The Mystery Of Masonry's Descent.

profane . No one who has not been regularly proposed , approved and initiated is entitled to be present at the performance of the least of the Masonic mysteries , even of installation ; and he who is instrumental in admitting the profane , it may be , it must be , ignorantly , but no less certainly , betrays his trust as a Freemason . Keystone .

Wit And Wisdom.

WIT AND WISDOM .

GREAT conquerors , either of savage or civilised peoples , have not earned the distinguishing titles awarded them merely because they were brave and aggressive in thought and physical force . Powers of resistance and innate wisdom for defence are requisite to make a soldier-general , as well as the impulse and nerve of the HaMina dualities .

Let no Lodge quorum suppose that novel innovations which over-bound or cumber the perfection of legitimate work and , therefore , render it imperfect , will convince and conquer the opinion and judgment of wise , genuine Freemasons , by any arbitrary determination or decree .

Indeed , a robe is a loose garment , whether of a costly texture or not , being sufficiently ample ; whether worn by a dignitary of the civil court , a lord-bishop , priest , or chancel-singer ; an artist's classic model , a slumbering

beauty , or an American Indian . As a " symbol , " a robe of suitable material , dimensions and folding outliues , may speak of mental graces , truth's sovereignty , honourable distinction , modesty , and , if white , purity . Why not then a

symbol in Masonry ? if tolerated , and why should it not be tolerated or admitted in those Grand Lodges where something new is perpetually desired , even as infants are best pleased with new toys every hour , —albeit because they have destroyed those in hand ?

A crown is of very great importance to a Crown Prince or Princess Royal ; and to the reigning sovereign of a limited dukedom , a nihilistic empire , or a cholera-stricken kingdom . A native citizen of the latest born of established

republics need not try hard to " guess " that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the German Empire , or His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Great Britain , India , & c , would "just now , " with supreme delight

assume an attitude of mock humility before Kaiser or " Empress , " were either parent "ready "to abdicate in favour of the favoured heir . Well , then , as human nature loves

crowns , every Grand ( great ) Master , whether head of a government , family , Lodge or church , may consistently wear a crown—tinsel or bell-metal—at any time , in any place , when he would be happy in so pleasing—himself .

Tbe ritual response , " Yes , Worshipful" is not always cheerfully and heartily given . A dignified reproof , a masterly compulsion in such rare instances , is sure to

follow . It is better by far to acquiesce in a trifling duty , to submit at once , where submission is the inevitable result , outwardly at least , than to be compelled by the gentlest arbitrary force .

Not every stone in a grand edifice or Temple can be an

eben pinah ! Not every true Mason may become an " important personage" in the Grand Lodge of his state or region , but all may become perfect ashlars—polished stones—parts of the Temple of Truth .

Gulic truth—symbolic—although not a " thing of beauty , a joy for ever , " is nevertheless a firm support for the feet of a man . Standing upon such foundation he may safely contemplate and admire all the beauty of the earth around

the glory of the hills and the majesty of the celestial

bodies . It has been said that Freemasonry always builds up , aud never tears down . Yes , but what are some " Masonic " disputes and disagreements doing for the reputation of the old-time Craft and its eternal principles ?

An eminent Christian divine of the metropolis has declared that " nowhere more certainly than in Masonry " does the true brother "learn the brotherhood of man . "

_ The truth-guarded sphere of Masonic thought gives no birth to those intellectual specialists called inventors , but discoverers there may be within the bounds and privileges of the Fraternit y . These are not merely finders of mislaid

or forgotten details , either asjeivels or ritualistic forms , nor sifters of regalia rubbish of the past , nor deivers in rusty armouries ; for , not herein are truths in the abstract to be discovered . Mechanical invention possesses its own dignity and value , but tho apprehension of any great moral truth

Wit And Wisdom.

