The Perils Of Table Talk

sometimes talk in the unrestrained confidence and gaiety of that " magna charta" of Britons , the hour of dinner . If we were all " called over the coals" for all the " light airy nothings " fair gay , reckless speeches we have made to some and dangerous daughter ol Eve , sitting an " un

clothed galaxy" by our side , we fear our reckoning would be heavy ; we are inclined to think that , perhaps , even the wife of our bosom might resent that soft speech or that soft admission we made to lhat fascinating widow or that

captivating young wi / e , or that most pleasant damsel . Clearly the Lord Chief Justice is right in seeking to uphold the British dinner table , free in all its surroundings , free in all its harmless and customary expansion of soul and sentiment . We trust that we have heard the last of similar

mistaken proceedings of such punctilious husbands , or of such uncharitable imputations of motives which were never avwoed and of word-s which were never spoken . Even if they were what could it signify ? They were simply a " privileged communication , " and so it will be found to be

properly laid dovt'n in the " new code , " otherwise good-bye to the charms of a pleasant companion , adieu to the agreeabilities of a good dinner , "farewell , a long farewell , " to all that social liberty of speech and pleasant gossip , which rewards us

after the trials , and troubles , and cares of the day , amidst clever women and companionable men , with the " attic salt" of gay banter and kindly wit , all , in fact , that constitutes the life and charm of English society .

News From Zululand.

NEWS FROM ZULULAND .

We congratulate our readers and the United Services on the good news from Zululand , the thorough subjugation , as we trust , of the Zulus , and an end to a harrasing war .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ W-: do riot hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving of , tbe opint . ns expressed hy our correspondents , hut we wish in a spivit ci ' " fair play lo . ill , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ]

PROFESSED EXPOSURES OF FREEMASONRY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " D _ -ar - ir and Brother ,- — The Editor of Truth assures his readers that he has often " amused" himself by passing for a Freemason . No doubt this is easy enough . I knew a man who

passed for a Church clergyman by opening a chapel in which he used the Church service , and for a Master of Aris of Cambridge by the simple expedient of wearing a Master ' s hood . If a man , whom you suppose to be a mm t . f honour and a gentleman , passes for what he is not , you are likely to believe him until you find him out . Quite enough is known about Freemasonry to enable an

unscrupulous man to impose upon the unwary . The nunc . ; of the officers of the lodge are no secret , and it is very easy to talk about squares , levels , and perpendiculars . Hut a word of caution may bc addressed to Masons who , unless they really learn their system , may possibly betray their trust . Masons may well afford to laugh at the

pretended revelations of the bditor of Truth . But I own that I have sometimes felt that there was a little risk in the free admission to our lodges of brethren " vouched for . " I venture to suggest that no stranger should bc admitted to a lodge unle-s previously examined and approved . I knew an adventurer and a man of gootl address and unbounded self-confidence , who , as I afterwards found out , was quite unscrupulous enough to give a

coherent account of his becoming a Alison , and excuse defects on the score of being msty . I know a Alason of good standing who has forgotten the entire system . Last year in travelling I met a man whom I afterwards found to be a Mason , who failed to recognize me as one , not from ignorance , but from caution . This is safer and better than allowing oneself to " amuse" those who pretend to be what tliey are not . Yours fraternally , S . D .

CAGUOSTRO . Dear Bro . Kenning , — Since I read Bro . Yarker ' s letter 1 have looked into " Joseph Bilsamo , " and find , i . f course , ( as my recollection of a bonk , real years ago , seemed to tell mc ) , that Dumas represents C . igliostro both ns a chstlatan antl an Illumine , in neither oi which attributes tan he have

anything to do with I-rcctna-. onry . H-hen Bro . Vat ker si ys that he thinks Dumas represent , Caglto > tro in his " true character , " what does he mean ? what cm he mean ( with all p ssible respect to him ) : That Ca ^ liostro , for his own purp 'ses , may have been made an lllumini ' . is possible , but , as I have often said , - 'Illutninism " antl Freemasonry are as " far as the I ' oles asunder . " " Jlluminism " is ths product of a Roman Catholic Re-

Original Correspondence.

publican , taking the organization of Freemasnnry as its basis , though Weishaupt was an Illumine before he became a Freemason , and this , as I have often taken occasion to say , is a fact worth remembering . For thus it is that we actually owe to a Roman Catholic professor of Canon Law , who was also believed to be a Jesuit—tlT- most dangerous , and destructive , and secret , and revolutionary association the world has ever seen , the precursor of all

similar bodies in the world even now . But of such things Freemasonry knows nothing , and all such associations , be they what they may , Freemasonry openly repudiates . I do hope we have heard the end of any attempts to bolster up the nonsense of Caglistro's so-called Egyptian Rite , and that wc may leave all such rubbish— " Positively rubbish , my dear sir "—to those who prefer legends tc history and fiction to fact . Yours fraternally , dear Bro . Kenning , THE EDITOR OF YOUR CYCLOPAEDIA .

