Papers On Masonry.

whose veracity and Latinity are alike unimpeachable . He says that whatever was sacred to the Romans , was profane to the Jews—what among other nations is impure and unlawful , with them is permissible . I will just refer to Exod . xxii . 19 , Levit . xviii . 23 , xx . 15-16 , and Deuter . xxvii . 21 , where the

prohibition to most horrible crimes shows that they were practised . Even the Egyptians , in their worship of the Mendesian goat , did not perform such horrors , and the latter is stigmatized by Herodotus ( ii . 46 ) , as " a prodigy . " Tacitus adds ( Hist . v . 4 ) , that " the fisrure of the animal through whose guidance they

slaked their thirst and were enabled to terminate their wanderings , is consecrated in the Sanctuary of their Temple . " ( Effig ies animalis , quo monostrante errorem silimque depulerant penetrali sacravere ) . One Zabidus , having got secretly into the Temple , carried off the Ass's head , and conveyed it to Dora . Suidas

says , on the authority of Democritus , the historian , that the Jews not only adored this head , but sacrificed a man to it every three or seven years , after cutting him to pieces , and Plutarch ( Sympos . iv . 5 ) says the same . This , however , formed only a portion of the animal worship of the degenerate Jews .

In the mysteries of ancient Greece , the Ass and the Rose—the emblem of silence—again re-appear , and a perusal of the Golden Ass of Apuleius from a Masonic point of view will show how intimately connected with the mysteries this animal was . Lucius , the hero of that romance , was changed into an

Assthe " braying " of which was proverbially said not to agree with " the sound of harps . " By attaining the rose—still used by the P . oman Catholics in their ceremonies—he was to recover his human form . In a vision , Tsis appears to him and addresses him in the following words , sufficiently suggestive to those who

choose to understand : — " I am here , 0 Lucius , I am here , pitying thy misfortunes , favourable and propitious . Cease thy tears , and subelue thy lamentations ; cast away grief . For now , through my providence on thy behalf , the day of salvation hath dawned for thee . Listen with an

attentive ear to my commands . 'Ihe day which will be born from this ni g ht hath been dedicated to me by the relig ion of all time , at which season—the storms of winter being now allayed , the tempests of the sea assuaged , anel the ocean safe for ships — my priests , having consecrated to me a new bark , offer up the first

fruits of traffic . At this festival thou must evinceneither anxiety nor irrcligion . A priest , admonished by me , will , in the very first part of the procession , bear a crown of roses in his ri g ht hand , hanging from a sistrum . Without fear do thou at once join in the procession , confiding in my protection ; and , as if about

to kiss the hand of the priest , bite the roses , and , immediately thou shalt cast off that skin of a vile and by me detested , animal . Dread not these my commands as difficult ; for at the same moment ^ at which I am present with you , I am present with him also , I will tell thee what will follow , and in a dream , will

teach my priest what remains for him to do . At my bidding the multitude will give thee passage , nor amidst the joyous ceremonies and cheerful spectacle will any one think wrong of thy sudden transformation . Carefully remember , and keep it for ever treasured up in thine inmost heart , that the rest of thy life , to thy last

breath , is dedicated to my service . Nor is it unjust that thou shouldst devote thine whole life to her by whose bounty thou livest . But thou wilt live blest , yea , glorious , under my tutelary care , and when thy natural life shall have been fulfilled , thou shalt descend to the subterranean shades ; there , also , in the lower

hemisphere , living in the Elysian fields , shalt thou constantly adore me , thy propitious goddess , whom thou wilt behold shining amidst the blackness of Acheron , and ruling the Stygian abysses . " This article is already so long that 1 must reserve

for another opportunity and another mysterious number the future elaboration of this symbolic theme . I have , I think , however , thrown sonic light on the connection of Masonry with the Ass . It should be remembered that the Ass's head was said to be a Knights Templar symbol . CRYPTONYMUS .

WHO cannot keep his own secret , ought not to complain if another tells it . WINK and passions are racks oft used to extort words from us . THE BLOOD PUKIVIKU . —Old Dr . Jacob Townsend ' s Sarsaparilla . Other Medical Testimony . —In speaking of the " lllood Purifier , " old Dr . Jacob Townsend's

Sarsaparilla , G . C . Keruott , M . D ., L . S . A . Loud ., says : — "I strongly recommend it in cutaneous diseases and all impurities of the blood . " March 24 , 1869 . —In a letter to the proprietors , June ( i , ISO !) , Dr . Irvine , of Irvine ' s-town , says : — "I have been in the habit of ordcringyour Sarsaparilla for my patients with the best results . Send me six quarts and six mammoth bottles . " For all skin di .-eascs , for purifying the system of mercurial poisons , and building up the broken constitution it

is the only safe and certain remedy . —In Bottles 2 s . Cd ,, 4 s ., 4 s 6 d ., 7 s . Cd ., Its . Sold by all Druggists . Pills and Ointment each in Hnxos . Is . Hd ., 2 s . !) d ., 4 s . Gd . Testimonials also from the lion , the Dean of I . isinorc ; General William Gilbert , of the Indian Army ; ordered also by Apothecaries Hall , London Cau'ion—Get the red and blue wrappers , with the Old Doctor ' s head in the centre . No other genuine . —ADVT .

