The Great Masonic Mystery.

THE GREAT MASONIC MYSTERY .

The first , last , and greatest mystery into which man ever was or shall be initiated , is death . In comparison with its sublime realities , the mysteries of Freemasonry are the faintest types or shud-we None

have penetrated the darkness of the grave , and returned ; its portals open only to the advancing , never to the retiring traveller . No expose of the secrets of the grave has been published , or ever will be ; the

obligation taken at death cannot be broken . And death is the gateway to eternity , the introduction to that incomprehensible celestial mystery , the immortality of the soul , the crowning glory of human nature , the link which affiliates man to God . We

never tire of contemplating this great Masonic Doctrine , so positively taught both at thc making and thc burial of a Master Mason . At the Mason ' s birth and the Mason ' s death our Fraternity vividly

impresses upon every Brother present thc truth "that we have an immortal part within us which shall survive the grave , and shall never , never die . " We propose

to trace the dawning of this truth upon the human understanding , whence wc may perhaps derive some curious and profitable thoughts .

To this clay , we say that in the tomb man rests from his labors , ancl we express thc wish that the earth may rest lightly upon him . These identical expressions are to be found in Homer ' s Iliad , and the other

early Greek and Latin classics . Iheir origin was derived from thc quaint belief of the ancient Romans and Greeks that the soul was buried with the body in the grave , and remained there , they never dreaming

that any save their heroes were translated after death to a celestial home . They buried their dead as our American Indians do theirs , with their clothing and arms by their side ; and once a year wine and milk

were poured on the tomb , and cakes , fruits , flowers and perfumes were placed upon it . They had no idea of rewards and punishments in the hereafter , but their dead were to them purified , sacred beings—subterranean gods .

Ihe idle belief in ghosts , which has survived , to a certain extent , until this nineteenth century , probably had its origin in the ancient custom to which wc have referred . Burial was thought to be necessary

to thc happiness of the dead ; the soul uiientombed was a vagrant upon the earth , a phantom , a ghost , miserable itself , and thc cause of misery to others . Criminals found guilty of heinous offences were adjudged to

be slain , and left unburied—a punishment which even the most degraded shuddered at , since it involved their souls as well as their bodies , ancl was well nigh eternal in duration .

We have mentioned thc fact of annual offerings of food being made at the graves of thc deceased ; this was for the physical sustenance of their bodies and souls . Plutarch relates that after the Battle of Plata * a

( B . C . 479 ) , when the slain were buried the Platteans volunteered to offer thc funeral repast every year ; and he makes this remarkable statement in his life of Aristidcs —that this ceremony was still performed ,

to his personal knowledge , and he himself witnessed thc six JiitndrcdtJt anniversary of it . This affords a wonderful testimony to

the lasting hold this curious partial doctrine of the _ immortality of the soul had taken of the minds of those who were unenlightened by our Great Light , the Holy Bible .

The Great Masonic Mystery.

This worship of the dead , or rather of the immortal part of man after death , is not yet obsolete . Thc Hindoos to-day make offerings upon the graves of their ancestors , to their spirits , and the sacred books of

India refer to these as constituting the most ancient worship among men . A , 'EVrrm aSons wc place our trust in one only true and living G _ , if __ Grand Ai-cU * tect of thc Universe . Thc primitive heathen

religion to Avhich we have been referring was and is exactly the reverse of this . Every family had its god , who belonged to it alone . Tin ' s god was thc father of the family , if deceased—or if still living , the

last lineal ancestor who was deceased . All the children gathered around one altar , that of the home . Their house was their sanctuary . This religion of thc household was a powerful family tie . There is at once an

analogy and a contrast to Freemasonry suggested by it . Thc mcnibers of each family were united by a tie in some respects as strong as that of our Fraternity , in that their worship separated them from the

whole outside world . They were a unit , severed from all other family units ; and each man loved is home as we now love our church or our Lodge . It was thc centre of his belief , his hopes and his love . But ,

by way of contrast , charity was a principle unknown to ancient morality . Its family religion was exclusive and selfish . All outside of it were enemies , and even the god of one ' s neighbour was a hostile god .

