D. C. — Most Worshipful Grand Commander, I present

to you Bro. , who has been chosen as the first Com-
mander of this new Lodge, and pray you to constitute,
inaugurate, and dedicate the Lodge, and enthrone the
Commander in Antient form.

Pres. 0.— Conduct our Bro. to the East.

(The New Commander is placed on the left of the
Throne.)

Chant. — So mote it be.

(The Altar is now uncovered by the Grand Superinten-
dent of Works, and three Past Commanders take the
Corn, Wine, and Oil round the Lodge thus—

1st Past Com.— (Scattering the Corn) I scatter this
Corn as an emblem of plenty.

(Presiding Commander leaves the Throne in the East,
and taking the triangle, which he holds up, says:)

^' 0.— To the Grand Commander of the Universe I

d2

36 THE EOYAL AKK MAEINERS' DEGREE.

dedicate this Eoyal Axk Lodge, and may His blessing be
on its members.

(All respond) So mote it be.

2nd Past Com. — (Proceeding ronnd as before) I sprinkle
this Wine as a symbol of joy.

P. 0. — (Holding up Sceptre) I dedicate this Lodge to
Eoyal Ark Masonry. May the Brethren dwell together in
Faith, Hope, and Love.

(All respond) So mote it be.

3rd Past Com.— (Proceeding round as before) I pour
this Oil as a token of Peace.

P. 0. — (Beads Hv. Isaiah, 8, 9, and 10 verses.)

(The Past Commanders then perambulate the Lodge
wi^h the Grand Officers in procession three times, halting
in the East, where he gives the Dedication Prayer.)

PEAYEE.

Past Com. — Thou, Great and Glorious Commander of
the Universe, whose goodness extends to all Thy children
in an especial manner, look down upon this Lodge, and
bless the members of it with a large portion of Thy love,
that they may strive to support their Commander, as a
wise Master Builder, in erecting such an edifice as may
overtop the skies, and, like Jacob's ladder, press the
starry regions, leading their souls to the Divine centre of
the Heavens.

(All) So mote it be.

APPEOPEIATE MUSIC.

(Presiding Commander then dedicates the Lodge as fol-
lows.)

P. 0. — In the na^ne of the Grand Commander, and as
the representation of the Grand Lodge of the Order, I

hereby inaugurate this Lodge under the title of the

Lodge, No. — on the EoU of the Antient and Honourable
Fraternity of Eoyal Ark Mariners. Henceforth, worthy

THE ROYAL ARK MARINERS* DEGREE. 37

Brethren, you are empowered ^to assemble as a regular
Lodge, and to elevate regularly advanced M. M. M. as
Brethren of the Order, according to antient custom, and
as I thus dedicate this Lodge to Ark Masonry, so may
you be dedicated to the service of the Grand Commander
of the Universe here and hereafter.

(The Presiding Commander returns to his Throne, and
the Brethren resume their seats.)

Deputy Com. — May the God of our fathers, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob bless us and keep us for ever-
more.

Chant.

So mote it be.

INVESTITUEE OF OFFICEES.

TO SENIOR^WARDEN JAPHET.

P. 0. — Bro. — You are '^appointed Senior Warden or
Japhet of this Eoyal Ark Lodge. I therefore invest you
with the Jewel of your Office, which is a Triangle, with
the letter J. within its three sides. Your place is in the
North-West.

TO JUNIOR WARDEN SHEM.

P. 0. — Bro. — ^You are appointed Junior Warden or
Shem of this Eoyal Ark Lodge. I therefore invest you
with the Jewel of your Office, which is a Triangle, with
the letter S. within its three sides. Your place is in the
South-West.

TO TREASURER.

P. 0. — Bro. — You have been [re] elected Treasurer, I
therefore have much pleasure in investing you with the
Jewel of your Office, which is a Triangle, within the three
sides of which is a Key. The qualities which recommend
a Treasurer are accuracy and fidelity. It is your duty to
receive and disburse all monies the property of the Lodge,
according to antient custom, with the approval of the

38 THE KOYAL AEK MARINERS' DEGREE.

members, and I am certain you will (continue to) do so.
Your place is in the North-West.

TO SCRIBE.

P. 0. — Bro. — You are appointed Scribe of this Eoyal
Ark Lodge. I therefore invest you with the Jewel of your
Office, which is a Triangle, within the three sides of
which are Two Pens crossed. The quahties which recom-
mend a Scribe are promptitude in issuing the notifications
of the Worshix^ful Commander Noah; punctuality in
attending the meeting of the Lodge, discrimination in
judging what is proper or improper to be reduced to writ-
ing, fidelity and integrity ; and I have no doubt that you
will discharge your duties in a manner which will be
honourable to yourself and satisfactory to the Lodge.

