Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital."

anomalies , and must apologise to the readers of the Freemason for again digressing . But to return to our subject . Findel * thus speaks of

the Grand Lodge of Germany , which adopted the Swedish system under Zinnendorf , who was Grand Master in 1774 and 177 $ , when Frederick the Great was Protector .

"The Grand Lodge of Germany further assumes that in the BuildingF raternities of the middle ages , besides their art , a secret science was carried on , the substratum of which was a

real Christian mystery , serving as a preparafo r y or elementary school and stepping stone to that and the St . John ' s Masonry , which latter was not a mere system of moral philosophy , but

closely allied and connected with this mystery . It was conceded that the Freemasonry of our days ( St . John ' s Masonry ) sprung from the Building Fraternities of the Middle Ages , but at

the same time asserted that in the early ages there existed a secret society which strove to compass the perfecting of the human race , precisely in the same manner , and employing

similar means , as did the Swedish system , which , in fact , only followed in the wake of its predecessor , being concealed in the Building Fraternities , so that our society did not rise from them ,

but made itself a way through them . The secret science , the mystery , was very ancient indeed . The mystery formed the secret of the Higher Degrees of the Rite , which were not

merely kept hidden from the rest of the confederation , but also from the members of the inferior degrees of the system itself . This mystery was fully confirmed by documents ,

which the Grand Lodge of Germany had in its keeping-. Among these documents was the supposed testament of Molay , the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar .

11 ns secret legend is the same as that of the Carpocratains , which is , that Jesus chose some of the Apostles , and confided to them a secret science , which was transmitted afterwards to the

priests ol the Order in Knights Templar , and through them to the Building Fraternities , down to the present Freemasons of the Swedish Rite . The legend of this propagation is poetic and

garnished , Findel says , with a few historical facts , but is , of course , —if we accept his ipse dixit—on the whole , untrue . "The Swedish system , '' Findel continues ,

" teaches that there have been men of all nations who have worshipped God in spirit and in truth , and surrounded by idolatry and superstition , have yet preserved their purer faith . Separate

from the world , and unknown to it , this wisdom has been preserved by them , and handed down as a mystery . In the time of the Jews they made use of the Essenes , in which sect our Lord

was brought up , and spent the greater portion of his life . Having been instructed by him in a more perfect knowlege of holy things , they hail , amidst persecution , taught in silence that which

had been committed to their keeping . At the period of the Saracens and the Crusades they were so greatly oppressed that they must ultimatel y have sought for protection

from without . As fate however , would have it , seven of them , Syriac Christains , pursued by unbelievers near liastrum , were rescued by the

Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital."

Knights Templar , and afterwards taken tinder their protection . When they had lived there for a certain time , they begged for permission to

dwell with the Canons or Prebendaries of Jerusalem , as the life there led agreed better with their own inclinations and habits . This was

accorded them , and Andreas Montebarrensis effected a union of these Syrians with the Canons to whom , out of gratitude , they imparted

all their science , and so completely did they make the priests of the order the depositaries of their secrets , that they kept them and handed them over to others under certain conditions .

Thus this secret knowledge which was continually being added to , lived on in the very heart of the Order of Knights Templar till its abolition , the clergy were dispersed with the

persecution that ensued , but as the secular arm did not touch them , as it did the Kni g hts , they managed to rescue many of their secret writings ,

and when the Knights sought repose in Scotland , they founded a chapter at Aberdeen , the first Prior of which was Petrus de Bonomia . The

science was disseminated from this place , but very cautiously , first to Italy , then to the extreme north— Sweden , and Russia , and France . In Italy the Abbot Severin had been the guardian of the true science . "

Findel further observes that an attempt made by Henry von Nettersheim previous to this ( the middle of the last century ) to found a sipritual

chapter in Germany , had been unsuccessful , till at last it was brought about at the end of the eighteenth century .

The Swedish system , Findel continues , both on account of its supposed origin and its doctrine and constitution , differs in many respects from genuine Masonry , in other words , in the

Masonry Bro . Findel approves . He thinks he finds striking and most convincing proof that this system originated in the middle of the eighteenth century in the French

high degrees , especially in the order of Ileredom . B y the way , it is stated that the ancient Order of Harodim , or Heredom is now nearl y extinct , and that , in fact , our learned Bro . Dr . Beaumont Leeson is the last surviving member of the Order . To be continued .

