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Article THE DANGERS OP THE " ROYAL ARCH." ← Page 2 of 2 Article THE DANGERS OP THE " ROYAL ARCH." Page 2 of 2 Article THE FIFTEEN SECTIONS Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Dangers Op The " Royal Arch."
THE DANGERS OP THE " ROYAL ARCH . "
THE mysteries of Freemasonry have always fascinated the popular imagination . They have loomed large through a mist of ignoranee , and have been regarded by the uninitiated with something approaching awe . Whispers have been heard of ordeals enough to appal the stoutest heart ; of fearsome oaths that most be kept nnder terrific penalties ; of elaborate ceremonials which few know and fewer
comprehend . How much of this is founded on fact nnd how ranch exaggeration no profane outsider must know . A paragraph , how . ever , just transmitted by cable from America , will deepen the apprehensions of the public mind as to the dark and perilous character of the rites that attend initiation into some of the hi gher orders of tbe great Brotherhood . It simply reads : "Mr . Johnson , a Methodist
Episcopal parson in tbe Southern States , has been killed while taking tbe Royal Arch degree . He dropped into the vault . " " Killad I " that ' s all . No explanation is given . Who killed him ? What killed him ? What is a Royal Arch degree ? Were the ceremonies so severe , so excruciating , that flesh and blood could bear them no longer P Did some of the ministering subordinates make a mistake P
Was the torture-chamber—if it is a torture-chomber—made too hot or too cold ? Were tho menacing swords—or are tbey daggers ?—pressed too closely on the victim ' s breast ? Then he "dropped into tbe vault . " What vault ? Romeo falls upon the ground , " taking tbe measure of an unmade grave , " and criminals as they walk to the scaffold sometimes see their own grave dug ? Bat why was there a
vault ? Is it to bury the secret or the man ? Does it symbolise the speedy funeral of tbe postulant if he fail to fulfil tbe high and stern duties of the Royal Arch degree ? Was the incident part of the programme ? There are Reman Catholic ecclesiastics in America who will regard the event as a judgment . For " tbe Church " is opposed to all secrets not confided to itself , aud regards Freemasonry as one
of its deadliest rivals and foes . No true son of Rome can retain allegiance to the mystic fraternity , and some sensation was caused a few years ago , when the Marquis of Ripon , on becoming a Catholic , gave up the high position he bad np to that time held amongst English Masons . It is quite possible that he mi ght have not agreed in the view taken of " the Craft" by his new masters ; bnt prompt obedience
is the first virtue of a Roman Catholic , and he renounced his connection completely and at once . Now all the Bishops and priests in the United States will use the accident to tbe Methodist parson as a new text to emphasise their denunciations of Protestantism aud Freemasonry as twin errors which , sooner or later , ensure a " judgment . " For , according to pions people the evil that happens to them " is a trial , "
while the sufii rings of their neighbours and frietds are '' judgments . " Freemasonry in England comes before the public in two garbs . There is a great deal of feasting connected with it in the social form of Lodge gatherings and in larger banquets that bring in the magnates of the laud . Most of the members of our Royal Family have been distinguished Masons for many generations , and the fact certainly
implies that nothing revolutionary or subversive can attach to the English section of the world-wide brotherhood . Abroad ifc is said by Roman Catholic opponents of tbe Fraternity that tbe Lodges are really the haunts of Atheists , Red Republicans , conspirators , and caitiffs of eveiy degree—men sworn to pull down tbe Altar , the Throne , the . Family , and so on . All this is the common form of
clerical railing , and may bo taken with many grains of salt ; but there is no doubt a certain basis of truth in it . In those countries whore the Church of Rome has held sway for centuries in connection with the old time rulers of tho land , it has lost a great deal of its moral influence with the majority of educated men , though still retaining the women of all classes and the bulk of the peasants .
