may have come into the country, and set him at work if he can; but if he have no employment for him, he shall give him money sufficient to defray his expenses, till he can arrive at the next lodge.

"Fourteenth, Every mason shall truly serve his master for his pay, and the master, shall honourably perform his work, task, or journey, whethersoever it may be."

These are the charges and covenants, which ought to be read at the instalment of a master, or making of a free-mason. May the Almighty God of Jacob, have us all in his holy keeping, and grant us his blessing in this world, and in that which is to come. Amen.

No. VIII.

Extract from the diary of Elias Ashmole, a learned Antiquary.

"I was made a free-mason at Warrington, in Lancashire, 16th October, 1646. On March the 10th, 1682, I received a summons to appe at a lodge, to be held the next day, at Mason's Hall, in London. March 11th. I accordingly attended, where I was the senior fellow amongst them, it being nearly 35 years since I had been admitted into the fraternity." After giving the names of the brethren who attended, which it is of no importance for us to know, only that they were men of the highest standing in society, he adds, "we all dined

at the Half Moon Tavern, where we partook of a sumptuous dinner, at the expense of the new accepted masons.

The writer of Mr. Ashmole's life gives the following account of masonry.

"He, (Mr. Ashmole,) was elected a brother amongst the free-masons, a favour esteemed so singular, that even kings have not disdained to enter as members of the society. These are the adopted, the free and accepted masons, who are known to each other all over the world, by certain signs and words, which are intelligible to themselves alone. They have several lodges for their reception, in different countries, and when any of the members falls into decay, the brotherhood are bound to relieve him. The manner of their adoption, is very formal and sol emn; and accompanied by an oath of secreay, which has had a better fate than other oaths, as it has, from time immemorial, been most religiously observed, nor has the world been yet able to dive into this mystery, by the inadvertency, surprise, or folly, of any of its members."

In some of Mr. Ashmole's manuscripts, there are many valuable collections, relative to the history of free-masons, as may be gathered from the letters of Dr Knipe, of Christ Church, Oxford, to the publisher of Mr. Ashmole's life, of which, I deem it sufficient, le subjoin the following.

"As to the ancient society of free-masons, Concerning whom, you are desirous of ascertaining what may be known with certainty, I shall only tell you, that if our worthy brother, E Ashmole, Esq. had executed his intended designs, our fraternity had been as much obliged to him, as the brethren of the most noble order of the garter. I would not have you surprised at this expression, or think it at all too assuming. The sovereigns of that order, have not disdained our fellowship, and there have been times, when emperors also, have been masons. What I could gather from Mr. Ashmole's collection was, that the report of our society having taken rise from a bull granted by the pope, in the reign of Henry VI., to some Italian architects, to travel through Europe and erect chapels, was ill founded. Such a bull there was, and those architects were masons. But as to the time and manner of that establishment, I shall quote something from the same collection.

"St. Alban, the protomartyr, who suffered death, A. D. 303, established masonry here, (in England), and from that period it flourished more or less according to the state of the times, down to the days of king Athelstane, who, at the request of his brother Edwin, granted the masons a charter. Under our Norman princes, they frequently received extraordinary marks of royal favour. There is no doubt, that the skill of masons was always transcendently great, even in the most

barbarous times. Their wonderful kindness and attachment to each other, however different they may be in condition, and their inviolable fidelity in keeping religiously their secrets, must expose them in ignorant, troublesome, and superstitious times, to a variety of adventures, according to the different state of parties, and other alterations in government. But it ought to be observed, that masons have always been loyal, in consequence of which, they have been exposed to great severities, when power prevailed over right, and those who committed treason, punished true men as traitors. Thus, in the 3d year of Henry VI., an act was passed to abolish the society of masons, and to prevent the holding of lodges, chapters, or other regular assemblies, under the most severe penalties; yet this act was afterwards virtually repealed, and even before that, king Henry and several lords of his court, became fellows of the craft." "

Some lodges in the reign of Charles the Second, were constituted by leave of the several noble grand masters, and many gentlemen, and famous scholars requested, at that time, to be admitted members of the fraternity.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Of a Lodge and its Government.

A LODGE is a place, in which masons assemble, or go on with their work, and transact their necessary business, and may be considered of similar import with the word church, which is expressive of the congregation, as well as of the place, in which they meet. To some lodge, every brother ought to belong; but he must not be a member of more lodges than one, although if he conduct himself with propriety, he will be a welcome visitor in any lodge throughout the world. He, should, likewise, attend with punctuality, at every regular or extra meeting, unless he be prevented by sickness or some other cause, which will satisfy his brethren that it was not voluntary. He should be subject to the by-laws, which are of two kinds, general and particular, of which, the young mason will acquire more extensive knowledge, by a regular attendance on his lodge, and a friendly intercourse with some of his enlightened brethren. He may become acquainted with the general regulations, by perusing the constitution of the grand lodge of the state of New-York, which, when compared with the constitutions. of all other grand lodges, not only in the United States, but in all other parts of the