The Builder Magazine

August 1928 - Volume XIV - Number 8

 

Gematria and the Letter G

By BRO. L. F. STRAUSS. Massachusetts

IN every Masonic lodge room there is presented for special notice, exhibited for particular consideration, the letter G. At all Masonic expositions, shows or manifestations, on Masonry's golden or gilded emblems, on all the so very varied Masonic symbolic configuration, we find embedded, and as it were enshrined, this letter G. On special occasions, feasts and celebrations, this letter looks with glowing radiance upon the assembly of Free and Accepted Masons.

 

Now the question arises, or rather should arise, what is the significance of this letter G. that it should be given such an all-surpassing prominence in the Masonic realm? What was the idea or ideas, what was the object, the purpose of the pioneers, the founders of Modern Freemasonry in giving such an illustrious position to this character or symbol?

 

This emblematic G is a cogent illustration of the phenomenon that the large majority of human beings, wanderers upon this planet Earth, spend their lives, and finally complete their destined pilgrimage, without ever troubling themselves about the goal, or the purposes of Providence or God. The ratson d'etre of things, of the world, does not take up much of their attention. They spend little of their valuable time in wondering at the things which they feel, smell, taste, fear or see. The would-be teacher or monitor is told in irritated voice: "What difference does it make ?" In other words. "What can I buy for it?" The how, where, why and when, gives no trouble to the average good American, German, or French citizen.

 

Now this letter G is too conspicuous, too prominent, to be left altogether out of consideration by the honorable "Guides of the Worthy Members of Modern Freemasonry." So in one carefully arranged scene, at a definitely appointed time, the Guide gives the Candidate a brief elucidation of this so conspicuous, so omnipresent figure. In reverential voice, with solemn mien, the Candidate is informed that the letter G has a double meaning; that being the first letter of the two words, it represents two ideas: the mensurable material, and the incalculable spiritual and divine. The Guide, of course, simply repeats the memorized phrases, the words he himself was told when he was a Candidate.

 

A little reflection should bring this consideration: the letter G is the initial letter for the word God in the English and Germanic languages only. yet it is as conspicuous, as omnipresent, in the Italian, French, Spanish, Slavic and Albanian lodge rooms as in the English American-Germanic lodges. The initial letter of the word for God in the so-called Romance languages, Latin, French and Italian, is D; in Slavic languages B. and in the Albanian language is P. Why then in these countries is this letter G not changed into D, B or P?

 

Again, geometry is only a small part, a short section of the great domain called mathematics. The school child has his troubles with arithmetic, the student has his or her difficulties with algebra, trigonometry, calculus, etc. why enthrone geometry for this special consideration, meditation and reverence? "The hardest thing in the world is to think," says Emerson.

 

In this connection we will add this: the Candidate sees, in the course of his Masonic career, some strange things, some very remarkable scenes and sceneries; he hears some strange words and phrases in the memorized proclamations of the Masters, the Chiefs, the High Priests. But the large majority of the honorable members of Modern Freemasonry are in the same mental condition, or enlightenment, about Freemasonry as would be a well-trained, docile, puppy or kitten on the subject of art, when puppy or kitten is carried through a most magnior munificent palace or art museum. Its eyes might be directed and steadily turned toward some special, highly valued paintings or pieces of sculpture, and yet our patient kitten or puppy, like unto a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, will not ask a single question, will not even wonder, no matter what is placed before its healthy, innocent eyes.

 

Now let us return to our letter G.

 

What is this letter G. ?

 

It is for one thing the initial letter of the word Gematria. But what is Gematria? The word itself constitutes a kind of combination of two others, of the two words Grammateia and Geometria. Geometric "Grammateian" principles were applied by sages called Kabalists, in their search for the principles, the laws, that are operative in the evolution of life, in the structure, the Building of this our Universe. The proper use of this geometric-grammateian principle furnished to these Hebrew-Jewish-Israelitish sages and theologians, the key to the hidden, the fourfold meaning, of what is today known as the Old Testament.

 

The Jewish Encyclopedia gives us a very learned treatise on the subject of Gematria, six long pages in reduced type, a great part in the Hebrew-Aramaic-Neo-Hebrew language. The writer of this article in the Jewish Encyclopedia is a great scholar, a modern "Intellectual," therefore a little skeptical. We will give a few quotations:

 

In Cabalistic literature the use of Gematria has been greatly extended and its forms have been developed in many directions. The principles on which the Gematria rests is not stated in traditional literature, but it may be assumed is essentially the same as that which is found in the Cabala, though in the latter it has been developed along the lines of cosmogonic theories.

 

A theoretic basis: all creation has developed through emanation from the En Soph (En Soph is an important Masonic emblem or symbol). The first degrees of that evolution are the ten Sephiroth; from the last of which, the “Kingdom" developed the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Through the latter the whole finite world has come into existence. These letters are dynamic powers. Since these powers are numbers, everything that has sprung from them is number. Number is the essence of things, whose local and temporas relation ultimately depends on numerical proportion.

 

Everything has its prototype in the world of spirits, that spiritual prototype being the term from which the thing has been developed. As the Essence of things is numbers, the identity of things in numbers demonstrates their identity in Essence, etc., etc., etc.

 

The writer here wishes to call attention to a few articles recently published in THE BUILDER, a "Scientific Masonic Magazine." These articles, entitled "The Essenes," "The Kabala" and "Freemasonry and the Kabala," will also give this information: the nomenclature, the symbolism used, employed, pronounced in Freemasonry is Kabalistic, that is, is taken, borrowed from the Kabala. The progenitors of this Kabala were an Order called in history Essenes, the selfdesignation of the members of this Order was Banaim., which word translated into English means "Mason," "Builder." The aim of every member was to become Rab-Bana, that is a MasterBuilder.

 

Albert Pike, the only American Master-Builder to whom the Order of Free and Accepted Masons has erected a monument, and this in the city of Washington, has built his literary structure upon the doctrines of these Kabalistic Banaim, and on page 202 of his book calls particular attention to these Rab-Banaim, Master-Builders, and he emphasizes the fact that the Kabala furnishes to Masonry secrets and symbols.

 

Modern historians, and even some novelists, claim these Essenes Banaism to have been the founders, the pioneers, the propagandists of Christianity. A use of Gematria is recognized by the true Initiate in many pages of the Old and New Testaments. The Jewish Encyclopedia here points to Genesis (1) XIV, 14, where the number 318 is equivalent Eliezer, (2) XXXII, 1-6, (3) Ezekiel V, 2.

 

An instructive illustration or exemplification of Gematria is furnished by "Christian" Kabalists. The form here prescribed and the principles involved are, or should be, of special interest to members of an organization known by the name of "Modern Freemasonry." These Christian Kabalists, of whom the church fathers, Clement and Origen, are the most illustrious and best known representatives, were potent factors in the formation of Christian theology, and the propaganda of the Christian faith.

 

Christian Kabalists made a special use of the words IOANNES (John) and IESOUS (Jesus) and BAPTISMA were also used. This may be exemplified by a quotation from a book recently published by two unrecognized modern British students of Gematria, Frederic Bligh Bond, F.R.I.B.A., and Thomas L. Lea, D. D.

 

Here then is a case in which the Gematria value of the spelling might be looked to for light, if our theory be correct, and it must be admitted that the name IOANES has an undeniable importance in view of its divine origin in the gospel narrative. The numerical value of IOANES (Joanes) is 1069, a number not apparently related to the general scheme of mystic numbers which subsists in the writings, but as IOANNES (Joannes) the form generally formed and employed by the old Scribes and which is also to be seen in the Cosmic MS. of the Pitis Sophia, it is 1119, and this it may at once be said, is an important number in the mystical geometry of the Aeons, and is actually the number of the first.

 

Aeon in the books of IEOU and is directly connected with the number 634. The French author, Honore Balzac, in Louis Lambent and Seraphta, proclaims a philosophical theology in striking accord with the teaching of the Kabala. In this work he presents a world, ideas and doctrines, in striking agreement with the teachings given in and by Gematria. On one page, the page before me is 104, this French genius enumerates laws, principles that are stated in nearly the same words in the Zohar (Crown of Kabala). Following are some of these laws:

 

Everything in this world (iei bas) exists only by movement and by number.

 

Movement is in some sort number in action.

 

Movement is the product of a force engendered by the word and by a resistances which is matter. Without the resistance movement would be without result, its action would have been infinitely small. The attraction of Newton is not a law, but an effect of the general law of universal movement.

 

This is a kind of "Einsteinian" relativity proclaimed in 1835.

