The Builder Magazine
October 1917 - Volume III - Number 10
SCALD MISERABLE MASONS
ALWAYS Freemasonry has had its enemies, seeking by every means to discredit its labors in behalf of a saner, sweeter humanity, of free thought, free speech and true reverence for the Father of All. During this year we have discussed in THE BUILDER many phases of Anti-Masonry, none perhaps, of greater interest than the paper presented in this issue by Brother Keplinger upon "Scald Miserable Masons " Brother Keplinger (p. 294) gives us the account of one of these caricature processions as described in Hone's Every Day Book, and we reproduce the plate which accompanied it, in the body of his article.
He also mentions the "Geometrical View of the Procession of Scald Miserable Masons, designed by A. Benoist," which we use as a frontispiece because it is the most elaborate of all the prints that have come down to us. These caricature processions were inaugurated as a take-off on the old "Processions of the Craft" which have been long since abandoned.
The Grand Lodge first appeared in a "Foot procession," in 1721. Upon the selection of the Duke of Wharton as Grand Master, in 1723, "this Foot procession was improved into a carriage parade. The following year, 1724, saw a further aggrandizement of the procession to Taylor's-Hall, where the Feast was held." Dr. Chetwode Crawley, whose words we have quoted, further says "The Procession of March continued for nearly twenty years longer to form the most conspicuous outside function of the Freemasons. The promiscuous display of Masonic symbols and insignia invited caricature, and the discontinuance of the cavalcade after 1745 was partly due, no doubt, to the travesties which form the subject of this article." (A.Q.C. XVIII, 130.)
Speaking of the effect of such processions, Dr. Crawley says:
"Public Processions form no part of the Ritual of Freemasonry. At best, they can only be described as functions conducted by Freemasons under the sanction of the Craft. Strictly speaking, the Ceremonies of Freemasonry are confined to the Lodge-room. But the Lodge-room has an external wall, and Freemasonry has an external side. It would be held absurd to deny to the outer wall the architectural embellishment, which formed the glory of our Operative forefathers. Similarly, it would be absurd to proscribe the use of all Masonic adjuncts in our legitimate external functions. The danger is that the symbols, which have meaning for the initiated, may be mistaken by outsiders for the gewgaws of personal vanity. The mummery of the Scald‑Miserables was engendered by the Procession of March." (A.Q.C. XVIII, 146.)
G.W. Speth, in A.Q.C., Vol. V, p. 236, says that the excitement due to the regular public Masonic processions "may have led to the formation of the Society of Scald Miserable Masons, whose only purpose seems to have been to travesty the solemn procession of the Freemasons, and who do not appear to have met on any other occasion but the annual feasts, or to have had any other bond of union. It is known that amongst the practical and empty-headed jokers who were the moving spirits in the business, were some masons, and it is now impossible to conceive how they could have allowed their appreciation of very poor fun to have over-ridden their sense of the respect due the Fraternity, of which they were members. Money must also have been plentiful among the leaders, for these mock processions must have cost a large amount. * * * For a series of years these ludicrous processions assembled, and mockingly did reverence to the real procession on its way to the feast, until at length the Craft authorities resolved to dispense in the future with any outdoor display, and the processions have since ceased."
Brother R. F. Gould, reviewing the subject in A.Q.C. XVI, p. 50, says of the cost of these caricatures that "there is room for speculation whether there was any organized body by whom the expense was defrayed. The Duke of Wharton and the Gormogons who sought to undermine the authority of the Grand Lodge in 1724, were of the Jacobite faction, and so may hove been the Scald Miserables of 1742."
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THE FAITH THAT IS IN THEM---A FRATERNAL FORUM
Edited by BRO. GEO. E. FRAZER, President, The Board of Stewards
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Henry R. Evans, District of Columbia.
Harold A. Kingsbury, Connecticut.
Dr. Wm. F. Kuhn, Missouri.
Geo. W. Baird, District of Columbia
H.D. Funk, Minnesota
Frederick W. Hamilton, Massachusetts
Dr. John Lewin McLeish, Ohio.
Joseph W. Norwood, Kentucky.
Silas H. Sheperd, Wisconsin.
Jos. W. Eggleston, Virginia
M.M. Johnson, Massachusetts
John Pickard, Missouri
Oliver D. Street, Alabama.
S. W. Williams, Tennessee.
Joe L. Carson, Virginia
T.W. Hugo, Minnesota
F.B. Gault, Washington
C.M. Schenck, Colorado
H.L. Haywood, Iowa
Frank E. Noyes, Wisconsin
Francis W. Shepardson, Illinois
H.W. Ticknor, Maryland
Contributions to this Monthly Department of Personal Opinion are invited from each writer who has contributed one or more articles to THE BUILDER. Subjects for discussion are selected as being alive in the administration of Masonry today. Discussions of politics, religious creeds or personal prejudices are avoided, the purpose of the Department being to afford a vehicle for comparing the personal opinions of leading Masonic students. The contributing editors assume responsibility only for what each writes over his own signature. Comment from our Members on the subjects discussed here will be welcomed in the Correspondence column.
QUESTION NO. 6--
"To what extent should the Grand Master in each jurisdiction, either himself or by authorized deputy, inspect annually the work of the officers of each lodge? (a) Should such inspection be limited to the ritual work of the lodge? (b) Should such inspection include investigation of the instruction in Masonic history and philosophy offered by the lodge officers to new members? (c) May such inspection properly include an audit of the business transactions of the lodge?
For the Good of the Order.
The Grand Master personally, so far as he is able, the Deputy Grand Master, and the Grand Wardens, should visit and inspect as many Lodges as possible during the year; and every Lodge should be visited by a district deputy at least once a year, or more frequently.
The inspection should be for the Good of the Order, wherever that may lie. This, of course, would not limit it to the ritual and ceremonial of the work, and could include an investigation of the teaching of the history and philosophy of the Order to its members- -but would hardly be practicable until the principles of the N.M.R.S. are thoroughly inculcated throughout the jurisdiction.
So far as an audit of the finances of the particular Lodge is concerned, I regard Freemasonry as being too uncentralized an institution to warrant such a course by Grand Lodge Authorities. The Grand Lodge should ordain, however, that the books of each Lodge be audited annually, and that the report of the committee which should include both temporalities and "spiritualities"-- spread upon the minutes after adequate publication to the members of the Lodge.
In passing, I might say that these questions put me very much in mind of the "Articles of Visitation" issued by Bishops in the best practice of the Church. H. W. Ticknor, Maryland.
* * *
Efficiently Informed Grand Officers.
In my opinion the Grand Master or his Deputy should annually inspect the work of each lodge as thoroughly as inspections are made in military and business circles--that is, not the least thing left undone or uninspected that might make for the utmost efficiency. This would involve, (a) that the inspection not be limited to mere ritual work; (b) that it should include investigation of instruction in Masonic history and philosophy by lodge officers to new members, and not only this but such study of history and philosophy should be encouraged among the officers and old members who need it as badly as the new ones, for particular emphasis should be placed upon the necessity for practice of what is studied; (c) certainly an audit of the business transactions should be included.
If we are to make our Masonic organization thoroughly efficient we should first have our Grand Officers thoroughly informed as to all the activities of Masons under the jurisdictions so that they may advise them. Next there should be more co-operation between the various jurisdictions, not only of our own country, but of the rest of the world. THE BUILDER has been doing a great service in correlating the Masonic usages of different Grand Lodges. May I suggest that it follow up by reporting on what I may call the percentage of Masonic illiteracy and also present statistics on international recognition in order that our leaders may have a comprehensive view of the present status of world Masonry. J. W. Norwood, Kentucky.
Keep Lodges Up to High Standards.
An inspection such as you outline in your Department of Opinion this month would be exceedingly beneficial, and must of necessity be exhaustive if at all. For obvious reasons therefore this inspection must be performed by the Grand Master's authorized Deputy. Suppose we call him a Grand Inspector.
The Grand Jurisdiction should be divided amongst a number of such capable Grand Lodge Inspectors, invested with ample powers.
It would be advisable that these Inspectors visit officially every Lodge under their care at least once each year.
They should have the regular officers of the Lodge exemplify the ritual in full, and report to the Grand Master on same.
They should examine the Lodge premises, see they are suitable for all Masonic purposes, or demand such alterations as will make them so, if they are not up to the necessary requirements.
They most assuredly should audit the business transactions of the Lodge and report even the most trifling irregularity, a matter entirely too long neglected by the Grand Lodges, and of the most vital importance to the welfare of the Craft.
