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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Literature.
He was ourteys , faire , and gent , And wight , and harcli , verameut , Curteyslich and fair he spae , With him was none evil lack . ' The prince is here seen reclining at Merlin's feet , in an attitude of eager and anxious attention , such as Spenser may have imagined when he put the following words into Arthur ' s mouth : — - ' The great magician Merlin came As AA'as his use ofttimes to visitt niee , For he had charge my discipline to frame , And tutors' nouriture to oversee . ' *
" A skull and an hour glass , the emblems of the past ancl the present , together with books and scrolls , ancl other appurtenances of the magician ' s art , occupy the foreground of the picture . Merlin may be supposed to bo noAv more especially revealing to Arthur his future destiny , aud to havo raised before tho eye of his imagination a vision whieh appears dimly in tho sky , under the palo light ofthe rising moon , foreshadowing his future greatness , as the founder and head of tho celebrated Order of the Knights ofthe Bound Table . "
The rest of the paintings are described under the following heads—King Arthur ' s Wedding , with the Incident of the AVhite Hart and Brachet ( Riviere ); Sir Launcelot's Vision of the Sangraal ( Rosetti ); Sir Pelleas and the Lady Ettarde ( Prinsep ) ; HOAV King Arthur received his sivord Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake ( Pollen ) ; King Arthur's First Victory ivith the sword Excalibur ( Riviere ) ; How Sir Palomydes loved La Belle
Yseult with exceeding great love out of measure , and IIOAV she loved not him again , but rather Sir Tristam ( Morris ) ; The Death of Merlin ( Jones ); Sir Gawaine and the Three Damosels at the Fountain in the Forest of Arroy ( Spencer Stanhope ) ; The Death of Arthur ( Hughes ) . From our quotation above , it will be seen IIOAV well our Bro . Sidehotham has done his share of this labour of love , and it is with
the strongest feelings of approval and commendation that we offer our advice to every Oxford man , and to every one who values quaint and early history , to possess himself of this description , ivhich will serve the former as a memento of that resort of the majority of his associates , the Oxford Union , and the latter as an example of what may be briefly done with our old chronicles when judiciously compressed ancl made intelligible to the general reader , whilst preserving enough of the ancient tinge to interest the antiquary .
Form ofthe Ceremony of Consecration and Dedication of the Freemasons' Hall , Leicester , liy lira , tlie Earl Howe , Prov . Grand Master , & , ? ., § -c . Leicester : Bro . J . SrENCEit and Co ., Market Place . AVE have great pleasure in welcoming , in the form of an elegantly printed pamphlet , a permanent record of the proceedings upon the very interesting occasion of the laying the foundation of the hall of the Leicester Masons . Prolific as the past year has been
in Masonic ceremonials , we do not think that the good taste and excellent judgment displayed in the necessary arrangements on that occasion hare been excelled elsewhere , or even equalled . Every point appears to have been studied at which the due imposing effect could be given , and the ceremony ivas consequently Avhat it deseiwed to be—a great success . The Provincial Grand Masterin spite of age and its concomitant infirmitiesdisplays a
, , genuine love for the Craft of ivhich he is one of the most honoured rulers ; and he is ably aided in the grand work of which he is the director , by such efficient subalterns as Bros . Kelly , Windrara , Underwood , Clephan , Brewin , Lbhr , and those other numerous hrethren whose aim and purpose appears to be to strive honourably to follow in the steps and ecpial the efficiency of their seniors in the province . The reports which the intelligence columns of
this journal contain weekly of the proceedings of the brethren at home and abroad , seldom tell us of Lodges better conducted , or of a province more judiciously ruled ; and without making invidious comparisons we may venture to say that it AVOUM be well for the Crait of English Freemasons , if in every province our noble art were as nobly cultivated as it is in Leicestershire . _ Among the most able and conspicuous officers of the Provincial
Lodge , must be classed the Rev . J . O . Picton , to whom has been entrusted the responsible oflice of Prov . Grand Chaplain . On the day of the ceremony ivhich we are now speaking of , our reverend brother contributed to the edification of the assembled Masons ofthe province , an excellent discourse at church , as well as an eloquent oration appropriate to the occasion . In the former , Bro . Picton forcibl y depicted the too common selfishness which is to be found in our every day experience , and illustrated the sin mfl its effects by the beautiful story of the traveller who fell " ' Faerie Queene , Book i ., Canto ix ., Stanza f > .
