Catholic tjurch 
 
 REV- PETER ROSEN, 
 
 HOLLANDALE. WI8, 
 
 1902. 
 
 CANNON PRINTING Co. 
 .MII.WAI T KKK.
 
 iCoi>.\ ritflit. 190:.', liy IVtt-r
 
 ST. FRANCIS. MILWAUKEE, Wis., March 21, 1902. 
 
 NIHII. OBSTAT 
 
 DK. S. LEBT,,, Censor, 
 
 Imprimatur. 
 
 * FKHIIERKTS XAVEHITS. 
 
 Archiep Milw. 
 
 Apostolic Delegation, Washington. J> C'., 
 April 3d. 1!W.' 
 
 DEAR FATHER ROSEN : 
 
 . . . Hope the book will be useful to the Catholic people 
 With my best wishes. I am 
 
 Yours Sincerely, 
 
 SEBASTIAN CARD. MARTINETS. 
 
 1732210
 
 'CHRIST is THK TEACHER AND TIIK EXAMPLE OF ALL 
 
 . SANCTITY AND TO His STANDARD Ml'sT ALL THOSE 
 CONFORM WHO WISH FOR ETERNAL LIFE." 
 
 (Leo XIII in hit: letter to Cardinal Gibbons of January 22, 18Df>.)
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAET I. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I. Secret Societies - 11 
 
 II. Danger to the State 16 
 
 III. Freemasonry and the Church 21 
 
 IY. The Devil 33 
 
 V. Heresies 38 
 
 VI. Pythagoras - - 14 
 
 VII. Life Insurance in Secret Societies 50 
 
 VIII. The Parliament of Keligions 61 
 
 IX. The Oath in Secret Societies (58 
 
 X. Initiation Into Secret Societies 72 
 
 XT. Signs, Symbols and Ceremonies - 79 
 
 XII. The Five Pillars in the Lodge Room 82 
 
 XIII. The Blazing Star, Cross, Square and 
 
 Compass - 86 
 
 XIV. Other Emblems as Explained in Odd- 
 
 Fellows' Text-Book and Manual - 89 
 
 XV. The Magi 106 
 
 XVI. The Mithrades - 117 
 
 XVII. Secret Societies in Egypt 119 
 
 XVIII. The Eleusinian Mysteries - 123 
 
 XIX. The Ancient Druids 125 
 
 XX. Secret Societies in Ireland - 128 
 
 XXI. The Orangemen 131 
 
 XXII. The Fenians - 132 
 
 XXIII. The Carbonari - - 135
 
 CHAl'TEIt. PAGE. 
 
 XXIV. The Odd-Fellows - 140 
 
 XXV. Encampment Odd- Fellowship 149 
 
 XXVI. Degree of Patriarch Militant of the 
 
 I. 0. 0. F. - 158 
 
 XXV FI. Knights of Pythias ICO 
 
 XXVIII. Good Templars, Sons of Toinpornneo, 
 
 Rechabites, etc. - 174 
 
 XXIX. The Modern Woodmen of Amerien 179 
 
 XXX. Improved Order of Redmen - 198 
 
 XXXI. Knights of the Maccabees 209 
 
 XXXII. Order of Heptapoplis or Seven Wise 
 
 Men - 222 
 
 XXXIII. Foresters 234 
 
 XXXIV. Order of the Red Cross - 240 
 .XXXV. United Sons of Industry 244 
 XXXVI. Order of Mutual Protection - 247 
 
 XXXVII. Knights of the Orient - 248 
 
 XXXVIII. Home Fornm B-nofit Order - 253 
 
 XXXIX. The Elks 257 
 
 XL. Royal Arcanum - 258 
 
 XLI. Supreme Court of Honor - 285 
 
 XLII. The Globe Fraternal Legion - 289 
 
 XLIIL College Secret Societies - 291 
 
 XLIV. The So-called Secret Work - - 296 
 
 PART II. 
 
 I. The Church - 303 
 
 II. Encyclical Letter, Humanum Genus 307 
 
 III. The Hierarchy of the United States - 335 
 
 IV. Mgr. Martinelli on the Secret Society 
 
 Question - 342
 
 PART I. 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 The so-called Secret Society question is the most seri- 
 ous problem facing the Catholic Church in the United 
 States today. 
 
 I have for various reasons been compelled to think 
 and study much about this subject. 
 
 As a Priest I have studied the situation from the 
 religious point of view, and by dint of perseverance, have 
 the advantage of getting a view in no sense prejudiced. 
 
 In the following pages secret societies as organiza- 
 tions are dealt with, and not individual members of such 
 societies. Nine out of every ten members do not under- 
 stand the underlying principles of these societies. 
 
 On the correct solution of this momentous question 
 depends the eternal salvation of millions of our fellow- 
 citizens, who, as things now are, mislead others as they 
 themselves are misled. 
 
 I deal with these societies in what I may call a new 
 aspect, for the nature of secret societies, as false relig- 
 ions, is not yet fully understood. 
 
 By a secret society was formerly meant a society which 
 was known to exist, but whose members and places of 
 meetings were not publicly known. Today we under- 
 stand it to be a society with secrets, having 
 a ritual demanding an oath of allegiance and secrecy, 
 prescribing ceremonies of a religious character, such as 
 the use of the Bible, either by extracts therefrom, or by
 
 12 
 
 its being placed on an altar within the lodge-room, the 
 use of prayers, of hymns, of religious signs and symbols, 
 special funeral service, etc. 
 
 There are also a number of so-called Patriotic socie- 
 ties, some of which, like the Know-Xothings and 
 American Protective Association, generally called A. P. 
 A., caused quite a stir for a time. But as ignorance and 
 prejudice disappear in proportion as Catholics arc better 
 understood nothing need be said about these societies. 
 
 Members of secret societies are not ashamed or afraid 
 to avow their membership, nay, they are rather proud of 
 it, and wear their badge or jewel quite ostentatiously. 
 Xumerous periodicals are published to advance the in- 
 terests of the different orders. 
 
 During the latter part of the nineteenth century 
 activity in secret societies was transferred to America, 
 where the bent seems still to be to organize new secret 
 societies, legions, circles, unions and orders; most of 
 them designed to provide maeiiinerv for collecting as- 
 -e>- rnent- and paying them over to those whose misfor- 
 tune and the terms of their contracts, policies or certifi- 
 cates make them the recipients. The Cyclopaedia of Fra- 
 ternities, published by Albert Stevens in New York, in 
 1809, says in its preface: "..interesting is the fact 
 that in free and democratic America there are more 
 secret societies and a larger a irg regate membership 
 among sneli organizations than in all other eixili/ed 
 countries. The probable extent of the influence of secret 
 society life may be inferred from the fact that more 
 than six millions of Americans are members of three 
 hundred organizations, which confer about one thousand 
 degrees on two hundred thousand novices annually, aid- 
 ed in many instances by a wealth of paraphernalia and
 
 13 
 
 dramatic ceremonial which rivals modern stage effects. 
 More than three hundred thousand members are annu- 
 ally added to the roll of Masonic lodges in the United 
 States: quite as many join the Odd-Fellows, and one- 
 half as many the Knights of Pythias; more than a hun- 
 dred thousand join other secret societies, the lodges, 
 chapters or councils of which dot the country almost 
 coincidently with the erection of churches and school 
 houses." 
 
 According to ''The El CM is is ol! Chi Omega," June 1, 
 1900, Fayetteville, Arkansas, there were, at that date, in 
 the higher institutions of learning within the United 
 States, 24 Greek letter societies with 708 branches for 
 male students, and eight such societies with 120 branches 
 for female students, and a total membership of 142,450. 
 
 That these so-called College societies are a fruitful 
 source for spreading secret society principles by the 
 graduates when they return to their respective homes is 
 self-evident. 
 
 Men of all ranks in public and private life belong to 
 secret societies. The character of many of these people 
 is such that it is a sufficient proof in itself that the final 
 aim and object of these societies are not understood by 
 them. 
 
 I firmly believe that the majority of people 
 who belong to secret societies do not know the real 
 character and tendencies of these orders. Most men 
 in their hearts love fair play, and hundreds of thousands 
 of lodge members would throw off their allegiance to 
 their lodge did they understand the true nature, final 
 aim and object of secret societies. 
 
 There are thousands of excellent, moral and intellec- 
 tual men, devoid of all prejudice, who join these secret
 
 societies for no other purpose than to get the insurance, 
 or for mere social and political purposes. 
 
 But surely the pursuit of these objects does not need 
 any sacred rite, traditions and ceremonies, grip, pass 
 word, symbolic sign or oath. 
 
 Can it be otherwise to human nature than that all 
 these things will have an influence on" belief and will? 
 Again and again do the higher officials call attention 
 to the strict observance of the ceremonial part of the 
 lodge work. 
 
 All these rites and ceremonies have a deep, very deep, 
 religious meaning and are based on old and new pagan- 
 ism and naturalism. 
 
