Correspondence.

Correspondence .

\ v e do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents ' , bjt we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limitsfree discussion .

DEATH OF SIR DOUGLAS GALTON . To tne Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The death of Sir Douglas Galton , which occurred on the 10 th inst , has been referred to in most of the newspapers . There is , however , one incid ; nt in his c . ireer , which , as it has not yet found its way into pri . - . t , may deserve to be

recorded . He entered the Royal Military Acadamy , Woolwich , at the age of 15 , and , after ap exceptionally brilliant career in that institution , received a coinmission in the Royal Engineers in 1 S 40 . His active military service wis not a protracted one , but before passing into the varied round of official duties in other spheres of imployment , of which the record of his long and busy life is mainly

composed , he was made a F ' reemason . The register of Grand Lodge shows that Lieutenant Douglas Galton , R . E ., was admitted a member of the Craft in the Friendship Lodge , Gibraltar , in 1 S 44 . —Yours fraternally , R . F . GOULD . Woking , March 27 th .

Reviews.

Reviews .

* ' DORSET MASONIC CALENDAR , A . D . 1 S 99 . "—This wonderful compilalim is edited , printed , and published by Bro . Jno . A . Jiherren , F . R . H . S , P . M . and Treas . No . 170 , & c ., under the authority of the Prov . G . M . The 100 pages , and more , are brimlul ol Masonic information , and must have entailed an immense amount of labour . The arrangement of the varied particulars cannot be improved upon , and it is dillicult to make any suggestion as to additions lo the text . The tables are numerous and practically exhaustive , as the " Contents " testify , so that the Province owes a considerable

debt of gratitude to the diligent Editor . 'There are 14 Lodges in the Province , returning 75 S members , or an average of 5 6 per Lodge , these figures being obtained from the "Annual Summary of Work Done . " A later return under the Charities gives a total of 792 brethren . Under each Lodge cccur the names of the officers and members , the latter being arranged under P . Ms ., P . Ms , of other Lodges in the Province , and Past Masters from Lodges outside the Province ; dates of initiation or

joining j dates when in the Cnairj and also Provincial rank . Tnere are seven R . A . Chapters , five Mark Lodges , two Preceptories , and a Rose Croix Chapter besides , about which very full information is provided . The Charities are also ably described in detail , the total votes being 4 S ? o , which is a very creditable number , and much beyond the usual . The " Dorset Masonic Charity " is doing well with Bro . S . R . Basket ! , the Hon . Sec , who still continues his excellent work . Tne Calendar is sold at one shilling .

"FREEMASONS' CALENDAR AND DIRECTORY FOR THE PROVINCE OF GLOUCKS . TER , 1 S 99 " ( Glnncc ter : Printed by John Bellows ) . —This beautifully printed and wellauanged annual , is now edited by Bro . R . P . Sumner ( King-street , Gloucester ) , and the present issue , being large r than usual , is all the more acceptable generally , having all the special features of former years , with others now added . The account of the last Prov . Grard Lodge at Tewkesbury ( the service being held in the Abbey ) is very interesting , and especially the sermon ( which is reproduced ) by the Rev . CanonChilde , LL D ., Past G . Chap ., & c . A notable day at Nails worth also makes good reading and a

pleasant change from the ordinary details of the directory proper . The information respecting the Central Masonic Charities , is much fuller than usual , and proves how hearty has been the support of the province , for many years past , of our well-known Institutions . Numerically , the province was never so powerful as at the present time , the 17 lodges having returned 7 X 9 members to 1 st January last , or an average fully of 4 6 each . There are only four Royal Arch chapters , but these return some 200 companions . The numerous items of information besides add c msidetab ' . y to the value and usefulness of this tasty annual .

"BURMA MASONIC DIARY , 1 S 99 , AND JAN . 1 900 " ( Printed at the Mauliiuun Advertiser Piess ) . —This is the neweit , and one of the largest Masonic Directories published in any Province or District under the Grand Lodge of England . The Editor is the Rev . F . C . P . C . Clarke , P . M . 542 , Dist . G . Chaplain ( of Man / main ) , who describes this well edited work as " mi attempt" to supply a long felt want in the Distiict . It is undoubtedly a complete and satisfactory response to the needs of the brethren in Burmah , under the Dis-rict Grand Mastership of the K . W . Bro . James C .