TO DIRECTOR OF CEREMONIES.

P. 0. — Bro. — You are appointed Director of Ceremonies.
I therefore invest you with the Jewel of your Office, which
is a Triangle, within the three sides of which are Two
Wands tied. You will be careful that the utmost order
and decorum be observed on all occasions, and I have no
doubt you will give to your duties all that study and
attention which their importance demands. Your place is
in the South- West.

TO ORGANIST.

p. 0. — Bro. — You are appointed Organist of this Eoyal
Ark Lodge. I therefore invest you with the Jewel of your
Office, which is an Antient Lyre within the three sides of
a Triangle. Your capacity for the office is so well known
that I need do no more than remind you that punctuality
is a necessity of your duties, in order that the Ceremonies
may be performed in a suitable manner, and according to
antient custom. Your place is in the North.

TO SENIOR DEACON.

p, 0. — Bro. — You are appointed Senior Deacon of this

THE EOYAL AKK MARINERS' DEGREE. 39

Koyal Ark Lodge. I therefore invest you with the Jewel
of your Office, which is a Triangle. The office confided
to you, though subordinate, is equally important in its
duties with any in the Lodge; I trust you will execute
them with a promptitute and propriety of demeanour
which will give them their proper effect. Your place is
in the East.

TO JUNIOR DEACON,

p. 0. — Bro. — You are appointed Junior Deacon of this
Eoyal Ark Lodge. I there invest you with the Jewel of
your Office, which is a Triangle. It is important that
you should have a thorough knowledge of the duties of
your office, in order to assist the Senior Deacon in the
preparation and introduction of the Candidates. Your
place is in the South.

TO GUARDIAN.

p. 0. — Bro. — ^You are appointed Guardian of this Eoyal
Ark Lodge. I therefore invest you with the Jewel of your
Office, which is Two Axes crossed within a Triangle.
Your duty is to Guard the Lodge, and see that none enter
without the proper Passwords and Signs, unless well
vouched for. Your regular and early attendance will
afford the best proof of your attachment to the Order.

TO STEWARD.

p. 0. — Bro. — You are appointed Steward of this Eoyal
Ark Lodge. I therefore invest you with the Jewel of your
Office, a Cornucopia within the three sides of a Triangle.
The duties of your office are to see that the tables are pro-
perly furnished at refreshment, and that every Brother is
suitably provided for, and generally to assist the other
Officers in the discharge of their respective offices.

TO WARDER.

p. 0. — Bro. — You are elected Warder to this Eoyal Ark

40 THE EOYAL AEK MARINERS' DEGREE.

Lodge, to ward ojff the approach of eavesdroppers and im-
proper persons ; to see that all Brethren are duly quahfied
and properly clothed. As the first apphcation of visitors
is generally made to the "Warder, your station will often
present you to the observation of strangers, it is therefore
essentially necessary that he who sustains the of&ce you
are entrusted with, should be of good morals, steady
habits, strict discipline, temperate, affable, and descreet.
I trust that you will perform with fidehty the trust
reposed in you, with a just regard for the honour and
reputation of our Antient Order.

THE END OF ROYAL ARK MARINERS DEGREE.

THE

Kxk glast^rs gegm.

INTRODUCTOEY REMARKS.

■;o:-

This Degree now assumes great importance from the fact
that it has very lately been restored to English Masonry
by its Grand Lodge, and conferred no longer by the
tolerance of the Masonic authorities, but u.nder their sanc-
tion. The history of this degree is still involved in doubt
as to its origin. The late Dr. Oliver says that anciently it
was a degree leading to the Master Mason's chair. An
American writer says *'it has been claimed as forming
formerly a part of the second degree, as the Eoyal Arch
was of the third, it is perfectly certain that none of the
ceremonies now used in this degree belonged to the Fellow
Craft Degree at the revival in 1817."

** How" says *' that in England the Mark Degree is al-
together a distinct institution, the only qualification being,
hat the candidate should be a duly certified Master
Mason. In Scotland considerable importance is attached
to the Mark Master in connexion with the Koyal Arch."
This is also the case in America, where it is placed as the

44 THE MARK MASTER'S DEGREE.

Fourth in the Primary or the Capitular Degrees. There
is a close connexion between the second and fourth
degrees, inasmuch as the first named shows the necessary
duties of life, the last insists on the necessity of performing
them with systematic regularity.