 

Now, Gematria is old, very old. But, dear reader, so is the so-called Atomic theory, so is the mis-called Copernican system of astronomy. Not only Pythagoras and Plato had taught this so-called Copernican or Heliocentric theory, but it was also taught by the Essenes Banaim and had been discovered through the modus operandi and quaerendi, called Gematria. This "Heliocentric" doctrine, with Pythagoras and Plato as well as Essenes, was of course one of their "Masonic" secrets.

 

Our friend Albert Pike in his great work presents us, in the final chapters headed "Knight of the Sun, Prince Adept, and Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret," the most brilliant exhibition and illustration of the modus operandi and opus quaerendi of his friends the Kabalists. The modus and opus operandi is, as we found out, called Gematria.

 

Our friend Albert Pike strongly emphasizes the fact that Graeco-Roman sages had employed the same, or similar, modus and opus. Now the question might arise whether the Kabalist Banaim had borrowed doctrines and ideas from the Pythagorian adepts or Eleusinian Mystics or vice versa. This question has been debated, we will leave it here undecided. In our opinion, no borrowing was necessary. Veritas habetur clara eternaque. Seeing at all times depends upon the eyes of the seer.

 

When the human race is ready for the reception of an idea it is precipitated upon terra firma by the Higher Powers. Again and again a new idea comes to, a new discovery is made by several individuals at the same time; in evolution we have Darwin and Wallace, in mathematics, in calculus, Newton and Leibnitz.

 

The great Masonic authority, Albert Pike, thinks that Pythagoras had his instruction in Judea from Daniel and Ezekiel. This writer does not endorse the opinion of Albert Pike.

 

Now, son of man, remember the declaration ascribed to King Solomon, "there is nothing new under the sun." one might see a kind of contradiction in this Solomonian proverb in the scientific dictum "nature never repeats." But to this scientific dictum should be added the word "exactly." No two things are exactly alike. So that every human voice even has its own peculiar flavor.

 

The reader has now been told a lot about ancient Gematria; he might have heard of strange Pythaorean, hermeticmathematical, astrological, superstitions, and now, lo and behold, here comes a great, a recognized, modern scholar and scientist, a Doctor, a Professor, at the University of Tubingen. He wrote for the March number of the Preussische Jahrbucher, a conservative German Scientific magazine, a long article entitled "Mathematik und Kultur." Our professor had presumably never studied the Kabala; had probably never heard the word Gematria; yet in his article he tells us of some new, strangely mystical, German discovery in the realm of mathematics; discoveries which remind the initiate of doctrines, of ideas and ideals found in the Gematria. Our professor informs us that these strangely mystical "new" discoveries have been found useful not only in theoretical science, but are utilized today in the pursuits of modern industry, such as chemistry, radio-activity and so on.

 

In this article our learned professor endeavors to place upon a scientific basis occult teachings about mathematics, the mystical potency of number, in the unfoldment, the manifestation of life in this our universe.

 

As these new doctrines are presented in eight printed pages we can give here a few quotations only. Among many other things Dr. Knapp tells us:

 

The Pythagorean succeeded in making a discovery of far reaching significance; they ascertained the laws of Harmony in sound and were able to place these laws upon a Numerical Theoretical Foundation.

 

That is, Gematria. He theorises in many words about the importance of this discovery, about the intimate connection, the complementary features possessed by two seemingly heterogeneous elements: Mathematics and Music. Our professor writes:

 

The Pythagorean school endeavors to make number, or, more clearly expressed, the relation of numbers, the innermost basis of life and nature.

 

Alongside of Harmony of sound, the Pythagorean affirmed with keen speculation the harmony of the spheres, i.e., the doctrine that in the complementary motions of sun moon and planets there is operative the principle of Numerical potency or power, which law or power resembles, is identical with, the law or power operative in the law of sound. This law in a way is "twin" and becomes affective and effective in the life of men.

 

Again Professor Knapp says:

 

Now I wish to declare that this discovery of the Pythagoreans has found, has experienced a resurrection, a most potent revival in most instances, in the different races. Such as the modern "Quantum Theory." Here we learn that relation between numbers furnishes for man the mirror in which he finds the unfoldment of Life.

 

Yet further we find the following:

 

The study, the investigation by the ancient Greeks of the Kegelschnitten [i. e., the analysis of the principles involved in the formation of the circle, the eclipse, the parabola and hyperbola] presents a highly interesting field of investigation. Appollonius of Perga gave to this mathematical study his whole lifetime, and we have from him an elaborate presentation of his results in eight books. Some inductions and deductions had seemed strange and mystical. But a few thousands of years later Kepler discovered that planets and comets in their evolution around the sun move in courses indicated and designated in this Kepelschnitten so that what had seemed mathematical playfulness or tomfoolery had the most surprising cosmic significance.

 

And still further we read:

 

Let us return to our Pythagoreans; their Einsichten, their recognitions and the hope of new discoveries gave their study of mathematics a value superior to all other occupations. The Structure, the nature of the Cosmos, was recognized as having a mathematical basis. They did not postulate this mathematical basis for the realm of exteriors, the phenomenal world, alone. For in their judgment the sense of Harmony enters deeply the interior, the human sphere, and thus they made mathematics the basis of all knowledge. We do not know what definite knowledge was reached, what discoveries in the realm of science was made by the Pythagoreans. One thing we do know: they utilized as a fact, or rather as a factor, the potency of numbers. They taught that number, whole number, was at the beginning, was in a way the Source of the evolution of Life in the bosom of Nature and that the relation between numbers furnished for man the mirror in which he could see the unfoldment of life.

 

And yet again he says:

 

At yet another point in modern progress do we see the potency of the "whole number." I wish here to call attention to the principle of periodicity in the realm of chemical elements, to the fact that every element has a definite whole number, order-of-and-for-process, which order determines so completely the character, the nature of the elements that Max Born, a recognized authority, maintained that the theory of physics and chemistry will become a problem of numbers.

 

Professor Knapp is here in accord with a statement made by Lord Kelvin in his last visit to this country when speaking to the student body at Cornell University. In this speech he remarked "The great work of the twentieth century will be in the reconciliation of the life seen with the life unseen, by means of psychophysics." To this recognition are due some commercially important discoveries in the German chemical industry.

 

One more quotation we will make from our professor:

 

An uneducated individual will not be able to imagine a nonEuclidian geometry, that is a geometry in which matter such as the three angles of a triangle make not 180 degrees, and yet Gauss, and especially Rieman, had posited, had worked with, these non-Euclidian principles. And we know today that the Theory of Relativity postulated by Einstein is based upon this non-Euclidian geometry.

 

Again in Greek history we find that mathematics was revered as the Queen of Science. And now we might say here a few swords about the relation of mathematics to the principle of Philosophy

 

Here our professor gives a dissertation too lengthy for a presentation in this sketch.

 

These declarations are strange, very strange when made by a modern scholar. Our scientists have always looked, and the majority of them today still look askance, at the sphere of the spiritual, the mystical; in other words, the realm of Religion. The claims of the theologians were smiled at, were deemed beneath the honor of an investigation by a real scientist and now the great Gauss is quoted by our professor as saying:

 

But all search, every effort was in vain; finally a few days ago there came success; the success was not due to my efforts, my struggle, my powers. Success came like unto a flash of lightning; the problem was solved through the Grace of God.

 

Now what is the purpose of Gematria? Gematria furnishes a solution for three problems.

 

1. Gematria teaches the nature of the Cosmos, the origin of this our Solar System.

 

2. Gematria teaches the Nature, the Purpose, the Destiny of man the Genus Homo.

 

3. Gematria shows to the personality the road on which the wanderer can, eventually must reach his destination.

 

The new philosophy has coined a new term, supraliminal consciousness, and we would like to refer the American reader to the father of psycho-physics, Theodore Fechner. The question of course comes up, what is this supra-liminal consciousness? The phenomena so long rejected by scientists, such as clairvoyance, clairaudience or telepathy, are today "explained" as manifestations of this "supra-consciousness." The scientists would find useful information for the solution of these problems in the study of an occult treatise called Kabala, considered by some as divinely revealed; and in a certain modus operandi designated by the letter G. and called Gematria.

 

----o----

 

American Army Lodges in the World War

 

By BRO. CHARLES F. IRWIN, Associate Editor, Pennsylvania

 

THERE is one topic that always has a charm to the Masonic student. It is the existence and history of the various Field Lodges that sprang up during our various wars and ministered to the Masonic needs of the Craft during the time of stress. The presence of such Army Lodges on American soil dates in the far past and is in fact one of the pioneer features of Masonry in the Western Hemisphere. These Field Lodges first came in the British regiments years prior to our Revolution and kept appearing through every war we have had.

 

It may prove somewhat of a surprise to the Masonic public to learn of the number of such institutions that either were stationed permanently in various American cantonments, or traveled across the ocean and accompanied the military units to the end of the foreign service.

