Table Of Contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS .

FAGE ANCIENT AND MODERN MYSTERIES ... 193 AMSWEB TO A Q UKRY 193 THE CBAFI—Metropolitan , Provincial , and

Scotland 19 * ROTAL ABCH—Metropolitan and Provincial ... 195 GRAND CBOSS OF R OME AND CONSTANTINE ... 195 BIRTHS , MARRIAGES , AND DEATHS 196 A GLANCE AROUND 196

GRAND LODGE OP COLORADO 196 MCLTUM IN PARVO 197 CONSECRATION OP THE WARREN LODGE NO . 1276 , AT KGREMONT , CHESHIRE 197

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCEProposed Testimonial 197 Jurisdiction of Urand Lodges ... ... ... 197 The Jews uot a Nation of Builders 197 CONSECRATION OF A NKW LODGE AT BRIGG ,

LINCOLNSHIRE 198 INSTALLATION OF THE RIGHT HON . EARL PERCY , AT ALNWICK 198

A PRIZE GERMAN ESSAY 199 INITIATION OF H . I . H . THE PRINCE RHODOCANAKIS 200 KNIGHTS TEMPLAR 200 MEETINGS FOB NEXT WEEK 200

Ancient And Modern Mysteries.

ANCIENT AND MODERN MYSTERIES .

BY BitOTiiisit ROBERT WKXTWORTII LITTLE , President of the London Literary Union , < C-c . From the " Rosierucian . " There are few subjects more interesting to a reflecting mind than the study of the secret rites and ceremouies of the ancients . It possesses a . fasciuatiou

peculiarl y its own—we seem to wander amidst the phantasma of dreams rather than the realities of historic lore , while the mighty shades of the past appear to rise in solemn majesty from the weird and silent abysses wherein were celebrated the unutterable mysteries of Mithras , Memphis , or Eleusis .

The term mystery is Phoenician , and signifies a veil or envelopment ; it was used to designate the esoteric worship of the Deity by those who were initiated , as distinguished trom the superstitious usages of the utiiustructed mass of mankind . I shall commence my observations by a description

of the occult religious observances of the Indian Brahmins . The gloomy cavern and the consecrated grove bore witness to the earliest devotions of mankind The deep shade—the solemn silence—the profound solitude—of such places inspired the contemplative

soul with a kind of hol y horror , and invested with , peculiar sanctity the purer doctrines of philosophy and religion therein inculcated . The same circumstances were found equally favorable to the propagation of science , and tended to impress upon the minds of the hearers the awful dictates of truth and

•wisdom . The Brahmins of India and the Druids of Europe were therefore constantly to be found in the recesses of the sacred grotto , and in the bosom of the embowering forest . In those undisturbed retreats , they chanted their pious orisons to the Creator of all

things , and , from the example of their own severe corporeal mortification , preached to mankind a ceaseless lesson of the vanity of wealth—the folly of power—and the madness of ambition . The whole continent of Asia , though rich ia colossal architectural remains , cannot boast of more august and

admirable monuments of antiquity than the caves of Salsette and Elephanta , with the wondrous sculptures that adorn them . They were used not only as subterranean temples of the Deity , but within their mysterious depths were taught the principles of those sciences for which the Brahmins were so

•widely celebrated throughout the East . And it may be observed that , in every age of the world ' s history , from tho deep obscurity of caverns and woods have issued the bri ghtest beams of knowledge , of morality , and of reli gion . Zoroaster , the great reformer of the sect of the Persian Magi , amidst the gloom of a

cavern composed his renowned system of theological institutions . E pictetus , and the famed philosopher , Pythagoras , who was himself a pupil of Zoroaster , sought wisdom in the solitary cell . Even the venerable prophets and priests of the true God took up their abode iu the hitherto untrodden wastes and

lonel y deserts . St John , the herald of the Messiah , whose food was tho locusts aud wild honey which those solitudes produced , declares himself to be the " voice of one crying in the wilderness . " Tho profound reverence equally entertained by

the Magi of Persia and the Brahmins of India for the solar orb , and for tho element of fire , forms a striking feature of resemblance between the dogmas of Zoro . ster and the religion of Brahma . In the union of astronomy aud theology , which were sister

