The
Dundee Manuscript
The
Mason's Confession
commonly
called the
The
Dundee Manuscript
attributed
to the year 1727
Transcribed from the Scots
Magazine for March, 1755. vol.xvii. pp 132-7
The Scots Magazine MDCCLV Volume XVII.
Ne
quid falsi dicere audient.
ne quid veri non audeat.
Edinburgh; Printed by Sands, Donaldson, Murray
and Cochran.
To the author of the Scots Magazine.
SIR.
Some time ago a Mason living at a considerable
distance from me, whom I
knew to have the character of a sensible and religious man, sent me a
long
paper, all of his own handwriting, and subscribed by him; in which he
makes a
confession of the oath word, and other secrets of his craft. When he
wrote that
paper, and for a good time before, he was confined by bodily distress;
and he
represents his having been brought under a conviction of whole affair
as a
mystery of iniquity. His narrative is intermixed with reasonings from
many
texts of scripture, and otherwise, about the iniquity of the matter. He
considers the oath as profane and abominable, what was sinful for him
to take
and sinful to keep; he treats of all the secrets which are therein
sworn to, as
a compund of superstitious ceremonies, lyes, and idle nonsense; and he
renounces the whole as a horrid wickedness. At the same time, he urges
me to
publish the paper for the conviction of persons engaged in that oath,
and for
warning others to beware of the snare; allowing me to discover his
name, his
place of abode and the Lodge he belonged to.
However, I have only drawn out his narrative, which I here offer you,
in his
own words, for a place in your Magazine; leaving the world to judge of
the
matter as they please.
He informs me that the account he gives is only of what he himself was
taught,
according to the usage of the Lodge in which he entered; without regard
to some
circumstantial variations which may take place in some other lodges,
while they
agree in substance. And indeed an absolute uniformity among them cannot
be
supposed, if, according to what follows, the whole affair must be
committed
only to their memories, and share in the common fate of oral
traditions.
A mason's confession of the oath, word and other secrets of his craft.
These are to testify, concerning that oath, word and other secrets held
among
the corporation of masons; wherein I was taken under the same, by
sundry of
them gathered together and met at D about the year 1727.
Concerning the oath
After one comes in at the door, he that keeps
the door, looses the
garter of his right-leg stocking, folds up the knee of his breeches,
and
requires him to deliver any metal thing he has upon him. He is made to
kneel on
the right knee, bare; then the square is put three times round his body
and
applied to his breast, the open compasses pointed to his breast, and
his bare
elbow on the Bible with his hand lifted up; and he swears, "As I shall
answer before God at the great day, and this Company, I shall heal and
conceal,
or not divulge and make known the secrets of the Mason-word, (Here one
is taken
bound, not to write them on paper, parchment, timber, stone, sand,
snow,
&c.) under the pain of having my tongue taken out from beneath
my chowks,
and my heart out from beneath my left oxter, and my body buried within
the
sea-mark, where it ebbs and flows twice in the twenty four hours."
Immediately after that oath, the administrator of it says, "You sat
down a
cowan, I take you up a mason." -- when I was taken under that oath, I
knew
not what these secrets were which I was not to divulge, having had no
information before. One person in the Lodge instructed me a little
about their
secrets the same day that I entered, and was called my author; and
another
person in the Lodge, whom I then chused to be my instructor till that
time
twelve-month, many called my intender; ---- There is a yearly imposing
of that
oath in admissions among the said craft through the land on John's day,
as it
is termed, being the 27th of December.
Concerning the word.
After the oath, a word in the scriptures was
shown me, which, said one,
is the mason-word. The word is in I Kings vii,21. They say Boas is the
mason-word, and Jachin a fellow-craft-word. The former is shewn to an
entered
apprentice after he has sworn the oath; and the latter is shewn to one
that has
been a prentice at least for a year, when he is admitted to a higher
degree in
their lodge, after he has sworn the oath again, or declared his
approbation of
it.
Concerning the other secrets
I shall next shew a cluster of different sorts
of their secrets.
First, then, three chalk lines being drawn on the floor, about an equal
distance, as at A.B and C: the master of the Lodge stands at P., and
the
fellow-crafts, with the wardens and entered apprentices, on the
master-mason's
left hand at ff and the last entered apprentice at
p. P.