Therefore many French , Italian , and Spanish Freemasons are most likely not only enemies to the Pope , bufc more or less pronounced Agnostics . Then in the epochs of Bourbonism in France and of Austrian domination in Italy tbe Freemasons' Lodges were probably used as rallying-places for Republicans and Revolutionists . All this , however , is clearly alien to the spirit of Masonry . Its rites may be secret ,
but its general purposes are not . It is based ostensibly on belief in and homage to tbe Great Architect of the Universe , and English Masons have refused to recognise French brethren who denied the existence of God . Then it certainly proclaims the brotherhood of man , and , if powerful enough ought to be the greatest Peace Society in the world . For in fche spirit of the Order no Frenchman can hate
a German nor delight in plundering or ill-treating him . Indeed , some of onr soldiers fighting in India were said to have been saved from murder in cold blood on the battle-field by giving their enemy the Masonic sign . As far as the charity that begins at home is concerned , England is honourably distinguished . The manner in which our Masons cling together and subscribe handsomely for tho widows and
orphans of deceased members is one of the best public signs of the good spirit that animates the Craft . It may be that tbey aro too sociable . More wine may be consumed afc their banquets than Sir Wilfrid Lawson would approve . Husbands are kept out too late occasionally , and there are wives who regard the Society with a jealous eye . The School ? , the Charities , tho pensions , and tho
Benevolent Institutions generally of the Order are , however , striking testimonies to tho fact that the members do nofc spend all their time in discharging elaborate ceremonies nor all their money on gorgeous feasts . There are profane people who say that " the secret" has been well kept because there is no secret at all . And it ceifcainly seems strange , in these days when nothing is sacred to the
inquisitive , that tho mystery of the Masons has not been unveiled by any interviewer , male or female . A misogynist might say that the explanation arises from the fact that here is tbo one secret never confided to mortal woman , and it is therefore the only secret since Adam that has never been told . That , however is a morsel of
male insolence which may be dismissed , lhere is a legend—but we know nothing as to its troth—that once in Ireland a curious lady concealed herself in a clock-case , witnessed tlio dreadful rites of tho Lodge , and was then discovered , iler husband and her brother wero members , but thoy , with others , voted thut she should bo immediately
The Dangers Op The " Royal Arch."
put to death—for that ia the penalty of unhallowed intrusion . The majority , however , leaned to raeroy , and they offered to spare her life if she consented to become , there and then , a Freemason . Sho consented , went through and survived the appalling ordeals aud fearsome rites , and lived to a good old age—the one woman in the world who "knew all . " Sho never told the secret ; she " died ,
and made no sign " —at least , no sign that a non-Mason could comprebend . In India there aro many English Masons , and the ceremonies powerfully affect tho popular mind . The natives of these countries abjectly believe in magic of all kinds , black and white ; and when the dusky attendants are shut out , and know that their masters aro on . gaged in some secret work , the wildest beliefs are whispered as to
the character of the incantations . On one occasion a ceremony of a rather exalted kind had to be gone through by English Freemasons in India . Men travelled many miles to a small Mofuasil station , and tbe only place where the business could be transacted was a large tent . Therein everything was gravely and secretly pre . pared , and no native servants were allowed to take any part in the
work . This excited considerable curiosity all round , and when th « night came and the Sahibs were seen to enter the tent and close it up , the excitement of the people increased to fever-heat . Women whispered in terror that perhaps ono of their babies would have to be sacrificed ; others looked for some awful calamity falling on their own heads . Inside the tent lights moved about ; outside was a
crowd of awe-strnok natives drawn by curiosity , bnt kept distant by fear . Suddenly wild cries arose from inside—the tent had taken fire , and the Sahibs rushed outarrayed in strange and diverse garments of the most unearthly character and out . Tbe natives fled howling , believing that this was part of the rite , while the Englishmen , convulsed with laughter , hastened to their rooms to put off their Masonio
costumes and re-assume civilian dress . Happily the accident led to nothing worse ; the tent was burned to the ground , bnt no life was lost . The incident in America is more painful ; but we presume nobody but Freemasons will ever learn bow a man climbing up to the Royal Arch Degree was killed by dropping into " the vault . " Does this kind of thing occur often ? Do many escape the ordeal P And
if a Mason dies thus in the discharge of dangerous duty do his widow and orphans receive an extra allowance ? In England there would be a coroner ' s inquest , and then we should know the wotst . In the Southern States the thing will probably be hushed up , but it may serve as a warning to ordinary Masons not to aspire too readily to the " bad eminence "—if ifc is an eminence—of the obviously rather perilous Royal Arch Degree . —Daily Telegraph .
The Fifteen Sections
THE FIFTEEN SECTIONS
WIM , HE WORKED Afc the Manchester Lodge of Instruction , No . 179 , ou Saturday , the 25 th inst ., afc Tupp's Restaurant , 8 Tottenham Court Road , W . C . The Lodge will be opened at 7 o ' clock . Bros . J . Greenway VV . M .,
J . Paul S . W ., J . Hemming J . W . First Lecture—Bros . J . Scheu , W . Hoggins , W . F . Hughes , VV . Dickeson , W . Goldfinch , J . Paul , J . Hemming . Second Lecture—Brop . Marx , W . J . Burges ? , W . Cleghorn , C . Corby , G . Wood . Third Lecture—Bros . R . Cursons , J . Kew , J . 0 . Smith .
