Freemasonry In Spain.

example of his great uncle Sovereign G . Commander Don Francis de Bourbon , and say as he did—Aro Spaniards truly informed of the real character of ITreeniasonry ? There are in fact somo admirable Masons in Spain , Masons gifted with the most extensive erudition , and with a

knowledge which accords well with the modesty of their demeanour , such men as Becerra , Sagasta , Castelar , Balaguer , Montijo , Lanoly-Persi , Beranger , Echegaray , Canovas , Vinader , Romero Robledo , Duke Fernan Nunez , Dnke Prim , and others , who are conspicuous personages , and who

will always be au honour to their country . Ia the field oi labour , among the indefatigable workers who never ceased for an instant from thoir toil , aro to be found such men as Utor , Diaz y Perez , Santos Granados ,

Feito , Caballero de Puga , Rojo Arias , Beltran , Ogea , and others , who incessantly labour to spread a knowledge of Masonry . Among the thinkers are to be found such guides to Masonic knowledge as Castro , Almeida , Fors , Foneillas , and Hiraldez .

Such is the brief sketch of "Freemasonry in Spain " from the pen of Raphael Sunye , 33 rd degree , in the pages of our Masonic contemporary for July last . A further study in reference to the same subject is promised for a future

number , but it strikes us that Spanish Freemasonry bears but an indifferent resemblance , even in its most favourable aspect , to genuine Freemasonry , at least as ifc is understood by the best exponents of the Craft in this country .

Christian Saints And Their Supposed Functions.

CHRISTIAN SAINTS AND THEIR SUPPOSED FUNCTIONS .

BY BRO . JACOB NORTON . IF all the stories written about saints were true , then , instead of talking about saints' rest we ought to say saints' -unrest . It seems to me that the saints are punished worse than criminals in " Kingdom come . " Just imagine our two Saints John having to look after the doings of

about 500 , 000 Masons m tbe United States of America ; and more especiall y when they are divided into half a dozen camps of hostile Sovereign Grand Commanders .

Why , the Saints John must be all the time on the tramp from one end of the country to the other to look after them . But if we look a little further , it would seem that the trouble of the Saints John with their Masouic

proteges is but a fly-bite to what other patron saints have to suffer , for I find in the " New Curiosities of Literature , " by Soane , the following startling statements : — " St . Dismas and St . Nichols ( are the patron saints or ) preside over thieves ; St . Martin and St . Urbin over

drunkards , to guard them from falling into kennels ; St . Mathurin over fools ; Sfc . Magdalene , St . Apa , and St . Bridget over prostitutes . " Now , just imagine how impossible it would appear for two policemen to look after all the drunkards' dens in the

city of Boston , and the same may be said about guardians of thieves and prostitutes of our city alone . But here we have two or three saints to look after all the drunkards , & c , in the world ! But even the patron saints of thieves , drunkards and prostitutes , appear

to have an easy time when compared with the labours of St . Mathurin , who has to look after all the fools in the world . Poor fellow ! he cannot enjoy a moment of repose . Indeed , I cannot see how either of fche saints can spare a few minutes for singing the Doxology , Old Hundred ,

or even the shortest Psalm . I ask now , who would be silly enough to torture himself all his lifetime in order to become a saint , when the only reward he gets for it hereafter is the function of a tramping policeman , to look after thieves , drunkards , fools , prostitutes .

Freemasons , & c . ? But here are some more startling statements . In Michael Wodd ' s Dialogue , 1554 , we read : — " If we were sick of the pestilence , we run to St . Rorke ; if of the ague , to Sfc . Peruel or Master John Shorne ; if men were in prisonthey prayed to St . Leonard : if the

, Welshman would have a purse , he prayed to Darvel Gatherne ; if a wife were weary of her husband , she offered ales at Poules and afc London to Sfc . Uncumber . " '' The following saints are invoked against various

diseases : St . Agatha against sore breasts , St . Anthony against inflammation , Sfc . Apollonia and St . Lucy against tooth-ache , Sfc . Benedict against stone and poison , St . Blaise against bone sticking in the throat , fire and