 The Constitution of the United States guarantees ev- 
 ery citizen his liberty. We can worship God according 
 to the dictates of our conscience. We have our free- 
 dom of going and coming as we please, we have a right 
 to vote as we*please, we have our civil rights equal for 
 all. There is no difference between rich and poor before 
 the law. The law protects our property, we can meet 
 when and where we please to confer on public or pri- 
 vate enterprises. We have universities, colleges, high 
 schools and other schools in which to gain an education. 
 Periodicals, reviews and newspapers of all kinds are in 
 abundance to give us all desired information. There are 
 opportunities on every hand for acquiring knowledge 
 and literary culture. Secret societies are not needed to 
 secure any of these results. These results may be helped 
 but more frequently they are hindered by secret socie- 
 ties. There are thousands of ways and means of inno- 
 cent amusement and cordial sociality without the aid of 
 secret societies. Even the object sought by so-called 
 Temperance societies can be gained far more effectively
 
 15 
 
 outside of these societies. \Yc can do our duty to God 
 and our fellowmen without secret societies. 
 
 The founders and framers of these societies are chiefly 
 responsible for their objectionable character and points. 
 The great mass of the common members have had no 
 hand in making them what they are. They have sim- 
 ply organized lodges on the foundation laid by others. 
 They are to blame, however, in proportion as they have 
 neglected to examine the principles upon which the or- 
 der is based, and thus fail to know what the order is, 
 or they willfully and knowingly endorse these principles. 
 Most of the new orders have their beginning thus: 
 This or that member of an existing lodge becomes 
 dissatisfied with the management of the lodge, or his 
 ambition is not satisfied, he may not be allowed to con- 
 trol the lodge, is displeased, and as a final result starts a 
 new lodge or order. Of course the institution must 
 be new, it must differ in some points from the old or- 
 der; and so the whole realm of ancient and modern 
 history, both profane and sacred, is ransacked to find 
 something suitable. The discoveries during the last fifty 
 years in the literature of the Indies, China, Japan, 
 Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Old Mexico, etc., furnish am- 
 ple material for the purpose. Within the last fifty years 
 the Sanscrit language has become a source of informa- 
 tion about the people of ancient China and India. 
 Egyptologists have made us acquainted with ancient 
 Egypt, and Chaldean investigators have found stores of 
 knowledge in Babylonian, bricks.
 
 CHAPTER TT. 
 
 DANGER TO TI1K STATE. 
 
 The United States is formed on Christian princi- 
 ples and the union was, in the mind of the framers, to 
 be a Christian nation of Christian people and not a 
 nation of heathens. 
 
 Today the spread of irreligion and forgetfulness of 
 (od-and a future life is far wider than is generally im- 
 agined. The non-religious principle has corrupted the 
 masses of the American people, has advanced unchecked 
 until now a point is reached that may well, excite the 
 apprehension of all Christians. Four-sevenths of our 
 fellow-citizens in the United States profess no religion 
 at all. These people are honest and outspoken, kind- 
 hearted and amiable, it may be, but know absolutely 
 nothing of a religion that is supernatural in its teach- 
 ings, are in no way occupied with the destination of the 
 soul, living as it were certain that man had nothing more 
 to expect beyond time and the grave than the brute. 
 
 Then there are those whose practical god is Mammon. 
 Such people, perhaps, call themselves Christians be- 
 cause it would be unfashionable to be called a heathen or 
 an infidel. But surely they are not Christians, for no 
 .one can be called a Christian who can not say the Apos- 
 tles' Creed with firm belief. 
 
 The disappearance of the spirit of Christianity from 
 the great currents of our national life may be traced to 
 secret societies. Their underlying principle is to trans-
 
 IT 
 
 fer religion from a supc-i until rid to a natural basis, from 
 a theological to a human creed, to extinguish the Divine 
 Providence in the government of the human race, and 
 to govern man by the principles of humanitarianism, 
 materialism and naturalism. 
 
 The baneful influence of the secret societies in the 
 United States is so discernible that "he who runs may 
 read." 
 
 Take most of our public men and the present state 
 of our social order. The judiciary department in our 
 Government is composed of the most intelligent body of 
 men in the land. 
 
 These judges have been educated in their youth, and 
 afterwards by self-education, to know all about the law 
 between man and man, nation and nation, between mine 
 and thine, and the natural law, but the Divine law found 
 no place in their curriculum or line of studies. 
 
 Their professors expounded to them the law of Lycur- 
 gus, of Justinian, the codex of iSTapoleon; the common 
 law according to Beaconsiield and the law as explained 
 by the ablest men in the land, but the Law, as given on 
 Mount Sinai, was ignored. 
 
 The thousands of lawyers in our courts were taught all 
 about the law, like the judges, and whatever is necessary 
 to protect their clients, but the Sermon on the Mount was 
 never taught them from the academic chair. Our doctors 
 of medicine, those benefactors to mankind, are to know 
 all about the body and its many organs, their operations 
 and susceptibilities, but a soul never came under their 
 dissecting knife, and so they arc supposed to know noth- 
 ing about the more important part of man. In all our 
 instructions given in the public schools of whatever 
 grade, from the humblest district school in a Western
 
 18 
 
 prairie or Virginian Mcgn> settlement up to the uni- 
 versities endowed by the Government, the super- 
 natural is ignored. Thus, thos of our public men, 
 educated in these abodes of learning, had the great dis- 
 advantage that whatever little religious training they 
 have was obtained at home or in the Sunday-school. 
 The majority of the parents of these men had neither 
 time nor the inclination or knowledge to bother much 
 about the religious part of their children's education, 
 and the lesson learned on one Sunday was as a rule for- 
 gotten before the next Sunday came. Most of our 
 judges, senators, members of congress, governors of 
 states, legislators, lawyers, professors in higher educa- 
 tional establishments, in reality most of our public men, 
 are members of one or more lodges. Even prominent 
 divines among the Episcopalian and other Protestant 
 denominations have not hesitated "to ride the goat" and 
 be admitted into the fraternity. 
 
 Now, a man may change his religious views, of what- 
 ever character they may be, but for the time being he 
 will act in private or public life guided partly by his re- 
 ligion. No public officer can wholly separate himself 
 from religious influence, especially if he holds his pub- 
 lic office by the patronage of religious sects and secret 
 societies are religious sects. 
 
 George Washington in his Farewell Address to the 
 American neople, in September, 1796, uses the follow- 
 ing words : 
 
 "All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all com- 
 binations and associations, under whatever plausible 
 character, with the real design to direct, control, coun- 
 teract, or awe, the regular deliberations and actions of 
 the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fun-
 
 19 
 
 damental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve 
 to organize faction ; to give it an artificial and extraor- 
 dinary force; to put in the place' of the delegated will 
 of the nation, the will of the party, often a small but 
 artful and enterprising minority of the community; and 
 according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, 
 to make the public administration the mirror of the 
 ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction rather 
 than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans, di- 
 gested by common councils, and modified by mutual in- 
 terests. 
 
 "However combinations or association of the above 
 description may now and then answer popular ends, they 
 are likely in the course of time and things to become 
 potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and un- 
 principled men will be enabled to subvert the power of 
 the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of gov- 
 ernment; destroying afterwards the very engines which 
 have lifted them to unjust dominion." 
 
 Josiah Quincy once said: "The liberty of a people 
 is never more certainly in the path of destruction than 
 when they trust themselves to the guidance of secret 
 societies. Birds of the night are never birds of wisdom. 
 * * * the fate of a republic is sealed when the bats 
 take the iead of the eagle." 
 
 The Catholic Church does not, and can not, allow her 
 children to belong to secret societies. There is no ques- 
 tion where she stands on the matter; she has the cour- 
 age of her conviction. She can not make a truce with 
 secret societies, hold no parley with them. She can not 
 be frightened into silence nor cajoled into a compromise ; 
 her attitude is unrelenting. Her mission is to lay down 
 the principles of salvation, to point out the road to
 
 20 
 
 heaven, to condemn error, and, when need be, to expel 
 from her bosom obstinate unbelieving children. She is 
 the friend and the wisest supporter of our republic. 
 She wishes her children to be free men, and by her very 
 principle tends to sustain, invigorate and perfect tin- 
 American form of government. The strong and un- 
 compromising standpoint of the Church on this question 
 has a most potent and purifying influence on civil so- 
 ciety.
 
 CHAPTER I II. 
 
 FREEMASONRY AND THE CHURCH. 
 
 The two most effectively organized bodies of men in 
 the world to-day are the Catholic Church and Free- 
 masonry. Both have a supreme head or ruler, whose 
 rule is law for all subordinates. An edict issued by the 
 head of the Church, the Pope of Rome, finds its way 
 io the Catholic member, the highest as well as the poor- 
 est, wherever dispersed on the face of the globe. Just 
 so does an order emanating from the head of Masonry 
 reaeh every member of that organization on earth. The 
 Church has effective moral means and spiritual Aveapons 
 to secure observance of its mandates. Masonry has more 
 effective material weapons and means with which to 
 secure obedienrj-. 
 