As few if any Lodges give instruction in Masonic History, Symbolism or Philosophy to either their old or new members, it would be of immense benefit to our order if these Grand Inspectors would make it a part of their duties to offer such instruction. So that this essential portion of Masonic Instruction may not be entirely neglected, as it is in the great majority of our Lodges today.
For eight years I filled the office of Provincial Grand Inspector. I know the importance of the necessity of such inspection; and am of opinion that this is the most important suggestion yet brought before the readers of THE BUILDER in the Department of Opinion. Joe L. Carson, Virginia.
Let the Grand Master Expound Masonry.
It is impossible for a Grand Master to visit all Lodges in his Jurisdiction, but all the Lodges should have a visitation from some authorized person. While some Grand Masters are such, merely in name, yet he should not be required to pay any attention to the ritualistic or business part of a Lodge; he should have more than "ritualistic" or "accountant" brains, but he should prepare (or steal) an address on the history and philosophy of Freemasonry, then visit as many Lodges as possible, and give the Craft the benefit of his study, research and advice.
The duties enumerated (A) (B) (C) are admirably covered by the system used in Missouri, viz.: the state is divided into districts comprising ten to twenty lodges in each district, over which is placed a District Deputy Grand Master and a District Deputy Grand Lecturer; in a few districts these two offices are combined in one. The District Deputy Grand Lecturer, under the Grand Lecturer, has charge of the ritualistic work in his district, and not only visits the Lodges, but he must hold a district school of instruction under the direction of the District Deputy Grand Master.
The Law governing the District Deputy Grand Master who is appointed by the Grand Master is as follows:
(b) He may preside in each Lodge upon the occasion of his official visit, after it is opened; shall examine its books and records; and see if they are properly kept; inform himself of the number of members and the punctuality and regularity of their attendance; ascertain the state and condition of the Lodges in all respects; point out any errors he may ascertain in their conduct and mode of working; instruct them in every particular wherein he shall find they may require or desire any information; particularly recommend attention to the normal and benevolent principles of Masonry, and the exercise of caution in the admission of candidates; and if he discover in his District any Masonic error or evil, endeavor to immediately arrest the same by Masonic means, and, if he judge it expedient, report the same to the Grand Master.
(e) He shall call a Lodge of Instruction at least once a year, if deemed expedient, at such time and place as may be most convenient for the Craft, and notify the officers of the various Lodges in his District to appear at such Lodge of Instruction to receive the work and Lectures from the District Lecturer.
It will be noted that his duties cover in detail all the points in (A) (B) (C). This system has been very effective and its results excellent. Wm. F. Kuhn, Missouri.
A Century of Inspection.
I suppose that everyone is attached to the procedure of his own Grand Lodge. Perhaps for that reason I should like to answer your question of August 6th by a statement of the Massachusetts procedure which has worked well for over a century and not yet been found defective at any point.
M. W. Samuel Dunn (1800-1802) introduced the system of District Deputies. The entire jurisdiction is divided into districts. Our largest district contains eleven Lodges, but this we consider too many. The District Deputy makes a formal visitation of every Lodge in his district every year. At this visitation he examines the Minutes, Visitor's Book, and other records of the Lodge, collects the moneys due the Grand Lodge, and witnesses a portion of the degree work. The work to be presented is usually determined by the Worshipful Master, but the District Deputy may demand any portion of the work or the whole work of one or more degrees. At some time during his visitation he addresses the Lodge conveying to it such messages as the Grand Master may desire and adding any personal advice, commendation or criticism which occurs to him.
Visits of inspection are not made by the Grand Master in person.
In addition to the official visitation the District Deputy keeps in touch with all the Lodges in his district, consults with and advises the Masters, and acts as a medium of communication between the Grand Master and the Lodges.
It seems to me that he should not formally investigate or instruct concerning the Masonic history and philosophy offered by the Lodge officers to any new members. Neither do I think that this visitation should include an audit of the business transactions of the Lodge.
Should the Grand Lodge legislate requiring instruction in Masonic history and philosophy it would properly become the duty of the District Deputy to see that this legislation like other Grand Lodge legislation is properly enforced. The business affairs of the Lodge are its own concern. They do not become the concern of the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge unless irregularities occur so serious as to involve scandal to the Fraternity. In that case there would always be abundant redress.
While I do not believe that the functions of the District Deputy should extend officially to these matters, a very great regulating and upholding influence may be, and in this jurisdiction is exercised, by the District Deputy with regard to both instruction and the conduct of business. The District Deputy may and does encourage, and in some cases procure the proper instruction of young Masons, and he may and does jointly and unofficially exercise a directing influence where the business transactions of the Lodge appear to be carelessly or improperly conducted. Frederick W. Hamilton, Massachusetts.
Emphasizes Inspection of Study Side.
In my judgment this question touches upon some of the most important problems before the lodges of our country. My observation has been that too many of the Masonic organizations (of this jurisdiction at least), and particularly those in small towns, do their work in a perfunctory way. If each lodge within the Grand Master's jurisdiction knew that at least once a year either the Grand Master himself or some authorized deputy would visit the lodge I am sure the officers would attend to their duties with greater punctuality and precision. But lamentable as is the slip shod way in which the ritualistic part of the work is done, the ignorance of many Masons relative to the historic and philosophical fundamental principles of their Fraternity is much worse. I believe the crying need among our lodges is an intelligent understanding of the origin and purpose of Masonry, and therefore it seems to me a Grand Master who has not provided further light in Masonry to the lodges within his jurisdiction has failed to realize his opportunity, not to say that he has been derelict in the performance of his duty. In my judgment the matter of inspecting the business transactions of the lodges is of secondary importance. I am not sure to what extent the law of the state would recognize the right of the Grand Lodge to look into the affairs of a local body. The law of the state would have to be considered in answering that question. -- Henry D. Funk, Minnesota.
Real Deputy Grand Masters.
Each lodge should be visited officially at least once a year by the Grand Master or his personal representative who should be a District Deputy Grand Master, appointed by and responsible to his Grand Master. This Deputy should carry to the lodges of his District official messages and should address the Brethren along the lines of the Masonic policies of his chief. He should inspect the original charter and see that it be carefully preserved. He should see that the By-laws bear the proper approval. He should examine the minutes to some extent. He should audit the books so far and (except in case of some special exigency) only so far as is necessary to ascertain the amount due the Grand Lodge which he should then and there collect and promptly turn over to the Grand Lodge.
He should also call for an exhibition of some ritualistic work but he should not be expected to be letter perfect in the ritual. That is to say, the District Deputy should be an executive officer and not a pedagogue. The expert and exact teaching of the ritual should be in the hands of Grand Lecturers or similar officers who can make a business of it and should be paid for their services like any teacher whether they give the whole of their time to the work or do it aside from their regular vocations.
One entire issue of "THE BUILDER" could be filled with a recitation of the advantages of this system and it has no disadvantages. If those jurisdictions where the District Deputy is merely an honorary official with perfunctory duties, could only know how valuable he could be made, they would instantly make this officer a real Deputy--a representative of the Grand Master de facto as well as de jure--and they would not overload him with many lodges. No business or professional man can properly attend to the official and social duties devolving upon the Deputyship in a district of more than a dozen lodges without unreasonably neglecting his family, or his business affairs, or both. From long personal experience and observation, I believe that the ideal district is composed of eight lodges which, in the country, should be arranged for convenience of inter-communication and not by distance as the crow flies or even by boundaries established by civil government.
It will interest some jurisdictions to know that because of the successful working out of this system where it originated, for more than a generation that Grand Lodge has been able to close its books each year with every return in, every cent of dues in hand, and not a single lodge in default for a penny of its constitutional payments to Grand Lodge.
When Grand Master Dunn of Massachusetts found in 1800 that his particular lodges were too numerous for him to visit each year in person, he specially commissioned competent Brethren to do the visiting for him. His scheme was so successful that it has ever since been followed and in 1811 the District Deputy was made a constitutional officer, but not an elective one. That is to say, the Deputy in that state is not the representative of his lodge or of his District to the Grand Lodge. He is a real deputy--the representative of his Grand Master to those lodges specially assigned to his care and supervision. To those who fear that this introduces "politics," let it be said that as a matter of fact and experience for over a hundred years there has been vastly less of politics than in the jurisdictions where the Deputy is chosen by election. A Grand Master who is big enough for the job will select the best available past Master in the district. It may not be the man who can muster the most votes.
