THE BUILDER MAGAZINE
october 1915
volume 1 - number 10
THE HOUSE OF LIGHT
BY THE EDITOR
LOOK now on this
picture and on that, portraying from varying angles, both from within and
without, a House of Light at the Sign of the Square and Compasses! Graceful,
substantial, modest, home-like, it is the Home of the National Masonic Research
Society; as simple as it is elegant, as useful as it is beautiful, a temple and
a work-shop; at once a centre and a symbol of that for which it stands - and as
you study it consider what it means as a fact and as a prophecy. Open to all
members of the Society, it is here that a company of fellow-workers are wont to
forgather betimes to hold councils of peace, to lay plans for the building of
The Builder, and to devise ways and means for spreading of the kindly light of
Masonry among men.
Every movement passes
through three stages on its way to usefulness and permanence. First, it is a
dream in the minds of a few men who, seeing a great need in the form of
opportunity, and wishing to do a little good while yet it is day, ere the night
cometh when no man can work, set about to meet that need. Then follows a period
of planning, of experiment and the tentative trial of methods, of adventure in
quest of a point of contact with the problem, of alternate victory and defeat.
Finally, the vision slowly takes tangible shape, the dream begins to come true,
not in all its original radiance, perhaps, but in its essential meaning and
purpose; and the faith of the workers is justified by a new opportunity for
service. It has been so with our Research Society. Beginning in a sincere desire
to serve the great order of Freemasonry, it had its period of adventure and
experiment, but it is now entering the stage of permanent establishment, having
not only a name, but a habitation befitting its spirit and purpose.
Now, take thought for
a moment. Here, for the first time in the story of American Masonry, is a temple
devoted exclusively to the cause of Masonic culture in all its Rites, in all its
aspects of historical research, philosophical interpretation, spiritual power,
and practical endeavor. Surely, if there be any virtue in Masonry, any power in
its high and tender spirit, any worth in its teachings, or any promise for the
good of humanity in its benign activities, every Mason must feel his heart beat
faster when he looks upon this House of Friendship and thinks of its
significance. It is unique. It is prophetic. It is practical. Built amid the
wreck and tragedy of world-war, it stands as a protest against those Ruffian
forces which, if they have their way, will rob us of the hard-won inheritance of
the ages; and a prophecy of that day when the gentle Spirit of Masonry will be
victorious to the confounding of all uncleanness, all unkindness. In the winter
of the world it foretells the advent of a springtime of Brotherly Love; in the
darkness it bespeaks the dawn of a better day.
Let there be credit
where credit is so richly due. Despite his protest we deem it but iust to state
the simple fact that our House of Light, so beautiful in its appointments, was
erected by the munificence of our Secretary, whose enthusiasm for the
advancement of Freemasonry is only equaled by his practical capacity in working
out his designs. Ye editor and the Board of Stewards aided after a fashion, but
without his faith, his personality, his executive acumen and indomitable
industry, neither this Society nor its Home would ever have had an existence.
Believing that Masonry has in it hitherto unguessed powers for the enrichment
and refinement of men, which if awakened and made effective would make it a
greater instrumentality in behalf of righteousness, intelligence and goodwill,
he has invested his time, money and energy without stint, asking no dividends
save the increase of Freedom, Friendship and Fraternity among men. Such faith in
Masonry has evoked the faith of Masons everywhere, as witness ten thousand loyal
members of this Society, who will do their part to add ten thousand more to that
number.
Uniting beauty with
utility, our House of Light is built of cement and steel, fire-proof throughout,
to protect the records of the Society and the treasures which will increase with
the years. Both in arrangement and equipment it is fitted for effective service,
containing a reception hall entered by three distinct knocks; a library prepared
for special research - not forgetting a noble temple organ of myriad keys and
melodies; offices, work-rooms, vaults, storage-space, all furnished from attic
to basement - the oldest emblems of the Order visible on every side, equally in
design and decorations. In the work-room one finds every kind of device to
facilitate labor: telephones connecting the different departments; Dictaphones,
addressographs, mailometer, folding machines; a Lodge map of the United States
and Canada; filing cases rapidly filling up with data concerning Masonic
buildings, plans for Study-clubs, lists of Masonic students and their special
fields of research - with a fine printing plant a block or so away. The House
looks like a home, surrounded by a sloping sward of clover and shrubbery, but it
is as busy as a Bee-hive, housing a working force of thirteen people which, with
ye editor added, makes the number as lucky as it is happy.
If we have dwelt thus
briefly on the several apartments of a House made with hands, it is because we
believe that every member of this Society will be proud of its new Home, as they
have a right to be. Also, it will help the Brethren to fix in their minds, once
for all, that this Society is no longer an experiment, but an established
Institution, to be reckoned among the permanent assets of American Masonry, and
equipped to work out the designs outlined on its Trestle-board at the beginning.
Founded under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, endorsed, unqualifiedly,
by the Grand Lodge of Indiana, with a Home and equipment adequate to its
activity, and having no other purpose than to promote the interests of Masonry
without regard to rite or jurisdiction, we believe that this Society will appeal
to Masons as worthy of their labor and loyalty. No one can deny that the Society
has been making good and making better since the day it was founded, and if its
members will bestir themselves, as we now most earnestly urge them to do, its
membership can be doubled within the next few months.
As announced elsewhere
editorially, with this issue The Builder is permanently enlarged to thirty-two
pages, as we originally promised to do when the Society had twenty thousand
members. The Masons of America having met us half way, we propose to go the
other half, despite the added expense incurred, if only to show our faith in an
enterprise which we believe will mean so much for the future of Masonry in this
country. Not only as a challenge to our Brethren, but for a number of reasons,
we feel safe in making this venture:
First, we believe that
the response deserves it. Surely it is remarkable that, within less than a year,
a movement as novel in its design as it was comprehensive in its scope should
have won the allegiance of ten thousand Masons; and we can never forget that
more than four thousand of them came before ever a single issue of The Builder
had been printed. Such loyalty and enthusiasm deserve to be rewarded, and we
desire to do everything within our power to be worthy of such confidence and
encouragement.
Second, the pressure
upon our pages demands it. Equally remarkable has been the response of the Craft
in the way of contributions of the very highest quality, many of which have been
delayed for months for lack of space. Therefore, in order to give our members a
better balanced journal, to add new departments and special features, thereby
adding to its interest and value, we feel the necessity for more space.
Third, the
Correspondence feature has developed to such proportions, and has shown itself
to be so interesting and profitable - being a kind of free-for-all forum where
many matters are discussed informally, if sometimes saucily - and is so
altogether worth while that we have not had the heart to abridge it; and yet
without increased space other features would suffer unless we did so. The
letters that reach us are full of fruitful suggestion, and withal are so
brotherly in their spirit and tone, as if we were sitting about the great
fire-place in the House of Friendship, that we cannot help enlarging the circle
by passing them on to the Craft.
Fourth, for lack of
space ye editor is far behind in answering the many interesting questions sent
to him from all sides and on all subjects, requiring him to answer by
correspondence, lest he keep his Brethren waiting too long; and this means an
extra labor for one who has as much to do as any man dare undertake. The
Brethren have been very patient, but we wish them to have such answers as we can
give more promptly, so far as lies within our power.
Fifth, a number of
special articles now in preparation, at our request, to be accompanied by many
illustrations, will require more space than we have now at our command. As it
is, members of this Society receive more reading matter, and of the best sort -
if we may judge from their letters of appreciation - than is offered anywhere
else in the Masonic world for a like fee.
Sixth, the constantly
increasing demand for building suggestions must be met, and until recently we
have had to do this by correspondence. Here, also, illustrations are essential
to a clear understanding of plans, a single floor-plan being worth more than a
page of print, and we must have more space to exhibit the results of the
experience of the Craft to best advantage.