The Freemasons of New Zealand havo temporarily abandoned the proposal for a Grand Lodge , which has for some little time been agitating the minds of Antipodean brethren . Nevertheless , tlio foundation of snch an establishment afc some not very remote date is tolerably well assured . How the Craft in tho Colonies will benefit
by a severance from their respective Grand Lodges it is very difficult to see , for tbey certainly gain a fair share of benefits from the Masonic Charities existing in this country . —St . Stephen ' s Review .
In the Freemasons' HaU , in Dantzig , a large and handsome candelabra , hanging from the ceiling for 18 lights , is made of tho most extraordinary material . The lead which is fastened on every wino or champagne bottle has been collected for years by tho members of the Freemasons' Club , and has now been moltod into a Rue chandelier , of which tho gentlemen are very proud .
St . Clement ' s , Eastcheap , one of Wren's Historical Churches , haa received an addition to its stained glass , of an oast window , from the studio of Mr . Taylor , of Beruers Streot , with the subject of the * -jnus Dei , carried out in Renaissance style , under fche direction of Mr . Bntteriield , the architect , who has just completed tho re-docoration of the Church .
Hottowix s OINTME . VT AND PILF . S . —Coughs , Influenza . —The soollung propotties of tV cse medicaments rentier them well worthy of t : ia . 1 in all diseases of the respiratory organs . Ju common colds and influenza , the Pills , takon internally , and the Ointment nibbed over the chest and throit , are exceedingly efficacious . When influenza , is epidemic , thi i treatment is tho easiest , safest and Hires' . Holloway ' s Pills purify the blood ' , remove all obstacles to iw freo
circulation through the lungs , relievo the over-gorged air tubes , and render respiration free , without reducing the strength , irrita ing tho nerves , or depressing the spirits ; such aro tlio ready means of escaping from suffering when afflicted with colds , coughs , bronchitis , and other chest complaints , by which the health of so many U seriously aud permanently injured in moat countries ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Dangers Op The " Royal Arch."
THE DANGERS OP THE " ROYAL ARCH . "
THE mysteries of Freemasonry have always fascinated the popular imagination . They have loomed large through a mist of ignoranee , and have been regarded by the uninitiated with something approaching awe . Whispers have been heard of ordeals enough to appal the stoutest heart ; of fearsome oaths that most be kept nnder terrific penalties ; of elaborate ceremonials which few know and fewer
comprehend . How much of this is founded on fact nnd how ranch exaggeration no profane outsider must know . A paragraph , how . ever , just transmitted by cable from America , will deepen the apprehensions of the public mind as to the dark and perilous character of the rites that attend initiation into some of the hi gher orders of tbe great Brotherhood . It simply reads : "Mr . Johnson , a Methodist
Episcopal parson in tbe Southern States , has been killed while taking tbe Royal Arch degree . He dropped into the vault . " " Killad I " that ' s all . No explanation is given . Who killed him ? What killed him ? What is a Royal Arch degree ? Were the ceremonies so severe , so excruciating , that flesh and blood could bear them no longer P Did some of the ministering subordinates make a mistake P
Was the torture-chamber—if it is a torture-chomber—made too hot or too cold ? Were tho menacing swords—or are tbey daggers ?—pressed too closely on the victim ' s breast ? Then he "dropped into tbe vault . " What vault ? Romeo falls upon the ground , " taking tbe measure of an unmade grave , " and criminals as they walk to the scaffold sometimes see their own grave dug ? Bat why was there a
vault ? Is it to bury the secret or the man ? Does it symbolise the speedy funeral of tbe postulant if he fail to fulfil tbe high and stern duties of the Royal Arch degree ? Was the incident part of the programme ? There are Reman Catholic ecclesiastics in America who will regard the event as a judgment . For " tbe Church " is opposed to all secrets not confided to itself , aud regards Freemasonry as one
of its deadliest rivals and foes . No true son of Rome can retain allegiance to the mystic fraternity , and some sensation was caused a few years ago , when the Marquis of Ripon , on becoming a Catholic , gave up the high position he bad np to that time held amongst English Masons . It is quite possible that he mi ght have not agreed in the view taken of " the Craft" by his new masters ; bnt prompt obedience
