refuge in England; pardon to his sad mistake, human nature is fallible, -but honour to "loyalty." Faith, hope, and charity, should never be sullied by intemperate zeal, or aristocratical intolerance. We sadly fear the Grand Master has not chosen his time well, even for himself; it is a beginning not an end; and therefore the beginning should be cut short. There was, in the scene of the 1st of March, 1848, a departure from duty, a want of ennobling character, a forgetfulness of dignity. His minions may be indifferent to the result; but the Grand Master has much to answer for.

We noticed the absense of several high-minded Masons on the 1st instant, but they might well be absent, for the vote to the widows of Masons was previously carried by an overwhelming majority; could they have supposed that such a vote so passed would have been rejected? certainly not; and we are glad their feelings were spared the mortification of witnessing a most disgraceful scene.

Come we now to the manner of influencing the Grand Lodge. The Widows' case has been before the Grand Lodge about four years! and for a moment we will introduce, for the Grand Master's edification, a masonic extract:

"No mortals do more the Ladies adore

Than a Free and Accepted Mason."

Let the Grand Master, and some of his especial supporters, once and for ever drop hypocrisy. We unhesitatingly tell many of the wordy Masons that they are out of court; some in particular are "marked men," and although denunciations from the altar are godless, yet are their own actions unholy!

But the widow shall triumph yet; and a declaration wrung from the Grand Master, that a circular from a certain member of Grand Lodge might have met his consent, ought to be tried, and without delay, as the only means of rendering his position for the time a possible hold on the lingering affections of the masonic Craft. True he termed the mode of speech uncourteous and dictatorial; but were it so-which it was notwhat availed the ill-timed remark, when contrasted with the ruling of a judge, who condescended to become the advocate in his own case, and then, failing in his brief, descended into the partizan.

Again we say, the widow must succeed; the last Grand Lodge was packed against her, the next must be packed for her, tit for tat. Had a division taken place, instead of counting hands, we question if her case had not been victorious after all-but the Purple cannot blush!

A word as to the law. Four years pass, and the law is not brought against the widow. Notice after notice is given, and the masonic attorney general is not retained to oppose the widow. An ESPECIAL Grand Lodge almost unanimously support the widow. The next Grand Lodge, on the imploration of the Grand Master, consent to postpone the confirmation.

At last, when no hope remained to stall off the holy grant, a Past Grand Registrar is called from his retirement to interpret the law against the widow-and he did unblushingly so interpret the law, in a manner that brought to our recollection that

"Non sunt autem pejores lacquei quam lacquei legum."

The Grand Master alluded to the fable of the hen with the golden eggs-we believe he should have referred to the goose; but we have in remembrance a better fable, and founded on fact-that of the old woman whose cow always gave more milk than her neighbour's, which she accounted for by stating that she milked it oftener than they did. The name of the cow was "Charity."

Special pleading, sophistry, and fallacy, prevailed; and thus supported by his advocate, the Grand Master called in the visionary phantoms of insolvency, bankruptcy, and scorn,-those were the very words-to embitter the hopes of many a tearful widow, and to endanger the principles of Freemasonry! which he had sworn to protect: but which we, after all, believe that he was not seriously aware that he may involve in ruin unless he shall retrace his steps.

We shall conclude by adverting to two masonic directions, the one is, that in the regulations of Grand Lodge, no one shall speak twice to the same question, unless in explanation, or the mover in reply, whereas, at the last Grand Lodge the Grand Master did speak twice, and then ingeniously left it to the good taste of a brother who had not spoken once, whether he would follow the Grand Master! The next point is, a reference to the charge given to Wardens on their appointment to office, it runs thus: "You should be patterns of good order and regularity, as without a due observance of the laws yourselves, you can hardly expect obedience to them in others." The want of observance and obedience converted the last Grand Lodge into a bear-garden scene, during which the election of Grand Master was managed,—but, oh! how changed the feeling!

At the approaching Especial Grand Lodge for the dispatch of business, the long-pending motion of Bro. Bigg will be brought forward. To offer our opinion before the arguments are gone into, would be not merely premature, but improper; we shall therefore simply observe that if the Red Apron be an honour it should not be confined to certain lodges, if it be merely an expense it should in such case be shared by all.

