THE COMPANIONAGE.
250
officers of
The Steinmetzen had only one warden, the Companions
a Freemason's Lodge.
evidently had more.^
—
The acknowledged principles of the two
rest upon a common foundation
institutions
—
tlie
Companiouage and Freemasonry
:
The Companions profess Honour to God, the desire of preserving their master's
and of yielding to one another mutual support and assistance.
The second of
these protestations may well be paraphrased as their bounden duty.
Now, honour to the
20.
interests,
Almighty, the pursuit of our duty here below, and brotherly relief, are cardinal points of
The Companion, on entering his lodge, is asked, " What seek you
a Freemason's profession.
here
"
and answers,
?
His truth,
is
"
God and
To
the apostles."
arrive at the
knowledge of God and of
the leading precept imparted in our Masonic Lodges.^
The ceremonies
of the
Companionage present many singular features, some of which have
and in the usages of the Steinmetzen ; whilst of others, the
their analogues in Freemasonry,
types are found in the proceedings of the Vehm Gerichte, or Vehmic tribunals of AVestphalia,
in the ceremonial of the Mysteries, and even in the Israelitish customs recorded in the Holy
21.
22.
these
Amongst
Writings.
may be
The sequence of degrees.
The costume and posture
Sir F. Palgrave says
He
tribunal.
is
"
:
of a candidate.
:
Describing the procedure of the Holy Yehme,
is conducted before the dread
Bareheaded and ungirt, the candidate
interrogated as to his qualifications, or rather as to the absence of
He must
disqualification.
briefly noticed
be free born and a Teuton.
any
If the answers are satisfactory, he
then takes the oath, swearing by the Holy Law.
The new Freisschopff was then entrusted
He received the pass-word, by which he was to know his fellows, and
with the secrets.
the grip or sign by which they recognised each other in silence.
If he discloses the secrets,
will be suddenly seized by the ministers of
he is to expect that he
His eyes are
vengeance.
bound, he
is
cast
down on the
soil,
his tongue is torn out through the
back of his neck."
^
According to Grimm, a cord about the neck was used symbolically, in criminal courts, to
denote that the accused submitted his life to the judgment of the court. When used upon
the person of a freeman,
23. Prescribed steps
one
officer to another.
27.
1
signified a slight degree of subjection or servitude."*
during a ceremony. 24. Conventional knocks. 25. Progression from
An examination on previously imparted instruction (p. 14).
26.
Circumambnlation.
" In
warden
it
Tliis rite is
probably a
relic of
different rites, the positions of these officers [wardens] vary.
Sun-worship.
In ancient Greece,
In the York and American
rites,
the senior
—
and the junior in the south. In the French and Scottish rites, both wardens are in the west
"
the senior in the north-west aud the junior in the south-west (Mackey's Encyclopiedia).
' "
As a Freemason, let me recommend to your most serious 6