THE CORONATION STONE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1972, 26 February 1885, Page 4

THE CORONATION STONE.

In the House of Commons the other inglit, Mi Kenny complained that the pul>hc nuticc attached to the coionation cliaii in Westminster Abbey had been .ilteied l>y the omission of nil iifctencc to the lcg< till that the eoionation stone (in Irsh, Lia Fail) was first u*cd for the coronation of the Irish King-?, and was oul> cai i icd to Scotland by Fergus, ths liish King who subdued that country. Mr Shaw- Lefe vie, m reply, offered to show the lion, member a lettei of expl.nution he had reiened fiom De.vi Hr.idley. Many yeais a^'O, the De.in wrote, an inscription in Latin Mas attached to it, stating th »t the stone was the pillow on which Jacob rested his head at Bethel, and the legend went on to say th.it it w.-n uiriicd f i oni I'llestine to Kgvpt, and thence to Spain Fiotn Spain it was >-iid to have been conveyed to the Hill of Tai.i, in Ireland. In the jrar 1851, in order to meet the conxeniencu of the xisitois to the Great Kxhibition, the head guide wiote on a lnbtl a notice to the i fleet th.it the stone had been used at the coionation of the ancient Kings of Scotland and Ii eland, but he omitted all lefeience to the legend 1 elating to Jacob's pillow, w bile retaining the closing part refeiing to Ii eland. The label basing become dusty and dirty, the guide, who has consideiablo antiquarian knowledge, turned it over recently, and on the back wrote simply the historical fact with regard to Scotland, and ignoted the legend entirely. Dean Bradley adds that geologists ha\e conclusively shown that the chair is of Scotch limestone, and that no stone of the kind is to be found in Palestine or Egypt. He ha«, Low ever, in contemplation the addition of a separate inscription setting forth the curious legend of its trawl i in the Holy Land as distinct from the authenticated history of the stone. A correspondent supplies the following account of the famous stone :—" The stone in our coronation chaii is supposed to have been taken away from Bethel by the House of Joseph when they dcs tioycd the city and its inhabitants (Judges i ); and a tradition that whosoever posstssed that stone would be especially blessed, and be king or chief, was current among the lews ; the stone itself being guarded by thun with jealous caie. " On the first destruction of Jerusalem, some of the Koyal Family of Judnh aie supposed to have e^enped, and to have gone in search of an asylum beyond the sea, taking this precious stone with them. "Their resting place w.is lieland, where they founded a kingdom. Many centuries .ifterwaids a bt other of the King descended fiom these exiles, named Feigus, went with his biothei's permission, to found a kingdom in Scotland. He s.ud, however, he would not go without the sacred stone This his brother refused to give him ; but Fetgua stole it, and established a kingdom in Scotland. His descendants became Kings of all Scotland, and were ciovvnud sitting on that stone, which w.is taken away by Edward I , and is now in Westminster Abbey." If fates go right, w hoi e'er this stone i-» found. The Scots shall monarch-) of that realm be ciown'd.

SIX WILIIAM FoII.HT's Yll-W OF Masonm. — One of the best lawyeis known to the English Bar, now more than tliiee ducjrius passed away — Sii William Follrtt — is baitl to baveregaided the Masonic Institution as one of the most hallowed means of beneficence among the associations of uarth. Sir William was Attoiney-Getientl of Kngland when he had the follow ing corncisution with one wl.o aftei wards became a shining light in the great Brotherhood of Mason-i. This Bi other leports us followi :—": — " In the courbe of conversation with Sir W. Follett, I interred fioin a passing iein.uk th.it he had become a Mason. I asked if my conclusion was couect. 'It is,' was his leply ;• I was initiated at Cambiidge.' Light had not then beamed upon myself ; and I e\piessed in scotting terms my astonishincut 'In youi tarly struggles at the Bar, 1 remarked lie, with quiet earnestness, ' you require something to icconcile you to your kind. You s>ee so much of bittemebs, and rivalry, and jealously, ami hatred, that you are thankful to call into active agency a system which creates, in all its varieties, kindly sympathy, cordial and widespread benevolence and brotheily love.' ' But suiely,' said I, ' 3011 don't go the length of averting that Masonry does all this ?' ' And more ! The tiue Mason thinks no ill of hit> brother, and cherishes no designs against him. The system annihilates parties. And as to censoriousness and calumny, most salutiry and stiingent is the curb which Masonic piinciples, duly earned out, apply to an unbridled tongue.' ' Well, well, you cannot connect it with religion; you cannot say, or athim of it, that Musomy is a 1 elisions system.' ' By and by jou will know better was his ltply. ' I^ow I will only say that the Bible is ne\cr closed in a Masonic lodge ; that Masons habitually use prayer 111 their lodges ; and, in point ot iact, never assemble for any put pose without perfoiming acts of leligion.' ' I gave you ttedit,' continued I, with a smile, ' for being more thoionghly emancipated fiom nui&eiy trammels and slavish pi ejndiceb,' . . . ' Meanwhile,' said he, 'is it not worth while to belong to a fiaternity whose pi maples, if universal, would put down at once and for ever the siltish and laucorous feelings which now divide and distiact society .' "— Keystone.