Masonic Notes And Queries.

it not hold itself up as the model ? Would it point to the example of the Grand Lodge of France ? Could it assume that its private lodges and Masters were acquainted with the customs of a rival rite , nay , instructed in them ? Does not Bro . Woodford perceive that the Lodge of St . John of Jerusalem and the Grand Lodge of France arc one and the same—the full and the abbreviated title of the same body .

Is it not perfectly clear that the Lodge St . John of Jerusalem is the Grand Lodge of France , and inasmuch as the Patent of Morin is issued by the Grand Wardens , and Members of the Grand and Sovereign Lodge of St . John of Jerusalem , it is no longer contestable that Grand Lodge of France did execute Morin's Patent . Remember at this date there existed for a few months ( 1761 ) two Grand

Lodges of France . The quarrels between the Emperors and the Knights , i . e . the nobility and the plain citizens , had caused the severance . One Grand Lodge , that of Chaillon de Jonville and Lacorne evidently fused with the Emperors , no longer a mere compact as in 1 755 similar to our Royal Arch Chapter , but a veritable fusion : and for this reason the Respectable Lodge becomes Grand Sovereign . And lest it

should be deemed extraordinary that a Grand Lodge should assume a particular name like a private lodge , let me mention the Grand Lodge of the Sun , at Baireuth ; the Grand Lodge of Unity , at Frankport ; the Grand Lodge Royal York , in Berlin ; the Grand Mother Lodge of the Three Globes , Berlin ; the Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland ; the Grand Lodge of Concord , at Darmstadt . Why not also the Grand Lodge of St . John of Jerusalem in the

Orient of Paris ? Will the editor please excuse my long note ; but when such an authority as Bro . Woodford makes an assertion , which after prolonged study I hold to be erroneous , it becomes my duty to make more than a counter assertion . His prestige would outweigh my bare statements unless properly backed up . I am obliged to enter into very minute details in self defence and out of regard for the interests of historic truth . G . WM . SPETH .

512 ] SOME QUERIES . Will any of your correspondents kindly inform me what are the dates of the different editions of the following works ; " Preston ' s Illustrations , " " Hutchinson's Spirit of Freemasonry , " "Prichard ' s Masonry Dissected , " " Browne ' s Masonic Master Key , " " Ahiman Rezon , " by Lawrence Dermot , and the same work by Thos . Harper ? A correct list of the several editions of these interesting works will interest many young Masons . A STUDENT IN MASONRY .

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .

GTraft iflasonrij . FORTITUDE AND OLD CUMBERLAND LODGE ( No . 12 ) . —This lodge met on the and inst .,

at the Ship and Turtle , Leadenhall-street , E . C . Present : Bro . Bedell , W . M . ; Georges Pigache , S . W ., W . M , elect , O . F . Peal ! , J . W . ; D . Rolls , P . M ., Treas . ; A . Snellgrove , P . M ., Sec ; D . Nichols , P . M ., P . G . S . j Coombes , P . M . ; W . Browne Kidder , P . M . ; Raynham

W . Stewart , P . M ., P . G . D . ; A . H . Lilley , P . M . ; and L . Ruf , P . M . Visitors : Bros . Ramsay , P . M ., P . G . W . Middx . ; Curlier , P . M . ; Valerani , S . W . 16 S 7 ; Jarvis , G . S . Surrey ; J . E . Shand , P . M ., Sec . 1563 , 2030 ; and others . Bro . Nicholson was raised to the Third Degree , after which Bro . Georges Pigache , S . W ., was installed W . M . A Past Master ' s jewel was presented to Bro . Bcddell .

The brethren then adjourned to an excellent banquet , Bro . Pigache presiding , and giving the loyal and other toasts with his usual genial and happy style ; in response to his own health , stating how gratified he was at gaining the chair of K . S . in the lodge his father-in-law , Bro . W . Nicols , P . M ., introduced him soon after his arrival in Old England . Considering the difficulty he has had with our language , his efforts to obtain and work the position is

highly commendable . During the evening Bros . Pigache , Ramsay , and others sang some capital songs , and Bro . W . Rolls gave a recitation , and altogether this was a most auspicious meeting . We must not omit to state that during the evening a telegram arrived from Bro . Eugene Delacoste , P . M . 1627 , cousin of the W . M ., Bro . Pigache , with congratulations and apologies , & c , for his enforced absence . .

