to the period of the building of Solomon's Temple; Thomas Payne1 and others ascribe it to the Druids; Danse de Villoison, to the city of Herculaneum, or else to the time of the Crusades, which likewise the Knights Templars especially think proper to adopt.

It was in 1740, in France, that a Scotchman, Andrew Ramsay, first suggested the possibility that the origin of the Fraternity might be in the time of the Crusades, for before that period no mention whatever was made of any connection between the Masonic Order and the Order of Knights Templars. Afterwards this fable assumed a more tangible form in the higher degrees of several Masonic rites, and thus received fresh encouragement.

The first writer on the subject of Freemasonry who ventured to hint at the existence of a historical connection between the Fraternity of Freemasons and that of the Stone-masons was the Abbé Grandidier 2, a Non-mason, who, while engaged on his "Essai Historique et Topographique sur la Cathédrale de Strassbourg, Strassbourg, 1782", had occasion to examine the archives of the Cathedral and the various manuscripts therein preserved. According to Kloss, he first published his conjecture in the “Journal de Nancy, 1779", and in the "Journal de Monsieur", as also in a private letter to a lady, dated 24th November, 1778, which was subsequently published in De Luchet's "Essai sur la Secte des Illuminés, Paris, 1789." The London Freemason's Magazine" for June, 1859, contains a translation of this interesting letter, from which we make the following

extract:

"Strassbourg, Nov. 24, 1778.

"You, madam, have doubtless heard of that celebrated

1 See Heldmann, Die drei ältesten geschichtlichen Denkmale der teutschen Fr Mr Brüderschaft sammt Grundzügen zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte der FrMrei. Aarau, 5919. Sauerländer. P. 9.

2 Histoire des cultes et cérémonies religieuses. Tom. X.

Die Freimaurerei in ihrer wahren Bedeutung.

Berlin, 1855

Society transmitted to us from England, which bears the name of Freemasonry. Its members are spread troughout Europe, and are much more numerous than perhaps either the honour or the interest of the Association require. I shall not here, however, speak of this body in terms either of eulogy or of satire. I shall not even inquire into the motive for the inviolable secrecy which it demands, or the peculiar oath which belongs to it. I am not initiated into its secrets, and I find myself unworthy to 'see the light'. I know not whether all is tranquil, ‘as in the valley of Josaphat, where no woman ever tattled'. The fair sex may indeed complain of the rigorous laws which exclude them from beholding the 'sun, the moon, and the Grand Master of the Lodge'; it is a new injury that man has done them in believing them incapable of preserving a secret.

"I may further confess that the founder of Freemasonry was not a Frenchman, such an Institution being repugnant to the heart and character of our countrymen. I shall no longer seek its origin in the construction of the ark of Noah, who they say was 'a most venerable Mason'; or in that of the temple of Solomon, who passes with them as 'the most excellent Mason'. I should take care not to search for it in the history of the Crusades, there to discover the first Masons in those crusading barons whom some suppose to have been engaged in the 'divine or royal art' of rebuilding the temple; nor should I look for it in those ancient soldiers of Palestine who were called Knights of the East and of Palestine. These ridiculous opinions, which the Freemasons themselves do not dare to present, except under the veil of allegory, do not deserve to be revealed by one of the profane. I dare flatter myself, madam, that I can present to you a more probable origin for the Association. It is not to be found either 'in the east or the west'; 'the Lodge is well tiled' - it is not that which will furnish me the proofs of my statement. I have not had the happiness to work from Monday morning to Saturday night'; but I hold in my 'profane' hands authentic

documents and real records, dating more than three centuries back, which enable us to see that this much boasted society of Freemasons is but a servile imitation of an ancient and useful fraternity of actual Masons whose head-quarters were formerly at Strasbourg."

