Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Doubt.
Or one bright hope unshadowed and serene , One perfect trust with every fear cast out , Bly heart could rest upon the promise sweet ,
Laying aside the ever present doubt . The shadow dim that falls upon the ring , When wedded palms are clasped in fond embrace ; The spectre at the banquet , and the guest , That silently usurps the highest place ;
The presence all unseen , yet ever near ; The minor note to every joyous strain ; The echoing thrill that answers rapture sweet , "With something very near akin to pain . It dim ' s the lustre of the conqueror ' s
sword , And fall ' s upon the radiance of the cross ; No alchemy can purify the gold , Beyond the clinging of its ashen dross ; It falleth like a mildew on the page , Where weary fingers toil for empty
fame , And on the shining ' scutcheon of the great , Beside the greatest there it writes its name .
The Freemasons And Architecture In England.
THE FREEMASONS AND ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND .
BY BUO EJIRA HOLJIES . Fast Provincial Grand Registrar of Suffolk , Past Grand Inspector of Works ( Mark ) , dm ., & c . SOME years ago I read the accompanying
paper before an audience of young thinking men in a certain town in the north of England , many of whom have since become . Masons in something more than iu name . It was principally compiled from Prcst m ' s Illustrations of Blasonry ,
as the ; Blasonic . student will at once see . I vouch for none of its facts , and simply refer the leader to Preston and Anderson for what is contained therein . It amused and instructed me iu its compilation ; aud in the hope that it may amuse and instruct some more of our brethren , I forward it for publication in our little Magazine .
Much might be altered and amended , no doubt ; but I prefer sending it with all its imperfections , and they are many , on its head , merely adding a few lines which , I hope sincerely , may stir some more able brother to be up and doing for the sake of the craft we love so well .
According to the " British Empire and other generally recognized non-Masonic authorities , Freemasonry was introduced into England about the year 676 A . D ., about the time when Ethelred succeeded Wulfere , King of Mercia , and over-ran Kent with his armies *
We will not here assert , what has been asserted by some eminent Blasonic writers , that Blasonry was coeval with the Roman Empire in Britain ; that St . Alban , the proto-martyr of this kingdom , was appointed by the Emperor Caransius Grand Blaster of the Freemasons , and that
Blasonry continued to flourish in England till the time of St . Augustine , who was a great supporter of the craft , and under whose patronage the Blasons built Canterbury Cathedral , A . D . 600 , the Cathedral of Rochester , A . D . 602 , St . Paul ' s ( London )
A . D . 604 , and St . Peter ' s ( Westminster ) A . D . 605 . Nor will I assert , what has been asserted , that King Alfred the Great employed the Freemasons in building the University of Oxford , which my readers of course know he founded ; butwithout
, venturing to affirm this , there can be no doubt that the Freemasons grew more powerful during the next reign , for Blasonic history tells us that King Athelstane , who succeeded to the throne A . D . 924 , granted a charter to the Blasons ,
empowering them to meet annuall y in communication at York , where the first Genera ] Assembly , or Grand Lodge of England , was formed in 926 , at which Edwin , brother of the King , is said to have presided as Grand Blaster . !
lhis is the period , then , from which we should date the real history of the Freemasons in England . When Athelstane died the Blasons dispersed , and the lodges continued in a very unsettled state till the reign of Edgar in
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Doubt.
Or one bright hope unshadowed and serene , One perfect trust with every fear cast out , Bly heart could rest upon the promise sweet ,
Laying aside the ever present doubt . The shadow dim that falls upon the ring , When wedded palms are clasped in fond embrace ; The spectre at the banquet , and the guest , That silently usurps the highest place ;
The presence all unseen , yet ever near ; The minor note to every joyous strain ; The echoing thrill that answers rapture sweet , "With something very near akin to pain . It dim ' s the lustre of the conqueror ' s
sword , And fall ' s upon the radiance of the cross ; No alchemy can purify the gold , Beyond the clinging of its ashen dross ; It falleth like a mildew on the page , Where weary fingers toil for empty
fame , And on the shining ' scutcheon of the great , Beside the greatest there it writes its name .
The Freemasons And Architecture In England.
THE FREEMASONS AND ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND .
BY BUO EJIRA HOLJIES . Fast Provincial Grand Registrar of Suffolk , Past Grand Inspector of Works ( Mark ) , dm ., & c . SOME years ago I read the accompanying
paper before an audience of young thinking men in a certain town in the north of England , many of whom have since become . Masons in something more than iu name . It was principally compiled from Prcst m ' s Illustrations of Blasonry ,
as the ; Blasonic . student will at once see . I vouch for none of its facts , and simply refer the leader to Preston and Anderson for what is contained therein . It amused and instructed me iu its compilation ; aud in the hope that it may amuse and instruct some more of our brethren , I forward it for publication in our little Magazine .
Much might be altered and amended , no doubt ; but I prefer sending it with all its imperfections , and they are many , on its head , merely adding a few lines which , I hope sincerely , may stir some more able brother to be up and doing for the sake of the craft we love so well .
According to the " British Empire and other generally recognized non-Masonic authorities , Freemasonry was introduced into England about the year 676 A . D ., about the time when Ethelred succeeded Wulfere , King of Mercia , and over-ran Kent with his armies *
We will not here assert , what has been asserted by some eminent Blasonic writers , that Blasonry was coeval with the Roman Empire in Britain ; that St . Alban , the proto-martyr of this kingdom , was appointed by the Emperor Caransius Grand Blaster of the Freemasons , and that
Blasonry continued to flourish in England till the time of St . Augustine , who was a great supporter of the craft , and under whose patronage the Blasons built Canterbury Cathedral , A . D . 600 , the Cathedral of Rochester , A . D . 602 , St . Paul ' s ( London )
A . D . 604 , and St . Peter ' s ( Westminster ) A . D . 605 . Nor will I assert , what has been asserted , that King Alfred the Great employed the Freemasons in building the University of Oxford , which my readers of course know he founded ; butwithout
, venturing to affirm this , there can be no doubt that the Freemasons grew more powerful during the next reign , for Blasonic history tells us that King Athelstane , who succeeded to the throne A . D . 924 , granted a charter to the Blasons ,
empowering them to meet annuall y in communication at York , where the first Genera ] Assembly , or Grand Lodge of England , was formed in 926 , at which Edwin , brother of the King , is said to have presided as Grand Blaster . !
lhis is the period , then , from which we should date the real history of the Freemasons in England . When Athelstane died the Blasons dispersed , and the lodges continued in a very unsettled state till the reign of Edgar in