Hospitallarta;

HOSPITALLARTA ;

OR A SYNOPSIS OF THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF

Itniaftfs ? i ? osiiifaUc *!> . ( Continued from page 86 . ) In 1557 , Sir Thomas Tresham was duly elected Lord Grand-Prior of the Sixth Language , being the thirty-eight from Garnerius de Neapoli , the first who

held the dignity ; Sir Richard Shelly was appointed Turncopolier , and Commander of Slebiche in Pembroclcshire , and Halston in Norfolk ; Sir Peter Felix de la Nuca , Bailiff of Aquila in Lincolnshire ; Sir Cuthbert Laithen , Commander of Newland in

Yorkshire ; Sir Edward Browne , Commander of Temple-Bruer in Lincolnshire ; Sir Thomas Thornell , Commander of Willoughton ; Sir Henry Gerard , Commander of Iveley and Barowe iu Cheshire ; Sir George Aylmer , Commander of South Badesley in Hampshire ; Sir James Shelly , Commander of

Temple-Combo in Somersetshire ; Sir Oliver Starkey , Commander of Quenyngton in Gloucestershire , & c . The charter of King Philip and Queen Mary , restoring the British branch of the Order , recites the intention of these sovereigns to maintain their title of " Defenders of the Faith , " as a part of their name ,

style , honour , and royal dignity ; and in consideration of the eminent services of the Order in the cause of relig ion and humanity , they restore to it all its ancient possessions and privileges within their dominions . Further , as . an instance of their special and sincere affection to the Order , they granted for themselves

and successors that the Prior , the Bailiffs , and Commanders , & c of the Sixth Language , and their successors , should in all time coming form a corporate body ; that as such they should sue and be sued ; that they should have a common seal ; and that the charter should to all intents and purposes remain valid and

efficient in law . Notwithstanding , on the accession of Queen Elizabeth , the reinvestment of the Hospitallers iu their manorial rights was again abrogated in England , Wales , and Ireland ; whilst in Scotland , Sir James Sandilands , the last Lord of St . John , having

embraced the Protestant faith , resigned the possessions of the prejeptory of Torphichen , in 1563 , into the hands of Mary Queen of Scots , who erected them into a temporal barony , which she gave him hereditarily for the sum of ten thousand crowns , and an annuity of five hundred marks . These possessions his

descendants , the present Lords Torphichen , continue to enjoy . On the dissolution of the Templars in 1494 , their principal house at Saint Gerniains , in Kast Lothian , with its immediate revenues , was conferred by King James IV . on the college of Aberdeen ; whilst tlieir other possessions , which were extremely

extensive , there being few burghs or shires in Scotland where there was not part of them , were granted to the Hospitallers . Such of these lands , & c ., as were not comprised in the Lorelship of Torphichen , came into the hands of the Haddington family ; and being resigned , they were incorporated , in 1617 , into the

free barony and regality of Drem , to which was attached many important privileges . On the resumption by Queen Elizabeth of the possessions of the Kni g hts Hospitallers within her dominions , they gradually withdrew from England ; but the act of Queen Mary , re-incorporating the

Sixth Language , never was repealed , and consequently is in force at this day . During the period that elapsed from the death of Queen Mary to the cession of Malta , the Sixth Language was uniformly represented in the Sovereign Council of the Order by two knights specially elected for that purpose ; and though it was dormant in the British islands from 1 G 03 till

its revival in 18 o 4 , —a space of two hundred and thirty years , —nothing has occurred during that period to extinguish the Order , or to affect its independent right to adopt such measures as shall lead to the resuscitation of all its branches . On the death of the Imperial Grand-Master Paul ,

his successor , the late Emperor Alexander , issued a proclamation , ( March 1 S 01 , ) in which he assumed the character of Protector of the Order ; and at the same time ordained that the imperial palace should continue its chief residence , until such time as circumstances should permit the election of a Grand-Muster

according to the ancient forms and statutes ; and that in the interim , Field-Marshal Count SoltikofY should act as Lieutenant of the Mastership . In July of the same , year , the Council of the Order met to deliberate on the matter ; when it was resolved that , as the elements of a General Chapter could not . be

assembled at Saint Petersburg , the different Grand-Priors should be invited to convene tlieir Chapters , for the purpose of forming lists of such knights as were worthy of succeeding to the sovereign dignity . These lists the Council proposed afterwards to submit to

the Pope , with an invitation for hun to choose a ( Irand-Master out of the number , but under a protest that this submission was not to bo regarded as n precedent injurious to the independent right of the Order to elect its Chief in all after times . Accord-

