Masonic Curiosities, No. 2.

the Craffc . And after for the love he had for Masons and the Craffc he was Made Mason afc Windsor and he gotfc of the King his ffather a charter and commission once every yeare to have assembly within the Realme where they would

within England and to correct within themselves ffaults and trespasses that Aveere done as touching the Craffc and he held their an assembly at Torke and there he Made Masons and gave them charges and taught them the Manners and Commands the

same to be kept ever afterwards and tooke them the charter an d commission to keep their assembly and ordained that ifc should be renewed from King to King and when the assembly were gathered togeather he made a cry that all old Masons or

young that had any writings in understanding of the Charges and manners that were made before the Lands wheresoever they were Made Masons that they should show them forth . There were found some in ffrench some in Greek some in

Hebrew and some in English and some in other Languages and when they read and over soon well the intent of all of them was found to be all one and then he caused a book to be made thereof how this worthy craft of Masonrie Avas first found and he himself commanded and also then caused

that it should be read afc any tyme Avhen it should happen that any Mason or Masons to be made to gave him or them charges and from that time until this day manners of Masons have been kept in this manner and forme as well as men might

Governe ifc and ffarthermore as diverse assemblages , have been put and ordained diverse charges by the best advise of Masons and ffellows ( Juno unus ox somnibus sortat Librum et ille pondtit manaum Suam Supor Librum . ) Every Man that

is a Mason to take good heed to those charges . If a man ffind himself guilty in any of those charges wee pray that he may amend himselfe or principally for dread of God . You that be charged take good heed that you keep all those

charges ffor it is a great pekill to a man to foresweare himself upon a Booke . ( To be Continued . )

METROPOLITAN FKEE HOSPITAL , Devonshire Square , City . — The Committee of this excellent Institution has just received through its Bankers , Messrs . Barnetts , ! Hoares , ancl Co ., Lombard Street , a third donation of One Thousand Pounds , under the initials " G . G . " This munificent gift could nofc have been more opportunely made as the income of the Charity had been materially affected hy the claims upon the benevolent for purposes arising out of the late war .

The Square And Compasses.

THE SQUARE AND COMPASSES .

BY R . W . BEO . OTTO KLOTZ . Eirst , then , what do those symbols respectively and collectively convey to our mind ? The Square teaches us to regulate our actions , for as the

Operative Mason uses the Square to try and adjust all rectangular corners of buildings and to assist him in bringing rude matter into due form : so the Speculative Mason is taught by the Square to regulate his life and actions by the Masonic line

and rule , and to correct and harmonize his conduct by the principles of morality and virtue , so as to render him acceptable to the Divine Being whence all goodness emanates , and to whom all must give an undisguised account of our lives and actions ;

hence the Square teaches morality . Tbe Square , then , is the theory of universal duty , it consists of tAvo right lines , forming an angle of perfect sincerity , ninety degrees the longest side being representative of the sum of the

length of the several duties which Ave owe to the Supreme Being ; the other that of the lengths of the several duties Ave OAVO to all men . If , therefore , Ave as Masons pursue thafc theory , if we , to the best of our ability , faithfully discharge

our several duties which Ave oAve to our God , to our neighbour , and to ourselves , we will find that every approach towards that standard , is a step toAvard perfection and happiness , while every deviation therefrom tends to vice and misery ; and for

this reason Ave consider the Square a symbol of fche perfection and happiness arising out of morality and justice . The Compasses enable us to form the most perfect figure possible , namely the point within a circle .

This figure in nearly all the ancieufc mysteries formed a most important symbol , the tribes contiguous to India placed a god in the centre of a circle as a symbol of Deity , surrounded by eternity ; the Samothracians , the Chinese , and the Hindoos ,

held that figure in like veneration ¦ and we as Masons consider the circle described by the Compasses as emblematical of the limits of our desires and passions . As the Operative Mason by the aid of the Compasses ascertains and determines Avith

accuracy and precision the limits and proportions of the several parts in the plan for the building he is about to erect ; so the Speculative Mason Avhile erecting that spiritual edifice , that moral fabric , that temple nofc made wifcli hands but eternal in