years . Deceased was in his eighty-eighfch year . —Essex Standard .

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