 Each trying to rule the intellectual and moral life of 
 the human race, an antagonism of life and death must 
 necessarily exist between the two. 
 
 The great commission or charter of the church is given 
 in these words of our Lord: '"'Go ye, therefore, and 
 teach all nations. * * * * teaching them to observe 
 all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and be- 
 hold I am with vou all days, even to the consummation 
 of the world." (Matt, xxviii, 19, 20.) 
 
 According to Cardinal Manning, the Vatican Council, 
 pp. 65, 66, there are five points contained in the above 
 words : 
 
 "1st. The perpetuity and universality of the mission 
 of the Church as the teacher of mankind.
 
 22 
 
 "2d. The deposit of the Truth and of the Com- 
 mandments, that is, of the Divine Faith and Law en- 
 trusted to the Church. 
 
 "3d. The office of the Church, as the sole interpreter 
 of the Faith and of the Law. 
 
 "4th. That it has the sole Divine jurisdiction upon 
 earth, in matters of salvation, over the reason and the 
 will of men. 
 
 "5th. That in the discharge of this office our Lord is 
 with His Church always, and to the consummation of 
 the world. 
 
 "The doctrine of faith and the doctrine of morals are 
 here explicitly described. The Church is infallible in 
 this deposit of revelation. And in this deposit are 
 truths and morals both of the natural and supernatural 
 order; for the religious truths and morals of the natural 
 order are taken up into the revelation of the order of 
 grace, and form a part of the object of infallibility. 
 
 "The phrase then 'Faith and Morals/ signifies the 
 whole revelation of faith; the whole way of salvation 
 through faith ; or the whole supernatural order, with all 
 that is essential to the sanctification and salvation of 
 man through Jesus Christ." 
 
 It is the will of God, that no one should be saved 
 unless through Jesus Christ; that is, through faith in 
 His doctrine, through hope in His merits, through char- 
 ity toward God and all men, through the sacraments 
 and prayers, as means of grace, and through obedience 
 to His orders. In order to maintain the divine truths 
 which Christ has taught mankind in their entire purity, 
 and to secure them from all change and distortion, He 
 has established in His holy Church the office of infalli- 
 ble teaching, and has promised to it and given to it His
 
 23 
 
 protection and the assistance of the Holy Ghost for all 
 time. As He sent the Apostles whom He had chosen 
 Himself from the world, as He Himself had been sent 
 by the Father, so He willed that there should ever be 
 pastors and teachers in His Church to the end of the 
 world. 
 
 Leo XIII. in his letter of November 1st, 1900, says: 
 'By the ministry of the Church, so gloriously founded 
 by Him, He willed to perpetuate the office assigned to 
 Him by the Father, and having on the one hand con- 
 ferred upon her all effectual aids for human salvation, 
 He ordained with the utmost emphasis on the other, that 
 man should be subject to her as to Himself, and zealously 
 follow her guidance in every department of life: 'He 
 that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you 
 (lespiseth Me.' So the law of Christ is always to be 
 sought from the Church, and, therefore, as Christ is 
 for man the way, so likewise is the Church the way, He 
 in Himself and by His proper nature, she by commis- 
 sion and by a share in His power. On this account those 
 who would strive for salvation apart from the Church, 
 Avander from the way and strive in vain." 
 
 Man being wholly dependent upon God, as upon our 
 Creator and Lord, and created reason being absolutely 
 subject to uncreated truth, we are bound to yield to God, 
 by faith in His revelation, the full obedience of our in- 
 telligence and will. And the Catholic Church teaches 
 that this faith, which is the beginning of man's salva- 
 tion, is a supernatural virtue, whereby, inspired and 
 assisted by the grace of God, we believe that the things 
 which He has revealed are true ; not because of the in- 
 trinsic truth of the things, viewed by the natural light 
 of reason, but because of the authority of God Him-
 
 24 
 
 self who reveals them., and Who can neither deceive nor 
 be deceived. 
 
 Freemasonry, on the other hand, denies the super- 
 natural, the revealed Word of God; the fall of the 
 human race in Adam and Eve, and, as a consequence, the 
 \vhole mystery of Redemption, the Incarnation and Di- 
 vinity of Jesus Christ, His establishing a Church and 
 teaching a religion differing from what up to His time 
 had been taught. All the Masonic teachings are based 
 on the natural order and the supernatural is carefully 
 excluded. Hence the use of natural means to obtain the 
 end of man. Naturalism is their teaching called, because 
 nature is good, so they say, and whatever is natural is 
 just and right, and there- is no such thing as sin in the 
 sense of the Church. Masonry, according to its votaries, 
 is a universal system, and teaches the relative and social 
 duties of man on the broad and extensive basis of philan- 
 thropy. 
 
 What the head of the Church thinks about Masonry 
 is expressed jn the Encyclical of Leo XIII., dated April 
 20, 1884, called "Humanum Genus," and published in 
 this book. For the present chapter the following is to 
 the point : "At this period * * * the partisans of 
 evil seem to be combining together and to be struggling 
 with united vehemence, led on or assisted by that strong- 
 ly organized and widespread association called the Free- 
 ni:!H>iis. TsTo longer making any secret of their purposes, 
 they arc now boldly rising up against God Himself. 
 They are planning the destruction of Holy Church pub- 
 licly and openly; and this with the set purpose of utterly 
 despoiling the nations of Christendom, if it were possi- 
 ble, of the blessings obtained for us through Jesus Christ 
 our Saviour. * * * As soon as the constitution and
 
 the spirit of the Masonic sect \\ii6 clearly discovered by 
 manifest signs of its actions, by cases investigated, by 
 the publications of its laws, and of its rites and ceremo- 
 nies, with the addition often of the personal testimony 
 of those who were in the secret, this Apostolic See has 
 denounced the sect of the Freemasons and publicly de- 
 clared its constitution as contrary to law and right; to 
 be pernicious no less to Christianity than to the State; 
 and it forbade anyone to enter the society under the 
 penalties which, the Church is wont to inflict upon excep- 
 tionally guilty persons.'" 
 
 Albert Pike, for many years head of Freemasonry, 
 in his book "Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Ac- 
 cepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, published at 
 Charleston A. M. 5041" (copyrighted 1871), has this to 
 say about the Order: 
 
 Page 11 "The Bible is an indispensable part of the 
 furniture of a Christian Lodge, only because it is the 
 sacred book of the Christian religion. The Hebrew 
 Pentateuch in the Hebrew Lodge, and the Koran in a 
 Mohammedan one, belong to the Altar: and one of these, 
 and the Square and Compass, properly understood, are 
 the Great Lights by which a Mason must walk and 
 work" 
 
 Page 17 "The Holy Scriptures are an entirely mod- 
 ern addition to the symbol. * *" 
 
 Page 38 "Catholicism was a vital truth in its earliest 
 ages, but it became obsolete and Protestantism arose, 
 flourished and deteriorated. The doctrines of Zoroaster 
 were the best which the ancient Persians were fitted to 
 receive: those of Confucius were fitted for the Chinese, 
 those of Mohammed for the idolatrous Arabs of his age.
 
 P^ach was a Truth for the time ; each a Gospel preached 
 by a Reformer." 
 
 Page 74 "The Church of Rome claimed despotism 
 over the soul and over the whole life from the cradle to 
 the grave. It gave and sold absolution for past and 
 future sins. * * * It decimated Europe to purge it 
 of heresies. It decimated America to convert the Mexi- 
 cans and Peruvians. * " * * Masonry alone preaches 
 Toleration, the right of man to abide by his own faith." 
 
 Page 93 "We do not see the Churches and Priest- 
 hoods of Christendom relinquishing their old task of 
 governing man by imaginary terrorism." 
 
 Page 104 "Masonry, like all the Religions, all the 
 Mysteries, Hermetieism. and Alchemy, conceals the 
 truths from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the 1 Elect, 
 and uses false explanations and misrepresentations of 
 its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be mis- 
 led; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from 
 them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for 
 those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would 
 pervert it. * * * Every age has had a religion 
 suited to its capacity." 
 
 Page 139 "Masonry does not occupy itself with cry- 
 ing down thig world * * * nor exhort us to detach 
 our hearts from this earthly life, as empty, fleeting and 
 unworthy, and fix them upon heaven, as the only sphere 
 deserving the love of the loving, or the meditation of the 
 wise. * * He (man) is sent into the world, not 
 to be constantly hankering after, dreaming of, preparing 
 for another. * * * The law of our being is love of 
 Life, and its interests and adornments; love of the 
 world in which our lot is cast, engrossment with the in- 
 terests and affections of the earth."
 
 27 
 
 Page 213 "Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of re- 
 ligion; and its teachings are instruction in religion." 
 