Seventh, with the
December issue the first volume of The Builder will close, and that issue will
carry a complete index, making all the material so far published instantly
available for reference and use. Those coming into the Society before that time
will receive all back numbers for binding, as long as they last, and will have
their files complete from the beginning. It will not be possible to estimate the
probable number of members at the end of another year, and so we cannot
guarantee to furnish all the back numbers for 1916.
For all these reasons,
to name but a few, while enlarging The Builder we urge the Brethren to pull with
us, and all pull together, to reach the twenty thousand mark in our membership
by the first of the year or soon thereafter. We have shown our faith, we have
tried to do our part, we want to serve the great ideals and purposes of Masonry,
and we believe our Brethren will do their part to place this Society on such a
basis that its influence will be doubled and its labors be made more effective
and rewarding for the sublime end for which it toils. There are various schools
of Masonic thought, and they do not always see eye to eye, but a frank and
fraternal discussion in the House of Light at the sign of the Square and
Compasses will reveal that they are all aiming at the same exalted Ideal, and
that each has something to teach the other.
In Unity there is
strength, in Love there is undo standing, and in the sweet air of Faith, Freedom
a Friendship we shall the better pursue that Research Magnificent whereby a man
finds God, and lives the Eternal Life in the midst of Time.
Here, my Brethren, is
our first and chief concern, to which everything else is secondary, and valuable
only in so far as it conduces to that culture of the soul that refinement of
personality, that building of heroic and pure character without which life loses
its rhythm, its radiance, its reason for being and its hope of going on. Let us
give ourselves to this first task, and the last, unresting and unhurrying, that
so our days may be strung on a golden thread of high purpose, and deal be only a
soft, ineffable homeward sigh. To this end we consecrate our House of Light,
repeating the ancient prayer of the man of God in the olden time, whose words
are as fresh as the morning dew:
"Let the beauty of the
Lord our God be upon us: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea,
the work of our hands establish Thou it."
----o----
THE APRON
Guard thou this Apron even as thy soul!
High Badge it is of an undaunted band,
Which, from the dawn of dim forgotten time,
Has struggled upward in a quest of light;-
Light that is found in reverence of Self,
Unselfish Brother-love, and love of God.
This light now on thine Apron shines undimmed;
Let ne'er a shadow intercept its beams.
Thine eyes late saw the Sun burst from the East,
Marking the Morn of thy Masonic day,
Calling thee forth to labor with thy peers,
Gird then thy lambskin on; nor fail to find
In it a thought of brooks and sweet clean fields,
Haunts of this lamb through many a sunny hour.
Find in it, too, a nobler thought of Him
The Light ineffable, that Lamb of God,
Immaculate, unstained by shame or sin,
Who, dying, left ensample to all men
Who would build lives in purity and truth.
In Wisdom plan thy Apprentice task; divide
Thy time with care, thy moments spend as though
Each day were lifelong, life but as a day.
In purity of heart and sheer integrity
Use thou the gavel on each stubborn edge,
Divesting thought of aught perchance might stain,
Or scar, or tear this badge of shining white.
At Midday in the Craft's high fellowship,
Gird round thy life these bands of loyal blue,
Uniting with thee all to thee akin.
Strong in a deepening knowledge, bend thy skill
To leveling false pride in place attained,
To squaring thy foundations with the truth,
To setting each new stone in rectitude.
When in the West the Evening turns to gold
And beautifies what Strength and Wisdom reared,
Pause not, but search
thy trestle-board, God's plan;
And ply with solemn
joy thy master tools,
Earth's many cementing
into heaven's one.
Full soon an unseen
Hand shall gently stay
Thine arm; and on
thine Apron, scutcheon bright,
Shall rest the
Allseeing Eye, adjudging there
The blazoned record of
thy workmanship.
Anon, thy Sun goes out
and brothers lay,
With thee, thine Apron
in the breast of earth,
Among the forgetful
archives of the dust.
* * *
Wear worthily this thy Masonic badge,
While still thy body toils to build thy soul
A mansion bright, beyond the gates of death,
No edifice that crumbles back to clay,
But a glorious house eternal in the skies.
These, now, be Mason's wages; when from his hands
Forever fall the working tools of life,
Arising, to ascend to loftier work; -
From out the lowly quarries to be called
To labor in the City of the King; -
Glad in the light of one long endless day,
To serve anew the Celestial Architect
And Sovereign Master of the Lodge Above.
* * *
Thy portion, Brother, may it be to hear
These welcome words, when the great Judge shall scan
Thy work, "Well done! Thou good and faithful servant,
Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
- J. Hubert Scott, Coe College, Cedar Rapids.
THE CHARLES MARTEL LEGEND IN FREEMASONRY
BY BRO. O.D. STREET, ALABAMA
AS is well known to students of Masonic history, (though
not to all Masons by any means), there is in existence a class of MSS. known as
the "Old Charges" of Freemasons, but which would more appropriately be termed
"Legendary Histories of the Craft of Masonry." The known copies of these number
about eighty and are to be found in the possession of Lodges, individuals,
libraries and museums. Until a comparatively recent date they were unpublished,
but now nearly all are obtainable in printed form. The earliest of them, the "Halliwell"
or "Regius" MS., dates from about 1390 A.D.; the next oldest, the "Cooke," from
about 1450 A.D.; while the others originated at irregular intervals extending
down well into the last century. The extreme value of these documents in
relation to the Craft is universally recognized.
One of the oldest traditions of Freemasonry recorded in
these MSS. histories, is that which connects with the fraternity Charles Martel,
who, at the battle of Tours, in A. D. 732, turned back the tide of Saracenic
invasion of Europe. In its earliest form it read thus:--
"And thus was that woorthy Crafte of Massonrey Confirmed in
the Countrey of Jerusalem And in many other Kyngdomes. "Curious Craftes men
walked aboute full wyde in Dyu's Countries soome to Learne more Crafte and
conning and some to teache them that had but litle conning and so yt befell that
their was on' Curious Masson that height Naymus grecus that had byn at the
making of Sollomon's Temple and he came into ffrance and there he taught the
Science of Massonrey to men of ffraunce And there was one of the Regall lyne of
ffraunce that height Charles Martell And he was A man that Loved well suche A
Crafte and Drewe to this Naymus grecus and Learned of him the Crafte And to
vppon him the Chardges and ye mann's. And afterward by the grace of god he was
elect to be Kyng of ffraunce. And when he was in his Estate he tooke Massons and
did help to make men Massons yt weare none and sett them A woorke and gave them
bothe the Chargs and mann's and good paye that he had learned of other Massons
And confirmed them A Charter from yere to yeare to holde their assembly wheare
they woulde, And churrishe them right much And thus came the Crafte into
ffraunce." (1)
More than seventy later versions of the "Old Charges"
repeat the story in much the same language. Three, the Cooke, the William
Watson, and the Henery Heade MSS., (one older and two later than the Grand Lodge
No. 1), denominate this legendary patron of the Craft "Carolus Secundus." Not
one mentions Charlemagne and yet in recent years the attempt has been made, with
some success, to substitute Charlemagne for both Charles Martel and "Carolus
Secundus" in this legend. The leading advocate of this theory is Bro. Edmund H.
Dring, the distinguished head of Quaritch's famous book store in London, who in
two papers read before the Quatuor Coronati Lodge, for which he is enargued
powerfully in favor of this view. (2)
Since the publication of these papers in 1905 and 1906,
Bro. Dring- -and others--have apparently assumed on occasion that he had
indubitably proved his contention. Not only does no copy of the "Old Charges"
connect Charlemagne with Freemasonry, but no other Masonic document or
publication of early date does so. A result so surprising should certainly have
something very tangible to support it. I, for one, do not think that Bro. Dring
has by any means proved his contention. I do not think he has produced a single
fragment of evidencc to sustain it. His argument throughout is, in my judgment,
essentially fallacious. It rests entirely on two assumptions of which therc is
not the slightest proof.
