The Pseudo "Grand Prior" Of Ireland.

conic out of their vessels covered with wounds , with looks suitable to their fortunes , and infinitely affected at having ( ivith their brethren of the Temple ) survived the utter loss ' of the Holy Land . " The orders were wealthy—their members were thc offspring of tlie great chiefs and nobility of thc age in which they nourished , and their destruction was the result of conspiracy to seize on their lands by the English and French monarchs .

" In 1810 , while making some excavations on thc towuland of Ballymoon , a large limestone slab ivas discovered , on which was a fine effigy of a kni ght , in full armour , with the staff and other symbols of a . " Grand Prior , " shoAving also that lie had been a " Crusader , " from thc position of his hands and feet . Owing to the carelessness of thc workmen , the slab ivas broken ; but the fragments were carefully collected by the Itev . J . Prcnrtorgast , the then '

P . P . of l ' ageiialstoivn , anilpresented to the late Phili p Newton , Esq ., of Dcmleckney , who forwarded them to the Koyat Irish Academy . At Pallymurphy , in this county , where the Templars are supposed to have been established , a similar slab was discovered in 1790 ; although carefully preserved for some years b y AValter Kavanagb , Esq ., of Bonis House , AVC are unable to state ivhat became of iialthough the impression on our mind

, is , that it ivas presented to some learned body in Dublin , by his successor , Thomas Kavaiurgh , Esq ., M . P . AVe fear thc new " Prior , " Prince Nugent , ivill have some difficulty to obtain a recognition of his title without thc special authority of his grace the Duke of Leinster . "

German Freemasonry.

GERMAN FREEMASONRY .

THE following address to the ladies , delivered at the Christinas festival in Carlsruhe , by Bro . Jos . Strauss , is translated from our contemporary , the Bauhiille . It fills the heart of every brother with the most pleasurable feelings to see you , my beloved sisters , assembled on this occasion in such large numbers , for your presence here to-day tends to convince them that the hours have passed ivith in

many you us the year now elapsed have not been fruitless , and that tlie solemn earnestness and innocent mirth , which have alternatel y pervaded their meetings , have met with your approbation , as well ns the instruction I have occasionally afforded you on the nature aud principles of Freemasonry . Your assembling here to-day , I say again , is a clear evidence of this pleasing result of our combined operations .

•My first object , you arc aware , my dear sisters , has always been to wake up your attention , so that you might be led to take real interest in a matter of vast importance , in the sacred bond of union ivhich we , as men , have solemnl y pledged ourselves to observe .

ii e are the more induced to bring about your conviction of this grand object of Masonry ; in fact to make it our duty to do so , inasmuch as 3-011 have all a ri ght to demand from your natural protectors , in whose presence your time is passed , and to whoso wants you lovingly attend both in pleasure and trouble , any explanations orr the nature of a society to ivhich they are so reli giously devoted , and to which so many hours are consumed apart from their

families and home engagements . After acknowled ging this right 011 the part of tlie sisters , we will lift the veil b y degrees , which conceals the mysteries of Freemasonry from vour eyes . Our feeble sight cannot hear the sudden shock of so brilliant a light without injury , nor can thc whole truth of Freemasonry he at once comprehended by your minds ; so that a cautious and gradual proceeding is imperative on my part , to teach effectuall doctrine

you y our , and to bring you into tlie right path ivhich leads to those regions of light , where truth , virtue , and Jove arc seated on their thrones of glorious refulgence . ^ Before , however , wc take the first step toivards placing you on tuc road to this discovery , we must take care to clear up every doubt , to remove every objection , and to take away all impressions ot fearafter ivhich dear sisterscan implicitlfollow in

, you , my , y our direction , and ivith that willingness aucl confidence which ought always to exist between sisters and brothers of the sacred Order of Freemasonry . The profane world throws its suspicion on our union because of its secrecy , they love to depreciate what is valuable , to give bad motives to good actions , and they do not hesitate to calumniate our acts and princi plesbut against such prejudices 1113 ' dear

