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& also of the walls of the towne & loved well Masons & Chorished them , & he made them pay Right good Standing as the Realme did for he gave them three shillings six pence a week & three pence to theire Man , Sinches , And before that time throughout all the Land , a Mason tooke

but a penny a day & his meate nntill St Albon mended itt And gott A Charter of the King & his Councell , to hold A generall Councell and Gavo it the name of an Assembly to make Masons , and gave them Charge as you shall heare afterwards : After the death of Sb Albon there came warrs

into England of divers Nations , so that the good Reul of Masonry was destroyed untill the time of ATHOLSTAN that was A worthy Knight of England & brought the land into Good rest & peace & builded many greate works of Abbys Castles Towers , and many other buildings , & he loved well

Masons , much more than his father did And he was a Practicer in GEOMETRY , & he drew him much to talke with Masons , & to Learn of them the Craft , aud afterwards" for love he had to Masons & to the Craft , that he was made A Mason , and gott of his father A Charter &

A Comission to hold Every Teare one Assembly wheresoever they would in the Realme of England & to Correct within themselves the faults & trespasses that wero done in the Craft , Aud he held himselfe an Assembly , & made Masons in Yorke , and there he Gave

them Charge , and taught them the Manners & Comandment that Rule to be kept for Ever after , And tooke them the Charter and Comission to keep ; And made Order that it Bhonld be renewed from King to King , And when the Assembly waa Gathered together he made

A Cry that old Masons & young that had any understanding of the Charges & Manners that' were made before in theire land that they should show them forth , and whin it was proved , there was some found in French , some in Latine and some in English , And theire intent

was showed , and he did make A Booke thereof how the Craft was found , And he bad And Comanded it to be road when any Mason should be made , And for to give him his Charge , from that time to this time , Manners of

Masons have been kept in this forme as well as men might Governe it , And furthermore att diverse Assemblies have been put & Ordained Certaine Charges by the advice of master and fellows

THE CHARGE . _ THEN one of the Elders Lett him hold the Booke , that either he or they May Put theire hands upon the Booke , and they ought to read the PRECEPTS : EVERY MAN that is A Mason take Good heed to his

Charge , iff any man finde himselfe Guilty in any of these , that he amend himselfe if it bo Cheifely against God that they have been Charged take heed principally that they keep theire Charge , for it is A Great perill for A man to foresweare himselfe on A Booke : The First

charge is that you shall be true men to God and the hol y Church , and you use Noe error nor heresy by your understanding : Nor by wise men teaching , And also that you shall be true Loige men to the King without treason or any falsehood : And also that you know No treason nor traytory

but that you Amend it , or also to show the King and his Councell . And also that you be true one to another ( that 13 to say ) Every Mason that is A Mason allowed he shall doe unto him , as you would he should doe unto you ; And also you shall keep truly all Comands of the Lodge or

Chamber , and all Councells that ought to be kept by the ^ ay of Masonhood ; And also that you be no theife , nor theeves fellow as farr as you know , And also that you be wue to the Lord or master that you serve , & truly to his Proffitt and advantage , And also that you call all Masons

••¦ ellows or else Brethren and noe other foulo name , Also that you shall not take your fellows wife in villainry , nor Ins daughter nor his Servant nor put him to any dishonour , And also that you pay truly for your Meate aud drink wheresoever you table And also that you shall do no villany

wncre you go to board whereb y the Craft may be slandered ; JIKSE be the Charges that belongs to every true Mason both paster and Fellow . Now will I rehearse other things singaler for Masters and Fellows FIRST that none take upon < -hem no Lords worke , nor other mans worke Except he

™ ow himselfe able to pcrforinc the worke , whereby ™ o wraffc have No Slander , Also that no Master take ^ o worko , but that lie tako A reasonable pay , so that the ^ ord be truly served , & the master to Live honestly , * p ay his follows truly ; Also no master nor fellow Wwl Supplant other of the worke ( viz ) and ho havo

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taken worko and stand Master of A worke Also that Masters take no Apprentices under the terme of Seaven Yea res And that the Parties be able of Birth ( viz ) free men borne « fc of good Kindred & true , and no Bondmen ; And that ho have his right Limbes , And also that No