is the first virtue of a Roman Catholic , and he renounced his connection completely and at once . Now all the Bishops and priests in the United States will use the accident to tbe Methodist parson as a new text to emphasise their denunciations of Protestantism aud Freemasonry as twin errors which , sooner or later , ensure a " judgment . " For , according to pions people the evil that happens to them " is a trial , "
while the sufii rings of their neighbours and frietds are '' judgments . " Freemasonry in England comes before the public in two garbs . There is a great deal of feasting connected with it in the social form of Lodge gatherings and in larger banquets that bring in the magnates of the laud . Most of the members of our Royal Family have been distinguished Masons for many generations , and the fact certainly
implies that nothing revolutionary or subversive can attach to the English section of the world-wide brotherhood . Abroad ifc is said by Roman Catholic opponents of tbe Fraternity that tbe Lodges are really the haunts of Atheists , Red Republicans , conspirators , and caitiffs of eveiy degree—men sworn to pull down tbe Altar , the Throne , the . Family , and so on . All this is the common form of
clerical railing , and may bo taken with many grains of salt ; but there is no doubt a certain basis of truth in it . In those countries whore the Church of Rome has held sway for centuries in connection with the old time rulers of tho land , it has lost a great deal of its moral influence with the majority of educated men , though still retaining the women of all classes and the bulk of the peasants .
Therefore many French , Italian , and Spanish Freemasons are most likely not only enemies to the Pope , bufc more or less pronounced Agnostics . Then in the epochs of Bourbonism in France and of Austrian domination in Italy tbe Freemasons' Lodges were probably used as rallying-places for Republicans and Revolutionists . All this , however , is clearly alien to the spirit of Masonry . Its rites may be secret ,
but its general purposes are not . It is based ostensibly on belief in and homage to tbe Great Architect of the Universe , and English Masons have refused to recognise French brethren who denied the existence of God . Then it certainly proclaims the brotherhood of man , and , if powerful enough ought to be the greatest Peace Society in the world . For in fche spirit of the Order no Frenchman can hate
a German nor delight in plundering or ill-treating him . Indeed , some of onr soldiers fighting in India were said to have been saved from murder in cold blood on the battle-field by giving their enemy the Masonic sign . As far as the charity that begins at home is concerned , England is honourably distinguished . The manner in which our Masons cling together and subscribe handsomely for tho widows and
orphans of deceased members is one of the best public signs of the good spirit that animates the Craft . It may be that tbey aro too sociable . More wine may be consumed afc their banquets than Sir Wilfrid Lawson would approve . Husbands are kept out too late occasionally , and there are wives who regard the Society with a jealous eye . The School ? , the Charities , tho pensions , and tho
Benevolent Institutions generally of the Order are , however , striking testimonies to tho fact that the members do nofc spend all their time in discharging elaborate ceremonies nor all their money on gorgeous feasts . There are profane people who say that " the secret" has been well kept because there is no secret at all . And it ceifcainly seems strange , in these days when nothing is sacred to the
inquisitive , that tho mystery of the Masons has not been unveiled by any interviewer , male or female . A misogynist might say that the explanation arises from the fact that here is tbo one secret never confided to mortal woman , and it is therefore the only secret since Adam that has never been told . That , however is a morsel of
male insolence which may be dismissed , lhere is a legend—but we know nothing as to its troth—that once in Ireland a curious lady concealed herself in a clock-case , witnessed tlio dreadful rites of tho Lodge , and was then discovered , iler husband and her brother wero members , but thoy , with others , voted thut she should bo immediately
The Dangers Op The " Royal Arch."