Moyle , appointed July 1 st , 189 S . Bro . Clarke makes a free use of the Calendar published by the Grand Lodge of England , but does not acknowledge his indebtedness to ihat valuable v , ork . The information respecting the District of Burmah is most welcome , and rsr . not fail to prove very useful to the brethren immediately concerned , and also to all interested therein in this Coun ' ry . To the usual particulars respecting the Lodges others are added , such as Ihe names of the members , fees and subscriptions , and previous numbers borne by the Lodges . So , also , as to the R . A , Chapters , Mark

Lodges , & c . The Lodge " Quatuor Coronati , " No . 207 G , has special prominence , there being 12 members in iiurmah , of the "Correspondence Circle , " Bro . H . E . Wilkirs , ot Maulmain , being the local Secretary for the District . The Military Lodge , "Unity , Peace , and Concord , " No . 31 ( 1 , now at Mandalay , is duly noted and fully described . It is attached to the 2 nd Matt , of the Royal Scots Regiment , ani Lodge " Peace and Harmony , " No . S 34 , Rangoon , of the Scottish Constitution , is also represented in this useful Annual .

THE BOOK OI- THE MASTER , or the Egyptian D . ictrine of the Light Born of the Virgin Mother . —By W . Marsham Adams , formerly Fellow of New College , Oxford , author of " The House of the Hidden Places , A Clue to the Creed of Early Egypt from Egyptian Souices , " Illustrated . London : John Murray ; New York : P . G . Putnam ' s Sons , 1 S 9 S . —It is about four years since that we drew the attention of our readers to Bro . Marsham Adams's book entitled " 'The House of the Hidden Places , " and exmessed our belief that he had succeeded in establishing the correspondence traceable

between the passage chambers of the Great Pyramid or Pyramid of Light and " the various stages traversed according to the creed" of the Ancient Egyptians "by the holy dead in passing from the light of earth to the light ot eternal day . " Si ice then Mr . Adams , as he tells us in his Preface to the further work now under notice , has not ceased to follow up the clue afforded by that correspondence , and in so doing has diiected his ilforts more particularly towards " ascertaining the degree of accuracy which may be attached to the astronomical conceptions , which form so large a part of

the imagery employed . I he reason he assigns for having adopted this course is that as " the directly religious portion of the teaching has engaged the attention of many expcits in the hieroglyphic texts , " our "knowledge of the forms in which the divine idt i s were conceived among that ancient priesthood" is , "if not yet clear and consistent , " at least less distorted and misrepresented than of old , when it came to us " filtered through ihe highly imaginative , but singularly inobservant intellect of Greece . " But , excipt Ur . Brugsch , no writer combining " a moderate knowledge

of mathematical astroncmy" with " some acquaintance with the hieroglyphic text " has directed his attention to " the scientific principles embodied in the Egyptian conceptions , " Mr . Adams is of opinion " that the inner or mystical doctrine conveyed , that is to say . the presentation of Ihe Invisible Light therein shadowed forth , will become far easier both to follow and to check , if we rightly apprehend their mode of regarding the manifestations of the light which is seen . " Accordingly , in this belief , and with a laudable desire to throw some light on a subject hitherto , with the exception just mentioned , unattempted , Mr . Adams has compiled this book , entitled " The Bosk of the

Reviews.

