has the world yet been able, by the inadvertency, surprise, or folly of any of its members, to dive into this mystery, or make the least discovery."

In some of Mr. Ashmole's Manuscripts, there are many valuable Collections relating to the History of the Free Masons, as may be gathered from the letters of Dr. Knipe, of Christ Church, Oxford, to the publisher of Ashmole's life, the following extracts from which will authenticate and illustrate many facts in the following history:

"As to the ancient society of Free Masons, concerning whom you are desirous of knowing what may be known with certainty, I shall only tell you, that if our worthy Brother E. Ashmole, Esq., had executed his intended design, our Fraternity had been as much obliged to him as the Brethren of the most noble order of the Garter. I would not have you surprised at this expression, or think it at all too assuming. The Sovereigns of that Order have not disdained our fellowship, and there have been times when Emperors were also Free Masons. What from Mr. Ashmole's collection I could gather, was, that the report of our Societies taking rise from a bull granted by the Pope in the reign of Henry VI. to some Italian architects to travel over all Europe to erect chapels, was ill founded. Such a bull there was, and those architects were Masons. But this bull, in the opinion of the learned Mr. Ashmole, was confirmative only, and did not by any means create our Fraternity, or even establish them in this kingdom. But as to the time and manner of that establishment, something I shall relate from the same collections.

"St. Alban, the protomartyr, established Masonry here, and from his time, it flourished, more or less, according as the world went, down to the days of King Athelstane, who, for the sake of his brother Edwin, granted the Masons a charter. Under our Norman princes, they frequently received extraordinary marks of royal favour; there is no

doubt to be made, that the skill of Masons, which was always transcendently great, even in the most barbarous times; their wonderful kindness and attachment to each other, how different soever in condition; and their inviolable fidelity in keeping religiously their secrets, must expose them, in ignorant, troublesome, and superstitious times, to a vast variety of adventures, according to the different fate of parties, and other alterations in government. By the way, it may be noted, that the Masons were always loyal, which exposed them to great severities when power wore the appearance of justice, and those who committed treason punished true men as traitors. Thus, in the third year Henry VI. an act passed to abolish the society of Masons, and to hinder, under grievous penalties, the holding chapters, Lodges, or other regular assemblies; yet this act was afterwards [virtually] repealed, and even before that, King Henry, and several Lords of his court became Fellows of the Craft."

of

Some Lodges in the reign of Charles II. were constituted by leave of the several noble Grand Masters, and many gentlemen and famous scholars requested at that time to be admitted of the Fraternity.

No. X.

The experienced Mason of the present day, will, at one glance, perceive that the following regulations, with but little variation, are still in full force:

Extract from the Regulations made in General Assembly, Dec. 27, 1663. Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, Grand Master.

"1. That no person, of what degree soever, be made or accepted a Free Mason unless in a regular Lodge, whereof

one to be a Master or a Warden in that limit or division where such Lodge is kept, and another to be a Craftsman in the trade of Free Masonry.

"2. That no person hereafter shall be accepted a Free Mason, but such as are of able body, honest parentage, good reputation, and an observer of the laws of the land.

"3. That no person hereafter who shall be accepted a Free Mason, shall be admitted into any Lodge or Assembly, until he has brought a certificate of the time and place of his acceptation from the Lodge that accepted him, unto the Master of that limit or division where such Lodge is kept: And the said Master shall enrol the same in a roll of parchment to be kept for that purpose, and shall give an account of all such acceptations at every General Assembly.

"4. That every person who is now a Free Mason shall bring to the Master a note of the time of his acceptation, to the end the same may be enrolled in such priority of place as the Brother deserves; and that the whole company and Fellows may the better know each other.

5. That for the future, the said Fraternity of Free Masons shall be regulated and governed by one Grand Master, and as many Wardens as the said Society shall think fit to appoint at every annual General Assembly.

"6. That no person shall be accepted, unless he be twenty-one years old, or more."

[Many of the Fraternity's records of this and the preceding reign were lost. at the revolution; and not a few were too hastily burnt in our own times by some scrupulous Brothers, from a fear of making discoveries prejudicial to the interests of Masonry.]

OPINION OF MODERN WRITERS.

FREE MASONRY denotes a system of mysteries and secrets peculiar to free and accepted Masons. The origin of its history is no doubt ancient, as I have attempted, and I trust successfully, to show in the foregoing pages, although I have no authentic source from which to date its commencement, or what could have been the reason for the formation of a society under the title of Masons, in preference to any other mechanical profession; from the foregoing pages, and also from Dr. Henry's history, we find the origin of the order attributed to the difficulty in ancient times of procuring a sufficient number of expert workmen to build the multitude of churches, abbeys and other religious edifices. Hence, the Masons were greatly favoured by the Popes, who granted them many privileges, in order to encourage the arts and augment their numbers. In those times it is needless to say, that such encouragement from the heads of the church must have been of great benefit to the fraternity. In confirmation of which, Dr. Henry quotes the following: "The Italians, with some Greek refugees, also some French, Germans, and Flemish, joined into a fraternity of architects; they styled themselves Free Masons, and travelled from one nation to another, as they found edifices to be built. They had regular rules and regulations among themselves, fixing their residence in a camp near the place where they were employed. A Surveyor governed in chief; every tenth man was called a Warden, whose duty was to overlook the other nine. The gentlemen in the neighbourhood, out of regard for their excellent conduct and skill, and the laudable object they had in

view in building such edifices, or, perhaps, out of charity or penance, gave the materials. Those who have seen the accounts in records of the charge of the fabrics of some of the cathedrals many centuries old, cannot but have a great esteem for their economy, and admire how soon they erected such lofty structures.

By other accounts, the antiquity of the order is carried farther, even as far back as the building of Solomon's temple. In Great Britain, the introduction of the order has been fixed by some at the year 674, A. C., when glass making was invented, as old records prove that many Gothic buildings were erected by men in companies, who styled themselves free, and who were governed by their own laws and regulations. While others are of opinion that the institution of the order is derived from a combination of people who agreed not to work without an advance of their wages. This is presumed to have been the case in the reign of Edward the Third, who directed the sheriffs to assist in rebuilding and enlarging the castles, as also the church and chapel of St. George, at Windsor. At this time, it is said, Masons agreed on certain tokens to know each other by, and to prevent being impressed, nor to work unless free, and on such terms as they agreed on between themselves.

As already premised, the origin of Masonry is traced from the creation. Brother Preston, in his treatise on the order, published in 1792, says, "Ever since symmetry began, and harmony displayed its charms, our order has had a being." He also supposes its introduction in England prior to the Roman invasion. This presumption is strengthened by the existence of the remains of some stupendous works executed by the Britons, much earlier even than the time of the Romans, which display considerable ingenuity. So that there remains not a shadow of doubt of the existence of the order at that early period. The