put to death—for that ia the penalty of unhallowed intrusion . The majority , however , leaned to raeroy , and they offered to spare her life if she consented to become , there and then , a Freemason . Sho consented , went through and survived the appalling ordeals aud fearsome rites , and lived to a good old age—the one woman in the world who "knew all . " Sho never told the secret ; she " died ,
and made no sign " —at least , no sign that a non-Mason could comprebend . In India there aro many English Masons , and the ceremonies powerfully affect tho popular mind . The natives of these countries abjectly believe in magic of all kinds , black and white ; and when the dusky attendants are shut out , and know that their masters aro on . gaged in some secret work , the wildest beliefs are whispered as to
the character of the incantations . On one occasion a ceremony of a rather exalted kind had to be gone through by English Freemasons in India . Men travelled many miles to a small Mofuasil station , and tbe only place where the business could be transacted was a large tent . Therein everything was gravely and secretly pre . pared , and no native servants were allowed to take any part in the
work . This excited considerable curiosity all round , and when th « night came and the Sahibs were seen to enter the tent and close it up , the excitement of the people increased to fever-heat . Women whispered in terror that perhaps ono of their babies would have to be sacrificed ; others looked for some awful calamity falling on their own heads . Inside the tent lights moved about ; outside was a
crowd of awe-strnok natives drawn by curiosity , bnt kept distant by fear . Suddenly wild cries arose from inside—the tent had taken fire , and the Sahibs rushed outarrayed in strange and diverse garments of the most unearthly character and out . Tbe natives fled howling , believing that this was part of the rite , while the Englishmen , convulsed with laughter , hastened to their rooms to put off their Masonio
costumes and re-assume civilian dress . Happily the accident led to nothing worse ; the tent was burned to the ground , bnt no life was lost . The incident in America is more painful ; but we presume nobody but Freemasons will ever learn bow a man climbing up to the Royal Arch Degree was killed by dropping into " the vault . " Does this kind of thing occur often ? Do many escape the ordeal P And
if a Mason dies thus in the discharge of dangerous duty do his widow and orphans receive an extra allowance ? In England there would be a coroner ' s inquest , and then we should know the wotst . In the Southern States the thing will probably be hushed up , but it may serve as a warning to ordinary Masons not to aspire too readily to the " bad eminence "—if ifc is an eminence—of the obviously rather perilous Royal Arch Degree . —Daily Telegraph .
The Fifteen Sections
THE FIFTEEN SECTIONS
WIM , HE WORKED Afc the Manchester Lodge of Instruction , No . 179 , ou Saturday , the 25 th inst ., afc Tupp's Restaurant , 8 Tottenham Court Road , W . C . The Lodge will be opened at 7 o ' clock . Bros . J . Greenway VV . M .,
J . Paul S . W ., J . Hemming J . W . First Lecture—Bros . J . Scheu , W . Hoggins , W . F . Hughes , VV . Dickeson , W . Goldfinch , J . Paul , J . Hemming . Second Lecture—Brop . Marx , W . J . Burges ? , W . Cleghorn , C . Corby , G . Wood . Third Lecture—Bros . R . Cursons , J . Kew , J . 0 . Smith .
The Freemasons of New Zealand havo temporarily abandoned the proposal for a Grand Lodge , which has for some little time been agitating the minds of Antipodean brethren . Nevertheless , tlio foundation of snch an establishment afc some not very remote date is tolerably well assured . How the Craft in tho Colonies will benefit
by a severance from their respective Grand Lodges it is very difficult to see , for tbey certainly gain a fair share of benefits from the Masonic Charities existing in this country . —St . Stephen ' s Review .
In the Freemasons' HaU , in Dantzig , a large and handsome candelabra , hanging from the ceiling for 18 lights , is made of tho most extraordinary material . The lead which is fastened on every wino or champagne bottle has been collected for years by tho members of the Freemasons' Club , and has now been moltod into a Rue chandelier , of which tho gentlemen are very proud .
St . Clement ' s , Eastcheap , one of Wren's Historical Churches , haa received an addition to its stained glass , of an oast window , from the studio of Mr . Taylor , of Beruers Streot , with the subject of the * -jnus Dei , carried out in Renaissance style , under fche direction of Mr . Bntteriield , the architect , who has just completed tho re-docoration of the Church .
Hottowix s OINTME . VT AND PILF . S . —Coughs , Influenza . —The soollung propotties of tV cse medicaments rentier them well worthy of t : ia . 1 in all diseases of the respiratory organs . Ju common colds and influenza , the Pills , takon internally , and the Ointment nibbed over the chest and throit , are exceedingly efficacious . When influenza , is epidemic , thi i treatment is tho easiest , safest and Hires' . Holloway ' s Pills purify the blood ' , remove all obstacles to iw freo
circulation through the lungs , relievo the over-gorged air tubes , and render respiration free , without reducing the strength , irrita ing tho nerves , or depressing the spirits ; such aro tlio ready means of escaping from suffering when afflicted with colds , coughs , bronchitis , and other chest complaints , by which the health of so many U seriously aud permanently injured in moat countries ,