ST . THOMAS'S LODGE ( No . 142 ) . —This old lodge met on Saturday last , at the City Terminus Hotel , Cannon-street , Bro . S . W . Yockney , W . M ., presiding . The Past Masters present were Bros . George Powell , Frederick Thos . Dubois , Fredk . Macaulay , A . V . Haines , James W . Lambert , James Lewis Thomas , and Wm . Battye . The visitors were Bros . Col . Shadwell H . Gierke , Grand Sec ;

Ernest Flint , 121 ; George Thomas , 1194 ; Chas . Row ) , 464 ; E . N . Du Bois , 1216 ; E . Andrews , 1 S 6 ; George Cordwell , P . M . 3 ; H . Massey , P . M . 619 , 1028 ; John C . Lamnell , S . W . 214 ; F . West , G . Stwd ., P . P . G . R . Surrey , W . M . elect 4 ; Douglas W . Tough , S . W . 905 ; Henry S . Hughes , S . W . 1556 ; Wilhelm Ganz , P . G . Org . ; and R . C . C . White .

Bro . H . A . W . Reeves , P . M . S 07 , and amemberof 650 , was elected a joining member . By the courtesy of the W . M ., Bro . F . Macaulay , P . M ., passed Bro . Augustus Hyndeman Macaulay to the Second Degree . Bro . Yockney , W . M ., afterwards installed Bro . James Tatlock , J . W . and W . M . elect , as Master of the lodge , and the following brethren were invested as officers for the ensuing

year : Bros . H . Gamble Hobson , S . W . ; Dunbar , J . W . ; Wm . Battye , P . M ., Treas . ; George Powell , P . M ., Sec . ; ] as . Lewis Thomas , P . M ., P . A . G . D . C , D . C . ; Henry Reid , S . D . ; A . F . Meaden , J . D . ; T . C . Meade , I . G . ; F . G . Bailey , P . M ., Stwd . ; and Walker , Tyler . The report of the Audit Committee was brought up by the Treasurer , accepted , and ordered to be printed and circulated

among the members . The reply of the late Bro . H . C . Levander ' s brother to the vote of condolence passed at last meeting was read and ordered to be entered on the minutes . After some other business the W . M . presented Bro . Yockney with a Past Master's jewel , and in doing so said that in his humble opinion there never was an I . P . M . who more deserved it than Bro . Yockney for good fellowship and good feeling . Bro . Yockney , in acknowledging the gift , said it was a

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

great gratification to receive such a jewel , as it would always remind him of the greathonour he had had in occupying the chair of W . M . of this lodge . The lodge was then closed and the brethren adjourned to a choice banquet . The usual toasts followed . Bro . W . Ganz , P . G . Org ., replied on behalf of "The Grand Officers , " Col . Shadwell Gierke , G . S ., having been compelled to leave to fulfil another engagement . Bro . Ganz

said the Grand Secretary had commissioned him to say how much he had enjoyed the ceremony of installation , so ably carried out by Bros . Yockney and Haines . He himself could bear testimony to the excellence of the work , having witnessed it . The Grand Officers were always glad to visit lodges and see installations , especially when the work was done well . He very much missed his old personal friend , Bro . Levander , who when alive was one of the masters at

the London University , where two of his ( Bro . Ganz ' s ) boys were educated . Of course these occasional blanks must occur in all lodges ; but still it was a satisfaction that they had other members coming forward to the chair who would maintain the character of the lodge , and he wished the St . Thomas ' s Lodge every success under the guidance of its present Master . Bro . Yockney , I . P . M ., in proposing " The W . M ., " said

that in whatever capacity Bro . Tatlock had been placed in the lodge he had shown those qualifications which not only endeared him to the members of the lodge , but made the members feel certain that in the best sense of the term he was a most worthy Mason . He should not be able to propose such a toast as this in language which might be used with regard io himself , but he knew that he never looked wtth such confidence on the future of the lodge as when he

was able to instal the present Master in the chair of K . S . The Worshipful Master , in response , said it gave him the greatest gratification to occupy the position of W . M . He wished he could look forward with the same confidence as Bro . Yockney , who had passed through all the terrors of the office during the year now commenced ; but that which he had done in the St . Thomas ' s Lodge , if it had pleased the brethren , enhanced the pleasure which he experienced

in consequence of the expression of their feeling . If he had done , as he hoped he had , he had been incited to do it by the example , as he had once before mentioned in the lodge , which had been set , not only to himself , but to all the members—certainly all the officers—by those who had gone before him , and who now sat on his left , and any honour that accrued to the Master must redound to them ,

because few persons could rise to any position without doing that which would bring them into the estimation of their fellow men . During the coming year , if spared , he should endeavour to do every thing in his power that would keep the lodge in the high position it now occupied , so thatwhen he left the chair he might gain the same expression of opinion and goodwill as had been given vent to that

