than expressive, the origin and true significance of which have been lost sight of by our French Brethren, and the existence of which is unknown in the practical Freemasonry of the present day.

The Essenes practised the rites of Freemasonry. The Tetragrammaton, or Ineffable Name of Deity, was preserved and transmitted by them. It was always communicated in a whisper, and under such a disguised form, that, while its component parts were universally known, the connected whole was an incommunicable mystery. They used, says the learned Dr. Oliver, in common with the whole Jewish nation, the ancient and significant symbol by which this Name was designated, viz.

three jods, with the point kametz placed under them, thus,

" to ex

press the equality of the three Persons of which they believed the godhead to be composed." This Holy Name they held in the utmost veneration. Calmet says, they believed the name of God to include all things. "He who pronounces it, say they, shakes heaven and earth, and inspires the very angels with astonishment and terror. There is a sovereign authority in this name; it governs the world with its power. The other names and surnames of the Deity, are arranged about it, like officers and soldiers about their sovereigns and generals; from this KING-NAME they receive their orders.'

Another celebrated symbol of this august Name, was the disposal of the three points in a radiated form, so as to represent an imperial

diadem.

The letter Shin, too, , (the three points in another form,)

was adopted as a mysterious emblem to designate the Tetragrammaton; and hence this letter was supposed to comprehend many valuable qualities. It was, therefore, says the learned Brother before quoted, deeply engraven by the Jews on their phylacteries, both before and behind, to induce the protection of the omnipresent deity it represented.

Another symbol was an equilateral triangle, (still preserving the three This initial letter, jod, "denotes the thought, the idea of God. It is a ray of Light, say the enraptured cabbalists, which darts a lustre too transcendant to be contemplated by mortal eye; it is a point at which thought pauses, and imagination itself grows giddy and confounded. "Man," says M. Basnage, citing the rabbies, "may lawfully roll his thoughts from one end of heaven to the other; but they cannot approach that inaccessible Light, that primitive existence, contained in the letter jod."

points,) illuminated with a single jod. A

We submit for the consideration of our respected correspondents, whether they have not mistaken an arbitrary sign of abbreviation, for a legitimate Masonic symbol, and given to it a significancy which does not belong to it. We should be most happy to see the genuine symbol restored to its primitive place and use, but we cannot consent to accept as a substitute for it, a character so entirely devoid of Masonic pertinency and illustration, as the one proposed. As a sign of abbreviation, it is unobjectionable; but here let it stop.*

PETITIONS FOR INITIATION.

Thomaston, Geo. June 9, 1846. Br. MOORE,-To preserve the Ancient Landmarks and the purity of our Order from innovation, should be the wish of all Masons,-to do this, it is necessary, when any point arises which is not clear, to apply to some Brother who is well informed, and such I have always found ready and willing to dispense such light as they may be in possession of, to those less informed.

I wish to propose for your consideration, two questions, which I hope will prove to be of sufficient importance to elicit an answer, either by letter or through your excellent Magazine.

1st. Has any one the power to withdraw the Petition of a Candidate, after it has been regularly read and received by the Lodge? And is not the Lodge violating the ancient usage, to suffer it to be withdrawn, even though a majority of the members be in favor of such a course?

My humble conviction is, that after a Petition has been received by the Lodge, it is then the property of the Lodge, and the only way to dispose of it is by the ballot box. It would be presumption in me to offer my reasons for this conviction, or to hint, even, at the evil of suffering a petition to be withdrawn, by the friends of the petitioner, to save him from the mortification of being rejected.

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2d. The next point is not so much a question, as to ask how to be relieved from what you will see to be peculiar and embarrassing circumstances. Suppose an individual wishes to become a member of our Institution; he has his petition properly drawn up and duly recommended by a Brother, whom you know to be a good man and true." You are asked to "vouch" for the petitioner, and although you are not as well acquainted with him as you might wish to be, yet your confidence in the Brother who recommends him, induces you to "vouch" for him. Now, suppose, after this, before the petition is acted upon, you become dissatisfied with the qualifications of the candidate, so much so that you cannot conscientiously vote for his being received. What course would you then adopt?

