CHAPTER XXI

THE DIRECTOR OF CEREMONIES AND HIS DUTIES
Tuer Director of Ceremonies is not a ‘regular’ Officer of a Lodge, and no place is assigned to him in the Recognized Ritual of the Regular Ceremonies of Initiation, Passing, Raising, and Installation.
Nevertheless, a capable Director of Cere- monies is of great advantage to any Lodge which appoints him. His duties are multi- farious and onerous, and his influence for good can be made to extend to every department of Lodge working.
It is very desirable that he should be a Past Master, not only by reason of the ex- perience he has gained in serving the various. offices, but because a continuity of service in that capacity is important.
He should, of course, be well versed in the Ritual and in the requirements of the various. degrees, so as to, guard against all imper- fection in the ceremonies.
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It is he who organizes the processions in and out of the Lodge, receives the visitors and assigns to them their correct precedence , in the Lodge, and at table; settles all questions of etiquette among the Brethren; and con- tributes to the dissipation of difficulties when they arise.
He will probably be consulted by the Worshipful Master on points of procedure; and on the order of business; and if any Officer should be prevented, by the pressing emergencies of his avocation, from fulfilling his duties, he will most probably be asked to advise as to a substitute.
In the Ceremony of Consecration impor. tant duties are assigned to him, and in public ceremonial he is, of course, an indispensable factor.
One important duty attached to the Office of Director of Ceremonies is ‘ to marshal all processions and demonstrations of the Brethren.’ We may remark in connection with this subject that a rule exists which gives to the Rulers of the Order the power to put a check upon too frequent public demonstrations of the Brethren. Rule No. 206 of the Book of Constitutions ex- pressly states that no Brother shall appear
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in Masonic clothing in public without a dispensation from the Grand Master or the Provincial or District Grand Master.
As a matter of course, the petition for a Dispensation would set forth fully and clearly the object of the demonstration. The petition would necessarily be sent to the Grand Secretary, or in the Provinces or Districts to the Provincial or District . Grand Secretary, as indeed etiquette de- mands that all written communications to the high dignitaries mentioned should in- variably be so sent.
One’ general rule would appear to apply to the marshalling of all processions of our Order, some details being occasionally super- added to suit the varying purposes of the demonstration. The Tyler, with a drawn sword, heads the procession; next follow Entered Apprentices two and two; then Fellow-Crafts, followed by the Master Masons, juniors leading; next the Assistant Officers of the Lodge, the lowest first; then Past Masters, juniors first; next the Im- mediate Past Master; the Banner of the Lodge; the Worshipful Master, supported on the right by the Senior Warden, and on the left by the Junior Warden, each of the
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Wardens carrying his Column. After these come Provincial or District Grand Officers. the lower in rank going first, Grand Officers bringing up the rear; among the Provincial, or District, or Grand Officers, being probably the one appointed to perform the Ceremony, if any. He would be in the last rank, sup- ported on each side by Brethren of dis- tinction and of high rank in the Craft.
It is necessary that all (except those men- tioned as being supported right and left) should form two deep, as will be seen in the next sentence. On arriving at the ap- pointed place, the Tyler halts, and the whole: of the Brethren, down to, but not including, the rear rank, separate and form two lines. Those in the rear rank walk forward between the lines, and each two of the Brethren as they are reached fall in behind, and so on until the whole orderof the procession is inverted, and those—the juniors—who were first, become the last.
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If the occasion be the laying of a founda- tion, or Chief Corner Stone, the requisite number of distinguished Brethren are ap- pointed to bear the Square, the Level, and the Plumb-rule, the Heavy Mall, and the
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Trowel, the Corn, the Wine, and the Oil. Others carry the bottle containing the coins, etc., the brass plate with the inscription, and whatever else it may be thought necessary to carry in the procession. The Architect carries the plans of the building.
If the edifice to be erected be a Church or Church Schools, the open Bible with the Square and Compasses is carried frequently by the Tyler. A board of the necessary size, covered probably with crimson velvet or cloth, with a cushion upon it, would be provided. Two broad straps or ribbons passed over the Tyler’s shoulders would enable him to carry the whole with perfect ease, and he would have his right hand free to carry the sword.
On one occasion the open Bible was carried upon a board made for the purpose, having four handles extending horizontally, two in front and two at the back. The bearers were four little boys, each boy a Lewis. Nothing in the whole procession attracted so much interest as those four little bearers of the Bible, all apparently under ten years of age. The Deputy Provincial Grand Master who laid the Chief Corner Stone, afterwards sent an enduring memento of
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the occasion to each of the boys. It would be interesting to know if they—or any of them—eventually became Freemasons.
Once the members of a Lodge in the far West of England erected a Masonic Hall. The Chief Corner Stone was laid by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, assisted by a number of Provincial Grand Officers. One of these of high rank regulated the whole proceedings. On that occasion the Tracing Board of the First Degree, on a light frame with four handles—an enlarged edition of that mentioned in the preceding paragraph—ornamented white and gold, was carried by four Past Masters of the Lodge. This Tracing Board was supposed to represent the Lodge in a symbolic sense.
It would probably have been more cor- rect to have had the three Tracing Boards. At the Consecration of a Lodge in a large public building—not the Lodge-room—the three Tracing Boards, piled (horizontally) one upon another, were placed upon a stand in the centre of the hall, presumably repre- senting the Lodge. A Very Worshipful Brother, Sigh in Office in Grand Lodge, was the Presiding Officer; the Wardens were
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also Very Worshipful Members of Grand Lodge, and the then Grand Director of Ceremonies assisted, so no doubt can be entertained of the strictly correct manner in which everything was carried out.
