Original Correspondence.

to any lodge for some time , and is , I fear , an unmitigated scoundrel and a disgraceful Masonic tramp . It would be a lesson to the crowd on the road , and a relief to the Craft , if he could be taken up and punished for obtaining money under false pretences , " & c . I a"ree with Bro . Bird , and if 1 get half a chance will certainly charge him with that offence , if only to make him

an example to those who , by their specious lies , bias the minds of the benevolent amongst us against those who really require and are deserving , of assistance . Should this man present himself to any one of your readers , I shall esteem it a favour if he will let me know of his whereabouts . YoursTraternally , JAMES STEVENS . Clapham , S . W .

GREATEST MASON IN THE WORLD . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — On my return home after a lengthened stay on the Continent , I have seen in a recent number of the Frccmasoii a letter from " A . 33 , " in which he repudiates the

suirn-estion of another of your correspondents , that there may be other members of the Craft of equal eminence and merit to thc distinguished Craftsman for whom he " A . 33 " claims the proud distinction of being the greatest Mason in the world . " A . 33 " challenges your readers to name another Freemason having equal or greater claims to the proud epithet he has bestowed on the illustrious brother

referred to . I humbly accept the challenge and submit the name of Bro . F . F . Oddi , Grand Secretary of Egypt , as being in my opinion the " Greatest Mason in the world . " Bro . Oddi is a "Cosmopolitan" Freemason of the highest renown , and one who has admittedly conferred the greatest benefit on all the various Degrees of our beloved Craft . Yours fraternally , A PRINCE OF THE ROYAL SECRET .

September 23 rd . [ We think that both our esteemed correspondents have forgotten Mrs . Malaprop ' s sage adage— "Comparisons are odorous . " Had not such an unprofilable discussion better cease?—Ed . F . M . J

THE OLDEST FREEMASON . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir andj Brother , — I have been desired by the brethren of my lodge , Peace , 322 , to write you on a subject of controversy between many brethren and friends—especially in this district—as

to who is the eldest Freemason now living in England ; and we should be glad if you could supply the information , viz ., age on last birthday and date , and also the date when , and where , the venerable brother was initiated . I am proud to say that we have belonging to our . lodge a very good old Mason indeed—Brother Philip Chetliam , P . M ., Sec ^—who

was born on the 29 th January , 17 SS ; joined Lodge of Peace , Stockport , 3 rd October , 1 S 11 ; installed W . M . 1 S 41 ; appointed Secretary December 2 nd , 1 S 46 ; and also belongs to the Templar , Arch , and Mark Degrees , f regret to say that he has not been able to attend lodge since April , 1 S 79 , being troubled with rheumatism . He always seems happy ,

and considers himself well in every other way , taking into consideration liis advanced age , viz ., ninety-four next January ; boasts that he never had the headache in his life , and glories in Masonry and in the satisfaction of having done his duty well and faithfully to his Lodge—having rescued it from a comparative stale of poverty to a sound financial

condition ; and , in conjunction with his colleague and Treasurer , the late Bro . Stanycr , enabled the lodge to invest a good round sum for charitable and lodge purposes , in which good cause he was well supported by his son , the late John Clark Chetliam , P . M ., P . P . G . S . B . Cheshire , both of whom were proud of the fact of there being at one and the

same time three P . M . 's , viz ., father , son , and grandson , also three other grandsons and myself ( grandson-in-law ) and my father , Bro . David Renshew , a great friend of theirs , all in the same lodge together . I must not conclude this epistle and inquiry without mentioning the very great pleasure it gives old Father Philip to remember and narrate to

his visitors the kind enconiums as to his minute book by the late Lord Comhcrmcre , also the hearty congratulations to him from the officers of Grand Lodge . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours most respectfully and fraternall y , SAMUEL REN'SHAW . 22 , Bridge-street , Stockport . September 27 th .

Reviews.

Reviews .

BOOK CATALOGUES . Pickering and Co ., 06 , Haymarket , St . James , W . this well known firm , which has changed its "locale , " 3 ^ \ ° ^ notec ' " J issued its catalogue , No . 103 , and which contains many most valuable and scarce works ,

some of them " nuts" for book collectors . The main contents of the catalogue are books relating to the Prayer wok , and the Reformation , Scotland , Shakespeare , Ritson , | naw , Shelley , Thackeray , the New Testament , Walpole , 11 The catalogue is well worth perusal . To all book "" lectors it will have much interest .

