The Model Master.

Masonry . He must often " walk around Jerusalem and mark the bulwarks thereof . " He must know his ground well . He must be at home in the several apartments of the Temple . Every stone ill placed , every light obstructed , every pillar removed by accident or design must be noticed by him , and he must raise the warning voice that it be restored without delay .

The model Master must be a lover of old-time things . Progressiveness and reform , in the modern sense , have no meaning in Masonry . The modern Master seeks to make his Lodge a veritable Urim and Thummim , a centre of Masonic light and perfection . He reads Masonic books , belongs to a Masonic club , subscribes to Masonic journals , attends

Masonic lectures—and the ideas he gathers from his studies he freely gives for the benefit of the Craft while at work . He has his school of instruction , but for his Officers as well . He does n « t trust to luck . He insists that every Officer should be up to date with his own particular work . He personally drills them , listens to their rendition of their several duties , and he can work the middle chamber himself as well as the Senior Deacon .

The model Master must be jealous of the honour of his Lodge . He will by his intercourse with the other Lodges , earn for it a reputation , and carve out a name upon the Temple of Masonry that will be lasting and enduring . The model Master must not alone be conversant with the regulations of

Masonry and the decisions of the Grand Lodge , but must have a knowledge of its history , and thoroughly understand its aim and objects . " A place for everything and everything in its place , " " Nothing in Masonry without a rational explanation , " are as lamps to his feet .

The model Master recognises the various elements in his Lodge in the appointment of his committees , so that everyone is interested in the business of the Lodge , and seeks to cement them together for the benefit of the Craft . He fully realises that " all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy . " The social element in Masonry is one which he does not neglect , for it is a factor which it would be folly to disregard . He believes in work , but he also believes

in rest and refreshment . The divine injunction , " Six days shalt thou labour , " and " on the seventh day thou shalt rest , " are to him of equal binding force . He believes that the social intercourse at the festive board is as much a necessity and equally as important as a knowledge of the ritual ; for , while men may be acquainted with each other in the Lodge , they know each other better when sitting elbow to elbow at the festive board .

The model Master opens his Lodge punctually and proceeds with despatch . If his Officers are not there at the appointed hour , he fills the various stations and places to the best of his ability , and sets an example of promptness to his Wardens and Officers , for in the half-hours spent in waiting for dilatory Officers much important work can be done and the

proper business of the Lodge proceed uninterruptedly . He must rigorously apply the 24 inch guage so that there may be an appropriate time for work and for refreshment , that the work of the Lodge does not drag and the Great Lights removed at an early hour , to the gratification of the domestic lares and penates .

The model Master must be like the sun , not only containing light and waimth within himself , but imparting it to others . It is his business to see ( even if he has to devote his own personal time to it ) that the candidates fully comprehend the significance of each and every ceremony , and are well versed in the lectures , so that it may be proverbial in the Craft that all who bear the hall-mark of his Lodge are " well-made " Masons of true and sterling quality .

The model Master must be the Master of his Lodge , not alone in name , but in deed . He may seek counsel of his predecessors , because sometimes the experience of Past Masters is very valuable . He may take suggestions from the Secretary , and advice from the Past Masters , but he must feel

within himself that neither the Past Masters nor the Secretary are the governing power in the Lodge , nor must he permit them for a moment to usurp his authority or derogate from his powers as Master . He must know that he is the Master of the Lodge and not the President of a Masonic Association or a debating society .

The model Master must be a peace-maker , and , like Aaron , not only " a lover of peace , but a pursuer of peace . " Whenever he sees any ill-feeling growing between the members of his Lodge , he must immediately seek to suppress it , " peace and harmony being the support of all institutions ,

especially this of ours ; " using his personal influence with the contending parties to live in bonds of Brotherly affection , appealing to them not alone as men and Masons , but for the honour and welfare of the Lodge . The respect for Masonic teachings and the proper application of the principles of Masonry must make them friends .

The model Master must see that his Officers know their duties in their

several stations and places , so that in the event of his absence or of an emergency he may have the assurance that the Craft will not be in confusion , and that the work of the Lodge will be in strict accordance with the designs drawn by him upon his Trestle Board , and of which the Lodge need not be ashamed .

But why should a man take all this trouble upon himself ? What reward is there for this sacrifice of time , labour , patience and feelings ? Simply to receive Master ' s wages , the reward of well-doing in the Masonic Temple .

What are the wages which a model Master has a right to expect ? The oil of joy , and that in rich abundance , if his conscience approves his year ' s work . If he is satisfied that he has performed all his official duties , guided therein , by his installation covenant , then the approbation of a good conscience is the very voice of God whispering in his heart . If he has ruled his Lodge without fear or favour , and without hope of fee

The Model Master.

or reward save the approbation of his conscience and of God , then the praises of his Brethren will be as the fragrance of sweet incense to him . And his work as Master is his reward in every memory of dut y done . —By W . M . J . M . Solomon , in the " Minstrel . "

Christianity And Freemasonry.

CHRISTIANITY AND FREEMASONRY .