Not so with us . The Lord of the universe , the World Builder , is also our family God ; and we respect the religion of every member of thc Craft , be he Christian or Hebrew , Greek or Mohammedan . Our charity is

not only as broad as thc Craft , but as wide as thc world . There is another analogy between thc primitive morality and that of Masonry . A repast , or banquet , constituted an integral

part of the former . This meal was accompanied by prayer and libations . Wc have an exemplification of it most clearly in the municipal religion of ancient Rome . Tables were spread in thc streets , and the whole

people ate at them . Homer s Odyssey gives us an account of thc same custom in Greece that Virgil describes in his Alncid . As each family in Italy had its god , so had each city , and it was in his honour that thc

sacred meal was partaken . We may here remind thc reader that thc most important observance of the Christian Church is a

feast—thc Lord s Supper ; and Freemasons have not been forgetful of the value of the banquet as a powerful means of cementing Brother to Brother in the bonds of fraternal

love . Freemasons have cause for earnest congratulation , in that they possess thc true faith , in the unity of God and thc immortality of thc soul ; and the true

practicethat of a charity which never failcth . Rejecting thc superstitious , and adopting the most approved customs of thc past , wc

stand the pattern Fraternity of thc world . Thc mysteries of Freemasonry are many , but thc greatest of them all is thc immortality ofthe soul . — The Keystone .

A Historic Bible.

A HISTORIC BIBLE .

In St . John ' s Lodge JSTO . I , A . F . and A . M ., of Newark , N . J ., there is an old black letter Bible , printed in 1549 . This bible is of Thomas Matthew ' s translation , a folio in the Gothic

letter , and was printed by " Ihon Day and "William Seres . " The title-page to the Bible is gone , but the title-page to the New Testament is there , and perfect , with the date 1549 , and it is , otherwise , in good condition , having the last leaf

A Historic Bible.

with the colophon and printers names . It was presented to the lodge in the last century , by an emigrant from the mother country , the emigrant having previously affiliated with the lodge . In the year 1825 , it was stolen from the lodge , and remained away for twenty-five years , and in 1850

was traced to Philadelphia , ane finally recovered and returned to the lodge in 1857 . During the wanderings of these thirty-two years it lost its nrsi tiiie-pujjc , but at _ u gainerl something , in having pasted on the inside of the cover a rare engraved portrait of Washington , one which the

writer , although having seen many collections of Washington portraits , never remembers seeing before . At the time Washington had his head-quarters in Morristown , N . J ., a part of the jewels and furniture of St . John ' s Lodge was loaned to the

" Travelling Lodge , " formed in the part of the Colonial army then wintering at Morristown . Among the things so loaned was this Bible , and during the winter , General the Marquis of La fayette , then with the army , was entered , passed ,

and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason . This Bible was used in the ceremonies , and Lafayette took his obligations upon it . It is known that Washington officiated as " Master" on these occasions . The associations

connected with this Bible make it an interesting object to all Masons , while its age and antiquity give it value to the book lover and antiquarian . Lowndes gives its first title thus : —¦ The Byble Nowc lately with grcatc industry and Diligence recognized

( by Ldm . Becke ) . Loncl . by Ihon Dayeand William Seres . 17 Aug . 1549 . And further says that there are copies of this impression in the Lambeth , British Museum , Bodleian and other libraries . A copy , with one

leaf wanting , sold at auction for £ 6 16 s . ; other copies sold for various sums , one as high as ^ 40 . The facts in reference to the Bible having been used during the " making" of Lafayette were obtained from several old members of the lodge , one of these members being now eighty

years of age . He , with the others , had the circumstances related to him by other earlier members who assisted at or were known to those who did so assist at the ceremonies above related It is unnecessary to tell any member of the Craft that information derived from thorough

Masons 111 regard to matters of this kind are likely to be very correct . The Master's chair used on the occasion , though much worn , is looked on with veneration because it once sustained the form of the Father of his Country . — American Bijiliofiolist .

An Acrostic.

AN ACROSTIC .

Onward thro' this life , a path unknown we tread Under different aspects , to seek our daily bread , Raised far from want are some , who to others lend Most willingly a helping hand , and the poor

befriend . Assistance to thc aged freely give-, without display , Succouring thc orphan , and deem it duty , every day .

On behalf of our charities we make this appeal , Needing your aid , the widow ' s wounds to heal . Illimitable the wealth contained throughout thc land ; Colleagued are men as stewards by the Creator ' s hand .

Collecting and dispensing , each according to his Trust , Humbly ; rich and poor , this duty do they must . Assistance for the decayed Mason , wife and child we

ask—Render your aid freely : then easy is our task . In turn at the coming Festivals your stewards will deliver To each charity an account—we pray thee be

giver . Impelled by sympathy * in charity's great name Each give his mite—if small , ' tis just the same . Should means prevent a larger sum ; still good your aim . F . F .