Lights And Shadows Of Scottish Freemasonry.

invoice the square and compasses , or some other emblem or insignia of Freemasonry . Bethink you of the matter , and lend your aid to uproot this seemingly growing evil . Some time ago it was our privilege to write a paper on the present position , and

the future prospects of the Craft in Scotland . In that paper Ave endeavoured to shew that our present position , ( if such matters as these papers have dealt with be left out of tbe question ) , Avas a satisfactoryone , ancl that our hopes of future success

were not to be despised . Siuce then our opinion of matters has been in noAvise materially changed . Our brethren of the English and Irish Constitutions must not think ill of us , for in our love for , and our admiration of our great principles , we

yield to no men . The Freemasons of Scotland are by no means such a large body as they might be , but amongst those who are Craftsmen , there is a spirit of energy and determination , which is not found more largely deA'eloped in any Grand Lodge in the world ; and Avere it not for the hold which the demon of use and Avont has upon

it , the Freemasonry of Scotland Avould make such gigantic strides as would cause the world to wonder . AVe are very proud of our Scottish Craft , and we have reason to be . Its usages are better known , and its system more Avidely spread , than any other . There is no system older than our

ancient Scottish one , neither is there any more universally admired or adopted ; and there must be a thrill of pleasure pass through the breast of a Scotchman , when upon visiting a Lodge in a foreign clime he finds that there the system is knoAvn as

the " Rites Ecossais . " Is there in tbe Avorld a spot , where , if he be known to be a Craftsman , the traveller is more warmly Avelcorned , or more kindly entertained than in Scotland ? There is not . Our countrymen are not as

a rule ostentatious , but it is not in an ostentatious display that real friendshi p is to be found , for there often lies in the heart of the retiring and unobtrusive , a more fervent desire to be instrumental in ministering to the Avants , and to assure the comfort of the stranger , than there is to be found in those who seem to be all seen

upon the surface , and who endeavour to make you fancy they cany their hearts upon their sleeves .

There are many methods of shewing kindness , and if our countrymen fall to using one which , upon principle , ought to be condemned , but AA * hich is one of the most prevalent in the kingdom , we surely cannot be very sore upon them . An English friend of ours was some short time

ago in a small A'illage in Ayrshire . A Lodge Meeting chanced upon one evening during his stay , and it was held in the hotel . Having his credentials with him lie sought and obtained admission . It was his first visit to tbe Craft in Scotland , and bis

impressions of its usages were certainly far from flattering to us , but the kindness he received at the hands of those there met , not only on that nig ht , but during his entire stay , Avas , as he himself expressed it , " Avholly unexpected , and without parallel . "

Blame us if you will , but forgive us , for our English friend Avas filled jolly well " fu , " and carefully put to bed Toy those , who in their desire to clo him honour , had conquered a fortress not in itself a weak one . Four years ago , 1872 , a commercial man , hailing from the Grand Lodge of Ireland , arrived , in the discharge of his business , at a small town in the south-western district ,

Avhere he Avas Avell knoAvn to the Masonic fraternity . AVhile there he took fever , ancl before he could be reniOA * ed he died . His relatives decided to bury him in the neighbouring churchyard , and on the day of the funeral , the members of the Lodge in the town turned out to a man Avith craped

aprons , and jewels , and all the other paraphernalia of mourning , and took their places as mourners in the last sad procession . There stands in the necropolis of GlasgOAV , a small but handsome monument , erected by the Lodge Avith Avhich Ave are ourselves

more immediately connected , in memory of one , whose virtues as a Freemason shone out rather as a quiet but earnest Avorker in every cause of humanity , than a loudmouthed demagogue , whose only aid was given by his tongue . AVith a knowledge

of such things as these , we can afford to bear Avith those many shortcomings of our Scottish Craft , Avhich , though they clo exercise a baneful influence upon its existence , cannot sever the endearing ties Avhich bind us to it . Our country has ever been the home of the greatest clans in the kingdom . Among these clans their existed the utmost devotion and loyalty to their