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tion of consecrating the Cecil Chapter , attached to the Cecil Lodge , No . 449 , Hitchin . This raises the number of chapters now in the Province to five , which are severally attached to the Hertford , Watford , Stortford , Cecil , and Gladsmuir Lodges , a sixth—the Mount Lebanon—which , after several changes , is now attached to the Salisbury Lodge , No . 435 , and

meets in London , having been originally constituted in Hertfordshire . Ihe new chapter will be the more welcome , because , up to the present time , there have been no facilities for brethren in that part of the county to become acquainted with the R . A . Degree , those who were desirous ot being exalted having to travel for that purpose all the way to Bishop Stortford in the

East , to Hertford , or to Watford or Barnet in the South . But now that the Cecil Chapter has been established , the brethren , not only in Hitchin and the neighbourhood , but also at Stevenage , and possibly , too , at Luton , in the adjoining county of Beds , will be able to offer themselves for exaltation without being under the disagreeable necessity of going a long

journey across country in order to attend to their chapter duties . Thus , with a large extent of country open to the enterprise of its members , it should not be difficult for the members of the Cecil Chapter to ensure its permanence , and to judge from the proceedings , as reported elsewhere , of the inaugural meeting last week , we should say its success is already assured . There

was a numerous attendance , the duties were admirably carried out , and we most heartily join in the congratulations which were offered to the newly constituted chapter , and which it is striving so hard to deserve . We trust also that now , after a rest of 12 years , the ice has been broken , other lodges in the county will follow the example set by the Cecil . The Gresham and King

Harold Lodges , which , together , muster between 130 and 140 members , are strong enough and close enough together to support a R . A . chapter either at Cheshunt , or in the neighbourhood of Waltham Cross , where , for over a dozen years , the Mount Lebanon Chapter , then No . 630 , was in the habit of meeting ; and the lodges at Berkhamstead and Hemel Hempstead , with

between 70 and 80 members , might also make a venture in the same direction . Then , in the case of either , cr both , these suggestions being adopted , Hertfordshire R . A . Masonry would not only occupy a position of greater importance , but it would likewise be ^ more evenly distributed throughout the county .

* * * The loint Com- ^ another page will be found a report of the resolutions that mittees of the have been arrived at by the joint House , Audit , and Finance Girls'School . Committees of the Girls' School . We feel sure our readers will agree with us that this is a very satisfactory outcome of the delibera

tions of these bodies , and we congratulate the Committees on so promptl y dealing with the all-important question of the accounts . Is it too much to hope that the harmonious action of the brethren of the Girls' School who have just concluded their work , may form a precedent , and that in future all matters affecting the interests of either Institution will be dealt with in an amicable and truly Masonic spirit ?

Masonic Reprints Of No. 2076.

MASONIC REPRINTS OF No . 2076 .

( Conclusion . ) The " Regius MS . " is most exhaustively treated by Bro . Gould , first in his Prolegomena of some 15 pages , and then in his Commentary of 60 pages , the interest being sustained throughout , but I much wish his name had been on title-page to Part III . Nothing like such an examination has ever been attempted before , and

in my opinion is not likely soon to be repeated , the labour having been immense , the researches most thorough , and the comparisons instituted so comprehensive and protracted , that this Commentary may be accepted as Bro . Gould ' s masterpiece . His treatment of the question is as much superior to all previous efforts as bis History of Freemasonry is far beyond all others , and I consider that not only the

"Quatuor Coronati" Lodge , but the Craft universal , is deeply indebted to our gifted brother for his most important services in a department in which all are deeply interested but so few are competent to labour . I feel that it is scarcel y fair to so painstaking a student to accept such literary work as a gift , though , of course , the same remark applies to all the contributions of the members of No .

2076 , only in a lesser degree , as Bro . Gould has had to travel alone in an unexplored region , and without any guide to direct his researches . There is one thing , brethren at home and abroad have a capital opportunity just now to testify to their hearty appreciation of his Masonic abilities by aiding the " Gould Testimonial Fund , " which ought soon to reach the "four figures " at least .

