Table Of Contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS .

— PAGE . ROYAL ARCH MASONRY ... 1 PAPERS ON MASONRYNo . VIII . —Masonry and its Mission 2 THE NEGRO AND THE CRAFT — CHARGE BY R . W . M . PRINCE HALL - : a

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .. THE CRAFT—Metropolitan , Provincial 4 THE ROYAL ARCH—Provincial 4 ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCERoyal Masonic Institution for Girls ... ... 4 Uniformity of Ritual and Ceremony , 4

The Chair Degree 4 Thistle Lodge , No 87 5 Solomon ' s Temple versus Egyptian Architecture .. 5 BIRTHS , MARRIAGES AND DEATHS 6 THE UNITY OF FREEMASONRY 6 INBTAILATION MEETING OF SOUTHREN STAR LODGE , No . 1158 , 6 GARIBALDI AND THE CRAFT ... fi

A CAUTION 6 THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE IN INDIA ... 6 * GRAND INSTALLATION FESTIVAL AT WINDSOR ... 7 SHOWING A FREEMASON ' S SIGN 8 POETRY—Peace , Love , Harmony , Fidelity 8 ANOTHER FENIAN OUTRAGE : ( A Tale of the Times ) ... 9

LECTURE ON " LIGHT , " BY THB REV . Bno . SMYTH , BELFAST 10 MASONIC INSTALLATION AT DERRY 10 MASONIC MEETINGS FOR NEXT WEEK 10 LIST OF AGENTS 10 ADVERTISEMENTS 11 & 12

Royal Arch Masonry.

ROYAL ARCH MASONRY .

By THE SON OF SALATUIEL . ( Continued . ) [ The rights of translation and reproduction reserved . ]

The return of Zorubbabel and tho liberated captives to Jerusalem i » thus exhaustivel y described by tho celebrated American Mason , Dr . Albert Mackey , in his " Book of the Chapter : "—

" We have now arrived at that portion of the history of the Bab ylonish captivity which is allegorized in tlie concluding ceremonies of tho Royal Arch Degree . And here we may

incidentally observe that tho name analogy which exists in tlie Muster ' s degree to the ancient mysteries , is also to lie found in thc Royal Arch . Thc Masonic scholar , who is familial * with the

construction of those mysteries of tho Pagan priests and philosophers , is well aware that they inculcate by symbolic and allegoric instruction , tho great lessons of the resurrection of thc bod y

and thc immortality of the soul . Hence they were all funereal in their character . They commenced in sorrow , they terminated in joy . Thc death or destruction of some eminent personage

Royal Arch Masonry.

most generally a god , was depicted iu the beginning of the ceremonies of initiation , while the close was occupied in illustrating , in the same manner , the discovery of his grave , the recovery of the body , and the restoration to life

eternal . The same religious instruction is taught in the Master ' s degree . The evidence of this fact , it is unnecessary for ns here to demonstrate It will be at once apparent to every Mason who is sufficiently acquainted with the ritual of his Order .

" But is it not equally apparent that the same system , though under a thicker veil , is preserved in the ceremonies of the Royal Arch 1 There'is a resurrection of that which has been buried—a discovery of that which had been lost—an

exchange of that which , like the body , the earthl y tenement , w : is temporary , for that which , like the soul , is intended to be permanent . The life which we pass on earth is but a substitute for that glorious one which wc are to spend in

eternity . Ancl it is in the grave—in the depths of the earth—that thc corruptible puts on incorruption , that the mortal puts on immortality ( I . Corinth , xv . 53 ) , and that the substitute of this temporal life is exchanged for thc blessed reality of life eternal .

" The interval to which we alluded in Iho last lecture , aud which is occupie . l by the captivity of thc Jews at Babylon , is now over , and the allegory of the Royal Arch is resumed with the restoration of the captives to their home .

" Five hundred and thirty-six years before the Christian era , Cyrus issued his decree for the return of tho Jews . At the same time he

restored to them all the sacred vessels and precious ornaments of tho first temple , which had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar , and which were still in existence .

" Forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty of the Jews repaired , in the same year , from Babylon and the neighbouring cities to Jerusalem . The leaders of those wero Zerubbabcl , Joshua , and Haggai , of whom , as they perforin an

important pait iu the history of this event as recorded in tho Hoyal Arch , it is incumbent on us to speak moro particularly .

" Zerubbabcl was , at tho timo of the restoration , the possessor of the regal authority among tho Jews , as the prince of the captivity and a descendant of tho house of David , and as such

Royal Arch Masonry.

he assumed at Jerusalem the office of king . He was the son of Shealtiel , who was the son of Jeconiah , the monarch who had been deposed

by Nebuchadnezzar and carried away to Babylon . He was the intimate friend of Cyrus , and , indeed , it is supposed that it was principally through his influence that the Persian monarch was

induced to decree the liberation of the captives . " Joshua , the High Priest , was , like Zerubbabcl , entitled to his office by the indisputable claim of direct descent from the ancient hierarchy . He was the son of Josedech , and the grandson of

Seiaiah , who had been the High Priest when Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar . " Of Haggai , the Scribe , but little is known that can be relied on . We know nothing of the p lace or the time of his birth , but it is supposed that he was born at Babylon during the captivity .

He was the first of the three prophets who flourished after the captivity , and his writings , though few ( so few , indeed , that some theologians have supposed that tho larger portion of them has perished ) , all relate to the building of tho

second temple . The office of scribe , which is the ono assigned to him in thc Royal Arch degree ( as practised in Ireland and America , S . S . ) was one of great importance in the Jewish economy . 'The sophers or scribes

constituted , ' says Dr . Beard , **• a learned , organized , much esteemed and highly influential body of men , recognized and supported by the State . ' They were learned in the laws , and it was their duty to expound them to the people . Home

says , that the scribe seems to have been the king ' s secretary of state , and as such to have registered all acts and decrees . It is , perhaps , in this capacity that wc are to suppose that Haggai claims a place iu the Grand Council of

the Hoyal Arch . " Zerubbabcl , assisted by these advipers , proceeded to iUTimgc his followers in such a form as would enable them most safely and expeditiously to traverse thc long and dangerous road

from Babylon to Jerusalem , which latter place they reached after a journey of four months , on the 2-ind of June , 535 years before the birth of Christ . " The first object of tho Jewish leader was ,

wc may well suppose , to provide the means ol shelter for the people who accompanied him . We arc irresistibly led to the conclusion that for this purpose it was found necessary to erect tents for their tempouiry dwelling . Kxtensive

and populous as was Jerusalem at . the commencement of the captivify , after the ruthless devastation of its unsparing conqueror it could hardly have retained sufficient means for the convenient accommodation of the fifty thousand