History Of Masonic Imitations.

passwords , exercises an immense influence on the sobriety of the masses . We do not believe that secrecy is any motive power to the exercise of love and right principle . In these French societies there were no secrets

which could not have been openly and safely revealed ; and there was no necessity for secret initiations , which could only serve to amuse and entertain the members , and strike the uninitiated with awe and respect .

The height of absurdity was reached in the Egyptian Freemasonry of the notorious Cagliostra , into which female adepts were admitted , and which affords an excellent illustration of the extraordinary attraction which the bare name of mystery possesses

^ or some , even , of the most learned of mankind . The curious reader will find a well-wrought and Tiighly dramatic account of the mysterious ceremonies and enchantments performed by the Grand Kophta and the Invisible Fathers of the

Rosicrucians , in the initiatiou of Wilhelmina , one of the heroines of Miss MuhlbacfYs recent novel , ^ called " Old Fritz . ' It is worth reading .

The Order of the Eastern Star , as we have said ; -is the only one now existing which need claim attention . Its theories are founded upon the Holy Scriptures . Five prominent Bible female characters , representing as many Masonic virtues ,

-are selected , adopted , and placed under Masonic protection . These are : — 1 . Jephthah ' s Daughter ; illustrating respect to the binding force of a vow . Ruth ; illustrating devotion to religious

principles . 3 . Esther : illustrating fidelity to kindred and "friends . 4 . Martha ; illustrating undeviating faith in the

hour of trial . 5 . Electa ; illustrating patience and submission under wrongs . The friends of this rite claim for it that it is a ' bright monument of female secrecy and fidelity

, and a proof of the error of those who fancy a woman is not to be trusted . They claim , also , that as the adoptive privileges of the lady entirely depend on the good standing of the brother by

whom she is introduced , the system will prove a strong inducement to keep a brother , otherwise in ' elined to err , within the bounds of morality , They also think that it will break up other female rites , which are " superfluous and useless .

History Of Masonic Imitations.

We wish them no evil , but we must say that these very objections—" superfluous and useless "—applied by the friends of the Eastern Star to the other female degrees , we would apply to them . The true Masons need no such ties to bind

them to their female dependants ; and the degrees themselves are making so little general progress that , except in a few parts of our country , they can be of small use to the sisters themselves , and therefore should be discarded .

Masonic Orders Of Knighthood.

MASONIC ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD .

By » $ < C . F . MATIEE , 30 ° , Knt . Comp . Royal Order of Scotland . Every reader at all conversant with the records of the mediaaval period must he aware that of all the many Christian military orders of knighthood , the

only one which had a secret reception , or professed to have claims to secrecy , was the Religious and Military Order of the Temple . In order to constitute a purely Masonic Order of Knighthood two things are specially necessary—the first of which is that there be secrets connected with

the degree ; and secondly , that those secrets have a close relationship to , and are dependent on , Freemasonry—in fact , they must he Masonic secrets . If we therefore adopt this crucial test , we must at once eliminate from our list of Masonic Orders of Knighthood the so-called " Masonic" Knights Templar , the

Masonic Order of Malta and Rhodes , and the Red Cross of Rome and Constantine ( to which I shall refer more at length on another occasion ) , et lioa genus omne . ~ We shall then have before us only three of any importance , which are—the Royal Order of

Scotland , the Rose Croix , and the K . H . These Orders simply profess to be Masonic degrees , and cannot be placed in the same category as those we have mentioned above , which , although professing to

he military orders of knighthood , are , in my opinion , so absurd and foolish as to possess aprons , though what connection there may be between a Knight ( Crusader or otherwise ) and an apron entirely passes my comprehension . I must , however , be distinctly understood , that in all this I do not in any way refer

to the Religious and Military Order of the Temple , as practised in Scotland . There they disclaim any connection whatever with Freemasonry , with the sole exception that at present candidates or aspirants are selected from the Masonic fraternity .

The Order of St . John of Jerusalem in Anc / lia , is also a non-Masonic body , and has not the remotest connection whatever with the Masonic Order of Malta , hut is established for benevolent and charitable purposes . If any of your readers feel curious about this