 

We have been working upon this fascinating problem for a number of years and as a result are prepared to publish in THE BUILDER some papers either from the original leaders in these lodges or from their printed reports that are now accessible to the general Craft. The study of these papers will, we are convinced, present very strong arguments as to the value of the Field Lodge in times of national emergency. The cross section of army life displayed by these papers will stir up within the genuine student a desire to continue further into the subject.

 

If this series of papers does no more than arouse such a spirit in all our Grand Lodges we shall regard our labor as successful. Occasionally a detached story comes in to our department that by investigation can be linked up to one of these Masonic organizations and thus the material is slowly accumulating into a valuable treasure.

 

The first of the series is a paper on Montana Military Lodge No. 1, by its first Worshipful Master, Major L. A. Foot, of Helena. Worshipful Brother Foot has been advancing in the line of the Grand Lodge of Montana, and has also been Attorney General of that state. His paper displays a keen discernment on Masonic principles and merits a close consideration by all readers. We are deeply indebted to him for his careful preparation of the paper.

 

In a future issue of THE BUILDER we will have the complete story of "Army Lodge A" of the 113th Field Artillery, of the Grand Jurisdiction of North Carolina, which accompanied this regiment throughout the war in France and brought home a most enviable record and tradition. Other lodges will appear as their story is shaped up into a unity from the various fragments that have come to us from various sources.

 

History of Montana Army Lodge No. 1, U. D.

 

By BRO. L. A. FOOT, Montana

 

At the time of the entry of the United States into the World War there was considerable discussion among the various Masonic Jurisdictions of the United States relative to the advisability of granting dispensations for Army or Field Lodges in the United States Army. In many instances petitions for such lodges were denied, under the belief that the plan was not feasible, but the question continues to be a live one, and the writer submits this article on the experiences of one of such lodges, hoping that the record of the Army Lodge of Montana's jurisdiction may prove of benefit and value to the Craft in the future.

 

Army Lodges were not an innovation of the World War, Masonic history proves that a number of such lodges existed in Washington's Army during the Revolution, and it is not at all certain that the first lodge on American soil was not an Army Lodge. Why, therefore, any jurisdiction should have hesitated to grant a dispensation in the late war the writer is at a loss to understand, but doubtless apparently good and sufficient reasons existed.

 

On the 25th day of March, 1917, the Montana National Guard was mobilized for service and assembled at Fort William Henry Harrison, near Helena, Mont. The regiment (then known as the Second Montana Infantry, later to become the 163rd United States Infantry) had but recently returned from service on the Mexican border. During that service those belonging to the regiment who were Masons had several times discus the advisability and desirability of petitioning the Grand Lodge of Montana for a dispensation to organize an Army or Field Lodge. However, when it developed that the regiment was not to enter Mexico, but was merely to perform guard duty on the border, the idea was abandoned.

 

When the call to duty was again sounded, however, and with an assurance of active service in a foreign land presented, the idea was again revived, and finally a call for all Masons in the regiment to meet at a certain time and place was sent out. So many brethren responded to this call and so much enthusiasm for the plan developed that the result was the appointment of a committee to take the matter up with the Grand Master and officers of the Grand Lodge of Montana with a view of obtaining a dispensation for a lodge that might be taken to France, there to furnish to those wearers of the lambskin in their country's service the joys of fraternal comradeship only to be had within the mystic circle of Masonry.

 

The Grand Lodge of Montana met in its Annual Communication at Helena, and the writer, delegated by the soldier Masons of the Second Montana Infantry, appeared before its altar and presented the petition, duly signed, asking that a dispensation be granted to form a Field Lodge under the name of Montana Army Lodge No. 1, to accompany the regiment to the battlefields of Europe, or wherever its duty might call it.

 

The Grand Lodge received the petition, and by a unanimous vote authorized its Grand Master, Most Worshipful Bro. Francis D. Jones, to issue the dispensation prayed for, and appointed a committee consisting of the Most Worshipful Grand Master and Most Worshipful Past Grand Masters E. C. Day and H. S. Hepner to prepare the dispensation granting such powers as in their judgment were necessary to accomplish the purpose desired.

 

All things being in readiness, Montana Army Lodge No. 1 was duly constituted by M. W. Grand Master Jones in the Consistory Shrine Temple at Helena on Sept. 8, 1917, with the writer as W. M.; Bro. Jesse B. Root, Senior Warden; Bro. Wm. O. Whipps, Junior Warden; Bro. Jos. P. Sternhagen, Treasurer, and Bro. Willard E. Olson, Secretary. The appointive officers installed at the same time were as follows: Bros. George A. Wright, Senior Deacon; D. E. Hawley, Junior Deacon; A. E. Johnson, Senior Steward; W. E. Wilson, Junior Steward; Jos. Writenour, Tyler; H. N. Johnson, Marshal, and Wm. Pippy, Chaplain.

 

The jewels and furniture of the lodge were the gifts of the three Helena Lodges, Helena Lodge No. 3, Morning Star Lodge No. 5, and King Solomon's Lodge No. 9, the square and compasses being made for the purpose by a Helena silversmith from pure Montana silver. All these jewels and other articles were returned to the Grand Lodge and are now deposited in its archives among the other historical relics of Montana Masonry.

 

Three days after the institution of Montana Army Lodge No. 1, the regiment departed for Camp Greene, North Carolina, on the first step of its journey to France.

 

No meetings of the lodge were held in the United States although permission to meet at Camp Greene was asked and received from the Most Worshipful Grand Master of North Carolina, and the use of the beautiful lodge rooms in the Masonic Temple in Charlotte, North Carolina, was tendered to the lodge during its stay at Camp Greene. The limited time the regiment remained there and the arduous work of preparing for the voyage across the seas prevented the acceptance of the offer of the kind brethren of Charlotte who overwhelmed the brethren of the division with their attentions and kindness.

 

On Dec. 14, 1917, the regiment sailed from Hoboken, N. J., on board the "Leviathan," formerly the Hamburg-American Liner "Vaterland," for France and the great adventure. Being unconvoyed the vessel took a course far north of the usual lines of travel.

 

The day of Dec. 21 found the ship somewhere off the coast of Iceland, and all members of the lodge feeling that they had their "sea legs." The first meeting was held in the stateroom occupied by our Senior Warden, which not being designed for lodge purposes, caused an overflow of the brethren into the bathroom. The Master and Senior Warden were provided with chairs, but the Junior Warden was compelled to occupy a seat on the side of the berth, while the Secretary and other officers and brothers made themselves comfortable on the floor. Nothing daunted by cramped quarters, the lodge was duly opened. Two petitions for degrees were received and other business transacted, and the lodge was duly closed, somewhat hurriedly, however, as a bad sea had risen and some of the "sea legs" were found to be not as stable as their owners had fondly believed.

 

The two petitions were subsequently favorably acted upon and both candidates elected, one of whom was killed in action before any degrees could be conferred. The other was duly raised and is now a United States Consul in China.

 

No further meetings were held for several weeks, during which the 163rd Infantry, and necessarily the officers of the lodge, were scattered about over France, but finally the regiment was re-assembled in the St. Aignan area on the Cher River, and meetings were resumed. The Division Commander, General Robert Alexander, himself a brother of the Jurisdiction of Kansas, gave the lodge permission to meet in a room in a school building which was in use in the daytime for military purposes, and several meetings were held there, until finally the trustees of the school entered objections to its use as a lodge room by Freemasons and it had to be abandoned.

 

At the first meeting held in this school room a general notice was sent out to all Masons in the area, and the result was four solid hours of examining visitors before the lodge would be opened. There was no work for this meeting, so the time after the lodge was opened was devoted to a "get acquainted" meeting, the W. M. calling the roll of the states and brethren present answering for their respective jurisdictions. The result was almost unbelievable, as 23 states and Porto Rico were represented by brethren at the meeting.

 

At the second meeting a third degree was conferred by courtesy for Helena Lodge No. 3 of Montana. Both Wardens of the Army Lodge were absent on military duties, as well as were several other officers, so the Master called for volunteers from the brethren present to assist in the work. Seven different states were represented by the brothers taking part, several by Past Masters, and owing to the difference in the work of the seven different jurisdictions, the Master was kept extremely busy maintaining Matson during the evening.

 

Early in the spring of 1918 the regiment was moved to Montrichard, and several meetings were held at that place, one of the most interesting of which was held in a cave of a single room, without seats of any kind, at which were raised two brothers whose orders took them to the front lines the following day. The altar at this meeting was an empty "Corn Willie" box; the officers and brethren sat, tailor fashion, upon the stone floor; the preparation room was all of France, roofed by the starry sky. But the spirit of the brotherhood of Masonry was present and the impressiveness of the degree was enhanced by the thought that on the morrow the two brothers being bound to us by unbreakable ties, were to take their places in the firing line; that they were going from us, fresh from our altar with their newly assumed vows upon them, possibly to attend their next meeting in that Celestial Lodge on High. However, I am glad to record that both brothers returned, and today are honored members of the Craft.

