Table Of Contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS .

The Mystic Masons of the East 115 Presentation of Testimonial to Bro . Samuel Watk'ms , Treasurer , and P . M . 212 , and 107 G ( if ' ClIHIltvSl-ONDKNCr . I IU MASONIC NOTICS ANI > UI-KIIIKS 117 Masonic Ball at Whitehaven 1 17 O 11 ir i ! Any •18

Provincial Grand I . odge of Derbyshire no Ball of the St . James ' s Unron Lodge 11 S Freemasonry in Nova Scoiia 118 Masonic Funeral in Call ' oriiia ( 18 Especial Grand Lodge of Mark Masters 119 The Future of Freemasonry in Ireland 120 CHAKT M . VSONHV : — Metropolitan 121

Provincial , 121 Rov . vi . AKCII : — Metropolitan 123 Ononis on CNIVAI . HY : —¦ Knights Templar 123 Red Cross of Constantine 123 Masonic Meetings for next week 124 Advertisements 113 . 114 , 12 ; , 126 . 127 , 128

The Mystic Masons Of The East.

THE MYSTIC MASONS OF THE EAST .

{ From the Royal Ciirn / rall ( lazcf . fe . ) "The heathen world , confined lothe exclusive pursuit of operative architecture , excelled greatly in every branch of . that noble science ; lor , though the Israelites had improved every opportunity of eultivatiii " - a taste for the liberal . sciences ,

they Mere far exceeded by the inhabitants of Tyre in these pursuits . Thus the epithet Si / Ionian became proverbial for every elegant and scientific attainment . The city of Tyre and ( he temple of Dagon , built by the l'hiriiicians at Gaza , were

esteemed master-pieces of art , and rendered the name of the architects deservedlv celebrated throughout the world . This temple « as so artfully constructed that the whole weig ht of the edihc . e was supported by two slender pillars only ,

and exhibited the taste as well as the judgement of Sanconiatho , whose fame is transmitted 10 posterity , though the building gave way under the giant grasp of Sampson the Xazariie . " /);• . Otirer ' x " Antiylities of l ' reeiiiastiiiril .

Yes ! But . who taught the I'liirniciaiis liovv to build ? In attempting to gain any knowledge on this point , we travel eastward , and still eastward ; finding , as we grope our war in the darkness , that , v hatever the spiritual light which comes lo masonry through the tent-dwelling Isracliu-s ,

evidences of most wonderful operative skill are found among the people we call " Heathen . " One of the uninitiated myself , I have thought , for a long time , that without departing one jot from the cultivation of religious and moral and

benificent schemes , Freemasons might take an intelligent interest in many pursuits which would tend to make the the duties and pleasures of the Lodge still more agreeable . That an attentive Mason should view , or read of , the matniifieciit

modern structures which his predecessor-, unqiiostionably built , without emotion , I cannot conceive . A love of architecture paves the way not only to a due appreciation of the torm , the adornments , and the symbolic decorations of" his Lodge , but

incites the wish that the place in which he assembles should , outwardly , arrest the gaze and admiration , of " profane , " as well as , inwardly , satisfy his own taste . 'I . ' o the enquiring

. Mason ( at least , so it seems to me ) tlie monuments of antiquity , whether in his own country , or in the eastern or western hemispheres , should have a thousand attractions . Kor him the

discoveries of a Wilkinson or a Layard , in one direction , or of a Stephen or a Taylor in the other , ought to possess a twofold charm . Symbolism or hieroglyphics , the explorations in Palestine ,

ceremonial , numismatics , even heraldry , ought to yield him hours of pleasant reading " , and a ditions to his store- of knowledge .- and in boohs of travel he will c

The Mystic Masons Of The East.

with information and allusions which are of special value to him . Who can read of the stupendous ruins of the East and . the West—ol the palaces of Cambodia and Palenque—erected by nations of builders whose very names are

unknown , but who must have had tneir Hirams and Hardoim , their expert master masons , stoiic-sqnarers , hewers , and builders , without tin ardent desire to learn something definite of the extinct and nameless , but talented , people .

These thoughts arise after a perusal ol a volume , not long since published , " The F . nglish Goi ' emess at the Siamese Court . ' Mrs . Anna Ilarriette Leonowens spent six v ears of her life in the royal palace of the capital of Siam , and

was emploved in useful and . successful effort to impart a knowledge of F . nglish to the numerous wives and ehildren ' of the monarch who is not long dead . With all her trials , hairbreadth escapes , and insig ht into conn life at Bangkok , we have

nothing to do now . But the concluding pages ot her volume , descriptive of the ruins of Cambodia , in its dav one of the most powerful of the eastern empires- have filled my mind with awe and wonder . In ihe bone that , others mav share

these feelings , I have transcribed some portions of her account . As ( said before , it occurs forcibjy to me Ihat if one class of readers more than another should he specially interested in what follows , it oiisrht 10 be the " brethren of the

mvstie tie . Two davs' jotirnev from Bangkok towards Rabin , through tortuous mountain track and tangled jungle , past the remains of a magnificent palace -, u Vhanumok , brought the adventurous

