DISTRESS, SIGN OF.
See Sign of Distress.
DISTRICT DEPUTY GRAND MASTER.
,Suplement
An officer appointed to inspect old Lodges, consecrate new ones, install their officers, and exercise a general supervision over the Fraternity in the districts where, from the extent of the jurisdiction, the Grand Master or his Deputy cannot conveniently attend in person. He is considered as a Grand Officer, and as the representative of the Grand Lodge in the district in which he resides. In England, officers of this description are called Provincial Grand Masters.
DISTRICT GRAND LODGES.
In the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of England and some other Jurisdictions, Grand Lodges in colonies and other foreign parts are called Distract Grand Lodges, to distinguish them from Provincial Grand Lodges or the sovereign governing Masonic body.
DlSTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
The District of Columbia lies partly in the State of Maryland and partly in the State of Virginia. It was set apart by Act of Congress on July 16, 1790, for the capital of the United States. Some months previously, on April 21, 1769, Potomac Lodge, No. 9, had been organized in Georgetown by the Grand Lodge of Maryland but later it ceased work. Potomac Lodge, No. 43, warranted on November 11, 1806, was the first Lodge in the State to endure. A Convention was held on December 11, 1810, by five Lodges, namely Federal, No. 15; Brooke, No. 47; Columbia, No. 35; Washington Naval, No. 41, and Potomac, No.43. The organization of a Grand Lodge was fully completed on February 19, 1811.
The first Chapter or Encampment, as it was called in the District of Columbia, worked under the Charter of Federal Lodge, No. 15, F. A. A. M., of the Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Maryland. A meeting took place on Monday, December 14, 1795, to make arrangements for the new Chapter. Two other meetings were held, one on December 16, 1795, and one on June 17, 1797, before the Chapter was finally constituted. In February, 1799, it was decided that the Royal Arch Encampment should be broken up. A Dispensation dated August 30, 1822, was issued by the General Grand High Priest to the Chapters in the District of Columbia to organize a Grand Chapter. Representatives of Federal Chapter, No. 3; Union, No. 4; Brooke, No. 6, and Potomac, No. 8, were present at a Convention held on Tuesday, February 10, 1824. Potomac Chapter, however, decided to continue under her old Charter. After January 8, 1833, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia no longer existed and the Chapters were placed under the Jurisdiction of the Grand Chapter of Maryland. In the year 1867 steps were taken to reorganize a Grand Chapter by Columbia, No. 15; Washington, No. 16; Mount Vernon, No. 20, and Potomac, No. 8, and it was duly constituted in Washington at the Opera House on May 23 1867. After encountering much trouble and opposition, the Grand Chapter of the District was admitted to the General Grand chapter in 1868 and a short time after was joined by 'Potomac Chapter, No. 8.
The Select Degrees were at first conferred in Chapters. When the Grand Chapter of the District of Columbia was organized in 1867 it resolved to drop the Select Degrees from Chapter work, and Companion Benjamin B. French issued Dispensations to form three Councils for the District. These, however, ceased work after a short time.
Washington Council No. 1, chartered August 14, 1883; Adoniram Council No. 2, chartered November 9, 1909, and Columbia No. 3, chartered September 30, 1918, through their representatives at a Convention held at Washington on April 5, 1919, General Grand Master George A. Newell, presiding, formed the Grand Council, Royal and Select Masters of the District of Columbia, Companion George E. Corson being the first Grand Master and John A. Colborn, Grand Recorder.
The first Commandery organized was Washington, No. 1, in the City of Washington, December 1, 1824, chartered January 14, 1825. Representatives of Washington, No. 1; Columbia, No. 2; Potomac, No. 3; De Molay Mounted, No. 4, and Orient, No. 5, met in Convention, January 14, 1896, and constituted the Grand Commandery by authority of a Warrant dated December °, 1895.
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite was first introduced to Washington when Mithras Lodge of Perfection, No. 1; Evangelist Chapter of Rose Croix, No. 1; Robert de Bruce Council of kadosh, No. 1, and Albert Pike Consistory, No. 1, were chartered on December 30, 1870; December 7, 1871; January 29, 1874, and January 12, 1876, respectively.
DIU.
Understood to be an abbreviation meaning the Shining Light of Heaven. An Indian word applied to the Supreme God, of the same signification as the Greek words Zeus and Theos, and the Latin Deus, Jupiter or Jovis; in Sanskrit, Dewas; in Lettish, Dews; in Gothic, Thius; and in North German, Tyr.
DIVINING-ROD or PEDUM.
