Cryptic Masonry.*

process of fime Royal Arch Masons organized chapters , and Royal and Select Masters established councils , with their own distinctive forms of ritual and government . Not until the year 1 S 24 was the present Grand Holy Royal Arch Chapter of Pennsylvania established , and the chapter degrees in Pennsylvania released from the jurisdiction of the

Grand Lodge ; and , as late as the year 1853 , the Knight Templar Degree was conferred under the authority of the warrant of Franklin Loclge , No . 134 , of Philadelphia . In 1 854 a grand encampment of Knights Templar was organized ' under and by virtue of the power and authority of

the R . W . Grand Lodge of Masons in and for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction , ' and not until the year 1857 did the Grand Lodge renounce its authority over the Knight Templar Degree . ( See Proceedings Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania . ) It will thus be seen that our present system of Freemasonry did not come at once into being , as Minerva is said to have sprung

full-armed from the head of Jupiter , but it is the result of a slow , yet steady , process of development covering a period considerably more than a century . Thus have been formed Grand and subordinate bodies in the three departments of the system called 'Ancient Craft Masonry , ' embracing the lodge , chapter and council . As stated by that greatest of

American Masonic scholars , the late Albert Pike , ' Royal Arch Masonry separated itself from Blue Masonry , organized itself , invented three new degrees and commenced an independent existence . The Royal and Select Masters formed themselves into councils and , after a time , they too

organized themselves into grand councils and claimed ait independent existence . Time has created these distinct organizations . Masonry divided itself into different rites and jurisdictions , each with its own train of degrees , as peoples organize themselves into political communities . Time has confirmed each in its respective possessions , and prescription has ripened possession into title . ' ( Proceedings Grand Chapter , Arkansas , 1853 . )

"Our learned Companion , William J . Hughan , of England , says that 'Cryptic Freemasonry has been worked in England more or less regularly for over a century , in fact from about 1760 . ' ( History of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders , p . 670 . )

I am pained to observe a movement in progress among the Craft to undermine the foundations on which our fathers reared the glorious structure of Freemasonry . There are some who teach that the birthplace of Freemasonry was not on the soil of Palestine , sacred alike to Jew- and Gentile , but on the marsh y banks of the river of Egypt . Take Hamlet

from the play of Hamlet and what is left ? Blot out Jerusalem , the Temple and the Sacred Scriptures from Freemasonry and what remains ? Was Egypt the cradle of the Craft ? Egypt ! the land denounced in Scripture as the basest of the kingdoms ? I ^ gypt ! that groaned for ages

under the iron hand of caste ? Egypt ! whose pyramids , temples and tombs are but the mighty monuments of a despotism that deemed the lives of millions as only lit to feed the vanity of a king and the superstition of a priest ? Egypt ! whose symbols of Deity were birds , bugs , bulls , crocodiles ,

cats , dogs and snakes ? How could the genius of Freemasonry live for a moment in such an atmosphere of tyranny and degradation ? Perish the thought ! Shall we hurl King Solomon from his throne and place thereon the hawk-headed Osiris ? Shall we cast from our altars the Sacred Scriptures

and put in their place Egypt ' s Book of the Dead ? Say rather , ' If I forget thee , O Jerusalem , let myrighthand forget her cunning , and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth . ' Remember the debt of gratitude the world owes to the Hebrew race . Greece honored Pluenicia as the mother of her alphabet , but the Phoenician alphabet was the

child of the Hebrew . To the Hebrew race we owe not only our letters , but our laws , our literature , our religion and our Freemasonry . All jurisprudence rests on the foundation of the Ten Commandments and the beginnings of authentic history are in the Book of Genesis . We have reason to believe that the earliest Greek poets and the wise Greek

philosophers , even Plato himself , drew their inspiration from the Hebrew Scriptures . When a few wretched huts alone rose from the Seven Hills of Rome , and Greece still wore the garments of barbarism , the glorious Temple of King Solomon glittered in the sunlight , and Jerusalem rejoiced in

the golden age of her history . I am proud to think that out-Masonic tree sprang , not from the slimy shores of the Nile , but from that sacred mount where dwelt for ages the oracles of God . "

A Short History Of The Lod Ge Of Emulation, No. 21.

A Short History of the Lodge of Emulation , No . 21 .

( By HEXKY SADLEK , Sub-Librarian to the Grand Loclge of England . ) MEETING PLACES OF THE LODGE . The Griffin , Newgate Street , 1723—172 S .

A 7 O better authority could possibly be required as to the IV nature of the Griffin , or Griffon , than that of Mr . Weller , senior , of Pickwickian fame . * But with regard to the particular Griffin , whose abiding place was in Newgate Street during the early part of the 18 th century , very

little seems to be known . The recognised authorities on old London taverns make no mention of the house , although several other "Griffins" are noted . Still , as the first known home of this lodge , it seems to merit something more than a passing mention , although I

fear it can have little else under existing circumstances . The sign was probabl y suggested by the supporters of the City Arms , which , as is generally known , are two Griffins . Judging from the apparently short time the lodge was there , and the fact of no other loclge having been known to meet

at the house , the masonic accommodation or the treatment of the landlord , doubtless , left something lo be desired . ""' Wofs the good o' callin' a young ' ooman a Wemis or a angel Sammy ? ' " ' You might just as well call her a Griflin , or a Unicorn , or a King ' s Arms at once , which is worry well known to he a col-lection o' fabulous animals , ' added . Mr . Weller . "

The Green Dragon , Snow Hill , 1728—1730 . This sign bears a strong family likeness to the one previously referred to , although the animal appears somewhat less pugnacious . Another lodge was held , presumably at the same house , in 1740 , which is described as The Griffin , in

Line ' s Masonic Records . It would seem rhat both animals were considered identical by the writer of the Grand Loclge minutes of December 19 th , 1727 , as he gives the loclge as at The Green Dragon , Newgate Street . The Crown Tavern , Snow Hill , 1730—1732 .

As this appears to be the only loclge held at the above house , we may assume that it was not suitable for Masonic purposes . The Queen ' s Arms , Newgate Street , 1732—1735 . This house , or another bearing the same name , was in

existence clown to 1868 , when it was No . 70 , and was demolished to make way for the General Post Office extension . Although this loclge was the first to hold its meetings at this establishment , it was by no means the last , seven others having found quarters there at different periods clown lo 1831 .