The Badge Of Freemasonry And The Golden Fleece.

the rocks , and to judge by its fortune what they might themselves expect . It escaped with the loss of its tail , and the Argonauts daring to attempt the passage , escaped- in like manner with the loss only of some ornaments of the stern of their vessel . After visiting several other

countries they arrived at the mouth of the rivei Phasis in Colchis . Here the king , ^ Etis , promised to give up the Golden Fleece to Jason , on condition of his yoking to a plough the two fire-breathing bulls with brazen hoofs , and sowing the dragons' teeth left by Cadmus in Thessis .

Jason fulfilled these conditions by help of the sorceress Nedea , the daughter of iEetes , who had fallen passionately in love with him . He was assisted by her in other still more wonderful exploits . He obtained from her , under promise of marriage , a charm against fire and steel , and

was thus enabled to destroy all the warriors who sprang up where the dragons' teeth were sown . iEetes , meanwhile , thought to burn the ship Argo , and put the crew to death •but Jason , warned by Nedea , anticipated this design , and hastening into the grove , stupified the dragon

sentinel by a charm which Nedea had prepared , seized the Golden Fleece , and embarked by night in his ship with his mistress and her brother Absyetus , iEetes pursued the Argo , but Nedea cut her brother Absyetus in pieces and flung them overboard , Jason stayed to pick them up ,

and thus the Argo escaped . This horrible part of the story is not told by all the narrators . The Argo reached the mouth of the river Eridanus , but was driven on the Absystian islands by a storm caused by Jup iter , who was angry on account of the murder of Absyetus . The mast

ofthe Argo , which had been cut in the sacred grove of Dodona , now delivered an oracle that Jupiter would not be appeased unless the Argonauts sailed towards Ansonia and were purified through the agency of Circe . This they did ; then they passed by the Sirens , from whose

dangerous charms they were preserved by Orpheus singing to them . Yet one of their number , Butes , swam off to the sea-maidens and perished . They passed through Scylla and Charybdis by the help of Thetis , and at length landed on the island of Corcyra , where Antonius ruled . On leaving Corcyra they encountered a

storm at night , but where saved by Apollo , who , in flashes of lightning , revealed to them the haven of Anaple , were they raised an altar to him . At Cuate , their landing was opposed by the giant Talus , who was slain by Nedea . The Argonauts subsequently touched at . 'Egina and Tolans in safety . Jason dedicated the shi p Argo to Neptune at the Isthmus of Corinth .

A celebrated order of knighthood of Austria and Spain is the Order ofthe Golden Fleece . It was founded by Philip III ., Duke of Burgundy and the Netherlands , at Bruges , on the ioth January , 142 S , on the occasion of his marriage with Isabella , daughter of John the I .. King of

Portugal . The reasons which induced him to choose the name he did for the order , and to cause insignia to be devised for it in correspondence with the name , are not certainly known , but it may be supposed that he was mindful ol the classical studies of his youth , and that he

meant the Golden Fleece , viewed in connection with the ancient legend concerning it , to be a symbol of enterprise and courage . The notion to be presently noticed bears out this opinion . Yet it has been suggested that he probably also bethought himself of the importance of the

woollen manufacture as the great industry of the Low Countries , and chose a name and device having some imaginable reference to it . The order was instituted for the protection of the church . Duke Philip made himself first Grand Master of ihe Order , appointing that office also

to be held by his successors , Dukes of Burgundy . The number of knights was at first limited to twenty-four , but was afterwords increased . The Burgundian territories having been inherited through the heiress of the last Duke by her son ,

the Emperor Charles V ., he held the office ol Grand . Master of this order . On his death this dignity , remained in possession of the Spanish branch of the family ; but at the close of the Spanish war of succession , the Emperor , Charles VI ., laid claim to it , in virtue of his possession o

The Badge Of Freemasonry And The Golden Fleece.

