Memoirs Of The Freemasons Of Naples.

MEMOIRS OF THE FREEMASONS OF NAPLES .

LOSDOJS " , SATURDAY , APRIL 20 , 1861 .

( Continued from page 284 . ) Previous to tlie Revolution in Erance , the Queen of Naples had teen one of the strongest supporters of Ereemasonry , and she was even saicl to have established a lady ' s lodge in Naples , of which she ., was the head ; howeverthat of females met

it is certain , , a society monthly , at which the Queen presided , and that they had certain signs , rules , and regulations of their OAATI . But , from the very first outbreak of the Erench revolution , all her Majesty's IOA' 6 for the Craft turned to hatred . General Aetonwho was her adviser upon all matters of

, importance , represented the imputation we have before mentioned of their connection with other secret societies , Avhose objects were anarchy and rebellion . She was led to believe that it was through their influence that Louis XVI . lost his crown ; that they urged the people to imprison , bring him to trial , and eA'entually to the

scaffold ; that it was through them that Marie Antoinette ( her sister ) afterwards perished , and that they could have prevented the unfortunate Dauphin from being starved to death in the Temple ; and as these deeds of horror reached her , so she persecuted the Masons more and more . This Acton , though of English origin , was

born at Besancon , in Erance , and having acquired a considerable degree of naval reputation by an expedition he had made against Algiers some years before , in the Tuscan fleet , a request was made to the Grand Duke Leopold to permit him to organize the Neapolitan navy . Acton soon became a Court favourite , and took every opportunity to insinuate himself into the good graces of the Queen , and soon became the confidant of all her schemes . His main object was the acquirement of absolute

power ; he took measures to keep at a distance all such persons as by the superiority of their talents , or from their influence at Court , could in any way interfere with his projects . Fearful of- hai * ing discovered a rival in the Prince Caramanico , at whose intervention he had been first called to Naples , he exerted himself in such a

manner as to cause him to be dispatched , first on an embassy to London , and next to Paris , and finally he got him nominated Viceroy of Palermo . The Prince Caramanico expired shortly after his elevation to the vice-regal power , and his death did not occur without awaking some suspicion as to the manner in which it

was brought about . Acton shortly afterwards became Minister for Eoreign Affairs , and a General in the Neapolitan army . Thus he acquired the utmost possible amount of power , and he turned his Avhole thoughts towards consolidating its possession , and disposed of all things according to his own immediate will . All the

other ministers were created by himself , and were completely subservient to his pleasure , and bound to him either by gratitude or fear . The tragic events that were passing in France gave opportunities for Acton to impress upon the Queen a desire for vengeance upon all secret societies . She now ordered that all persons

who had held any communication with the Erench Avho accompanied La Touche to Italy , should be imprisoned and tortured to confession . All the young men belonging to the diflerent societies , as well as others Avho had , either by their discourse or their actions , shown any sympathy towards the rising Republic , were likewise placed under confinement . "The Junta of State" was composed of men devoted to the interests of the court , but some of them were not completely devoid of every

sentiment of humanity , and raised their voices in favour of the inexperienced young men whose chief crime had been a too great imprudence . They represented to the King that it would be unjust to exercise all the severity of the " State Penal Code " upon youths whose crime had been limited to emitting liberal speeches and opinions . These efforts werehoweverunavailingfor

, , , the Queen , instigated by Acton , regarded them as the most formidable of their enemies , and imperiously demanded blood and vengeance . _ The Ereemasons had a firm belief in the Queen's sincerity , and that she was miserably misled by those around her ; they remembered with gratitude her former

protection , and to this day the custom of drinking to her memory is preserved in ail the banquets of the order . In 1792 and the two successive years , the beautiful kingdom of Naples was one continued scene of war , or warlike preparations ; dissatisfaction reigned both within and ivithout the city . Nothing ivas now done to advance legislation , commerce , or science . The rulers seemed only anxious to maintain their power and raise additional forces for attack or defence . Numbers of Freemasons

and members of other secret societies remained in prison , awaiting the sentence of the Inquisition , and those that had escaped were afraid to show their sympathy for the unfortunate sufferers . Thus it continued until the year 1794 , when , to the calamities of war , scarcity , and turmoil , was added one more terrible than all . In the night of

the 12 th of June , a violent earthquake shook the city , and a hollow ,. deep rumbling noise indicated an approaching eruption of Mount Vesuvius . The inhabitants of the cities and towns at the foot of the mountain fled from their houses , waiting in the open air for the claivn of day ,- the morning broke calmly , but , at the summit

of the volcano , a dense black cloud obscured the azin-e and gloAV of the sky , and , as the day advanced , the noise increased as well as the darkness , Avhich caused terror to all around . Thus passed three days . On the night preceding the fourth day ( 15 th and 16 th June ) , there came a report as from a hundred pieces of artilleryand

, a fiery column AA'as seen to rise from the summit of the mountain , divide , and fall-by its OAVII weight , circulating round the declivity ; vivid and long flashes of lightning issuing from the volcano , vanished in the sky , and balls of fire were hurled to great distances , the rumbling sound bursting out in tones of thunder . Flame rose

aboA * e flame , and the crater of the volcano continued unchanged , and tAvo streams of lava were formed , which first advanced rapidly , and then moved slowly towards Resina and Torre del Greco . Thirty-two thousand persons , the population of the toivns and cities surrounding , stood gazing at the scene in grief and Avonder . The town of Resina covers the site of the ancient

Herculaneum , and Torre del Greco ivas originally built Avhez * e the mountain meets the sea . Half was coi-ered by a prior eruption , which hacl brought down so much matter as to form a promontory upon the ruins of the city . Neiv houses had been built on that elevation , and the two citiesthe high and the lowcommunicated b

, , y steep streets , formed in steps , one part being at least eighty Iraccia above the other . The eruption of 1794 completed the work of destruction , leaving only the topsof a feAV buildings visible in the upper town to mark the calamity , and entirely covering the lower city , overwhelming all alikehih and lowand even the towers of

, g , the churches disappeared . Many of the fields around Resina , and a feiv of the buildings nearest the mountains ,, were consumed ; the lava only ceasing to flow after it had reached the furthest extremity of the town . The first stream had buried Torre del Greco , entered the sea , driven back the waters , and left in their place a mass of"