The Stuarts And Freemasonry.

hmng numbers . In volume S of the Gentleman ' s Magazine it will also he found ; and besides the many editions of Prichard ' s work since published , there have been countless editions of wonts such as " Jaehin and Eons ., " " Three Distinct Knocks , " " Solomon all iu his Glory , " all telling the same stupid tale ; while in

America the works of Allyn , Bernard , Morgan , and others disclose to all the world the mummeries of Freemasonry . CJavel in his "Histoire Pittoresque de la Frane-Maconuerie , " published at Paris iu 1813 , tells us the same story , with this slight difference . In the English

lodges , at the making of a Master Mason , the three murderers of Hiram—Juhela , Jubelo , and Jubelumare heard groaning and lamenting that ever they were born . The French , with more taste , do not introduce these ruffians , but instead afriire terrible , who they say is Typhon , the wicked brother of Osiris . For

publishing this work the Grand Orient complained that Clavel had divulged the ceremonials of the society . CJavel replied that it was a special matter of surprise to him that the society should object to the spreading of light everywhere , and that they should strive to repress freedom of thought binterdicting his book

y ; he disavowed the competency of the Grand Orient to pass a vote of censure on him , aud he justified his proceeding in a public appeal to all Masons possessed of understanding and feeling .

Moreover , there is the great uucontradictable fact that in America during the anti-Masonic excitement , which lasted there from 1826 to 1 S 35 , some thousands of Freemasons left the society , after publicly disclosing all they knew about it . At all the principal cities iu the United States were held anti-Masonic conventions ,

and the published report of the proceedings of the convention at Philadel phia , held in 1830 , is hefore me as I write . Every degree , every rule of Freemasonry was disclosed at it to all the world . They reported on the obligation of Masonic oaths , the pretensions of Masonry , the early history of Masonry , and the seceding Masons gave a summary of the society , which concluded in the following words : —

"Uy this summary of the society , wc wish to rescue others from the same state into which we inconsideratel y fell . We refuse , however humble we may be , to act as decoy ducks to entice tho young men of our country into the net of Freemasonry . "We cannot consent to hover and flutter , in attempting to escape from Masonic thraldom , and wc turn for ever from tbe ~ tow-line of this mystery of abominations . "We break away , we burst our tics , not unmindful of holiness , but with an upward flight , and an fixed heaven honestl

eye on . We y received SVeoiiiasonry , but we have found it out to be a counterfeit . "We submit to the ' losswe neither retain nor pass it ; but having fully detected it , we check it on the face , we stamp it on the wall , and we nail it to the counter , for even now it cheats many . Wc were deceived by false promises , reiterated in volumes , and supported by great names . Our names are yet our own , aud we herewith erase them from ihe roll of Freemasonry . "

ihehonest republicans who signed this summary , glory in such titles as Princes , Elects , Perfects , and Sublimes , and well show that the reason wh y Masonry has such charms for vulgar minds is the extravagance of its titles . Some years ago I saw at Paris a list of a French lodge formerlheld thereThey styled

y . themselves the Council of the Emperors of the East and West , Sovereign Princes Freemasons ; and almost the very first names ou the list were Lacorme , maitrc de dame ; and Pit-let , Uiillcur de ItabiU . The seceding Masons went farther ; they actually ,

The Stuarts And Freemasonry.

in some States , prevented the Freemasons from walk ing in procession as was their wont . And in all th large towns of the Union they gave public exhibition s of Freemasonry , at the price of 25 cents , or one shilling . I saw one of these performances at Boston in 1828 , and 1 never laughed so much in my life . They held a lodgeinitiated a Fellow A ] iprenticepassed him

, , to be a Fellow Craftsmen , and raised hivn to the sublime degree of a Master Mason . Then the certain fell for about ten minutes , aud on its rising again , a chapter of Eoyal Arch Masons was displayed . The spectators then saw the destruction of Jerusalem , the living arch , the descent into the cave , and the discovery of the ark of the covenant . Another time the curtain

fell , and again rose on an encampment of Knights Templar . There we saw the aspirant in the chamber of reflection—then we saw him setting out on his pilgrimage ; we saw also the skull of Simon Magus , the blasphemous parody on the Holy Sacrament , always performed in Knights Templar encampments , and at last the novice was dubbed a valiant aud

magnanimous knight . A fluent , if not an eloquent , lecturer further explained the whole process as it proceeded . That the mummeries thus practised by the "Royal Arch Chapter and the Knights Templar are the real process used b y Freemasons I knowby a very rare

, printed trial in my possession . Two men , one a shoemaker , named Andrew , and the other a cartwright , named Ramsay , were tried for sedition before the Lord Justice Clerk at the Ayr Circuit Court , Sept . 17 th , 1800 . They were charged with forming " themselves into an illegal club or association , styling itself the

assembly of Knights Templar . " Freemasons of the Grand Lodge of Scotland were the sole witnesses against them , and they , on their solemn oaths , publicly disclosed all their mummeries in the open court , both those of the Eoyal Arch and the Knights Templar . And what those witnesses told was just the same as I had seen in the above described performances at

Boston . Of the Royal Arch , they swore that a shrub in ajug with a caudle represented the Burning Bush of Scripture , and they were then told to put off their shoes as they stood upon holy ground ; the password was the sacred saying of "I am that I am . " It was proved that the Kni ght Tem plars drank out of a skull ,

that they had thirteen lighted candles , to represent Christ and his apostles ; one of them , typifying the traitor Judas , was blown out , while another named Peter burned dim . I am sick of these blasphemous mummeries , and I must leave them to the empirics who still practise them ; but these are the knights of

the Scotch order of the Temple , described by Mr . Yarker as assembling at Holyrood House , in 1745 ; when it is well known that the degree of Knights Templar was introduced into Scotland by the sergeant tailor of a regiment of Nottingham militia iu 1796 . The few Masons in America who still adhered to

the " Mystic tie" met the change in the public opinion as they best could . Their lodges were overwhelmed with visitors who had learned their Masonry at these exhibitions . " If they steal our keys , " said they , " we must put on new locks ; '' and accordingly the Grand Lodge of New York , m 1828 , invented a test degree , with a lecture , a sign , a grip , a word , and an oath . A secret held by two persons , now-a-days , as The Times says , belongs to the whole world ; no the reader will