Hospitallarta;

ingly , on the 9 th of February , 1805 , Pius the Seventh nominated Tomasi , an Italian kni ght , Grand-Master ; since which time the changes iu the Superiority have excited no general attention . In 1 S 14 , a meeting of the Kni ghts Hospitallers took place at Paris in a General Chapter ( Prince

Camille de Bohan , Grand-Prior of Acquitaine , presiding ) for the purpose of . electing a permanent Capitulary Commission . The government being declared concentrated in this Commission , it was empowered to regulate all civil and financial affairs connected with the Order . Under its direction , a

formal but fruitless application was made to the Con gross of Vienna for the grant of some Sovereign independency in lieu of that of which the Order had been despoiled . In 1 S 23 , when the Greek cause began to wear a prosperous aspect , the same Chapter entered into a treaty for the cession of two islands on

the western shore of the Morea , but the negotiation ultimately failed . Since then no further steps have been taken ; the formalities of the Order , however , are still observed with splendour in several of the continental capitals , and it enumerates a number of members of the highest consequence and distinction in their respective kingdoms .

Whilst the altered state of European society renders it unnecessary that the Order of Saint John should revive its ancient military objects , the independent jurisdiction which , as a knightly degree , it has maintained throughout the vicissitudes of nearl y

eight centuries , remains entire . Considering the moral influence which such a venerable and august Order , as a bond of fraternal union and benevolent exertion , is admirably calculated to produce in eight of the principal kingdoms of Christendom ; and further how undesirable it is in a nation so attached as is

the British to its ancient institutions , that an Order which once held so distinguished a position in the United Kingdom should be allowed to remain dormant , —the present reign , as one of reformation , in which many classes are reviving ancient rights , -has been considered a fitting era for reviving the Sixth

Language of the Order of Knights Hospitallers . Accordingly , in compliance with the degree of tho Council of London , A . D . 1126 , which provides that every Grand-Prior must be in priest ' s orders , on the 24 th February , 1834 , the present Grand-Prior qualified for his office , under the charter of Philip and

Mary , in the Court of King ' s Bench ; and on Sunday , the 2 nd of March following , he received the sacrament on his installation , pursuant to the Corporation laws of England , and it is now a record of the kingdom . Since that period , several members have been admitted into the Sixth Language of the Order , and

this Synopsis is published with a view to increase its numbers , and place its re-establishment on a basis worthy of its ancient dignity and bencficicnt objects . Preparatory to the resuscitation of the Order of Knights Hospitallers in the British Empire , the necessary powers were received from the continental authorities through the medium of the Agent-general ; and

since then , the acts of the Grand-Prior and Council have been approved by a majority of the Languages . The Charter of Philip and Mary , re-incorporating the Order of this country after the arbritary suppression of it by Henry VIII ., as has been already stated , remains in force ; but had it been otherwise , the power of the Order to revive its dormant branches cannot he questioned . The constitution of the Order was confirmed

in 1118 , the date of its division into eight Languages , by Pope Boniface as tho head of the Christian world . It was further confirmed by him at a moment when the kings of tho respective nations in which it was established held their crowns of the papal cha > r . The right of the Order , therefore , to perpetuate its

existence by a distribution of its di plomas and dignities is indefeasible : no king in Europe can produce a better title to his crown . These privileges no potentate ever possessed the right of conferring , and consequently no potentate ever possessed tho right to take them away . It forms the peculiar glory of the Order of tho

Baptist , that it is a sovereign fraternity ; and its independence will ever be jealously preserved by those governments who are desirous of upholding the ancient institutions of Christendom . These remarks do not apply , however , to the possessions of the Order : these were adventitious , —some by gift , others by

conquest ; and they have been lost , —some by force and others by fraud , —and so they must remain . The right of the British crown to Malta , and of the Ottoman Porto to Rhodes , is the same as that by which the Hospitallers themselves held and lost the hitler island ; and should the time ever arrive , —which is not probable , —in

which the Order shall again entertain political views , it is certain that the Sixth Language would take no part in any such proceedings . Indeed , it . is distinctly to be understood , that by the revival of the British branch no objects whatever are contemplated but

those of benevolence ; nor will its resources beexpended except within its own bounds , —viz . the British Isles . Its external pursuits will be limited to the cultivation of brotherly relations with the members of the foreign branches of the Order , remembering that active charity has at home paramount demands . ( To be continued . )