New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-18
A SUBJECT FOR MASONIC STUDENTS

To the Editor Of the Masonic Department. New
York Tribune.
Dear Sir: For more than year have not been
on the wing with branches OF olive In the beak Of
my pen 10 tell you II still i've" and have not for
gotten you in your hushandry in the field or your
Masonic labors. Your department has been greatly
improved. and wider and more Verdurous narNes'
has your reward. and its fruitage greatly rel
ished by those Of US who read Masonic literature
as conjunctive with the chronology of its ancien:
history, which but the Gilgent student can
find, and. when found. comprehend and bring INTO
fruiton.
Masonic archaeology. so much and happily studied
to-day, has much IN store to edify ana gratNy the
Masonic student Unaccountably neglected or care
lessly looked into IN former it safely retains
a vast deal TO startle and reward investigating
generation As we lift the veil which shrouds the
past from our aften anxious gaze. we see now nucn
there is which lends interest and charm to Ma
sonic studies. We treading. to say, an al
most terra incognita": we are opening on that
"debatabe land" with striking results 10 industry
and perseverance,. The history Of our Orient origin
soon falls into shape, and cohesion and regularity
give it form and splendor and the authenticity OF its
mural halls and classic columns. and a dazzling
light nlumines a revelation the occultism Of its
long-hdden mysteries discerned by the pagan
philosophers Pythagoras and Socrates and other
gropers IN the realm OF darkness. to find a ray Of
light upon which TO hang the subsistence OF their
veope ID in the Clouds which age and careessness
have thrown around IT, IL or this and that footway
%Sate.dr 'b breath" if we cannot as yet SPEAK quite
decisively many undecided points. on many
with the progress We have made We ought 10
cheer ourselves with our sense of the clearer knowl-
edge archa ooScally we possess than DID out fore
IA tneTs who seemed 10 have contented themselves
For Them Freemasonry for them IT had.
as for Us. many charms and attractions. and they
.o1 and edcaton But sill as the mind Of
mar * VA m OF a
10 be found for it, and which in that time Of gen,
eral apathy on similar subjects admirably suited
, Hence the attempts from Hutchinson. which may
historical diiHculties and 70 solve insuperabe eng
| school has been at work. Masonic archaeology is
| Freemasonry is a wonderful organization In
the world. What is tts origin? What Is It's actual
day? What is its c.nneetion with ages dead and
entess If II has destroyed irTevocaby Their local
mai existence? These are the questions we seek
there fore before IL a pleasant. a needful and
| wholesome task To remove errors and tighten up
| obscuIty TO rectify what carelessness and unsk-
| fulness have combined to create or preserve to
| substitute clearer and truer and more reliable
annals. 10 apply the test or TRUTH reason and &c
| curacy In critical measure and with simple love
OF correctness TO the confused traditions OF yes
terday, and the idle reiterstion Of to-day TO give
| al last to globe belted zone that spans the
world today Masonry Of consistent a1
are alike u task as II is noble. and the comforting
reward OF Masonic archaeology The band OF stu
dents once very limited indeed those vigilant pa
triarchs Of Masonic investigation-whose names
We may well hold in some little respect; first, be-
cause they very few. and secondly. because
they worked very hard on an often ungrateful
soil and before an unappreciating audlence-is
now by slow degrees becoming larger. and
write to-day with a full. clear memory OF tho pc 81
struggles Of Masonic arch@ologists. ours In the
unsolhshness Of Masonic sympathy, IL hope for
the aS for