Masonic Celestial Mysteries.

again will knowledge become power . The domineering " chiefs of enlightened men" formerly ruled the King , the Church , and the State , and ithe brethren filled every office of the Government : so combined Avas the Order that no writings

could be published Avithout the sanction of one of ihe superiors , thus there was no danger of their mystei'ious secrets becoming knoAvn , especially so ¦ Avhen the ruling superiors could enforce the penalties ofthe obligations . Masonry was a bond that

united society into two castes , the learned and the ignorant , the rulers and the ruled . The brethren were sworn to protect each other , and the meanest 'of the Order , could claim as a ri g ht that succour , no matter under what emergency—one crime alone

excepted—treason annulled the clerical protection . Suppose two men placed together , on their trial found guilty and sentenced to die—one stands forth aud pleads his benefit of clergy—the

protection of his Order . The Ordinary or Judge immediately hands him a latin bible , the prisoner reads a column of the sacred volume , and if the judge says : Legit ut clericuSj i . e ., he reads like a clerk , he is then branded in the hand and becomes free , his partner in guilt is hanged without benefit *

Such was Masonry ! Reverse the picture . Not Song since an unfortunate brother Avas brought before a city magistrate , Avhen he signalised to his worship various Masonic signs hoping to be understood as p leading the benefit of the Craft ,

" I see what jyou are at , " " said the magistrate , " " you think because I am a Mason I'll let you off , " "you are mistaken , " " I'll just double your sentence / ' such is modern Masonry and Brotherly Love , such is the value of the O . B ., and such is

justice—a brother actually doubly punished for belonging to the Order and that too by a brother !

As stated no writings were published Avithout the sanction of a superior of the Order , that superior was the Chancellor . It was his duty to read all writings intended for circulation . If the MSS . was approved , it was returned to the owner

with a certificate of approval , if disapproved the MSS . was seized and retained among other official papers , and deposited by the Master of the Rolls either in the Chancellerie or Record Office . One of your correspondents " a Masonic Student" p .

268 , tells us the constitutions among the Harleian . MSS . once belonged to the Chester Guild of Freemasons , & c . & c . These Harleian MSS . are reckoned state records . About ten years since the lords of the treasury

took it into their heads to publish explanatory catalogues of all these musty collections with other records , little dreaming what a death blow such publications Avould g ive to accredited ancient history—but there are the works , they are numerous , and speak volumes !

" Letters and papers foreign aud domestic as preserved in the public Eecord Office , the British Museum and elsewhere in England , published by the authority of Her Majestys' Treasury , under the directions of the Master of the Rolls commencing 1509 , Edited by Brewer , London . " There can be no disputing such authority , and

if English state papers are to be found anywhere , it may naturally be supposed they Avould be preserved in the State Record Office , or in the British Museum , or elseivhere in England ; iu other words it would be unreasonable to imagine

such English documents Avould be preserved by the brother of the sun , his most sublime Majesty of the celestial empire . Nevertheless there are important records preserved in the Celestial Umpire !

Mr . Brewer describes the records to have been in a state of chaos when they came under his management , and he says to have catalogued them as they stood was scarcely possible . " Nothing remained except to bring the different series

together , and patiently proceed de novo to arrange the whole in uniform chronological order . The labour was increased by the dispersion of the papers , the variety of experiments to which they had been subjected at different intervals , and the total obliteration of all traces of their original sequence . The letter are seldom dated :

their dates Lad to be determined by internal evidence " ( page ix ) . Mr . Brewer is referring to the state records of England , but Mr . Bergenroth , who edited the state papers of England and Spain , during Henry the Seventh's reign , describes almost similar chaos in the Archives at Simancas iu Spain , the greater portion of the state papers of England and Spain being obtained from Simancas few being found among the state records of England , p xix . "

Had English state records been found in Rome in the Vatican for example , it mig ht be understood as probable that the Roman clergy when separating from the Masonic brethren by some means or other possessed themselves of some of the state documents , and handed them over to their parent Papa . But in the name of Masonry , what could the English rulers have to do Avith Simancas , or