 

Near Montrichard lives an American, a Mr. Wells, the owner of a fine large chateau. This gentleman, learning of the existence of the lodge, although not a member of the Craft, tendered the lodge the use of a fine large room in his chateau and several meetings were held there by the Senior Warden while the Master was performing military duty at the front.

 

An incident occurring at Montrichard seems worthy of mention. A French Mason, having made himself known to a number of American Masons, informed us that there was an interesting place in the village and led us to a cave in the rocks. Entering we discovered a large room of probably twenty by thirty feet in size, cut out of the solid rock. At the east end of the room were three steps of stone and carved in the rock wall were the Sun, Moon and All-seeing Eye. The ceiling was curved and still retained the remains of a representation of the starry canopy. The walls were decorated with pillars of the different classes of architecture. At one side we discovered the winding stairs with the proper number of steps, each bearing its appropriate symbol, and terminating in a small chamber whose walls were decorated with various signs and symbols familiar to Masons.

 

The front of the cave, which evidently had been of masonry, was gone, and the place was crowded with articles of machinery and a rabbit hutch. The small chamber at the head of the winding stairs was fitted up as a bed chamber, and at the time of our visit, quite late in the evening, contained a sleeping peasant whom we disturbed, but who accepted our apologies with a smile and resumed his slumbers. We desired to hold a meeting of our lodge in this old lodge room, which our guide informed us had been first prepared for Masonic purposes nearly three centuries before, but owing to the impossibility of properly closing the front, we were unable to do so.

 

The French Lodge which originally used the cave as a meeting place is still in existence, having moved from Montrichard to Tours some thirty or forty years ago.

 

Several other meetings were held at Montrichard in a mushroom canning factory which the American Forces were using as a warehouse, the lodge room and preparation room being constructed in the center of the large room by erecting walls of boxes and bales of army supplies.

 

After the Armistice the Army Lodge met more regularly at St. Aignan, where a fairly good room was secured on the third floor of a building. Here several brothers received their degrees and learned their lectures.

 

At the last meeting held an investigating committee made its report on an applicant. When the ballot box was called for, it was missing. This ballot box consisted of a cigar box divided into two compartments, with the lid in two parts, and the ballots were red and white army beans.

 

However, the absence of such an article could not long deter the functioning of Montana Army Lodge, and two tin dishes were promptly produced, into one of which were placed a number of silver and copper French coins. The whole was then covered with a cloth, and the candidate duly elected with silver French 50 centime pieces.

 

Among the Montana Masons serving in the A. E. F. was the Right Worshipful R. E. Hathaway, Senior Grand Warden Elect of the Grand Lodge of Montana. Early in the spring of 1919 the mails brought to the writer a proxy issued by the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Montana, Bro. E. M. Hutchinson, empowering him to convene a special communication of the Grand Lodge of Montana for the purpose of installing Brother Hathaway as Right Worshipful Senior Grand Warden. Brother Hathaway, who was then in Paris, was communicated with, and on March 29, 1919, he arrived at St. Aignan, where, in compliance with the authority granted, a Special Communication of the Grand Lodge of Montana was convened and he was duly installed in his office.

 

Inasmuch as this is probably the only instance in American Masonic History where a Grand Lodge of an American jurisdiction was convened on foreign soil, the minutes of that meeting and a roster of the acting Grand officers and brethren present might bit of interest to the Craft. We give them as follows:

 

A Special Communication of the Grand Lodge of Montana A. F. and A. M., was held at St. Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, France this 29th day of March, A. D. 1919, A. L. 5919. The following officers were present:

 

Bro. L. A. Foot, Act. W.G.M. Bro. W. C. Riddell, Act. S.G.W. Bro. L. A. Buchanan, Act. J.G.W. Bro W. E. Olsen, Act. G. Sec'y. Bro O. S. Perry, Act. G. Treas. Bro. R. O. Osborne, Act. S.G.D. Bro. J. P. Webber, Act. J.G.D. Bro A. E. Johnson, Act. S.G.S. Bro W. E. Wilson, Act. J.G.S. Bro. G. R. Austin, Act. G.Tyler. Bro. C. S. Winn, Act. G. Marshal.

 

Brothers as shown by Tyler's Register.

 

Lodge was opened in form on the Third Degree at nine o'clock p. m.

 

The Acting G. M. then read the following:

 

Proxy appointing L. A. Foot, W. M. Montana Lodge No. 1, U. D. to install R. W. Brother Robert E. Hathaway as Senior Grand Warden.

 

To all to whom These Presents May Come-Greetings:

 

Whereas, at the Fifty-fourth Annual Communication of our Grand Lodge, held in the City of Billings on August 21 and 22 1918, R. W. Brother Robert E. Hathaway, now in the Medical Reserve Corps of the United States Army in France, was duly elected R. W. Senior Grand Warden; and,

 

Whereas, he was not present to be installed into said position by virtue of such election; now, therefore, know ye:

 

That we, Ernest M. Hutchinson, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Montana, reposing full confidence in the Masonic skill and ability of Brother L. A. Foot, W. M. Montana Army Lodge No. 1, U. D., do hereby appoint him as our special proxy and representative to install R. W. Brother Robert E. Hathaway as R. W. Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge A. F. and A. M. of Montana, according to the ancient customs and rites of the Fraternity, requesting that due return be made to us of this, our proxy.

 

Given under our hand and the seal of our Grand Lodge at Whitefish, this 19th day of October, A. D. 1918.

 

Ernest M. Hutchinson, Grand Master Attest: Cornelius Hedges, Jr.

 

Grand Secretary (Seal of Grand Lodge).

 

R. W. Brother Robert E. Hathaway was then introduced and duly installed as R. W. Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge A. F. and A. M. of Montana.

 

After the ceremony, R. W. Brother Hathaway made an address to the assembled brothers expressing his satisfaction and pleasure at being installed into his high office by a subordinate lodge of his own Grand Lodge in France, and thanking the officers and members of Montana Army Lodge No. 1 for their efforts in his behalf.

 

There being no further business to come before the meeting, Lodge was closed in form on the Third Degree at 10:30 p. m. Peace and Harmony prevailing.

 

W. E. Olsen. Act. G. Sec'y.

 

L. A. Foot Act. W. G. M.

 

TYLER S REGISTER OF MONTANA ARMY LODGE NO. 1, U. D. St. Aignan, France, March 29, 1919.

 

R. E. Hathaway, Glendive No. 31, Glendive, Mont. L. A. Foot, Choteau No. 44, Montana and M. A. L. No. 1, U. D. Wm. C. Riddell, Helena, Mont. Curtis Winn, P. M., St. John's Lodge No. 17, Albany, Oregon. H. W. Bateman, Choteau 44, Choteau, Mont. A. E. Johnson, Mont. Army Lodge No. 1, U. D. J. P. Webber, Silver Bow No. 48, Butte, Mont., and M. A. L. No. 1. G. N. Austin, Sandstone No. 34, Baker Mont., and M. A. L. No. 1 W. L. Hurlburt, Star in the East, New Bedford, Mass W. E. Olsen, Valier, Mont., and M. A. L. No. 1. V. E. Landon, Excelsior 22, Council Bluffs, Iowa. W. T. Barker, Mt. Vernon, Malden, Mass. Philip Abraham, Oblong City 644, Oblong, Ill. Edward Hambrecht, Hamilton 79, Canajoharie, N. Y. Vernon A. Hammond, Rock Creek 685, Harriet, Ark. Albert E. Davis, Covenant 753, Brooklyn, N. Y. William Reed McCathran, Osiris 26, Washington, D. C Kris M. Solberg, Virginia Falls 171, Merrill, Wise. Robert D. Ashley, Cradford 470, English, Ind. Frank M. Good, Adoniram 517, Akron, Ohio. Oliver S. Perry, Montana Army Lodge No. 1. Nathan B. Gillispie, St. George's Lodge, Barkston, Mass. James A. Krall, North Star No. 46, Glasgow, Mont. Louis B. Meyer, Enfield No. 447, Enfield, N. C. Bernard Ettengen, St. George No. 6, Sehenectady, N. Y. Lyman C. Ward, Llano, Texas. J. Emory Tribbey, Washburn Lodge No. 421, Washburn, Ill. Edgar W. Martin, Athens, West Virginia.