is a nobler triumph for man's diligence . Numbers of Free

masons may hope to become such discoverers . Advancement or development by forcing or grafting , any horticulturist may consistently say . A little padding here and there reveals the secret art , or forms it , of the modiste

and the policy of the man milliner . What is known as " high art" approves neither stratagem nor process , and yet Grand Nature not entirely disdains the empirical in

art and the artificial in beauty . Freemasonry , however , by its mathematical and symbolic features , as natural as nature herself , must not degenerate by the adoption of any

expediencies presumptive , as the "improver" of fruits , flowers or fashionables may employ . So surely as the whitest and purest beam of solar light

may become discoloured or deadened by the foreign hue or the opacity of medium or substance through which it passes , or on which it falls , the glory and perfection of

truth's rays may be dispelled or perverted by irresolute or unprincipled teachers . Let inexperienced Masonic dignitaries remember this proposition , which is neither mathematical nor tentative .

The late Dr . Mackay , Masonic philosopher and author , breathed from a lofty plane of sincerity . His unwavering trust in the principles of the Craft was more than

enthnsiasm , broader than personal ambition , stronger than hope This fervour of an immortal mind is shared felicitously by some who survive him , and songf ully by the venerable poet laureate of Freemasonrv .

Intellectual force and spiritual expansion , emanating from one true soul , may vivify many feeble existences . Experience of itself , as the earlier civilizations had it not ,

has become valued as a key to unlock every door , or a cord to draw aside every exclusive veil , in the temple of knowledge , and yet the ivinding stairs of gradual attainment are too often supposed , step by step , to have reached the

pinnacle of eternal wisdom ! Let the neophytes remember

that the journey is long ! Advice has always been " too cheap . " It certainly is not always a production of wisdom . In our audacious and pretentious times , with their slang

deforming dialects , both the aim and the scope of popular thought and speech rank so far beneath the geometric vigour and the ideal beauty of the Grecian classical age , as transmitted to us , that even within the sacred refinements of

the Lodge , educating leaders , even aside from manual requirements , need solemnly to demonstrate the genius of linguistic purity and the exaltation of harmonious sentiments .

Just how far any of the Greek sages saw within the sublime deeps of man's capacity to think , apprehending mysteries some of which modern intellects have " formulated , " no scholar of the present is able to declare . As in

their architecture it is doubtful if they did " build wiser than they knew , " the fervent firmness of their wisdom challenges modern contemplation beyond the degree yet admitted . The wise and meritorious * are not " always preferred for exalted stations .

Here is a poem in a stanza , by Brother the departed Victor Huo-o :

" The scarf , seven-tinted , which tho hurricane Leaves in the clouds , a trophy to the BUD . " # # # # # # * OOEK , Ireland , 1842 . CLAEE .

A HANDSOME GAVEL . —An exquisitely wrought and finished gavel , intended by Mr . Ashford for presentation to Occident Lodge of Free aud Accepted Masons , Toronto , Canada , was recently exhibited . Tho workmanship and polishing of the article enlisted the services of three first-class artificers . The handle is composed of orange , lemon ,

algaroba , and cocoanut woods . The head consists of puhala , koa , kou , sandal , milo , and kauwila , so that the whole implement contains ton varieties of native woods . The handle is also finished at the end with a neatly wrought piece of walrus tusk from the late Queen Emma ' s effects . All the islands in the kingdom were laid under

contribution to provide the several pieces . One piece comes from near the site of Captain Cook ' s monument , another from Kailua , the first seat of missionary operations , a third cornea from the King ' s Grove at Waikiki , and the rest from other points of historic iaterosfc . —* Honolulu Bulletin .

£ 20 , —TOBACCONISTS ConsrBifcijrG .--An Ulnstrtted guide ( 110 pages ) , " Hav to Open Respectably from £ 20 to £ 2000 . " 3 Stamps . H . MT EBS & Co ., Cigar and Tobacco Merchants , lor and 109 Buston Road , London . Wholesalo oi # . Telephone 'No . 75 « ,