Ancient And Modern Mysteries.

sciences in those days , we shall find—notwithstanding the many perplexities that beset the path of investigation—the clearest elucidation of those singular rig hts of secret worship , believed to have been anciently practised in the islands of Salsette and Elephanta . Whatever may have been the primeval

object of devotion to the Persians or the Brahmins —although it is but fair to add that there is cumulative evidence of sun worship having been the earliest idolatry of oriental . lands—it is at least probable that the priests of Brahma and the disciples of Zoroaster only improved upon the popular

superstition , by rejecting its gross fabric or sensual manifestations , and building up , as it were , an inner tabernacle of spiritual belief , by which the perfect epopt or purified aspirant was enabled to hold communication with , his God . It was , therefore , at the

period when solar worship flourished in Asia—when it was in the zenith of its glory , that those stupendous chasms were hewn out of the native rock with such untiring labour and perseverance , stimulated —as the votaries were—by devotion and the hopes of eternal reward . It was the custom of the

Brahmins to mount the loftiest pinnacles of those rocks , and salute the rising sun . They ascended the heights of Salsette , even as the Egyptian priests of old climbed to the apex of their pyramids , to pay their adorations at the dawn of day to the source of light , aud to make astronomical observations .

When the shades of evening approached , and the sun disappeared beneath the horizon , the Brahmins descended into their stony recesses , and there renewed their oblations of praise aud devotion before figures and objects that symbolized the power and attributes of the luminous Divinity . The orb of radiated gold—the bright spiral flame ascending

from the ever-glowing altar—impressed their imaginations with a potent sense of the ever-present Deity . The planetary bodies were represented b y images equally emblematical of their supposed form aud influence , and the signs of the Zodiac blazed in imitative gold round the embossed and vaulted roof . All the caverns might truly be called pi / rceia , or sanctuaries that cherished tho eternal flame . The

whole circumference of the rock was illuminated , and the mountain burned with fire . Throughout all the deep recesses of its caverns continuall y reverberated the echoes of the hallowed conque of sacritice . Around all the shores of the island the sacred bell of religion incessantly rang . The secret

gloom of those majestic forests that surrounded the rock perpetually resounded with the mystic song of praise and thanksgiving . One order of priests , arrayed in vestments of woven bark , and having on their heads caps of that pyramidal form which equally distinguished the Indian and Egyptian

priesthood , attended to watch the never-d ying flame , which they frequently invigorated with precious spices and aromatic woods . Another order of priests was employed in preparing the various sacrificessome wero occupied in instructing the younger Brahmins iu the profound arcana of those more

abstruse sciences of which numerous emblems on every side conspicuously attracted their attention —while others again were engaged in initiating them into the mysterious rito of that mythology of which the principal deities were sculptured ou the walls around . Many of those devices cannot now

be accurately explained , but it is evident that they refer to the sacred history of the Indian reli gion , as well as to the heroic feats of the ancient rajahs . Description cannot couvey to the mind the splendour and sublimity of the scenes in which these mysteries were celebrated , nor can we fully conceive the awful

reverence which they inspired iu the minds of their devout votaries ; aud , however much these occult rites may have been afterwards corrupted by the introduction of vicious or licentious practices , there is little doubt that they were originally the sanctuaries of a purer system of theology than was known or followed by the generality of mankind . ( To be continued . )

AVE are informed that on Saturday , the 30 th inst ., the first meeting of the South Eastern Masonic Association New Cross branch will be held at the Marquis of Granby , New Cross-road , for the purpose of receiving subscriptions . The committee hope that , assisted by the prompt payment of subscriptions on that occasion , they may be enabled to ballot for the first Life Governorship emanating from this association . Bro . James Barrett , is the Hon . Sec .

BREAKFAST . —EPPS ' COCOA . —Grateful and Comforting . —The very agreeable character of this preparation has rendered it a general favourite . The Civil Service Gazette remarks : —'' The singular success which Mr . Kpps attained by his homoeopathic preparation of cocoa has never been surpassed by any experimentalist . By a thorough knowledge of the natural laws which govern the operations

of digestion and nutrition , and by a careful application of the fine propel li . s of well-selected cocoa , Mr , l ' pps lias provided 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 by the Trade only , in \ lb ., 4 lb . and 1 lb . tin-lined packets , labelled JAMES Errs & Co ., Homoeopathic . Chemists , Loudon . —AUVT .

