THEN AND NOW. What stirred the stalwart Knights of old, Well worthy of their spurs of gold, Their plumed casques and faulchions bright? All moral duty to fulfill, And bade them wield the sword with skill, But always in and for the Right! And need we not in these our days, When Wrong is robed in our courtly ways, The buckler of our fair renown, With mobile tongue and keen-edged wit, We see in Vision's golden glow Were then Love's gifts and trophies won; Or half congeals, the living rills Old Liberality's polluted throne! Why can't we, in such tranceful hour. And do as did the Knights of old? 'Twere worth the venture! Then I claim And let illusions be dispelled! -Freemason's Magazine. Faith, Hope, and Charity Cf. 1 Cor., xiii, and Kenelm Digby's Broadstone of Honor, p. 133 + Knights Templar. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF SIR PHILIP SWIGERT OF KY. 401 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF SIR PHILIP SWIGERT OF KY. The following Order issued by M. E. Grand Commander of Knights Templars of Kentucky affords a tolerably extended and very interesting sketch of the Masonic life of one of the most active and efficient working Masons in that Grand Jurisdiction.-ED. Head Quarters of the R. E. Gr. Commander of Knights Templar of Kentucky: MAYSVILLE, KY., Feb. 1, 1872. To all Right Eminent, Eminent, and other True and Courteous Knights throughout the Jurisdiction of Kentucky, Greeting : FRATERS:-Death-solemn, mysterious and awful-has again. penetrated the recesses of our Asylum, and robbed us of another visible object of our love and esteem. Our beloved Frater, Sir Philip Swigert, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter, and Past Grand Puissant of the Grand Council of Kentucky, is no more. He died at his home in the city of Frankfort, Ky., on the 31st of December last, at 4 o'clock. His disease was pneumonia, from which he had been a sufferer for several weeks, his bodily energies gradually yielding, until, on the last day of the expiring year, his spirit passed away from earth. His family and immediate relatives were at his bedside during his last hours, to receive his final messages. Requiescat in pace. Philip Swigert was born in Fayette Co., on the 27th of May, 1798. He was therefore in his 74th year at the time of his death. His parents were of German ancestry, in scanty circumstances, and he consequently was left to his own resources entirely in making a living. During his early manhood he was employed for a time as a clerk in the Circuit Court of Woodford, under John McKinsey. About the year 1822 he removed to Frankfort. To the discharge of public and private trusts, Philip Swigert was frequently called, holding probably as many official positions as any man of his time. As a member of the Masonic Brotherhood he was highly distinguished, constituting one of its most enlightened and honored officials. His interest in the mysteries and welfare of the craft seemed never to abate, his attendance being constant, and his work for its upbuilding most inHe took the degree of Master Mason in 1819, and in 1820 ne attended the Grand Lodge of Kentucky as representative of Landmark Lodge No. 41. In 1823 he was elected Junior Deacon, holding Cessant. VOL. III.-NO. IX.-26. 402 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF SIR PHILIP SWIGERT OF KY. the office until 1828, when he was elected Grand Treasurer. He held the office of Grand Treasurer until 1832, when he was elected Grand Secretary. He held the position of Grand Secretary twenty-one years. until 1853. In 1854 he was elected Junior Grand Warden; in 1855 he was elected Senior Grand Warden; in 1855 he was elected Deputy Grand Master; and in 1857 he was elected Grand Master. During his term as Grand Master it was his custom to keep a minute of his decisions on Masonic jurisprudence, which were deemed of so high value and correctness by the Crand Lodge, that it subsequently ordered them published for future guidance. In 1822 Mr. Swigert was elected Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter, holding this position until the day of his death, with the exception of the years 1839-40, when Thomas C. Orear was Secretary. The Chapter re-elected him while yet he lay upon his bed of death. He was elected Puissant Grand Master of the Grand Council in 1858. holding the office from the inauguration of that Grand Body until October, 1871, at which time he requested to be relieved, and Thos. Todd was elected his successor. He was a regular, active and bright member of Hiram Lodge No. 4, in Frankfort, for thirty-three years. As tributes to his worth, Philip Swigert Lodge No. 218, at Fisherville. Jefferson County; Swigert Chapter No. 40, at Cadiz, Trigg County: and Philip Swigert Council No. 26, at Eddysville, Lyon County, were named in his honor. He was also a Knight Templar, member of Frankfort Commandery No. 4, and represented the same at the meeting of the Grand Commandery of Kentucky in July last. As a Knight Templar, he worked in faith and humility, love and hope. He was kindly affectioned with brotherly love; in honor preferring others; not slothful in business. he served the Lord; distributed to the necessities of others, and while he rejoiced with the happy, he could weep with those who wept. And now he has sheathed his untarnished sword, and through the frowning gates of death found the way to eternal life. We mourn his loss, but console ourselves with the reflection that the souls of the righteous and good are immortal, and their influences live beyond the grave. And the influence