directed it to be placed in the foundation as the chief cornerstone. Here it remained undisturbed either by Zerubabel or Herod, as it was destined to defeat the insane attempt of Julian to rebuild the Temple, which it effected by destroying his workmen through the agency of fire.*

"A similar fiction about the Rod of Moses was also imported from the Continent, which was traced from the Paradisiacal Tree of Knowledge;† another about the institution of Templary, which, as it was said, had its origin in Egypt before the Exodus ; ‡ that Moses and Aaron, having been initiated into its mysteries, brought it with them into Judæa; that thence it passed through the two St. Johns to the Crusades, &c.; and a fourth, about the imaginary travels of Peleg, and the erection of his triangular Temple. We had another, which recounted the pseudo history of Hiram Abiff; and many similar ones, which it would be a waste of time to mention. It may be necessary to add, that these fables were not countenanced by any but some young and inexperienced Brethren, who were ambitious of being accounted cleverer and brighter Masons than their fellows. And you would have been. astonished to see the absurd airs of importance, which the possessors of these fabulous conceits assumed when the conversation of a Lodge happened to turn upon the abstruse subject of cabalistical acquirements."

My tongue itched to inquire into the particulars of the history of Hiram Abiff, and I had some difficulty to restrain my curiosity. My companion observed the movement, and interpreted it correctly. "You wish to learn something of the reputed private history of this eminent Freemason," he said; "but I am not quite sure that I shall be able to gratify your curiosity, for conjecture, after all, is no great authority. You

* These legends are equally apocryphal with those of the Scottish fabulists about the same stone. They feign that, from the time of Jacob, who used this stone for a pillow, it was preserved in Spain till Gathol, king of the Scots, ruled over Gallicia, and that he used it for a throne. That Simon Brech, another Scottish monarch, about 700 years before Christ, or about the time when Rome was built, conveyed it into Ireland, where it remained for three or four centuries before it was translated into Scotland. When there, it was installed in the Abbey of Scone, as a palladium, and enclosed in an oaken chair by king Kenneth, on which the following verse was engraven :

"Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum.

Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem."

This stone and chair were deposited in Westminster Abbey, A.D. 1296, where they still remain. Utrum horum mavis accipe!

This legend may be found in the Hist. Landmarks, vol. ii. p. 599.

Ibid. vol. ii. p. 24.

§ Ibid. vol. i. p. 63.

shall hear some of the legends, however, if it will afford you any satisfaction. Our continental brethren identified Hiram Abiff with Jesus Christ, and endeavoured to prove that his history was an allegory of the Crucifixion. They contended that the word DT meant, He that existed from all eternity-T. G. A. O. T. U. Christ; and asserted that in ancient times seven days was the legitimate interval between the ceremony of raising a candidate, and communicating to him the secrets of a Master Mason, in allusion to the period of mourning for his death, which amongst the Jews was seven days, as in the recorded instance of the lamentations of Joseph for his father Jacob; and the same period intervened between the resurrection of Christ and his public appearance to his disciples to remove the unbelief of Thomas. And in recounting the history of Masonry, they feigned that the art and mystery of the Order was first introduced at the building of the tower of Babel; and from thence handed down by Euclid, a worthy and excellent mathematician of Egypt; that he communicated it to Hiram Abiff, under whom, at the building of the Temple of Solomon, was an expert architect called Mannon Grecus, who, travelling westward after the Temple was completed, taught the art of Masonry to Carolus Marcel, King of France; from whence it was transplanted into England in the time of Athelstan, who commanded the Brethren to assemble annually in the city of York!

66 6

They further stated, that the Stylus with which Hiram Abiff drew his plans and designs, and engraved that mysterious diagram on the foundation-stone of the Temple, which is now known as the 47th Proposition of Euclid, was found on his person at his raising, and was ordered by Solomon to be placed in his monument. I omit the fable of his marriage with the sister of prince Adoniram, his death, burial, monument, obelisk, with its circles, squares, and columns, and Solomon's bitter mourning; together with the distraction and suicide of his widow; because I dare say you are heartily sick of this absurd jumble of truth and fiction, where Euclid is made contemporary with the dispersion from Shinar, and Hiram Abiff brother to the Carthaginian Hanno.

"Our brethren, however, amidst all their fondness for continental innovations and Jewish legends, were not so ungallant to the softer sex as to introduce that graceless illustration of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, or the holy ground on which the Lodge is placed, that was used by the French Masons, viz., as 66 a place of peace, harmony, and concord;

where cock never crows, women never brawl, nor lion ever

Here I was about to violate our compact by repudiating the application of these puerilities to the Masons of the present day, when my mentor hastily moved one of his limbs forward, with an admonitory swagger, and cried out, "Hold! speak not, answer not; the sound of the human voice will annihilate my colloquial powers! I acquit you of any participation in these fabulous inventions. They were excusable a century ago, when the million could neither read nor write, and were obliged to take on credit every vague assertion of those who had the advantage of mental culture; and, therefore, you need not wonder that in times when the fables of King Arthur and his Raven, the Seven Champions, Mother Shipton, and the Predictions of Nostrodamus and the doublethumbed Miller, were implicitly credited, there should be found many believers in the spurious legends of continental Masonry.