He accounts for the introduction of the name Charles Martel
into our written legends by supposing (not proving) two historical blunders, (1)
that the author of the Cooke MS., misconstruing a passage in Matthew Paris'
Chronica Majora, wrote "Carolus Secundus" where he should have written
Charlemagne, and (2) that a later editor or copyist of the MS., "seeing a
discrepancy and not being able to reconcile it with his own knowledge of
history, boldly altered the word 'Secundus' to Martel." This involves several
other suppositions, that the Cooke MS. is the original of all others, a thing by
no means agreed among Masonic scholars; that the author or compiler of the Cooke
was familiar with Paris' work, of which there is no proof; that he committed an
absurd mistake and that a later editor or copyist made a still more absurd
correction.
Bro. Dring skillfully prepares the way for this kind of
argument by citing other instances of similar alterations, not to say forgeries.
By interesting facsimiles of portions of old documents he shows how easily an
honest mistake of this sort might be made. That such things have been done
through inadvertence and by design is not denied. Considerations like these
force us to admit the possibility of Bro. Dring's theory, but are mere
possibilities to outweigh the positive statements of documents of respectable
age, to say the least, although it is not yet known precisely what degree of
credit these documents are entitled to? That an error has been made in one case
or in many cases, or that forgeries are committed does not prove or have any
legitimate tendency to prove either in a court or in the domain of history that
a particular case is an error or a forgery. While it shows the possibility and
hence prepares the way for less evidence to produce conviction than would
otherwise be requisite, it does not dispense with the necessity of producing
some evidence of a character having a legitimate and direct tendency to prove
that in fact there was an error or a forgery.
Because the Cooke MS., (supposed to date from about A. D.
1150), says "Carolus Secundus," Bro. Dring holds it as entitled to more weight
than the numerous later MSS. which have it "Charles Martel," and as therefore
proving that Charles Martel could not have been the person referred to. If we
knew (as Bro. Dring seems to assume) that all later versions of the "Old
Charges" were derived from the Cooke, this would be a logical conclusion. But we
do not know this; Masonic scholars are by no means agreed that this is a fact.
On the contrary, it is just as likely that some, if not all, of our later
versions are derived from a MS. or MSS. as old or older than the Cooke. But
having used the Cooke MSS. to discredit the Charles Martel theory, Bro. Dring
with strange inconsistency immediately proceeds to argue that the Cooke in
saying "Carolus Secundus" is itself in error. In fact, it was pointed out at the
time by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge before which Bro. Dring's theory was
advanced that a remarkable feature of his argument was that "Charles the Second
was not Charles the Second, that Charles Martel was not Charles Martel, that
Naimus was not Naimus, and Grecus not Grecus."
The fact is the genealogies or origins of these MSS. have
not been traced, if in truth they ever can be. But until this is done, it is
folly to talk of their respective probative values. Bro. Robert F. Gould devised
a classification by which he thought this might be determined, but a no less
distinguished authority--Bro. William J. Hughan--in a letter to the writer,
pronounces Bro. Gould's scheme as "not workable" and "useless for practical
purposes." In such a state, we can do no better than to regard the general
concensus of the evidences afforded by these documents. The fact stands out that
three of them say "Carolus Secundus," more than seventy say "Charles Martel,"
not one says "Charlemagne." It is to say the least a remarkable result when from
the MSS. themselves the conclusion is deduced that Charlemagne is meant. If such
an error as Bro. Dring supposes could produce such an abundant crop of "Martels,"
is it not remarkable, yea incredible, that not a single example of the correct
reading has been preserved ?
Another line of argument advanced by Bro. Dring is to show
that Charlemagne was a patron of architecture and building. I do not question
that he was as much so as Charles Martel; doubtless he was more so. But it could
be shown that many monarchs, both before and after Charlemagne, were likewise
patrons of this art. That all of them were such is no proof that Charles Martel
was not.
When Brother Dring first propounded his theory of the
identity of the "Carolus Secundus" and "Charles Martel" of our MSS. with
Charlemagne so eminent authority as Bro. W. Begemann, of Germany, promptly and
powerfully dissented, (3) insisting that the evidence was stronger that the
personage meant was the Emperor Charles II, surnamed the Bald, who was certainly
one of the earliest Royal patrons of architecture and building in Germany. (4)
Summarizing, we learn from about sixty copies of the "Old
Charges" accessible to us that Charles Martel (or Secundus (5)) was of the
regular, (6) regal, (7) or royal (8) line of France; or that he was of the
King's blood royal, (9) or of the King's lineage, (10) or that he was a worthy
King, (11) (or merely a King (12)) of France, or that he was a worthy Knight,
(13) or simply that he was a man in (14) or of (15) France. At the same time we
are assured that he was no Frenchman. (16) We learn also that he was a Mason
before he was King; (17) that he loved well the Craft, (18) learned it of Naymus
Grecus, (19) took uhimself the charges and manners (20) of Masons, became one of
the Fraternity; (21) that afterwards he was elected King of France but whether
by the Grace (22) or Providence (23) of God, or by lineage, (24) or by fortune
only seems to have been a disputed question. (25) It was even denied that he was
of the blood royal.
After he became king he cherished the Masons, confirmed
them a charter to hold their assemblies from year to year, set them to work on
great works, and ordained for them good pay.
Thus we see that the Charles referred to was one of whose
royal blood there was question but who was nevertheless in fact of the regal
line of France; that he was elected King of France, but that there was dispute
whether his election was due to his royal blood or to the fortune he had
achieved for himself; finally that he was no Frenchman.
This accurately describes Charles Martel, certainly as much
so as it does Charlemagne. Charles Martel was the illegitimate son of Pepin
d'Heristal, Duke of Austrasia and Mayor of the Palace of the King of France, and
was upon the death of his father excluded from any share in the government and
thrown into prison. The Austrasians, however, despising the rule of a woman and
a child, to whom Pepin had left the governrnent, revolted; Charles made his
escape, was elected Duke of the Austrasians and soon made himself master of
Neustria also.
We have here narrated just such a condition of affairs as
would beget the doubt and uncertainty which seem to have troubled our Masonic
chroniclers.
On the other hand, Charlemagne's title to his kingdom
partly by descent from his father Pepin, the Short, A. D. 768, and partly by
death of his brother Karloman, A. D. 771, was never doubted, and while
Charlemagne too was born out of wedlock, he was fully recognized and legitimated
by the subsequent marriage of his mother and father. There was never the least
question as to his ancestry or as to his being of the royal family.
The objection made by Bro. Dring to the Charles Martel
theory (26) that he was not in fact of the royal or regal line of France is more
specious than sound. It is true that neither he nor his father was ever formally
crowned king, but his son, Pepin the Short, father of Charlemagne, was. It is
true that Charles Martel never assumed the title of King; during his entire
reign his official title continued to be "Mayor of the Palace." The nominal
kings of the French had, however, at this period long ceased to be king in fact;
they are known to us as the "puppet kings," to the French as "les rois faineants"
(the lazy kings). The real ruler had long been the Mayor of the Palace, an
official who began as a sort of confidential servant, or, as we might now say,
Private Secretary to the great old Clovis, but who ended with usurping all the
kingly authority and finally in deposing the king and confining him in a
monastery. This shadowy line of royalty came to an end with the death of Thierry
IV in A. D. 737; Charles neglected to place another on the throne and from then
until his own death in 741, though retaining the old title of Mayor of the
Palace, Charles Martel wielded an authority which even in theory was unshared
with any other. The transparent fiction of governing in the name of a king who
had no existence should certainly deceive no one of this day; doubtless most of
his own generation recognized in him the real king. In the annals of the year A.