evening . In proposing the _ toast of "The Visitors , " the W . M . referred to each visiting brother specifically , and expressed the pleasure of the brethren at being associated with them . Bro . F . West , Grand Steward , replying , said he was in the fortunate position of having that evening had somebody else to respond for him in another capacity , and it was not often one had that good luck , especially to have it done , as

it had been , effectually . Bro . Ganz , a member of this lodge , had been good enough to help him out of any difficulty he might have been in in other circumstances . It was , therefore , easy for him to respond to the kind words of the W . M ., and acknowledge the great hospitality of the lodge . The excellent M . C . of the lodge , Bro . Lewis Thomas , was a colleague in office with him in another lodge , and had given him the opportunity of visiting St . Thomas ' s

Lodge on this and other occasions . He was glad to renew the acquaintance now , and hoped again to renew it . An installation night was a little interesting to him at the present time . Thanks to Bro . Ganz again , he was introduced into Masonry ( perhaps they both appreciated the addition of years ) , and he ( Bro . Ganz ) saw him inducted into office in his mother lodge . He hoped to have the privilege of Bro . Ganz ' s presence when he was installed in No . 4 next

Monday ( the 16 th inst . ) . Being present on an installation night reminded him of the ceremony he went through some years ago , and it refreshed his memory with regard to some points he had forgotten . It might perhaps interest the brethren to know that Bro . Ganz and he belonged to a lodge which omitted a portion of the installation ceremony . It was one of two lodges which did not owe allegiance to the Grand

Lodge of England ; their origin was not derived from the Grand Lodge of England , and the Master had not the responsibility of taking care of a piece of old parchment . But they observed one thing in the traditions of Masonry which they had to turn their attention to more than any other . Whether they had a charter or had not , he believed the oldest lodge and the youngest had in view to act as honourable , upright men , and to extend the right hand of

fellowship to every one they came across . He hoped those principles would not be lost sight of . The smaller principle , which make people go in as if for a benefit society , was one which should be discouraged by everybody who had the principles of Masonry at heart . Freemasonry was a grand , noble , and ancient institution , and he hoped those larger principles would be encouraged , and the smaller ones wiped away . The smaller ones might be followed in private , but

not in Masonry . He concluded by hoping that another year he might come and see the responsibility of taking charge of the warrant handed over to another Worshipful Master . Bro . Cordwell likewise responded , and expressed the great gratification he had felt at seeing his old friend , Bro . Tatlock , placed in the chair . They had been many years on the most intimate terms of friendship , and there was no

one it would have given him greater pleasure to see placed in the chair . He was sure that at the end of Bro . Tatlock ' s year of office the brethren would say they could not have made a better selection . Bro . Tatlock had Masonry at heart ; there was no one took a greater interest in it , and when a man was so actuated they might be sure he would discharge the duties of any office he might be entrusted with . The Worshipful Master , in proposing the toast of "The

P . M . ' s , " said that he hoped the visitors would not think he was speaking disrespectfully towards them when he said he looked upon this toast as the most important of the evening . That which was most agreeable in all societies of men was the preserving of the traditions of the society among that collection of beings . The traditions were those things which endeared them to each other , which made them take an interest in that to which they belonged , and which , in

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

Masonry especially , formed the two conceptions which guided them in pretty well all they did . They had their own traditional history as regarded Freemasonry in general ; they had the traditions of their lodge as regarded each lodge in particular ; and possibly it was through those traditions in the past that they enabled Freemasonry to a very large extent to hold its high position in the whole known world . After that , he did not wish to grow poetical or

musical , but there was something so very subtle in the subject which made the mind more open to impressions , and led it back into the long vista of memory wherein they found their chief enjoyment , and wherein that which was nearest to them was the most agreeable . In offering thisltoast he had described it as being the most important of the evening as regarded the lodge In particular . He should have associated the names of Bros . Yockney and

Haines with the toast , as they had performed the ceremony of installation so beautifully , but , following out that idea , in years to come those who might be spared to the lodge would not look back to this evening with other feelings than those of gratification , and perhaps hopefulnsss , when their time should come to go through the ceremony in the same manner . He would have liked Bros . Yockney and Haines to address the lodge , because then the brethren

would have had an opportunity in a different way of expressing their gratification with the style in which those P . M . ' s did the work ; but it was the wish of those brethren , kindly expressed , that he should not call upon them , but upon another old P . M . Therefore , while taking the opportunity of thanking them for what they had done that evening , he would call upon Bro . Dubois to reply to the toast .