J-Salkeld , 1 , Orange-street , Red Lion-square , W . C . - ^ like-Id ' s catalogue , No . 1 S 3 , has some books relating to ' leemasons , and among others , " Long Livers , " though < - think there is an error as to the date , which is said in the ^ taiogue lobe 1772 . There are a very great number of urious works in his catalogue , which is , as usual , interest" >

Reviews.

DIE FREIMAUREREI IN IHRER WAHREN BEDEUTUNG . GEO . KLOSS . Berlin , 1 SJ 5 . VVe have been looking over some German Books lately on Freemasonry , and think it right to call attention to one or two , which have hardly , though published some years back in Germany , received in England thc attention they deserve . This work of Kloss ' s is one of these . For the time it was written , it is very exhaustive and clear , and

though we cannot say , critical !}' , that it is free from errors , or that its conclusions are always sound , yet it is in itself one of tbe most lucid and conscientious books ever written on Freemasonry . There is one aspect of German Freemasonry , which has always been a severe " crux " to us , and so we think it will be to Bro . Gould , whose attention we know has lately turned in the same direction , when we mention it . It is this . German speculative Freemasonry commences

about the third decade of the eighteenth century , and yet the Steinmetzen were still in existence , and "decrees" relating to them on Imperial authority , are mentioned by Kloss , as given late in the eighteenth century . He tells us himself , he has seen records of the Steinmetzen "Bruderschaft" at Frankfort , and that there existed and still exists a record of admissions into the fraternity from 1707 to 1 S 04

unbrokcnly . We also find allusion to the " Haupt Hiitte " at Strasburgh , the "Hiitten" at Vienna , Basle , Rochlitz , Nassau , Heidelburg , Zurich , Schletstatt and other places . And yet , the whole of this movement and organization passes away , and a new " Fraternity" appears on the scene . Either , then , there was no possible combination and connection between the " Steinmetzen " and the Freemasonry of 1730 , or there is some other explanation

necessary . ___ . In England tbe movement of 1717 professed to be a revival of the Grand Assembly . In Germany are found no traces of such a position of affairs . The " Steinmetzen , " though recognized by the " State , " according to Kloss , are not recognized by the " Frcimaurer Logen " at all , as far as we know , and apparently disappear from activity altogether . In the latter part of last century and beginning

of this , owing to the letter of the Abbe Grandier , first by Vogc ! in 17 S 5 , and Albrecbt in 1792 , Schneider in 1 S 03 , Krausc in 1 S 10 , Heldmann in 1 S 19 , Stieglitz in 1 S 2 S , Heideloff in 1 S 44 , and others , it was sought to connect German Masonry with the Steinmetzen . But why this utter disconnection between tbe German

Steinmetzen and German Speculative I ' reemasonry—at the time , too , when their organization was still existing and under State control ? VVe invite Bro . Findel's attention to this point , if he still reads our pages , as it is a very important one , in our humble opinion , for a full history of Freemasonry , and requires grave attention .

DIE MYSTERIEN DKR 1 IEIDENKIRCHF . G . E . ECKKUT . F . Ilurter , Schaffhauseii , 1 SG 0 . This is another German work , little known in England . It professes to divine Freemasonry from Mithraic and Manichican sources , and declares that the " Cathari , " or Catliarcnscs an Italian sect , of whom little is known historically , were called "Sons of thc Widow . " He also mixes up the Templars with Freemasonry . The value of

the work is that it gives some documents not found elsewhere , and provides for the student references which are very valuable . The writer maintains the reality of the charter of Cologne . Among alleged documents from Krause ' s " Kunsterkundcn " he gives us the well-known catechism beginning , " Brother , is there anything between you and 1 ?" . This has always appealed to us to be made up , so to say , of several formularies , and to be neither

authentic nor correct in itself . The catechism also claimed to be Johannite , and to have been used b y the ancients . Altogether , Eckert ' s work , except for the documents , is not reliable or sound . But it is a very able work . VVe shall return to one or two points be alludes to and facts he mentions before long . Eckcrt talks of a " Haupt Bauhiitte , " at Cologne , in I 5 j 0 , and gives an example , at page 2 S ) , of an examination common still in Rostock Kiel , and other towns in

Mecklenburgb , of a stranger apprentice . But where he get it from be does not say . It alludes to "Anton Hieronymus " and " Balkan , " and seems to have a few traces of our Order and system , but very few . There is just an "idea " of Masonry in it , and that is all . VVe have seen another examination which certainly has no Masonry in it at all . And then this difficult question repeats itself , —what was , if any , the connection between the German Steinmetzen and German Speculative Freemasonry ?