D. 717 it is written "Carolus regnare coepit." So very obvious is this that at
least two recent encyclopaedic works of high authority denominate him "King of
the Franks." (27)
I do not mean to imply that these works are technically
accurate in denominating him "King"; but admitting that the encyclopedic writers
in question are uncritical, I ask might not the same facts that lead uncritical
writers of the XXth Century to call Martel "King of the Franks" have led the
same class of writers, (such as the compilers of our "Old Charges" undoubtedly
were), to do the same thing, say, in the Xth, or XIth, or XIIth, or XVIth
Century? The mere fact that the personage (whoever he be) that is referred to in
our manuscripts, is called "King of the Franks" does not prove that Martel is
not that personage, because forsooth while practically, he was never technically
their king.
In a very real sense Charles Martel was of the "Regal" or
"Royal" line of France, though his illegitimacy and apparent repudiation by his
father would naturally give rise to the charge by the adherents of his
stepmother and nephew, (to whom Pepin had left the Kingdom), that he was not of
the royal blood at all, thus rationally accounting for just such discrepancies
all contradictions as we find in our Masonic MSS.
Accrediting Charles Martel with doings of Charlemagne is
quite unlikely for two reasons, it is a tendency of the human mind to ascribe an
act (1) to a later rather than an earlier hero and (2) to the more noted rather
than the less noted individual. In every age since his day, Charlemagne has been
a better known personage than Charles Martel. We should, therefore, rather
expect deeds of Charles Martel to be attributed to Charlemagne than the
converse. And are not those who advocate Bro. Dring's theory doing this very
thing ?
It has never been satisfactorily shown, so far as I am
aware, whence or how Charles acquired his cognomen of Martel (the hammer). Our
legends say hc was a Mason before he was King, a thing which, owing to his early
precarious fortunes, was far more likely with him than with Charlemagne. As a
Mason he would, of course, wield the hammer; when he was become king some
reminiscence of his old Craft would naturally cling to him; history affords many
such instances. The idea that his name was given him because he beat the
Saracens so unmercifully, as with a hammer, sounds quite apocryphal; more likely
it was but a new application of a name by which he had been previously known.
Charles Martel was first a man of or in France, though not
a Frenchman; he was elected King of the French, if not by a regular show of
hands, by the silent suffrage of his people; his elevation he achieved by his
own fortune, powerfully aided, no doubt, by the fact that he was a son (though
only natural) of Pepin d'Heristal; hence, of the lineage of the real king; so
that it may then have well been, as it is now, a matter of doubt which
contributed the more to his success. These well authenticated historical facts
fulfill every requirement of our MS. traditions, except that Charles Martel was
a Mason before he was king. But on this point history is not so silent in his
case as in that of Charlemagne. On the other hand, his name, Martel, lends, as
we have seen, some corroboration, which is wholly lacking in the name of
Charlemagne. While it must be confessed that the evidence outside of our MSS. is
meager, yet what there is and all that there is tends to support the Martel
theory.
Nor is there anything inherently improbable in it; it is a
mistake to suppose that architecture was unknown during and before Charles
Martel's day. Omitting all consideration of the classic architecture of Greece
and Rome, for nearly two centuries prior to his birth, the Magistri Comacini,
the famous brotherhood or guild of Masons, having their center at Como, in
Northern Italy, (and hence not remote from France) had under the patronage of
the Lombard Kings (and even before their time) been engaged in the erection of
splendid churches and palaces, remains of which exhibit a high degree of skill.
Evidences are not wanting of the very early introduction of Comacine
architecture into France. Bro. Gould says that at the present day splendid ruins
dating long before the invasion of the barbarians still testify to the opulence
of the French people. History vol. 1, p. 179.
Having by the battle of Tours in A. D. 732, freed Europe
from the threatened inundation of the Saracens and thus become the recognized
defender of Christianity against the Infidel, nothing is more natural than that
Charles Martel should have evidenced his piety and gratitude by the erection of
churches. It was a common custom from the days of the earliest Christian kings
thus to give expression to their religious enthusiasm and it should excite no
surprise if Charles Martel followed their example. All the probabilities are on
the side of the conclusion that he, like so many of his predecessors and
successors, was a church builder. Indeed, it need cause no wonder if Martel, as
our MSS. declare, himself became a member of and practiced the Craft, an example
which finds imitation in Peter the Great becoming a ship-wright.
If, as therefore appears probable, Charles Martel was
either a member or a patron of the Craft of Masonry, he might reasonably be
expected to grant them privileges not conferred upon the other crafts generally.
Our MSS. say that he did; likewise in France, according to Boileau's Code of the
usages and customs of the Masons, the Stone Masons, the Plasterers, and the
Mortarers, compiled about A. D. 1260, "All Stone Masons are free of watch duty
since the time of Charles Martel, as the wardens have heard tell from father to
son." Commenting upon this, Bro. Gould, in his History of Freemasonry (vol. I,
p. 200) says "The Prud'hommes (wardens) inform Boileau that it has been
traditional from father to son that they (stone masons) have been exempt ever
since the time of Charles Martel. We thus see that as early as the thirteenth
century, a tradition was current in France that Charles Martel had conferred
special favors upon the stonemasons, and that this tradition was sufficiently
well established to ensure very valuable privileges to the craftsmen claiming
under it. With but one (28) exception, all the Old Charges of British Freemasons
also pointedly allude to the same distinguished soldier as a great patron and
protector of Masonry." This "community of tradition," as Bro. Gould calls it,
"which pervaded the minds of the medieval Masons in Gaul and Britain," and which
is one of the greatest obstacles in the way of the Charlemagne theory, Bro.
Dring does not so much as allude to, much less attempt to reconcile. It is thus
indisputably proved that the Charles Martel tradition was thoroughly established
in France certainly a hundred and fifty years before the Cooke MS. had any
existence and hence before its author could have made his supposed mistake, and
a much longer period before Bro. Dring's supposed editor or copyist could have
made his supposed correction, or mis-correction, if the term may be allowed. By
Bro. Dring's rule that, when a document does not accord with one's theory, one
has only to suppose that its author or editor had mistakenly or deliberately
made it read differently from the way it should read, anything can be either
proved or disproved. If two documents stand in the way, it is only necessary to
suppose that the writer of one had the other before him, and thus any number of
authorities may be gotten rid of. In this manner, Bro. Dring has brushed aside
more than seventy documents.
The name of Charles Martel first appears in our known MSS.
in Grand Lodge No. 1, of A. D. 1583, or as we have seen, more than three hundred
years after a similar tradition concerning him was current among the French
Stonemasons. Those who would overthrow this concensus of Masonic tradition both
in France and England and would dethrone Charles Martel from the proud position
he occupies in our legendary history and put in his place the greater Charles,
must produce evidence more convincing than any yet brought forward. Until
stronger evidence is adduced, Charles Martel is quite good enough a hero for us.
(1) Quoted from the Grand Lodge MS. No. 1 of the "old
charges." This MS. bears date A.D. 1583 and is printed in Hughan's "Old Charges"
(1872), p. 41, Sadler's "Masonic Facts and Fictions" (1887), p. 199; Quatuor
Coronati Antigrapha, Vol.
(2) A.Q.C. vol. XVIII, p. 179; Ib. vol. XIX, p. 45.
(3) A.Q.C. vol. XIX, p. 55.
(4) Bryce Holy Roman Empire; A.Q.C. vol. III, p. 166.
(5) Cooke, William Watson, Henery Heade MSS. The Stanley
MS. says he was named "Charles" simply.
(6) Cama MS. Levander-York MS. says "regulator of France."
(7) Grand Lodge No. 1, Phillipps No. 1, Phillipps No. 2,
Bain, Dowland, Col. Clerke, Wood, Melrose, York No. 6, Dumfries-Kilwinning No.