"The Cathedral of Strasbourg, and above all its tower, begun in 1277 by the architect Ervin of Steinbach, is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. This edifice, as a whole and in its details, is a perfect work, and worthy of admiration: it has not its equal in the world. Its foundation has been so solidly placed that, notwithstanding the fragile appearance of its open work, it has resisted even to the present day both storms and earthquakes. This prodigious work spread far and wide the reputation of the Masons of Strasbourg. The Duke of Milan in 1479 wrote a letter to the magistrates of that town, in which he asked of them a person capable of directing the construction of a superb church which he wished to build in his own capital. Vienna, Cologne, Zurich, and Fribourg constructed towers in imitation of that at Strasbourg, which was not finished till 1437, but they neither equalled it in height, beauty, nor delicacy. The Masons of those different fabrics and their pupils spread over the whole of Germany to distinguish themselves from the common workmen, formed themselves into the Fraternity of Masons, to which they gave the German name of Hütten, which signifies Lodges, but they all agreed to recognize the authority of the original one at Strasbourg, which was named Haupt-Hütte or Grand-Lodge. In the course of time the project was conceived of forming a single Society for all Germany, but this plan was not fully developed till twenty years after the construction of the tower of Strasbourg. The different Masters of the individual Lodges assembled at Ratisbon, when they drew up, on the 25th of April 1459, the Act of Fraternity, which established the chief of the cathedral of Strasbourg and his successors as sole and perpetual Grand Masters of the Fraternity of Freemasons

Findel, History of FM.

2

of Germany. The Emperor Maximilian confirmed this proceeding by a diploma given to Strasbourg in 1498; and Charles V., Ferdinand, and their successors renewed it from time to time. This Society, composed of Masters, Companions, and Apprentices, formed a particular jurisdiction; and the body at Strasbourg embraced all those of Germany. It held its tribunal in the Lodge, and judged without appeal all causes brought before it, according to the rules and statutes of the Fraternity. These statutes were renewed and printed in 1563. The Lodges of the Masons of Suabia, Hesse, and Bavaria, Franconia, Saxe, Thuringia, and the provinces on the banks of the Moselle, acknowledged the authority of the Grand-Lodge of Strasbourg. Even in the present age the masters of the establishment of Strasbourg condemned to the penalty of a fine the Lodges of Dresden and Nuremburg, and the fine was paid. The Grand Lodge of Vienna, which founded Lodges in Hungary, and the Grand Lodge of Zurich, which governed all those in Switzerland, referred to the Mother Lodge of Strasbourg in grave and difficult cases.

"The members of this Society had no communication with other Masons, who merely knew the use of the trowel and mortar. They adopted for characteristic marks all that belonged to the profession, which they regarded as an art far superior to that of the simple labouring mason. The square, level, and compasses became their attributes. Resolved to form a body distinct from the common herd of workmen, they invented for use among themselves rallying words and tokens of recognition, and other distinguishing signs. These they called the sign of words, das Wortzeichen, le salut, der Gruss. The Apprentices, ComFanions, and Masters were received with ceremonies conducted in secret. They took for their motto "Liberty", and it is said they sometimes refused to acknowledge the legitimate authority of the magistrates.

"You will doubtless recognize, Madam, in these particulars, the Freemasons of modern times. In fact the

analogy is plain the same name, 'Lodges', signifies the place of assembly; there is the same order in their distribution; the same division into Masters, Companions, and Apprentices; and both are presided over by a Grand Master. They have both particular sings, secret laws, statutes against the profane: in fine, they can say one to the other 'My Brethren and my Companions know me for a Mason'."

These hints, thus thrown out by the Abbé Grandidier, were first adopted by Vogel in his "Briefen über die Freimaurerei", 1785, and afterwards by Albrecht in his "Materialien zu einer kritischen Geschichte der Freimaurerei", 1792, but without producing the desired results the opinions of their authors being unsupported by the necessary locumentary evidence.

At the beginning of the present century a sincere deire to investigate the origin, history, and principles of Masonry began to be manifested among German Masons, and the first attempt was then made to compile, select, and submit to critical examination the scattered opinions of Masonic authors. Prominent among those who undertook this task were Bro. Schneider of Altenburg, who published the result of his researches in the "Altenburger Constitutionsbuch", and in the Journal für Freimaurer"; Bro. Krause, who in his voluminous and valuable work "Die drei ältesten Kunsturkunden der Freimaurerbruderschaft," 2 vols., has collected and carefully criticised the authentic documents of the Fraternity to which he at the time had access, elucidating and completing them by arduous historical research and unwearied industry; Mossdorf, the author of "Mittheilungen an denkende Freimaurer" and the editor of "Lennings Encylopaedie für Freimaurer"; Heldmann, the author of "Die 3 ältesten geschichtlichen Denkmale der Deutschen Freimaurer-Bruderschaft"; and F. L. Schröder, who has left us the result of his investigations in the "Materialien zur Geschichte der Freimaurerei", a work which, as it is published for the