A.a
B. b
C. c
ff. R.
says the master, "Come forward". says the prentice "I wot not
gin I may." says the master, "Come forward, warrant you." no
coming over the line with one foot, while he sets the other square off
at a. he
lays the right hand near the left shoulder, and says, "Good day,
gentlemen."
Coming over the second line with one foot, while he sets the other
square off
at b. , he lays the right hand on the left side and says, "God be
here". Coming over the third line with one foot, while he sets the
other square
off at c. he lays the right hand on the right knee and says, "God bless
all the honourable brethren". N.B. as the square was put thrice about
his
body when on the bare knee, so he comes over these lines setting his
feet
thrice in the form of a square.
question. What say you? answer. Here stand I. (with his feet in the
form of a
square) younger and last entered apprentice. ready to serve my master
from the
Monday morning to the Saturday night, in all lawful employments.
Q. Who made you a mason? A. God Almighty, a holy will made me a mason;
nineteen
fellow-crafts and thirteen entered prentices made me a mason. N.B. To
the best
of my remembrance the whole lodge present did not exceed twenty
persons; but so
I was taught to answer which I can give no reason for.
Q. Where's your master? A. He's not so far off
but he may be found. Then
if the square be at hand, it is offered on the stone at which they are
working;
and if not, the feet are set in the form of a square as before shewed,
being
the posture he stands in while he repeats his secrets and so the square
is
acknowledged to be master, both by tongue and feet.
Q. How set you the square? A. on two irons in
the wall; if two will not
three will; and that makes both square and level.
N.B. If they ca, in two irons above and one below, it makes a kind of
both
square and level; though ordinarily they ca, in but one. And the reason
it is
said set square and not to hang it is They're not to hang their master.
Q. What's a mason? A. He's a mason that's a
mason born, a mason sworn
and a mason by trade.
Q. Where keep you the key of your lodge? A.
Between my tongue and my
teeth, and under alap of my liver, where all the secrets of my heart
lies; for
if I tell anything in the lodge, my tongue is to be taken out from
beneath my
chowks and my heart out from beneath my left oxter, and my body to be
buried
within the sea-mark, where it ebbs and flows twice within the
twenty-four
hours.
Q. What's the key of your lodge? A. A well hung
tongue. Q. Are you a
mason? A. Yes. Q. How shall I know that? A. By signs, tokens and the
points of
my entry.
Master Shew me one of these.
Prentice. Shew me the first and I'll shew you the second.
So the master gives him the sign., with the left hand up the side. P.
Heal and
conceal.
N.B. The token or grip is by laying the ball of
the thumb of the right
hand upon the first or uppermost knuckle of the second finger from the
thumb of
the other's right hand.
Q. How many points are there in the word? A.
Five.
Q. What are these five? A. The word is one, the
sign is two, the grip is
three, the penalty is four and heal and conceal is five.
Q. Where was you entered? A. In a just and
perfect lodge.
Q. What makes a just and perfect lodge? A. Five
fellowcrafts, and seven
entered apprentices.
N.B. They do not restrict themselves to this
number, though they mention
it in form of questions but will do the thing with fewer.
Q. Where should the mason-word be given? A. On
the top of a mountain,
from the crow of a cock, the bark of dog, or the turtle of a dove.
Q. How many points are there in the square? A.
Five.
Q. What are these five? A. The square, our
master, under God, is one;
The level, a two, the plumb rule, a three, the hand-ruler four and the
gage is
five.
The day that a prentice comes under oath, he gets his choice of a mark
to be
put upon his tools by which to discern them, so did I chuse this, (The
figure
is in the MS.) which cost one mark Scots. Hereby one is taught to say
to such
as ask the question, where got you this mark? A. I laid down one and
took up
another.
If one should come to a mason working at a stone, and say, "That stone
lies Boss", the prentice is taught to answer, "It is not so Bass but
it may be filled up again." or "It is not so boss as your head would
be if your harms were out."
Q. When doth mason wear his flower? A. Between
Martinmas and Yule.
Q. What is mason's livery? A. A yellow cap and
Blue breeches meaning the
compasses.
Q. How many Jewels are there in your lodge? A.
Three.
Q. What are these three? A. A square pavement,
a dinted ashlar, and a
broached dornal.
