The Secrets Of Freemasonry.

THE SECRETS OF FREEMASONRY .

THE following appears in the Liverpool T > aili / Post from " A Non-Masonic Contributor " : — I am not a Freemason , neither do I intend ever becoming one , no mutter how the brethren may press mo to join tho body . Not that I have any particular reason for objecting to being mado a Mason . Some of my most intimate friends are Masons , and , notwithstanding

what follows in this colnmn , I am not aware of having suffered any way in consequence . Freemasonry I have in the past looked npon as being the means to a good deal of social enjoyment ; and if ninetenths of the brethren spoke thoir minds , they would admit that that is nearly all that thoy obtain from being a Mason and a brother . At all events , their wives would say so , and the female view of the

question is to my mind not very far off the square . For thoso Avho delight in a festive life Masonry shonld afford them tho most pleasure j but in tho caso of studiously-inclined people like myself , life is too short for such indulgences . There aro others who take a widely different view of the craft to thafc which I do , and who look upon it as a social plagno—a system which aims at uprooting all the forms of

Government which exist in this or ' any country on the face of the globe . Snch a ono is the author of a book which has been placed in my hands , and which professes to be an exposure of tho Avhole of tho secrets , aims , and designs of tho craft . Thoso secrets , I admit , have ever excited tho curiosity not only of the Mrs . Candles , but , it must be confessed , of nearly everybody ontside the order at one time or

another ; and tho only way in which it has heretofore been able properly to gratify that curiosity has been for those who were curious to bo admitted into the brotherhood , which Masonio writers claim to have had a being " ever since symmetry began , and harmony displayed her charms . " This is rather an indefinite period from which to date its origin , and Solomon ' s Temple is considered by the craft , I believe ,

to be a landmark more easily appreciated and moro tangible to awear by . Of the great antiquity of the order thero is , however , no room for doubt ; and its introduction into Britain , we aro told , took place so far back as the year 674 . That an institution which has existed so long , and whose members are to be found in almost every country under tho sun , should havo preserved its secrets inviolate , can scarcely

be credited , yet Freemasons assert that it is so . The book , however , to which I have referred professes to disclose tho whole ceremonial of tho order , with all the passwords , grips , & c , connected therewith , and Avhich , if correct in its description , is likely to bring the craft into no little disrepute . Tho book has to a non-Mason an air of truth about it ; the author writes with strong feeling on the subject , and terrible

as some of the oaths are which he , as a Mason , must have subscribed to , he seems to have no scruple in breaking them , and proclaiming to the ^ world at largo what the secrets of the order are . The author is a citizen of the City of Dublin , where the work has recently been published , and his deep-rooted hatred of the system will , no doubt , be attributed by some of my Masonic readers to the fact that ho is a

Roman Catholic by religion . In his introduction to the book , our author , speaking of the close brotherhood which , he asserts , exists between English Freemasonry and that of the Continent , says : — "Let England speak for England ; bnt certain it is that ( he p-iblic and private feelings of high-principled and religious Ireland recoils in horror from tho blood-stained , plundering , unprincipled , and

blasphemous Freemasonry of the Continent . Owing to the strength and pressure of tho Christian-loving element in these countries , British and Irish Freemasons are constantly compelled , in words at least , to disclaim all connection or identity with the craft of the Continent . " Bat notwithstanding these disclaimers , he maintains that they am in truth all one body , and are animated by one and tho same spirit . Not

only does he say there is great political danger from the workings of such a vast body , but there is shown to be groat social danger , which ho exemplifies in tho uniform conduct of Freemasons in all classes and situations . " On corporations and poor-law mendicity boards , grand juries , railway and bank companies , and public offices , ho ( the reader ) will find that system equally uniform , in army , constabulary , law

courts , elections , Ac ., —everywhere justice forgotten and merit over , looked for Masonic fraternal love ; and 1 think he will agree with me that a Freemason is a public and private enemy of God and man . " The solution of all this he thinks is to be fonnd in the clause repeated in each Masonic oath . "I swear thafc I will never wrong a brother Mason of a penny , nor suffer him to be wronged . I will give him

timely notice of all danger thafc threatens him . I will not speak any evil nor snfifer it to be spoken of a brother Mason behind his back . " And again , " I will esponse his cause so far as to extricate him from the same , whether he bo right or wrong . " The writer of the book from which I havo quoted then goes on to describe the ceremonies of Freemasonry , in which tomfoolery seems

to predominate , but is somewhat balanced with a considerable sprinkling of blasphemy and profanity , if what I read is an accurate account of what really takes place . As most people who have talked with a Freemason know , the first degree conferred on the novice seeking to bo initiated is that of the apprentice , which he receives in the Lodge " tyled with secrecy and brotherly love , and also by a brother

of the degree outside tho door with a drawn sword , so as to keep off all coteaii * " ( dogs—profane ones , such as myself ) , " eavesdroppers , and persons unqualified to pass . " After somo curious preliminaries , tho candidate is brought in and divested of the greater portion of his clothing , and also blindfolded . One of the deacons of the lodge introduces him as a poor blind candidate who has long been desirous of being brought from darkness to light , which explains , I supposewhy

, the process of blindfolding was in the first instance gone through . The candidate's breast having been duly pricked with tho point of a compass , which is intended to be a recollection to his mind , aud a warning to his conscience of instant death in caso of revolt , tho lodgo engages in prayer , after which the candidate takes the oath pledging himself not to make known the secrets of Freemasonry , without the least equivocation , mental reservation , or self-ovasfon of miud what .

ever , " binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across from ear to ear , my tongue torn out by the roots , and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea , a cable-tow ' s length from the shore at low water mark , where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty . fonr hours . So help me God andkeep me steadfast . " Having earned the right to be called a Freemason , the candidate is asked

what ho desires , and , being still blindfolded , ho naturally asks for light . With audacious profanity , the Master of the Lodge , so we are told , goes on to say . " And God said let there be light , and there was light , " the bandages being simultaneously removed from the eyes of the candidate , after which they " part on tho square" and " in the namo of the Lord !"

