Address.

as a soldier or a statesman he conscientiously performed his allotted task amongst the shiftingscenes ofhis eventful life . "The Duke , '' then the Hon . Arthur Wellesley , was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry on the 7 th

December , ] 790 , in the lodge No . 494 , under the Grand Lodge of Ireland , held at the town of Trim , in the county of Meath , and was subsequently passed and raised in the same lodge , it being a noteworthy circumstance that the Master of the

lodge at the time was Wellington ' s elder brother , the Earl of Mornington , afterwards Marquis Wellesley . Unfortunately the troublous period which followed the outbreak of the French Revolution was little calculated to afford much leisure to a

Mason who had embraced the career of arms , and who aspired to eminence iu his profession . I may observe , however , that in more recent and happier

days , the great Duke assisted in the labours of the Craft at various private lodges held in Kensington Palace under the auspices of our late Grand Master , the Duke of Sussex . This interesting relation I had from the lips of the late Bro . Sir

John Doratt , who assured me that he had himself officiated as J . W . at several private lodges , where the Duke of Wellington acted as Senior Warden But , although the fact be undeniable that the stirring events of war and politics in

which he occupied so prominent a part , precluded Wellington from attaining great distinction as a member of our Order , I contend that his whole life was a genuine tribute to the value of Freemasonry , that his actions were in strict

consonance with our precepts , and his genius and influence ever exerted in the cause of patriotism and truth . As Tennyson finely phrases it ,

" Truth teller was our England ' s Alfred named , Truth lover was our English Duke ; Whatever record leap to light He never shall be shamed . " In these few words we have the grandest eulogy that can be pronounced upon departed

greatness , as few , indeed , amongst the famous dead , can bear the scrutiny of time , or the rigid analysis of impartial history . It is for these reasons , and not merely on account of his high position in the nation that we are proud to reflect

that Wellington was a Freemason ; and it was doubtless similar reasons which caused the honourable association of his name with the Wellington Lodge . And it is , I submit , a very commendable practice to perpetuate the names of

Address.

Masonic worthies by enshrining them in the nomenclature of our lodges . It not only " keeps their memories green " in our souls , b ut stimulates us to an imitation of their virtues , and it disarms the hostility of the

prejudiced world by proving that the recognised leaders of thought and action in every age were members of our fraternal federation .

I have thus imperfectly delineated the salient points of Wellington ' s character , and it is for us to apply the lesson to our hearts , and to carry out in our daily life that attachment to social order , and that unswerving performance of duty which

our illustrious brother invariably manifested . The rites of Freemasonry forcibly impress upon us doctrines of the purest morality and truths of the most solemn character , and it ought to be our constant endeavour to exemplify its precepts by

consistent and unsullied lives . If the ceremonies of the Craft were vain and frivolous fancieshowever much they might please the imagination , they would never influence the intellect or captivate the heart ; and as it is by the fruit that the

tree is best known , so it is by its practical results of tolerance , goodwill , and heaven-born charity that Freemasonry must be judged . May the Order ever be found , as it is our privilege to witness it now , in the vanguard of

civilisation—combating evil , supporting truth , and proclaiming aloud those divine commands , which are the essence of all religion , "Love God , and love your neighbour . "

The Knights Templars.

THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS .

By ANTHONY ONEAL HATE . ( Continued from page 505 ) . BOOK THIED—CHAPTER V .

GRAND MASTEE , PETER DE MONTAGU . Character of Templars . Siege of Damietta . Damietle , talten . Goradin . War in Palestine . Letters from Grand Master as to affairs in the the Easb . Emperor Frederick IL of Germany . Is eiecommimieated . Lands at Acre and

makes peace ivith the Musselmen . Groivns himself at Jerusalem . Hostility hetwcen him and the military Orders . A . D . 1218 , 1232 . Peter de Montacute Montagu or Montaigu , was elected Grand Master . He had previously filled the office of Grand Preceptor of Spain . *