As my ignorance is already shown, it will not make it worse by stating what I think would be the proper course. When the petition is called up, I think, the Voucher should state to the Lodge, that, since signing the petition, he has become dissatisfied with the candidate, giving his reasons, and so withdraw his name as voucher. If no other Brother then vouches in his place, the petition of course is not received. I don't know that I have authority for my notions, and it is this doubt which induces me to apply to you for information.

With great respect,

J. W. W. DRAKE, P. M.

*The use of the three points in the worship of Ogmius, or Hercules, as noticed by Vallancy, probably had reference to the last and greatest of his twelve labors, that of bringing upon earth the three-headed dog Cerberus. His figure in the British Museum, may perhaps be symbolical of his deified nature, or of the two serpents sent by Juno to devour him, and of the eleventh of his celebrated labors,-obtaining the apples from the garden of Hesperides. It is to be remembered, however, that most of the symbols, as well as the ritual of the genuine mysteries, were adopted into, and corrupted by, the spurious mystic worship. This may have been the case with the symbol in question.

The practice referred to by our correspondent in his first inquiry, is, we believe, peculiar to the Lodges in the United States, where it prevails to a considerable extent. It is, nevertheless, in our judgment, a wrong and a dangerous practice,-one which is neither sanctioned by the regulations nor authorized by the usages of the Institution. The Constitutions provide, that applications for initiation shall be made in writing and laid before the Lodge,-that they shall lie over one calendar month, (except in cases where dispensations are obtained,) in order that due inquiry may be made into the character of the candidates. The ballot is then taken, and if it be unanimously in favor of the applicant, he is admitted; if otherwise, he is rejected, and the record is made accordingly. No provision for a different disposition of applications for the degrees, is made by the Constitutions, and any different practice we hold to be unauthorized and irregular. If the petitioner be unworthy to receive the honors of the Institution, it is the duty of the Lodge to which he applies, to reject him ; and thus render it difficult, if not impossible, for him to gain admission elsewhere. This is a sacred duty, which the Lodge owes to itself and to the Fraternity. It has no right to shrink from the discharge of it, though it may sometimes be attended with unpleasant consequences. If the petitioner be allowed, through his friends, to withdraw his petition, he is at full liberty to apply to another Lodge, if there be another in his place of residence, or, in case he change his residence, wherever he may reside; and in this way, though unworthy, he may succeed in gaining admission, to the serious detriment of the character of the whole Fraternity.

There may be special reasons why, in certain cases, a candidate should be allowed to withdraw his petition (as a change of pecuniary circumstances, or removal from the town); but these form exceptions to the rule. And even in such cases, it would be preferable to proceed with the ballot, and if the applicant be admitted, to return him his deposit, with a certified copy of the record, stating the circumstances.

We are aware that a different practice prevails in many of our Lodges, and that it is attempted to be justified by the practice of legislative assemblies, in allowing petitioners "leave to withdraw." But Lodges are not legislative bodies, nor are they governed, in the admission of candidates, by Parliamentary laws.

It is undoubtedly true, that a worthy candidate may sometimes be rejected through individual prejudice or personal dislike, and that the mortification of such a result might be spared to him, were his friends at liberty to withdraw his name before the ballot is taken. But such instances are of rare occurrence, and the evil arising from them is not sufficient to counterbalance the greater evil which would result from permitting the unworthy to escape, without the restriction imposed by a rejection, on

their applying for admission to another Lodge, in which, being less known, they might be more successful. With a view to mitigate the severity of rejections, from motives such as are here suggested, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has incorporated into its Constitutions, the following provision: :

ART. 3. Sec. 2.-"No candidate, whose application may be rejected by a Lodge, shall be initiated in any Lodge under this jurisdiction, other than the one to which he first applied, without a recommendation from six members of the said Lodge, of whom the Master and Wardens shall be three. And when the Master and Wardens are unwilling so to recommend a candidate, who has been rejected, it shall be their duty to communicate such rejection to the Grand Lodge, or to the District Deputy Grand Master, who shall immmediately communicate the same to all the Lodges under his jurisdiction. And if any Mason knowingly assist, or recommend for initiation, to any Lodge whatever, (within this jurisdiction,) any candidate rejected as aforesaid, who may not have obtained a recommendation as before provided, such Mason shall be expelled from the Institution."

