The Mystic Masons Of The East.

b y the initiated . Ah ! could I but have read them as in a book , construing all their allegorical significance , how near mig ht I not have come to the distracting secret of this people ! " But our main business is with the handiwork of the ¦ w onderful builders , lo whom , working in the

earliest ages of the world , according to scripture chronology , the secrets of architecture , mechanics , & c , must have been mastered : —

" The entire structure is roofed with , tiers of hewn stone , which is also sculptured ; and remains of a ceiling may still he traced . The symmetrical wings terminate in three spacious pavilions , and this imposing colonnade , which is conspicuous from a great distance , and forms an appropriate vestibule to so grand a temple .

" Traversing the building , we cross another and finer causeway , formed of great blocks of stone carefully joined , and bordered with a handsome balustrade , partly in ruins , very massive , and covered with sculptures .

On either side are six great platforms , with fli ghts of steps ; and on each we find remains of the seven headed serpent , —in some parts mutilated , but on the whole suirieientl y preserved to show distinctly the several heads , some erect as if

guarding the entrance , others drawn back in a threatening attitude . A smaller specimen is nearly perfect and very beautiful . " We passed into an adytum , wardered by

gigantic elhgies , whose mystic forms we could hardly trace ; above us that ponderous roof , tier on tier of solid stone , upheld b y enormous columns , and inerusted with strange carving . Everywhere we found fresh objects of wonder . '

" At the foot of the terrace are artificial lakes , and the terrace opens into a grand court , crowded with a forest of magnificent columns with capitals , each hewn from a single block of stone . The basement , like every other part of the building ,

is ornamented m varied anil animated styles ¦ and every slab of the vast pile is covered with exquisite carvings representing the lotos , the lily , and the rose , with arabesques wrought with the chisel with astonishing taste and skill .

" As the lour cardinal points of the horizon naturall y form a cross , called jihram , so we invariabl y find the cross in the plan of these reli g ious monuments of ancient Cambodia , and even in the corridors , intersecting each other at ri g ht angles . These corridors are roofed with great

blocks ol stone , projecting over each other , so as to form an arch , anil , though laid without cement , so accuratel y adjusted as to leave scarcel y a trace of the joinings . The galleries of the temple also form a rectangle . The ceilings arc vaulted , and the roofs supported b y double rows of columns cut from a single block .

" On the south side we found representations ol an ancient military procession . The natives interpret these as three connected allegories , symbolizing heaven , earth , and hell : bill il is mure probable that they record the history of the methods b y which the savage tribes were reclaimed bv the colonizing foreigners .

••This mi ghty pile— the wondrous Xaghkon Watt— -is nearl y three miles in circumference ; the . walls are from seventy lo ei ghty feet high , and twenty feet thick .

" W e wandered in astonishment , and almost with awe , through labyriiuhs of court , cloisters , and chambers , encountering at everv lurn some new marvel , unheard of , undreamed of , until then . Kyen the walls of the outer court were

sculptured with holy histories of wars and conquests , in forms that sei m to live and li ght agahi . Prodigious in size and number arc the blocks of stone piled in those walls ami towers . We eounte d live thousand and three hundred ¦ •olid

columns . What a mighty host of builders there must have been I And what could have been their engines and tin ir means oi ' transport , seeing that the mountains from which the stones were quarried were nearl y two day ' s journey from the temple ' :

" All the mouldings , sculpture .-, and bas-reliefs seem to have been executed after the walls and j . illars were in their p laces ; and everywhere ihe stone .- ' are fitted together in a manner so perfect thai , die joinings are not easy to liud . ' 1 here is ir . ither mor-ar nor mark of the chisel : the

The Mystic Masons Of The East.

surfaces are as smooth as polished marble . " Next morning our elephants bore us back to Siemrap through an avenue of colonnades similar

to that b y which we had come ; and as we advanced we could still descry other gates and pillars far in the distance , marking the line of some ancient avenue to this amazing temple . "

And here we must leave this most interesting subject . M . Mouhot and Dr . Bastian have witnessed the same wonderful ruins . We must

wait until a second Belzoni , who was made a Freemason late in life , and expressed his heartfelt regret that he was " not earlier initiated , thoroughly explores these stupendous and mystic remains . Who shall say that there is not

deposited in some cavity , carefull y prepared by the skilled stone-cutters , a roll , a papyrus , a parchment , cylinder — something which will throw a light on the nation—perhaps on the gilds ,

societies , fraternities , Freemasons , ol ' the Year of the World 200—who p lanned and built in massive masonry temples and palaces well nig h indestructible ?

Presentation Of A Testlmonial To Bro.Samuel Watkins, Treas.And P.M.212 And 1976.

PRESENTATION OF A TESTLMONIAL TO BRO . SAMUEL WATKINS , TREAS . AND P . M . 212 AND 1976 .

On the Jib instant , at the Victoria Tavern , Barking-road , E ., a testimonial was presented to its proprietor , Bro . Samuel Watkins , subscribed lor by a number of members of the above lodges , which consisted of an illuminated testimonial on vellum , and also a valuable diamond ring . The occasion was celebrated by a dinner , al which between 20 and ; o sat down .

The Chairman of the Testimonial Committee , Bro . David Sw .-cbe , P . M . 212 , and Past President of Kuphratcs Benevolent Fund , who had shown such great interest in the matter from its very formation , presided on this occasion .