Mrs . Leonowens to an ancient roadway , elevated 10 or 12 feet above the swampy lowlands , " now divine" into the depths of the forest , " now in apparently " eccentric sweep , ' not . " a vestige of any other rain near it ; and the long lines it here

and there shows , ghostly white in the moonlight , seenis like spectral strands of sand . " This isolated ridge was once the great highway of ancient Cambodia , and , pursuing it for many miles , the travellers came to the work of the

unknown bridge builders . " Taphan llin ( the stone bridge ) , and the liner and more artistic Taphan Thevada ( the angel ' s bridge ) , are both imposing works . Archesstill resting firmly on their foundations , buttressed

by fifty great pillars ol stone—support a structure about live hundred feet long and eight y broad . The road-bed of these bridges is formed of immense blocks or beams of stone , laid one upon another , and so adjusted that their very weight

serves to keep the arches firm . " Maying rested and supped , we again followed our guides over the foaming stream , and re-crossed the stone bridge on foot , marvelling at the wotk

of a race ol whose existence the western nations knew nothing—who have no name in hi lory , yet who buihled in a style surpassing in boldness of conception , grandeur of j roportions , and delicacy of design , the best works of the modem world—stupendous , beautiful , enduring !

" 'Ihe material is mostly freestone , but a flinty conglomerate appears wherever the wotk is exposed to the action of the water . " Formerly a fine balustrade crowned the bridge on both sides , but it has been broken

down . Ihe ornamental parts of these massive structures seem to have been the only portions the invading vandal- of the time could destroy . " 'ihe remains of the balustrade show that it

consisted of a series of long quarry stones , on the ridges of which caryatidian pillars , representing the seven-headed serpent , supposed oilier slabs grooved iiioi ; '' ihe rnfl ty receive sejn- ' . two *

The Mystic Masons Of The East.

stones with arabesque sculptures , affording a hint of ancient Cambodian art . On the left bank we found the remains of a staircase leading down to the water , not far from a spol where a temple formerlv stood .

" Next morning we crossed the Taphan Teph , or heavenly Bridge—like the Taphan Hiii and the Taphan Thevada—a work of almost superhuman magnitude and solidity . " Crossing the Paleng River by another of these

bridges—one wonders if the Cambodians had their Masonic bridge builders , as we had in the Middle Ages—Mrs . Leonowens came to the

town of Seimrap , and then started for the ruins of Nagh-Kon or Ongkoor , supposed lo have been the . royal city of the ancient kingdon of Cambodia ; which are thus referred to : —

" In the heart of this lonely region , in a district still bearing the name of Ongkoor , and quite , apart from the mined temples which abound hard by , we found architectural remains of such exceeding grandeur , with ruins of temples and

palaces which must have been raised at so vast a cost of labour and treasure , that we were overwhelmed with astonishment and admiration . " What manner of people were these ? " Whence came their civilization and their culture ¦

" And why and whither did thev disappear from among the nations of the earth r "The site of the city is in itself unique . Chosen originall y for the strength of its position , it yet presents none of the features which should

mark the metropolis of a powerful people . It seems to stand aloof from the world , exempt from its passions and aspirations , and shunning even its thrift . Confronting us with its towering portal , overlaid with colossal hieroglyphics , the

majestic rum of the Watt stands like a petrified dream of some Michael Angelo of the giantsmore impressive m its loneliness , more elegant

and animated in its grace , than aught that Greece , and Rome have left us , and addressing us with a significance all the sadder and more solemn for the desolation and barbarism which surround it .

" \ ainly may we seek for any chronicle of the long line of monarchs who must have swayed the sceptre of the once powerful empire of Maka Naghkon . Only a vague tradition has come down , of a celestial prince , to whom the fame

of founding the great temple is supposed to belong ; and of an Egyptian king , who for his sacrilege , was changed into a leper . An interesting statue re presenting the latter , still stands in one of the corridors- -somewhat mutilated ,

but sufficientl y well preserved to display a marked contrast to the physical type of the . present race of Cambodians . These magnificent edifices seemed lo have been designed for places of worship rather than of royal habitations , for nearly all are Buddhist temples . "

The temple of Ongkoor is spoken of by our authoress as the most beautiful and best preserved of these , glorious remains .- — " At each angle of the temple are two enormous lions , hewn , pedestal and all , from a

single block . A flight of stone steps leads up to the first platform of terraces . To reach the main entrance from the north staircase , we . traverse a noble causeway , which midway crosses a deep and wide moat that seems to surround the buildintr .

" ihe main entrance is by a long gallery , having a superb central tower , with two others of le s height on each side . The portico of each of the three principal towers is formed b y four projecting columns , with a spacious staircase

between . At either extremity are similar porticos , and beyond these is a very lofty door , or gateway , covered with gigantic hieroglyphs , where gods ' and warriors hang as if self-supported between

earth and sky . 'ihen conies groves of columns that in girth and height might rival the noblest oaks . Every pillar and every part of the wall is so crowded with sculptures that the whole temple seems hung with petrified tapestry . "

The different compartments are covered with sculpture , as-, the Lnglisb -rovem" --,- ; remarks el-----nl : efv— " tiv . :- 'C-o spibvi ? - W \ K 'jfXa ^ v .-: (> . \ < ,-. 'i U >