I should like to indicate a few of the numerous points in the ' Commentary , " especially worthy of particularisation , as well as generally to give my support to the views propounded by our brother , and , though such a selection is beset with difficulties , and will leave much to be desired , herewith follows an attempt in such a direction .

PROLEGOMENA . The special value of the "Old Charges" is derived from the fact that " they ware used in lodges at the reception of new members , and the practice continued to be observed until a period overlapping the erection of the Grand Lodo-e of

England in 1717 . ' The oldest of such documents , concerning which , as a written document , " there is no room to dispute , " is the " Grand Lodge MS ., " of 1583 But little inferior to this , however , is the text of the " Melrose MS ., No . 2 , " which clearly represents its original of A . D . 1581 , and in some respects is a still more remarkable version .

As Bro . Gould states , our lamented Bro . Woodford regarded the " Dowland MS . " as representing one of the oldest forms of the " Old Charges , " excepting the" York MS ., No . 4 , " of A . D . 16 93 , which he considered " recognised female membership . " The latter view cannot , in my opinion , be substantiated , as it would be a weak kind of criticism to build up any theory which depended on a peculiarity in that MS . only , which evidently was an error of the transcriber .

The " Regius MS . " admittedly takes "the place of the fountain head , " and hence the great value of Bro . Gould ' s examination of its text and historical environments , so as to place his readers in possession of all the facts needful to an elucidation of its true position amongst the ancient documents of the Craft .

Masonic Reprints Of No. 2076.

The eig ht divisions into which the legends and records of the building trade ? are grouped serve well the purpose intended by the classification , but their enumeration is about all that is possible for the present . 1 . The " Regius" ([ "Cooke"MSS . naturally are first , having so much in common , and though not strictly speaking , copies of the " Old Charges , " it is quite evident that their com . posers must have been familiar with the main features of such documents . 2 . The

" Old Charges " follow next in order of importance , exact transcripts of eac L being promised in early volumes of our reprints . These Rolls or MSS . are sub . divided into ( a ) Introduction , Prayer of Invocation ; ( 4 ) the History or Legendand ( c ) the Regulations or Laws . Just , however , when one is getting read y for ^ careful examination of these handy and suggestive branches of the subject , we are

referred to a " later volume of the series , " which is tantalizing , though I am bound to say that our brother presents a mass of preliminary information of great value and research , only not to the extent needful , or up to the knowledge he possesses , He must surely have felt throughout the preparation of his work as if confined in a literary " straight jacket , " consequent upon the demand for "copy , " and the necessity for rigid condensation .

What Bro . Gould terms a " Calendar of the Old Charges exhibits , in tabular form , all the known versions , transcripts , and references down to the year 188 9 , the latest , called the "T . W . Tew MS ., " being placed at 2 ia , and comes under the " Sundry Forms " of the " Sloane " Text , of the 17 th century . Another Table is based upon Dr . Begemann ' s classification , into groups or families , which Bro . Gould considers " leaves very little to be desired" as respects such a method of

arranging the MSS ., but he wisely cautions his readers against supposing "that the other methods of classification of older date , are altogether superseded by the new arrangement . " To this I entirely subscribe . Dr . Begemann has done good service in his own particular department , and has so closely studied all the peculiarities of the fifty , or more , MSS . that he is fully entitled to take his place in the front rank as a specialist in all that concerns the internal character or texts

of the " Old Charges . " Whilst , however , thankfully accepting his invaluable services , I feel certain he would be sorry for us to discard Bro . Gould ' s tabulation of the different forms in strict accordance with their historical value , or my system of grouping the prominent versions in respect to their unique or peculiar clauses or rules , as e . g ., " The Apprentice Charges , " or the Scottish and York varieties . All the systems really work in harmony—philological , historical , and textual .