 

Excluding the special communication of the Grand Lodge of Montana, above mentioned, Montana Army Lodge No. 1 held eighteen meetings at which were initiated thirteen candidates, eleven of whom were raised. The Lodge received requests from American Grand Jurisdictions, through the Grand Lodge of Montana, to confer 103 courtesy degrees. With most of these requests it was impossible to comply as the candidates were never, due to the exigencies of war, near enough to the lodge to present themselves. A number of such requests were complied with and we would have been only too glad to care for them all had circumstances allowed.

 

In the eyes of the writer the greatest benefit of the Army Lodge was the fact that within its sacred precincts alone could soldiers of all ranks meet on an equal footing, free from the somewhat undemocratic restrictions of army regulations governing the associations of officers and men. In an army made up, as was ours, of men from all walks of life, the rule of the old regular army that there must be no social intercourse between the enlisted and the commissioned personnel proved galling, and nowhere save in such a place as was provided by the Army Lodge could this condition be avoided. the Mason is a social being; he wants to meet his brothers on the level, and he does not want a little thing like a General's stars or a Corporal's chevrons to make any distinction between him and them. When he was on the drill field or in the trenches he believed in as strict compliance with army regulations as he did in the Landmarks of his Lodge, but he wanted a place where all rank could be forgotten, where he could meet his brother who wore the stars or the eagles and his brother who distinguished the insignia of a private soldier as equals. Such a place he found in the Army Lodge, where the Tyler looked upon military rank as in the same class with cowens and evesdroppers, and where the military salute was displaced by the fraternal handclasp.

 

----o----

 

The Ancient and Illustrious Order of Knights of Malta of the Continent of America

 

Communicated by BRO. WILLIAM A. GRETZINGER, Pennsylvania

 

BRO. GRETZINGER is a Past Grated Commander of Quaker City Commandery, No. 422, of the Knights of Malta. In view of the recent revival of interest in the Order of St. John, this presentation of the claims of the American Order to be directly and continuously descended from the original Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem is query welcome. The crucial link in the chain of evidence is concerned with Sir James Sandilands, and what is said of him in the article should be read with the closest attention

 

 THE Order of the Knights of Malta was originally divided into eight languages, or nationalities. These were, in order, Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Arragon, England, Germany, Castile. These were thus divided long before the modern frontiers were drawn. Provence and Auvergne are now part of France. Arragon and Castile are in Spain. The language of England, sixth in order, included also the Scottish branch, though politically the two countries were then quite separate. It is from the Scottish branch of the Sixth Langue that the Order in America is descended.

 

History informs us that several centuries ago some merchants from Amalfi, in Naples, being struck with the misery to which pilgrims were exposed on their road to the Holy Sepulchre, obtained permission from the Caliph of Egypt to erect a church and build a monastery near the site of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, which they dedicated to St. John the Baptist or the Almoner, A. D. 1048.

 

They entertained all pilgrims that came for devotion and cared for the distressed among them. They became eminent in their devotion, charity and hospitality, and were called Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, to distinguish them from the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. They took the Black Habit of the Hermit of St. Augustine and on the left breast wore a cross of eight points.

 

The cross was a white cross or an eight-pointed fishtail Maltese cross, signifying:

 

(a) Its whiteness the emblem of that purity of life required in those who fight for the defense of the Christian faith and live for the service of the poor and suffering.

 

(b) The four arms representing the Christian virtues: Justice, Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude.

 

(c) The eight points representing:

 

Patience, Repentance, Charity, Humility, Sincerity, Faith, Justice and Mercy.

 

(d) The eight points representing the eight original languages.

 

(e) The eight points representing the eight original flags.

 

(f) Representing the compass in its cardinal points in: The Angles: North, East, South, West.

 

The Points: Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest.

 

(g) Representing: Earth, Air, Fire, Water.

 

(h) Representing the four beasts and four great angels.

 

In war they wore crimson with a white cross, but in their monasteries and on the day of their profession, the black garment only.

 

Paschall II, Bishop of Rome, by a decree appointed Peter Gerard, a native of Provence, their Provost and Guardian. By the same decree it was provided that the successor of Gerard was to be fairly elected by the brothers. The first election resulted in electing Raimond Du Puis to the Grand Mastership and he extended the original design of nursing and feeding the sick and poor to that of affording pilgrims and strangers a safe escort from the Holy City to their own home. (The country between Jerusalem and the nearest point of embarkation for Europe being inhabited by the opponents of Christianity who used every means to destroy all those who bore the name of Christian.)

 

The Hospitallers, a short time afterwards, petitioned that they might become a military order without relinquishing their religious habits, and this petition was granted. The Patriarch of Jerusalem armed them himself and received their vows to defend the Holy Sepulchre with the last drop of their blood, and to combat infidels wherever they should meet them. On the conclusion of the ceremony, the Knights of St. John offered their services to the King of Jerusalem, and afterwards, with Knights Templar, became the principal supporters of that ruler.

 

When the Knights of Malta were reorganized on a military basis, A. D. 1118, the Master's Assistants formed themselves into a chapter or council, and statutes and rules were instituted for their guidance.

 

THE SIXTH LANGUAGE

 

We will now turn our attention to the Sixth Language, the Scottish portion of which survived the main body. As already stated, the Sixth Nation or Language was England, including Scotland, Ireland and Wales. It consisted of three priories, and was governed by a Chapter composed of representative officers from each priory. The principal officers of the Chapter being the Lord Grand Prior, who was Lord Lieutenant of England, and sat in the English Parliament as Premier Baron of the Realm; the Lord Prior of Torpichen, who was Bailiff of Scotland, and sat in the Scottish Parliament as Lord St. John; the Lord Prior of Kilmainham, who was Bailiff of Ireland; the Turcopolier, the Conservator, the Procurator, the Grand Crosser, the Grand Chaplain, the Grand Secretary, etc.

 

The Grand Priory was situated in the Parish of Clerkenwell, London, and contained a church, a hospital and an inn. A magnificent edifice, founded by Lord Briset and consecrated to the services of the Order in 1185, by Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. It was set on fire by the rebels under Wat Tyler, in 1380, and burned for seven days. In its widely varied decorations, both internally and externally, it is said to have contained specimens of the arts of both Europe and Asia, together with collections of books and rarities, the loss of which in a less turbulent age would have been a subject of national regret. The building was finally repaired by the Lord Grand Prior Dotwra in 1504, and is still rich in the monumental grandeur of the Knights of Malta.

 

When the Knights Templar were suppressed in 1312, the whole of their extensive possessions in the British Isles were bestowed to the Knights of St. John, thus enriching the Order very considerably. They thereafter held estates in almost every country of the three kingdoms.

 

The English and Irish branches were suppressed in 1540, by act of Parliament (statute 32, Henry VIII, chap. 24) intituled:

 

An act concerning the lands and goods of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, in England and Ireland, to be hereafter in the King's hand and disposition.... That the lords, spiritual and temporal, in this present parliament assembled, having credible knowledge that divers and sundry of the King's subjects, Knights of Rhodes, otherwise called Knights of St. John, otherwise called Friars of the Religion of St. John of Jerusalem, in England, and of a like house in Ireland . . . have unnaturally, and contrary to the duty of their allegiance, sustained and maintained the usurped power and authority of the Bishop of Rome lately used and practised within this realm, and have not only adhered themselves to the said bishop, being a common enemy of the King our Sovereign Lord, and this realm, unruly upholding and affirming, maliciously and traitorously, the same bishop to be Supreme Chief Head of Christ's Church, . . . it should be most dangerous to be suffered or permitted within this realm. Or in any other of the King's dominions, any religion being sparks, leaves and imps of the said root of iniquity.... That it were and is much better that the possessions in this realm, and in other of the King's dominions appertaining to the said religion, should rather be employed and spent within this realm, for the defence and surety of the same, than converted to and among such unnatural subjects which have declined from their natural duty of obedience daily doing, and attempting privily and craftily, all they can to subvert the good and godly policy in which this realm and all other of the King's dominions now stand, &c.

 

It is then enacted -

 

That the corporation of the said religion, as well within this realm, as within the King's dominions and land of Ireland, by whatsoever name or names they be founded, incorporated or known, shall be utterly dissolved and void to all intents and purposes, and that Sir William Weston, Knight, now being Prior of the said religion within this realm of England and land of Ireland, shall not be named or called from henceforth Prior of St. John of Jerusalem, in England, but shall be called by his proper name of William Weston, Knight, without further addition touching the said religion. And that likewise John Rauson, now Prior of Kilmainhlam in Ireland, shall not be called or named from henceforth Prior of Kilmainham in Ireland, but only by his proper name John Rauson, Knight, without further addition touching the said religion, nor any of the brethren or confereres of the said religion, in this realm of England and land of Ireland shall be called Knights of Rhodes, nor Knights of St. John, but shall be called by their own proper christian names and surnames of their parents, without any additions touching the same. . . . It is furthermore enacted that if the said William Weston, Knight, or any of his brethren or confreres of the Hospital or House of St. John of Jerusalem in England, &c.; and if the said John Rauson, Knight, or any of his brethren or confreres of the said Hospital or House of Kilmainham in Ireland, &c., do use or wear within this realm, or within the said land of Ireland, or elsewhere, in or upon any apparel of their bodies, any sign, mark, or token heretofore used and accustomed, or hereafter to be devised, for the knowledge of the said religion, or make any congregations, chapters or assemblies, touching the said religion; or Maintain, support, use, or defend any manner of liberties, franchises, or privileges heretofore granted, &c., the parties so offending shall incur, &c.