of his brilliant example must long continue. **Though lead, he yet speaks," and Fraters, let him not speak in vain. Be, like him, true to your principles. Let Knightly conduct attest the sincerity of your Knightly profession. In token of respect for his memory, the Right Eminent Grand Commander directs that this order shall be read at the head of the lines (the Knights being formed in due array in all the commanderies of his jurisdiction, at the conclave held next after its reception, and Officers and Knights shall wear a rosette of 403 black crape upon their left breasts, and at the hilt of their swords for thirty days from this date. Banners will also be trimmed with crape during the same time. The Right Eminent Grand Commander affectionately and fraternally greets you, and prays that the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that good Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, may make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. By order of In Knightly courtesy and esteem, R. E. SIR MARTIN H. SMITH, C. MUNGER, Gr. Recorder. PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS. The French have a proverb to the effect that "no one is bound by the impossible," or, in other words, that there are situations in which a man may be placed in which he may be excused for not doing that which is beyond his power. But, generally, men are more apt to attempt the impossible than to acknowledge their incapacity. When they find that a difficulty cannot be squarely met and overcome, they set their brains in a ferment to discover some method by which they can get over or under or around it. And, on the principle declared by our old friend Solomon, that "stolen waters are sweet,' evince such zeal and industry in the art of circumvention as, employed they will in a better cause, would make them rich or famous, or both. The observant newspaper reader will remember the developments of this ten<lency in the history of sumptuary legislation for past years. When, by law, it was made an offense to sell alcoholic liquors, one of the earliest devices to evade the penalty was the exhibition of a striped pig, a ticket of admission to the presence of which involved a free drink ; and from the moment of that porcine device till now there has been a constant succession of plans by which the letter and spirit of the law might be evaded. More than this, men have lent themselves to the law breakers in opposition to the law, and thus its moral effect has been completely set aside. We presume we are safe enough in the assertion that this is, in the main, due to the perversity of human nature, and but illustrates the saying that we are prone to evil, and that continually; certain it is, that the facts bear us out in the results we have stated, and prove to a demonstration that the tendency is rather to subvert and circumvent a law which is found to interfere with our wishes and convenience, than to obey it. 66 These remarks apply in an eminent degree to the Masonic law in relation to physical qualifications. It seems difficult, if not impossible, to state a proposition in plainer terms than those used in the old regulation concerning the physical qualifications required in a profane who presents himself as a candidate for Masonry, thus: No Master should take an Apprentice until he has sufficient employment for him, and unless he be a perfect youth, having no maim or defect in his body that may render him incapable of learning the art. (Charges of 1723-) It is possible that there may be a double meaning in the words: "A perfect youth, having no maim or defect in his body;" but we confess our inability to discover it, and, moreover, we submit that it is rather our duty to accept the plain intention and spirit of the regulation than to seek by any forbidden paths by which we may evade its provisions. Nevertheless, we are constantly running against brethren anxious to know whether two and two are four, or whether there is not some process of mental alchemy by which four units may be made to mean some different amount when added together. We have one set of disputants who claim that inasmuch as Masonry is no longer an operative society, the rules once obtaining among men who wrought as practical workmen can no longer be needed, and therefore the qual ifications required can only be moral and mental. These brethren overlook the fact that the law which we have quoted was given to us when the society had entirely lost its distinctive character, as an operative guild, and had become purely speculative and philosophical. It is a distinctive feature of the society, coming to us from its earliest published laws, and has the qualities which make a landmark—that is to say, it is a principle governing the Craft, which cannot be altered or amended without changing the form and nature of Masonry. Hence, every master of a lodge, and every member thereof, should know at once, and without study, that a candidate who is not perfect, and without maim or defect in his body, cannot be made a Mason; but how frequently are we asked whether it would be unlawful to make a profane who has lost a finger, or a leg, or an arm? The answer to such questions is at once suggested by the terms of the regulation, but we incline to the opinion that we are often asked, not that we may define the law, but rather that we may suggest some plan by which it can be successfully evaded. We feel quite certain that no Grand Master in the United States, who has officiated during the past twenty years, has escaped a series of |