Q. What's the square pavement for? A. For a
master-mason to draw his
ground draughts on.
Q. What's the dinted ashlar for? A. To adjust
the square.
Q. What's the broached dornal for? A. For me,
the younger and
last-entered prentice to learn to broach upon.
Q. How high should a mason's seige be? A. Two
steeples, a back, and a
cover, knee-high all together.
------
N.B. One is taught, that the cowans stage is
build up of whin stones,
that it may soon tumble down again; and it stands half out in the
lodge, that
his neck may be under the drop in rainy weather to come in at his
shoulders and
run out at his shoes.
Q. Where lies the cappel-tow? A. Eighteen or
nineteen foot and a half
from the lodge door; and at the end of it lies the cavell-mell, to
dress the
stones with.
---
N.B. There is no such thing among them as a
cappel-tow.
Q. Where place ye in the lodge? A. On the sunny
side of a hill, that the
sun may ascend on't when it rises.
-----
N.B. A lodge is a place where masons assemble
and work, Hence that
assembly or society of masons is called a lodge.
Q. How stands your lodge? A. East and West, as
kirks and chapels did of
old.
Q.Why so? A. Because they are holy; and so we
ought to be.
Q. How many lights are there in your lodge? A.
Three.
Q. What are these three? A. The south-east,
south and south-west.
Q.How many levels are there in your lodge? A.
Three.
Q. What are these three? A. The sun, the sea
and the level.
----
N.B. I can give no reason why the sun and the
sea are called two of
their levels, but so they will have it.
---
To be particular in shewing how the
master-mason stands at the
south-east corner of the lodge, and the fellow-crafts next to him, and
next to
them the wardens, and next the entered prentices, and how their seiges
stand
distant from another, and the tools they work with, is not worth while.
Q. Where lay you the key of your lodge? A. Two
feet from the lodge door,
beneath a green divot.
---
N.B. This is meant of their oath under which
the secrets of the lodge
are hid from the drop; that is from the un-entered prentice, or any
others not
of their society, whom they call drops.
Q. How long should a prentice wear his shirt?
A. Till there be nine
knots in it; three up the back, and three down each arm.
There are likewise various other signs, which they distinguish or
discern
themselves by. As, if one were in a company, and to send for another
mason, he
does it by sending a piece of paper, with a square folded in at the
corner, and
suppose he squeese it in his hand, when it is opened out, the mark
where the
square point was folded in, is the thing that's noticed. Or, if he send
his
glove, then the square put on the first knuckle of the second finger,
with the
thumb nail, or some other thing.
To find another by drinking, one says, "Drink". The other answers
"No". He saith the second time, "Drink". The other answers,
"After you is good manners" Again he saith "Drink I warrant
you". And then he takes it.
Coming to a house where masons may be, he is to knowck three knocks on
the
door, a lesser, a more, a more. One gives the sign of the right hand up
the
left side; or if riding, he is to strike the horse over the left
shoulder. If
in a land where their language is not known, he is to kneel with one
knee,
holding up his hand before the masons.
If one coming into a company, wants to know whether there be a mason in
the
same; as he comes in, he makes himself to stumble, and says, "The days
for
seeing, the night's for hearing; God be thanked we all have our formal
mercies.
"There is no difference between a dun cow and a dun humble cow."
Then, if a mason be in the company, he says, "What says the fellow? He
answers, "I say nothing but what I may say again. There is no
difference
between a dun cow and a dun humble cow."
A mason's horse is found out among others by the left foot stirrup
being laid
up.
To know if one or more masons be in a company which one meets on the
way, he
says, "Who walks". Then, if one be there, he says, "A man
walks." If more be there the answer is "Men walk" Then says he
"Good men and masters met you be: God bless all your company." Or he
gives the sign, by the right hand above the breast, which is call the
fellow-crafts due guard. and the grip, by clasping his fingers at the
wrist,
next at the elbow; or placing himself hand to hand, foot to foot, knee
to knee,
ear to ear and says "Great you, great you, God greateth you, and make
you
a good master-mason: I'm a young man going to push my fortune; If you
can
furnish me you will do well."