Master , " and , so far as our judgment goes , he appears not only to have succeeded in his purpose but to have succeeded to an extent beyond what might have been expected Doubtless , much of his success may be ascribed to the fact that , since the publication ol his former work , he has had the good fortune to visit Ejypt a second time and has thus been enabled to confirm and extend on the spot the results of his previous investigations , while as regards the scientific aspect , hetells us he wis so fortunate as " to detect certain points hitherto unnoticed which seemed to throw much light on the astronomical conceptions . " But be this as it may , it seems to 115 that Mr . Adams has done great service by his compilation , " in a clear and popular form which all may easily follow , " of " such an

accountoftheearliest recorded religionasmayafTordto all some cencep'ion of its transcendent majesty and supernal beauty . " Wemust , however , point out to our readers that , as with "The House of the Hidden Places , " this later work , " The Book of the Master , "isa book that must be studied as well as read , and we are convinced that the irnre carefully it is studied , the more firmly impressed will the reader be not only with the thoroughness of the author ' s investigations , and the scrupulous care with which he has conducted them , but likewise with the ability with which he has arrayed his arguments , and , as we believe , the justice of the contention for which he has been striving so earnestly throughout his book .

It is not our intention , nor , indeed , have we the time or space , to illustrate the opinion we have expressed of "The Book of the Master" by any lengthy quotations from its pages . Such a course would enable us to give but a very inadequate idea of the contents of the book . But the following passage from the first Chapter strikes us as being well calculated to impress upon the reader the degree of knowledge which the priests of Egypt possessed of science : "Nothing , " says Mr . Adams , "is more startling than the knowledge of science which the priests of Egypt are more and more generally admitted to have possessed , in proportion as the facts are m > re carefully

investigated . What architect of the present day would undertake to erect a building , more than 400 feet high , full of chambers of the most elaborate description , which should never need repair for six thousand years ? What other nation not only discovered the transcendental relation between radius and circumference—the foundation of all curvilinear measuiement—but utilised it as a principle of atchiteituraV construction ? Where else shall we find a building erected with such perfect accuracy that , if Mr . Flinders Petrie be correct , the minute displacement wrought in the course of ages represents ( and consequently measures ) the secular variation due to a recondite cosmical

foice ? Where else shall we find an antique Kalendar bised on a correct knowledge of the motion of the earth ? What other people knew , as Dr . Brugsch and Mr . Maspero aver , the proper motion of the sun in space ; or who devised the lovely cycle of the herald star , which measured whole ages by the rising light as it dawned for a tmment on the eastern horizon ? " This passage serves to illustrate both the style of Mr . Adams and the earnest spirit with which he has entered on his subject , and which is maintained throughout the whole series of chapters ; and we feel sure the rjader will have no serious difficulty in following one who writes so clearly that , to use the conventional phrase , " he who runs may read " and understand what is herein written .

Craft Masonry.

Craft Masonry .

Mistley Lodge , No . 2339-Special interest was attached to the monthly meeting of this lodge at Manningtree , Essex , on Thursday , the 23 rd ult ., from the fact that the opportunity was taken to bid farewell to Bro . the Rev . Wm . Cree , Chap , to the lodge , and Prov . G . Chap . Essex , who has resigned the Vicarage of Manningtree , and is leaving for another sphere of work in London . The W . M . ( Bro . I . B . Button ) expressed the great regret of all the members of the Mistley Lodge at losing a brother who had been a consistent Mason

amongst them ever since he came to Manningtree . No lodge could afford to lose such a brother , and they felt they could not let him depart without some token to remind him of the friends he hail left behind him . It was the fervent hope of them all that Bro . Cree might long live to wear the jewel of a Prov . G . Chaplain , which he was about to hand to him , and he might be assured that whenever he had an opportunity to visit the Mistley Lodge he would have a most hearty welcome . The VV . M . then , amidst the hearty plaudits of the brethren , placed on Bro . Cree's breast the jewel , which was inscribed as follows : " Presented to VV . Bro . the Rev . VV . Cree , Prov . G . Chaplain ,

Essex , by some of the brethren of the Mistley Lodge , No . 2339 , as a token of their esteem for his truly Masonic spirit . " Bro . the Rev . VV . Cree , who , on rising was received with applause , said he had been taken quite by surprise , as he had never contemplated receiving such a token of their kindness . He telt it was quite undeserved . ( " No , no . " ) Since he had been in Manningtree he had received nothing but kindness , courtesy , and brotherly love from all the members , and he should value their handsome gift , not only for its own sake , but from the kind feeling that had prompted them to give it . ( Applause . )