1, Dumfries-Kilwinning No. 4 MSS., Papworth MS. says a "regalion of France."
John T. Thorp MS. says "reall Lyne of France." The Stanley MS. says "of Regalme
in ffrance."
(8) Edinburgh-Kilwinning, Lansdowne, Antiquity, York No. 1,
York No. 2, York No. 4, York No. 5, Harris No. 2, Probity, Hope, Alnwick, Wren,
Waistell, John Strachan, New Castle College, Scarborough MSS. Dumfries-Kilwinning
No. 3 calls him "a prince of the Royal line of France."
(9) Cooke, William Watson, Henery Heade, Carmick MSS.
(10) Acheson-Haven, Thos. W. Tew MSS.
(11) Cooke, Henery Heade MSS.
(12) Grand Lodge No. 2, Harleian No. 1942, Rawlinson, John
Macnab MSS.
(13) William Watson MS.
(14) Buchanon, H. F. Beaumont MSS.
(15) Phillips No. 3, Sloane No. 3848; Sloane No. 3323
"men." Lechmere Briscoe MSS.
(16) Dumfries-Kiiwinning No. 4 MS.
(17) Cooke, William Watson, Dumfries-Kilwinning No. 3,
Henery Heade MSS.
(18) Grand Lodge No. 1, Col. Clerke, Edinburgh-Kilwinning,
Probity, Phillips No. 1, Dumfries-Kilwinning No. 1 and No. 3, New Castle
College, Phillips No. 2, Cama, Carmick, Bain, Lansdowne, H. F. Beaumont,
Antiquity, Thos. W. Tew, York No. 1 York No. 2, York No. 5, Wood, Melrose No. 2,
Harris No. 2, Alnwick, Wren, John T. Thorp, John Strachan, Scarborough, Grand
Lodge No. 2, Harleian No. 1942, John Macnab, Buchanan, Acheson-Haven, York No.
6, Papworth, Phillipps No. 3, Dowland, Levander-York, Sloane No. 3848, Sloane
No. 3323, Harleian No. 2054, Lechmere, Briscoe MSS. Stanley MS. "he says loved
well such advice."
(19) Grand Lodge No. 1, Edinburgh-Kilwinning, Phillips No.
1, Thos. W. Tew, Phillipps No. 2, Cama, Carmick. Bain, York No. 1, York No. 2,
York No. 5, Stanley, Wood, Alnwick, John T. Thorp, H. F. Beaumont, John Strachan,
Col. Clerke, Scarborough, Grand Lodge No. 2, Harleian No. 1942, Rawlinson, John
Macnab, Dumfries-Kilwinning No. 1 and No. 3, Lechmere, Briscoe, Sloane No. 3323,
New Castle College, Harleian No. 2054, Levander-York, Sloane No. 3848, Buchanan
Acheson-Haven, York No. 6, Papworth, Phillipps No. 3, Dowiand MSS.
(20) Grand Lodge No. 1, Dumfries-Kilwinning No. 1 and No. 3
Edinburgh-Kilwinning, Thos. W. Tew, Phillipps No. 1, Phillips No. 2, Waistell,
Cama, Col. Clerke, Bain, Lansdowne, Probity, Antiquity, York No. 1, York No. 2,
York No. 5, Wood, H. F. Beaumont, Melrose No. 2, New Castle College, Harris No.
2, Hope, Alnwick, Wren, John Strachan, John T. Thorp, Scarborough, Dumfries-Kilwinning,
Buchanan, Acheson-Haven, York No. 6, Papworth, Phillipps No. 3, Dowland,
Levander-York, Sloane No. 3848, Sloane No. 3323, Harleian No. 2054, Lechmere
MSS.
(21) Grand Lodge No. 2, Harleian No. 1942, Rawlinson, John
Macnab MSS.
(22) Grand Lodge No. 1, Edinburgh-Kilwinning, Phillipps No.
1, Col. Clerke, Phillipps No. 2, Waistell, Cama, Bain, Lansdowne, Antiquity,
Thos. W. Tew, Wood, Melrose No. 2, Stanley, Harris No. 2, Hope, Probity, Alnwick,
Wren, H. F. Beaumont, AchesonHaven, York No. 4, York No. 6, Phillipps No. 3,
Dumfries-Kilwinning No. 1 and No. 3, Dowland, Levander-York, Sloane No. 3848,
Sloane No. 3323, Harleian No. 2054, Lechmere, John T. Thorp, John Strachan,
Scarborough, Cooke, William Watson, Henery Heade, Buchanan MSS.
(23) York No. 1, York No. 2, York No. 5, New Castle College
MSS.
(24) Cooke, William Watson, Henery Heade MSS.
(25) Cooke, William Watson, Henery Heade MSS.
(26) A.Q.C. vol. XVIII p. 179.
(27) Universal Encyclopaedia; Encyclopaedia Americana; The
Encyclopaedia Brittanica (11th ed.) with a nicer discrimination denominates him
a "Frankish Ruler," between which and "King of the Franks" it must be admitted
there is little difference.
(28) Cooke MS. Two others have since been discovered,
William Watson and Henery Heade MSS.
CONTINUATION OF QUESTIONS ON "THE BUILDERS"
Compiled by "The Cincinnati Masonic Study School"
206. How should a
young Mason feel toward Masonry? Why? What will be the result? Page 8-238-252.
207. If every Mason
were to more earnestly strive to be a Mason, not merely in form, but in faith,
in spirit, and still more in character, what would be realized? Page 8.
208. What are the real
foundations of Masonry both material and moral ? Page 15-201-202.
209. What constitutes
the true greatness and majesty of Freemasonry? Page 18.
210. What is said of
man from the beginning as to his purpose of finding out hidden meanings beyond
mere facts ? Page 19.
211. Of what does the
value of man consist ? Page 56.
212. What position
does Masonry hold in the world today? Page 52-53.
213. What is said of
the Comacine Guild 712 A. D. as compared with Masonic work of today ? Page 90.
214. When did the
order of Freemasons decline, and when was it revived and what resulted ? Page
90-124-186.
215. Why is it
impossible to gain much knowledge from the history of Freemasonry ? Page 96.
216. What is said of
the simple eloquent emblems of Freemasonry being older than all religions? Page
97.
217. What was the
difference between Freemasons and Guild Masons and from which is it thought
Masonry of today descended? Page 98.
218. What is said of
how the Masons taught the Monks in early Christian days? Page 114.
219. What is the chief
glory of Masonry? Page 101-102-124-128-172-252.
220. What was the
motto of Freemasonry during the Middle Ages? Page 121.
220a. What evidence
exists as to more than one degree during the Middle Ages ? Page 146.
221. Why did soldiers,
scholars, clergymen, lawyers, and even members of the nobility ask to be
accepted as members of the order of Freemasons through all the past ages? Page
168.
222. Relate an
incident showing one way the enemies of Freemasonry may work. Page 209.
223. Where does the
real power of Freemasonry lie? Page 212-214 Note.
223a. How did the
numerous so-called "exposes" of Masonry affect the order? Page 209-212.
224. In what years
were many so-called exposures of Freemasonry given, with what result and why was
Masonry not affected by them ? Page 212-213.
225. How does it come
that the headquarters of the Revolution and that of Paul Revere, Hancock, and
others used a Masonic Hall for their meeting place? Page 221.
226. When was an
Anti-Masonic party formed in the United States? Who was its candidate for
President and what success did they have ? Page 228.
226a. What was the
status of Masonry during the Civil War ? Page 229.
227. Why must we as
Masons be ever alert and vigilant even today in America? Page 230.
228. In what countries
does Masonry exist ? Page 231.
229. Name some
soldiers, philosophers, patriots, writers, poets, musicians, editors, ministers
of religions, statesmen, philanthropists, educators, jurists, and masters of
drama who were Freemasons. Page 232.