The MASTERS', PAST MASTERS', and WARDENS' CLUB is forming, as offering the best means of protecting the interests and maintaining the dignity of English Freemasonry.

9

ON FREEMASONRY,

AS REGARDS ITS UNBOUNDED INFLUENCE ON THE MORAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF MAN.

BY THE REV. GEORGE OLIVER, D. d.

EDITORIAL PRECOGNITION.

"En flûte."-MOLIERE,

"The world is naturally averse
To all the truth it sees or hears;
But swallows nonsense and a lie,
With greediness and gluttony.

And though it have the pique, and long,
'Tis still for something in the wrong,

As women long when they're with child,

For things extravagant and wild,

For meats ridiculous and fulsome,

But seldom anything that's wholesome."-BUTLER.

"Mus in pice."-LATIN PROVERB.

"Qzpm Lzfjkgb wpdpkt,

Rmjgb js zrtf fgpkt

Mjkr bzbfe eqjd gtprk!"-DUNCKERLEY.

[We congratulate the fraternity on the re-appearance of our worthy and indefatigable friend, the doctor-after a long and lingering illness, in which his medical attendant prohibited him from using a pen or pencil, or even reading a dry scientific book. Being now somewhat recovered, the "Freemasons' Quarterly Review" enjoys the first fruits of his convalescence. We have received a bundle of papers with the above title, which could not have made their appearance at a more acceptable time; for they relieve ourselves of a duty which we were beginning to think incumbent on us, of showing mankind the tendency of Freemasonry to promote human happiness. For our glorious Order is not without adversaries, who are actively employed in endeavouring to obstruct its popularity, and by that means embarrass its charitable operations; but their views are as hopeless as those of an unfortunate mouse, which, as our motto predicates, has vowed to demolish a barrel of tar.

The idea arose thus, A short time ago, as we wandered listlessly along Farringdon Street with the intention of passing into Holborn for a masonic gossip with "honest Richard Spencer," and marking the stream of human beings which poured along the pavement with endless continuity—" the full tide," as Johnson expresses it, "of human existence," which he loved to contemplate we were accosted by our friend B, a most uncompromising anti-Mason; who, after the usual salutations, walked with us to the masonic library; amusing himself by the way, with uttering the customary jests against the Order, which we had heard too often to be at all affected by them; and in the course of a short conversation we happened to remark that the world was indebted to the influence of Freemasonry for the superior polish which distinguishes the times in which we live. My friend, with an incredulous look, observed:

"Why you surely do not mean to say that Masonry has had any part in producing the present high and flourishing state of morality which is the glory and boast of the British nation? Your science has about as much to do with it as the building of an Indian pagoda had in deciding the battle of Bannockburn.",

VOL. VI.

Ο

"Dear friend," we replied, "I do mean to say so. As a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, so, I sincerely believe that the benign principles of Freemasonry-invisible though they may be-are sufficiently active to penetrate through every phasis of society, and by an universal infusion of its animating ingredients, is producing and will produce, the general amelioration of our species."

"But, sir

“But, me no buts. The assertion is a tangible one, and will, no doubt, startle many a cowan to hear it. I have made it deliberately, and deliberately it shall be proved."

B—— looked rather crest-fallen, and bastily interrupted me by saying, “But, my dear sir, the public voice is against you. It was only the other day I was at a dinner-party, where

"Aye," we replied, interrupting him in our turn, “where, I suppose, a coterie of respectable old ladies, habited in male attire, having met together for a gossip, the old theme was brought on the tapis-a condemnation of our glorious Order; and when they had talked quantum suff. of unmitigated nonsense, they no doubt complacently blew their noses, and sagaciously exclaimed-See how we apples swim! thus getting rid of what Theodore Hook denominated a troublesome complaint in the chest.' Ha! ha! why you are not surely arrived at such a pitch of scepticism as to believe Freemasonry an evil institution, because they abuse it who bave had no opportunity of ascertaining whether it be good or bad.”

“And yet,” continued our pertinacious companion, “every one talks so knowingly about it! "

"And think themselves very clever. But the basis being ignorance, what is the fabric? They may be likened to a cobbler undertaking to solve a difficult problem in Euclid, or a Cantab sitting quietly down on a ball of wax, or other pollution, to manufacture a pair of Wellingtons. Each may expose his own folly, but will fail to accomplish the task. And we may dismiss all such absurd reasoners in the words of the well-known epigram.