LODGE FUNDS AND PAST MASTERS' JEWELS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I think the brother signing himself J . W . in your issue of last week should know better than to uphold the expenditure of lodge funds for picnics , as " a custom very much in vogue ; " therefore , to my mind , all the less

astonishment , that a brother such as H . S . Alpass should see that the evil was growing to such an extent that it required rigorous treatment . All said in J . W . ' s letter would be very commendable , if they did but obtain their enjsyment at their own individual expenses . For no one of a social disposition , which , I trust , most Masons are , would think of condemning such pleasant gatherings of Masons

with their lady relatives and friends . I should like to say a word more about the presentation of lodge jewels , as 1 might be understood to condemn them in toto—such is not the case . If any member of a lodge en passing the chair is to receive a Past Master ' s jewel , where is the distinguished honour of possessing it ? I say , only bestow one when a W . M . has had an extra arduous year uf office , or has done something especially to promote

the welfare of his lodge , or has gne-i long service to the lodge ; and even then let it bc paid for by the brethren subscribing among themselves , as other testimonials are usually obtained . Then it would bc a maik of real appreciation . It is so easy to spend or vote away money which is not ours personally , and , therefore , I fail to see the honour attached to the possession of jewels obtained in this manner ; consequently , am one who would like to see the annual presentation of a Past Master ' s jewel done away

with . Whenever lodge funds are used for a presentation , let it be to purchase a Life Governorship to one of our Institutions in the name of the party whom the lodge sees fit to honour , then there would be no misappropriation of funds . I remain , very fraternally , yours , A NATIVE OF LIVERPOOL . Dover , July 22 nd , 1879 .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

As I think it well to collect all such " historical facts " as the following extract from a newspaper of 1737 , sent to tne kindly by my indefatigable friend , Bro . Hughan , I forward it 10 this interesting column , which I always like to see filled . MASONIC STUDENT .

" By Order of the GRAND MASTER . "The An-iual Feast of the Antient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons , will bj held on Thursday the aSth instant , at Fishmongers Hall , Thames-Street . " Pickets may be had at the following Places , viz . at the Braund's Head , New Bond-street ; the Shakespeare ' s

Head , Little Marlborough-slreet ; the Turk ' s He-ad , Greek-Street , Soho ; the Standard Tavern , Leicester-Fields ; the Shakespeare's Head , Covent-Garden , Forrest's Coffee House , Charing-Cross ; Mr . Moody ' s . Sword Cutler , near Temple-liar ; the King's Arms in the Strand ; Mr . Alkins's , Stationer , at the Queen ' s Head in Cheapside ; Mr . Cole , his Majesty ' s Whip-maker , in West-Smithfield ; the Swan

and Rummer , in Finch -ane ; the Swan upoa Fish-street Hill ; the Fountain in the Borough ; the Theatre Tavern , Goodman ' s FiclJs ; the Fountain on Snow-Hill ; the Mourning Bush , at Aldersgate ; the Rummer in Queenstreet , Cheapside ; and at Mr . Stephenson's , Glover , opposite Exeter-Exchange in the Strand . "N . B . Those Brethien who intend to go in the Grand

Procession , are desired to meet at the Right Honourable the Earl of Darnley's , Grand Master elect , at his Lirdship ' s House in Pall-Mall , at Twelve o'clock , at Noon precisely ; thence to proceed in CDaches or Chariots to the Hall as abovemention'd . " No Hackney Coaches to be admitted in the Cavalcade , nor any Brother into the Hall uncloated or artn'd . "

I think it right to mention for the information of Bro . Hughan and others , that by a communication with my friend the Rev . J . E . A . Fenwick there exists in the library of the late Sir Thomas Phillips , at Thirlestanc House , Cheltenham , a duplicate copy of Mr . Wilson's M- \ Both copies , Mr . Kenwick tells me , seem written " about the

same " time , and are " verbatim et literatum " the same in every other respect . So this gives us two copies of one MS . originally no doubt belonging to lodges , and I have myself no doubt that all 1 nlges hatl originally a roll , or MS . copy of the legend , anil that the " tianscripts " still existing were made from the original " rolls . " A . F . A . W .

Hughan's Masonic Register Of Medals And Lodges.

HUGHAN'S MASONIC REGISTER OF MEDALS AND LODGES .