229a. What is said of
the various definitions of Freemasonry? Page 239-241.
230. What sort of a
system is Freemasonry? Page 239.
230a. What is Masonry
declared to be according to one of the "Old Charges?" Page 239.
231. Why do some
people say that "Masonry is a science" which is engaged in a search after divine
truth ? Does a candidate increase in the knowledge of truth as he progresses in
the study of the symbolic teachings? Page 240.
232. What proof have
we that Masonry can do more for mankind than to extend Friendship, Love and
integrity? Page 240, 241.
233. What are the
words of the German Handbook in regard to the activity of Freemasonry? Page 241.
234. With what is
Masonry linked which makes it so strong that no weapon formed against it can
prosper ? Page 242.
235. What is the
mission of Freemasonry among mankind? Page 242-244-247.
236. Why do the many
schemes for the "betterment" of mankind fail? Page 246.
237. What causes
Masonry to best serve the society and state ? Page 248.
237a. Why praise
Masonry? Page 252.
238. Why is
Freemasonry the greatest organization for the preservation of Peace in the
world? Page 249.
238a. What is greater
than all books ? Page 252 Note.
239. What does the
foundation of Masonry rest upon ? Page 260.
240. In what quest
does Freemasonry invite all men to unite, and what do Masonic thinkers proclaim
? Page 263-264.
240a. What is classed
as the greatest modern book ? Page 265.
241. What does it mean
to say that this mighty soul of man is akin to the Eternal Soul of all things?
Page 270.
242. Why is it Masonic
to be friends of all men, regardless of different opinions ? Why is it we can
hate what a man may do but still love the, man as a man ? Page 284.
242a. What will result
if we cultivate the spirit of Love ? Page 222.
243. At the Masonic
altar how do men meet? Page 288.
244. What does Masonry
endeavor to accomplish for man ? Page 226-289 and 289 note 295.
245. What is the
Spirit of Masonry? Page 127, 179-180, 258, 283, 289-290.
246. What will become
of industry, education and religion when real Masonry exists upon earth ? Page
290.
247. What of the
vision which Masonry gives to its votaries ? Page 295-296.
248. What will Masonry
do for any man who will lay its truths to heart? Page 291-295-296.
249. When is a man a
Mason ? Page 297.
250. What is the Great
Masonic Secret? What is the real Masonic Secret? Page 293, 298.
251. How many orders
were there of the mysteries as practiced at Memphis and of what did they consist
? What were the requirements to membership? Page 47.
252. What is supposed
to have been taught by the Grecian or Eleusinian Mysteries 1800 B. C. ? Page 49.
253. Describe the
various mysteries (similar to the Egyptian) passing to other countries ? Page
48, 52.
254. What influence
had the ancient mysteries upon the ritual of the Christian Church ? Page 50.
255. How did St. Paul
view the mysteries ? Why ? Page 50.
256. What is said of
the final condition of the mysteries and are such things possible in other
works, the church included ? Page 51.
257. What is said of
The Mysteries at their highest and best? Page 51.
258. Were the
Mysteries of early ages sectarian and what is said of their Spirituality ? Page
52.
259. How do the
Mysteries of today compare to those of the early ages? Page 52.
260. Did the ancient
Mysteries exist prior to any religion ? Page 53.
261. How does Masonry
stand in relation to the ancient Mysteries? Page 53.
262. Upon what did the
right to admission into the Grecian Mysteries depend? Page 58.
263. What wish did the
aspirant have who was granted the introduction into the so-called Grecian
Mysteries? Page 59.
264. When did the
Mysteries accept a student and were they always ready to accept one who knocked
on the door for admission ? Page 59.
265. How did the
teachings of the ancient world known as the Systems of esoteric and exoteric
instruction differ from the hints the novice received by symbols, dark sayings
and dramatic ritual and why ? Page 63.
266. What mysteries
ruled the Roman world by turns ? Page 82, 83.
267. What drama did
the Mysteries of Isis and Mithra teach ? Page 83.
268. Did the ancient
Mysteries teach the belief of any one sect or did they include them all ? Page
196.
269. What is the
result of the contemplation of our mortal lot ? Page 8.
270. What is said of
man as a builder, both material and spiritual? Page 6.
271. What induced man
to attach moral and spiritual meanings to the tools, laws and materials of
building? Page 26.
272. What is man's
last and highest thought, relative to all his building ? Page 15.
273. What has man
divined from the beginning, of how many worlds has he ever been a citizen, and
of what did he hope ? Page 19.
274. What did Mencius
teach ? Pace 29
----o----
THE SADNESS OF ART
What we harbor most at
heart
Never finds a word to
hold it;
Melodies that could
unfold it
Still elude our utmost
art;
What we put in paint
and granite
Doing so our noblest
duty,
Tells the world of
wondrous beauty
While we weep to see
and scan it.
That is why we go
despairing
In a world of love and
laughter,
Heed no past and no
hereafter,
Find no rest in all
our faring;
That is why we are the
sad;
How can hearts of ours
help breaking?
Still unmade for all
our making!
Naught to tell the
dream we had !
- S.O. Sheel.
----o----
The Masonic tie is no mere idle fancy. It is a real life
which binds men to mankind at large, and gives them an interest in the larger
hopes for coming generations. They wage war for peace.
- London Freemason.
THE ESTABLISHMENT AND EARLY DAYS OF MASONRY IN AMERICA
BY BRO. MELVIN M. JOHNSON, G.M. OF MASONS IN MASS.
CHAPTER II--PART II
1755
Gridley's Deputation arrived on Aug. 21, 1755, and he was
installed "Provincial Grand Master of Masons in North America" by Henry Price on
October 1. Again in this year Price was elected Master of the Masters' Lodge in
Boston. The Earl of Loudoun was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England in
1736, and was present at the celebration in Boston of the Feast of St. John the
Evangelist on Jan. 31, 1757. This was a gala day, with many of the most
prominent Brethren present. Closely in touch we find England and America again,
for in 1757 Brother Franklin went to England for five years. He was able to bear
testimony to the Grand Lodge of England, for he was present at its meeting on
Nov. 7, 1760. On Sept. 10, 1767, Gridley died, and Price was recalled to the
East of the Grand Lodge on Oct. 2.
Gridley had issued a Charter to North Carolina, date
unknown, and on Dec. 30, 1767, Price appointed a Deputy Grand Master for that
Province. During this period Charters were also granted from Boston to Lodges in
Rhode Island, Jan. 18, 1757; again, March 20, 1759; Dutch Guiana, April 8, 1761;
Connecticut, April 9, 1762; again, July 26, 1765, and Oct. 24, 1766; New Jersey,
July 28, 1762; again, Oct. 25, 1765; Quebec, Oct. 26, 1764; West Indies, Oct.
24, 1766; Virginia, Oct. 24, 1766; and to Army Lodges in New York, May 13, 1756;
April 13, 1759, and March 20, 1762; and in Nova Scotia, Nov. 13, 1758.
1768
On Jan. 22, 1768, John Rowe was nominated as Provincial
Grand Master of North America and on Jan. 25, 1768, a petition was drawn up to
the Grand Master of England for his appointment. In that, we again find the
customary prayer that "Whereas Masonry in America, originated in this Place
(Boston) Anno 5733, and in the Year following our then Grand Master Price
received Orders from Grand Master Crauford to establish Masonry in all North
America, in Pursuance of which the several Lodges hereafter mentioned have
received Constitutions from us; We therefore claim due Precedency, and that in
Order thereunto, Our Grand Master Elect may in his Deputation be stiled Grand
Master of all North America." Accompanying this petition was a letter from Henry
Price to the Grand Master of England, dated at Boston, New England, Jan. 27,
1768. This holographic letter is an important one, and I beg leave to quote it
here:
"Boston, New England, Jan. 27, 1768.