 

Here follows a list of penalties incurred.

 

So far as England and Ireland were concerned this act gave an abrupt ending to the Order, but fortunately the Order existed where King Henry had no jurisdiction. We must not, however, overlook the magnanimity of "old King Hal." The act from which we have just quoted was sufficiently magnanimous to leave the two Priors the dignity of knighthood, and to grant a pension to each of the then officers of the Order to continue during their lifetime. This kind of magnanimity may not be considered wholesome, but the late Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M. P., acted on the same principle when, in 1869, he despoiled the Protestant Church of Ireland, and doubtful as the honesty of the principle may be he found a majority of the British House of Commons could sufficiently stultify their consciences to permit of their voting for the Church-Plunder Bill, and believe that they were really magnanimous in doing so. Truly, in point of honesty we are not much better than "old King Hal" and we should therefore be sparing in our denunciations of his policy.

 

Although this statute never was repealed, an attempt was made by Queen Mary of England to revive the Order, in the hope that the Priests of the Order would aid her in her bloody work of undoing the Reformation by the extermination of Protestants. Cardinal Pole was her adviser, and she (or rather they, for the Cardinal had a greater hand in it than the Queen) appointed Sir P. Tresham, Prior; Sir R. Shelly, Turcopolier; Sir Peter Felix de la Nuca; Baili de Aguila, and others of the knights into a corporation or Priory of the confraternity of St. John of Jerusalem in England. In the reign of James II we again find the Order existing in England under the Duke of Berwick as Grand Prior. It is scarcely necessary to point out that on both occasions the order was popish.

 

Early in the nineteenth century the Order was again resuscitated in England, this time on a legal footing, and by virtue of powers granted in 1827 by the Commander de Dieune, and others, forming a capitulary commission delegated to act by a chapter general of the Languages of Provence, Auvergue, France, Arragon and Castile, being a majority of the eight Languages, held at Paris under the presidentship of Prince Camille de Rohan (Grand Prior of Aquitane in 1814), whose proceedings were sanctioned and afterwards confirmed by the Lieutenant of the magistery and the sacred council at Catania. Under these powers Sir Robert Peat, D.D., chaplain to King George IV., was installed as Grand Prior in 1831. and as such took the oath de fideli, but it was found necessary to revive the corporation before the court of King's Bench, which was accordingly done on the 24th February, 1834. These formalities were gone through at the instance of Sir Lancelot Shadwell, Vice-Chancellor of England, who was soon after elected a Knight of the Order. Sir Henry Dymoke, of Scrivelsby, succeeded Sir Robert Peat, D.D., as Grand Prior in 1837.

 

The Order thus resuscitated was strictly Protestant, and was understood to be so by the conference of five out of the eight languages, at which the order of resuscitation was granted, and by whose authority a Protestant clergyman who was chaplain to a Protestant king was ordained as Grand Prior. Even in those latter days of the Order's infirmity, when it was slowly but surely dying out on the Continent, the Pope had no authority and Protestantism was no crime.

 

THE ORDER IN SCOTLAND

 

As already stated the Scottish branch of the Sixth Language outlived the parent stem. It is here and here only that we have an unbroken chain of existence. Here Henry VIII. of England had no jurisdiction; here the European resolution had no effect; here there was no necessity to suppress the Order on account of the religion of the Knights, they being foremost amongst the reformers.

 

The Order was introduced into Scotland by "the sore saint," King David I. (1124-1153). James VI., when viewing the tomb of his great ancestor in Dumfermline, referred to him as "King David," when one of his nobles reminded him that it was "St. David," James replied, "Aye, he was a sore saint for the crown." The finest preceptory was established at Linlithgow, and in due course the Order was governed by a Grand Priory called the Grand Priory of Torphichen. The Grand Prior had a seat in Parliament under the appropriate title of Lord St. John. He was by virtue of office a member of the Grand Chapter, or Supreme Council of the Sixth Language, a body which was presided over by the Grand Prior of England.

 

The Scottish Knights do not appear to have had the same zeal for crusading which characterized their continental brethren. Probably the unsettled state of the country may account for their lack of zeal in this matter. When people have more than enough to do at home, they don't as a rule go abroad; and the civil wars of the thirteenth century kept the Scots very much at home. Yet they were not insensible to the spirit of the age, and they have left their mark on many places in the country. Thus Jordanhill, near Glasgow, has an interesting connection with the Crusaders. Some of the Knights Templar, after their return from Palestine, settled near Jordanhill at the village now called Temple. The general appearance of the district so reminded them of the country around the Jordan that they gave it the name of Jordanhill. A little west of Jordanhill is the village of Knightswood, which also owes its name to the Crusaders from its having been the forest in which the Knights hunted. Auchtermuchty, in Fifeshire, bears the name of a Knight of Malta. The late Sir Samuel Auchmuchty, of the 57th Regiment made the following statement:

 

My two uncles, Sir Samuel Auchmuchty, for some time commander of the British forces in Dublin, and Sir Benjamin Auchmuchty, took much interest in the Knights of Malta. I have heard the latter frequently speak of them, and from traditions in my family, I know that our ancestors were originally Knights of Malta, and emigrated from there to Scotland. They founded a town in Scotland, called from them Auchtermuchty, and a sword is to this day preserved in our family, once the property of one of those Knights.

 

From the death of Scotland's royal saint (David I.) in 1153 till the conversion to Protestantism of Sir James Sandilands in 1553, exactly 400 years, there is little to record. At what date the Grand Priory was established in Scotland is, we fear, lost in the antiquity of the ages; but we have it on record that Archibald, Magister of Torphichen, held the office of Grand Prior in 1252, and his successors appearing in the following order, all of whom received their appointment from the Grand Master:

 

Alexander de Welles annointed 1291

Ranulph de Lindsay.....” .............1298

William de la More........” ........... 1315

David de Marr .............. “ ........... uncertain

Edward de Brenne ....... “ ........... 1386

John de Rynnaige ........ “ ...........  1410

Henry Livingstone ........ “ ............ 1449

William Meldrum .......... “ ............ 1453

William Knowles............ ” ...........  1463

George Dundas ............ “ ............ 1514

Walter Lyndsay...............” ...........  1530

James Sandilands .......... " ............1547

 

It was undoubtedly through the instrumentality of Grand Prior Sir James Sandilands Lord St. John of that period, and the last holder of that long honored title that the reformation of the Order, which converted it from a popish confraternity to a Protestant fraternity in Scotland was effected. It certainly cannot be said of him that he hid his light under a bushel; when the light of the Sun of Righteousness penetrated his own soul, he reflected the brightness of that soulsaving light upon those around him. This distinguished reformer, liberator and guardian of the regenerated Order, was the second son of Sir James Sandilands of Calder, and Marietta, daughter of Archibald Forrester of Corstorphine. He was initiated into the Order at Malta, and there received his knightly education under the eye of the Grand Master. He was recommended by Sir Walter Lyndsay, on his decease, as a person well qualified to succeed him in the office of Grand Prior of Scotland. He was accordingly appointed to that position by a bull of Grand Master Homedez, dated at Malta, April 2, 1547. He was an intimate friend of the great reformer John Knox, and had long been favorably disposed toward the reformers. By the persuasion of Knox he was led to publicly renounce the Roman Catholic religion in 1553.

 

M'Crie referring to him in his Life of John Knox, states that

 

After his return to the south of the Forth he (Knox) resided at Calder House, in West Lothian, the seat of Sir James Sandilands, commonly called Lord St. John, because he was the chief in Scotland of the religious order of Military Knights, who went by the name of Hospitallers or Knights of St. John. This gentleman who was now venerable, for his grey hairs as well as for his valour, sagacity and correct morals, had long been a sincere friend to the reformed cause, and had contributed to its preservation in that part of the country. In 1548, he had presented to the parsonage of Calder, John Spotwood, afterwards the reformed superintendent of Lothian, who had imbibed the Protestant doctrines from Archbishop Cranmer, in England, and who instilled them into the minds of his parishioners, and of the nobility and gentry that frequented the house of his patron. Among those who attended Knox’s sermons at Calder, were three young noblemen who made a great figure in the public transactions which followed Archibald, Lord Lorne who succeeding to the earldom of Argyle at the most critical period of the Reformation, promoted with all the ardor of youthful zeal, that cause which his father had espoused in extreme old age, John, Lord Erskine, afterwards Earl of Mar, who commanded the important fortress of Edinburgh Castle during the civil war which ensued between the Queen Regent and the Protestants, and died Regent of Scotland; and Lord James Stuart, an illegitimate son of James V., who was subsequently created Earl of Moray, and was the first Regent of the Kingdom during the minority of James VI.