The question as to an audit suggests one further observation. Except so far as is necessary for the support of the Grand Lodge in the maintenance of general principles, and to the prevention of unmasonic acts, the Grand Lodge and its officers should leave the lodges alone to conduct their business affairs to suit themselves. Compulsory adoption of standard by-laws, for instance, is as absurd as it is unnecessary. And it is none of the Grand Lodge's business whether a particular lodge serves to its members and guests a state banquet, or cheese and crackers, or nothing. --Melvin M. Johnson, Massachusetts.
Build Up Morale Rather Than Ritual.
If in your questions you refer to Degree work, or other routine work, I have such a slight estimate of the sanctity and value of parrot proficiency in such cases, such a dislike to Grand Lodge interference in the local affairs or business of the Lodge, placing greater value on the morale of a lodge than its ability to work a degree with all the T's crossed and all the steps made at the right angle that after this clearing away of my defences I will say:
I prefer that the Grand Master considers himself the Commander-in-Chief and stays at Headquarters to direct the subordinate Grand Officers where to visit and what to do; if they cannot find time nor have the ability nor desire to make good officers under instruction they will not make good officers to give instructions themselves. The Grand Master should attend to the greater functions and semi-public engagements, or take a hand in the critical episodes of his Grand Mastership; he should be the Grand Master, not a visiting flunkey. There is another feature of these incessant minor calls on the time and endurance of a Grand Master; such work costs the Jurisdiction money; as soon as he has made his Annual report to the Grand Lodge and received his jewel, or whatnot, that costly information is of no account any further to the Grand Lodge, and the next man goes over the same route; whereas, when the other officers in line each make some visitations they have years, more or less, in which to use their information and when they come to be Grand Masters they can be such and direct the future generations intelligently. This plan also tests out the coming Grand officers, costs less money and is an approach to a business administration which will be efficient; I have tried out both plans and for every desirable result the Commander-in-Chief idea possesses all the aces in the pack. I therefore answer your first question, by an officer in line properly deputized.
(a) The inspection should not be limited to the ritual work, but more to the morale and general get up of the brethren; of course they ought to know enough to confer a degree reasonably correctly, but if some parts have to be neglected the "perfect points and parts of entrance, etc.," can stand the neglect better than any other.
(b) Such inspection should include the knowledge of the officers in Masonic accepted history, not myth history, in order that not only new members but old members may be given an opportunity to know something about their antecedents as Masons, and their landing place in Masonic philosophy, not the nondescript Religious or Occult "stuff," as the printers term it, which seek to masquerade as Masonic, not regular addresses, or off hand talks by those who know something, ought to be the rule in every Lodge.
(c) Audits should not be made unless requested by the Lodge and, in that case, not by the Grand Master, or his authorized Deputy, who should not lower himself to the position of a traveling auditor, which while an honorable job is not one to be attached to the dignity of a Grand Master. If I were Master of a Lodge I would contest any undue interference with my business, unless I asked for it.--T. W. Hugo, Minnesota.
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SCALD MISERABLE MASONS
BY BRO. JOHN G. KEPLINGER, ILLINOIS
Keplinger, John G., born at Millersville, Penn., May 21st, 1877; jeweler's apprentice at 14; author of Jewelry Repairers' Handbook at 25; in succession advertising manager of York Silk Mfg. Co., York, Penn., chief correspondent National Cloak Co., New York, and past six years advertising manager Illinois Watch Co., Springfield, Ill. Entered, passed and raised in Central Lodge, No. 71, Springfield, in 1912; Chaplain since 1913. Member of Springfield Consistory.
In going through Vol. 2 of Hone's Everyday Book--published in London in 1827--I found a very interesting account of the procession of "scald miserable masons," which took place in London in 1741 or 42. This demonstration on the part of the enemies of the Craft was, in a measure, responsible for the later discontinuance of the freemasons' processions which were held annually on June 24th since the year 1721.
R. F. Gould, in his History of Freemasonry, Vol. 3, opposite page 146, gives a full page illustration of the "scald miserables" procession which he states was copied from the very rare original print by A. Benoist, published in 1771. This illustration is entirely different from that which accompanies Hone's account.
Mackey and Singleton, in their History of Freemasonry, Vol. 2, opposite page 432, aiso show an illustration of this or another "scald miserable" procession but it is not at all like the ones reproduced by Gould or Hone. While Mackey does not give an illustration of this procession in his encyclopedia he has a full page article on the subject. In this he quotes from Sir John Hawkin's Life of Johnson; the London Daily Post of March 20, 1741; Smith's "Use and Abuse of Fremas."; the London Freemason of 1858; and Hone's Ancient Mysteries, page 242. He, however, does not give us the vivid word picture we obtain from Hone's account in the Everyday Book.
"April 18. On this day, in the year 17--, there was a solemn mock procession, according to the fashion of the times, in ridicule of freemasonry, by an assemblage of humorists and rabble, which strongly characterises the manners of the period. Without further preface, a large broadside publication, published at the time, is introduced to the reader's attention, as an article of great rarity and singular curiosity.
"The year wherein this procession took place, is not ascertainable from the broadside; but, from the mode of printing and other appearances, it seems to have been some years before that which is represented in a large two sheet 'Geometrical View of the Grand Procession of Scald Miserable Masons, designed as they were drawn up over against Somerset-house, in the Strand on the 27th of April, 1742. Invented, and engraved by A. Benoist.' (Frontispiece, this issue.)
"It should be further observed, that the editor of the Every Day Book is not a mason; but he disclaims any intention to discredit an order which appears to him to be founded on principles of good will and kind affection. The broadside is simply introduced on account of its scarcity, and to exemplify the rudeness of former manners. It is headed by a spirited engraving on wood, of which a reduced copy is placed below, with the title that preceded the original print subjoined.
The Solemn and Stately Procession OF THE SCALD MISERABLE MASONS as it was martiall'd, on Thursday, the 18th of this Instant, April.
The engraving is succeeded by a serio-comic Address, commencing thus:--
The REMONSTRANCE of the Right Worshipful the GRAND MASTER, &c. of the SCALD MISERABLE MASONS.
WIHEREAS by our Manifesto some time past, dated from our Lodge in Brick-street, We did, in the most explicite manner, vindicate the ancient rights and privileges of this society, and by incontestable arguments evince our superior dignity and seniority to all other institutions, whether Grand-Volgi, Gregorians, Hurlothrumbians, Ubiquarians, Hiccubites, Lumber-Troopers, or Free-Masons; yet, nevertheless, a few persons under the last denomination, still arrogate to themselves the usurped titles of Most Ancient and Honorable, in open violations of truth and justice; still endeavour to impose their false mysteries (for a premium) on the credulous and unwary, under pretence of being part of our brotherhood; and still are determin'd with drums, trumpets, gilt chariots, and other unconstitutional finery, to cast a reflection on the primitive simplicity and decent economy of our ancient and annual peregrination. We ourselves think proper, in justification of Ourselves, publicly to disclaim all relation or alliance whatsoever, with the said society of Free-Masons, as the same must manifestly tend to the sacrifice of our dignity, the impeachment of our understanding, and the disgrace of our solemn mysteries: AND FURTHER, to convince the public of our candour and openness of our proceedings, We here present them with a key to our prooession; and that the rather, as it consists of many things emblematical, mystical, hieroglyphical, comical, satirical, political, &c.
AND WHEREAS many, persuaded by the purity of our constitution, the nice morality of our brethren, and peculiar decency of our rites and ceremonies, have lately forsook the gross errors and follies of the Free-Masonry, and are now become true Scald Miserables; It cannot but afford a pleasing satisfaction to all who have any regard to truth and decency, to see our procession increased with such a number of proselytes; and behold those whose vanity, but the last year, exalted them into a borrowed equipage, now condescend to become the humble cargo of a sand cart."
"(Then follows the following)
A KEY OR EXPLANATION of the Solemn and Stately Procession of the Scald Miserable Masons. Two Tylers, or Guarders In yellow Cockades and Liveries, being the Colour ordained for the Sword Bearer of State. They, as youngest enter'd 'Prentices, are to guard the Lodge, with a drawn Sword, from all Cowens and Eves-droppers, that is Listeners, lest they should discover the incomprehensible Mysteries of Masonry.
A Grand Chorus of Instruments,
To wit: Four Sackbutts, or Cow's Horns; Six Hottentot Hautboys; four.tinkling Cymbals, or Tea Canisters, with broken Glass in them; four Shovels and Brushes; two Double Bass Dripping pans; a Tenor Frying-pan; a Salt-box in Dclasol; and a pair of Tubs.