Right Worshipful Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand
Wardens and Brethren, in Grand Lodge Assembled:
The Money now sent to you is for the Constitution of four
Lodges in America, which I pray may be Registered in the Grand Lodge Books; the
Money would have been paid long before, but some unforeseen Accidents prevented,
therefore, I hope the said Lodges will not be denied their Rank among the
Lodges, according to the Time of their Constitution, notwithstanding the above
Omission. For the particulars concerning them, I must refer you to the Letter
from the Grand Committee of the Grand Lodge here, which goes by the same hand
that presents this to You: Several other Lodges have been Constituted by the
Grand Lodge here, in different parts of America, who have not yet Transmitted to
us the Stated Fees for their Constitution, but as soon as it comes to hand, it
shall be remitted to You, hoping at the same Time that they will likewise be
Registered among other Regular Constituted Lodges.
Rt. Worshipful Brothers. I had the Honour to be appointed
Provincial Grand Master of New England, by the Rt. Honble and Rt. Worshipful
Lord, Anthony Brown, Viscount Montacute, in the Year 1733, and in the Year 1735,
said Commission to me was extended over all North America, by the Rt. Honble and
Rt. Worshipful John Lindsay Earl of Crauford, then Grand Master of Masons; but
upon enquiry, I find that said Deputations were never Registered, though I
myself paid three Guineas therefor, to Thomas Batson Esqr., then Deputy Grand
Master, who with the Grand Wardens then in being, signed my said Deputation.
"This Deputation was the first that the Grand Lodge ever
issued to any part of America, and stands so now in all Lodges on the Continent.
Other Deputations have since been given to different Provinces, but they cannot
according to Rule take Rank of mine. So, would submit it to your Wisdom and
Justice, whether said Deputations should not be Registered in their proper
Place, without any further Consideration therefor, and the Grand Lodge here have
Rank according to Date, as it has (by Virtue of said Deputation) been the
foundation of Masonry in America, and I the Founder. Wherefore Rt. Worshipful
Brethren, I beg that enquiry may be made into the Premises, and that Things may
be set right, is the earnest Request of your much honoured, and
Affectionate Brother and very humble Servant Henry Price.
P. S.: Rt. Worshipful. I herewith send you an attested Copy
of my said Deputation, as Registered in the Grand Lodge Book of this Place,
under the Hand of our Grand Secretary, whose signature you may depend upon as
Genuine. H. P."
(Concerning the clerical errors in spelling Montague's name
and in stating the year 1735 instead of 1734, see full explanation 1871
Massachusetts printed proceedings page 330; and also Report of Committee, M. W.
John T. Heard, Chairman, 1870 Massachusetts printed proceedings pages 238-330.
This letter was committed to the care of Bro. William
Jackson, who took it to England and presented it to the Grand Lodge there. This
is another express petition addressed to the Grand Lodge of England directly
involving the precedency of Henry Price and the Grand Lodge founded by him in
Massachusetts. The Body to which it was addressed, the Grand Lodge of England,
was the only body in the world having authority to adjudicate this question. It
was the court of last resort. It had before it all the facts. It had the full
opportunity of investigating the facts, not only from the visits between England
and America and from documents on its own files, but also through any further
information it sought to obtain. The whole Masonic world was open to it. Many
men were living who knew of the incidents concerned. And the Grand Lodge of
England then proceeded to make a final adjudication upon the matter. A letter in
reply addressed to Henry Price by Thomas French, the Grand Secretary of England,
exhibits the carelessness in Keeping and preserving records and in the execution
of details both in England and America. It shows that Henry Price had been
somewhat neglectful in keeping up a regular correspondence, and it also shows
the carelessness with which such letters as he did send were treated in England.
The Recording Grand Secretary refers to having found an important document among
what he called "loose papers" in his possession.
The correspondence between Price and England is to be found
in 1 Mass. Printed Proceedings, 407 et seq (See 1871 Mass. Printed Proceedings,
362 et seq.) In this correspondence Price is expressly recognized as Grand
Master of all North America, except Canada, North Carolina and South Carolina.
These very exceptions show that England recognized his authority over
Pennsylvania. The Deputation to Rowe was dated May 12, 1768. In this is an
express adjudication that Price had been "Constituted Provincial Grand Master
for North America." It was received in Boston Sept. 30, 1768, and on Nov. 23
Rowe was installed Grand Master by Henry Price with elaborate ceremonial.
1769
It was on May 30, 1769, that Gen. Joseph Warren was
appointed a Provincial Grand Master for Boston and its environs by the Grand
Lodge of Scotland. That Grand Lodge claimed the right to jurisdiction here
because this was a Province, and therefore open to any Grand Lodge. Whether or
not the claim was sound is immaterial to this discussion, because his Grand
Lodge has since been merged with the Grand Lodge headed by Henry Price and his
successors. In the Massachusetts archives are to be found the printed
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of England for Feb. 7, 1770, Feb. 6, 1771, April
26, 1771, Nov. 29, 1771, and Nov. 4, 1772. All of these bear the original
signature of Rowland Berkeley, Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of England,
and are directed to Henry Price with titles in recognition of his standing. For
instance; The Proceedings for Feb. 6, 1771, are addressed as follows:
"To the R. W. Henry Price, Esqr. Provl. G. M. of Free
Masons for North America at Boston, New England."
1773
On April 30, 1773, Henry Price presided over the Grand
Lodge for the last time, and on Jan. 28, 1774, he attended the Grand Lodge for
the last time.
1775-1787.
On March 8, 1777, the independence of Freemasonry in
America from foreign dictation was first declared by the Massachusetts Grand
Lodge.
It has been asserted that the Grand Lodge of which Henry
Price and his successors were the head suspended operations from 1775 until
1787. This, however, is not correct, though the official records are missing.
The diary of Grand Master Rowe states that he dined with Freemasons March 28,
1776; speaks also of "The Lodges under my Jurisdiction with Our Proper Jewells
and Clothing" and of the "handsome Procession of the Craft" April 8, 1776; and
adds that he celebrated the Feast of St. John the Baptist in 1776 with the
Brethren of the Lodges under his direction. That diary is authentic evidence, as
are diplomas now extant which were issued during the period named; notably the
diploma of Commodore Samuel Tucker who was made a Mason in St. John's Lodge of
Boston in January, 1779. Reports were given in the newspapers of meetings of
Lodges in 1780. March 23, 1780, Union Lodge of Danbury, Conn., was-chartered
from Boston. St. John's Lodge (which was formerly the First Lodge in Boston) at
one time held a Charter issued by authority of John Rowe, Grand Master, and
bearing date Feb. 7, 1783. On this date the First and Second Lodges in Boston
united and subsequent records are complete. "Fleet's Pocket Almanac" published
in Boston for 1784, shows that Lodges were then active. On page 42 of this book
it says
Free Mafon's Lodges.
The Records of the firft Grand Lodge in Bofton, (Right
Worfhipful John Rowe, Efq; prefent Grand Mafter) being carried away by the
Secretary, at the time the Britifh troops evacuated the Town in 1776, a
particular Lift of the feveral Lodges in North America who received Deputations
from, and are under its Jurifdiction, cannot at prefent be obtained--They are in
Number about Thirty. Thofe in Bofton are,
St. John's or 1ft Lodge, 2d Lodge,
Now united in one.
Moreover, the records of Feb. 17, and March 2, 1787,
contain inherent evidence of continuity and activity, although there be an
hiatus in the formal record.