Christian Saints And Their Supposed Functions.

inflammation , St . Christopher and St . Mark against sudden death , Sfc . Clara against sore eyes , St . Genoa against the gout , Sfc . Job and St . Fiage against venereal diseases , St . John against epilepsy and poison , St . Liberious against stone and fistula , St . Maine against scab ,

Sfc . Margaret against danger in child bearing , also St . Edine , Sfc . Martin for the itch , St . Maure for tlie gout , St . Marus against palsies and convulsions , St . Otilia against sore eyes and headache , also St . Juliana , St . Petronilla and St . Genevieve against fevers , St . Quintan against coughs , Sfc . Romanus against devils possessing people , Sfc . Rnffin

against madness , St . Sebastian aud St , Roch against tho plague , Sfc . Sigismnnd agaiust fevers and ague , St . valentine against epilepsy , St . Venisa against green sickness , St . Wallia or Wallery against the stone , and St . Wolfgang against lameness ; and St . Phiacre cures certain diseases in the fundament . "

Barnaby Rich , in his Irish Hubbub or English Hue and Crie , 1619 , p 36 , has the following passage : — " There be many miracles assigned to saints that are good ( as they say ) for all diseases ; they can give sight to the blind , make the deaf hear , they can restore limbs that

be crippled , and make the lame go upright ; they be good for horse , swine , and many other beasts ; and women are not without their shee saints , to whom they do implore when they would have children , and for quick deliverance when they he in labor .

" They have saints to pray to when fchey be grieved with a third day ' s ague , when they be pained with toothache , or when they would be revenged on their angry husbands . They have saints that be good amongst the

poultry , for chickens when they have the pip , for geese when they do sit , to have a happy success in goslings . And to be short , there is no disease , no sickness , no grief , either amongst men or beasts , that has not his physician among the saints . " Again Milton says : —

For every limb in a man ' s body they have a saint . St . Atilia takes care of the head ; St . Blasius is appointed to govern the neck ; Sfc . Lawrence looks after the back and shoulders ; St . Erasmus rules the belly and entrails ; and Saints Bergarde , Rocbus , Quirinus , John , and many others , govern the thighs , feet , shinnes and knees . "

So we see thafc St . John is not only a patron saint of American Masons , but he also doctors thighs , feet , " shinnes " and knees . The above information I derived

from "Brands Popular Antiquities . " I shall return to that work again ; but let us now see what Hone has to say upon the subject : — " The dedication of each day in the year by the Romish Church , in honour of a saint , which converts every day

into a festival , is a fact pretty well known to the readers of the Every-Bay Booh . It is also generally known that in certain almanacks every part of the human body is distributed among the days through the year , as subject to diurnal influence , but it is not , perhaps , so well known that

every joint on each finger on each band was appropriated to some saint . The proof of this is supplied by two very old prints , from engravings on wood at the British Museum ; they are among a collection of ancient woodcuts pasted in

a folio volume . It would occupy too much room to give copies of these representations in fac simile ; the curious inclined who have access to the Museum print-room may consult the originals , general readers , however , may be satisfied with the following description : —

" RIGHT HAND . " The top joint of the thumb is dedicated to God , the second joint to the Virgin ; the top joint of the forefinger to Barnabas , the second joint to John , the third to Paul ;

the top joint of the second finger to Simeon Cleophas , the second joint to Tathideo , the third to Joseph ; the top joint of the third finger to Zaccheus , the second to Stephen , the third to Luke ; the top joint of the little finger to Leatus , the second to Mark , the third joint to Nicodemus .

" LEFT HAND . " The top joint of the thumb is dedicated to Christ , the second joint to the Virgin ; the top joint of the forefinger to St . James , the second to St . John the Evangelist , the third to St . Peter ; the first joint of the second finger to

St . Simon , the second joint to St . Matthew , the third to St . James the great ; the top joint of fche third finger to Sfc . Jude , the second joint to St . Bartholomew , the third joint to St . Andrew , the top joint of the little finger to St . Matthias , fche second joint to Sfc . Thomas and the third