I shall now give an account of what they call the Monday's lesson. ----
When
the prentice comes to his master's kitchen-door, he is to knock three
knocks; a
lesser, a more and a more. If none answers, he is to lift the sneck,
and go in
and wash the dishes and sweep the house.
Q. How far is the prentice to carry off the
ashes? A. As far off until
he see the smoke come out of the chimney head.
After that he goes to his master's chamber door, and knocks three
knocks; a
lesser, a more, and a more and says, "Master are you waking? If he
answer,
"Not so sound but what I may be wakened." then he goes in. His master
asks him "What's a morn is it? He answers, "It is a fair morning; the
wind's in the west, and the sun's in the east' past five, going six."
His
master says, "Who told you that?" The prentice answers, "he met
with a hather man" "Ay (says his master), sorrow is ay soon up at the
morn.
Q. How doth the prentice give his master his
shirt? A. He gives it with
the left sleeve foremost, and the neck of it next to him, with the
breast of it
upermost, in readiness to put on. In like manner he gives him the rest
of his
cloaths. After that , he gives him water to wash himself; then he
offers him a
cloth to dry himself; he will not have that; he offers him his
shirt-tail; he
will not have that; then he bids him do his next best. After that he
follows
his master up street, down street, with his right foot at his master, a
left,
sword point, within stroke of a nine inch gage till he come within
sixteen feet
and an half of the lodge-door, there he prentice leaves him. And he
goes to
sort up the lodge, and put the things in order; after which, he calls
in the
men to work.
And this is the amount of that inventer matter; or all I can remember
that is
material in it.
P.S. There was printed, in the year 1747
(ix.404) A protestation and
declinature from the society of Operative masons in the lodge at
Torphichen, to
meet at Livingston kirk. Dec 27, 1739: subscribed, of that dat, at
Kirknewton,
by James Chrystie: with a subscribed adherence, at the same place of
the same
date, by James Aikman, Andrew Purdie and John Chrystie: and with
another
subscribed adherence, at Dalkeith, July 27, 1747, by John Miller.
In that paper, they renounce the mason-oath, as finding the same
"sinful
and unlawful". both as to its matter and form, and therefore not
binding
upon their conscience." They declare, that it is imposed and
administered,
"With such rites:, ceremonies and circumstances as are in themselves
sinful and unwarrantable and a symbolising with idolaters; such as;
kneeling
upon their bare knees, and the naked arm upon the Bible;" --- That
"it is and must be to intrant be sworn rashly; without allowing a copy
of
the said oath and time duly and deliberately to consider the lawfulness
of it;
the matter thereof, or things, sworn to therein, never being under
their
serious consideration previous to the swearing of that oath; seeing the
person
swearing knows what he is swearing to;" -- That they "do look upon
the dreadful wickedness, superstition, idolatory, blasphemy and
profanation of
the name and ordinance of God, which is contained in and annexed to
that oath,
altogether unbecoming the name and professions of Christians; by the
which
unlawful means of secrecy, many are rashly and inconsiderately
precipitated and
slily drawn into that sinful confederacy and wickedness above said, ere
ever
they can be aware of it." --- What "it is an appending the seal of a
solemn oath, containing horrid, dreadful and uncommon imprecations, to
a blank,
yea to worse, to ridiculous nonsense and superstition: nonsense, (and
that with
this aggravation, of profaning the sacred scriptures, by intermixing
them
therewith), only fit for the amusement of children in a winter-evening;
most of
the secrets being idle stuff or lyes, and other parts of it
superstitions, only
becoming heathens and idolaters." -- Moreover, they declare, that the
secrecy is broke and disclosed, by "what is already published to the
world
in print; concerning which, (they say) there have been many lyes and
equivocations, in denying the same, though they contain in the
substance of the
mystery.
I
am etc.
D.B.
N.B. With his letter, above inserted, Mr. D.B. sent us the paper he
mentions
(132), which is dated Nov 13, 1751 and another of the same handwriting
and
subscription, dated Feb 20, 1752, also a paper containing several
queries which
he sent to the mason, for explaining some things in his papers, and the
mason's
answers. Having compared the preceding narrative with these papers, we
find that
it is faithful taken from them; so that whatever shall be thought of
the
mason's conduct, which it does not become us either to justify or
condemn, the
authenticity of the narrative may be depended on.)
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