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utensils: he likewise provided bread and wine for the sacrament, and superintended the funerals. 5. Camerarius, or the chamberlain, who had the chief care of the dormitory, and provided beds, bedding, and clothing for the monks. 6. Cellararius, or the cellarer, who procured provisions for the monks, and for strangers resorting to the convent, viz: all sorts of flesh, fish, fowl, wine, bread-corn, malt for their ale and beer, oatmeal, salt, &c., as likewise wood for firing, and all utensils for the kitchen. 7. The Saurarius, or the treasurer or bursar, who received all the common rents and revenues of the monastery, and paid all the common expenses. 8. Precentor, or the chanter, who had the chief care of the choir service, and not only presided over the singing men, organist, and choristers, but provided books for them, paid them their salaries, and repaired the organs: he had also the custody of the seal, and kept the Liber Diurnalis, or Chapter Book, and provided parchment and ink for the writers, and colours for the limners of books for the library. 9. Hostilarius, or hospitilarius, whose business it was to see strangers well entertained, and to provide firing, napkins, towels, and such like necessaries for them. 10. Infirmarius, who had the care of the infirmary, and of the sick monks who were carried thither. 11. Refectionarius, who looked after the hall, provided tablecloths, napkins, towels, dishes, plates, spoons, and all other necessaries for it, even servants to wait there he likewise kept the cups, salts, ewers, and all the other silver utensils belonging to the house, except the church plate.

These were the principal officers who were monks. There were others of inferior note, beside lay officers and servants.

Among the different buildings and apartments may be reckoned, 1. The gate-house, where the porter resided. 2. The refectorium, or common hall, where the monks dined together, and where, on great solemnities, the abbot honoured them with his presence. 3. The locutorium, or parlour. The oriolium, or the oriol, so called from its bay or projecting window.

"The use hereof," says Fuller, "is known for monks, who are in latitudine morbi, rather distempered than diseased, to dine therein, it being cruelty to thrust such into the infirmary, where they might have died with the conceit of the sickness of others." 5. The dormitorium, or dormitory, in which were placed their beds. 6. The lavatorium, or laundry, were their clothes were washed, and where they washed at the conduit. 7. In every great abbey there was a large room called the scriptorium, where several writers made it their whole business to transcribe books for the use of the library. They sometimes, indeed, wrote the legier books of the house, and the missals, and other books used in divine service; but they were generally employed on other works, viz: the Fathers, Classics, Histories, &c. John Whethamstead, abbot of St. Alban's caused above eighty books to be transcribed during his abbacy. Fifty-eight were transcribed by the care of one abbot of Glastonbury; and so zealous were the monks in general for this work, that they often got lands given, and churches appropriated for carrying it on. 8. The library, which in most of the great monasteries was furnished with a variety of choice manuscripts. 9. "All is marred," says Fuller, "if the kitchen be omitted, so essential a requisite, with the larder and pantry, the necessary suburbs thereof." In a conventual, or abbey church, we find, 1. The cloisters, or the

place for burial, and in which the monks walked and studied. 2. Navis ecclesiæ, the nave or body of the church, 3. The rood-loof, which contained the crucifix and the music. 4. Gradatorium, a space containing the ascent out of the nave into the choir. 5. Presbyterium, or the choir, on the right side of which was the abbot's stall and that of the prior on the left the monks were on each side, and chanted the service alternately. 6. Vestiarium, the vestry, where their copes, &c., were deposited, 7. Vaulta, or vault, being an arched room over part of the church, which in some abbeys was used to enlarge their dormitory, where the monks, had beds for their repose. 8. Concameratio, being an arched room between the east end of the church and the high altar.

The remaining rooms of a monastery stood at a distance from the main structure. Such as, 1, The eleemosynaria, or almonry, where they maintained the poor. 2. The sanctuary, where debtors and malefactors obtained refuge. 3. The infirmary, in which the sick were attended. 4. At a distance from these stood the stables, over which the stallarius, or the master of the horse, presided: and under him the provendarius, who, as his name imports, provided provender for the horses. These were divided into four ranks.-1. Manni, being geldings for the saddle of the larger size. 2. Runcini, runts, small padnags. 3. Summarii, sumpterhorses. Averii, cart or plough-horses. Besides the fore-mentioned build. ings, there was a prison for incorrigible monks. The abbot had tetrum et fortem carcerem, a strong and hideous prison, where their obstinacy was

corrected into reformation.