Ar00302

UIIEAKFAST . —EPPS ' COCOA . —GIIATFIUL AND COM . roHTiN'u . — " By a thorough knowledge of the natural laws which govern the operations of digestion and nutrition , and by a careful application of the line propeities of well-selected

cocoa , Mr . Kpps has provided our bieakfast tallies with a delicately-flavoured beverage which may save us many heavy doctors' hills . "—Ciril Serrice Gazelle . Made simpl . with Boiling Water or Milk . Each packet is labelled'J AMES EPPS < S : CO ., Homoeopathic Chemists ' , London . "

HOI . LOWAY ' S PILLS . —These celebrated Pills are especially useful in preventing the bad effects of luxurious living . They purify the blood , cleanse the stomach , gentl y stimulate the kidneys , and act as mild aperients . Without some such corrective as llolloway ' s Pills , the festivity of one day often debars us from all enjoyment for a week . A few doses of this purifying medicine set the foulest stomach

right , restrain biliousness , steady toe circulation , give strength to the muscles , and composure to the brain and nerves . The Pills are incapable of doing mischief to the most delicate constitutions . The ! lypoehondrial will find this medicine to comfort his miserable nerves ; it will increase the appetite , eshilirate the spirits , fill the vessels with pure healthy blood , and regulate excretory organs . — A DVT .

" I have one more word to say before 1 close of Perry Davis ' s Pain Killer—a must vnliniile medieine . I have travelled a good deal since 1 have been in Kansas , and never without takimr a supply of it with me , 1 used it freel y in my practice for cholera in 1841 ) and in 1 S ^ 5 , and with better success than any other medicine . —A . III'NTINI :, M . D ., Muiiliulten , Ki . uc . us , April , iSdf ) . —To Perry Davis iV Sun , London . "

Hints To "Masonic Student. "

HINTS TO "MASONIC STUDENT . "

BY BRO . J ACOB NORTON . "Tradition , " said an author of a history of the Popes , " is a convicted liar . You may , however , hear what it has to say , as a liar may

sometimes tell the truth , but do not believe it , unless it is supported by reliable testimony . " In the recent discussion in Rome between Catholic and

Protestant ecclesiastics about the Popeship of St . Peter , the former relied wholly on tradition , while the latter discarded it as evidence . Now

the tradition about St . Peter ' s Popeship was proved to have been in vogue within a century , after the supposed event , yet the evangelical party would not recieve it ; but here , Bro .

Student , wants me to believe Masonic traditions of which no trace can be found until five hundred , or even a thousand years after the period of its supposed origin . It is my

intention here to analyse the lo-callcd Masonic tradition , but as Bro . M . Student tried to correct , in the Freemason of August 3 rd , the doubt I expressed in a communication to the New York

Dispatch , printed in the Freemason of July 27 th , relative to the Athelstan York Grand Lodge , of 926 , and called my attention to the word " sety " or " city , " mentioned in the HalliwellMS . It

is necessary to remind him that the said MS . was written nearly five centuries after 926 , and the author , after describing the " dyvers lordis , earl barns and who

dukys , ys , , knythys sqwyers were present at the Athelstan assembly , added " And the grete burges of that syte . " Now , in the first place , we know that there were neither

dukes , knights , or squires , in existence 111 England in Athelstan ' s time , but as the poet took apoet ' s liberty b y describing the supposed nobility of the realm , it is very natural to

mention also the supposed burgesses . But the question is , do the words " that syte " necessarily imply York r Where there not other cities in existence when the pcem was written ? May he

not have alluded to some other city ) And in the next MS ., viz ., Matthew Cooke ' s—even the word "city" is not mentioned . The York

legend was discredited by Laurie , and I cannot therefore see , ' that the evidence derived from "syte " amounts to anything .

The fact is , Protestants discard Catholic legends , because they orig inated in ages of craft 011 one side , and ignorance on the other . Our Masonic traditions are liable to similar

charges . They were developed in precisely the same manner ; that is , they began with a few curt legends , and were afterwards increased in number and demension . Thus , Halliwell's

poem contains the story of " clerky Euclid , " and the children of nobility whom he taught , but the location of that school was unknown lo him ; likewise that " some were born by other men ' s wives . " This last addition was made

afterwards , also that of fixing the location of operation to Egypt . Euclid , he says , taught the seven sciences , but the term " seven sciences " was comparatively a •modern jargon ,

first introduced about , the sixth century . ( Hallam ' s Literature , Chap . 1 ) . Next , it gives the story of Athelstan , in whose time Masonry was brought into England ; b " , t as already remarked , the wjril " York " is not there . And last , he