A notable event in the history of this degree occurred
on the 2nd of October, 1872, when the Mark Masons of
Scotland and England were formally united. This im-
portant event took place at the Freemasons' Hall, Cooper
Street, Manchester, and it took years of patient toil to
bring this fusion about. It is difficult to overrate the
importance of this event. The Provincial Grand Master
of Lancashire, Bro. Eomaine Callander, has, by virtue of
his position, substantial power, and this was proved by
the fact that the gathering of the Brethren from all parts
of the United Kingdom had been brought together at the
summons of the Grand Master of Mark Masons. Amongst
those who were present from first to last were — Lord
Leigh, the Earl of Limerick, Lord Skelmersdale, the Earl
Bective, Sir Frederick Williams, Colonel Burdett, Bro.
the Eev. Eaymond Portal, Mark Grand Master, and a
long list of Grand Officers more or less distinguished
Masons. The proceedings commenced at noon, and were
continued until twelve at night, and of the 200 Brethren
who were engaged in them many of them had travelled
300 miles to be present at this auspicious meeting. The
Provincial Grand Lodge of Lancashire was opened punc-
tually at one p.m., when the English Mark Masons com-
posing it transacted the business of their province under
the presidency of Bro. Eomaine Callander. Half-an-hour
later the Lancashire Mark Masons, who had been until
now under the jurisdiction of the Grand Chapter of Scot-
land, opened their Grand Lodge for the last time in Lan-
cashire. Then followed the real business of the day, the

THE MAKE MASTEK'S DEGREE. 45

business that had called so many Brethren together from
distant parts. The Grand Master of Mark Masons took
the chair, the articles of union between the two sets of
Masons were read, and their fusion under one head, and
with one code of constitutional regulations, formally
agreed to, and adopted by the consenting parties, Bro.
Eomaine Callander being reinstalled as Grand Master of
the United Province, Bro. Lord Skelmersdale was ap-
pointed his Deputy, and the other Offices were regularly
filled.

No county could have more justly claimed the honour
of having this event occur in it than Lancashire, in which
there are Seventy- six Craft Lodges, giving a result of
some thousands of Freemasons. Brother Portal, as Mark
Grand Master, gave eloquent testimony to the rapid pro-
gress and enduring influence of this Degree, and Bro.
Parkinson, in an eloquent discourse on the Degree, traced
in the person of the Earl of Carnarvon, Lord Holmersdale,
the Earl of Limerick, Lord Leigh, and W. B. Beach,
M.P., the indissoluble connection between the re-organized
leaders of the Mark Degree and Craft-Masonry.

*< One of the traditions among Masons relates that the
Degree of Mark Master Mason was instituted seven days
after the foundation stone of King Solomon's Temple
was laid, when the three Grand Masters assembled, the
Masters of all the Lodges of Fellow Crafts, and conferred
on them this Degree. At the same time the Grand
Masters established these admirable regulations for the
inspection of the materials as they came from the quar-
ries, which so readily enabled the Overseers to detect
imperfect work. According to this tradition this Degree
at its institution was conferred not only as an honorary
reward for previous industry, skill, and fidehty, but al^o
as an encouragement to persevere in well doing; it was

46 THE MAEK MASTER's DEGREE.

also still further designed as a practical means for pre-
serving due discipline and oversight at the erection of the
Temple."

Section First explains the preparatory circumstances
attending the advancement of the candidate, the stations
and duties of the various officers, and the ceremonies of
convocating and opening a Mark Master Lodge, and
displays one of the principal events which characterizes
this Degree.

Section Two illustrates the foundation and history of
the Degree, and impresses upon the mind of the candidate,
in a striking manner, the importance of a strict observance
of his obligation to be ever ready to stretch forth his
hand for the relief of indigent and worthy brethren. A
variety of interesting circumstances connected with the
building of King Solomon's Temple are detailed, and the
marks of distinction which were in use among our ancient
brethren are explained.

We are indebted to Bro. Jas. L. Gould, M.A., 33°, for
the following remarks on this degree. " The Mark is the
appropriate Jewel of a Mark Master Mason. The origin
of the Mark is unknown. The traditions of the Order are
to the effect that there were three classes of Fellow Crafts
employed at the building of King Solomon's Temple.
One class wrought in the clayey grounds between Succoth
and Zeradatha, the second in the forests of Lebanon,
while the third or principal class was employed in the
quarries of Zarthan. Those who wrought in the quarries
were eighty thousand in number, divided into Lodges of
eighty each. Over each of these Lodges presided a Mark
Master and two Mark Men as Wardens. Each of these
Craftsmen was obhged to select a device which was
recorded in a scroll kept for that purpose, and thereupon
became the ** Mark" of the brother, and could not be