5.

They were obliged to attend service in the church, or chapel, seven times within the four-and-twenty hours. The services were arranged in the following manner:-1. At cock-crowing, or the nocturnal: this service was performed at two o'clock in the morning. 2. The matins : these were at the first hour, or, according to our computation, at six o'clock. 3. The tierce, at nine o'clock. 4. The sext, at twelve o'clock at noon. The none, at three in the afternoon. 6. The vespers, at six in the afternoon. 7. The compline, soon after seven. The monks were always to walk two together; this was to guard their conduct, and furnish them with a witness to defend their behaviour. From Easter to Whitsuntide, they dined at twelve, and supped at six. In this interval they observed no fasts. At other times they were bound to fast till three o'clock, on Wednesdays and Fridays. The twelve days in Christmas were excepted in this canon. Every day in Lent they were enjoined to fast till six in the evening. They were not allowed to talk in the refectory at meals; they were likewise to attend to the Scriptures read to them at that time. The septimarians were to dine by themselves after the rest: these septimarians were so called because their office continued but a week, such as the reader, waiters, cooks, &c. The superior was never to dine alone: when there were no strangers, he was to invite some of the brothers to his table.-Chamb. Ed. Journal.

EDITOR'S TABLE.

Work of the Order.-This phrase is we are satisfied not generally understood among our brethren. By some it is meant to signify the usage, practice, general discipline, charges and lectures of Odd-Fellowship-by others it is distinguished from what is termed the language of the Order, and is understood to embrace all the laws, usages, forms, ceremonies, emblems, devices and general ordinances concerning office and officers and their obligations and duties-the language of the Order according to this class of constructionists being the unwritten and unspoken means of inter-communication peculiar to Odd Fellowship. We profess to know no such distinction between the work and language of the Order, nor do we believe any definition can be given of the term "work of the Order," short of one which will comprehend within its terms the entire system of Odd-Fellowship in all its details, whether written or unwritten, be it usage, law, form or ceremony. Regarding therefore in this enlarged sense the subject which has been referred for revision to a committee of the Grand Lodge of the United States, we propose to offer some suggestions touching this question. In the first place the form of Government of State Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments should in principle be the same throughout the jurisdiction. The laws, commonly termed "General Laws," which regulate the Lodges in the different States should be strictly uniform, except so far as relates to their monetary concerns, which of right belong exclusively to themselves-there should be one uniform code of general law emanating from the highest department of the Order, so that the manner of application and admission, the duties of brethren, their responsibilities to their Lodge, their privileges, their rights, suspension and its proper cause, expulsion and its proper cause, should be every where the same, designated by prescribed rules which should differ in no essential in any of the States or Districts—thus and thus only can we hope for harmony, unity in our system-otherwise each jurisdiction may dif fer in the grade of offence, the forms of trial, the rights of the accused, the degrees of punishment and its duty to other jurisdictions in affording them proper protection against imposition. It may be said that these matters belong to the States, that they are tenacious of their own particular codes and forms of General Laws, and would resist such legislation as an encroachment upon their vested rights. It is too late now-a-days to set up such an argument, the Grand Lodge of the United States have over

and again decided against the doctrine of vested rights in State Grand Lodges, when the interest of the Order is brought into conflict with any institution of Odd Fellowship, and has ever maintained her supreme authority in all respects to control its work and general character. We do not however believe that to any extent such a feeling would obtain— on the contrary the desire for uniformity in the Order, in all that tends to constitute it one and the same throughout the globe, we believe to be universal-besides, if we are right in our conceptions of the meaning of the term work of the Order, the power to enact a code of General Laws is not only inherent in the Grand Lodge of the United States, but forms a part of its organic law. It is true that in the discussions on the question of reform in the work, reference has generally been had to the charges and lectures, and no allusion has been made to that subject in the compre hensive sense in which we understand it; and it may be, that some of the Representatives who voted for the appointment of the committee at the late session of the Grand Lodge of the United States, acted under the impression that the labors of that body were to be confined simply to a revision of this branch of the work, nevertheless we believe the power designed to be confided to that committee was general and plenary, embracing a thorough examination of the whole system of Odd-Fellowship, in order to its improvement, if practicable, in any of its features.

