XVIII. Ertigun1TE or DREsS AND JEWELS 199

v
CHAPTER
XIX.
XX. XXII.
XXII. XXIII.
XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII.
XXVIII. XXIX.
XXX.
XXXII.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
Contents
THE CEREMONIES - ore Wiis Lig (a) Initiation - - - (ab) Entrusting the E. cs - (b) Passing - - : (bc) Entrusting the F Ge . - (c) Raising - - - - (d) Installation - - (e) Calling Off and On - (f) Consecration - (g) Laying a Foundation Stone (hk) Funeral - (2) Opening Provincial or ‘District Grand Lodge -
(j) Opening and Closing Grand Lodge THE CHAPLAIN AND HIS DUTIES - THE DrrREcTOR OF CEREMONIES AND
HIs DUTIES - - - THE ORGANIST AND HIS DUTIES - THE TYLER AND HIS DUTIES, THE
PREPARATION OF CANDIDATES, AND THE Ks. - - -
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS - 5 ‘THE FESTIVE BOARD,’ SPEECHES, ETC. THE Royvat Masonic INSTITUTIONS - Tue Masonic LECTURES Lonpon RANK -
Choe pees Poa!
THE MARK MASTERS AND Royat ARK MARINERS = -
THE SUPREME ORDER OF THE HoLy RoyaL ARCH -
LopGES OF RESEARCH OPERATIVE MAsoanry - =
THE SUPREME GRAND COUNCIL OF THE THIRTY-T HIRD DEGREE -
APPENDIX -
- .
INDEx «
°
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@AGE 210
215 226 228 238 238 248 258 259 272 283
292 298 299
302 314
320 326 379 394 402
409 412
415 419 422
437 440 407
Pee NEA OO Nae ye
AND
ITS ETIQUETTE
INTRODUCTION
IN introducing this treatise on Freemasonry and its Etiquette to the attention of the members of the Craft, it is desirable that a brief explanation should be given of the title selected for the work.
Obviously the word ‘ Freemasonry ’ conveys its own meaning and scope; but ‘Etiquette’ is intended to be understood, not only in its somewhat restricted signification —namely, ‘ The social observances required by good-breeding ’—but also in its wider and more comprehensive meaning, as ‘ Regula- tions as to behaviour, dress, etc., to be pbserved by particular persons upon par- ticular occasions; forms which are observed
in particular places.’ B
Freemasonry and its Etiquette
tm accordance with this wider interpreta- tion of the word ‘ Etiquette,’ many duties and details not provided for in the Book of
Constitutions, or in the Ritual, will be fully | considered; and, where necessary, will be.
discussed and explained in this work. It is
also intended that the means and appliances, |
the technicalities and ceremonial obser- vances (as distinct from the verbal portions of the Ceremonies), which are indispensably necessary for the decorous and harmonious working of the business of the Lodge, shall be detailed; and, where it may be needful, they will be fully explained.
It will readily be conceded that, in addi- |
tion to the words of the several Ceremonies,
there is need for instruction in the manner |
in which the Officers of the Lodge should perform certain portions of their respective duties. , The Ritual contains directions here and there; but they are necessarily brief, and in some cases they may be misunder- stood or wrongly interpreted The saying is trite, but strictly true, that the Master of a Lodge—however perfect he may be him- self—cannot achieve his best unless he be well supported and assisted by his Officers: whereas, if he be intelligently and zealously 2
Introduction
assisted by them, and the Ceremonies be well rendered by all concerned, the resultant effect upon the Candidate—almost to a cer- tainty—will be, that he will form so favour- able an opinion of the Institution, as to inspire him with a lasting love of the Craft, such as will cause him to become—in fact, and not in name dnly—‘a true and faithful brother among us.’
On the other hand, if the duties of the subordinate Officers be performed in a per- functory or slovenly manner, the beauty and the impressiveness of the several Ceremonies will be materially marred or altogether lost, so far as their effect upon the Candidate is concerned.
The experience of every thoughtful and intelligent Freemason, who attends his own Lodge with tolerable regularity, and who occasionally visits other Lodges, will fully confirm this assertion. He must have known instances wherein the want of attention to details, on the part of certain of the Officers, and the absence of the necessary preparation for the business to be transacted, have led te confusion and delay ; and have in a great measure marred the effect of the Cere- monies. Ata critical moment, in some im-
3
Freemasonry and its Etiquette
portant part of the Ceremony, which may have been led up to by a serious address, something—indispensable to the continuity of the work—was not at hand; perhaps the alms-dish, or the badge with which the Candidate in either degree was to be invested ; or the heavy M. in the Third Degree: or some other equally important detail.