The third to the fifth divisions are amply treated in Bro . Gould ' s History ( quite , in fact , as much as they require for Masonic purposes ) , but the No . VI . will amply repay more time being devoted to it , embracing as it does a series of Regulations in Scotland from the 16 th century down to 1670 , adopted by lodges by

necessity mostly , and on which the " Old Charges" literally rest , or , in other words , they are mutually dependant . Nos . VII . and VIII . have also been well attended to in the history aforesaid . I am glad to read Bro . Gould ' s appreciative notice of Mr . Wyatt Papworth ' s contributions to the subject , to whom , more than any other non-Mason , we are , by far , the most indebted .

COMMENTARY . Feeling now free to say a few words on the " Commentary , " I again realize my difficulty , as it is time this incomplete and brief critique was brought to ' a close . There are a number of " digressions , " none of -which can be spared , and yet , paradoxical as it may sound , I would much rather they had not appeared in such a form , but been embodied in the Commentary itself , so as to prevent confusion ,

and the loss of touch at times with the work . The fact is , it should be re-written , and the author given twelve months to prepare a second edition , he being banished in the interim from all Society , so that , undistracted and untramelled , he might be able to do himself and the subject full justice . This reads like a hard and unfriendly sentence , but , practically , it means renewing his experience of the past year , and that is why I am so anxious for the Craft to prove their appreciation of his labours by promptly subscribing the means to enable him to continue and perfect his most important and valuable researches .

The " first digression on the structure of the poem , and a part of the legendary history , is an elaborate piece of work , but defies summarization , so it must be dropped , save to state that it should be duly perused and all its points as duly noted . I see Bro . Gould refers to the Arabic MS . alluded to by Professor Marks . I thought that was " dead as a door nail" long since , for it savours much more of the last century than the fourteenth .

" With the decay of popular literature many oral recitals must have gradually died out , though it is probable that the Laws of the Craft continued to be rehearsed in the old way , long after the Legendary History had found rhymeless expression in some early MSS ., of which—if we leave out of sig ht their lineal descendants , the Old Charges—we can now only track some faint vestiges , in the allusions to pre-existing writings of the Craft , which are met with in the Regius and Cooke codices . "

It is quite possible , as suggested , that the variations noticeable in the oldest two MSS ., and those of the later MSS ., warrant the assumption that several codes of laws in rhyme or metre were at some time in existence , and , doubtless , several passages in the senior document seem to point to a rhythmic original , and that all the separate pieces " were derived from metrical originals . " The omissions in the " Regius MS . " are as remarkable as its insertions , but then it must be remembered

that it lays no claim to being a copy of the " Old Charges . " Bro . Gould reiterates his opinion , expressed in 1882 , that the MS . " displays rather the features of an epic poem than of a simple ethical code adapted to the genius and requirements of illiterate builders . " I do not myself consider it impossible to believe that " the writer ( or penman ) of the manuscript saw a full version of the legendary history , " for even long since his time scraps of our old MSS . may be detected in much more modern documents .

The "Second Digression" on the "York Legend" is about the best of the many excellent features of the Commentary . It appears established that "the Edwin of Masonic tradition is identical with Edwin of Northumbria , and the Athelstan of the Legend , can be identified with even greater ease , and he equally owes his position in Masonic history to an actual connection with York and its famous Minster . "

The following should be carefully noted as a remarkable declaration : " If , indeed , in the skein of fable of which the Masonic legend is composed , there be a solitary thread of fact , it appears to me that we must look for « among those of our traditions which can be associated in any way with the city of York and the cathedral there . "

It is also noteworthy that no later King of England than Athelstan is referred to in the legend , so it crystallized at that period . In illustration of these and other points , three capital maps are inserted , drawn with conspicuous exactitud "by our ever-willing Secretary , " and places the granting of a charter by Athe " stan as a much more probable event than many would have us suppose . In ' lines 488-9 point in that direction . ¦ I regret being unable to quite follow Bro . Gould in his startling and n ° announcement that "the Regius MS . points to the existence of a symbolical 0 speculative Masonry at the date from which it speaks . " True it is that tn ' Rules of Decorum " are not such as we should expect operative Masons to 0