among thieves , and being naked and wounded was coldl y left to perish by the holy priest and the respectable Levite . lie then , ivith a keen appreciation of the true touch of nature which makes the whole world kin—and which , thank heaven , even in our utilitarian _ age , _ is not yet either altogether exhausted nor reduced to a scientific formula—drew the following contrast : —
" So the wounded , writhing traveller lies ; and , Ave can fancy , gii-en up to despair . Could he look for human aid in any other quarter 1 His own countrymen had turned from him , and what hope remained \ Still he was to be rescued . Relief camo to him from a source from which if , was least to be expected . In one , at all events , real pity AA'as not extinguished . ' But a certain Samaritan , as ho journeyed , camo AA'here ho was , ancl AA'hen he saAV him ho bad compassion on him . ' NOAV , just think for a moment who a Samaritan was . The Samaritans , as they
Avere so called from their chief city Samaria , were originally a mixed people of JQAVS and heathen , who in their worship retained only the laAv of Aloses , and at the / Same time added to it many idolatrous practices . They were consequently at variance with the Jeivs , to whom they hael occasioned much trouble , and who regarded them as wicked apostates . The JCAVS and Samaritans hated each other with a bitter and intense hatred . As a proof of it , you will remember that when our Lord came to the Avell of Samariaand asked the woman to give him to drinkshe
, , said unto him , ' HOAV is it that Thou , being a JCAV , askcth drink of me , which , am a woman of Samaria 1 ' and St . John explains the meaning of this , by adding , 'for tho JBAA ' S have no dealings with tho Samaritans . ' AVith this fact before us , we should conceive that the Samaritan would be less inclined to give assistance to this ill-treated JOAV than either the
priest or the Levite . " AVe can picture to ourselves the gleam of satisfaction , which wo should suppose would come over his face , as he stood and gazed—aye , I say , ace can picture it—for , alas I we are so much the more conversant with the feelings and expressions of bitterness and wrath than with those of mercy and love . AA'e might conjecture that he ivould exclaim , here is one of that accursed nation , which has been the most hostile to our race . I rejoice at tho misfortunes into which he has fallen , and
leavehim to perish as a brute beast . Wo might believe that ha ivould naturally act thus . But it was far different . ' AVhen ho saw him he had compassion on him . ' Though he had been brought up in the grossest- , ignorance , and had been surrounded by numberless forms of evil example , thoAigb . doubtless he was no stranger to tiro strife , the churlishness and the wrong-doing which prevailed among bis own people , yet still he AA-.-IS a man , still tho fire of charity AA'as smouldering in his heart , and it required onlthe influence of the Hol iritand suitable objects on
y y Sp , ivhich to feed , to quicken it into a bright aud sparkling flame . He had compassion on him . ' He did not merely look and aftei-Avai-ds pass on . His Avhole heart AA'as roused at the lamentable appearance , lie deemed that the sufferer had a strong claim upon him , as being of the same flesh and blood with himself , as a partaker with , him of that human nature which here is ever liable to sorrow and woe . Thus it was that he
identified himself with him , saw in bis case what might probably at some time befall himself , and accordingly ho hastened to do the part of a right true and loving friend . " The excellent practical remarks upon our social and relig ions duties with which this sermon is studded , are worthy of notice as breathing a really religious spirit , while at the same time they are distinguished by an entire absence of cant—that shallow substitute
of which divines of mean abilities too frequently avail themselves to cover the poverty of their ideas , or as a vehicle for the very uneharitableness which it is their especial province , as ministers of the gospel , to condemn . Indeed , the impression ivhich will remain with the candid reader , on laying down the discourse before us , we do not doubt will be , that the author , ever mindful of his hih vocationhas yet perceived IIOAV powerful an aid the
g , royal art may become to real religious feeling , from the very princip les upon which the Craft is founded . And it must also be allowed that the "knowledge of the world , " and of men ( in the best sense of the phrase ) , which is obtained in the sacred precincts ofthe Lodge , must tend to inspire a contempt for fanaticism and sectarian prejudices—to foster a warm feeling of philanthropy —• and last , not ' least , to dispose the truehearted Craftsman , be lie weaknesses of his
priest or layman , to take a charitable view of the fellows , and to put the best instead of the worst construction upon the actions of his neig hbour whose politics or relig ious ideas may not run in exactly the same groove as his own . Bro . Picton has an honest horror of self delusion in the matter of duty , and well points out that , to be a member of the greatest Order the world has ever seen , avails little , unless the principles sink into the heart oi
upon which that institution is founded deep the recipient : — " Brethren , I need not remind you that the sum and substance of what I have been urging has been repeatedly brought before you in tbe mystical teaching to ivhich you aro privileged to have access . It Alasonry is , as we hold it to be , a system of pure morality , expressed m allegory and illustrated by symbols—if it delights to trace in nature and in human acts the manifold indications of God's providence , wisdom
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Literature.