Ragged enter'd 'Prentices
Properly cloathed, giving the above token, and the Word, which is Jachin.
The Funeral of Hyram
Six stately unfledg'd Horses with Funeral Habilaments and Caparisons, carrying Escutcheons of the arms of Hyram Abiff, viz. a Master's lodge, drawing, in a limping halting posture, with Solemn Pomp, a superb open hearse, nine Foot long, four Foot wide, and having a clouded Canopy, Inches and Feet innumerable in perpendicular Height, very nearly resembling a Brick Waggon: In the midst, upon a Throne of Tubs raised for that Purpose, lays the Corps in a Coffin cut out of one entire Ruby; but for Decency's sake, is covered with a Chimney-sweeper's Stop-cloth, at the head of a memorable Sprig of Cassia. Around in mournful Order placed, the loving, weeping, drunken Brethren sit with their Aprons, their Gloves they have put in their Pockets; at Top and at Bottom, on every side and everywhere, all round about, this open hearse is bestuck with Escutcheons and Streamers, some bearing the Arms, some his Crest, being the Sprig of Cassia, and some his Motto, viz. Macbenah.
Grand band of Musick as before Two Trophies
Of arms or achievements, properly quarter'd and emblazon'd, as allow'd by the college of arms, showing the family descents, with some particular marks of distinction, showing in what part of the administration that family has excelled. That on the right the achievement of the right worshipful Poney, being Parte Perpale, Glim, and Leather-dresser, viz. the Utensils of a Link and Black-shoe-Boy: That on the left the trophy of his excellency,-- Jack, Grand-master elect, and Chimney-sweeper.
The Equipage
Of the Grand-master, being neatly nasty, delicately squaled, and magnificently ridiculous, beyond all human bounds and conceivings. On the right the Grandmaster Poney, with the Compasses for his Jewel, appendant to a blue Ribband round his neck: On the left his excellency--Jack, with a Square hanging to a white Ribband, as Grand-master elect: The Honourable Nic. Baboon, Esq.; senior grand Warden, with his Jewel, being the Level, all of solid gold, and blue Ribband: Mr. Balaam van Assinman, Junior Warden, his Jewel the Plumb-Rule.
Attendants of Honour
The Grand Sword Bearer, carrying the Sword of State. It is worth observing, This Sword was sent as a Present by Ishmael Abiff (a relative in direct Descent to poor old Hyram) King of the Saracens, to his grace of Wattin, Grand-Master of the Holy-Lodge of St. John of Jerusalem in Clerkenwell, who stands upon our list of Grand-masters for the very same year. The Grand Secretary, with his Insignia & Probationists and Candidates close the Procession. Tickets to be had, for three Megs a carcass to scran their Pannum-Boxes, at the Lodge in Brick-Street, nearlHide-Park Corner; at the Barley-Broth Womens at St. Paul's Church-Yard, and the Hospital Gate in Smithfield; at Nan Duck's in Black-Boy-Ailey, Chick Lane, & & &. Note. No Gentlemen's Coaches, or whole Garments, are admitted in our Procession, or at the Feast."
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AMERICA IN THE WORLD'S WAR
'Tis not for love of gain we go
To war upon a foreign shore;
'Tis not to force submission to
A tyrant's will of murderous gore;
But rather 'tis an act to point
The way to heights yet unattained,
That unborn nations yet to come
May ne'er by bloody war be stained;
That justice, truth and liberty
Shall guide, direct and triumph in
Each nation's act on land or sea,
To hush the deafening battle's din;
That true regard for human rights
Vouchsafe to all shall ever be,
And disenthralled from wrong and greed
Each nation's conduct shall be free.
Though we descend from realms of peace
Into the fiery war cloud's smoke;
'Tis not to win the victor's crown
Or deal a foe a deadly stroke;
But that with loving hands we reach
Into the nation's boiling pot;
The crucible of cruel war
Where struggling empires cast their lot
And help refine and elevate
Each noble sentiment inspired;
To break oppression's galling yoke
Where millions have expired.
That true democracy shall be
The light and guide to liberty
And noble heritage bequeathed
To countless millions yet to be.
--W. S. Vawter, Texas.
----o----
REQUIEM
Pray which died first, and was buried
Thy heart or thy hand the last ?
Was unspent love thy last passion,--
A sword in thy hand held fast?
No gem or gold of thy treasure
Held close to thy heart in death
Excels in value the nlessage
That died on thy parting breath.
Was Justice swift or too tardy,
Did Virtue or Vanity gain,
Was Duty joyous or irksome,
Did Wisdom or Folly reign ?
To live, to love, and to languish
With visions of Truth replete,--
To dare to dream unto dying,
Perchance was thy life complete ?
Perchance some stream that is hidden
May burst from a blasted stone,
Here lost, dissolved through the ages,
May flow from thy source unknown.
Of Truth, like rain from the heavens,
Like snow on the mountain sheer,
No drop, distilled through the sages,
Is lost, but will reappear.
For God's footrule is a million,
And ours is the inch and ell.
The weave and woof of thy merit
His measure alone may tell.
--James T. Duncan.
----o----
THE RECEPTION OF THE FLAGS
BY BRO. LOUIS BLOCK, P. G. M., IOWA
At the public ceremonies preliminary to the opening of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, the British, French and American flags were each presented by a girl dressed in the white nurses uniform of the Red Cross. When the British flag was borne down the aisle to the stage the quartet sang "Rule Britannia" and the flag was received and welcomed by the speaker with these words:
THE UNION JACK
MOST Worshipful Grand Master, Mr. Chairman, my Brethren, Ladies and Gentlemen: As Masons we have often been taught that Masonry is the science of symbols. Flags are either intensely symbolical or they have no significance at all. It is natural therefore that Masons should take a keen interest in flags.
This is the flag that is best known as the "Union Jack." It is called this because it symbolizes the Union of England, Scotland and Ireland. As you will see, it consists of a blue field across which there are laid three crosses, a red one running straight across and up and down, and a white one and a red one which run crossways from corner to corner. These are the crosses of St. George, St. Andrew and St. Patrick, St. George being the patron saint of England, St. Andrew the tutelary saint of Scotland, and St. Patrick the well beloved saint of Ireland.
The banner of St. George was a red cross laid perpendicularly across a white field. We can all recall the famous legend of St. George and the dragon, how the beautiful daughter of the King of On was rescued from the flaming jaws of the dragon who threatened to devour her. Today in France the sons of St. George are freely offering up their lives to rescue God's beautiful daughter Liberty from the all-devouring jaws of the dragon of militarism.
The banner of St. Andrew consisted of a white cross laid diagonally upon a blue field. It has a special meaning for Masons, for in the early days it was the banner of the craftsmen and King James the Sixth was heard to say, that whenever he attempted to impose upon these sturdy workmen the smallest burden, they arose in their wrath and hoisted "their bloody blue blanket" and resisted him. This banner had painted upon it a thistle and round about it the motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit." This, my brethren, is a latin phrase which being interpreted meaneth, "Nobody monkeys with me without getting stung," and the sons of Scotland fighting today Somewhere In France are proving to the enemy how sharply this thistle can sting.
The banner of St. Patrick consisted of a red cross stretched diagonally across a white field. We are told that St. Patrick was especially beloved because he drove the snakes out of Ireland. I sometimes suspect, however, that their real reason for leaving was that they could hardly stomach the music by the Kilkenny cats of whom the poet tells us,
"There were two cats of Kilkenny,
They fought and they fit,
They scratched and they bit,
Until instead of two cabs of Kilkenny
There wasn't any."
Be this as it may, it is nevertheless sure that the sons of the old sod are today proving to the Prussians that the Kilkenny cats could take lessons from their Irish masters when it comes to fighting.
Taken all together, the three crosses go to make up the Union Jack, the banner of our ancient enemy, John Bull. You know that in the old days we were forced to teach him a couple of lessons in human liberty, forced to make him understand that we would neither endure taxation without representation, nor permit him to impress free-born American seamen upon the high seas, and to make him learn this lesson we had to larrup him twice, once by land and once by sea. But that was a long time ago and for over a hundred years now he has been our good neighbor on the North and we have lived side by side with him for over a century with never a soldier or a fort needed to maintain peace between us.
This is the flag of the land which gave Masonry her birth. It is the banner of the country which produced the greatest system of human law known to man --at once the wisest and fairest, the safest and squarest system of free self control that has ever blessed a troubled world. This is the national emblem of the people who speak our mother tongue and for that reason we can know and understand them a little bit better than any other people on the earth.
