The Blue Blanket.

by two of the brethren armed with ponderous Lochaber axes , and that every journeyman would feel his honour at stake in returning it safe and sound to the keeping of the convener . It will be almost unnecessary for us to add that this was

duly done ; and , apart from the Masonic interest which is now attached to the " Blue Blanket , " we must congratulate "Auld Reekie" upon being in possession of such an interesting memento of by-gone days in the history of

" Edina , Scotia's darling seat ! All hail thy palaces and towers , "Where once beneath a monarch ' s feet , Sat Legislation ' s sovereign powers . " It only remains to be mentioned incidentally that the present M . W . G . Master Mason of

Scotland , the Right Hon . Earl of Dalhousie , K . T ., & c , —then Lord Panmure—was present upon the imposing Masonic ceremonial just referred to , in his capacity of representative of the Grand Lodge of England , of which he was , at that time ,

the R . W . Deputy Grand Master ; and his name is recorded amongst the various Masonic notabilities who then inspected the ancient banner , and who evinced a lively interest in the historical incidents related in connection with it- —S . Z .

The Master Mason Degree—Its First Appearance In Scotland.

THE MASTER MASON DEGREE—ITS FIRST APPEARANCE IN SCOTLAND .

In presenting to its readers a translation of the paper on the above subject which appeared in the MAGAZINE of July 11 , our German contemporary , "Die Bauhutte , " appends the following -editorial remarks * . —

" Thus far the highly important and instructive article of our friend and brothei * , Murray Lyon , leaves nothing of determinators to be . desired henceforth , and sets the absurdity of the Scottish giddiness ( Schottenschwindels ) in a new light .

"There was prior to 1736 no Grand Lodge of Scotland , so the account of S ' cottish grades could nob congruously exist before that time . And where shall the 'higher' grades come from , if among the oldest lodges in Scotland shortly

before 1735 the language is of the three grades . Agreeably to the whole of the above article , as also the letter of Manningham , and the history of the Mother Lodge of Marseilles ( vgl . Mittheilungen ii . 3 ) , will the Grand Lodge of Germany

gain profit by new explanations , —1 . To continue division ( abtheilung ) with the hereto-

The Master Mason Degree—Its First Appearance In Scotland.

fore high-grade traffic , to the anger of every truth-loving Freemason , to the prejudice ofthe Confederacy , and to their own damage , or bury in endless night the work of shameless delusion V

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

SCOTTISH rHEEMASOITEX . There is no one who has perused the Magazine— -for this year especially—but must admit that there existed great necessity for more light being shed upon Scottish Freemasonry . As the sun of truth has been slowly rising , the unfitting traditions and

hobgoblin absurdities gradually vanish , reminding one of Bunyan ' s idea of the effect of " Daybreaking in the Valley of the Shadow of Death . " A Scottish Masonic student beginning the study of Freemasonry would naturally look upon "The History of Freemasonry and the Grand Lodge of Scotland , " by W .

A . Laurie , G . Sec , as a true and proper guide to walk by , more especially as the preface says : — " It is the object therefore of the following work to divest the history of Freemasonry of that jargon and mystery in which it has hitherto been enveloped , and substitute a historical and consequently a reliable

account of the nature , origin , and progress of this ancient and venerable institution . " "What shall we say then of the following remarks at page 419 ? "The Lodge of Glasgow St . John appears ,

however , to have existed so early as 1057 , as in that year Malcolm III ., King of Scots , granted them a charter bearing that date . The Lodge of Edinburg , Mary ' s Chapel , is said to have been founded by a company of Masons brought from Strasburg by David I ., in 112 S , to build the Abbey Church of

Holyrood-house , and were afterwards engaged at Melrose Abbey , founded in HE 6 . It has also been stated that they were engaged at the building of Kelso Abbey in I 12 S , " & c . "In the year 1140 Hugh de Morville is said to have brought Masons from Cologne to erect an Abbey at Kilwinning , where

the Master Mason lived in a superior position and frequently held assemblies * of Masons , which is supposed to account for the influence which the Kilwinning Lodge exercised for a long period in Scotland . " What can we say of the above remarks but simply—When the teachers are blindno wonder the

, scholars stumble . These " appears " and " is saids " have been popularly swallowed as gospel , and upon these sandy foundations , airy , ideal fabrics have been built which melt as snow when the sun of truth

shines upon them . It io to be supposed , however , that the next edition of the above History of Freemasonry will dispose of a considerable amount of the "jargon" still remaining in the present one . To borrow an idea from the past history of our nation . Were every lodge to have ( as it ought to have ) the volumes of the Freemasons' Maga-ine chained to a desk in the " adjucent , " and these volumes well thumbed , there might possibly rise up in the minds of the frequenters of that locality the idea that—