In cases such as those mentioned, a cer- tain degree of confusion was inevitable: whisperings, and hurried messages, and dartings hither and thither, to the great annoyance of all concerned, and to the cer- tain distraction of the attention of the Candidate.
This work is commended to the attention of Officers of Lodges, of aspirants to office, and of all Freemasons who are lovers of order, in the earnest hope that the irregu- larities and inconveniences hereinbefore men- tioned may, as far as is possible, be guarded against in their several Lodges.
* * * *
One of the objects of this work is to discuss. ‘ the minor jurisprudence of the Craft.’
Jurisprudence is defined as ‘the know- ledge of the laws, customs, and rights of men in a state or a community.’
4
Introduction
As far as we, as a community, are con- cerned, the Book of Constitutions may be taken as containing the major jurisprudence of the Order; but, there are numberless small but far from unimportant matters not considered in the Constitutions, which form part of our System, and to which it is desir- able to call attention in a work of this char- acter, dealing, as it is intended to do, with all the details, great and small, in any way connected with the Lodge, the Ceremonies, and the general business of the Craft, as far as private Lodges are concerned.
There is in every state and community the “lex non scripta,’ which, from precedent and immemorial usage, is held to be of equal force with statute law. Of this character are many of our ancient customs, upon which our Constitutions are silent, and upon which ‘Freemasonry and its Etiquette’ is expected to be an illuminating guide.
Some—probably many—of the subjects will be discussed, with more or less of elabora- tion of detail. Itishoped that the criticisms may not be considered to be either unneces- sary, because they treat of things in constant use in. every Lodge; or that more has, been said than there is a positive necessity to say
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Freemasonry and its Etiquette
It the thought should arise in the minds of any reader of these pages, ‘All these requisites for a Lodge, and the mode of arrangement, etc., are to be found con- tinually in the Lodge of which I am a member, and in the majority of those which I occasionally visit; then why this long repetition of detail of things with which I am perfectly familiar ?’ let such a Brother remember that there are many hundreds of Lodges lying beyond the sphere of his observation, and which, from various causes, are very far indeed from coming up to the standard of perfect equipment such as the proper performance of our Rites and Ceremonies demands. .
Want of carefulness in details and in ar- rangement, and a deficiency in certain neces- sary things, ought not to occur in any Lodge of Freemasons; such a state of incomplete- ness is incompatible with the dignity of the Worshipful Master. It is the duty of the Director of Ceremonies, and, indeed, the duty of every Officer of the Lodge, to see “that everything be done decently and in order.’
To sum up briefly, it may be said with entire truthfulness that a want of acquaint-
6
Introduction
ance with, or a great degree of disregard of, the ‘ Etiquette of Freemasonry’ exists in too many of our Lodges; and that both in ‘the forms which are observed in particular places ’ and in ‘ regulations as to behaviour, dress, etc., to be observed by particular persons upon particular occasions,’ many of our Lodges and their members are more or jess open to improvement.
It is with the view and in the hope of effecting corrections where they may be proved to be necessary, that these pages have been written; not in any censorious or captious spirit, nor with any desire to pro- mulgate fads or crotchets; nor, above all, ‘to make innovation in the body of Free- masonry”; but in perfect singleness of mind and heart to give the results in plain lan- guage of the experience gained during a protracted and varied Masonic career, in the hope and trust that some instruction may be imparted, and possibly some improve- ments may be effected, where the need of improvement may be felt to exist.
So mote tt be.
CHAPTER J WHAT IS FREEMASONRY?
SPEAKING generally, Freemasonry is a Science which comprehends the principles, practices, and institutions of a secret brotherhood existing in all parts of the world, and known universally by the generic name of Freemasons.
The Fraternity is composed of a series of groups or communities known as Lodges, and these Private Lodges respectively own allegiance to one or other of the Grand Lodges or Grand Orients, according to the country in which they carry on their opera- tions or according to the fundamental prin- ciples they profess.
Originally the one basic principle af them all, without exception, was an emphasized belief in the existence of a Supreme Being or Creator, in whose Name every Lodge was conducted; and subject to the confession of that belief, the follower of any theistic
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What is Freemasonry ?
religion was, in that respect, acceptable as a member. In comparatively recent time the Grand Orient of France, in the develop- ment of what it considered liberty of con- science, discontinued its acknowledgment of the existence of a Supreme Being; and as a consequence, in 1878, relations were rup- tured between the Grand Orient of France / and Grand Lodge, which remained true to - its original principle and reaffirmed that a belief in TGAOTU is the first and most im- portant of the Ancient Landmarks (see