CHAPTER XXIII

THE TYLER AND HIS DUTIES
It will be convenient at this stage of our work to consider in some detail the multi- farious duties of that very useful Officer the Tyler, some of whose duties will be found to have a distinct bearing upon our subject.
We will first, however, discuss briefly the Tyler himself, and consider what manner of man he should be. Experience gained in a number of different Lodges enables one to divide them into at least three classes.
The first of these would consist of old Past Masters. These are now comparatively few in number, and are gradually becoming more and more rarely to be found. These may be subdivided into two classes, one class consisting of those who continue to subscribe to the Lodge, and are unwilling to be out of Office, and who perform the duties of Tyler with perfect efficiency with- out fee or reward. The other subdivision will include those ‘who perhaps from cir-
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cumstances of unavoidable calamity,’ etc., are glad to retain their connection with Freemasonry by serving the Office of Tyler, the fees of membership being remitted, and the small emoluments of the Office being of value to them in their low estate.
The second main division would comprise members of certain Lodges in which it is the custom to have no permanent Tyler» paid or otherwise, that Office being year by year filled by a junior member, and con- stituting the first step upon the Official ladder, and without which no one can attain to any higher Office.
This custom has certain advantages. It goes to the very root of the matter, and if the aspirant should go on step by step through all the gradations of Office, until he attains to the chair of Worshipful Master, his experience will be unquestionable, and he will have the satisfaction of feeling that, having begun at the very beginning, he has literally worked his way upward to the Chair, Against this custom may be set the disad vantages of the want of age and of experi- ence in the work of the Lodge. Zeal and ability, care and attention, will, however, soon enable even the youngest in experience
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to perform his duty with a fair degree of efficiency and success.
The third, and by far the most numerous division, will comprise those who are paid for their services (excluding the second sub- division of the Past Masters mentioned in the first division). Some of these are Initi- ated with this express intention. They are called ‘serving brethren,’ and in many Lodges they act as waiters at Banquets, etc. Where Lodges are held in Hotels, it is not unfrequently thought desirable to initiate one of the waiters (preferably the head of his department), but in this case he does not always undertake the duties of Tyler.
Other paid Tylers are older Freemasons (who have not passed the Chair) who have fallen upon evil days, and who are glad to serve the Lodge in a humble capacity, and to receive the small emoluments of the Office, and who rank as ordinary members of the Lodge, but without paying any subscrip- tions. These are as a rule faithful and efficient Officers, zealous and energetic in the performance of their duties.
Some mention should be made of those who have formerly been members of Military
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among these, retired non-commissioned officers are especially to be commended. If they possess medals and a goodly number of clasps, and have testimonials of good conduct, as most of them have, so much the better. Old soldiers, if they have en- couraged habits of sobriety, may be depended upon to keep sober under all circumstances. They have in addition learned the lesson of pay obedience. They have been accus-
omed to rigid discipline, and have become strict disciplinarians themselves, and when— in the event of any public procession of the Order—they march at the head of their Lodge, they handle the sword and set and maintain the pace as few civilians are able to do.
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The duties defined in the address to the Tyler at his Investiture, and partially re- peated by the Junior Warden in the opening of the Lodge in the First Degree, are these: ‘To see that the Candidates are properly prepared; to give the proper reports on the door of the Lodge, when candidates, mem- bers, Jr visitors require admission; to keep off all intruders and cowans to masonry, and suffer none to pass but such as are duly qualified.’
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In addition to the before-named duties of a Tyler, others of equal importance and in- dispensably necessary to the working of the Lodge, and to the convenience of the Officers and Brethren, come within the scope of his supervision. The furniture and implements, the collars and jewels, and, in short, all the belongings of the Lodge, are under his care, and he is responsible for their being kept always in good condition. He has to pre; pare the Lodge for all its meetings, and to see that everything that can be required in each Degree shall be in its proper place ready for use.
The Tyler’s multifarious duties have much to do with ‘Freemasonry and its Etiquette,’ which may be freely rendered, as ‘ the right way in which to do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right place.’ This, applied to the work of the Lodge through the several Degrees, will show that the ~ Tyler, in the preparation of the Lodge, and in providing that everything that can possibly be wanted shall be in its proper place, has a very close connection with the subject of this treatise.
Foremost among all the duties previously detailed, must be mentioned the duty of
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the preparation of the Candidates in each of the Degrees, and of a thorough compre- hension of the theory and practice of the Ks. or proper reports on the door of the Lodge. The word ‘theory’ may well be applied to both these subjects, for one can seldom go wrong.in the practice of either of them if one knows the reason why a certain form is practised at one time and not at another. These subjects will be discussed
in the following pages. % %* % *
PREPARATION OF CANDIDATES.