 Page 218 "Masonry does not inculcate her truths; 
 she states them, once and briefly, or hints them perhaps 
 darkly: or interposes a cloud between them and: eyes 
 that would be dazzled by them." 
 
 Page 231 "The Mason does not war with his own 
 instincts, macerate the body into weakness and disorder, 
 and disparage what he sees to be beautiful, knows to be 
 wonderful, and feels to be unspeakably dear and fasci- 
 nating. He does not put aside the nature which God 
 has given him, to struggle after one which He has not 
 bestowed. He knows that man is sent into the world, 
 not a spiritual but a composite being, made up of body 
 and mind, the body having, as is fit and needful in a 
 material world, its full, rightful and allotted share. His 
 life is guided by a full recognition of this fact.. ." 
 
 Page 525 ''To every Mason, Wisdom or Intelligence, 
 Force or Strength, and Harmony or Fitness and Beauty, 
 are the Trinity of the Attributes of God. * * * Ma- 
 sonry reverences all the great Reformers. It sees in 
 Moses, the Lawgiver of the Jews, in Confucius and Zoro- 
 aster, in Jesus of Nazareth, and in the Arabian Icono- 
 clast, great teachers of morality and eminent reform- 
 ers. * * * Masonry is a worship ; but one in which 
 all civilized men can unite. * * 
 
 Page 538 '"'Question : What are the symbols of the 
 purification necessary to make us perfect Masons ?" 
 
 Answer : "Lavation with pure water, or baptism, be- 
 cause to cleanse the body is emblematical of purifying 
 the soul; and because it conduces to the bodily health, 
 and virtue is the health of the soul, as sin and vice are 
 its malady and sickness : unction, or anointing with
 
 28 
 
 oil; because thereby we are set apart and dedicated to the 
 service and priesthood of the Beautiful, the True and 
 the Good : and robes of white, emblems of candor, 
 purity and truth." 
 
 Question : "What is to us the chief symbol of man's 
 ultimate redemption and regeneration?" 
 
 Answer: "The fraternal supper of bread which 
 nourishes, and of wine which refreshes and exhilarates, 
 symbolic- of the time which is to come, when all mankind 
 shall be one great harmonious brotherhood * * 
 and thus in the bread we eat, and in the wine we drink 
 tonight, may enter into and form part of us the identical 
 particles of matter that once formed part of the material 
 bodies called Moses, Confucius, Plato, Socrates, or Jesus 
 of ISTazareth. * * 
 
 Page 575 "Behold the true Masonic Trinity; the 
 Universal Soul, the Thought in the Soul, the Word, or 
 Thought expressed; the Three in One, of a Trinitarian 
 Ecosais. * * 
 
 Page 625 Masonry when properly expounded, is at 
 once the interpretation of the great book of nature, the 
 recital of physical and astronomical phenomena, the 
 purest philosophy, and the place of deposit, where, as in 
 a treasury, are kept in safety all the great truths of the 
 primitive revelation, that form the basis of all relig- 
 ions. * * 
 
 Page 718 "Masonry propagates no creed except its 
 own most simple and Sublime One ; that universal relig- 
 ion, taught by Nature and by Reason." 
 
 Page 820 "'Home, more intolerant of heresy than of 
 vice and crime * * * has always deemed philosophi- 
 cal truth the most dangerous of heresies, and has never
 
 29 
 
 been at loss for false accusations, by means of which to 
 crush free thought. * * 
 
 I could quote much more, but the above is sufficient 
 to show that the teaching of Masonry ignores Christ en- 
 tirely in the economy of salvation and that a person can 
 not hold the doctrines of Christianity and Masonry at 
 the same time. 
 
 In his letter to Cardinal Gibbon of January 22d, 
 3899, Leo XIII says: "Christ is the Teacher -and the 
 Example of all sanctity, and to His standard must all 
 those conform who wish for eternal life." 
 
 According to the Cyclopaedia of Fraternities, published 
 by A. C. Stevens, Freemasonry is the mother of all 
 secret societies in fact as well as in name. 
 
 MASONIC BAPTISM. 
 
 (Prom the Washington Star, April 30, 1872.) 
 
 A REMARKABLE CEUEALOJSi Y CONSECRATION TO VIRTUE 
 AND TRUTH THE WARDS OF THE LODGE. 
 
 The first public Masonic baptism of children which 
 has ever taken place in the District., was performed last 
 night in the chapter chamber, Masonic Temple, in the 
 presence of a large number of Masons, their wives and 
 daughters. The children were an infant son of Dr. Joseph 
 W. Nairn, 32d degree, and a son of Mr. E. B. MacGrotty, 
 18th degree, who were baptized in Mithras Lodge of 
 Perfection, Ancient Scottish Ilite, which is the Con- 
 sistory of this Masonic Jurisdiction. The rite was per- 
 formed by Thrice Illustrious P. G. M. Albert Pike, as- 
 sisted by Illustrious J. 0. Sinclair, S. G. W. ; Illustrious 
 L. H. Pike, J. G. M. W.; C. W. Bennett, Grand Orator; 
 W. M. Ireland, Master of Ceremonies; B. F. Hedrich,
 
 30 
 
 Senior Deacon; C. T. Nutze, Junior Deacon; 
 Rev. Mr. Harris, Chaplain; H. J. Martin, Sec- 
 retary: and L. Stoddard, Tiler. The ceremony 
 of Masonic baptism has always been celebrated in the 
 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Order. It has been cen- 
 sured by many as an irreverent imitation of the Chris- 
 tian rite of baptism; but well-informed Masons know 
 that purification by washing was used in all the mysteries 
 thousands of years before our era. After the assembly 
 had been seated, Grand Master Pike gave a short history 
 of the ceremony, saying that it taught neither hatred, 
 intolerance, nor revenge. After a. voluntary on the or- 
 gan by Bro. Servoss, a rap was heard at the door, and 
 information given that two children, with their parents, 
 desired admission, the parents praying that their chil- 
 dren might be baptized, when the Master directed the 
 Master of Ceremonies and his aids to bring the children, 
 their parents and sponsors in the Lodge. Soon after, 
 the Master of Ceremonies returned, followed by one of 
 his assistants, bearing a candlestick with three lighted 
 candles, one white, one black, and one red, forming a 
 triangle. Following, were two assistants, one carrying 
 the child of Dr. Nairn, "Robert Brice Nairn, upon a 
 cushion covered with light blue silk, the other leading 
 the child of Mr. MacGrotty, Edwin Albert MacGrotty; 
 and behind these came the parents of the children and 
 the sponsors. The sponsors for the son of Dr. Nairn 
 were Dr. J. B. Gibbs, 32d degree, and Caroline E. Davis ; 
 for Master MacGrotty, Jerome C. Davis, 32 degree, and 
 Mrs. M. Walker. After the third circuit of the room, 
 the procession halted and the candlestick was placed be- 
 fore the altar, and the children returned to their moth- 
 ers, who, with the sponsors, took their seats in the center
 
 31 
 
 of the room. The Masonic choir then sang "My Soul 
 Doth Magnify the Lord." After an oration by the Mas- 
 ter, in which he explained the duties and responsibili- 
 ties which the Lodge was about to assume in conferring 
 the rite, he then asked the fathers : "Are you willing 
 that we should accept these duties ?" An affirmative re- 
 sponse being given, the Master called upon the Chaplain 
 to invoke the favor and assistance of God, which was 
 done, the brethren all kneeling. The choir then sang 
 ihe ode, "Rejoice, Rejoice, Fond Mothers." The spon- 
 sors then took seats near the parents, when the Master 
 addressed them in relation to the duties they were tak- 
 ing upon themselves. After an invocation to the Deity, 
 and music, the children, parents and sponsors were then 
 conducted forward to the altar, on which water, oil and 
 salt were placed. The Master then called the Lodge 
 up, descended from his throne, and, after a few words 
 addressed to the group, lighted the incense on the altar. 
 After a chant by the choir, the Master took the children 
 severally in his arms, dipped their left hands in a basin 
 of perfumed water, and said : "By this symbol I devote 
 thee (in each case) to the service of virtue and truth. 
 May our Father who is in Heaven keep thee innocent 
 and pure in heart all the days of thy life." During this 
 ceremony the choir sang an appropriate ode. The Mas- 
 ter then took the vessel of perfumed oil, dipped the little 
 finger of his right hand therein, and marked with it a 
 delta on the foreheal of each child, saying : "I set upon 
 thy forehead the symbol of wisdom, power, and love of 
 God. May He protect and guide thee in right courses 
 all the days of thy life;" the choir singing, meanwhile, 
 the chant, "Blessed are the TTndefiled in the Way." The 
 Master then replaced the vessel on the altar, and stretch-
 