We used to think and feel that while England loved liberty for herself she was not quite so ready to grant it to others. But we have seen her heart undergo a wonderful change--have seen the soul of the great Britain people rise and shake off its selfishness and offer itself as a sacrifice for the suffering and the oppressed of the world. If Britain was ever beset with the greed of conquest she surely has shriven her soul by the great sacrifice made by her sons in behalf of poor, broken, bleeding Belgium and we are now ready to believe that with her whole heart and soul she loves liberty for her own sweet sake, and that when she proudly declares that "Britons never, never, never will be slaves" she means that slavery shall exist nowhere in the world and so we are glad to welcome here today the proud banner of Britain, fold it to our hearts, and wave it aloft alongside the Stars and Stripes.
THE TRI-COLOR
(Then the National flag of France was borne to the stage and the quartet sang the Marsellaise and the speaker welcomed it by saying:)
This, my brethren, is the tri-color, the tried colors of the sunny land of France. It is the flag of our sister Republic, the standard of a great, cheery, laughing, sunny-souled and happy-hearted people, and if there is a flag on the face of the earth to which the American soul is irresistibly drawn with a tingling thrill, it is this beautiful banner of France. How well our own song of the Red, White and Blue would fit this fine flag. Let us give three cheers for this Red, White and Blue !
(Whereupon the great audience arose to their feet and roared out a cheer that seemed to rock the building on its foundations.)
This is the banner that has proved to the world that a people can be free and still not lose its power of fighting. Just think of the magnificent resistance that this free people has made against the most powerful, most magnificently organized and perfectly operating Or as it fighting machine the world has ever seen. Under the leadership of old Papa Joffre, the General Grant of France, they have fought this military machine to a stand-still and are making its wheels grind backward. At last, my brethren, we have an opportunity of paying the debt we have so long owed to Rochambeau and Lafayette and we were sodden ingrates indeed did we not respond to the call of our ancient friends who have so freely poured out floods of their patriotic blood upon the sacred altar of liberty. Verily, it takes a free people to know the heart of a free people, and if there is a land in the world to which our hearts go out in its hour of trial, it is this dearly beloved land of France, the land that was so true and helpful to us in our own hour of crying need.
The other day in addressing the Chamber of Deputies, Monsieur Ribot, the President of the Council, speaking of us to his people, said that by taking part in this war for human liberty we had proven ourselves faithful to the traditions of the founders of our independence and had demonstrated that the enormous rise of our industrial strength and economic and financial power had not weakened in us that need for an ideal without which there could be no great nation. He further declared that the powerful and decisive aid which the United States had thus brought to France was not only a material aid but was more than all else a moral aid and a real consolation in their hour of heavy affliction. Let us here highly resolve that we will prove ourselves true to the faith our French brothers have in us.
OLD GLORY
(Then the Stars and Stripes were carried to the stage, the audience standing upon their feet and singing the "Star Spangled Banner." When the flag was placed in the hands of the speaker, he said:)
This is Old Glory, my flag and your flag. If there ever was a flag about which an American ought to be able to speak freely, fluently, and with great force, it surely is the Stars and Stripes. But alas, on this occasion I feel as though human speech were far too frail, poor and weak a thing to tell of the thoughts that fill the mind and the feelings that thrill the soul. This is one of the times when words seem absolutely worthless. This is the flag which the poet spoke of when he sang:
"When Freedom from her mountain height
Unfurled her standard to the air
She tore the azure robe of night,
And set the stars of glory there!
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies
And striped its pure celestial white
With streakings of the morning light.
Then from his mansion in the sun
She called her eagle bearer down,
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land."
Unequal as I am to the occasion I yet must try to tell what this banner means for us as
"Blue and crimson and white it shines
Over the steel-tipped ordered lines "
Or as it
"Catches the gleam of the morning's first beam
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream"
even if I call to my help the words of others to tell the story. This is the flag that speaks to us of
"Sea fights and land fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and to save the state,
Weary marches and sinking ships,
Cheers of victory from dying lips.
Days of plenty and days of peace,
March of strong lands swift increase,
Equal justice, right and law,
Stately honor and reverend awe.
Sign of a nation great and strong,
To guard her people from foreign wrong,
Glory, pride and honor all
Live in the flag to stand or fall."
Even though I had the skill of the sculptor that fits him to carve the cold rock into a living semblance of life, or the inspiration of a painter who dips his brush in the colors of the sunset to make the glowing landscape quiver with life upon the canvas before him, or the exaltation of the singer who caught the high note of the music of the spheres when the morning stars sang together,--even then I could not begin to picture the power, the glory, the majesty, the dignity, and the sanctity of the love of the free patriot for his flag.
"I am unworthy.
Master hands
Should strike the chords
And fill the lands
From sea to sea with melody
All reverent yet with harmony,
Majestic, jubilant to tell,
How love must love
If love loves well."
Think of the sacred love of a mother for her little child--of the cradle
"Gently rocking, rocking,
Silent, peaceful, to and fro,
Of the mother's sweet looks dropping
On the little face below,"
think of the love of a fine strong man as he clasps to his breast his blushing bride, think of the sacred affection linking together the lives of an old couple who have journeyed far along life's road side by side into the sunset, think of the love and the pride and the joy that flames back and forth between a staunch and sturdy son and his silver-hail ed sire--think of all these and roll and blend them into one and you cannot begin to tell of the love of the freeman for his flag! Surely then we are ready to say:
"This is my flag. For it will give
All that I have, even as they gave--
They who dyed those blood-red bands--
Their lives that it might wave.
This is my flag. I am prepared
To answer now its first clear call,
And with Thy help, Oh God,
Strive that it may not fall.
This is my flag. Dark days seem near.
O Lord, let me not fail.
Always my flag has led the right,
O Lord, let it not fail."
Some of us can fight, others can work, others still can pay, each in his place can do his duty and be worthy of the honor of being an American citizen and enjoying the blessings of liberty. Each one of us can do his bit and remember that
"Honor and fame from no condition rise,
Act well thy part, there all the honor lies."
The poorest citizen in the land can buy at least one Liberty Bond, and every dollar spent for a Liberty Bond is a bullet blown into the bowels of the enemy. Let us here today in overwhelming gratitude for the blessings that we have enjoyed under this banner of the free, consecrate our souls anew to its service.
THE MISSING FLAG
But there is another banner which is not here with us today, a flag which for the present at least we are forced to shut out of our sacred circle. I speak of it with pain and regret, with heart-ache and with a great sense of deep pity, for it is the flag of my ancestors and my own father's ashes now lie buried beneath the soil over which it waves. It is needless to say that I speak of the German flag. This flag once flew over the heads of a great people, a people that stood high in the ranks of world achievement, a people who were masters of the world, both in medicine and in music, a people who love liberty, a people who produced Martin Luther, who was the foremost champion of religious liberty in the world. There is one curious thing about the colors of these flags which I am not sure that you have noticed. Is it by mere chance that it happens that the colors of all of the flags of freedom are red, white and blue, while those of the banner of Prussian despotism are red, white and black? Was it a matter of mere accident that this dark streak and sinister stripe appears in this flag which now stands for the outlaw among the nations ? Is not this dark stripe symbolical of the darkness of the mind, the military madness that holds a great people in bonds and is fast driving it on to ruin? Surely. the black must be a symbol of the madness of militarism.
When a storm gathers in the heavens black clouds ;hut out from sight the face of the sun. But when the age and madness of the elements has worn itself out and the roll of the thunder has died away in the distance, then slowly but surely the blackness fades to blue and the earth is bright and happy once more. Let us hope that so it will be in this awful world war and that, when the storm of rage and madness has been swept from out the hearts of our German brethren, that the blackness which now blinds their sight will clear away, and be supplanted by the pure blue of the unclouded sky of freedom and that peace and happiness will once more prevail among all the peoples of the earth.
THE FLAG OF FRATERNITY
But there is another banner here today, although we cannot see it with our mortal eyes. It is the unseen flag of Fraternity that floats above the dome of that great "house not made with hands," that temple of liberty which stands forever eternal in the heavens. Its colors are all the colors of the rainbow and it spreads its flaming folds across the world from sunrise to sunset. It is a flag that shall fall upon the world as a reward for the awful sacrifice it is now being called upon to make. In all of the history of this old earth never has there been a sacrifice so awful, so bitter, so heart-rending, so soul-terrifying, so overwhelming, as that which we are making today for the sake of human liberty, and just so surely as we believe that there is a God of Justice, just so certain must be the reward that will bless humanity for this mighty manifestation of divine devotion to a most holy cause. Out of it all there must come a world-wide unity and friendship, and a fraternity that shall reach wide-swept to the uttermost corners of the globe. There must be a union of the states, not of Europe alone, but of the whole world, and Masonry which has been never the destroyer but always the builder, must play a mighty part in erecting this world-wide temple of humanity. Even now Masons everywhere are praying for the dawn of that day so beautifully pictured by Albert Pike:
"When all mankind shall be one great lodge of brethren, And wars of fear and persecution shall be known no more forever."