The toast having beem most heartily received , Bro . F . T . Dubois , P . M ., replied . Those , he said , who had done the work of the lodge should , in all justice , have had the precedence . But he supposed their modesty was equal to their merit , and they had delegated the task to one whose modesty exceeded his merit . If they liked to invert the phrase they were welcome to do so . It would be impossible on speaking in behalf of the P . M . ' s to omit the

name of one who , for the first time for many years , had not been present at the installation—Bro . H . C . Lavender . The memory of that dear brother would be remembered as Jong as the St . Thomas ' s Lodge existed . Time might dim it , but they would never so wrong his memory as to forget him . They were sure that now he reigned with the stars above , and believed that his work was transplanted otherwhere . They regretted very much the absence of

some of the other old P . M ' s ., but hoped to see them among them again soon . While the ranks were getting diminished , they were nevertheless replenished , and gradually brethren were getting into the list of the fixed stars of the lodge , the P . M ' s . The W . M . had set an excellent example to the brethren that evening , in making short speeches . It was to be hoped that he and the coming Masters , as well as the P . M's ., would have the

best traditions of the lodge in their hearts , so that they might be preserved in the midst of the lodge . In giving " The Treasurer and Secretary , " the Worshipful Master said the Treasurer , Bro . Battye , was the father of the lodge . They had also Bro . Powell as the successor of Bro . Levander as Secretary . 1 he lodge would at all times express their gratitude to him for undertaking those arduous duties . But he might mention that when Bro . Levander

was taken ill , Bro . Lambert at very short notice undertook the secretarial duties at a time when they were most arduous . _ That was no light thing to do , and the fact that this evening had been a great success was in no small measure due to the exertions of Bro . Lambert . In the name of the lodge , he begged to thank Bro . Lambert for his truly brotherly act in undertaking the duties of Secretary . He was sure that the same spirit whuld actuate all the officers of

the lodge . Bro . Battye , P . M ., responding as Treasurer , said the brethren must excuse his feelings on that occasion when he found his old friend Levander not occupying his usual place . It was on this occasion that his absence was more particularly noticed by all the brethren . Ever since 1875 he and Bro . Levander rose together to respond to this toast , which had always been received by the brethren in

the kindest and most generous manner . His ( Bro . Battye ' s ) name was always kindly received , and , in return , he might say that as long as he occupied the position of Treasurer it would be a labour of love to work hard in that capacity for his mother lodge . It was a source of gratification to him to be elected year after year to occupy that distinguished position . He could endorse all the W . M . had said with respect to Bro . Lambert . It was a sreat thine- to have his

assistance . Without his aid the lodge would not have been so well served . Bro . Lambert had beer . ' most untiring in his zeal , and the lod ge could not speak too highly of his services , or thank him too much . The newly-appointed Secretary had his life before him , and had yet to win the same love Bro . Levander had obtained ; but he was not unknown to the brethren , and he wonld no doubt obtain as well deserved encomiums as Bro . Lambert ,

Bro . Powell , P . M ., also replied . It was just 23 years that night that he was initiated in the St . Thomas Lodge . It was < 22 years ago that he and the present Treasurer rose together , as he ( Bro . Powell ) was in the Warden ' s chair , and Bro . Battye was in the chair in 1 S 63 , Bro . Gilbert in 1864 , and he ( Bro . Powell ) in 1865 . He hoped they might rise together many times . Bro . Lambert , P . M ., respected the kindly references to

Bro . Levander . He felt very proud and honoured by the I . P . M . coming to him within one day of Bro . Levander ' s death ( there was only one day intervened between the death and the meeting of the lodge ) and asking him ( Bro . Lambert ) to occupy the position of Secretary . He took it willingly , for he thought it his duty to the W . M . and the lodge to do everything for the lodge that had endeared itself to him by the extraordinary kindness and rroodwill it

had shown him . From one and all of the brethren of the j lodge—Masters , Past Masters , and brethren—he had re- ceived but unlimited kindness , and he felt bound to take the office , though perfectly aware how feeble and incom- ¦' petent he was for it . He had been only a stop-gap in the old hulk while the very best materials were being selected to repair it . Bro . Powell was the best material , and they ,

would have the best workmanship from him . With Bro .: Powell ' s strong opinions , his thorough knowledge of Masonry , his judicious conduct , his tact and kindly spirit , any irregularities he would be able to clear and smooth away . It had been said that Queen Mary stated , thai when she died " Calais" would be found written on he ) heart . He ( Bro . Lambert ) could well say that when h «