Cursory Remarks On Freemasony.-I.

and act in accordance with , is that of a punctual attendance at the Lodge in which we were initiated , or to which ive may since become affiliated ; pleading no excuse thereto but that of sickness , or the pressing emergency of our own private or public avocations . And yet how often do some of us allow the most trifling things to detain us from our attendance upon the Worshipful Master and his AVardens in their

labours , ' as though the yoke of Freemasonry was not easy and its burden was not light . To him who properly appreciates our ceremonies , the labour of the Lodge is more palatable than the choicest refreshment which the Junior Warden can provide . And yet we have heard of Lodges , though we trust they are "feiv and far between" in which

, mere animal men have been allowed to gain admittance , who regularly contrive to miss the labours of the evening , but are always thc first to present themselves at the refreshment board , and the last to leave whilst " victuals and drink " are to be obtained ; for , like poor old Mother Hubbard in the nursery legendsthey " live upon nothing but victuals and

, drink , and victuals and drink are the ivhole of their diet . " But the highest teacher which the world has seen has informed us that " Man shall not live by bread alone ; " and , without wishing to substitute our beloved Craft for anything

which is calculated to raise up fallen man , we scruple not to affirm that the labour of Freemasonry is calculated to strengthen our mental , moral , ancl religious capacities ; that it is admirably adapted for making us better fitted for all the duties . of the present life , and helping us to prepare for that which is to come : and ive do most earnestly entreat

those of the uninitiated who peruse our Magazine , not to judge our beloved Craft by the infidelity of its unworth y sons , who wear not the ivhite lambskin apron as an emblem of their own purity , but rather parade it on public occasions as an idle toy , ivhieh to them has no hi gher symbolic teaching than the showy rosette of a village benefit club .

Not only should we earnestly endeavour to attend every working of our Lodges as far as possible , but ive ought to do our best to be there a few minutes before the time fixed b y the by-laws as the hour for opening . For the true Mason wishes to salute his brothers with a good old English shake of the handsand to inquire after the welfare of themselves

, aud those who are nearest and dearest to them ; and , for ourselves , ive confess that a quarter of an hour so spent before the Lodge is properly tyled , is always a pleasurable time , provided we are not delaying the labours of the evening . But to have to wait for a full hour after the time fixed for

opening the Lodge , in anxious expectation of the requisite number of brethren coming to make its proceedings regular , is too bad , especially when one knows that three fourths of the members might have attended with less inconvenience to themselves and others than those brethren have been able to do who are really present . We ask those dilatory brothers

if they think that such conduct is in accordance with their duty to the Craft 1 nay , is it even fair from man to man 1 Hard would it be to reconcile it with that golden , rule , laid down for our guidance in tho volume of the sacred law , — " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you , do ye even so to them ; for this is the law and thc prophets . "'"

But , some brother will say , what is the use of my goin " half an hour or an hour before thc Lodge will lie opened , and having to wait for others ? Our answer is , if the hour fixed for the opening of your Lodgo be too early for your members to attend , let them , alter it to one more convenient ; but do not be loitering behind timewhatever hour fix

your , you . Besides , every man , however humble , has an influence in the circle in which lie moves ; and , therefore , if you go late to your Lodge , you are using the whole influence of your example to induce others to do the samo ; but if you are punctual in your own attendance , you will gradually influence others to

Cursory Remarks On Freemasony.-I.

be punctual too , so that the lord ' s work be not hindered , nor the Craftsmen kept too long from their own homes , to the annoyance of their families and the injury of our autient royal art . We are thus urgent to see our brethren punctual in their attendance at Masonic laboursbecause we know that amongst

, the thousands that range under our banners , there are hundreds who could not gain admittance into Lodges where there is no brother to vouch for them , and they cannot become goocl workers if they absent themselves from their Lodges . Besides , our ceremonies , to the brother who understands them , are all of use in the great battle of life , and

every word of our beautiful ritual is possessed of a potent power to sustain us when we are ready to faint beneath the cares and wrongs under wliich we are often called to suffer in this sublunary abode . To be a Freemason merely in name , coldly indifferent to the teachings ofthe Craftis a much more ignoble position to

, be in than that of the man who has never solicited to be allowed to participate in our mysteries and privileges . Tho false brother has deceived the Craft , and added perjury to hypocrisy . No amount of persecution will ever exterminate Freemasonry from the habitable globe ; it cau only suffer from the infidelity of its unworthy sons . Let us each ancl all

diligently search our own hearts , ancl humbly endeavour to ascertain if we have not often been remiss in our attendance at Lodge , ancl firmly resolve to be more punctual for the future , and rest assured good will come of it . In another number , we shall have a few remarks to offer on our behaviour when we are in the I _ odge .

Masterpieces Of The Architecture Of Different Nations.

MASTERPIECES OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF DIFFERENT NATIONS .

BY J . G . LEGRAND . * I . —ARCHITECTURE OF THE HINDOOS . WE have but most uncertain ancl very incomplete notions of the ancient architecture of Hindostan , and in order to get an idea of it we are obliged to refer to the most ancient monuments , to a very small number of passages extracted from

authors , to the popular traditions collected in the country by travellers , ancl to the conformity which may exist between the tombs ancl pagodas that are still to be seen at the present day with those which have been destroyed by time . Some satisfactory information and some curious descriptionsthat we may believe to be reliableupou Hindostan

, , and the architecture of the Hindoos , are to be found in the works of Bailly , Danville , Sainte-Croix , d'Hancarville , Gen til , De Sonnerat , Hunter , Meiners , Boon , Hodges , Niebuhr , Sieglitz , and a few others . The Egyptians from a very remote period carried on commercial transactions with these people ; and , according to the

monuments and traditions of the country , Hindostan was the cradle of all religions and the Bracmans were their inventors . These Bracmans , though they have been confounded by several authors with the Brahmins , are very different from them . According to Bailly , the Brahmins are not aboriginal inhabitants of Hindostan . On their arrival there they took with them the language ancl the enlihtenment of a foreign

g peoy . le ; obtaining their knowledge from a more ancient nation , they were very learned , and thoy communicated their learning to the Greo . ks through their sagos . If any reliance is to be placed on the traditions of the Hindoos themselves , the Brahmins came from the North . Never did the Hindoos send away from them colonistsand

, very seldom did they admit foreigners among them ; commerce alone introduced them , and in those earl y days the art of navigation hacl not arrived at a sufficient state of perfection for many foreigners ! to present themselves among them . Those people have always been peaceable , dutiful and sub-