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

OLD SCOTTISH LODGES . Can Bro . I ) . M . Lyon or any other Scottish " student " throw any light on the following - entries in a roll of lodges , " holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , " in the "History of Freemasonry" published by A . Laurie and Co ., Edinburgh , 1804 ? Among them I find " De la Parfaite Union de Namur , " " Roman Eagle , Edinburgh , " " La

Douce Harmonic , " "La Ardente Amitie , " "Faithful Friends , " " De L'Oiicntdc Marseilles . " Can any account or history be given of these lodges , what their end ? Where are the minutes of the Roman Eagle Lodge ? Several points might arise of deep interest , as students will see , if we could receive a proper account of such bodies , once existing , but now , as far as I know , long since vanished away , and lost in obscurity and forgetfulncss . MASONIC STUDENT .

SCOTTISH AUTHORITIES . The writer of the history alluded to above claims Ramsay and Robinson as authorities for the theory that " Freemasonry was a secondary order of Chivalry . " And we know how far their authority goes . One was a theory , the other an

ut dicitur . But he also mentions " Leyden ' s Preliminary Dissertation to the Complaynt of Scotland , " pages 67—71 , and the preface to thc sixth edition of " Guillim ' s Display of Heraldry . " Can airy Scottish brother help us to verify the first reference ? Can the "Her . Old . Temp . " enlighten us as to the other ? MASONIC STUDENT ' .

MOSLEM FREEMASONRY . The Times of the 27 th ult ., has the following : — " Important communications have been addressed to the Egyptian vernacular Press , and the powerful confraternity

Masonic Notes And Queries.

of Sidi Abdel Kader el Chilian ! , which has a college at Ka'nvan and forms one of the five sub-divisions of a widespread system of Moslem Political Freemasonry , is using its exertions and influence to prevent the destruction of the sacred city . " - Can any reader of the Freemason supply a brief history or sketch of the confraternity alluded to ? R . F . GOULD .

EARLY ALLEGED EXPOSURES OF FREEMASONRY . This list requires a little more time than I can give to it for a few days , and so I leave it until I can fairly put it before my readers . It is important in more senses than one , as we realize thereby the true position of Freemasonry early in the last century . M . S .

EARLY USE OF FREEMASON . In the Itinerarium of William of Worcester , in 1476 , we have a good deal of " Benet le Freemason" and " Fremason work . " Such expressions serve to show that " Freemason " is of late use . Can any one verify the reference to Rymer , ( I have not time just now ) , given by Mr . Wyatt Papworth ? M . S .

GUILLIM , STOVVE , AND "FREEMASON . " The appendix to the sixth edition of Guillim , 1724 , from which I gave an extract ( page 419 ) was by a Captain Logan , and the paragraph struck me—not with any idea of its being original—but as shewing that in 1724 Mason and Freemason were convertible terms even as applied to the City Guild ; and , moreover , thattlie reputation of the Freemasons

for " affable and kind meetings" stood as high then as at the present day , and had done so ever since the year 1411 . Such a statement would scarcely have been inserted in a book like " Guillim , " if the editor had not been satisfied that it rested on some solid foundation , or was a matter of more than usual public notoriety . I am happy to say my note has been productive of good , for it brought forth from "Masonic Student" the interesting information

( page 427 ) that tbe passage is copied from Stowe . This carries us back another 130 years or more . " Masonic Student" gives no reference , but Stow ' s first book , "The Summary of the Chronicles , " is dated 15 O 5 , while his " Survey of London " was published in 159 S , a date that reminds me of Bro . Hughan's note ( page 427 ) referring to Bro . Ryland's article in the "Magazine , " giving 1594 as the earliest date when . Freemason is mentioned in connect tion with the old Masons' Arms . HER . ORD . TEMP .