 

We have noticed statements to the effect that it was at Calder House that John Knox first administered the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in the Protestant form, but we are not anxious to lay claim to doubtful honors. According to M'Crie, this event took place in St. Andrews, in 1547 which date is prior to the conversion of Sir James Sandilands. But we will let M'Crie speak for himself:

 

His (Knox’s) labors were so successful during the few months that he preached at St. Andrews that, besides the garrison in the castle, a great number of the inhabitants of the town renounced Popery and made profession of the Protestant faith by participating of the Lord’s Supper. This was the first time that the Sacrament of the Supper was dispensed after the reformed mode in Scotland, if we except the administration of it by Wishart. in the same place, which was performed with great privacy immediately before his martyrdom.

 

Although Lord St. John had openly professed his acceptance of the Protestant faith, he continued to exercise all the functions of his office as Grand Prior, and as shown by the preceding quotation, his influence was over the best and foremost men in the country. Calder House, as the residence of the Grand Prior, would naturally be a rendezvous for the Knights of the Order, but as we have seen it was also a rendezvous of prominent politicians. Either these politicians were Knights of the Order, or the Order and the Grand Prior had an abnormal influence over them. It was under the protection of the Grand Prior that they received both their religious and political education. That two of his respected guests became Regent of the kingdom and a third entrusted with an important command under the reformed, or Protestant government, taken together with the duties entrusted to him personally, point very plainly indeed to the enormous influence he wielded, and wielded for good.

 

On Oct. 1, 1557, he was still in communication with the Grand Master and Chapter at Malta. Thus proving conclusively that his conversion to Protestantism did not in any way affect his relations with the body.

 

On Feb. 27, 1559, we find him as one of the signatories to the offensive and defensive treaty between Queen Elizabeth, of England, and the Lords of the Congregation, i.e., the Scottish Protestant party.

 

When, on Aug. 24, 1560, the Scottish Parliament abolished popery, the work of the reformers had been so well done that only three men raised their voice against the proposal, namely, the Earl of Atholl and Lords Sommerville and Borthwick "The clergy spake never a word." Lord St. John was on this occasion selected by Parliament to go to France and lay their proceedings before the Queen (Mary) for ratification. It is said that upon that occasion the Cardinal of Lorraine sought to load him with reproaches for his conversion to the Protestant religion, which step was, however, ably defended by that chivalric Knight to the utter confusion of the wily Cardinal.

 

The manner in which he carried out this rather delicate task is best shown by the manner in which the Queen appreciated his services on this and other important occasions.

 

On Jan. 24, 1563, we again find the Protestant Grand Prior and the Popish Queen face to face. This time he went at the request of the Grand Priory, to hand over to the Queen the lands and possessions of the Order, together with the dignity of Lord St. John, which he held as chief of the Order; and this for the purpose of freeing himself and his Knights from certain obligations of their Sovereign a task which few men would care to take in hand.

 

The Queen accepted them in the most gracious manner, and in order to show her great respect for the man who thus divested himself of the rank and title of a peer, she returned to him as a personal gift the lands of Torphichen, and at the same time re-created him a peer of the realm under the title of Lord Torphichen.

 

From this time forward the Order has been separate from the state, and therefore from under the eye of the historian, a circumstance which forces us to be content with side-lights being shed across our path, while other matters are under review, until we again come into the full light of documentary evidence.

 

The first matter which presents itself to the mind of the thoughtful companion is, did Sir James Sandilands resign the office of Grand Prior when he gave up the local dignity of Lord St. John, or did he retain office till his death in 1596? Some writers have assumed that he resigned, but we fail to see where the circumstances justify the assumption. The object of giving up the lands, etc., of the Order, was beyond doubt that the relations of the Order to the Crown would be that of civilians. Had the Grand Prior intended to resign, his renunciation of the Order would have secured the end in view without risking the displeasure of the Queen. His mission to the Queen was no personal matter, he was acting for the Order as a whole with a view to their continued existence apart from the state, and they obtained the object of their desire. The Order continued to exist, and whether Lord Torphichen continued to hold the office of Grand Prior or not, he positively did continue to be a leader in the Protestant cause, where he led the same men as he led as Grand Prior. We have never seen any valid reason put forward as to why he should have resigned, while there are many reasons why he should have retained office; but we are content to rest our case on the fact that all the trouble he took in gaining release from state control would have been superfluous had he intended to resign. We therefore conclude that he retained office till his death, on 29th March, 1596.

 

That the Order continued in a publicly recognized manner is shown by the fact that about the year 1572, David Seaton, with a portion of the Scottish Knights, separated themselves from the then Protestant fraternity. He retired to Germany where he died in 1591, the remnant of the seceders ultimately finding a shelter under the wing of the first lodge of Scottish Masons at Kilwinning, Ayrshire, where they introduced the Orders of St. John, which are still given in connection with (Blue) Masonry. We again get a glimpse of the Order in 1643, when it was reintroduced into Ireland for the protection of Protestants who had suffered so severely by the Irish rebellion of 1641. This was the Second Grand Priory of Ireland, and be it noted, founded and established by the Grand Priory of Scotland. That this branch was still in existence in 1795 when the Loyal Orange Institution was founded, is shown by the fact that at a very early date the Orange and the Black had become inseparably connected. In some cases separate warrants were held, while in others certain degrees were given under an Orange warrant, and those wishing to travel further had to apply to a Black lodge. These facts point to two conclusions: 1st, That the Orange was a popular endeavor of the Knights of St. John to accomplish the object for which the Order had been reestablished in 1643, namely: The protection of Protestants, and is therefore the natural offspring of the Ancient Order. 2nd, That the Knights of St. John were very lax in the performance of their duty when they allowed their degrees to be given under the jurisdiction of a body actually free from their control, although a friendly body, and it may be a body founded by them. That this was a blunder is now recognized and the practice forbidden. While endeavoring to be just in our criticism we must not forget to be generous. It was this blunder which brought about that close relationship which has kept the older Order alive, and without which it assuredly would long ago have shared the fate of the continental branches.

 

We will now turn our attention to documentary evidence; for this purpose we have had free access to all documents held by the Imperial Parent Grand Black Encampment of the Universe. Strange as it may appear, the oldest of these are of Irish origin, but before looking into the more ancient of them we will note one of semi-modern date. The report of the Third Grand Priory (or Lodge) of Ireland, or to be more correct, the report of a Committee to Grand Lodge on 11th April, 1850, re The newly instituted Grand Black Chapter of Ireland. In the report they refer to their own origin and antiquity coming through the Scottish reformers, and they assert that "The Order never was dissolved and that they held the chain of transmission which was perfect in all its links." Here we have an authoritative declaration of the unbroken continuity of the Order, from the time the political history of the country lost touch with the Order, until the time of giving their report, i.e., to 1850; and from the tenor of the report the Order was in a fully organized condition in 1807. This latter is implied, not stated, but the former general statement covers the period, so that we may not distress ourselves about the implication. We have before us while we write a very old copy of Rules belonging to the Royal Black Association (of Ireland), they are undated, but they must have been compiled prior to the year 1820, and may have been compiled as far back as 1795, which would only have necessitated a change of the monarch's name; which is common practice at the death of a monarch. In its "Prefatory Observations" it sets forth that "It should be understood that this Order is entirely detached from that of Orangemen (with the exception that no person, unless he has passed the Degrees of Orange and Purple, can be admitted), and it ought not to be supposed that it entrenches on the rights, privileges or immunities of that system. It is calculated to instruct and inform those who are desirous of obtaining a knowledge of Divine Truth, and Sublime Mysteries, and to cultivate that harmony which should exist amongst true Protestants."

 

Amongst other things provided by this code is a declaration to be read, by the Master, to candidates previous to their initiation:

 

Whereas our Christian forefathers, the Knights of Malta, who joined a holy bond of brotherhood, to support all kings and states against Turks and infidels. we, the members of the Royal Black Institution, will as far as in our power lies, imitate their glorious acts and great achievements, with our lives and fern tunes, to support and defend his present majesty George IV, his heirs and successors, so long as he or they maintain and defend the Protestant religion and the present Constitution.