When that day comes we shall behold with our spiritual eyes the mighty Temple of Human Liberty made more magnificent than ever, and over its shining portal we shall read in letters of living light the words, "Liberty and union, freedom and fraternity, now and forever, one and inseparable, world without end."
----o----
THE TRUE JOY OF LIFE
This is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized as yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown into the scrap heap; the being a force in nature instead of a selfish little clod complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.--G. B. Shaw.
----o----
THESE THREE
There are three qualities which will enable a man to endure all hardships--unquestioning faith in a beneficent God, an absorbing love for an individual, or a burning enthusiasm for a cause.-- Salome Hocking.
----o----
ALBERT PIKE: A MASTER GENIUS OF MASONRY
BY BRO. J. FORT NEWTON, ENGLAND
MR. TOASTMASTER:--It is the privilege of the living to strive, as occasion may of offer, to preserve the image of the great and good men of former times. Not less is it our duty to do so, that as little as possible may be lost of the precious heritage of our race. Fewer names would fade from their rightful place in human memory if we, who enter into their labors and reap what they have sown, were duly mindful of our obligation to the dead and to the advancing generation.
In this the centennial year of his birth it is doubly fitting that we recall the name of Albert Pike--the master genius of Masonry, its most accomplished scholar, its noblest orator, and by far the greatest artist who has adorned its temple in these latter days. No more beautiful spirit than Albert Pike ever lived with us or died among us, and tonight his words are fulfilled before our eyes, when he said: "I wish my monument to be builded only in the hearts and memories of my brethren of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite." He himself fulfilled those words by the beauty of his genius, the splendor of his character, and the high quality of his service to our order;
"For naught endures unless it stands Linked with a deathless poet's name."
Almost twenty years have now come and gone since the great figure of Albert Pike disappeared from the walks of men. Other men and other scenes have come upon the stage and many changes have been wrought upon the earth. Even in the city where he was for so long a chief ornament and distinction a generation has arisen to whom it is necessary to describe Albert Pike. And that no one may ever hope to do. One may recall the majestic figure, the noble head, the great and beautiful eyes that were the homes of genius and power, the face so full of benign wisdom, and the fine spirit that forever animated and refined a form at once colossal and symbolic. But no one can reproduce the personal and intellectual charm, the stately grace and rich humanity of that wonderful man.
Albert Pike has long been known to me as a poet of daring and eloquent melodies. In days that come not back it was my joy to read "Hymns to the Gods," in which as a youth he visited the altars of Greece, the holy land of the artist, and learned the holiness of beauty. We of the south recall his poems of "The Mocking Bird," the mystic queen of southern woodland song, along with his ringing lines proposing "The Magnolia" as the emblem of the south. Nor can any one forget those tender verses which set to music the loneliness and pathos of old age, as colors grew dimmer and the life grows heavier "Every Year." But more melting than all is his little song to "A Dead Child," which brought a ray of light into one of the darkest days of my life.
But this week (*) it has been given me to see another Albert Pike-- a great artist of spiritual truth, a magician of form and color and words--the Michael Angelo of moral architecture. It is beautiful beyond all words. No one can imagine a more magnificent portrayal of the meaning of life and of what it is to be a man and a Mason. In token of this honor let me ask you indulge me in a recital of the story of Albert Pike, his personal history and his career as a Mason, with a brief sketch of his achievements as a scholar, his character as a man, and his genius as a poet.
I.
Albert Pike was born in Boston, Mass., December 29th, 1809--the same day that brought Gladstone into the world, and like Gladstone he came of a stock noted for its strength and longevity. The Pikes came to this country from Devonshire, England, as early as 1635, and the family has given us many poets, patriots, scholars, ministers and jurists. Such was Nicholas Pike, author of the first arithmetic in America, the friend of Washington, and the planter of the liberty tree in front of his house in 1775, the branches of which arch State street to this day. Such was Zebulon Pike, the explorer, who gave his name to Pike's Peak, and died in battle in the war of 1812.
The father of Albert Pike, so he tells us, was a journeyman shoemaker, "who worked hard, paid his taxes, and gave all his children the benefit of an education." His mother was a woman of great beauty, though somewhat austere in her ideas of training a boy. As a child he saw the festivities at the close of the war with Great Britain, in 1815. His father removed to Newburyport, in the same state, when Albert was four years of age, and remained there until his death; and it was there that the boy was reared. He attended the schools of the town, and also an academy at Farmingham, and at fourteen was ready for the freshman class at Harvard. Being informed that he must pay the tuition fees for two years in advance, he declined to do so, and proceeded to educate himself, following the junior and senior classes while teaching school. He taught at Fairhaven and later in his home town, first as assistant, then as principal, and afterwards in a private school until March, 1831.
By nature Pike was a thinker and by genius a poet --large-minded, sensitive, high-strung; conscious of his power, yet diffident; easily depressed by unkind words, but resolved to be a force in the world. When life with its nameless hopes began to stir within him, he felt the
(*)The address was delivered at a banquet following the reunion of Iowa Consistory, No. 2, at which the speaker received the degrees of the Scottish Rite, in 1909.
austere restraint of his Puritan environment where poetry was scorned as "flowery talk," and where all wings were clipped. He began to long for freer air and a wider life, and in 1831 set out for the west, by way of Niagara, thence to Cincinnati and down the Ohio, much of the way on foot, to St. Louis. He went as far as Santa Fe, the scenery of the country giving color to the poems he wrote along the way. At Taos he joined a trapping party, and after going down the Pecos, he traveled around the head waters of the Brazos to the sources of Red river. This took him across the Staked Plains, and he was so worn by hunger and hardships that he was glad to turn east. After walking five hundred miles he reached Fort Smith, Arkansas, "without a rag of clothing, a dollar of money, or a single friend in the territory."
In Arkansas Pike cast his lot, teaching school in a tiny log cabin near Van Buren. While thus engaged he wrote some verses for the Little Rock "Advocate," and they captured attention at once. These were followed by a series of articles on political topics, under the pen name of "Casa," which attracted so much notice that Greeley used them in his paper. The editor of the "Advocate" sent for Pike, offering him a place on his paper. This offer was gladly accepted and in 1833 he crossed the river and landed-in Little Rock, paying his last cent for the ferriage of an old man who had known his father in New England. Here began a new day in the life of Albert Pike. He learned to set type and to edit a paper, reading Blackstone at night, and never sleeping more than five hours a day. By 1835 he owned the "Advocate," but soon sold it, and after trying for a year to collect what was due him, he one day settled his accounts by putting his books in the stove. His own teacher in law, he delved deep into the volumes of Duranton, Pothier and Marcade, translating the Pandects of Justinian with the comments upon them of the French courts. After such studies, once admitted to the bar his path to success was an open road.
A tender little poem "To Mary" about this time told of other thoughts busy in his mind. He was married in 1834, and the same year appeared his "Prose Sketches and Poems," followed by "Ariel,"- -a longer poem, bold, spirited, scholarly, though marred somewhat by double rhymes. In 1830 he revised his "Hymns to the Gods"-- written when he was a boy-- and sent them to "Blackwood's Magazine." The editor, "Christopher North," not only accepted the hymns, but wrote a letter to Pike saying that his songs gave him first place among the singers of the day and that his genius marked him out to be a poet of the Titans. And yet Pike cared little for fame as a poet. His poet-soul was a well-spring of delight, and he seems to have cared only for the joy, and sometimes the pain, of writing. Most of his poems were printed privately for his friends, as though he were deaf to the tormenting whispers of the siren of ambition. Outside his inner circle he is known only by fugitive pieces which escaped from the cage and flew into the upper air.