The moderator, or Royal Master, was imaged with the ureas on his forehead, the pedum and the whip between his knees. The Divining-Rod or wand of divination, a magic wand, was a symbol of pn, Hek, signifies a law, a statute, or custom; and therefore pp;l, a legislator, a scepter, a king, moderator, and a pedum. Hence, a staff. It is represented by a crook surmounted on a pole. The rod of the Rose Croix Knight is dissimilar; it is straight, white, like a wand, and yet may be used as a helping or leaning staff.
DOCUMENTS, THREE OLDEST.
See Krause.
DODD, REVEREND WILLIAM.
, Suplement
Born 1729, first Grand Chaplain of England, 1775, and died 1777. Weakness of character in money matters caused him to be tried for forgery, and executed. At the dedication of Freemasons Hall in London, 1776, he delivered an oration and he was also the author of many books and literary papers. His Beauties of Shakespeare was very popular.
DODD'S CONSTITUTIONS.
This is a printed pamphlet of twenty pages, in quarto, the title being The beginning and the first Foundation of the Most Worthy Craft of Masonry; with the Charges thereunto belonging. By a deceased Brother, for the benefit of his widow. London: printed for Mrs. Dodd at the Peacock without Temple Bar. 1739. Price, sixpence.
Probably this pamphlet was printed from the Spencer Manuscript; it is very rare, but the Grand Lodges of England and Iowa each have a copy and so had Brother Enoch T. Carson of Cincinnati, who reprinted 125 copies of it in 1886; it has also been reproduced in facsimile by the Quatuor Coronati Lodge in volume iv of its Masonic Reprints.
DOG.
A symbol in the Advanced Degrees (see Cynocephalus).
DOLMEN.
A name given in France to the Celtic stone tables termed in England cromlechs.
DOMATIC.
At one time, especially in Scotland, Operative Freemasons were styled Domatic, while the Speculative ones were known as Geometric; but theorigin and derivation of the terms are unknown
DOMINE DEUS MEUS.
The Hebrew term for this Latin expression is ..... , pronounced as Ad-o-noy ' El-o-hay, signifying oh Lord, my God, and referring to the Third Degree of the Scottish Rite.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.
Freemasonry, in the Dominican Republic, had for its center the National Grand Orient, which possessed the supreme authority and which practiced the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The Grand Orient was divided into a National Grand Lodge, under which have been fifteen Symbolic Lodges; a sovereign Grand Chapter General, under which are all Chapters; and a Supreme Council, which controlled the Advanced Degrees of the Rite. Santo Domingo was the headquarters of Morin (see further reference to him in this work) in 1763, when he was establishing the Scottish Rite in America.
Following the formation of the Republic of Santo Domingo in 1844, a Grand Orient was established in 1858 by Lodges originally chartered by the Grand Orient of Haiti. A Grand Lodge was organized in 1865 and later in that year there came into being a Supreme Council, the two uniting as a National Grand Orient on January 1, 1866.
DOMINICANS, ORDER OF.
Founded at Toulouse, in 1215, by Dominic, or Domingo, de Guzman, who was born at Calahorra, in Old Castile, 1170. He became a traveling missionary to convert the heretical Albigenses, and established the Order for that purpose and the cure of souls. The Order was confirmed by Popes Innocent III and Honorius III, in 1216. Dress, white garment, with black cloak and pointed cap. Dominic died at Bologna, 1221, and was canonized, given saintly standing in the church, by Gregory IX in 1233
DONATS
A class of men who were attached to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, or Knights of Malta. They did not take the vows of the Order, but were employed in the various offices of the convent and hospital. In token of their connection with the Order, they wore what was called the demi-cross (see Knights of Malta).
DOOR.
Every well-constructed Lodge-room should be provided with two doors—one on the left hand of the Senior Warden, communicating with the preparation room; the other on his right hand, communicating with the Tiler's apartment.
The former of these is called the Inner Door, and is under the charge of the Senior Deacon; the latter is called the outer Door, and is under the charge of the Junior Deacon. In a well-furnished Lodge, each of these doors is provided with two knockers, one on the inside and the other on the outside; and the outside door has sometimes a small aperture in the center to facilitate communications between the Junior Deacon and the Tiler. This, however, is a modern innovation, and its propriety and expediency are very doubtful. No communication ought legally to be held between the inside and the outside of the Lodge except through the door, which should be opened only after regular alarm duly reported, and on the order of the Worshipful Master.
Brother Mackey here describes the common practice in the United States of America, but the arrangement he advocates is by no means universal, Brother Clegg reporting instances found abroad where he entered at the left of the Senior Warden.
DORIC ORDER.
The oldest and most original of the three Grecian orders. It is remarkable for robust solidity in the column, for massive grandeur in the entablature, and for harmonious simplicity in its construction. The distinguishing characteristic of this order is the want of a base. The flutings are few, large, and very little concave. The capital has no astragal or molding, but only one or more fillets, which separate the flutings from the torus or bead. The column of strength which supports the Lodge is of the Doric order, and its appropriate situation and symbolic officer are in the West (see Orders of Architecture).