The troublous times account for the non-existence or loss
of formal records. Probably no one will ever be able to explain exactly what has
become of them. The Grand Secretary of 1776 was a Tory and fled Boston never to
return taking the books with him. Nothing would be more humanly probable than
that his successor for a time would have kept the records upon loose sheets
intending to transcribe them in the regular books when returned. The writer
personally knows of
two cases recently where Grand Secretaries have died
leaving years of records upon loose sheets only except as some had been printed
therefrom without being written into the official record books. So while we have
not found the formal record, yet we have found, as indicated, unshakable
evidence that the Fraternity was active and the authority of the Grand Lodge was
being exercised during this period between 1775 and 1787, and has therefore been
continuous from 1733 to date.
(Concluded next month)
THE MASON'S HOLY HOUSE
We have a holy house to build,
A temple splendid and divine,
To be with glorious memories filled,
Of right and truth, to be the shrine.
How shall we build it, strong and fair,
This holy house of praise and prayer,
Firm set and solid, grandly great?
How shall we all its rooms prepare
For use, for ornament, for state?
Our God hath given the wood and stone,
And we must fashion them aright,
Like those who toiled on Lebanon,
Making the labor their delight;
This house, this place, this God's home,
This temple with a holy dome,
Must be in all proportions fit,
That heavenly messengers may come
To dwell with those who meet in it.
Build squarely up the stately walls,
The two symbolic columns raise;
But let the lofty courts and halls,
With all their golden glories blaze--
There in the Kadosh-Kadoshim,
Between the broad-winged cherubim,
Where the shekinah once abode,
The heart shall raise its daily hymn
Of gratitude and love to God.
--Albert Pike.
----o----
MY WAY
Mayhap it stretches very far,
Mayhap it winds from star to star;
Mayhap through worlds as yet unformed
Its never-ending journey runs,
Through worlds that now are whirling wraiths
Of formless mists between the suns.
I go - beyond my widest ken -
But shall not pass this way again.
So, as I go and can not stay,
And never more shall pass this way,
I hope to sow the way with deeds
Whose seed shall bloom like May-time meads,
And flood my onward path with words
That thrill the day like singing birds;
That other travelers following on
May find a gleam and not a gloom,
May find their path in pleasant way,
A trail of music and of bloom.
- Sam Walter Foss.
----o----
GATHER US IN
Gather us in, Thou Love that fillest all !
Gather our rival faiths within Thy fold !
Rend each man's temple veil and bid it fall,
That they may know that Thou hast been of old;
Gather us in!
Gather us in! we worship only Thee;
In varied names we stretch a common hand;
In diverse forms a common soul we see;
In many ships we see one spirit-land;
Gather us in!
Each sees one color of Thy rainbow light,
Each looks upon one tint and calls it heaven;
Thou art the fullness of our partial sight;
We are not perfect till we find the seven;
Gather us in!
Thine is the mystic light great India craves,
Thine is the Parsee's sin-destroying beam,
Thine is the Buddhist's rest from tossing waves,
Thine is the empire of vast China's dream;
Gather us in!
Thine is the Roman's strength without his pride,
Thine is the Greek's glad world without its graves,
Thine is Judea's law with love beside,
The truth that centers and the grace that saves;
Gather us in!
Some seek a Father in the heavens above,
Some ask a human image to adore,
Some crave a spirit vast as life and love:
Within Thy mansions we have all and more:
Gather us in!
- George Matheson.
----o----
THE KINDLY LIGHT
Not for one single day
Can I discern my way,
But this I surely know -
Who gives the day
Will show the way
So I securely go.
- John Oxenham.
----o----
MY RELIGION
Say nothing of my religion. It is known to my God and
myself alone. If my life has been honest and dutiful to society, the religion
which has regulated it cannot be a bad one. - Thomas Jefferson.
MEMORIALS TO GREAT MEN WHO WERE MASONS
BY BRO. GEO. W. BAIRD, P. G. M., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
THERE is a very
handsome marble statue, at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue, tenth street
and D street, in Washington, of this great man and Mason. It was not, however,
erected at the expense of the Government, nor the Craft nor any patriotic
organization, but by a Printer, Mr. Stilson Hutchins, editor and proprietor of
the Washington Post. There are three statues of Signers of the Declaration of
Independence, in the City, but neither of them built at public expense.
On the front of
Franklin's memorial is the word PRINTER. And it appears he is more revered for
his trade than for his patriotism.
Franklin was one of
the five men who drafted the Declaration of Independence: he is one of the few
self-made men of his day on whom the Colleges conferred degrees: he was one of
the very few Americans who were ever made fellows in the Royal Society of
England. He was an LLD and a PhD, and also a diplomat of a high order. One of
the few self-made men who was not superficial. He discovered the origin of the
Gulf stream, that great river in the sea which tempers the climate of western
Europe and which gives such substantial aid to Navigation.
He was our first
Commissioner to a foreign Nation, (France) our first Minister to Great Britain;
the intimate friend of Washington, of Louis XIV, of the great Helvetius,
Voltaire, Houdon and John Paul Jones. The first to explain the cause of
electricity in the clouds: the inventor of the printing press and other useful
devices. The exact date of Franklin's initiation into Masonry is not known: this
is another evidence of the remissness in keeping records at that time, or the
loss of records. Franklin was Master of that famous lodge in Paris, Neuf Soeurs,
famous for its distinguished membership and for the bravery of its members in
the defense of the rights of man, previous to and during the French Revolution:
he was Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of Pennsylvania afterwards.
The epitaph of
Franklin, which was, unfortunately, mislaid and was never engraved on his tomb,
is characteristic.
THE FUTURE
BY WM. F. KUHN, P.G.M., MISSOURI
IN the onward march of civilization, in the
upward trend toward a higher standard of
morality and ethics for the enlightenment , of humanity, I see a greater and
more influential future for Freemasonry than at any period of the past. The
Freemason of today cares less, far less, for the non-essentials, but more for
the essentials. The martinet of steps, grips and words is rapidly disappearing,
but the student of the life and spirit of Freemasonry is increasing. The
Freemason of the future will care less for idle speculation. He will believe and
practice that humanity needs less of abstract philosophical cob-webs, but more
of cheer; less of Egyptian rites, now mumified, but more of good will; less of
imaginary symbolism, but more of love. He will pay less "tithes of mint and
anise and cummin," but more attention to the weightier matters; mercy, faith and
charity. He will recognize more fully the beautiful life of Him who was set as a
"Plumb line in the midst of my people Israel."
The doctrine of hearts
made lighter and lives made brighter, will outlive all abstract speculations,
all official distinctions, all self aggrandizement. The Freemason of the future
will worry and write less over what may constitute the "Ancient Landmarks," but
he will believe that the three essential landmarks, of faith in God, hope in
immortality and the daily application of the Golden Rule, are more important.
He will know that: -
"God is a Father,
Man is a Brother,
The earth is our Mother,
Life is a mission and not a career.
Knighthood is service,
His scepter is gladness,
The Least is the Greatest,
Saving is dying -
Giving is living -
Life is eternal and
Love is its essence."
The unseen player on
the golden harp of Freemasonry has touched a sweeter chord; its notes speak of
love, of joy, of gladness, whose harmonies will touch the heart of this cold
selfish world. Its seraphic sweetness will be carried, as on the wings of the
morning to the uttermost parts of the earth, to hamlet and palace, to rich and
to the poor, that it will roll back in a mighty chorus from royal men, repeating
the angelic song of Bethlehem's plains: - "Glory to God in the Highest Peace on
Earth and Good-Will to men."
----o----
We are all like children playing on the seashore, picking
up here a pebble and there a stone, with the whole ocean of truth unexplored
before us.
- Sir Isaac Newton.
SYMBOLISM OF THE FIRST DEGREE
BY BRO. ASAHEL W. GAGE, ILLINOIS
IN the beginning, the seeker for truth must be duly and
truly prepared. In the usually accepted sense, this talk is unprepared. And yet,
I spent five years in the "line" of the lodge observing, thinking about and
studying Masonry. It is this study and my later contemplations tha | 