THE MARK MASTER' S DEGREE. 47

altered or changed. A copy of this Mark the Craftsman
was required to put on all his work, and thus every
persons' work could be readily distinguished, and praise
or censure be correctly bestowed without mistakes. By
this wise precaution such a vast body of men were easily
and correctly paid, and by its means the workmen were
enabled to put together with such facility and precision
the materials when conveyed from the quarries to Mount
Moriah. The Marks used by our ancient brethren are
said to have been invented by Hiram Abiff, and consisted
of combinations of the square, the level, the plump, and
the cross. The touth of these traditions is verified by the
fact that such marks were in use by the operative Masons
of the Middle Ages. Steinbenner, in describing the guilds
of Stonemasons of Germany, says, that if the candidate's
quaUfications were deemed satisfactory "he was at onoe
taught the salute, or ' Gruss,' and the token or 'Hand-
schenk,' by which he could make himself known as a
travelling Fellow Craft. He also received a distinctive
maxk, which he was thenceforth obliged to place on all his
work." Similar marks are to be found among all ancient
ruins, and great numbers of them have been collected and
described by M. Didron, and also by G. Goodwin, Esq., a
member of the Society of Antiquaries. Within a few
years similar marks have been discovered in Mexico and
Central America/*

The primary use of the Mark was, undoubtedly, that
above mentioned, but they also very naturally came to be
an equivalent in all transactions for the owner's name,
and hence their use in the payment of wages. Hence, too,
the " Mark" became the Jewel of the Mark Master Mason,
and was invested with the same properties as were at-
tached to the Eoman " Tessera Hospitalis," or Hospitable
token. When two persons in ancient times desired some

48 THE MARK MASTER'S DEGREE.

emblem of their friendsliip, they selected a piece of bone,
metal, or stone, and engraved upon it their names, their
initials, or some device, this they divided into two pieces,
each taking one. This was called a '' Tessera Hospitalis,"
and became the pledge of a friendship and attachment
which nothing was permitted to destroy.

The ''Mark" may be made of any durable material,
and is generally in the form of a "Key- stone," on one side
is engraved the owner's name, chapter, and date of his
advancement. On the other side must be engraved in a
circular form the following eight letters-^H. T. W. S. S.
T. K. S. Within this circle of letters is engraved the
device selected by the brother, and when once chosen the
whole should be drawn or recorded in a book kept for that
purpose, and it is then said to be recorded in the "Lodge
Book of Marks."

The use of this Jewel is thus beautifully described by
Dr. A. G. Mackey. "This Mark is not a mere orna-
mental appendage of the Degree, but is a sacred token of
the rites of friendship and brotherly love, and its presen-
tation at any time by the owner to another Mark Master
would claim from the latter certain acts of friendship
which are of solemn obHgation among the Fraternity. A
Mark thus presented for the purpose of obtaining a favour
is said to be pledged, though remaining in the possession
of the owner. Nor can it be again used by him until,
either by the return of the favour, or the consent of the
benefactor, it has been redeemed; for it is a positive law
of tl^e Order that no Mark Master shall pledge his Mark
a second time until he has redeemed it from its previous
pledge."

The symbolic colour of the Mark Degree is purple.
The Apron is of white lambskin, edged with purple, and
the collar of purple, edged with gold.

THE MARK MASTER'S DEGREE. 49

A Candidate receiving this Degree is said to be ** ad-
vanced to tlie honorary Degree of a Mark Master."

Lodges of Mark Master Masons are dedicated to
H. A. B.

The Principal Officers of a Lodge of Mark Master
Masons are —

1. Worshipful Master;

2. Senior Warden ;

3. Junior Warden ;

4. Master Overseer;

5. Senior Overseer;

6. Junior Overseer;

besides these there are Senior and Junior Deacons, Inner
and Outer Guard, the latter called Tyler, Treasurer, and
Secretary.

— :o: —

THE ANTHEM.
Air. — God save the Queen.
Mark Masters all appear
Before the Chief Overseer,

In concert move ;
Let him your work inspect ;
For the Chief Architect,
If there be no defect,
He will approve.

You who have passed the square,
For your rewards prepare,

Join your heart and hand ;
Each with his mark in view^
March with the just and true;
Wages to you are due,

At your command.

E

so THE MAPvK master's DEGRES;

Iliram, the widow's son,
Sent unto Solomon —

Our great Key- stone ;
On it appears the name
Which raises the high fame
Of all to whom the same

Is truly known.

Now to the Westward move,
Where, full of strength and love,

Hiram doth stand;
But if imposters are
Mix'd with the worthy there,
Caution them to heivare

Of the right handi

THE C E Pt E M 0 N I E S

OF THE

kc^xn ot S^ark li^asttr

OPENING THE LODGE.

W. M. — Bro. J. W.! wliat is the first care of every
Mark Master Mason?

J. W. — To see that the Lodge is properly Tyled.

W. M. — Direct that duty to be done.

J. W. — Bro. I. G. see that the Lodge is properly Tyled-