THEOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY OF FREEMASONRY, in which I entered minutely into an examination of the speculative character of the institution as a system of Light and Charity; and of its operative division as an exclusively scientific pursuit which had been practised from the earliest times in every country of the world. This enquiry was followed up by an historical account of the origin, progress, and design of the Spurious Freemasonry. I then took a view of the origin and use of hieroglyphics; and not only exemplified the symbols used in those spurious institutions which had attained the most permanent celebrity in the ancient world, but endeavoured to show that the true Freemasonry in all ages was "veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." The union of speculative and operative masonry then became a subject of discussion; and I concluded with a detailed disquisition on the form, situation, ground, extent, and covering of a lodge, as well as an exemplification on the beauties of Freemasonry, in which I attempted to show that its peculiar ceremonies and observances had been judiciously selected, rationally maintained, and highly advantageous to those who are versed in their moral and symbolical references.

These disquisitions became extremely popular, and the edition was speedily exhausted. I was next called on to show what masonry was actually doing at the present period, for the purpose of evincing that it was not exclusively theoretical, but that whatever had been advanced in theory was verified in practice. The fourteenth edition of PRESTON'S ILLUSTRATIONS, which I had edited in 1829, had been sold off, and the fraternity were anxious to see the history of masonry which it contains brought down to the present time; for the Order had flourished for the last ten years beyond all former precedent, and it was thought expedient to place its transactions on permanent record. The HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY from 1829

to 1840 was accordingly prepared, and I have reason to believe that its publication was attended with beneficial consequences to the Craft in general, as it was received with marks of favour by the universal concurrence of the fraternity.

During the whole of this period I had been a constant and regular correspondent to the Freemasons' Quarterly Review; and my articles in that useful miscellany were applied to the general dissemination of masonic knowledge, in its Speculative, Operative, and Spurious divisions; diversified by an occasional essay on its charities and its amusements. And I communicated the more readily and cheerfully with this journal, because I think that the great modifications which have manifested themselves in the opinions of men towards Freemasonry of late years, would not have been produced without the efficient aid of this powerful engine. It has effected a wonderful revolution of opinion in favour of the Order by mild and gentle reasoning; and has rendered extensive benefit to the Craft by diffusing information on the rules of discipline and practice, as well as on the public transactions of the lodges. To the blemishes of the system it has applied the actual cautery with singular effect. The patient has, indeed, winced under the operation; but the cure is in progress, and the treatment, however unpalatable, is wholesome and salutary, and cannot fail to be productive of the most beneficial results.

I had now arrived at a period when, however unmerited on my part, my literary fame stood high with the masonic public, and I could produce letters from every quarter of the globe in testimony of the utility and general estimation of my labours, of which I am, indeed, proud, although they have failed to make me vainglorious. By nature humble and unassuming, it is a difficult task to draw me out for the purpose of lionizing. The attempt has been made at sundry times and seasons, but with very little

effect. I still remain snugly ensconsed in my "hollow tree," and have no taste for the distinction of exhibiting before popular assemblies. Perhaps I may be afraid of the fate of Don Quixote, who, at the highest pinnacle of his glory, when he had converted two flocks of sheep into rival armies, and saw them so clearly as actually to describe the armour of the knights and the devices on their shields, and at the moment when he contemplated a triumphant charge, was almost knocked on the head by an ignoble brickbat. However this may be, my attempts have been unceasing to restore a sublime Order to its legitimate place in public estimation, from which, as I well recollect, it had somewhat retrograded at the period when the two great divisions were united in 1813, probably from the petty jealousies, and continued disputes of the brethren belonging to each of these sections, which nullified its claim to the characteristic of brotherly love.

My next undertaking was a great work on the HisTORICAL LANDMARKS OF THE ORDER. The design was comprehensive, and was intended to embrace particular explanations, both historical, scientific, moral, and ceremonial, of Symbolical, Royal Arch, Ineffable, and Sublime Masonry, including the military orders and degrees. But in my own case, as I had been before the masonic public as an author nearly thirty years, and enjoyed the good fortune of being received with distinguished favour, it might be rationally imagined that I had employed my time unprofitably if I was not qualified for the undertaking.

Besides, as the Eidolon confessed to Capt. Clutterbuck, in the Introductory Epistle to the Fortunes of Nigel, "while I please the public, I shall probably continue it merely for the pleasure of playing; for I have felt as strongly as most folks that love of composition which is perhaps the strongest of all instincts, driving the author to the pen, the painter to the palette, often without

either the chance of fame or the prospect of reward." And I was not without hope that my project would be well received, if it were executed creditably.

The labour required for the collection of materials for such a design, which was originally intended to be comprised in fifty-two lectures, with an abundance of explanatory notes, would doubtless be very great; but part of the work had already been accomplished during the researches which had been previously made for former publications. My stores were far from being exhausted; and my previous training in masonic lore had not been unproductive; yet, I speak it in sorrow, when the work was fairly launched, and the preliminary number before the public, in which I had committed myself by a solemn pledge to carry it forward to the end, I experienced feelings somewhat similar to those of Pope when he had undertaken to produce a translation of Homer. "What can you expect," he says to his friend Jervas, "from a man who has not talked these five days? Who is withdrawing his thoughts, as far as he can, from all the present world, its customs, and its manners, to be fully possessed and absorbed in the past? When people talk of going to church, I think of sacrifices and libations; when I see the parson, I address him as Chryses, priest of Apollo; and instead of the Lord's Prayer, I begin,

"God of the silver bow," &c.

While you in the world are concerned about the Protestant succession, I consider only how Menelaus may recover Helen, and the Trojan war be put to a speedy conclusion. I never enquire if the queen be well or not, but heartily wish to be at Hector's funeral. The only things I regard in this life are, whether my friends are well; whether my translation goes well on," &c.

In like manner my thoughts, wishes, and aspirations were all on masonry, and nothing but masonry. It

formed the subject of my labours by day and my dreams by night, during the two long years it was in hand, from the Introduction to the Index; occupying a space of nearly fourteen hundred pages. But the patronage of the Earl of Zetland, the M. W. Grand Master, by giving authority to the work, was a full and adequate recompence for all my anxiety and toil. These volumes embrace a full and copious exposition of the doctrine and discipline, ceremonies and symbols, not only of blue masonry, but every order which had been at any time assimilated with it, whether justly or unjustly, to the amount of nearly a thousand degrees, including the blue, red, and black masonry of our own country, and the Ancien et Accepte of the Continent and the United States, besides the speculative systems of the Orders of Bruce, the Temple of Clermont, of Strict Observance, of Mount Tabor, of Zinnendorff, Swedenborg, Tschoudy Mesmer, Cagliostro, and many other empirics who invented systems for their own personal emolument; together with Adoptive, Swedish, Adonhiramite masonry, and other varieties in different countries which were identified with the Order.

About this time certain imputations were cast upon Freemasonry, which, by their mild and insidious nature, and constant repetition, were calculated, as the eternal droppings of water will in time penetrate and wear away the most solid substances, to do more serious injury to the cause than all the absurd charges that were ever urged respecting the addictions of its members to the ridiculous fancies of Rosicrucianism and diablerie; because they attacked it on the side of its religion and morality, and would have converted us into a swarming hive of infidels. These charges originated in India, and had been deliberately concocted, and circulated in the public journals of the country; putting on, like Iago, the form of civil and humane seeming, for the better com