Alter having proposed the usual loyal toasts , he alluded in eulogistic terms to the various merits of Bro . Watkins , not onl y in his abovementioned (( Utilities , but also as tlie President of the Benevolent Fund attached to the Kuphratcs Lodge , which position he has held for several

years . lie said that Bro . Watkins was , when occasion required , always ready to g ive his valuable services in promoting the welfare of all those who have ever asked for his assistance ; that he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to

any one in distress who mig ht claim his assistance and that he was one who might be looked up to for the high estimation in which he had ever been held in the craft in particular , and by till those who knew him in eeneral .

The various parts of the Chairman ' s speech met with rounds ol ' applause , proving the hearty concurrence in the Chairman * ' s remarks . Bro . Watkins , in very feeling terms , duly acknowledged the kindness of the brethren in the unexpected mark of their appreciation of his

past services , and expressed himself hig hly gratilied with so valuable a presenl . He assured the brethren that , as long as he lived , he would cherish il with lively remembrances of that evening , and that his endeavours would always he

lo make himself useful to every one 111 general and the era' ! in particular . lie hoped , if it should please T . O . A . O . 'I . . 1 . ' . to take him avvav froiii this world , the testimonial would be handed down as a heirloom to his children , bri ght and uniarnished as he had received il . that day .

Bro . Siean , P . M . 212 , proposed the health of the Chairman , and in dwelling on the merits of Bro . Sw . cbe , as a man and a Mason , thanked him for his indefatigable exertions in guiding and presiding at all the meetiniis of the Testimonial

Coininitiee , prior to the presentationoi . Heat the same time stated that Bro , Swa .-be bad always been a most zealous member of the Euphrates Lodge , and that when Bro . Swa-bc was President of the Euphrates Benevolent Fund , he had done

Presentation Of A Testlmonial To Bro.Samuel Watkins, Treas.And P.M.212 And 1976.

all in his power to make it prosperous and successful . The toast of the W . M . of the Euphrates , Bro . William Field , coupled with that of the I . P . M ., Bro . J . P . Frank , was then given and appropriatel y reponded to .

In conclusion , the toast of Mrs . Watkins , the hostess , was given , who had so flbl y catered for the requirements of the dinner , and had superintended the culinary department . The toast was most heartily received and responded to with three times three . The entertainment of the evening was enlivened by various capital songs .

Original Corrrespondence.

Original Corrrespondence .

ITIEEMASONRV AXD 1 SRAELITISM . ( 7 ( i the . Editor of the . Freemason . )

DKVR SIR AND BROTHER ,- —I am always obliged when any brother directs my attention to matters which he conceives require explanation , and am ever anxious to correct errors that may creep into any of my articles on the above or kindred subjects . I have therefore referred to and carefully perused my article on " the Iraelitish

Ori g in of the Anglo Saxon Race" as published in the Freemason of January 27 th , and fail to discover any error at the parts indicated b y " | . B . 7 , ; i ; " nor do 1 clearly learn from his letter of what be complains , unless it be that it is stated " the descendants of the ten tribes were living in Armenia and other parts of Asia Minor . "

J . B . seems to think that onl y nine tribes were carried off by the Assyrians , and if he looks upon all K p hraini and Manasseh as one tribe , namely , that of Josep h , he may have some warrant for his belief , but if he will refer to 14 chap . Joshua , v . 4 , he will find tlv . it •. — -

"The children of Joseph " were two tribes , Kphraini and Manasseh—therefore , they gave no part unto the Levites in the land , save cities to dwell in . " Again in chap . 17 . we read , " the children of Joseph spake unto Johsua , saying : Wh y hast

thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit , seeing 1 am a great people , " Arc . " And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph , even to E phraim , and to Manasseh , saying , thou art a great people and hast great power , thou shalt not have but one lot only . "

Joshua then gave the children of Joseph an additional lot , consisting of a mountain and woodland , and he told them to drive / uit the Canaanites . In the roMi and 17 th chap , of Joshua , there is a precise account of the manner in which the land allotted to the "children of [ oseph " was divided between the " tribes" of E phraim and Manasseh .

J . B . will find that these two families are , from the time ol Moses , nearl y always spoken of as distinct and separate tribes , and that the house of Levi had no inheritance as " the Lord was their inheritance . " We are therefore perfectly justified in saying that ten tribes were carried away by the

Assyrians . Jt is not the lirst time that the error of assigning to the kingdom of Israel onl y nine tribes has arisen : and in defiance of historical truth and the scripture narrative , some people still persist in attaching three tribes , namely , Judah , Benjamin ,

and Levi , to the kingdom of Judah . J hope J have conclusivel y shewn , in the article referred to b y J . B ., that at first the house of David , under Rehoboam , at the lime of the rebellion , was left entirely alone , but that in conformity with God ' s promise , one tribe ( Benjamin ) was g iven back to

David . As regards the I , evites , they were scattered throughout the whole of the twelve tribes , and their duly was to minister to the people , even of the revolted tribes , and they no doubt would have continued to do so . if thev had not been driven

out b y Jereboam . The Levites , in company with many of the Israelites who remained true to their reli g ious duties , resorted to Jerusalem when Jereboam set up his golden calves in Bethel and Dan , but that is no reason wh y they should be counted as a tribe .