 32 
 
 ing out his hands toward the children, invoked a blessing 
 upon them. The children and those in charge of them 
 were conducted to their seats, and the choir sang an ap- 
 propriate ode. The god-mothers then placed them at 
 the altar of obligation; the brethren present formed a 
 circle around them, each with his left hand on his heart 
 and his right hand raised towards Heaven; all then 
 kneeled and repeated, after the Master, the solemn vow 
 to protect the children from all danger and temptation 
 until their arrival at maturity. After rising, the Mas- 
 ter, taking the vessel of salt in his hand, repeated the 
 Arab vow which sanctifies the enemy with whom he has 
 tasted salt, and placing a portion of the salt on his 
 tongue, said: "With this salt T seal my vow." The ker- 
 nel was then passed to each brother, who in turn re- 
 peated the vow. The children were then invested with 
 lamb-skin aprons, and each was presented with a Masonic 
 jewel, the Master saying: "In the name and under 
 ibe auspices of the Supreme Council, I do proclaim 
 iboe children consecrated to the service of truth and 
 virtue by Masonic baptism and anointing, after the 
 ancient custom of Masonry, to be wards of the Mithras 
 Lodge of Perfection.*' This was repeated in turn by 
 the Venerable Grand and Senior Wardens. After more 
 music, the orator delivered a brief lecture, after which 
 two young ladies, in conformity with a law of the Scot- 
 tish Rite, passed among ibe assembly and received con- 
 tributions from all who chose to give; the same, so 
 collected, to be given by the Grand Almoner to the most 
 needy person or persons known to him, the source from 
 which it comes, in persuance of inviolable custom, not 
 to be made known. A closing chant concluded the cere- 
 monies.
 
 CHAPTER IV. ' 
 
 THE DEVIL. 
 
 Since the principles of secret societies lead to the de- 
 struction of Christ and His Church, were such possi- 
 ble, Satan, the arch-enemy of Christ, is not idle. He is 
 today the same that he was in paradise, only having 
 benefited by the experience of six thousand years he lays 
 his snares and traps according to the circumtance. He 
 is the devil still. But as Mr. Guyau (The None-Re- 
 ligion of the Future, page 165), says "* * * * in 
 our days, belief in the devil is incontestably becoming 
 feebler, and this enfeeblement is even especially charac- 
 teristic of the present epoch; there has at no other 
 time been anything to equal it. There is not an educated 
 person to be found in whom the mention of a devil does 
 not excite a smile. That, believe me, is a sign of the 
 times, a manifest sign of the decline of dogmatic re- 
 ligion. Wherever the power of dogmatic religion, by an 
 exception to the general course of things, has retained its 
 vitality, and retained it, as in America, even to the point 
 of given birth to new dogmas, the fear of the devil has 
 subsisted in its entirity. wherever, as in more enlight- 
 ened regions than America, this fear.no longer exists ex- 
 cept as a symbol or a myth, the intensity and the fecund- 
 ity of the religious sentiment decline inevitably in the 
 same degree. The fate of Javeh is bound up with that of 
 Lucifer, angels and devils go hand in hand, as in some 
 fantastic mediaeval dance. The day when Satan and
 
 34 
 
 his followers shall be definitely vanquished and anni- 
 hilated in the minds of the people, the celestial powers 
 will not have long to live.'' 
 
 Says 0. A. Brownson (Vol. IX, pp. 77, 78) : "* * * 
 * you seem not to have reflected that the devil, when 
 he would seduce, can disguise himself as an angel of 
 light. Human nature is terribly corrupt, and yet the 
 great mass of mankind ordinarily are incapable of choos- 
 ing evil, for the reason that it is evil. Evil must be 
 presented to them in the guise of good or they will not 
 choose it. The devil knows this, and knows the weak 
 side of everyone, and he adapts his temptations accord- 
 ingly. The weak side of our age is morbid sentimental- 
 ity, a sickly philanthropy, and the devil tempts us now 
 by appealing to our dominant weakness. He comes to 
 us a philanthropist, and his mouth full of fine senti- 
 ments, and he proposes only Avhat we are already pre- 
 pared to approve. Were he to come as the devil in 
 propria persona, and tell us precisely who and what he 
 is, there are very few who would not say, 'Get behind 
 me, Satan.' Nothing better serves his purpose than to 
 have us deny his existence, to describe his influence to 
 imagination, hallucination, to natural causes or in- 
 fluences, or, in fine, to good spirits, for then he throws 
 us off our guard and can operate without being easily 
 detected. Never was an age more under his influence 
 than our own, and yet they who pass for its lights and 
 chiefs have reached that last infirmity of unbelief, the 
 denial of the existence of the devil. Possessed persons 
 are insane, epileptic, or lunatic persons, and the won- 
 derful phenomena they exhibit are produced by an 
 electric, magnetic, or odic fluid, and are to be explained 
 on natural principles, and such as can not be so ex-
 
 35 
 
 plained, are boldly denied, however well attested, or 
 ascribed to jugglery, knavery, or delusion. The mar- 
 velous answers of the ancient oracles are ascribed to 
 knavery, as if the whole world had lost their senses, 
 and could not detect a cheat practised before their very 
 eyes, and so bunglingly, that we who live two thousand 
 years or three thousand years after, ignorant of all the 
 circumstances in the case, can detect it, and explain how 
 it was done, without the slightest difficulty. The devil 
 laughs at it. He would have it so." 
 
 Instead of, as St. Peter says: "Satan going around 
 like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour," we 
 may say that his satanic majesty goes back to his first 
 tempting method and serpent-like injects his venom in 
 the minds of men, and that even hell was let loose to do 
 such a kind of work. Explain the secret societies with- 
 out satanic power! It is impossible. How can they 
 have such a hold of so many otherwise well meaning per- 
 sons except by satanic influence? 
 
 Christianity asserts the existence of Satan and his in- 
 tervention in human affairs, for according to it Christ 
 was revealed from heaven and came into this world 
 that He might destroy the devil and his works. If there 
 was no devil, the mission of Christ had no motive, no 
 object, and Christianity would be a fable. * * * The 
 church plainly and unequivocally recognizes the exist- 
 ence of Satan, as may be gathered from the prayers and 
 ceremonies of baptism, as well as from the significance 
 of the sacrament itself; and not only his existence, but 
 his power over the natural man, and even material 
 objects. Thus, when the Priest, in administering the 
 Sacrament of Baptism breathes gently three times in the 
 face of the child, he exclaims : "Go out of him impure
 
 36 
 
 spirit and give place to the Holy Ghost." The candidate 
 before baptism is asked: "Dost thou renounce Satan 
 * * * and all his works * * * and all his pomps ?" 
 To each of which questions the reply is made : "I do." 
 The whole proceeds on the belief that Satan has power 
 over man and matter. 
 
 The difficulty of combating the satanic spirit in se- 
 cret societies and convincing people of their antichris- 
 tian principles is very great. The most of the people are 
 caught by words without taking note of the meaning at- 
 tached to them. 
 
 It is characteristic of this age that infidelity dis- 
 guises itself in a Chrsitian garb and utters its falsehoods 
 and blasphemies in Christian phraseology, the language 
 of truth. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, 
 comes as a philanthropist, talks of humanity, professes 
 to be a champion of science, intelligence, education, lib- 
 erty, progress, amelioration and the moral, intellectual 
 and physical elevation of the poorer and more numerous 
 classes, all good things, when rightly understood and 
 in their time and place. 
 
 We can not oppose him without seeming to many to 
 oppose what is Christian duty. If we oppose false in- 
 telligence we are at once accused of being opposed to 
 intelligence. If we oppose corrupt and baneful educa- 
 tion we are immediately accused of being in favor of 
 popular ignorance and lovers of darkness. If we oppose 
 false liberty, or license presented under the name of lib- 
 erty, we are charged with being the enemies of true 
 freedom. The press opens its cries against us and the 
 age votes us mediaeval dreamers, behind the times, relics 
 of the past, with our eyes on the backside of our heads, 
 outlandish, etc., and the truth is drowned in the floods
 
 37 
 
 of indignation; or ridicule pours out against us. The 
 world to-day is just as inimical to Christ as it ever was, 
 and His cause is fought against perhaps more than ever 
 before. The only difference is that the weapons have 
 been changed, the battle-field transferred, the tactics im- 
 proved and the execution greater. The enemy deals to- 
 day with far more subtle weapons than ever before. 
 And as the tie that binds many to the Church is weak it 
 is easily cut asunder. Even to many so-called Christians 
 Christ is not more than a man, and it has been argued, 
 and plausibly so, that in the new century, the day of ad- 
 vancement along all lines, the Avorld has outgrown Christ. 
 Satan still offers '"'the kingdom of the world and the 
 glory thereof" in barter for worship paid to himself. 
 
 Well aware of the satanic power Leo XIII called on 
 all Priests to say daily after Mass: 
 
 ''Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of 
 battle: be our safe-guard against the wickedness and 
 snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly 
 pray; and do thou, Prince of the heavenly host, by the 
 power of God, thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked 
 spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of 
 souls. Amen."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HERESIES. 
 