He was ourteys , faire , and gent , And wight , and harcli , verameut , Curteyslich and fair he spae , With him was none evil lack . ' The prince is here seen reclining at Merlin's feet , in an attitude of eager and anxious attention , such as Spenser may have imagined when he put the following words into Arthur ' s mouth : — - ' The great magician Merlin came As AA'as his use ofttimes to visitt niee , For he had charge my discipline to frame , And tutors' nouriture to oversee . ' *
" A skull and an hour glass , the emblems of the past ancl the present , together with books and scrolls , ancl other appurtenances of the magician ' s art , occupy the foreground of the picture . Merlin may be supposed to bo noAv more especially revealing to Arthur his future destiny , aud to havo raised before tho eye of his imagination a vision whieh appears dimly in tho sky , under the palo light ofthe rising moon , foreshadowing his future greatness , as the founder and head of tho celebrated Order of the Knights ofthe Bound Table . "
The rest of the paintings are described under the following heads—King Arthur ' s Wedding , with the Incident of the AVhite Hart and Brachet ( Riviere ); Sir Launcelot's Vision of the Sangraal ( Rosetti ); Sir Pelleas and the Lady Ettarde ( Prinsep ) ; HOAV King Arthur received his sivord Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake ( Pollen ) ; King Arthur's First Victory ivith the sword Excalibur ( Riviere ) ; How Sir Palomydes loved La Belle
Yseult with exceeding great love out of measure , and IIOAV she loved not him again , but rather Sir Tristam ( Morris ) ; The Death of Merlin ( Jones ); Sir Gawaine and the Three Damosels at the Fountain in the Forest of Arroy ( Spencer Stanhope ) ; The Death of Arthur ( Hughes ) . From our quotation above , it will be seen IIOAV well our Bro . Sidehotham has done his share of this labour of love , and it is with
the strongest feelings of approval and commendation that we offer our advice to every Oxford man , and to every one who values quaint and early history , to possess himself of this description , ivhich will serve the former as a memento of that resort of the majority of his associates , the Oxford Union , and the latter as an example of what may be briefly done with our old chronicles when judiciously compressed ancl made intelligible to the general reader , whilst preserving enough of the ancient tinge to interest the antiquary .
Form ofthe Ceremony of Consecration and Dedication of the Freemasons' Hall , Leicester , liy lira , tlie Earl Howe , Prov . Grand Master , & , ? ., § -c . Leicester : Bro . J . SrENCEit and Co ., Market Place . AVE have great pleasure in welcoming , in the form of an elegantly printed pamphlet , a permanent record of the proceedings upon the very interesting occasion of the laying the foundation of the hall of the Leicester Masons . Prolific as the past year has been
in Masonic ceremonials , we do not think that the good taste and excellent judgment displayed in the necessary arrangements on that occasion hare been excelled elsewhere , or even equalled . Every point appears to have been studied at which the due imposing effect could be given , and the ceremony ivas consequently Avhat it deseiwed to be—a great success . The Provincial Grand Masterin spite of age and its concomitant infirmitiesdisplays a
, , genuine love for the Craft of ivhich he is one of the most honoured rulers ; and he is ably aided in the grand work of which he is the director , by such efficient subalterns as Bros . Kelly , Windrara , Underwood , Clephan , Brewin , Lbhr , and those other numerous hrethren whose aim and purpose appears to be to strive honourably to follow in the steps and ecpial the efficiency of their seniors in the province . The reports which the intelligence columns of
this journal contain weekly of the proceedings of the brethren at home and abroad , seldom tell us of Lodges better conducted , or of a province more judiciously ruled ; and without making invidious comparisons we may venture to say that it AVOUM be well for the Crait of English Freemasons , if in every province our noble art were as nobly cultivated as it is in Leicestershire . _ Among the most able and conspicuous officers of the Provincial
Lodge , must be classed the Rev . J . O . Picton , to whom has been entrusted the responsible oflice of Prov . Grand Chaplain . On the day of the ceremony ivhich we are now speaking of , our reverend brother contributed to the edification of the assembled Masons ofthe province , an excellent discourse at church , as well as an eloquent oration appropriate to the occasion . In the former , Bro . Picton forcibl y depicted the too common selfishness which is to be found in our every day experience , and illustrated the sin mfl its effects by the beautiful story of the traveller who fell " ' Faerie Queene , Book i ., Canto ix ., Stanza f > .