; , sisters , youinust be ivell guarded , and . you will assuredl y be so , lor many ^ of you knoiv the worthiness oi' the brethren personally , and arc therefore persuaded that they would not combine in aii y society with a view to dishonour the character of mankind . But there is a sanctum within the heart of woman , where a feeling of calmness and reflection always prevails , and which pre-

German Freemasonry.

vents her being led away hy change of opinions , and this is thc most powerful arid durable quality of womankind , her support during thc troublesome scenes of life , and the anchor of her hope for the future—and this principle is " faith . " EA ' on this point AVC arc assailed by the outer world ; arrd it is very probable that many a beloved sister has been painfully moved , and in some instances rendered instable in principle , at

hearing us charged in such words as these— "All Freemasons are free thinkers . " This suspicion is worse than any , for it tends to undermine the root of the happiness of families , to disturb thc peace of many a religious mind , aud to create discord in circles where concord before existed ; for , by this charge of being free thinkers , you arc led to believe that we are doubters on all things ivhich are not visiblemen without reliious feelingsand ileniers

, g , of the Divinity . Still , Freemasons must be " free ; " it is their main principle , and therefore the spirit of free thinking cannot bo dispensed with , iu spite of all calumniators , AVe must hold our niinds "free" from unbelief as well as superstition , free from the shackles of sense , free from the filthiness of sin , and free from the fear of death at that important hour when our spirits shall be summoned to their Makerto be dealt with at His almihty

, g pleasure . NOAV 3-011 ivill judge , my dear sisters , whether a free thinker who holds such principles as these is a denier of the Divinity , and whether such a charge is not most unjustly levelled at us . But to convince you that this freedom of spirit is the true principle of Freemasonry , you need only to step into our temple , and there imbibe in earnest the words of that prayer with which each

of our operations is commenced . May your reply to it be Amen , ivhen every doubt aucl every fear will vanish , and your hearts ivill be comforted AA'ith a feeling of holy peace for the future . A jiraycr was then delivered b y the worth y Bro . Strauss before the assembled women .

Science And Scripture.

SCIENCE AND SCRIPTURE .

IN a discourse delivered before the brethren at Neath , on St . John ' s Day last , Bro . tlie Hev . Dr . TSURHOWES , abl y handled the vexed question of supposed discrepancies between the Mosaic account of thc creation and the discoveries of modern science . The following are some striking passages of the oration : — " ' God saidLet there be liht ' and there was liht . ' It is not

, g , g to my purpose to enter so much into the consideration of this passage physically ^ so to speak , as morally ; but when I remember that 1 am addressing a body of men who arc the successors , and ought to be , I humbly opine , thc representatives also of those of olden times—of bygone ages , —in whom was centred all the intelligence and science of their day , I cannot forbear casually , though of necessity briefl treating the subject scientificall trusting

y , y , chiefly that the doing so may perchance serve to add another proof ( if it be ever so slight an one ) , to the evidences , already in thousands existing , that Moses ' s account of the creation of thc world is undoubtedly thc true one , and that in no other way could this globe have exhibited thc wondrous , the intricate , and yet the orderly mechanism ive see at work in it , unless the * Great Gcometrician' from the very first had planned it—had not 'God in

, the beginning created the heaven and the earth . ' "Making use , for the sake of argument , ofthe French Philosopher's * theory rather than actuall y accepting it , or proposing for myself any adherence to it ( for , to say the least of it , it is indeed very and scientifically plausible ) , we can easily perceive that when the vast plain of liquid fiery matter had passeel through the annular into the globular form , attrition of all its particles was

rapidly and violently taking place . Now , the simple condensation of matter , the mere closing in of its particles , ivould , as ive at the present time well know , cause an evolution of heat ; and tlie friction of those particles against each other—as , still rolling onwards in thc formation of a globe , the heavier sought the closest possible proximity to thc mechanical centre , and the lig hter were naturally thrust aside , and farther from it , —would produce , iu

subsequence of that heat , a continuous discharge of that mysterious property of nature—light . And , moreover , if it be thought that in this was not cause enough for the great effect produced ; at such a time ( as we must believe ) a vast chemical action was proceeding ; the combination of elements with elements gave rise to that beautiful and marvellous phenomenon , and therefore also ' there was light . ' * La Place . Professor Plateau beautifully experimentalized upon this theory .