 Perusal of the different rituals of secret societies will 
 lead to the conviction that these societies are also heret- 
 ical, teaching error. " B.eresies/' says 0. A. Brownson 
 (vol. xix.. p. 223), "originate in the spirit and tendency 
 of their epoch, and in the effort to develop the Church, 
 and carry her, in her doctrines and practice, along with 
 them. * * * The heresiarch does not set out with the de- 
 liberate intention of founding a heresy. No man ever 
 rises up and with deliberate forethought, says: 'Go to, 
 now, let us devise and found a heresy.' The heresiarch is 
 the man of his times of not for, his times and is the 
 one who, better than any other, embodies or impersonates 
 their dominant ideas and sentiments. He begins by tak- 
 ing his standard of truth from the ideas and sentiments 
 which he finds generally received, and with which he is 
 filled to overflowing ; these, he says, are true, and there- 
 fore the church, if true, must agree with them. He then 
 proceeds to develop the Church, to explain her doctrine 
 and practice in their sense But the Church cannot accept 
 his explanations ; she condemns them, and commands 
 him to disavow them; but he, through pride and obstin- 
 acy, refuses, goes out from her communion, and sets up 
 for himself. Here is the history and rise of every heresy. 
 Study any age or nation, and you will find its peculiar 
 heresy to have originated in the attempt to conform 
 the Church to its determined ideas and sentiments, or to
 
 39 
 
 incorporate them into her teaching and practice. This 
 is evident from the history of Gnosticism, Manichaeism, 
 Arianism, Protestantism, or any other heresy you may 
 select." 
 
 As soon as the truths of the Gospel were carried be- 
 yond the confines of Judea, Samaria and Galilee, by the 
 Apostles and their successors, those false teachers against 
 whom Christ had warned His followers arose. Satan 
 ever watchful, was determined to wage his war for the 
 preservation of his kingdom. Open persecution arose 
 against the infant Church, but subtle means were also 
 employed to deceive the people. Several persons ap- 
 peared from time to time claiming to be the promised 
 Messiah. Philo the Jew, Apolonius of Tyana, Simon 
 Magus, Cerinthus, and other pretenders to the Messiah- 
 ship during the first centuries of the Christian era 
 claimed Pythagoras as their principal teacher. Alex- 
 andria, in Egypt, the principal seat of learning at the 
 time, had as teachers in its schools men who endeavored 
 to reconcile the teachings of Paganism, Judaism and 
 Christianity, just as it was done at the Parliament of 
 Eeligions, a few years ago in Chicago. All the heresies 
 of the first three centuries had their origion in this so- 
 called Alexandrian school. This school, encouraged by 
 the pagan emperors and afterwards especially by Julian 
 the Apostate, in order to destroy the influence of Christi- 
 anity, attempted a fusion of all particular forms of Gen- 
 tilism, moulded into shape as nearly like Christianity 
 as might be, and intended to dispute with it the empire 
 of the world. It borrowed largely from Christianity, 
 copied the forms of its hierarchy, and many of its dog- 
 mas. It made no direct war on Christianity and its 
 followers ; it simply denied or derided the source whence
 
 40 
 
 the Christian religion was obtained, and the authority 
 which Christian faith always presupposes. It called 
 itself "Philosophy/"'' and its pretention was to raise 
 philosophy to the dignity of religion, and to do by it 
 what Christianity pVofesses to do by faith and an exter- 
 nal and supernaturally accredited revelation. Its aim 
 was to satisfy the ever-recurring and indestructible re- 
 ligious want of the human soul, without recognizing the 
 Christian Church, or bowing to the authority of the 
 N^azarene. It proposed itself as the rival rather than the 
 antagonist of Christianity. Space does not permit me to 
 show how the Christian Fathers of the third, fourth and 
 fifth centuries fought against and defeated these teach- 
 ings. 
 
 The movement of the un-catholic world today, how 
 much soever it may borrow from Christianity, however 
 near it may approach the catholic model, can be regarded 
 by those who understand it only as a conscious or uncon- 
 scious effort to reproduce the Gentile rationalism of the 
 old Alexandrian school. The principle on which they 
 proceed is precisely the Alexandrian. To them all re- 
 ligions are equally true or equally false true as parts of 
 a whole, false when regarded each as a whole in itself. 
 Take then the several religions which have been and are, 
 mould them into a complete, uniform and systematic 
 whole, and you will have the "Religion of the Future/' 
 In perfect harmony with this, you see everywhere at- 
 tempts to amalgamate sects, to form the un-catholic 
 world into one body, with a common creed, a common 
 worship and a common purpose. The aim is everywhere 
 the same as it was with the Alexandrians, the principles 
 and proceedings are the same, and the result, if obtained 
 must be similar.
 
 41 
 
 The "Church of the Future," which is now to be 
 founded, is a church, to be scientific, wherein knowledge 
 and not humility is taught; penance and fasting are to 
 be done away with. lake Buddhism it is to teach good- 
 ness without a God, existence without a soul, immortality 
 without life, salvation without a heaven, redemption 
 without a redeemer. In the economy of salvation Christ 
 is to be ignored. We are gravely told that there is no 
 teaching or doctrine taught by Christ and His Apostles 
 which can not be found in some of the ancient religions, 
 when divested of the errors therein incorporated with it. 
 
 We must admit that the main effort of this age of un- 
 believing .progress is to trample out the supernatural 
 character of Jesus Christ. He is indeed in the eyes of it 
 one of the most distinguished of human sages, an ad- 
 mirable philosopher and a great moral teacher. It will 
 admit that "man never spoke like him/' but it ridicules 
 the idea that He was "the Word made flesh." 
 
 A morbid craving is abroad which seeks to reproduce 
 the paganism of old. Gentile life is to be flavored by 
 the spirit of false worship, the passions of the young, 
 the ambition of middle life and the avarice of old age. 
 
 Secret societies are nurseries for this movement. In 
 their rituals truth and error have been artfully co- 
 mingled. Their teachings are varied to suit all men, of 
 all creeds or of no creed. If you have religion and be- 
 long to a Church, all right; but if you belong to no 
 Church and have no religion it is all right too, because 
 religion is a personal and private affair. The teachings 
 and maxims of the Gospel are not to be the rule of life, 
 and from the lodge and not from the Church are men 
 to learn "their duty to God, to their fellow-men and to 
 themselves." Intentionally or unintentionally do the
 
 42 
 
 lodges dispose a man to believe that if he practices the 
 natural virtues of honesty, truthfulness, sobriety, philan- 
 thropy, etc., then he is all that a man ought to be; and 
 also to believe that a man can practice these virtues quite 
 sufficiently by the force of his own will, that he does not 
 need the special help which our Lord furnishes through 
 His Church. It is quite clear that these principles will 
 logically have the effect of not only destroying the faith 
 of . Catholics, but also all Christian faith properly so 
 called. 
 
 In the ritual of the Knights of Pythias we read : "The 
 high and impassable barrier that hitherto separated man 
 from his fellow men is broken down. All sit together as 
 brothers in harmony and love. The descendants of 
 Abraham and the followers of the Crescent are co- 
 mingled with those of the Cross as one happy family, 
 knowing no diversity of creed or faith." In other words : 
 Jew, Heathen, Moslem, Christian and Hottentot, we all 
 believe in one God. Not only do they place all pro- 
 fessedly Christian sects and denominations however 
 widely the five hundred different sects may differ from 
 one another on the same broad platform, but they go 
 still further. They declare that Mumbo-Jumbo of the 
 African and Gitchie Manitou of the American Indian 
 it at bottom the true God, as much as the Zeus of the 
 Greeks, Jupiter of the Romans, El or Bab-El in Babylon, 
 Mitra in India, Mythras in Persia, Ashura in Assyria, 
 Baal in Phoenicia, and either of these as much as Jeho- 
 vah of the Jews, or God, the Father, of the Christians. 
 
 And all this is set forth in language and terms so 
 smooth and plausible "as to deceive if possible even the 
 elect." Thus many a young man, with more benevolent 
 feeling than actual experience, of more enthusiastic zeal
 
 43 
 
 than practice and wisdom, is prone to be led into these 
 societies, is deceived and lost to the Church. 
 
 The rites, ceremonies and symbols of paganism are 
 used, and will not the whole fabric of doctrine and wor- 
 ship of paganism grow out of the use? The seed is 
 dropped into society and what shall the fruit be? The 
 leaven of the principles of naturalism and modern pa- 
 ganism is given a chance to work silently and freely till 
 the whole is permeated. As I said in a former publica- 
 tion, the twentieth century will witness the conflict be- 
 tween Rome and Benares, between the principles of 
 Christianity and Asiatic Paganism. Mohammedanism in 
 its day tried to extirpate Oriental idolatry, but it failed. 
 Christianity has not only to destroy both, but annihilate 
 also, modern paganism.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PYTHAGORAS. 
 