DORMANT LODGE.
A Lodge whose Charter has not been revoked, but which has ceased to meet and work for a long time, is said to be dormant. It can be restored to activity only by the authority of the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge on the petition of some of its members, one of whom, at least, ought to be a Past Master.
DORMER.
In the Lectures, according to the present English system, the ornaments of a Master Mason's Lodge are said to be the porch, dormer, and square pavement. The dormer is the window which is supposed to give light to the Holy of Holies. In the Glossary of Architecture, a dormer is defined to be a window pierced through a sloping roof, and placed in a small gable which rises on the side of the roof. This symbol is not preserved in the American system.
DOTAGE.
The regulations of Freemasonry forbid the initiation of an old man in his dotage; and very properly, because the imbecility of his mind would prevent his comprehension of the truths presented to him.
DOUBLE CUBE.
A cubical figure, whose length is equal to twice its breadth and height. Solomon's Temple is said to have been of this figure, and hence it has sometimes been adopted as the symbol of a Masonic Lodge. Doctor Oliver (Dictionary of Symbolic Masonry) thus describes the symbolism of the double cube:
The heathen deities were many of them represented by a cubical stone. Pausanius informs us that a cube was the symbol of Mercury because, like the cube, he represented Truth. In Arabia, a black stone in the form of a double cube was reputed to be possessed of many occult virtues. Apollo was sometimes worshipped under the symbol of a square stone; and it is recorded that when a fatal pestilence raged at Delphi, the oracle was consulted as to the means proper to be adopted for the purpose of arresting its progress, and it commanded that the cube should be doubled. This was understood by the priests to refer to the altar, which was of a cubical form. They obeyed the injunction, increasing the altitude of the altar to its prescribed dimensions, like the pedestal in a Masons Lodge, and the pestilence ceased.
We may here add a few comments upon what Brother Mackey says of the double cube because the account may be understood in a somewhat different way. In fact, the famous problem of antiquity concerning the cube was not so simple as to give it twice the dimensions of its edges but to produce a cube twice the volume of another one, which is an entirely different proposition.
The origin of the problem is not definitely known but probably it was suggested by the one credited to Pythagoras, namely, squat a square or constructing a square of twice the area of a Seen square.
The account given by Doctor Oliver is credited to Eratosthenes about 200 B.C. This authority in a letter to Ptolemy Euergetes tells the history of the problem. The Delphians, suffering a pestilence, consulted their oracles and were ordered to double the volume of the altar to be erected to their god, Apollo. An altar was built having an edge double the length of the original but the plague went on unabated, the oracles not having been obeyed. However, this story is a mere fable and is given no weight at the present time.
DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE.
See Eagle Double headed.
DOUGLAS, STEPHEN ARNOLD.
American statesman, born at Brandon, Vermont, April 23, 1813, and died June 3, 1861, at Chicago. Resourceful in political leadership, his rise to national prominence was rapid. Representative from Illinois, 1843, he became Senator in 1847, unsuccessful candidate for President, 1852 and 1856, and in 1858 ably debated with Abraham Lincoln in seven cities. His petition to Springfield Lodge No. 4, at Springfield, Illinois, is reproduced in this world The original hangs in the Lodge-room and the photograph was kindly furnished us by Brother H. C. McLoud.
DOVE.
In ancient symbolism's the dove represented purity and innocence; in ecclesiology, especially in church decoration, it is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. In Freemasonry, the dove is only viewed in reference to its use by Noah as a messenger. Hence, in the Grand Lodge of England, doves are the jewels of the Deacons, because these officers are the messengers of the Masters and Wardens.
They are not so used in America. In an honorary or side Degree formerly conferred in America, and called the Arks roll of parchment, in a very clear hand, apparently and Dove, that bird is a prominent symbol.
DOVE, KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF THE.
An Brother extinct secret society, of a Masonic model, but androgynous, including both sexes, instituted at Versailles, France in 1784.
DOWLAND MANUSCRIPT.
First published by James Dowland, in the Gentelman's Magazine, May, 1815 (volume lxxxv, page 489). "Written on a long roll of parchment in a very clear hand , apparently early in the seventeenth century, and very probably is copied from a manuscript of earlier date." Brother William J. Hughan says: "Brother Woodford, Mr. Sims, and other eminent authorities, consider the original of the copy, from which the manuscript for the Gemtelman's Magazine was written, to be a scroll of at least a century earlier than the date ascribed to Mr.Dowland's manuscript, that is, about 1550."