Amongst those present on the occasion were Bros . J . R . Butler , P . M ., P . P . A . G . D . C ; C . E . Garrard , P . M ., P . P . G . R . ; G . T . Taylor , P . M . ; O . Bendall , P . M ., P . P . G . Stwd . ; G . F . Hempson , I . P . M . ; VV . G . Synnot , P . M . 255 , S . W . ; S . Maclean , P . M . 1470 , D . of C ; W . Martin , J . W . ; W . II . Richardson , S . D . ; G . E . Mason , J . D . ; Alfred Stewart , I . G . ; S . E . Free , Stwd . ; C . Stone , and IL Stone . Bro . the Rev . C . Pierrepont Edwards , 51 , was a visitor . A letter expressing regret at his inability to be present was received from the Prov . G . Secretary ( Bro . Railing ); and Bro . A . J . II . Ward , P . M . 650 , P . P . S . G . W ., telegraphed his regret .

Doric Lodge , No . 2695 , The first anniversary of the formation of the Doric Lodge , Hvcrogii . e , whose consecration was reported in the F ' reemason 12 months ago , was celebrated on Thursday , the 23 rd ult . When the scheme was first mooted of forming a second lodge in Harrogate it will be remembered that some of the unco wise ones shook their heads , and though not venturing in so many words to prophesy failure , yet by shrugs and neds implied it . It must therefor- be especially gratifying to the promoters to find

not only that the venture has proved a marvellous success , but that , so far from injuring the previously existing lodge , which i was also prophesied , it has done it good . The Harrogate and Claro Lodge was contending with dilliculties which need not be particularised , but which were of a somewhat oppressive character . The Doric has come to the rescue , has shared the liabilities , and diminished the burden by one-half . The consequence has been that the older lodge has , so to say , veae « ed its youth and shown an energy and vigour which has surprise J its many friends .

Ihe firtt Worshipful Master o ! the new lod ^ e , it will be remim ' iered , was Bro . i homas Woods , and it is doubtless due largely to him , in the first instance , but also to the excellent backing he has received , that the Doric Lodge , commencing 12 months ago with 16 founders , now proudly points to a muster roll of 30 members . The ceremonies , too , have been ab ' y worked and fdithlu ly carried out , and it must be a great satisfaction , to the W . M . in particular , and to the P . Ms , who have helped him , to see that the puny child of a year ag ) is dsveb ping into

lusty health and vigour . Whilst doing its work well , the young lodge has alsi practised charity , and dispensed abundant hospitality . Without giving details , it may be mentioned that the W . M . set a noble example by contrihating very hands im ; ly to the funds of the Masonic Institutions . Tnat example has been well folhwjd , and we have no doubt that so laudable an ambition will be continued , and will be held up as an incentive to those who shall come after . Thus discharging Masonic duties in th : lodge and practising Masonic virtue out of it , there can clearly be no objectijn to tne

promotion of the social interciurse and goud fellowship which has in a marked degree characterised the brief career of the Doric Lodge . Inteicj . ninunion of this kind bringj brethren of the same toJge and of others more closely together , and has been the cement of many a life-long friendship . Such are th : lin ^ s upjn wiich th : W . M . and his fellow founders have formed the Doric Lodie , ani from the proceedings of thi evening , which we briefly record , it may be gathered that their work is admired ani their effort ; , appreciated .

The lodge was opened at four o ' clock by Brj . T . Woods , P . M . 44 S , VV . M ., in the presence of Bros . W . II . Wainhouse . LP . VI . ; VV . Davey , S . W . ; | . IL Griffiths , J . W . ; S . II . Chile , Treas . ; W . Petty , Chap . ; F . II . Ingle , Sec ; J . Smetham , S . D . ; V . B . Keid , J . D . ; Max Illume , P . P . G . O ., Org . ; 11 . Marshall , I . G . ; F . K . Paull , Stwd . ; and John Kichardsjii , P . M ., P . P . G . Purst . At the opening , or subsequently , the following brethren of the Djric Lodge were in attend nice : Bros . E . Davies , K . Falshiw , C . Atkinson , E . solii , A . W . H . Walk : r . F . Ilowson , O .