The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-09-06
FREEMAsoNRY.

| ! in the year lUUu the Whole OF CnrlStef-
dom was possessed with the idea that the
end Of the world and the day OF judgment
were at hand; and when the dreaded
year had passed, and the panic had sub
sided, a great impulse to the building OF
churches arose throughout Central and
Western Europe. The buildings which
were the result OF this impulse gave EN-.
ployment to large numbers OF artifcers
for periods OF many years Working at
first under the direction OF the Bishops
and Abbots, they ere long acquired con-
siderable independence. The lay breth-
rem MS they had previously been styled
separating themselves from their clerical
superiors, rs well Us from the common Ia.
borers, assembled in bdltltutten, or wooden
buildings near the site OF the churches,
where they improved themselyes In ne
principles OF their art, blending with
mathematical and artistic studio! mys.-
tic philosophy of sacred symbolism and
Biblical illusions. They were divided
into three Glasses, viz, ~ apprentices,
(tellinge,) young mon deemed worthy
Of admission into the fraternity; ~ fel-
low-craftsmen (ge.ellen,) who had so far ad-
vanced as to be able to work alone on the
details Of the art, and were bound TO i'm
part their knowledge to the apprentices;
(S) masters, (uleiaer,) comparatively few in
number, who were competent to under
take tho design or direction OF entire
works, in the capacity OF architects, sur.
yeyors, or master.huilders. The entered
apprentice was intrusted with n secret
sign or password, (9rua,) and bound on
oath to divulge to none but tho initiated
either the knowledge he should acquire or
the rites and practices Of his lodge. This
method Of mutual recognition was me-
cessity when indentures and diplomas were
unknown, but, taken in conjunction with
the mystic philosophy inculcated and the
the secret ritual practiced within the
lodges, it acquired In time . solelnntty
and sacredness which could attach
to no mere certificates OF member
ship or OF proficiency. Further ere
dentials were provided in set OF ques'
tons and answers, forming q sort Of cate:
chism, orally communicated, and guarded
by tho same sanction, by which the
brethren as they now called one another,
could give proof OF their identity wherever
they might travel in search OF employment,
and which are in all essential points pre-
served in the Lectures of the three de-
grees Of modern Freenlasonry, BaH'taAs'ii
were permanently established In most OF
the chief cities OF the Empire, and the rep
utation which their masters acquired for
genius and skill led to the engagement OF
German architects In other countries,
wherever cathedrals and churches were be-
ing erected on scale OF moro than ordi-
nary grandeur. Atfirst the several lodges
worked Independently OF one another;
but in the fifteenth century the neces-
sity Of further union began to be felt,
and on April 25, 1859, a gathering Of the
Master Masons OF Central and Southern
Germany was held at Ratisbon, when the
regulations Of the different lodges were re-
yised and consolidated. In l402 second
and more general assembly was held, at
which the whole OF the Masons OF Germa-
nv were represented, and united In sim
Gle brotherhood, (which the chief Of the
lodge Of Strassburg, which had long been
recognized as a last Court OF Appeal, even
by the lodges OF Austria and Switzerland,
was declared perpetual Grand Master. The
statutes then drawn up received in HOS
the confirmation OF the Emperor Maxmil-
ian l., whose example was followed by
several OF his successors. After the Re-
formation period Of transition began; the
building OF churches declined, and in the
following century the German Princes nat
urally looked with suspicion on well or
ganized association OF men bound together
BY the closest ties, and owing allegiance to
an authority which by the loss OF Alsace
had passed under French dominion. In
1907 all communication with the mother
lodge Of strassburg was prohibited, and
attempts were made to establish u grand
lodge on German soil; but these fliling,
through the mutual jealousies OF the petty
States OF the Empire, the most persistent
efforts were made for the entire suppress
sion OF the order. But, although proscrlb-
cd, II could not be exterminated; the
lodges still met in secret, admitted new
members, and maintained their existence
and continuity until the new Freemasonry,
which had meanwhile arisen in England
on tho ruins OF the old, held out to Its
German brethren the right hand OF fellow
ship, and in once more raising them to
liberty and honor did but repay the debt
which our country owed to its continental
sister. Adcmillan'S Magazine.