There never has been a more propitious season to make such a revision not only in obedience to the wish so clearly expressed at home, but especially in view of our relations with foreign countries-the position of Odd-Fellowship in this jurisdiction now, is one of isolation-it stands disconnected with England and all other countries and no conventional obstacles can interpose to any modification of the general system. We commend this to the committee as a perfectly legitimate subject for their consideration and we trust that they may agree with us upon the utility and practicability of adopting a code of General Laws for the government of the Order at large. In the second place as a part of the work of the Order ancient usage has constituted to a considerable extent its discipline and practice. This feature of the work has been held as a sort of consecrated tradition, to be preserved and transmitted unaltered, with pious regard and affection. It is allowed to possess the full authority of written law, and in truth is not unfrequently held to be beyond the reach of legislation. Whatever difference of opinion there may be, as to the propriety of abrogating clearly defined and well ascertained usage, there cannot for a moment be a doubt as to the power on this subject-upon this point however we have nothing to offer, we wish to direct the attention of the committee to the vagueness, the ambiguity, the uncertainty of what is called ancient usage. Now it does appear to us that ordinances unwritten, and in no way tangible except in so far as the faint and doubting recollection of brethren may present them, believed by some to possess inherently the supremacy of organic law, and by all admitted to have operated through a series of years past, with overruling and controlling force, should at least be plain, intelligible and perfectly free from ambiguity-but what is the fact in relation to ancient usage? We venture the opinion that there is no one thing under the sun more vague than this law called ancient usage. We need only in support of this declaration refer to the statute book of the Grand Lodge of the United States for the last few years, which

will be found almost literally covered over by reports and resolutions from the able committee on the Work of the Order, defining and reducing to written law questions arising out of differences of opinion upon the usages of the Order. In Maryland that good, old, venerated and long cherished usage, known as the salutation given to the Grand Master, upon his entrance into a Lodge, "The honors of the Order" has been generally preserved, while in New York and other jurisdictions it has been consigned to the tomb of the Capulets. In Virginia by a recent decision of the G. Lodge the usage in relation to the proper recipients of the T. P. W. has been made to yield to a law regulating the subject for that particular jurisdiction only, and in view of the impropriety of local legislation upon subjects general in their nature, the Grand Lodge of the United States at the late session found it necessary to embody this ancient usage into the form of a written law. So also as regards visitation and the manner of conducting examinations on such occasions-these matters and many others which might be enumerated have formed a part of the discipline of the Order as derived from usage, and from the difficulty of preserving any thing like uniformity in the practice in all parts of the jurisdiction, are from time to time becoming the subjects of special legislation.

Is it not the part of wisdom now, we ask, that we are about to enter upon a revision of the general system of work, to correct this evil and to reduce to a code all usages of Odd- Fellowship. In addition let it be recollected that the founders of the Institution who alone can be reliable authority on the subject of usage, will have been all gathered to the Fathers in a little while, and be no longer here to instruct and enlighten that pos terity in Odd-Fellowship which is destined to exist from generation to generation, under the guardianship of Him who has already vouchsafed to it such signal evidences of his care and protection. We are sure the propriety and necessity of this suggestion will be apparent.

the

We pass to consider the work of the Order as ordinarily understoodall will concede we believe that the initiation charges and lectures, however in some respects obnoxious to serious objection, possess taken as a whole much intrinsic excellence, and if it be not rash in us to loosen our tongue upon a subject which has long had a place in our mind, we would say of it, if original in the elements, our ancestors in the Order have manifested much wisdom in the structure-let the advocates of reform in the work not misjudge us from this remark, nor hastily associate us with Ephraim-although of the old school we are not wedded to the idol.We know that much of the detail of the work was engrafted upon system by men of humble minds and limited education, that there is error as a consequence and much misapplication of maxims, analogy and example derived from historic sources as well sacred as profane, yet we cannot shut our eyes to the many beautiful truths which it illustrates and exemplifies, to the choice gems which sparkle like brilliants despite their inapt and strange association, to be found diffused throughout the work, and to the elevated counsels and admonitions with which it abounds concerning man's duty to his Creator and to his brother. We know of no system which has yet been devised by the human mind, which presents so broad a platform for the harmonious and united energies of universal man in the great cause of benefaction to the human race, which, rising above all its minor, subordinate and collateral agencies of good, it is the chief and pe

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