the Low Countries , and taking with him the archives of the order , celebrated a new inauguration of it with great magnificence at Vienna , in 1713 . Philip V . of Spain contested the claim of the German Emperor , and the dispute about this much-prized dignity was long

continued and often renewed , till at last it was amicably settled by the recognition of the order in both countries , and on this footing it still remains , the Emperor of Austria being Grand Master in his own dominions , and the King of Spain , when there is a Kingof Spain , Grand Master

of the order in that kingdom . In Austria , the Emperor may now create any number of Knights of the Golden Fleece from the old nobility , but in the case of a Protestant the Pope ' s consent is required . In Spain , the honour is

restricted to princes , grandees , and "personages of peculiar merit . " "The insignia of the order are a Golden Fleece hanging from a gold and blue enamelled fhntstone , emitting flames , and borne it its turn by a ray of fire ; " on the enamelled obverse is inscribed Prctium lahorium

nom vile , signifying " No mean reward of labours . " The decoration was originally suspended from a chain of alternate fire-stones and rays , for which Charles V . allowed a red ribbon to be substituted , and the chain is now worn only by the Grand Master . The Spanish decoration

differs slightly from the Austrian ; the costume consists of a long robe of deep red velvet , lined with white taffetas , and a long mantle of purple velvet , lined with white satin and richl y trimmed with embroidery , containing firestones

and steels emitting flames and sparks ; on the hem , which is of white satin , is embroidered in gold jfc Pay empris , signifying " I have assayed it . " There is also a cap of purple velvet , embroidered in gold , and the shoes and stockings are red .

Leaves From My Library.

LEAVES FROM MY LIBRARY .

Bv MARMADUKE MAKEPEACE . ( Continue . / from page 37 . J There remains yet another geometrical emblem to be explained , which is the diagram of the 47 th Proposition of the First Book of Euclid , by the assistance of which we prove that the square of

the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle—that is , the side opposite the right angle—is equal to the sum of the squares of the sides which contain the right angle . For this discovery we are likewise indebted to the great Master of the Pythagorean school , who is said to have offered a hecatomb , or

sacrifice , of a hundred oxen , lo express his joy and gratitude to heaven on account of tiiis discovery . And , indeed , well might he estimate its value so highly , when we reflect that upon this principle depends the solution of the great principles in the mathematical , mechanical , and philosophical

knowledge , and thai it is the true key to the doctrine of tbe proportions and powers of all quantities—arithmetical , geometrical , and algebraical . By it , wc may prove any multiple of a given square , as we have only to construct an isosceles right-angled triangle , of which one of the sides including the

right angle shall be equal to the side of such square . And in the same manner it may be applied to form squares and other figures of duplicate ratios to others which are given . Accordingly , he was accustomed to distinguish this proposition by the appellation EUREKA , which signifies " 1 have found

it ! '' thereby denoting the superior importance of this over all other discoveries . As , therefore , the letter G denotes to us the science of symbolic geometry , and the . Pythagorean Tctractys the mysterious powers of numbers , so is this symbol the representation of all mechanical and physical science .

But whilst each of these symbols reciprocally serves to illustrate the rest , there is one sense in which they yield to the decided pre-eminence of the great central emblem whose sacred initial character , surrounded by a blaze of eternal glory , recalls our minds from the work to the Architect—from the

science to Us mystery . This brings us to the moral advantages to be derived from Geometry . Geometry is the first and noblest of sciences , and the basis on which the superstructure of Freemasonry is erected . The contemplation of this science , in a moral and comprehensive view , fills

the mind with rapture . To the true Geometrician the regions of matter with which he is surrounded afford ample scope for his admiration , while they open a sublime field for his enquiry and disquisition . Every blade of grass which covers the field , every flower which blows , and every insect which wings its way in the bounds of expanded space , proves the existence of a first cause , and yields pleasure to

Leaves From My Library.