Attention may here be called to the desira- bility of the Director of Ceremonies (or some Past Master) leaving the Lodge and superin- tending the preparation of the Candidates in each Degree, or, at least, inspecting them before they claim admission. The Tyler is liable to have his attention distracted by members or, visitors coming or going, by having to answer the Ks. upon the door when the Lodge is being opened in the higher Degrees; and in many ways his thoughts may be diverted from the work in hand; and a mistake may be made in the preparation of the Candidate, however efficient generally the Tyler may be.
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Another equally cogent reason may be given for the Tyler having the assistance of some Past Master. In the preparation of a Candidate for the Ceremony of Initiation, there are certain processes which may well cause some surprise in the mind of a stranger. In such a case—perhaps it would be well to say in all cases—it is desirable that a Past Master should assure the Candidate that | nothing is being done without a meaning; | that there is a good historical or traditional _ reason for every detail; and that in due time the whole will be cxplained: and will be made perfectly clear to him.
Probably some few of the Officers and Brethren who witness or assist at this pre- paration of a Candidate for Initiation are themselves partially, or even totally, un- aware of these reasons. In order that such of those as may read these pages may be | instructed upon this subject, and that when | in office they may be enabled to give the assurance contained in the previous para- graph with perfect truthfulness, a full ex- planation, of the origin of and the reasons
for the several processes of the preparation, is here given.
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PREPARATION IN THE First DEGREE.
The following explanation consists chiefly of excerpts from the second section of the First Lecture.
The Candidate is divested of m....] and iheavid., hist. aside band kim bs hist. hb; s.s. anda c.t. placed about his n.
He is divested of all m....1, firstly, that he may bring nothing offensive or defensive into the Lodge to disturb its harmony; secondly, having been received into Free- masonry in a state of p....y, he should always thereafter be mindful of his duty to relieve indigent Brethren, as far as may be consistent with his own circumstances in life, and with the needs, and more especially with the merits, of the applicant; and thirdly, because at the erection of King Solomon’s Temple ‘ there was not heard the sound of metallic tool.’ Following the pious example of King Solomon at the building
-of the Temple, we do not permit the Candi- date to enter the Lodge with any metallic substance about him, except such as may necessarily belong to the articles of clothing which he may have upon him.
In 1872 the then Grand Secretary, Bro.
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Hervey, wrote a letter, with the personal approval of the Grand Master, stating ‘ that in the present day the rule was to be taken * to represent metals of value, money, or weapons.’
The Candidate is h. w., firstly, that in the event of his refusal to go through any of the Ceremonies which are usual in the Initiation of a Freemason, he may be led out of the Lodge without discovering its form; secondly, as he is admitted inte Freemasonry in as. of d., it should remind him to keep all the world so with respect to our Masonic mysteries, unless they come legally by them, as he is then © about to do; and, thirdly, that his heart may conceive before his eyes are permitted to discover.
The r. a. of the Candidate is m.b., t show that he is able and ready to labour; his 1. b. is made b., so that nothing may be interposed between it and the p. of the P. extended thereto by the Inner Guard at the door of the Lodge; and further, in order to distinguish beyond a doubt the sex of the Candidate. The 1. k. is m. b., in accordance with the immemorial custom of the Order, which prescribes that the Obn.
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of an Entered Apprentice shall always be taken upon the!.k. b. and b.
The r.h.iss.s., in allusion to a certain passage of Scripture, where the Lord spake thus to Moses from the Burning Bush: ‘ Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.’
. The Candidate has ac. t., with ar. n. about his n., to render any attempt at retreat equally fatal.
This completes the preparation in the First Degree, and, being thus properly pre- pared, he is conducted to the door of the L., where, after having sought in his mind, asked of his friends, and knocked, the door of Freemasonry is opened to him, and after strict examination he is admitted.
Then, after solemn prayer, being neither naked nor clothed, barefoot nor shod, but in an humble, halting, moving posture, the Candidate is led round the Lodge, figura- tively to represent his seeming state of poverty and distress.
PREPARATION IN THE SECOND DEGREE.
The Candidate’s preparation in the Second Degree is in a manner somewhat similar to the former, save that in this degree he is
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not h. w. His l..a. b. and r. k. are m. b. and his J. h. s. s. He is admitted by the Ks. of an E. A. on the S.
PREPARATION IN THE THIRD DEGREE.
The Candidates b. as. b. bs. and b. ks. are m. b. and b. hs.s.s. He is admitted by the Ks. of a F. C. on. b. ps>.of the Cs. pre- sented to b. bs.
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REPORTS.