Customs, however, vary in different Prov- inces, and a practice which is held to be strictly correct in one Province would be utterly condemned in another. In all cases of Public Ceremonial, if any doubt or diffi- culty should arise, application should be made to the Grand or Provincial, or District Grand Secretary, according to locality, for counsel and guidance.
When the chief Functionary is the Pro- vincial, or District Grand Master, or his Deputy, or any of his past or present Officers specially appointed to officiate in his stead, the Provincial, or District Grand Secretary, would, as arule, take the control of the pro- ceecings, assisted, of course, by the Officers of the Lodge, or Lodges, chiefly interested in the Ceremony to be performed. In the case of the Grand Master himself, or the Pro-Grand Master, or the Deputy Grand Master, or other high Officer of Grand Lodge officiating, the Grand Secretary would dic- tate the course of the proceedings, and
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would give his instructions to the Brethren who, under him, would have the charge of the preparations.
The Ceremony of laying a Foundation, or Chief Corner, Stone will be found on pp. 272 to 283. k
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One other occasion for a ‘ public proces- sion of Freemasons clothed with the Badges of the Order’ is a Masonic funeral. Widely divergent opinions will be found to exist in different Provinces, and even in different portions of the same Province, as to the desirability, or otherwise, of continuing the practice of this undoubtedly ancient custom in the Craft. In some Provinces it may be considered obsolete, or is possibly almost, or altogether unknown.
In one Province, where the custom of burying with Masonic Ceremonial was rather frequently practised, a feeling adverse to the custom was known to exist on the part --of some two or three Provincial Grand Officers (not the highest in authority), and an attempt was made’ to pass a resolution in Provincial Grand Lodge interdicting the practice in that Province; the motion, however, was negatived by a substantial
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majority, chiefly representative of Lodges favourable to its continuance.
Very much may be said upon both sides of the question. Of its lawfulness there is
no doubt whatever; it is uponits expediency
that the doubt may arise. As supple- mentary to the comprehensive and beautiful Burial Service of the Church of England, the
tacking on of our Masonic Service at the end _
appears to many to be a supererogatory pro- ceeding; to some an anti-climax. Many, on the other hand, especially older members of the Craft, regard it with an extreme reverence, and believe in its impressiveness and solemnity, and in its possibly lasting good effect upon the hearers.
Three cases may here be cited. A Non- coniormist Brother, a zealous Freemason, and an old Past Master, had—-on his death- bed (a necessary condition)—expressed the desire to be buried with Masonic Ceremonial. A programme of the full Ceremony was furnished, a few days previously to the- funeral, to the minister who was to officiate on the occasion He, the minister, being bound by no rule or Ritual, so composed and arranged his portion of the service as to lead up to and to fit in with the Masonic
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Ceremony. The result was that all went admirably and harmoniously as two com- ponent parts of one perfect whole. There ‘was no incongruity, no superfluity.
The second case was that of the oldest Past Master in the district in which he had ‘spent a long and active life; he had been highly distinguished in Freemasonry for many years, and had borne high office in Provincial Grand Lodge. He had a long, lingering illness, the fatal result of which he never doubted. He repeated his wish again and again, that his obsequies should be performed with Masonic Rites.
The interment took place in a country churchyard, near to the birthplace of the deceased. The Vicar (who had been made fully aware that some Masonic Ceremonial would be performed), immediately upon the conclusion of the Burial Service of the Church, took his departure, without a word, and remained in the vestry until those con- cerned went in to pay the fees, after the con- clusion of the Masonic Ceremony. Very many present, including a number of non- ‘Freemasons, considered that the Vicar had ‘shown a bigoted and intolerant spirit. It is possible, however, that he acted in accord-
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ance with his conscientious convictions; he — probably felt that a service, not sanctioned by the Church, should not be performed upon ground consecrated by the Church. Such a view may be narrow; but if it be conscientiously held, it is entitled to respect.
The third instance was the interment of the remains of a Provincial Grand Master— a man of mark in his county, a territorial magnate, and a zealous Freemason. A very large gathering of the Brethren of the de- ceased’s own and of the neighbouring Province assembled, including the majority of the then present and past Provincial Grand Officers. A choir—Freemasons, with some female voices—had been provided.
Two at least of the sons of the deceased, who «|
were Freemasons, were ‘clothed with the Badges of the Order.’ The aged widow sat | by the grave-side. The Burial Services of ~ the Church and that of our Order were admirably rendered—there appeared no want of harmony between them; the effect of the whole was solemn and impressive in a high degree. The clergy remained through- out, up to the end. The eldest son became Grand Master of his Province, and a Warden in Grand Lodge. 312
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The foregoing have been given here in order to show that the advocates for the re- tention of the custom in question are not without precedents, supplying good argu- ments in favour of their views: that the prac- - tice—if it be at all ai anachronism—is not obsolete; that men of high degree, as well as those of a lower grade, continue to express the wish that the Brethren with whom they have been associated in life should join with their immediate connections in ‘ paying this last sad tribute of respect to departed merit.’
The fact, also (previously mentioned), should not be lost sight of, that no such Ceremony, nor, indeed, any demonstration of Freemasons (in clothing), can take place without the permission of the Grand Master, or of those to whom he may delegate the authority to grant dispensations for such public occasions. The power of veto there- fore always rests with the authorities, and we may presume that in every case good cause must be shown for the application, or it would not be granted.
(See Masonic Mourning, p. 290.)
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