among thieves , and being naked and wounded was coldl y left to perish by the holy priest and the respectable Levite . lie then , ivith a keen appreciation of the true touch of nature which makes the whole world kin—and which , thank heaven , even in our utilitarian _ age , _ is not yet either altogether exhausted nor reduced to a scientific formula—drew the following contrast : —
" So the wounded , writhing traveller lies ; and , Ave can fancy , gii-en up to despair . Could he look for human aid in any other quarter 1 His own countrymen had turned from him , and what hope remained \ Still he was to be rescued . Relief camo to him from a source from which if , was least to be expected . In one , at all events , real pity AA'as not extinguished . ' But a certain Samaritan , as ho journeyed , camo AA'here ho was , ancl AA'hen he saAV him ho bad compassion on him . ' NOAV , just think for a moment who a Samaritan was . The Samaritans , as they
Avere so called from their chief city Samaria , were originally a mixed people of JQAVS and heathen , who in their worship retained only the laAv of Aloses , and at the / Same time added to it many idolatrous practices . They were consequently at variance with the Jeivs , to whom they hael occasioned much trouble , and who regarded them as wicked apostates . The JCAVS and Samaritans hated each other with a bitter and intense hatred . As a proof of it , you will remember that when our Lord came to the Avell of Samariaand asked the woman to give him to drinkshe
, , said unto him , ' HOAV is it that Thou , being a JCAV , askcth drink of me , which , am a woman of Samaria 1 ' and St . John explains the meaning of this , by adding , 'for tho JBAA ' S have no dealings with tho Samaritans . ' AVith this fact before us , we should conceive that the Samaritan would be less inclined to give assistance to this ill-treated JOAV than either the
priest or the Levite . " AVe can picture to ourselves the gleam of satisfaction , which wo should suppose would come over his face , as he stood and gazed—aye , I say , ace can picture it—for , alas I we are so much the more conversant with the feelings and expressions of bitterness and wrath than with those of mercy and love . AA'e might conjecture that he ivould exclaim , here is one of that accursed nation , which has been the most hostile to our race . I rejoice at tho misfortunes into which he has fallen , and
leavehim to perish as a brute beast . Wo might believe that ha ivould naturally act thus . But it was far different . ' AVhen ho saw him he had compassion on him . ' Though he had been brought up in the grossest- , ignorance , and had been surrounded by numberless forms of evil example , thoAigb . doubtless he was no stranger to tiro strife , the churlishness and the wrong-doing which prevailed among bis own people , yet still he AA-.-IS a man , still tho fire of charity AA'as smouldering in his heart , and it required onlthe influence of the Hol iritand suitable objects on
y y Sp , ivhich to feed , to quicken it into a bright aud sparkling flame . He had compassion on him . ' He did not merely look and aftei-Avai-ds pass on . His Avhole heart AA'as roused at the lamentable appearance , lie deemed that the sufferer had a strong claim upon him , as being of the same flesh and blood with himself , as a partaker with , him of that human nature which here is ever liable to sorrow and woe . Thus it was that he
identified himself with him , saw in bis case what might probably at some time befall himself , and accordingly ho hastened to do the part of a right true and loving friend . " The excellent practical remarks upon our social and relig ions duties with which this sermon is studded , are worthy of notice as breathing a really religious spirit , while at the same time they are distinguished by an entire absence of cant—that shallow substitute
of which divines of mean abilities too frequently avail themselves to cover the poverty of their ideas , or as a vehicle for the very uneharitableness which it is their especial province , as ministers of the gospel , to condemn . Indeed , the impression ivhich will remain with the candid reader , on laying down the discourse before us , we do not doubt will be , that the author , ever mindful of his hih vocationhas yet perceived IIOAV powerful an aid the
g , royal art may become to real religious feeling , from the very princip les upon which the Craft is founded . And it must also be allowed that the "knowledge of the world , " and of men ( in the best sense of the phrase ) , which is obtained in the sacred precincts ofthe Lodge , must tend to inspire a contempt for fanaticism and sectarian prejudices—to foster a warm feeling of philanthropy —• and last , not ' least , to dispose the truehearted Craftsman , be lie weaknesses of his
priest or layman , to take a charitable view of the fellows , and to put the best instead of the worst construction upon the actions of his neig hbour whose politics or relig ious ideas may not run in exactly the same groove as his own . Bro . Picton has an honest horror of self delusion in the matter of duty , and well points out that , to be a member of the greatest Order the world has ever seen , avails little , unless the principles sink into the heart oi
upon which that institution is founded deep the recipient : — " Brethren , I need not remind you that the sum and substance of what I have been urging has been repeatedly brought before you in tbe mystical teaching to ivhich you aro privileged to have access . It Alasonry is , as we hold it to be , a system of pure morality , expressed m allegory and illustrated by symbols—if it delights to trace in nature and in human acts the manifold indications of God's providence , wisdom