Friend, at your sad attempt, I'm grieved,

So very much is said;

One half will never be believed,

The other never read!"

My friend turned quickly round, and looking me full in the face, as if be were determined not to lose the slightest expression of the triumph which he was sure his words would produce, said slowly and deliberately—

"Have you read the Tablet?"

"Yes."

A long pause succeeded; and B

at length added, with his eyes wide open-" And still you are not inclined to abandon the Order?" "Certainly not. All these attempts are puerile and ineffective, because they are aimed at the most impregnable quarter of the citadel. Ánd only think of the Christian Remembrancer and the English Churchman making common cause with the Roman Catholic Tablet, in an attempt to injure the "credit of our noble institution!

My friend admitted, with a smile, that "the coalition, to say the least of it, is extraordinary, if not unnatural."

"Unnatural! you say right. Men, opposed on all other points, can unite

on this.

The terms of such a league, with the sole end in view of embarrassing the charitable operations of Freemasonry, would be worth knowing, if they could be correctly ascertained."

"But they are too well guarded," rejoined B-; "and I opine, that these bold contemners of your secret, will keep their own too closely to incur any danger of a discovery."

"It is alas, too true; but I am still at a loss to know what there can be in Masonry to excite the ire of Protestant and Catholic, and cause them to unite, like Herod and Pilate against Christ, to disturb the onward progress of an unassuming society, and to restrict its means of doing good. We may venture however to remind them of a few historical facts from which they may learn the insufficiency of persecution to crush an adversary. Did the ten primitive persecutions, from Nero to Diocletian, extirpate Christianity? By no means; for even Gibbon could say these persecutions served only to revive the zeal and restore the discipline of the faithful.' Did the massacre of St. Bartholomew extirpate the Huguenots? Did the persecutions under our own Mary, destroy the Protestant succession in England? Did the Morgan persecution, although it was carried to such a length as to number two thirds of the population in the league against it, succeed in extirpating (as it threatened) every vestige of Masonry in the United States? All these tremendous engines of oppression signally failed in their effect. And so will the present crusade against Freemasonry in England, although Catholic and Protestant may exert their utmost energies to inflict upon it some grievous injury.”

"There may be some truth in this, but it is to be hoped these worthies are not actuated by such vindictive feelings."

My dear friend, we should be sorry to impute uncharitable motives to the contracting parties in this unholy alliance; but we confess our incapability of tracing it to a pure source." [ We shall leave them therefore to their own reflections, which will not be very enviable when they discover, by perusing the following chapters, if they are candid enough to devote a few minutes to their consideration, how widely they have steered from the mark in accusing us of practices which have not virtue for their basis.]

"And supposing we are willing to admit the validity of this plea, what will you say to Mr. Soane's attack? He has taken a different line of argument from the reviewers; and, I think, has ably refuted your absurd pretensions to a high antiquity."

Mr. Soane is a Bachelor of Arts, and ambitious of popularity. He has therefore offered himself as a candidate for the doubtful fame which attends an attempted exposure of the designs of Masonry. He has been imprudent enough to launch his javelin against the immortal Order. But, alas, the hand is feeble, and the dart recoils guiltless of blood. We hope no one will attempt to answer Mr. Soane. It will give him a consequence which he little merits. He has placed himself in precisely the situation which we wish him to keep; for he stands exposed to the ridicule of the whole fraternity, and we should be sorry to see his position disturbed. In the language of Cervantes, though injuries are apt to awaken choler in the humblest breasts, yet in ours this rule must admit of an exception. You would have me, perhaps, call him ass, madman, and coxcomb; but I have no such design. Let his own sin be his punishment; let him eat it with his food, and much good may it do him!' We are not sorry however to find that the doctor has given him a touch-a very slight one-a mere waft with the feather of his quill pen--but sufficient to fetter him so tightly to his position, with a chain of dates, that his ineffectual attempts to extricate himself will make our joyous fraternity laugh all the louder."*

"What are you indifferent to Mr. Soane's assertion that Freemasonry is the fiction of a credulous age, and that, as the day of mysticism has gone

See our notice of "A Mirror for the Johannite Masons," amongst the Reviews in the present number.