An Answer To A Query.

AN ANSWER TO A QUERY .

Not a " Paper on Masonry , " though BY CRYPTONYMUS . It were all one .

That I should love a bright particular star , And think to wed it , he is so above me ; In his bright radiance and collateral light Must I be comforted , not in his sphere . All's Well thai ends Well , act i . Bcene 1 .

Nou intret Cato theatrum nostrum ; Aut , si intraverit , spectat . MABTIAL . " Royal Arch . " in his friendly letter , "puts me to the proof . " What rig ht , in 7 m anonymity , has he to challenge mine ? Masonry , although

endeavouring to retrieve , by charity , a lost error , forgets to acknowledge that an Order co-existent •with its wonderful integrity mig ht and would be bound to exist . The hig her the mountain , the deeper the valley . The greater the delusion , the clearer the Light .

Brekekekes , coax , coax ! If ROYAL ARCH is one who prefers the misty condition—which wets an Englishman to the skin—I , for one , do not envy him . Had he known how to read the contributions of Cryptonymus to the pages of THE FREEMASON , he

would have rejoiced . Begun in honour , con-: tinued with p leasure , they have ended in a manner somewhat painful ; but as the illustrious Unsworth would say , THAT is no reason why the Osirified individual should not go to Amentu There is a touchinn American ballad fit to be

used in this place : — Hans Breitmanu gife a barty—Vhere ish dat barty now ! Vhere ish de lofely golden cloud

Dat float on de moundain's prow r Vhere is de himmehtrahlende stern , De shtar of de shpirit ' s light 1 All goned afay mit de Lager Beer—Afay iu de Ewigkeit !

It would be preposterous and extra-masonicwhether with or without fee and reward—to expect a revelation of Rosierucian or Masonic secrets ; and the secrets of which Cryptonymus is possessed should , at least , be esteemed at

some kind of equal value . If Royal Arch—who lias read , no doubt , a certain meagre blue pamphlet , —likes to encounter Cryptonymus in fair combat , in a sort of friendl y

way , no doubt tho Grand Recorder of the Rosierucian Order would transmit any letter to me ; or , if the arena is to be Common Sense , there is the alternative of 4 , St . Martin ' s p lace , Trafalgarsquare , or Bethnal-green . "Aber ' es kommt mir Spanisch vor ! " At any rate , NOT the Rite of Memphis ! CRYPTONYMUS .

AVE understand that the Worshi pful Bro . Brett , Assistant Grand Purst . ( Instructor of tho Metropolitan ) will work the ceremonies of Consecration and Installation this day , at the Marquis of Granby Tavern , New-cross-road , ( near the Station Bridge ) .

ST . JOHN ' GATE , CLERKKNWELL . —On Saturday last , in consequence of an invite from that ever courteousand worthy brother S . Wickens , we paid a visitto his establishment at that famous remains of the once splendid Preceptory of The Knights Hospitallers , dedicated to St . John of Jerusalem , at Clerkenwell ,

now known as St . John ' s Gate , and we must express the astonishment and pleasure we experienced on viewing the reall y splendid and convenient manner in which the baronial rooms of this interesting relic of antiquity have been fitted up . As it is less than five minutes' walk from the Farringdon-road station

of the Metropolitan Railway , it is really astonishing that although large numbers visit it , many more thousands do not pay a visit to one of the most ancient and interesting buildings in London . The luncheon bar , and the coffee-room are most unique in their character . The extensive collection of

curious old engravings , etchings , pictures , MSS ., a complete series of " The Gentleman ' s Magazine , " & c , are well worth the inspection of persons of taste in those things , and we feel assured that Bro . S . Wickens on all occasions feels much pleasure in acting as cicerone .

ADISTINGUISIIBD Freemason , Lord Londesborou gh once observed that" Masonry gave him an opportunity of mixing with the classes that were below him as a peer of the realm in the scale of society , without being branded with the stigma of ' a popularity hunter . " This coming from so hi gh a source is pregnant with valuable thought .