the intelligent mind . The symmetry , beauty , and order displayed in the various parts of animate and inanimate creation are pleasing and delightful themes , and naturally lead to the Source whence the whole is derived . When wc bring within the focus of the eye the variegated carpet of the

terrestial creation , and survey the progress of the vegetative system , our admiration is justly excited . Every plant which grows , every flower that displays its beauties or breathes its sweets , affords instruction and delight . When we extend our view to the animal creation and contemplate the varied

clothing of every species , wc arc equally struck with astonishment ; and when we trace the lines of geometry , drawn by the Divine pencil , in the beautiful plumage of the feathered tribe , how exalted is our conception of the heavenly work ! The admirable structure of plants and animals , and

the infinite ' number of fibres and vessels which run through the whole , with the apt disposition of one part to another , are perpetual subjects of study to the true geometrician , who , while he adverts to all the changes which all undergo in their progress to maturity , is lost in rapture and veneration of the

Great Cause which produced the whole and governs the system . When he descends into the bowels of the earth and explores the kingdom of ores , minerals and fossils , he finds the same instances of Divine wisdom and goodness displayed in their formation and structure—every gem and pebble proclaims the

handiwork of an Almighty Creator . When he surveys the watery clement and directs his attention to the wonders of the deep , with all the inhabitants of the mighty ocean , he perceives emblems of the same supreme intelligence . The scales of the largest whale , as well as the pencilled shell of the

most diminutive fish , equally yield a theme for his contemplation on which he fondly dwells , while the symmetry of tlieir formation , and the delicacy of tints , evince to his discerning eye the wisdom of the Divine Artist . When he exalts his view to the more noble and elevated parts of nature and surveys the

celestial orbs , how much greater is his astonishment ! If , on the principles of geometry and true philosophy , he contemplates the sun , the moon , the stars—the whole conclave of heaven—his pride is humbled , and he is lost in awful admiration . The immense magnitude of those bodies , the regularity

and rapidity of their motions and the vast extent of space through which they move arc equally inconceivable , and , so far as they exceed human comprehension , baffle his most daring ambition till , lost in the immensity of the theme , he sinks into his primitive insignificance .

By Geometry , then , wc curiously trace Nature through her various windings to her most concealed recesses . By it we discover the power , the wisdom , and the goodness of the Grand Artificer of the Universe , and view with delight the proportions which connect this vast machine . By it wc calculate

how the planets move m their different orbits , and demonstrate their various revolutions . By it we account for the return of the seasons , and the variety of scenes which each season displays to the discerning eye . Numberless worlds are around us , all framed by the same Divine Artist , which roll through

the vast expanse and are all conducted by the same unerring law . A survey of nature and the observation of her beautiful proportions , first determined man to imitate the divine plan and study symmetry and order . This gave rise to societies , and birth to

every useful art . The architect began to design , and the plans which he laid down , improved by experience and time , produced works which have been the admiration of every age . To Him , the great Geometrician of the Universe ,

the Father of Light and Life , the fountain of Eternal Wisdom , let us humbly dedicate our labours , imploring Him to bless and prosper the work of our hands to His own glory and the good of mankind and the salvation of our immortal souls . ( To t'c continual . )

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our breakfast tables with a delicately-flavoured beverage which may save us many heavy doctor ' s bills . " Made simply with boiling water or milk . Sold only in tin-lined packets , labelled J AMKS FITS & Co ., llomccopaUiic Chemists , London .-- [ Advt . ] Fl'll . Et'SV OR FITS . —A sure cure for this distressing complaint is now made known in a Treatise ( of 4 S octavo pages ) on Foreign and native Herbal

Preparations , published by 1 Vol . C ) . l'UKI . I'S liKOWN . The prescription was discovered by him in such a providential manner ihat he cannot conscientiously refuse lo make it known , as it has cured everybody who has used it for Fits , njvtr having failed in a single case . The ingredients may be obtained from any chemist . —Persons desiring a copy may address Prof . O . Pinxrs BROWN , No . 2 , King-street , Covent Garden , London , enclosing stamp ; six copies , three stamps . —[ Advt . ]