THE following letter appeared in a recent issue of the " Church Times " : SIR , —Some time ago it was suggested that a gathering of clerical and lay Freemasons might well be included among the informal functions of the Church Congress week . I do not know whether the suggestion has been taken up , and will bo carried into effect . But if it is , this gathering of influential

clerical and lay Masons will , by a curious coincidence , fall at about the same time that our Christian brethren on the Continent will be holding their first International Anti-Masonic Congress , at Trent , in the Tyrol . The Congress is being organised by committees in Paris , Turin , Lisbon , Valencia and other great cities ; and the opening and concluding ceremonies will take place in the Cathedral of Trent .

The coincidence of these two events will doubtless suggest anew to many minds a question which has already puzzled them for some time , and which seems to nave a special urgency now that Reunion questions are to the front . Is it advisable , or even allowable , for Catholics in England to be Freemasons ? Continental Freemasonry is well-known to be the rallying point of all those forces which are hostile to Christianity , and is rightly and naturally under the ban of the Church in those countries which own allegiance to the

Roman see . It is avowedly connected with those manifestations of Anti-Christ which have for some time existed in France and other countries , — those obscure and obscene sects of which the members actually worship the devil , and are known as Lucif .. rians , Palladists , and Satanists , who are pledged to keep the priests from their families , and who do not scruple to steal consecrated hosts for their impious rites . Continental Freemasonry is the focus of all that which , under the name of Liberalism , strives to overthrow the Church . In a word , it is anti-Christian in the fullest and widest sense .

Of course it is to be freely admitted that English Freemasonry is totally different in spirit from Continental . Among us it appears as a harmless , if somewhat ludicrous , society , patronised by Royalty , and , therefore , fashionable , given to the exercise of rites guarded with portentous secrecy , and derived in some measure from Benedictine sources ; a society which combines benevolence and conviviality , to which many clergy belong , and for which human curiosity is probably the most powerful recruiting agent . We

are told , moreover , that it is theistic , and at least in the higher grades of Mark Masonry , Christain , and that it has excommunicated the atheistic Grand Orient Lodge of France . But we may still be pardoned for asking whether the separation between English and Continental Freemasonry is more than merely nominal ? Granted that the Grand Orient is excommunicated by English Lodges , are all the atheistic Lodges of the Continent under the same ban ? And have the Welsh Lodges followed the example of the

English ? One hears that some at least have not . And even if they have repudiated the atheistic Lodges , is the separation so complete that an English Mason would not be bound to recognise and assist a Continental Mason ? Masons are wont to boast that Masonry is one fraternity all the world over . And if this is so , even in a limited sense , then the accession of an individual to Masonry in England is a gain to the strength of Masonry all the world

over ; and the Christian who is admitted to an English Lodge is indirectly aiding and abetting the anti-christian forces of the Continent . Unless it can be shown that no fraternity or obligation of any kind exists between English and Continental Masons , either as Lodges or as individuals , then Masonry is an institution which the English Catholic is bound to combat on every possible occasion , and by every means .

But even if it be proved that Continental Masonry is repudiated and abhorred of English Masons , it is by no means proved that English Masonry is to be countenanced by the Church . In its best aspect it is a philanthropic fraternity . Bnt every Christain is already bound by a stronger obligation than any which Freemasonry can enforce , to assist a brother in distress . There are , moreover , cases in which the performance of Christian duty would

certainly conflict with the observance of Masonic obligation . For example , a Christian Mason is able to render aid to one only of two equally necessitous persons , who have asked his aid , the one as a Freemason ( non-Christain ) the other as a Christian . Here is the material for a very pretty dilemma . He is constrained to sin , or to break his Masonic obligation . Other cases of a different kind will suggest themselves , in connection with the confessional .

Innocent as English Masonry may be ( it is a secret society , and we have therefore no absolute certainty that it actually is ) , I submit that English Catholics who become Masons assume a very grave moral responsibility . At the least they scandalise their fellow-Christians on the Continent , and raise another obstacle to Reunion . The general sense , in some countries the

explicit condemnation , of the Church is against secret societies ; her wisdom has already been more than justified by the history of Masonry . And all English Churchmen would surely do well to refuse to countenance it in the slightest degree . That there are already good Catholics in the fraternity is a hindrance to the Faith . OEFEIETAn .

Mr . George Manville Fenn commences a new serial story entitled " Gerard ' s Jungle , " in the 26 th August number of " Chums , " which forms the first of the new volume . The story is illustrated by Mr . Paul Hardy . The same issue of " Chums " will contain the opening chapters of a new serial by Mr . Arthur J . Daniels , a chat with Prince Ranjitsinhji ,

accompanied by a new photograph of the Prince , and the first of a series , " True Fire Brigade Yarns , " by Mr . Walter P . Wright , who has visited the big Fire Brigade centres of the country in order to gather his material ; and an interesting collection of letters from several living celebrities , telling of the boyhood amusements of the various writers .

IN view of the course of events in South Africa and the Soudan , Messrs . Casaell and Company have decided to issue a cheap edition of their " Story of Africa and its Explorers " in a serial form . The work is by Dr . Robert Brown , and the illustrations are from photographs supplied by travellers , missionaries , and exploration societies . The work embraces from the earliest times down to the Matabele War . Part 1 , price 6 d ., will be published on the 25 th inst .