In the war with Mexico, Pike won fame for his valor on the field of Buena Vista, and he has enshrined that awful scene in a stirring poem. After the war he took up the cause of the Indians, whose language he knew, and whom he felt were being robbed of their rights. He carried his case to the supreme court, to whose bar he was admitted in 1849, along with Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin. His speech in the case of the Senate Award to the Choctaws is famous in our annals, the supreme court adjourning to hear it, one of his auditors being Daniel Webster, who passed high eulogy upon his effort. Judged by any test, Albert Pike was a great orator--massive as Hercules, graceful as Apollo, a lawyer ranking with Grimes, Prentiss and Pettigrew, at once a poet and a man of action, uniting the learning of a scholar with the practicalness and bright eyed sagacity of a man of affairs, and above all gifted with the imperious magnetism which only genius may wear. By mistake he was reported dead in 1859, to the great distress of his friends, and he had the opportunity, not often enjoyed by any one, of reading the eulogies and laments written in his memory. When he was known to be in life and good heart, his friends celebrated his return from Hades by a social festival entitled, "The Life-Wake of the Fine Arkansaw Gentleman Who Died Before His Time." This event was duly recorded in an exquisite volume printed in August, 1859.
And then came blood and fire and the measureless woe of civil war. Albert Pike, though a lover of peace and a hater of slavery, cast his lot with the South and was a great soldier on its red fields. His lines written and sung to the tune of "Dixie" kindled all Southern hearts with fiery and passionate enthusiasm. He became brigadier general and was placed in command of the Indian Territory. Against his protest, the Indian regiments were ordered from the territory into Arkansas, and took part in the battle of Elkhorn under his command. This battle, fought against his advice, was a disaster, and he resigned from the army and returned to the law. To the end he regretted the war, so terrible in its human harvest, the result of an immemorial misunderstanding, and which stained with blood and tears a land where heroes sleep together.
II.
It was in 1850 that Albert Pike entered the Masonic order, and rapidly advanced to its highest honors. Some have expressed wonder that a man of such rich and beautiful genius should have devoted so much of his life to a secret order. But those who thus speak know as little of the man as they know of the great order which he loved and honored. Happy the day when this master artist entered our temple, for it was as a great artist that he conceived of Masonry, even as it was as a great artist that he conceived of God, of man, of the kingdom of heaven, and of our pathetic human life.
One may almost say that Pike found Masonry in a log cabin and left it in a temple. In his life as a pioneer he saw the Masonic lodge as a silent partner of the home, the church, and the school, toiling in behalf of law, society and good order among men, and he perceived its possibilities as a field in which to use his varied gifts for the good of his fellow man. No one ever discerned the mission of Masonry more clearly, no one ever toiled for its advancement more tirelessly. If he had done nothing more than write "Morals and Dogma," his name would be entitled to our lasting and grateful remembrance. That is an amazing book-- amazing alike for the wealth of its learning, the breadth and sanity of its teachings, and the lucidity and beauty of its style which not even Ruskin could excel. Its style, indeed, cast in the mold of classic simplicity, rivals in its grace and ease the noblest pages of man. No one can lay aside that book without feeling that he has visited the high places of wisdom and of truth, led by a master of those who know.
But "Morals and Dogma," noble as it is, was only a small part of the service of Albert Pike to our order. When he came to his throne in 1859 he found the Scottish Rite little more than a series of crude, incoherent, disconnected degrees, and six or seven of them consisted of the words and signs alone. At once he set about to recast the Rite and put it upon a higher level, writing those rituals and lectures which are so much admired, and which have been translated into so many tongues. Such a task gave free play to the artist-soul within him, from which his life and thought took form and color--his poetic genius, his sense of the fitness of things, his mastery of language, his faith, his hope and his dream. So he wrought, as Angelo wrought in the Sistine Chapel, giving to moral truth a form worthy of its beauty and meaning, and the imprint of his genius will never fade from the temples of this order. Nature, genius and culture had fitted Pike for such a labor. The note of his intellect was beauty; its depths were the depths of beauty; and to the soul of an artist he joined a rich and warm humanity, which made him an ideal priest in the temple of fraternity. To his skill as an architect he added a parallel genius as a scholar, and to the altar of his rite he brought the lore of all the ages, the myth and legend, the sacrificial rites and sacred ceremonials of all the races. He was of those who believe in the utility of the ideal, in the spiritual meaning of life, in the moral influence of beauty, and in the efficacy of art to surprise and embody the elusive Spirit of Truth which visits this earth with inconstant wing and fleeting shape--
"Like hues and harmonies of evening,
Like clouds in starlight widely spread,
Like memory of music fled.
Like aught that for its grace may be
Dear, yet dearer for its mystery."
Such an artist, poet, Mason was Albert Pike. As Grand Commander he ruled not less by the divine right of genius and character than by the love of the bodies of his obedience--ruled with a stately and affable grace, wise in council, skilled in healing schism, fertile of inspiration, his one passion aside from the good of the craft being that he should never work injustice. Unforgettable are alike his dignity and his humility, the unpretentiousness of his mental and moral bigness, and the kindness that softened even the sternness of his discipline, when that sternness seemed like to vent itself upon the wrong doer rather than upon the wrong. Memorable were his encyclicals and allocutions, and his tributes to his friends--such as those to Robert Toombs and James A. Garfield-- written with the lucidity of Thucydides and the charm of Cicero. Urbane always, he was, at times, a master of invective and satire, as witness his papers and letters in the "Cerneau" debate, and his famous reply to the bull of Pope Leo against Masonry.
Companionable he was supremely, abounding in friendship, glorious in conversation, simple, frank, and lovable. His laughter, rich and ringing, none might resist, and his humor gave an added grace to his intellectual magnificence. For the frills and fritiniances of life he had a fine, a copious, yet withal, an amused scorn, and every form of pretense or meanness shriveled in his presence. He kept ever, until toward the end, his youthful verve, and there was a freshness of sympathy in him that was essential democracy.
III.
As a poet Albert Pike had the authentic fire, the vision and the dream, and he would be more widely known had not he-had such scorn of fame. In "Fantasma," a poem in which he shadows forth his life history, he speaks of one who was young and did not know his soul, until the mighty spell of Coleridge woke his hidden powers. Coleridge was his master, as Shelley was his ideal, and while we may not say that he was of equal genius with those masters, it is to that order of singers that he rightly belongs. In later life heavy cares and sorrows muffled his song and his harp lay idle for many years. Near the end he took up his harp once more and sought relief from loneliness, in a poem entitled "Every Year," which for a blend of a pathos that is almost bitter and a hope that is undefeated has none to surpass it in our speech.
"Life is a count of losses,
Every year;
For the weak are heavier crosses,
Every year;
Lost Springs with sobs replying
Unto weary Autumns sighing,
While those we love are dying,
Every year.
"To the past go more dead faces,
Every year;
As the loved leave vacant places,
Every year;
Everywhere the sad eyes meet us,
In the evening's dusk they greet us,
And to come to them entreat us,
Every year.
In his lonesome later years Pike betook himself more and more to "that city of the mind, built against outward distraction for inward consolation and shelter." Then it was that he mastered many languages-- Sanskrit, Hebrew, old Samaritan, Chaldean and Persian --in quest of what each had to tell of beauty and of truth. By these he was led on to a study of Parsee and Hindoo beliefs and traditions, and he left, in the Temple Library, his fifteen large manuscript volumes, translations of the Rig-Veda and the Zend-Avesta--a feat to rival Max Muller. And there it may be seen to this day, all written with an old fashioned quill, in a tiny flowing hand, without blot or erasure. In the House of the Temple he lived attended by his daughter, and it was here that he held his court and received his friends, amid the birds and flowers that he loved so well. Old age came on with many infirmities, but he was ever the courtly and gracious man until April, 1891, when death touched him and he fell asleep without fear and without regret.
So passed Albert Pike. No purer, nobler man has stood at our altar or left his story in our traditions. He was the most eminent Mason in the world, not only by virtue of his high rank, but by the qualities of his genius, the richness of his culture, and the enduring glory of his service. Nor will our order ever permit to grow dim the memory of that stately, grave and gentle soul--a Mason to whom the world was a temple, a poet to whom the world was a song.
----o----
INTERPRETERS
There are some thoughts too sad to put in words.
There are some joys too deep for accents gay.
I think that that is why God makes the birds,
Such things to say.
There are some moments full of melodies
Too sweet fol harps or any human thing.
I think that that is why God makes the trees,
Such songs to sing.
There are some souls that down life's highway pass
Too fair to last in hope's bright diadem.
I think that that is why God makes the grass,
To shelter them.
There are some hours too lonely for the light,
When shining rays but rude intruders seem.
I think that that is why God makes the night,
To sleep, and dream.
--American Lumberman.
