The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-17

most notable structures of that period, |
seems 20 have received the attention of
nearly all the old-time masters of repute.
OF the Italian masters GiottO, a celebrat-
ed Florentine architect was very conspic-
uous Dante in canto xi of Purgatorio has
consigned him and his works to undying
fame.
The earliest authentic mural inscription
known is yet to be found on the walls of
the ruins of Melrose Abbey. According 10
it, the abbey was erected in 1886 The
nearly obliterated tablet, in part, reads as
follows:
John Morrow sum TYNE callyt
and had in keeping al
mason work of Santandrays
We heye kirk of Glasgow Merose
The vast structures which attest the
skill of the operative Mason also contain
mementoes of a systematic labor Their
marks are yet visible on the walls of
nearly all the cathedrals of Europe. These
marks have in many instances a symbolic
meaning. Their original purpose was to
enable the pallirer to judge of the skill OF
the craftsman and thus determine the
chances of his promotion. A notable il
lustration of Masons' marks is to be seen
in the, geometric tracery upon the col
umns OF st. Marks at Venice.
The ordinances of Torgau spoken of un-
der the head of old manuscripts recites
that whenever a fellow receives his mark
he shall never change 1t except by unani-
nous consent
From the mallet, club or mace the name
of Mason has originated. The symbolic
attributes of Thor's mallet are TO this
day the groundwork of a masters author
ity over his lodge. The word is traceable
to the italian mazza, meaning hammer;
thence to the Spanish mazo, i. e., a ham,
mer, and the French macon.
There are several theories entertained
with regard TO the origin of the COM
pound word-Free- mason. The one adj
vanced by etymologists, and probably the
most plausible, is best shown by reading
of the following: In the forty-eighth
chapter of the celebrated Bolieau ordi-
nances the Masons of his day are referred
to as FTere Macon; literally translated,
Brother Mason" Other documents call
them by the same name. Coupled to this
is the fact that in England and in France
it was the universal custom of the fra
ternity 10 call each other brother, or in
old French, frere mason. The charges to
the newly made Mason, as given in the
Halliwell manuscript, admonish HAM to
call his associates brethren The Nor
man conquest introduced the old French
dialect into England and it was used TO
write the laws and royal charters. The
weight of authority seems agreed that the
pronunciation, has been merged and made
| 10 reappear in the word Free-mason.
| There is a close connection between the
| Latin frater, the French frere, the Span
| ish fraile, the Italian frate or fra-an
meaning brother-and the word under
| consideration. The manner in which old
! French words were corrupted and absorb
! ed into other languages is entertainingly
! treated of by the historian Thierry in
/ rfa 10 a (tOOOllptfp IAnRl6tGrr6
| par les Normands.'
An interesting question Is what were the
wages of the mediaevaH Freemasons?
| The earliest authentic account of the pay
| received by a Freemason fer daily labor is
! contained in the regulations digeSted by
| Boleau. Whenever a master builder was
| called upon to decide any question arising
In the progress of work ne was entitled
/ TO receive two sous from each party in the
case This sum at the period named was
! the equivalent of about 40 francs at pres
/ ent. According TO the statute 36 of Charles
! IL of England a Freemason who could
draw his own plans was allowed pence
per day. with meat; without meat u
! pence. An apprentice pence with meat;
| without meat, Z. Al the building of the
! Church of ST. Sophia, under Justinian, the
vvorl1nen were paid each day a sunset.
! (See Gibbons History of the Decline and
Fan of the Roman Empire, Volume 6,
page So
Al the erection of the Cathedral at Pisa
in 1863 by Master Busehette, the operators
were supported by contributions.
No ancient lodge appliance is possessed of
| so much interest as the masters mallet.
From it the fraternity derived its name,
| and nothing in the entire range of Masonic
paraphernalia and formula can boast OF
an antiquity so remote.
The first mal.et was rock and primitive
| man the creature who used il. he was a
| fighting animal, and welcomed that rock
| as a valuable long distance weapon. For
| affairs at shorter range where the missing
| Of the monsters who inhabited the gloomy
DEPTHS of the great fern forests that are
the coal mines of the present age he used
the branch of a tree.
one day a happy idea came to the old
! gentleman. He bound the rock to the
branch with a leather thong, and behold
the hammer! The savage who accomplish
ed that feat made a long stride toward civ
| iization: the man with the hammer has
ever been "a potent force IN the world 6
| history 1t Is not strange, therefore, that
/ the ancients attributed extraordinary pow
| ers to the mailet From time immemOrial
! 81 has been an emblem Of strength and
| death. In Grec,an mythology Hercules ap-
| pears with a stone club. and In the Far
north he is replaced by Thor
The mallet was the principal mechanical
| appliance Of the medieval Mason. He
placed a full value en- the Old phrase
"hower OF stone.'
Ancient Gothic courts convened az the
! blow Of the hammer; the gavei iu the
hands OF an auctioncfr. or aH Welded 10y
the presiding officer OF amy assembly 90