 Many Masonic writers consider Pythagoras as "the 
 grand-father" of Masonry. In many lodges he is intro- 
 duced as the 'teacher to the candidate and many signs 
 and symbols are taken from his school. He was the son 
 of a lapidary, and the pupil of Pherecydes, and flour- 
 ished about five hundred years before Christ. Posterity 
 has been very liberal to him in bestowing upon him all 
 such inventions as others had neglected to claim, par- 
 ticularly in music and mathematics ; and there is hardly 
 any part of science with which his followers did not en- 
 dow him. Jamblichus asserts that he traveled exten- 
 sively through Egypt, India and Europe, and came in 
 contact with the sages of those countries. Returning to 
 his home, Samos, he wished to communicate the bene- 
 fit of his researches to his fellow-citizens, and with this 
 view he established a school for their instruction in the 
 elements of science; proposing to adopt the Egyptian 
 mode of teaching, and to communicate his doctrine 
 under a symbolical form. But the Samoans were either 
 too stupid or too indolent to profit by his instructions. 
 Although he was obliged to relinquish his design, he did 
 not altogether abandon it. In order to engage the at- 
 tention of his countrymen by some other means, he re- 
 paired to Delos; and, after presenting an offering of 
 cakes to Apollo, he there received, or pretended to re- 
 ceive, moral dogmas from the priestess, which he after-
 
 45 
 
 wards delivered to his disciples under the character of 
 divine precepts. About the beginning of the fifty-ninth 
 Olympiad he left Greece and established himself at Cro- 
 tona in Italy. In order to obtain credit with the popu- 
 lace he pretended to have the power of performing 
 miracles and practised many arts of imposture. Clothed 
 in a long white robe, with a flowing beard, and, as some 
 say with a golden crown upon his head, he preserved 
 among the people, and in the presence of his disciples, a 
 commanding gravity, and majesty of aspect. He had 
 such a command over himself that he was never seen to 
 express in his countenance, grief, joy or anger. The in- 
 fluence of his teaching, to which he gave the name of 
 philosophy, extended from Crotona to many other places 
 and obtained for him from his followers a degree of 
 respect little short of adoration. By his artificial de- 
 meanor Pythagoras appeared among the vulgar as a 
 being of an order superior to the common condition of 
 humanitj', and persuaded them that he had received his 
 doctrine from heaven, and that Appollo, Minerva and the 
 Muses had often appeared to him and instructed him. 
 He founded a secret society and had in a short time six 
 hundred members. Previous to the admission of any 
 person into this fraternity, Pythagoras examined his 
 features and external appearance, inquired how he had 
 been accustomed to behave towards his parents and 
 friends; marked his manner of laughing, conversing and 
 keeping silence ; and observed what passion he was most 
 inclined to indulge ; with what kind of company he chose 
 to associate; how he passed his leisure moments; and 
 what incidents appeared to excite in him the strongest 
 emotions of joy or sorrow. To teach his disciples hu- 
 mility and industry, he exposed them for three years to
 
 46 
 
 a continued course of contradictions, ridicule and con- 
 tempt, among their fellows. That they might acquire a 
 habit of entire docility, he enjoined upon them, from 
 their first admission, a long term of silence, sometimes 
 for five years. Pythagoras taught after the Egyptian 
 manner, by images and symbols, obscure and almost 
 unintelligible to those who were not initiated into the 
 mysteries of the school: and those who were admitted to 
 this privilege were under the strictest obligation of 
 silence with regard to the recondite doctrines of their 
 master. That the wisdom of Pythagoras might not pass 
 into the ears of the vulgar, it was committed chiefly to 
 memory; and when they found it necessary to make use 
 of writing, they took care not to suffer their minutes to 
 pass beyond the limits of the school. One of his princi- 
 ples was that not everything is to be told to everybody, 
 and that his followers ought not to speak but when re- 
 quired to do so, expressing thereby that secrecy is the 
 rarest virtue. Jamblicus relates, as evidence of the 
 brotherly love of the disciples of Pythagoras and their 
 means of mutual recognition, the following incident : "A 
 Pythagorean, traveling in a distant country, fell sick 
 and died at a public inn. Previously to his death, how- 
 ever, being unable to compensate the landlord for his 
 kindness and attention with which he had been treated, 
 he directed a tablet, on which he had traced some enig- 
 matical characters, to be exposed on the public road. 
 Some time after another disciple of Pythagoras passed 
 that way, preceived the tablet, and learning from the 
 inscription that a brother had been there sick and in dis- 
 tress, and that he had been treated with kindness, he 
 stopped and reimbursed the innkeeper for his trouble 
 and expense/' Mathematics, and especially geometry,
 
 47 
 
 were the principle studies he enjoined upon his follow- 
 ers, as the first step towards wisdom. The sum of all 
 the principles of Pythagoras is this : The Monad is the 
 principle of all things. From the Monad came the in- 
 determinate Duad, as matter subjected to the cause of the 
 Monad: from the Monad and the indeterminate Duad 
 numbers, points; from points lines; from lines super- 
 ficies; from superficies solids; from these solid bodies 
 whose elements are four Fire, Water, Air, and Earth 
 of all which transmuted, and totally changed, the World 
 consists.' 
 
 The region of the air was supposed by Pj^thagoras to be 
 full of spirits, demons or heroes, who cause sickness or 
 health to man or beast, and communicate by means of 
 dreams and other instruments of divination, at their 
 pleasure, the knowledge of future events. He professed 
 to cure diseases by incantations, and taught the trans- 
 migration of souls. It is related of him that on one 
 occasion he interceded in behalf of a dog that was beaten 
 because he recognized in its cries the voice of a friend. 
 After his death, Pythagoras was held in great esteem 
 by his followers and especially during the third century 
 of our era was held up by the Alexandrian school as the 
 equal to Christ. 
 
 The esoteric or secret instruction of Pythagoras were 
 explained with the aid of symbols, as the readiest and 
 most efficient method of impressing upon the mind of 
 the candidate for the mysteries the sublime truths and 
 moral lessons for which the school of that justly cele- 
 brated philosopher was distingushed. A few of the most 
 imporant symbols are here explained. The Equilateral 
 Triangle, a perfect figure was adopted among the ancient 
 nations as a symbol of Deity, the principal and author
 
 48 
 
 of all sublunary things ; the essence of Light and Truth, 
 who was, and is, and shall be. The square comprehends 
 
 the union of the celestial and terrestrial elements of 
 power; and was the emblem of morality and justice. 
 The Tetractys was a sacred emblem, which was expressed 
 by ten jots disposed in the form of a triangle, each side 
 containing four. This was the most expressive symbol 
 of Pythagoras. On it the obligation to the aspirant 
 was propounded; and it was denominated the Trigonon 
 mysticum, because it was the conservator of many awful 
 and important truths which are explained as follows: 
 The one point represented the Monad, or active princi- 
 ple; the two points the Duad, or passive principle; the 
 three points the triad, or the world proceeding from their 
 
 POINT WITHIX A CIECLI. DODICAHIOEO*. 
 
 union ; the four, the Quarternary , or the liberal sciences. 
 The Cube was the symbol of the mind of man, after a 
 well spent life in acts of piety and devotion, and thus 
 prepared by virtue for translation into the society of the 
 celestial gods. The Point zvithin the Circle was the sym- 
 bol of the universe. The use of this emblem is coeval 
 with the first created man the creation was the circle
 
 49 
 
 and himself the center.* The Dodecahedron, or figure 
 of twelve sides was also a symbol of the universe. The 
 Triple Triangle a- unity of perfectness was a symbol 
 of health, and was called Hygeia. The Forty-seventh 
 proposition of Euclid was invented and explained by 
 Pythagoras, and is so extensively useful that it has been 
 adopted in all Lodges as a significant symbol of Free- 
 masonry. The letter Y was a symbolical representation 
 of the course of human life. Youth, arriving at manhood, 
 sees two roads before him, and deliberates which he shall 
 pursue. If he meet with a guide that directs him to 
 pursue philosophy, and he procures initiation, his life 
 shall be honorable and his death happy. But if he omits 
 to do this, and takes the left hand path, which appears 
 broader and better, it will lead to sloth and luxury ; will 
 waste his estate, impair his health, and brings on an old 
 a are of infamy and misery. 
 
 *In the ages of idolatry and the worship of Phallus and Llnga 
 the point within a circle bore a more Immediate relation to the gen- 
 erative principle of nature, symbolized by the union of the sexes. 
 Does It stand for any other symbol In the lodge rooms of to-day?
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 LIFE INSURANCE IN SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 The innate duplicity of secret societies may be well 
 exemplified by the very direction which Weishaupt, the 
 great German mystagogue, gave to his followers, the II- 
 luminati : "Conceal the very fact of our existence from 
 the profane. If they discover us, conceal our real object 
 by profession of benevolence. If our real object is per- 
 ceived pretend to disband and relinquish the whole thing, 
 but assume another name and put forward new agents." 
 