 

Rule III provides -

 

That a regular visiting officer shall be received at the different lodges in Dublin, for the purpose of communicating their progress to the Grand Lodge; and such lodges as do not meet in the Metropolis shall, by their Secretary, communicate to the Secretary of the Grand Lodge, annually, their progress.

 

The code goes on to give the obligation which is substantially the same as that still in use. Of course the name of the Sovereign given is George IV., and it was sworn to, a custom long since abolished. It also gives the prayers to be used at the opening and closing of lodges. These are identical with those in use at the present day.

 

That the Order was in good working condition both in Scotland and Ireland, long before the time we might limit for the code quoted from above, will be seen by the following documents:

 

The first we will look at is headed "No. 155, Grand Black Order of Orangemen: Monaghan Regiment." It has the royal arms on the left, and the skull and crossbones on the right with the words "God be our guide" under the royal arms, and under this a broad black ribbon with an equilateral seal in black wax. The text is as follows:

 

To all Brother Knights of the Grand Black Order of Orangemen, to whom these presents come greeting. We, the Master Deputy-Master, High Priest, Secretary, &c., of the Assembly of Knights of the Grand Order of Orangemen, held in Princes Town, England, do hereby certify that Brother Sir James Henry was by us dubbed a Knight of this Most Grand and Sublime Order, on the 30th day of August, 1814, &c.

 

We need not quote further, as what follows are commonplace formalities. It concludes thus:

 

Given under our hand and seal of Assembly, held in Princes Town, this 31st day of August, 1814.

 

(Signed) JNO. SEAVEN, Master

JOHN M'CLELLAND, Deputy-Master.

FRANCIS HAWKSHAM, High Priest.

JOHN LAVERTY, Secretary.

 

From this document it would appear that Companion Henry had been initiated the night before he left the regiment, and brought his certificate with him.

 

Our next belonged to a Companion of more experience. It is headed with an arch wherein are shown emblems of all the degrees. On the left margin above the ribbons are the royal arms, with the words, "King and Constitution we will support." The text runs thus:

 

Loyal Orange Association, New System, No. 155. Now we, the Master, Deputy-Master, Secretary, &c., do strictly charge you to withdraw yourself from brethren that walketh disorderly

 

We, the Master and Deputy Master, of No. 155, of true Orangemen, do certify that Brother James Henry has regularly received the colours affixed to this certificates &c.

 

The degrees represented by the colors affixed are orange, purple, black, scarlet, old blue and royal mark, and concludes thus:

 

Given under our hands and seal of our lodge, in our lodge room, in the County of Monaghan and Kingdom of Ireland and town of Glasslough. Dated this 12th day of June, 1816.

 

(Signed) DANIEL PRASHEY, Master.

JOS. MILLS, Deputy Master.

THOS. SOMMERS, Secretary.

 

and countersigned "Jos. Mills, Grand Secretary."

 

Our next is a written document almost as neat as copper plate. The kingdom is not stated. It is headed "Royal Black Association, No. 3," and is a certificate of "Brother Sir Thomas Burgess," who has been

 

. . . duly initiated into the Mysteries and Secrets of a Royal Arch Black Knight Templar . . . having taken the sword in hand against all Turks and unbelievers. We therefore recommend.....

 

It is dated 2nd March, 1821, and bears the signatures

 

JOHN PATERSON, Master.

RICHARD MARKS, Deputy Master.

WM. M'KEY, High Priest.

JAMES CARSON, Grand Pursuivant.

 

Bro. Burgess became a member of No. 24, and we judge the document to be from No. 3 of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

 

We now turn to a parchment certificate, which is still in good condition, and issued by a lodge holding its authority from the Grand Black Lodge of Scotland. It runs thus:

 

God is our Guide. Royal Black Lodge. Honourable Protestant Association: 1st Royal Regiment. "And God said let there be light and there was light."

 

Now we, the Master, Deputy-Master, &c., do Strictly charge you to withdraw yourself from brethren that walketh disorderly. In the name of the most holy, glorious, and undivided Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we grant to Brother John Nixon this certificate from No. 16 Warrant, of the Magnanimous and Invincible Order of Royal Black Lodge Association of Lodge No. 16. held at Banzalore, in the East Indies.

 

We need not copy the document further. It is dated 1st August, 1829, and is signed by

 

JAMES GIBSON, Master.

A. BLAIR, Deputy Master.

WM. HALLIDAY, High Priest.

J. R. BAILLIE, Pursuivant.

 

The colors affixed represent the degrees up to and including the green.

 

These are the oldest written documents to which we have had access, but they are sufficient to prove the existence of the Grand Lodge of Scotland when No. 16 warrant was issued, and that it (No. 16) was working in Bangalore on 1st August, 1829, whither it had removed with the regiment some time previous, therefore an old lodge at the date given. This certificate alone gives the death-blow to the theory so often promulgated, that the Grand Lodge of Scotland was founded in 1831; but when taken together with the other documents quoted we are carried far back beyond the time when the Grand Lodge of Ireland ceased to exist; therefore impossible for them to have granted the letters of authority, held by Grand Master Donaldson, for the reorganization of Grand Lodge in 1831, they being nonexistent for at least seven years before the event. Moreover, No. 16, of the Irish Grand, was working at the same time as the No. 16 to which we have referred, and continued to work in Ireland up till 1834. When we add to this fact that the Grand Lodges of Ireland publicly declared their Scottish origin, and were justly proud of it, is it too much to ask, or to expect, that we should hear no more of such foolish fancies being promulgated as facts? Whether the wish be father to the thought or not, the persistence with which it has again and again been put forward proves that the wish is not wanting. Had it been possible for them to prove their case, it would have been done many years ago. They cannot prove a case because they have no case to prove.

 

Our next is rather a peculiar document consisting of a series of resolutions referring to financial affairs, in which fines are imposed for certain offenses, such as absence from the regular meetings of the lodge, arrears of dues, etc. In each case the resolution closes with the reminder that if they (the members) fail they will "receive the benefit of a committee." What that means must be plain to the greatest dullard, so far at least as modern notions carry us; but those who have been privileged to read the "Old Maltese Laws" and the "Old Scotch Laws" will be aware of the fact that the committee had to be paid by the offending member, or members, according to a printed scale. This document is headed Saturday, 12th September, 1829, and begins thus: "At a committee meeting of the Royal Black Lodge, No. 24, held in M'Culloch's, it was resolved, &c." Only one of the resolutions is of any importance to us, namely, No. 3, which gives us some data as to the age of the lodge, and places beyond dispute the claim of its members that Ancient St. John's, Glasgow, No. 24, is the oldest subordinate Black Lodge in the Universe.

 

The resolution refers to arrears extending over "the last twelve months," and giving details of meetings held on the following dates: 24th February, 24th March, 12th August, 31st August, 26th October, 24th November, 24th February, 24th March, 24th April, and 24th May. The year dates are not given in above details, but they plainly show the existence of the lodge on 24th February, 1828; and the fact that the committee dealt with an accumulation of arrears proves the existence of the lodge for a considerable time prior to that date.

 

The document bears the seal of the lodge which is a neat little thing, one inch in diameter. Round the outer circle are the words, "Loyal Black Association, No. 24," and in the center a skull and cross-bones, surmounted by the Latin words, Memento mort Remember death. The signatures appended are: Taylor Rankin, Hugh M'Hutcheon, William Gemmell, William Dickson, and William Kilpatrick.

 

On being presented to the lodge it was approved and signed "Henry Burnside, M." and "William Dickson." In connection with the foregoing we have the following promissory note:

 

"Glasgow, 24th October, 1829.

 

two months from date 1 promise to pay to Royal Black Lodge, No. 24, the sum of Ten Shillings sterling.

 

(Signed) WILLIAM KILPATRICK.

JOHN ALLAN, Witness.

 

We now come to a very important document a Grand Lodge Warrant which evidently implies a reconstruction of some kind; probably necessitated by the introduction of Orangeism into Scotland, and the consequent flooding of the Order in Scotland by members from Ireland who were, as a matter of course, Orangemen. From this time forward the Order in Scotland had been closely connected with the Orange Institution. That the reorganization of Grand Lodge was a legal one is shown by a letter from the Grand Secretary, on behalf of the Grand Council, to the Grand Master, requesting him to attend a subsequent meeting of Grand Lodge, and "to bring with him the letters authorizing them to reorganize the Grand Lodge." So whatever the change was it was legally effected, and Grand Master George Donaldson held the letters of authority.

 

The warrant is one of a lot lithographed for issue to subordinate lodges, altered to suit the purpose of Grand Lodge. We give it as altered. (It was surmounted by the Royal Arms):

 

Royal Black Association

 

HELD IN GLASGOW 'GOD IS OUR GUIDE'

 

In name of the Most Glorious and U