Ancient Craft Masonry.

clad from the Tyler to the W . M . There Avas no exception to this rule . The Avriter avers he never kneAV it Anolated in the early clays of his experience . There Avas no smoking alloAved in the Lodge , and the tobacco cheAvers Avere very careful Avhere thej r made their dejiosits .

We do not remember a single instance when the Tyler had to go out and drum up members enough to make a quorum ; they were there , and they came too of their OAVH free will and accord . It seemed to be a leasure to every one to meet his Brother

p in fraternal greetings . The country members Avere there too unless they were excused , but they seldom asked to be excused . The punctuality in attending the meetings of the Lodge made bright Masonsand it Avas a rare thing to Avitness

, a Brother Avho could not perform his part unless prompted by the Master or a Warden . If a visitor attended Lodge he Avas received courteously , and before he left he AA'as made to feel that he Ai as among gentlemen and Brothers . The Lodge Avas

seldom nonplussed by the appearance of a distinguished Brother . If an officer or a past officer , his rank Avas respected , and the usual fraternal courtesies of the Craft

Avere cheerfully extended to liim . We do not mean to say that these things are neglected IIOAV by all our Lodges , but Ave believe many of them are neglected , and some of them scarcely ever observed . The Brethren Avho have never AVitnessed a strict observance of the rules Ave have

mentioned do not knoAV Avhat a difference it makes in the social enjoyment of Lodge meetings , and how much it detracts from the pleasure in attending them if neglected . Masons of the present clay have many advantages over those Avho lived in the

first part of the present century . Masonic light beams Avith greater effulgence IIOAV than it did then . There Avere very feAV books on Masonic subjects Avhich the Brethren could command even as late as 1840 and 1850 . The Universal Masonic

Library Avas published about 1855-57 . That consisted of thirty volumes averaging about 325 pages , and embraced nearly all the old works on Masonry , and their circulation among the Craft infused neAV li ght into the votaries of Masonry . This work Avas published under the eclitoral auspices of Dr . Morris . It proved an

unprofitable investment , OAving to the fact that he published too many volumes , as the supply Avas greatly in excess of the demand . Ten volumes at that day Avould have been ample , and with the charts and monitors , and the periodical Masonic

literature Avhich began to increase from 1840 up , Avould have supplied the necessary wants of the Craft in the United States . We well remember Avhen Webb , Cross and TannehillAvith Calcott ' s Masonry and

, a feAV other stray books , Avere all the body of the Craft had access to as reading matter for even the most intelligent and intellectual Masons in the land . Perhaps in the large cities some feAV Masons may have been more fortunate and possessed more

light on Masonry . The knoAvledge of the ritual Avas then more universal , and Masons Avere brighter , take them as a body , than they have been since up to Avithin the last twenty years , but they kneiv but little as to the legendary history of the degree , and

still less on Masonic laAV and jurisprudence . The Fraternity are greatly indebted to the energy , industry and research , and the use of the facile pen of Dr . Morris , for more Avorks on Masonry than to any other man in America , Avho has been a Mason only about thirty years . But Ave did not set out to AA'rite on our

Masonic literature , and regret that Ave have been led off in that direction , believing that a separate article on that subject Avould be more appropriate , hence Ave Avill not pursue it at jiresent . We may , before Ave get through with our series , allude to the subject again by AV < ay of urging our

Brethren to read ,, more on the subject of Masonry than they have hitherto done , and they Avill find neAV beauties and illustrations hitherto unknoAvn to them . The experience of the Avriter is , the more Ave read and reflect the more Ave learn the

ritual ; the better we understand the monitor or the manual , and the oftener Ave Avork , the better Masons do AVC make in eA ery point of vieAV . Wo earnestly advise a trial by every Brother , and Ave vouch for it that in nine cases out of ten the Brother

ivill make a good Craftsman by perseverance . There is a motto AAdiich Ave use sometimes that is not inappropriate here ; " That by time , patience and perseverance Ave may accomplish all things . "—Masonic Jewel ( America ) .