FREEMASONS' HALT . MEDAL , A . D . 1780 . The medal of silver , and bearing the year 1780 , to which 1 have alluded in the Masonic Register , has been the source of much correspondence , for it seems that some lodges having the privilege to wear it ( in the person of

their W . M . for the time being ) have lost the medal , and so are unable to exercise the privilege . One lodge I know of , distinguished by the Grand Lodge thus to have the Freemasons' Hall medal of A . D . 1780 appended to the Master ' s jewel ( between the arms if the square ) , though , unfortunately , without the medal , has the deficiency supplied byusing one formerly belonging to a lodge wl . ich has become

defunct . The members generally , however , consider it to be the veritable medal presented by the Grand Lodge , and as tbe only difference to be detected is in the number engraved thereon , I have decided to let the brethren be contented accordingly . Another lodge , however , has not been so fortunate , for it has been through my enquiries in preparing the " Register of Masonic Medals and Lodges " (

Illustrated ) that the members knew ol their privilege as one of the contributors to the Freemasons' Hill loan , A . D . 1779 —1790 , and now , alas , after the most careful search , and every enquiry possible of the old members , not one can tell aught of the whereabouts of the medal , and , undoubtedly , it is lost . Should any brother have one of these

medals , once the property either of one of the lodges or individual subscribers , I shall be exceedingly glad if they would kindly spare it—at a price to be agreed—for the lodge in question , and the members would be delighted beyond measure if p . ble to see one of the medals again in use in their lodge , after an absence at least of half-a-century . The loss is not likely to occur again .

THE "BniTisit LODGE , " No . 8 , LONDON . In the work already alluded to , I state that the jewels of the British Lotlge , No . 8 , are ol gold or silver gilt , one other lodge only being so distinguished , but I am unable to say why the privilege was granted . One of the best informed members of the lodge , antl , certainly , possessing

most favourable opportunities to obtain such information , tells me that on a certain occasion Ihc Grand Lodge jewels were missing , and Ihe British Lodge , having sent theirs for the use ofthe Gran I Lodge , they were gilded for the purpose , and , on being returned , the necessary authority was given for them to be so used for the future . 1 should like to know as to this . WILLIAM J . HUGHAN .

FREEMASONRY IN ESSEX . I thank Bro . Hughan for his complimentary remarks on my article descriptive of Freemasonry in Essex , and equall y with him am I alive to the great importance of accuracy . Unfoitunately , there were some typographical errors in this particular sketch , and , as they occurred mostly in the figures , tney were of more moment than such errors generally are .

The blame for these , I fear , I must take to myself in not having overlooked the proof , as no one but the writer of such an article would bc able to verify the dates ; or , at all events , in order to do so the reader and sab-editor , entrusted with the duty of looking ewer the proof , would require to have at hand the materials from which it was complied , and the necessary comparisons would

occupy a very long time . In any future sketches of a like character which mav appear in the Freemason I will take care not to be guilty of the same oversi g ht . However , my object in drawing attention to what appeared to me , and would probably have appeared to any one in my position , a discrepancy between Bros . Hughan and Gould has been in one case gained through

the courteous explanation of the former . Some time between the publication of the last ante-Union and first post-Union Calendars—if I understand Bro . Hughan rightlythe Well-Disposed Lodge , No . 28 , of Waltham Abbey , migrated to Kensington Palace , changed its title to the Alpha Lodge , and died some time between 1814 and 1832 . This is the one additional link needed in order to

complete the tracing of the lodge , No 76 , " White Bear , in King-street , '' Golden-square , from its foundation in 1730 —1732 , was obiiously an error , as I mention 1730 as the year of its birth in another part of my article—to its disappearance from the roll some time between 1814 and 1832 . As regards Lodge No . 214 , I mentioned especially the fact of its migration from Romford to Brentwood . I

sail : " It was still at Romford when the Grand Lodge Calendar for 1877 was issued , but in the course of that year it appears to have migrated to its present quarters at Brentwood , " that is , in the year that elapsed between the issue of the 1877 and 1878 Calendars . The fact of "its migration " from Essex to Middlesex having taken place so very recently , justified my including it in my sketch of Freemasonry in the former county . In the case of Lodge

St . Nicholas , No . 174 , of Harwich , in 179311 st , as it does not figure in Bro . Hughan ' s Register as having been in the 1813 list , " Motferns , " I conclude that it died out between 1793 and 1813 ; while in the case of Bro . Gould ' s lodge , No . 186 , "Gothic Lotlge , Foot Guards , Sut ' . ling House , Whitehall , " of 1793 , no doubt , some time between that year and 1814 . it had become the No . 186 , Gothic Lodge , Harwich , of Bro . Hughan . THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE .

Sir Charles Style died at his residence in Bath on Wednesday , the 23 rd instant , at the atlvancrd age of eighty-one . The deceased Baronet was formerly member for Scarborough .