----o----
SHAKESPEARE
Others abide our question. Thou art free.
We ask and ask--thou smilest and art still,
Out topping knowledge. For the loftiest hill,
Who to the stars uncrowns his majesty,
Planting his steadfast footsteps in the sea,
Making the heaven of heavens his dwelling-place,
Spares but the cloudy border of his base
To the foiled searching of mortality;
And thou, who didst the stars and sunbeams know,
Self-schooled, self-scanned, self-honored, self-secure,
Didst tread on earth unguessed at--Better so!
All pains the immortal spirit must endure,
All weakness which impairs, all griefs which bow,
Find their sole speech in that victorious brow.
--Matthew Arnold.
----o----
A LAST FAREWELL
Albert Pike's Letter to a Dying Friend
(From the Fort Smith, Arkansas, Tribune)
(This letter of Albert Pike to a dying friend is worthy of preservation and forms a beautiful companion piece to his poem, "Every Hour.")
We gladly give place to the following beautifully worded letter from Gen. Albert Pike to Dr. Thurston, of Van Buren, and received by the latter the day before he died
Washington, September 3, 1885.
My Dearest and Best and Truest Old Friend:--
I have just received your loving message sent to me by Mr. Sandels. I had already two days ago learned from our old friend Cush, who had the information from James Stewart, that you were about to go away from us. In a little while I shall follow you; and it will be well for me if I can look forward to the departure, inevitable for all, with the same patience and equanimity with which you are waiting for it.
I do not believe that our intellect and individuality cease to be when the vitality of the body ends. I have a profound conviction, the only real revelation, which to me makes absolute certainty, that there is a Supreme Deity, the Intelligence and Soul of the Universe, to Whom it is not folly to pray; that our convictions come from Him, and in them He does not lie to, nor deceive us; and that there is to be for my very self another, a continued life, in which this life will not be as if it had never been, but I shall see and know again those whom I have loved and lost here.
You have led an upright, harmless, and blameless life, always doing good, and not wrong and evil. You have enjoyed the harmless pleasures of life, and have never wearied of it, nor thought it had not been a life worth living. Therefore you need not fear to meet whatever lies beyond the veil.
Either there is no God, or there is a just and merciful God, who will deal gently and tenderly with the human creatures whom He has made so weak and so imperfect.
There is nothing in the future for you to fear, as there is nothing in the past to be ashamed of. Since I have been compelled by the lengthening of the evening shadows to look forward to my own near approaching departure, I do not feel that I lose the friends who go before me. It is as if they had set sail across the Atlantic Sea to land in an unknown country beyond, hither I soon shall follow to meet them again.
But, dear old friend, I shall feel very lonely after you are gone. We have been friends so long, without a moment's intermission, without even one little cloud or shadow of unkindness or suspicion coming between us that I shall miss you terribly. I shall never have the heart to visit Van Buren again. There are others whom I like there but none so dear to me as you--none there or anywhere else. As long as I live I shall remember with loving affection your ways and looks and words, our glad days passed together in the woods, your many acts of kindness, the old home and the shade of the mulberries, and our intimate communion and intercourse during more than forty-five years.
I hoped to be with you once more in the woods, but now I shall never be in camp in the woods again. The old friends are nearly all gone; you are going sooner than I to meet them. I shall live a little longer, with little left to live for, loving your memory, and loving the wife and daughter who have been so dear to you. Dear, dear old friend, good bye! May our Father who is in heaven have you in His holy keeping and give you eternal rest!
Devotedly your friend,
Albert Pike.
----o----
To make knowledge valuable you must have the cheerfulness of
wisdom.--Emerson.
----o----
We are born to search for Truth; to possess it belongs to a Higher
Power.--Montaigne.
----o----
BROTHER MEMBER: THERE IS A MESSAGE TO YOU ON PAGE 6 OF THIS BULLETIN. TAKE IT WITH YOU TO THE NEXT LODGE MEETING.
CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN---No. 11 DEVOTED ORGANIZED MASONIC STUDY Edited by Bro. Robert I. Clegg
THE LODGE AND THE CANDIDATE
Part II, Election of a Candidate
(Note. The following article is one of a series prepared by the Editor for reading and discussion in Lodges and Study Clubs. This series is based upon the Society's "Bulletin Course of Masonic Study." Each month we present a leading article supplemented by a list of references on the same subject. In each month's issue, we also append a column of "Helpful Hints to Study Club Leaders," which we hope will assist those already doing this work, and inspire others to do likewise. This development is in line with the Society's policy of stimulating active Masonic study.
We recommend that Lodges and Study Clubs use the current paper at their meeting one month after it is received. This gives time for careful study by the members; it also permits the preparation of additional papers from the references. In the original presentation of this paper, if it is read a paragraph at a time, and fully discussed as you proceed, you will find that each member will get more out of it. By this plan, the leader can bring out the important points listed under "Helpful Hints," as you go along, and the discussion will perhaps be more to the point than otherwise.
The Bulletin Course may be taken up at this point as profitably as elsewhere. The previous lessons may be considered renew work. Mackey's Encyclopedia and the bound volumes of THE BUILDER remain the necessary references; others will from time to time be given; rare references will be reprinted in THE BULLETIN. YOUR LODGE can undertake systematic Masonic study with small expense in dollars, but large returns to your membership, if you will let us assist you. Our "STUDY CLUB DEPARTMENT" is organized for that purpose.
Address Geo. L. Schoonover, Secretary, Anamosa, Iowa
ASSUMING that the Investigating Committee has with every possible care and skill arrived at a definite and final decision upon the application of the "stranger" to receive the Masonic degrees, and that his actual conditions and career as well as his claims to favor have been closely and thoroughly determined, then a report is submitted to the lodge.
WHEN IT MAY BE HAD
This is done at a stated communication. It is usually in writing, the back of the blank used for the application for the degrees having as a rule provision made for the signatures of the members of the Committee below a brief statement that the report is favorable or unfavorable as the case may be. The method of procedure is the same in the case of an application for affiliation as for initiation.
The length of time that a Committee of Investigation may take for its labors must be determined by the needs of each case. Personal acquaintance with the candidate is an effective method of settling the first questions that will occur to an alert and reliable Committee, and of course none other is deserving of appointment-- the responsibility is too great for the idle and the indifferent.
But to get into personal touch with the applicant and with those that he or his sponsors--those whose names are upon his petition-- suggest for the purpose of reference requires time and opportunity. No lodge will grudge the gift of ample time for the purpose. Providing that the time is not frittered away aimlessly or in sheer neglect, all reasonable time will be allowed.
Granted, on the other hand, that the applicant is well known to the Committee or that he is readily accessible and that all the inquiries are speedily and satisfactorily answered. There is the. no necessity for delaying the report beyond what may be demanded by the Masonic law governing the case. The custom in the majority of Grand Jurisdictions is for the petition to lie over one lunar month, in a few from one stated meeting to another, the Committee reporting at a later stated meeting than the one at which it was appointed.
Another practice of very general acceptance is that the petition cannot be withdrawn after the report of the Committee has been presented to the lodge. Under any circumstances the withdrawal of the application is only permitted by formal action of the lodge as provided by the regulations of the Grand Lodge.
Still another custom has been adopted and that is to have the applicant present himself at the lodge apartments on a specified date and hour while his application is in the hands of the Committee. He is then in a position to meet the brethren personally and as many of them as desire that privilege can do so conveniently. There is nothing novel about this idea. It is merely a revival of a very old method and dates back to the earlier part of the eighteenth century if indeed it is not of very much greater age than the lodge records to which reference is now directed.
THE BALLOT
Due report having been made by the Investigating Committee and the same read in open lodge at a stated meeting, and no objection being raised by any other lodge or any member thereof which might under the law delay action, the application is subjected to a ballot.
Balloting in a Masonic lodge is a casting of a vote, Aye or Nay, in secrecy. Our commonly adopted method is based upon the General Regulations of nearly two centuries ago. These provided that "no man can be entered a Brother in any particular Lodge, or admitted a member thereof, without the unanimous consent of all members of the Lodge then present when the candidate is proposed, and their consent is formally asked by the Master."
Just how this was to be done was not then explained so that we may read it in the record. But we are told that the members are to "signify their consent or dissent in their own prudent way, either virtually or in form, but with unanimity."
Nowhere has the above stipulation been held more tenaciously than with our American lodges, Grand and subordinate. While in England as well as in Germany a single black ball has not the certainty of exclusion, that is not the case with us. True, a second ballot may be ordered when the Master discovers that but one black ball has