Master take no Parties Except he be able to keep two or three follows att the Least in worke , Also that no master nor fellow pat no Lords worke to task that was wont to go to journey , Also that no master give pay to his fellows but as they may deserve , so that he be not deceived with fulse

workmen , Also that none slander other behinde their backs to make him Loose his good name or his goods , And also that no fellow misordcr himselfe within the Lodge or without , neither be ungodly nor unreasonable without A Cause , Also that Every Mason Reverence his Elder and

pat him to worship , Also that no Mason become Players at Cards , or Dice or any other unlawfull games whereby the Craft may be disgraced ; Also that No mason nor fellow go into the town in the night , Except he have A fellow with him that may beare him witness where he was in honest

Company or place , Also that Every mason or fellow Come to tho assembly if he be within fifty Myles , and he have any warneing ; And if he have trespassed , the Craft to abide tho award of masters & fellows and also Every Mason that hath trespassed to stand to Masters & fellows

to make them accord , and if you cannot accord to go to the Comon Law , Also that no Master nor fellow , make Nor Rule nor Square , nor Mould to no Layer , nor to sett no Layer on worke , within the Lodge or without to any * ###### Also that every Master & fellow shall

Cherish strange Masons & fellows , when they come over the Country , & sett them in work as the manner is & they will ( viz ) If he have A Moulded stone in his place , he shall give him a Mouldstone & sett him in worke , And if he have none he shall refresh with money unto the next

Lodge , And also that Every Mason shall serve tho Lord truly for his pay , and Every Mason make an End of his work be it by day or journey ; And here joa have all yee Charge , And all these that you have von shall keep ; help you and yours , and yee holy-dome , And by this Booke to the uttermost of your Power 1677

The Power Of Freemasonry.

THE POWER OF FREEMASONRY .

HP HE great and glorioos power of Freemasonry—which , like a -I marvellous magnet , attracts to itself and to eaoh other the various members of itB brotherhood—WHS never more forcibly expressed , nor more fully realised by us , as on a recent occasion we found ourselves stranded—weatherbound—at literally the " last made " place in the British Isles , —yclept Tilbury . A very few yeara

ago Tilbury was a desert waste , a dreary swamp , over which the once silvery Thames regularly ebbed aud flowed twice in twentyfour honrs . Now , " as by a stroke of the enchanter ' s wand , " there exists a small town , the very finest dock in the world , fitted with the most modern appliances , where the largest Bteamera coming into the

Port of London can enter at all times of the tide , while it possesses that great boon of luxurious civilization , a grand hotel , capable of providing more than a hundred bed-rooms . It is not onr intention , however , to dilate here upon its wonders—they must be Been before they cau be realised , but will " tell in simple language" what brought

us to this historical but somewhat out of the way place . We are taught to believe— and of course it is so—that the snn ia always at its meridian with respect to Freemasonry , but on Tuesday last the " Grand Luminary" was decidedly conapionoua by its absence from this terrestrial globe , and to a stormy night

succeeded a continual torrent of rain , enough to depress the spirits of a Mark Tapley . Bat hope springs eternal in the human breast—it would clear np soon ; and having determined to seek a short spell of healthy relaxation by a trip to Margate , we found ourselves—accompanied by a popular and well-known brother—at Fenchuroh Street

Station , in good time to catch the special 10 ' 15 train to Tilbury , where the fine steamer " Halcyon , " belonging to the General Steam Navigation Company , awaited us . Unfortunately we had omitted to propitiate Jupiter Pluvins before starting on onr journey , and he was " fairly on the job , " pouring down perfect torrents of water over our

devoted heads , luckily protected by tho stout roof of the railway carriage . We conld almost imagine the Clerk of the Weather laughing at our discomfort in the low rumbling peals of- thunder that occasionally made themselves heard as we rapidly sped through the country . Eagerly wo consulted the Weather Chart in the

newspapers , and our spirits rose when we found that the practical jokers at the Meteorological Office prognosticated " fair generally . " v \ 'o quite failed to appreciate the fnn , however , when we descended at Tilbury and made our way down to tho boat . No view could present a more dismal appearance ; a dull leaden sky , without a break

anywhere ; the rain steadily pouring down as through an enormotiB shower bath , occasionally swayed by gosts of wind whioh threatened destruction to our umbrellas , the npper deck of the steamer resembled a small lake , which poured forth cataracts of water through the gulley . holes in continuous streams . Tho flags , laden with wet , clnng to the masts in most disapiriting fashion , aud the white awning aft .