It will be perceived, that by this regulation, the Master and Wardens, and any three members of the Lodge, if in their opinion a candidate has been rejected from personal motives, and not from moral delinquencies, may recommend him for admission to any other Lodge, constitutionally competent to receive him. Thus enabling him to go beyond the influence of the real or supposed personal prejudice which may have caused his rejection. This is an important power, but it is believed to be sufficiently guarded to secure it against abuse. And while it affords all the relief to a worthy, but rejected applicant, of which the nature of the case admits, it saves him from the mortification of having his name returned to the Grand Lodge, as unworthy to be received as a member of any moral and benevolent institution.

To the second inquiry of our correspondent, we answer: that a Brother ought never to vouch for, or recommend, any candidate for the degrees, whom he does not know, and with whose moral character and qualifications he is not well acquainted. But, if he is incautiously induced to do so, and subsequently ascertains that he has been deceived, it is perfectly correct for him to withdraw his name, at any time before the petition has been accepted by the Lodge. After it has been accepted, or referred to a committee of investigation, he has no control over it. There is no necessity for waiting for the petition to be called up. We fear we do not understand our correspondent here. If a Brother wishes to withdraw his name from a petition, he must do so before any action has been had on it by the Lodge, and, properly, before it has been publicly read by the Master or Secretary. He cannot do so at the meeting at

which the ballot is to be taken, nor at any time subsequent to the meeting at which the candidate was first proposed. But after all, the better way, in a case like the one stated by our correspondent, would be to let the application take the usual course. Investigation might remove the objection; or, if it did not, the same reasons which would induce a Brother to withdraw his name from the petition, would constrain him to cast a negative ballot on the question of admission.

We wish our correspondent to understand, that although we entertain the opinion that it is not competent for a Brother to withdraw his name from a petition, after action has been had on it by the Lodge, we are equally clear in the opinion, that it is his imperative duty, before the ballot is taken, to state to the Lodge, that he signed the petition under a misapprehension as to the moral qualifications of the candidate, and that he does not now wish to be considered as recommending him for admission. He may give his reasons or not; but so much he is required to state, not only for the information and government of the Lodge, but in justification of himself.

CANDIDATES FOR MEMBERSHIP, &c.

Houstonville, Ky., May 8, 1846.

My Dear Sir and Brother, Permit me to propose a few queries in relation to some differences which have arisen here.

1st. In a Lodge of Master Masons, a Brother Master Mason petitions for Membership and is rejected. Does it affect his standing in that or other Lodges? or is he, after said rejection, entitled to the privileges of the Order, in visiting that and other Lodges?

2d. Are the proceedings of a Lodge of Master Masons binding and legal, until they receive the signature of the Master? An answer to the above inquiries, will oblige,

Fraternally Yours,

GEORGE MURRELL.

1st. The rejection of a candidate for membership, does not affect his standing as a Mason, and he may continue to visit the Lodge rejecting him, or any other, until charges are regularly preferred against him, and he has been formally suspended or expelled. The refusal of the Lodge to receive him as a member, does not necessarily imply moral delinquency.

2d. The signature of the Master is not necessary to give validity to the proceedings of the Lodge. The approval of the Lodge and the signature of the Secretary, make the records complete, unless the by-laws require the signature of the Master. But in this case, the record would stand good, even though the Master should withhold his signature. Were it otherwise, the Master might at any time annul the whole proceedings of the Lodge. He possesses no such power. It is rarely that the Master of a Lodge is required to sign the proceedings.