Correspondence.

" No , she ' s come to England ; " so patience , good brother , we Scotch Freemasons arc all corning to England . I wish , says yon , that you Avould come to Hecuba ! well , I am coming , it is Scotch Freemasonry Ave are discoursing of , so I will briefly , Ah ! well , as briefly as I can give you , some of my

remembrances of the past , and something of the present , of Scotch Freemasonry . I Avill nothing extenuate , nor set down aught in malice ! bless that Shakspere , what would us poor creatures of few ideas do without his aid . Just imagine yourself in a Scotch town some thirty years ago , in a

plain and decently furnished house , the guid Avife moving about in anything but a good temper ; the door is open , and a voice from Avithout calls out , " Is Tarn in ? " ""Aye , but he ' s no up yet , he wis oot yestreen makin Masens an cam hame Jang after cock craw this mornin . " Tain , from his box

"bed in the corner , sings , " The cock may craw , the day may da ; v , but , aye , we'll taste th , '"— " Whist , ye drunken brute , I wis you an yer brethren Avere doon Dronly . " Tarn swears a prayer or two , ancl sleeps again . Change Ave the scene to another time ancl another place . "Lassie , is yer fayther

in . " The lassie is busy brushing the gutters from sundry pieces of male attire . " The master Avants him up bye aboot something i' th' hoose hed . " " Fayther ' s no up yet , yestreen was a Masen night , Sant somebodies' they ca' it . an my fayther cain hame atween five an sax wi a great heap o ' th' ithers , an they sang aboot ' Merry Masens , '

an then there wis the kebbick , an the scones , an aheap o' drams . I ' m thinking there ' s no muckle to the fore . " We shift the scene a step higher in the social scale . " Are ye a Masen , doctor ? " " Na , I mind OAVBI * Aveel o' my father ' s Masonic doins Avis Avhat they d rand Master

. He caa'G o ' th' ¦ ¦ Lodge , and at the times o' their great meetins Ave used to be AA * aukened between four and five i' th' mornin wi' the band playin up the avenue . AVe bairns got oot o' our beds an looket ower the Avindow , an there wis the

band roon the door skirlin the ' Merry Masens , ' an my father stannin' wi' the rain rinniu' off his broad rimmed hat . Ye mind that muckle hat he Avore . An didna the whisky anker suffer , an tho ' my father Avas a gey seasoned cask ho didna do muckle business next day . By the Avay , I think

it Avas that same braAv lodge that his friend ¦ closed up to a eternity . " Such was a specimen of the doings , and the opinions of the outer Avorld about Scotch Masonry some thirty years ago . Had England no parallel to these ? Are there no old people Avho could tales unfold of

Masonic doings at a time Avhen " many eminent Masons in the English provinces exerted themselves to carry into effect the true principles of the Order , by inspiring their lodges Avith a taste for the philosoph y of the science , and a substitution of extended labour for extended refreshment ? " Bro . Oliver puts it very gently , but the extended refreshment , if all tales had been

Correspondence.

~ . _ . . ~_— ~~ r "** r . told , would have furnished scenes Avhich might have matched Tain and his box bed . Every institution is tainted by the social usages aud the age through Avhich it passes . Masonry has been no exception . I can remember Avhen for a

member of the lower classes to be " on the spree " Avas a matter of course , unci of the upper to be drunk after dinner was no odium ; but times are changed ; for the one to be on the spree IIOAV is to be untrustworthy , the other to be drunk is to forfeit the name of gentleman . The rain no

longer falls on the broad-brimmed hat of the doctor ' s father . He was a Avorthy man , ancl only joined in the social habits of his time . The rain has lono - fallen on his a - rave , and much of the . -T rough Masonic doings of his time have departed with the race he represented . Tarn has long since ceased to aid iu " makin Masens . " His

his box bed is exchanged for that narrow one , where the " wicked cease from troubling , and the weary are at rest . " Our ranks are rapidly filling by thos e AVIIO are anxious to remove the impurities Avhich a rough age heaped about our grand old landmaks . Brothers of England there

are those Avithin your circle , aud ours , AA'IIO reflect small honour on the Craft , they have been clear bargains at any price ; there are those without our Order who would be valuable acquisitions Avere we to receiv e them without a fee , and pay their Grand Lodge dilomas from our funds . Be as hard upon

p us as you please when we bring odium , on the grand old Craft by the admission of unworthy men , but pray have pity on our poverty ; we are a poor people compared with you ; two guineas is a long sum to many a worthy , and -intelligent , man in Scotland ; yet I have knownfor that said sum

, , men E . p . and E . Avhose qualities ancl conduct Avill enable them to hold a respectable place beside even an English brother . Use scorn and reprobation to all Avho Avould disgrace an institution

capable of ministering to the highest necessities of our z-ace by the introduction of bad or un-Avorthy men ; but let us have less of Mammon and the Golden Calf . It is surely possible to be moral and intelligent Avithout being rich ; and we trust you Avill not make that one of tho conditions

to win your favour , Avhich , I assure you , we have been long striving to gain . True , wo have not yet reached that " virtuous state" where there is " no more cakes and ale , " ancl whisky is yet . sometimes "het i' th' mouth . " If Shakspere had . known the virtues of our Scotch whiskhe would

y not have Avritten " ' ginger "; but the cakes , the ale , ancl the Avhisky do not occupy so much of our attention as they did that of our forefathers . Do not so persistently turn to us the cold shoulder ; Ave are mending , so bestow a portion of the Masonic virtues on us . liavo "Faith" in our

capability , "Hope" for our improvement , and " Charity" for our little backsliclings . Yours fraternally , " R .