A Gleam Of Ages.

goddess of herds and flocks , and of domestic animalgenerally . <¦ There wero many others located at different pl * u : r .-throughout Egypt , such as to Sol , the sun ; Terra , the earth : Saturn , the timo ; Pomona , the goddess of fruits mi * : :

flowers ; Mercury , the god of eloquence * . Ceres , the geddess of agriculture ; Apollo , the god of medicine , music . poetry and the fine arts ; . / Eolus , the god of wind and storm ; and Venus , tho goddess of beaut y and the mother of love . .

It is to these heathen ideas of gods that tho world i indebted for improvement in architecture , tho fine arts and the sciences , as well as for civilisation . For as Adam and Eve walked in the garden of Eden in the presence of J :

visible God , a God whoso form was like unto theirs , so succeeding generations gave their gods material forms , and these gods were so fashioned as to represent their ideas ; Ceres with the sheaf of wheat , fcho god of war with hi ? sword , spear , bows and arrows , & c .

But as time grow apace , instead of thc ancients having their gods in their families , rude huts were built in which to place them , and as they learned or discovered new gods , new buildings were required for them , each building bein » a rival in size and strength and beauty of its predecessor ,

until we find them abandoning the mounds and pyramid .- ) , and building temples , and from time to timo temples were built , until architecture was so understood by tho Egyptians

that they planned , constructed and completed thafc remarkable structure the Temple of Diana , at Ephesn 3 , which for size and grandeur is classed among the seven wonders of the world .

The most ancient ; as well as the mosfc respected of these mysteries were located afc Memphis , and wero called the Egyptian mysteries . Their teachings included the ceremonies of religious worship as offered to the respective deities , as well as the arts of architecture , music , poetry ,

writing by hieroglyphics , sculpture and painting , and the sciences of astronomy , geometry and how host to preserve their own lives while living , as well as their bodies when dead , and how to kill those with whom they were afc Avar . Both men and women were admitted into these mysteries ,

native as well as foreign , and thus we account for thc tradition in Mahomedan mysteries to-day : That Ishmael , son of Hagar , an Egyptian woman , by Abraham , carried these mysterious teachings into Arabia , founded the city of

Mecca , built a temple thc counterpart of those in Egypt , and founded the Mahomedan race , which eventually produced Mahomefc , the son of God , the promised Messiah of the Bible .

These Egyptian mysteries , so old thafc their origin is lost in antiquity , neither legend or song pretending to give a time when they did not exist , must be taken as simply the beginning of secret societies so far as history is concerned , for from them we trace , step by step aud from time to time , modern Freemasonry .

At first the ceremony of initiation of the Egyptians represented the progress of man from barbarism to civilization , his struggles and toils through gloom and terror until he arrived to perfection , and the candidate was the principal character in the drama . " He was required

to pass seven days in sohtute and meditation , to abstain from all unchaste acts , confine liimself to li ght diet , and to purify the body by frequent ablutions and severe mortifications of the flesh . Being thus prepared the candidate was ordered to enter the pyramid during the

night , when lie had to descend on his hands and knees throngh a narrow passage , without step- * , until he reached a cave-like opening , through which he hnd to crawl to another subterranean cave , on the walls of which he found inscribed the following words : ' The mortal who shall

travel over this road alone , without hesitating or looking behind , shall be purified by fire , by water and by air , and if he can surmount thc fear of death he shall emerge from the bosom of the earth ; he shall revisit tbo light aud claim the right of preparing his soul for the reception of the

mysteries of the great goddess Isis . At the same time three priests , disguised in masks resembling the heads of jackals , and armed with swords , sought to frighten hira , first by their appearance and noise , and afterwards by enumerating the dangers that awaited him on his journey .

If his courage did not fail hira here , he wa <* permitted to pass on to the hall of fire . This was a large apartment lined with burning stuffs , and fche floor was a grate , painted flame colour . Through this hall he was obliged to pass wifch the greatest speed to avoid the effects of the flames

¦ and heat . Having overcome this difficulty he next encountered a wide channel fed from the waters of the Nile . Over this stream he had to swim , with a small lamp which furnished all tho light that was afforded him . On reaching tho opposite side he fonnd * a

narrow passage leading to a lauding place about six feet square , the floor of which was made movable b y mechanism beneath . In front was an ivory door , opening inward and preventing further advance . On attempting to turn two large rir ; gs annexed to the door , in hopes of

continuing his journey , the machinery was set in motion and thc floor gavo way , leaving him suspended by tho arms over an apparently deep abyss , from which proceeded i violent and piercing current of cold air . Tho lamp waq extinguished and he remained in complete darkness . In

this ceremony ifc will be observed that tho candidate was exposed to the action of the four great purifying elements , earth , fire , water and air . After the candidate had remained suspended over the abyss for a few moments the floor resumed its original position , the ivory door flow

open , disclosing to his view the sanctuary of Isis , illuminated with a blaze of light , whore the priests were assembled , clothed in tho ceremonial robes of the Order , bearing in their bauds mysterious symbols , and singing hymns of

praise to thoir divinity , who welcomed and congratulated hira on his courage and escape from the dangers which had apparently surrounded him . " An obligation of secrecy was then administered to him . He was then retained in

tho pyramid for several months and instructed in tho mysteries of tho Order , such as the signs , symbols , and the meanings thereof , and tho mysteries of their religious worship as well as tho arts and sciences . I call attention to another of thoir ceremonies , from tho

fact that it is said by some to ba the foundation for the Christian religion . This was the tragedy of Osiris . He , the god of good , was represented as having been murdered by Typhon , the god of evil . It represented the grief of the people afc his death , thc search for the body , the finding

of ifc ; the coming to life again of Osiris , and the ultimate destruction of Typhon , the god of evil . And Masonry today is but the civilised and enlightened child of the Egyptian mysteries .

These mysteries were carried into Asia by the Phoenicians , and ifc is thus we find fche ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon , on the Mediterranean , noted for their strong walls and large temples , two thousand years before fche birth of Christ .

Orpheus , a Grecian philosopher , was initiated by the Egyptians many years before the Trojm war , which commenced 1195 B . C . Orpheus returned to Greece and established an Order of mysteries known as the Orphic , and "these mysteries were the fountain of Grecian civilisation . Through thoir influence tbo untamed tribes

of Greece were trained to the habits of civilised life , united in towns and cities , and instructed in the arts and sciences . " In this mystic society commenced the development of

those great ideas winch regenerated Greece , placed it fche head of the civilised world , and made ifc preeminent science , literature , philosophy and poetry , and in all the arts that enrich society and embellish life .

From Greece , Egypt and Syria , these mysteries scattered over tho entire world . They were carried by Odin , an Asiatic chieftain , around the Caspian sea , across thc Ural mountains , up through Russia , and westward through Europe . We find fchem among the Druids of Engknd , tho

Celfc . ° , Goths and Franks of western Europe , and the Huns of Russia , who carried fchem to China . They are found among thc Esquimaux of . North America , the Indians of the plains , and the Mound builders of California and New

Mexico . They were found by Cortez among the Aztecs of Mexico , and traces of them are found in the caves of Yucatan as well as among fche Patagonians of South America .

We find thafc the Sidonian builders , or Dionysian architects , of ancienfcTyre and Sidon , in the days of King Solomon , were the most proficient in these mysteries , as they were then denominated , but which , to-day , would be called skilled mechanics or artizans .

Th * s society was called upon by Solomon to aid in building of the Temple at Jerusalem . He had the wisdom to plan , but nofc the skill to construct that magnificent edifice . Most people , aud some Masons , suppose that Masonry originated with fche building of fche Temple at Jerusalem ,