"I have taken the liberty of digressing at this particular period," continued the Square, because I have nothing favourable to reveal respecting the transactions of our Lodge under an inefficient Master; but when I passed to Bro. Hesletine, our numbers were soon recruited. It is true, Masonic impostors and Masonic pretenders were numerous and active; but our R. W. M. was ever on the alert, and knew all the vulnerable points of the enemy's position. Thus he was able, by a series of judicious and well-timed exposures of the iniquity of the one and the moral degradation of the other, to silence the gainsayers, and put the scoffers to open shame. He made them feel that men who are willing to prostitute their time and talent for the questionable purpose of gratifying a prurient curiosity, are open to the operation of public opinion, which, when rightly directed, is sure to cover them with shame and confusion.

"Bro. Hesletine was extremely anxious that the Craft should enjoy the blessings of uniformity in discipline and work. And to contribute to the accomplishment of so desirable an end, he spared neither time nor expense; and not only visited every London Lodge, but made excursions to the most distant parts of the island. Wherever he heard of a

* The ladies of France amply revenged themselves by instituting a Freemasonry of their own, and every principal town in France soon exhibited its Lodge of Adoption.

Lodge which was celebrated for either the one or the other, that Lodge was certain of a visit from him. He became acquainted with all the different systems of work which presented themselves to his notice, accompanied by their respective Tests or Examination Questions, and he found that every variety of lecture was in practice which had been used from the time of Desaguliers and Anderson to the moment of inquiry. A collection of the Tests would, I should think, be a great curiosity; and if you will listen attentively, I will repeat them from Bro. Hesletine's notes."

Observing that I took up my pen to jot them down, the Square hastily added, "Hold, hold! my good friend! mind what you are about! I feel myself authorised, without any indiscretion, to communicate to you vivá voce, both the questions and the answers of these curious Tests, but whether, consistently with your O. B., you can commit to paper anything more than the simple questions, which, of themselves, convey no information, is for you to determine, when you have taken a deliberate view of the moral responsibility attached to such an act."

Having said this, my strange companion receded a few steps to allow me time for deliberation; and the wisdom of his remark appearing incontestible, I determined to act on his advice, and take down the questions only. The Square then proceeded.

"The Tests of Masonry were at that time generally denominated Examination Questions, and may be considered, not merely as curious illustrations of individual feeling at the consecutive periods of its onward progress, but as absolute landmarks to distinguish true from pretended Freemasonry, which were periodically considered necessary by the Masterminds who successively appeared on the Masonic stage; and being arbitrary in their character, were occasionally changed, that the impostor might be more easily detected, and the cowan more effectually exposed.

"The first Lodge Lectures introduced into Masonry were the work of Doctors Desaguliers and Anderson; and though not destined to a very long reign, they were perspicuous and expressive, and a brief summary of their contents was embodied in the following Tests: 1. I. T. B. G. C. T. H. A. T. E. 2. What is the place of the senior apprentice? 3. What are the fixed lights? 4. How ought the R. W. M. to be served? 5. What is the punishment of a Cowan? 6. What is the bone bone-box? 7. How is it said to be opened? 8. By what

is the key suspended? 9. What is the proper clothing of a Mason? 10. What is a Mason's brand? 11. How high was the door of the middle chamber? 12. What does this stone smell of? 13. Can you tell me the name of an E. A. P., of a F. C, and of a M. M.? 14. H. T. W. P. O. T. T. P. O. T. T. "The Lectures having been remodelled about the year 1730 by Martin Clare, he thought it expedient to alter the Tests; and his category was approved by the Grand Lodge. It was as follows:-1. Whence came you? 2. Who brought you here? 3. What recommendation do you bring? 4. Do you know the secrets of Masonry? 5. Where do you keep them? 6. Have you the key? 7. Where is it deposited? 8. When you were made a Mason, what did you consider most desirable? 9. What is the name of your Lodge? 10. Where is it situated? 11. What is its foundation? 12. How did you enter the Temple of Solomon? 13. How many windows did you see there? 14. What is the duty of the youngest apprentice? 15. Have you ever worked as a Mason? 16. What did you work with? 17. Salute me as a Mason.

"This arrangement lasted ten years, and was superseded by an improved series of Examination Questions promulgated by Dr. Manningham, and adopted by most of the metropolitan and several provincial Lodges. Be careful that you take them down correctly, for they are so ingeniously constructed, that the omission or alteration of a single word may cause a mystification that will not be easily unravelled. I. Where were you made a Mason? 2. What did you learn there? 3. How do you hope to be rewarded? 4. What access have you to that Grand Lodge? 5. How many steps? 6. What are their names? 7. How many qualifications are required in a Mason? 8. What is the standard of a Mason's faith? 9. What is the standard of his actions? 10. Can you name the peculiar characteristics of a Mason's Lodge? 11. What is the interior composed of? 12. Why are we termed Brethren? 13. By what Badge is a Mason distinguished? 14. To what do the reports refer? 15. How many principal points are there in Masonry? 16. To what do they refer? 17. Their names? 18. The allusion."

These Tests continued unaltered down to the period, of which I am speaking. A very talented Mason was now rising into notice, who was destined to effect organic changes in the system. I shall reveal his improvements in due course; and he is introduced here simply because he was the author