The proceedings at the conferring of tho second degree of " fellow , craft Mason" are conducted under almost similar conditions , and likewise "in the name of tho Lord" —a favourite phrase , it would soem , with tho brethren on such occasions . Tho oath > vhioh the can . didate subscribes to is oven more horrible in its details than the preceding one , aud he binds himself " under no less penalty than to havo

my left breast torn open , my heart and vitals taken from me hence , throAvn over my left shoulder , and carried to tho valley of Jehosophafc , there to become a prey to the wild beasts of tho field and tho vultures of the air , shonld I wilfully violate or transgress any part of this my solemn oath or obligation to a fellow-craft Mason . " Tho Master

Mason degreo requires an oath of still greater responsibility , as ifc binds him who takes it not to divulge a Master Mason ' s secret given to him as such , murder aud treason only excepted , and they left to his own option . " The penalty attached to this oath is that tho body of the Master Mason who breaks it shall he severed in two in the centre .

divided to the north and sonth , his boAvels burned to ashes and scattered to tho four winds of heaven , so that there might not remain the least remembrance among mon and Masons of so vile and . perjured a wretch . The buffoonery which is said to follow excels even that which is supposed to be indulged at lodges of Buffaloes and other kindred gatherings , but where tho same profanity is not to be

found . Sacred subjects are travestied , so tho book tells me , to such an extent that one wonders how a candidate possessed of any religions feelings at all can submit to tako part in the blasphemous proceed , ings which our author so circumstantially describes . The ^ candidate is set to pray at an altar , where he is said to represent Hiram at the Sanctum Sanctorum of Solomon , and who , Masonry tells us , went

there daily at high noon to offer prayers to the Deity and draw designs upon his trestle board . " Whilst so engaged , Hiram was set upon by three ruffians , and cruelly murdered because he would not reveal the Master Mason's word . In the conferring of tho degree , a sham attack is made on the candidate , who is supposed to bo dealt with as was Hiram , and buried in tho adjoining grounds . Suddenly ,

the candidate is missed ; King Solomon ( represented by the Worshipful Master ) calls the roll of the workmen of the Temple ; the three ruffians who did the deed of violence confess their crime : the body of the unfortunate candidate is discovered ; a circle is formed round it ; and tho Master , having read some passages of Scripture , succeeds in restoring him to life , and , presto ! he is a full-blown Master Mason .

The Past Master ' s degree is enacted amid intentional riotous confu sion , the object of this confusion being to convoy to the candidate the important lesson never to solicit or accept any office or station to fill which he does not know himself to be amply qualified . To be made a Mark Master the candidate goes through a less try ing ordeal , but there seems to bo associated with ifc no littlo irreverent use of the

sacred Word , which is brought more and moro into requisition as tho higher degrees are reached , as , for instance , in conferring of f h a Most Excellent Master ' s degree , when tho 21 th Psalm is read by thi Master of the Lodge , tho brethren lifting their heads in response to the words , " Lift up your heads , 0 ye gates , and tho King of Glory shall come in . " After somo more psalm chanting , the pass-word is

given to the candidate ; a " sleight of hand" process , I am told , supplies tho Lodge " with the fire that came down from Heaven , " which fortunately is not made to burn up snch a blasphemous baud of brethren as they must be , if my author tells the truth , as they perform the profane ceremonial , in which the Ark of the Covenant is in . troduced ; and the Lodge is afterwards closed . The next in order is

the Royal Arch Mason ' s degree , and the conferring of ifc appears to involve still more profane ceremonial , in tho course of which the tabernacle , Moses and tho burning bush , tho siege of Jerusalem , the Ark of the Covenant , the hidden manna , and Aaron ' s rod are in turn introduced—a piece of loaf sngar , oar author says , doing service for the manna . The other degrees to which I would briefly make special

reference is the Knight Templars , and as this involves the indulgence in no less than five libations of wine , presumably that degree is beyond the ken of teetotallers . The last of the libations is drunk from a human skull ; and shonld the candidate hesitate to drink of tho hideous cup , ho eventually drains it off under tho pointed compulsion of the swords of the Sir Knights , repeating after the Eminent

Commander the words , — " This pure wine I take from this cap in testimony of my belief id the immortality of the soul and the mortality of the body , and as the sins of the whole world were laid upon the head of our Saviour , so may the sins of the person whoso skull this once was be heaped upoa my head in addition to my own , ancl may they appear in judgment

against me both hero and hereafter , should I violate or transgress any obligation in Masonry . " Thero are other degrees iu Freemasonry to which I have nofc referred , bat assuming the correctness of what is described in the book from which I have been quoting , I think I have reproduced here sufficient to show that Freemasonry , if conducted in the manner stated , is an institution which most people in this country at least

wonld shrink from having anything to do with . The book concludes with an explanation of the grips and passwords given on the attain , ment of the various degrees . Tho password of the entered apprentice is given as " Boaz , " those of the fellow-craftsman " Shibboleth " and "Jachin , " a Master Mason "Tubal-cain" and "Mac-bon ach ; " a Mark Master Mason , " Joppa" and " Soi Eoe" Most Excellent Master Mason , "Rabbonij" tho Eoyal Arch degree , " Jaa . buh . lun "