New Masonic Hall, Inverness.

chosen by the brethren from the nobility and clergy and others in the land . For example , the minutes of St .. Mary ' s Chapel—the oldest lodge in Edinburgh—extend as far back as the year 1598 . These minutes show ' thut Thomas Boswell , Esq .,

of Anchinleck , was made a Warden of the Lodge in 1600 , and that the Hon . Robert Murray , Quartermaster-general to the army in Scotland , was created a Master Mason in 1641 . So much , then , for the nature of Masonry . Its character is

charity in the most extended sense , and brotherly love , relief , and truth are inculcated by it . In Germany , Denmark , Sweden , and various parts of continental Europe , charity schools were erected by it , and thousands of children received the

blessing * of a free education . Like every other society of magnitude , it has to meet the obloquy of its enemies , but so has Christianity . While it has been subservient to the production of much

good , many have attempted to convert it into an instrument of evil ; but is not this the case with the great Christian society , which is too often assailed by the invectives of infidelity and superstition ? But , enough for ns that the fundamental

principles of our society are—friendship , charity , and brotherly love , in humble obedience to the dictates of Him who said , " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples , if ye have love one to another . " In every society , whether moral or

political , affection and sympathy are the bonds of union . And may God grant that no feeling but that of brotherly love fill our hearts , and the character and conversation of every one of us may ever run counter to . the natural promptings of

carnal enmity . And may He who is the framer of the human heart fill it with brotherly love— " For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen , how can he love God whom he hath not seen . "

First Decade Of Masonic Precepts.

FIRST DECADE OF MASONIC PRECEPTS .

( From Bro . P DRTON COOPER ' S Manuscript Collections . ) I . —TALENT . Attempt " nothing , brother , for which the talent given thee by the Great Architect of the Universe ,

is unsuited or insufficient . II . —PRESCIENCE . Brother , prescience is part of thy reason ; and thou hast sufficient prescience if thou wilt only

rightly use thy reason . For does not thy reason inform thee that virtue will be rewarded , and vicewill be punished , either in this world or in another ? And is not this all the prescience thou needest for thy guidance in life ?

III . —TRANQUILLITY . Brother , let not thy tranquility depend on theamendment of another's faults . IV . —ANGER AND INDIGNATION .

Brother , anger and indignation , when under the * control of-reason , are , in many circumstances ,, rather virtues than faults . There are instances of vice which may fitly call forth manifestations of anger ; and , in like manner , there are instancesof injustice which may fitly call forth manifestations of indignation .

V . —SELF-EXAMINATION . Brother , at night , before composing thy limbsfor slumber , omit not self-examination . It is acustom which even the Pantheist-Metempsychosist could rigidly observe .

VI . —OUR UNDERTAKINGS , Brother , in our undertakings we should pausebefore we begin anything which , when completed ,, may cause us sorrow .

VII . —TWO THINGS ANTAGONISTIC . Brother , thou art a British merchant ; know then , that two things are antagonistic—honest commerce and speculation .

VIII . —ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH . Brother , the son , if virtuous , avoids making the ill-gotten wealth of his father subject of boasting .

IX . —TEMPTATION . Thy brother has been tried by temptation , an and has done wrong . If thou hast not been tried by the like temptation , then thank the Great Architect of the Universe , and forbear to blame thy brother .

X . —A PACKMAN—AN APOSTLE . Brother , the merchant-Mason who carries his goods only to a barbarous country , thou may ' st call a packman ; but the merchant-Mason who carries his goods and the Gospel thither , thou may ' st call an apostle .