The next subject in connection with the duties of the Tyler which demands our attention is the series of Ks. or reports on the door of the Lodge. Either from care- lessness or from an innate maladroitness, the Ks. are too often jumbled, or so im- perfectly sounded as to necessitate correc- tion, which to a great extent interferes with the smooth and correct working of the Lodge. The Ks. severally of the three Degrees are simple in the extreme, and when the theory of their arrangement is once understood, a mistake need never be made in giving them.
When a Candidate for Initiation is con- ducted to the door, the Ks. of the Can. must
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be given by the Tyler, in allusion to an ancient and venerable exhortation: ‘ Seek and ye shall find; ask, and ye shall have; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’
(See remarks on p. 174.)
When a Candidate for Passing is brought to the door (the Lodge being at that time open in the Second Degree), the Ks. of the First Degree should be given, in order that the Brethren within the Lodge may be warned that one who is not a Fellow-Craft is seeking admission.
The same reason exactly applies to the Third Degree. When the Candidate for Raising is brought to the door the Ks. of the Second Degree should be given, and the Brethren within the Lodge are thereby informed that the Candidate (necessarily a Fellow-Craft) seeks admission.
In brief; for a Candidate in the First Degree the Ks. of the Can.; for a Candidate in the Second Degree, the Ks. of an Entered Apprentice; and for a Candidate in the Third Degree, the Ks. of a Fellow-Craft.
When the Lodge is open in the First Degree, for a member or 2 well-known Visitor seeking admission, the -Ks. of the E.A, Degree are given by the Tvler. In
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the Second Degree, for a member or a visitor who is known to have taken that Degree, the Ks. of the F.C. Degree are given. In the Third Degree for a member cr visitor those of the M.M. are given. In each and in all of these cases the Ks. so given are respectively the Ks. of the Degree in which the Lodge is opened at that particular time.
In the case of late comers, the Tyler should be particularly careful not to disturb the Lodge by making his announcement on the door of the Lodge at an inconvenient moment. If, for example, a ceremony is in progress, it must not be interrupted except at recognized points ; and, however important the late arrival may be, the Tyler must remember that the interests of the Candidate are even more important.
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ADMISSION OF VISITORS
Pleased as we are to receive Visitors, their admission into our Lodges should be the subject of careful attention.
‘rue W. M. promises that no Visitor shall be received into his Lodge without due exa- mination and producing proper vouchers of his having been initiated ina Regular Lodge,
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Most of our Visitors are naturally our own friends who are members of English Lodges, and about them there is no need to say any- thing. The fact that they are introduced by members of the Lodge is ample war- ranty, and quite sufficient authority to the Tyler to announce them. But occasionally come Visitors from other Constitutions, and then arises the necessity for caution. In the event of a stranger professing to be a Freemason seeking admission, the Tyler should immediately summon the Junior Warden to his aid, so that the responsibility of either granting or refusing admission to the Lodge may not rest upon himself alone. Etiquette, even ordinary politeness, requires that a probably well-qualified Brother shall not be turned back simply upon the zpse dimt of the Tyler, but that one of the Princi- pal Officers of the Lodge—that is, the Junior Warden—shall be the arbiter in such a case. It is not sufficient that the Brother himself should express his belief in the G. A. O. T. U. He must have been initiated on the V. S. L. in a Lodge acknowledging the same suprem- acy. There is no compromise possible, and no exception may be made. All strangers must be proved with Masonic rigidity, and
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the Tyler must suffer none *o pass but such as are duly qualified. * * * *
A custom appears to prevail in the United States of admitting strangers who profess to be Freemasons, but who have no friend or acquaintance to vouch for them, who have with them no certificate, and who apparently are subjected to little or no examination, but who nevertheless are received into the Lodge upon taking that which they call the Tyler’s obligation. This is, in plain English, the meaning of the words in italics in the follow- ing extract from Bro. Dr. Mackey’s Masonic Law. The words mentioned are capable of being thus paraphrased: ‘. . . they mar still be admitted by the production of thei. certificate, or by an examination as to their knowledge of Freemasonry; or, dispensing with both these safeguards, they may be admitted by the Tyler’s obligation.’ A very loose and reprehensible custom, which we devoutly hope may never be imported into this country. The extract runs thus:
‘But many brethren who are desirous of visiting are strangers and sojourners, with- out either friends or acquaintances amongst the members to become their vouchers, in
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which case they may still be admitted by certificate, examination, or the aid of the sacred volume—commonly called the Tyler’s obliga- tion, which in the United States runs in the following form: “I, A. B., do hereby and hereon solemnly and sincerely swear that I have been regularly initiated, passed, and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in a just and legally constituted Lodge; that I do not stand suspended or expelled, and know of no reason why I should not hold Masonic communication with my Brethren.” ’ The doctor concludes with the dictum: ‘ And this is all that Free- masonry needs to provide’! Wein England think this is not al] by a very long way.
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