The original manuscript from which Dowland made his copy has not yet been traced. Hughan's Old Charades, the edition of 1872, contains a reprint of the Douwland Manuscript.
DRAESEKE, JOHAN HEINRICH DERNHARDT.
A celebrated pulpit orator of great eloquence, born at Brunswick, 1774, and died at Potsdam, 1849, who presided over the Lodge named Oelzweig, meaning, the Olive Branch, in Bremen, for three years, and whose contributions to Masonic literature were collected and published in 1865, by A. W. Muller, under the title of Bishop Dräseke as a Mason, in German Der Bischof Draseke als Maurer. Of this work Findel says that it "contains a string of costly pearls full of Masonic eloquence."
DRAKE, FRANCIS.
Francis Drake, M.D., F.R.S., a celebrated antiquary and historian, was initiated in the city of York in 1725, and, as Hughan says, "soon made his name felt in Masonry." His promotion was rapid; for in the same year he was chosen Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of York, and in 1726 delivered an address, which was published with the following title: A Speech delivered to the Worshipful and Ancient Society of Free and Accepted Masons, at a Grand Lodge held at Merchants' Hall, in the city of York, on St. John's Day, December the 27th, 1726. The Right Worshipful Charles Bathurst, Esq., Grand Master. By the Junior Grand Warden. Olim meminisse Juvabit. York.
The Latin expression here is quoted from the Poet Vergil, recalling the joys of other times. The address was published in York without any date, but probably in 1727, and reprinted in London in 1729 and 1734. It has often been reproduced since and can be found in Hughan's Masonic Sketches and Reprints. In this work Brother Drake makes the important statement that the first Grand Lodge in England was held at York; and that while it recognizes the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in London as Grand Master of England, it claims that its own Grand Master is Grand Master of all England. The speech is also important for containing a very early reference to the three Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason.
DRAMA.
See Scenic Representations; Mysteries, Ancient, and Master Mason.
DRAMATIC LITERATURE OF FREEMASONRY.
Freemasonry has frequently supplied the playwriters with a topic for the exercise of their genius. Kloss (Bibliographic, page 300) gives the titles of no less than forty-one plays of which Freemasonry has been the subject. Brother William Rufus Chetwood wrote the libretto of an opera entitled The Generous Freemason and this was given a first performance in London in 1730. An account of it has been printed by Brother Richard Northcott of the Covent Garden Theater, London, England. The earliest Masonic play is noticed by Thory (Annales Oripnis Magni Galliarum Orientis, ou Histoire de la Fondation du Grand Orient de France, meaning the History of the Foundation of the Grand Orient of France, page 360), as having been performed at Paris, in 1739, under the title of Les freemasons. Editions of it were subsequently published at London, Brunswick, and Strasbourg. In 1741, we have Das Geheimniss der Freimaurer, the Freemason's Secret, at Frankfort and Leipzig.
France and Germany made many other contributions to the Masonic drama. Even Denmark supplied one in 1745, and Italy in 1785. The English dramatists give us only a pantomime, Harlequin Freemasons which was brought out at Covent Garden in 1781, and Solomon's Temple, an oratorio. Templarism has not been neglected by the dramatists. Kalchberg, in 1788, wrote Die Tempelherren, meaning The Templars, a dramatic poem in the German language in five acts. Odon de Saint-Amand, Grand Maître des Templiers, the latter title meaning Grand Master of the Templars, a melodrama in three acts, was performed at Paris in 1806. Jacques Molai, a melodrama, was published at Paris in 1807, and La Mort de Jacques Molai, meaning in English the Death of James Molai, a tragedy, in 1812. Some of the plays on Freemasonry were intended to do honor to the Order, and many to throw ridicule upon it.
DRESDEN, CONGRESS OF.
A General Congress of the Lodges of Saxony was held in Dresden, in 1811, where the representatives of twelve Lodges were present. In this Congress it was determined to recognize only the Freemasonry of Saint John, and to construct a National Grand Lodge. Accordingly, on September 28, 1811, the National Grand Lodge of Saxony was established in the city of Dresden, which was soon joined by all the Saxon Lodges, with the exception of one in Leipzig. Although it recognized only the Symbolic Degrees, it permitted great freedom in the selection of a ritual; and, accordingly, some of its Lodges worked in the Rite of Fessler, and others in the Rite of Berlin.
DRESS OF A FREEMASON.
See Clothed.
DROP CLOTH.
A part of the furniture used in the United States of America in the ceremony of the Third Degree.
DROPS, THREE.
Refers to mystic number of drops of blood from the White Giant, that in the Persian mysteries restored sight to the captives in the cell of horrors when applied by the conqueror Rustam. In India, a girdle of three triple threads was deemed holy; 80 were three drops of water in Brittany, and the same number of drops of blood in Mexico.
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