Dedication Of A Lodge At Chacewater, Cornwall.

DEDICATION OF A LODGE AT CHACEWATER , CORNWALL .

Bro . the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Prov . Grand Master of Cornwall , accompanied by other Prov . Grand Officers , visited Chacewater , on the 20 th ult ., and in the alternoon formally dedicated Boscawen Lodge , No . 6 gg , in thc presence of a large number of brethren . The lodge in

which the brethren now transact their business was opened about three years ago , and is a commodious and well-furnished room , forming part of a large building erected at the rear of the Britannia Hotel . In the ordinary , course of events the lodge would have been dedicated long since ; but unforeseen circumstances have on one or two occasions prevented the ceremony from being performed before , and

it was not until the above date that it was found possible to consult the convenience both of the Prov . Grand Master and the brethren of the lodge . The brethren met at one o ' clock for the transaction of ordinary business , and this over the ceremony of dedication was proceeded with . The brethren present , in addition to the Prov . Grand

Master , were Bros , the Hon . and Rev . J . T . Boscawen , W . M . of the lodge ; E . T . Carlyon , P . G . Secretary ; Simcoe , P . G . S . W . ; J . Hocking , P . G . J . W . ; G . B . Pearce , P . G . S . of VV . ; R . John , P . P . G . D . C ; VV . H . Clnistoe , P . G . S . B . ; Rev . G . L . Church , P . P . S . G . W . ; J . F . Hooper , P . G . O . ; VV . Rooks , P . A . G . P . ; J . Hall , P . P . J . G . U . ; J . Paull , P . P . G . S . D . ; VV . Lean , P . P . G . T . ;

J . Niness , P . P . G . R . ; E . D . Anderton , P . P . J . G . VV . ; J . H . Mitchell , P . G . Steward ; | . P . Trevarrow , P . G . Tyler ; W . E . Michel ) , P . P . G . S . !) . ; C . Truscott , jun ., P . P . G . S . B . ; J . Eslick , S . W . G 99 ; W . A . Bennett , J . W . G 99 ; C . Rapson , Sec . O 99 ; II . Searle , S . D . Ggg ; | . F . Lee , I . P . M . ; J . A . Moyle , P . M . ; W . Bray , J . Holman , VV . Hugoe , and S . Mitchell , P . M . 's of G 99 ; VV .

Bailey , W . M . 1544 ; G . Wedlake , 121 ; VV . Simmons , 131 ; T . Mitchell , P . M . 100 G ; J . Levcrton , P . M . 100 G ; C . Tyacke , S . D . looG ; VV . L . Rowe , 589 ; j . Jose , P . M . 331 ; E . C . Carne , jun . ; J . M . Carne , 75 ; J . Reynolds , W . M . 331 ; G . S . Bray , P . M . 5 S 9 ; G . M . Downing , J . D . 131 ; and others . Bro . BOSCAWEN , the W . M ., saidhewasMcputed by the

brethren to ask the Prov . Grand Master to dedicate the lodge to the purposes of Freemasonry , and he did so with all the greater pleasure because he believed the work bad been carried out in a way that would at once commend itself to his lordship , who bad always expressed a strong opinion that it was undesirable for any Masonic Lodge to be in immediate connection with a public house . ( Hear ,

hear . ) This was a feeling which the brethren of the " Boscawen " Lodge fully shared , and he had now to ask his lordship to dedicate the lodge which the brethren , in recognition of this feeling , had provided for themselves . ( Applause . ) The PROV . G . M . said it gave him the greatest pleasure to be present on an occasion of so much interest , and the

W . M . had rightly expressed his feelings in saying that he rejoiced whenever he found a lodge had a room of its own , and was not compelled to hold its meetings in a public house . He was glad to see that they had so excellent a room at Chacewater , and to be present to take part in the ceremony of dedication . It was usual , be believed , on such an occasion for the Prov . G . M . to address a few words to the brethren , but it had never been his custom to make

what was called a Masonic oration or address of any kind . From their initiation and in tbe various Degrees through which they had all passed , as well as through seeing the rites performed in the case of others , they had heard the precepts of the Order repealed lo them in solemn terms over and'over again , and be hoped they had always regarded them as a reality , not merely as a form of words or as a matter of ancient custom . It was not necessary ,