 Life insurance in any secret society is not the prime 
 or most important motive of its existence. Every 
 intelligent member of a higher degree in any lodge will 
 admit, if candid, that there is an ulterior, deep, far- 
 reaching purpose, in no connection and to no purpose 
 in any merely benevolent association. Social advantages, 
 political schemes and hopes, pecuniary speculations form 
 part of the programme, but I have heard it time and. 
 again from the lips of prominent members that all these 
 are not a tenth of the aims and objects. To be semi- 
 naries for the Masonic Order and auxiliaries to the prin- 
 ciple of Masonry in doing away with Christ and His 
 Church is the main reason for the existence of secret so- 
 cieties. 
 
 The insurance feature enables some of the officers to 
 get an easy living. Thus we read in these days of con- 
 ventions that the Grand High Bombaston draws a salary
 
 51 
 
 of $10,000 ; the Supreme Chief Ranger $8000 ; the Su- 
 preme Mystic Ruler and Supreme Dictator each $4000; 
 Supreme Commander $5000, and so on. 
 
 \Yhat the Past Grand Chancellor of the Knights of 
 Pythias has to say in the letter copied below has been 
 said by nearly all other leaders in the different secret so- 
 cieties. 
 
 ELK RIVER, Minn., Jan. 7, 1895. 
 
 "EDITOR ADVOCATE : 
 
 "I have been silent much longer than I intended, 
 though doubtless what is my loss is your gain. I thought 
 long ere this to write you from the far West where I in- 
 tend to make my future home ; but fate seems to be tem- 
 porarily, at least, against me, and so I submit to the in- 
 exorable decree with as good grace as possible, consider- 
 ing my former determination never to pass another win- 
 ter in this hyperborean region. Asa Pythian state, Min- 
 nesota is a grand success, and this is all the concession I 
 am prepared to make; and I have been forced to believe 
 that Pythianism demands just about such winters as 
 Minnesota furnishes for its most vigorous development. 
 In other words, they have to hustle to keep warm. But 
 whether this idea is correct or not, I am proud of Min- 
 nesota for her Pythian record, her determination to lead ; 
 and this brings me to the point I wish to make, the ob- 
 ject of this communication. In doing this I am moved by 
 no other consideration than the highest good of the Or- 
 der, an Order that has constantly grown in my estima- 
 tion as a remedial force in society ever since I took my 
 instruction therein; and if its principles, its objects and 
 aims are. rightly taught and understood and then prac- 
 ticed accordingly, Pythianism would furnish different
 
 52 
 
 results from that obtained today in very many localities. 
 Thousands enter this Order for no other reason than 
 Avhat they can get out of it in dollers and cents. Take 
 away the promised benefits, or hope of material advan- 
 tage, and the work of suspension would be more rapid 
 than that of gain. Now, in soliciting material for our 
 lodges, the idea of pecuniary aid should never be hinted 
 at. It is perfectly absurd to tell a man, in glowing rhet- 
 oric, how much will accrue to him financially if he will 
 only connect himself with the lodge. If you can't reach 
 a man except through his stomach or by an appeal to his 
 avarice, give him the go-by ; for we have too much of this 
 timber already. It is this class that carries into the lodge 
 the tactics of the ward politician, and on the eve of an 
 election you will find him as busy as a bee getting in his 
 work among the members; and unless he wins, he finds 
 it inconvenient for him to attend lodge thereafter. Dur- 
 ing our civil war, it was alleged that fat salaries made 
 many truly loyal, and almost without an exception their 
 loyalty increased in proportion to increase of salary. 
 The same holds true with scores in our lodges today. 
 There are members who will supplant a brother by 
 means that a political trickster would scarcely use, and 
 think it smart. Now, Mr. Editor, these fellows are ig- 
 norant of the first elements of Pythianism. 
 
 "That 'Grecian Scene/ the most remarkable exemplifi- 
 cation of unselfish devotion in the history of the world, 
 has less significance to him than a horse-race. While I 
 am as eager as anyone to augment our numerical 
 strength, I cannot resist the annoying impression that we 
 have rushed our superstructure too rapidly by the intro- 
 duction of timber than an eye to symmetry, beauty and
 
 53 
 
 durability would have rejected. Our basis, our founda- 
 tion is the grandest of human conception; our super- 
 structure thus far reared has radical defects, and it de- 
 volves upon the true Pythian by means at his command 
 to mold this heterogeneous mass into forms of beauty and 
 loveliness fit to adorn the temple of Pythian manhood. 
 I say by means at his command, for the true loyal Knight 
 appreciates the grandeur and nobility of the chase and 
 thus armed he is inspired thereby in every word and ges- 
 ture to elevate all with whom he comes in contact, to his 
 plane of Pythian existence. We are building, not for the 
 present alone, but for the vast future. Our Order is to 
 live co-extensive with the mightiest achievement of hu- 
 man intelligence; and after I shall have ceased to plead 
 for the cause so dear, upon the shaft of marble or granite 
 that may arise at the call of affection to indicate the re- 
 pose of my humble dust, no grander eulogium could be 
 pronounced than that I was a true Knight of Pythias. 
 "B. W. B. HARVEY, P. G. C." 
 
 Life Insurance is a comparatively modern institution 
 and looked upon in diverse ways. A number of Chris- 
 tians look upon it as sinful because they see in it a want 
 of confidence in divine Providence. They say: "God 
 knows what we need; He is our Father and in Him we 
 must trust, for Christ said: 'Be not solicitous, there- 
 fore, saying : What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, 
 or wherewith shall we be clothed? for after all these 
 things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth 
 that you have need of all these things. Seek ye there- 
 fore first the kingdom of God and his justice and all 
 these things shall be added unto you/ " (Math, vi, 31- 
 33.)
 
 54 
 
 Another class of people look upon Life Insurance as a 
 sure Avay to infidelity. Their sentiments are expressed 
 by the French writer, Guyan, mentioned above. He 
 says : "Among the causes which will tend in the future 
 to eliminate the dogma of a special Providence, let us 
 note the development of the arts, even the art of com- 
 merce and industr} r , which is still in its very beginnings. 
 Merchants and workmen, equally, have learned already 
 to rely upon no one but their own individual selves, to 
 rely each upon his own initiative, his personal ingenuity. 
 
 "In modern commerce the 'positive/ spirit-restless in- 
 telligence and calculation outstripping chance tends to 
 become the true and sole element of success; as to the 
 risks, which^ in spite of every precaution, still remain, 
 they are covered by insurance. 
 
 ''Insurance, then, is a conception altogether modern, 
 whose operation is to substitute the direct action of man 
 for the intervention of God in private affairs, and which 
 looks to the recompense for a misfortune before it has 
 happened. It is probable that insurance, which dates 
 only some few years back and is spreading rapidly, will 
 be applied some day to almost every form of accident to 
 which man is liable; will be adapted to every circum- 
 stance of life, will accompany us everywhere, will envelop 
 us in a protecting net .... 
 
 "It is possible that the notion of a special Providence 
 will some day be completely eliminated from the sphere 
 of economics; everything that in any manner whatsoever 
 is capable of being estimated in terms of money will be 
 covered by an insurance, shielded from accident, made 
 independent of divine favor."
 
 55 
 
 The majority of people, however, look upon Life In- 
 surance' as a business transaction, and in the present eco- 
 nomical condition of society as a necessity, and they say : 
 Every man with a clear head for business takes life in- 
 surance with three objects in view : 
 
 First, as indemnity payable to his family, or estate, 
 or creditor, in case of death. 
 
 Second, as a preparation for old age when it is no 
 longer possible to earn a living. 
 
 Third, as a method of saving. 
 
 In order to accomplish these objects, the institution 
 selected must be permanent, it must have unquestioned 
 financial standing and its business must be conducted ac- 
 cording to principles laid down by some of the world's 
 greatest mathematicians and tested by the experience of 
 one hundred and fifty years. These principles are as well 
 understood and as certain in their operations as the law of 
 gravity, and by their aid the "old line" or regular premi- 
 um life insurance companies have built up a solid busi- 
 ness. 
 
 According to the Insurance Year Book there were on 
 .la nuary 1, 1902, eighty of these companies in the United 
 States, possessing assets of $1,921,434,601. These com- 
 panies have paid to their policy holders since organiza- 
 tion the enormous sum of $2,915,351,025. 
 
 The operations of these companies are based upon 
 carefully prepared mortality tables, from which can be 
 ax -ortained the probable number of persons who will 
 die out of a given number at each age, and a sufficient 
 amount of premium is charged to pay off each death loss 
 as it occurs. This premium is a fixed annual payment 
 which provides for the increasing death rate due to ad-
 
 56 
 
 vancing age. Policies of this kind have a cash value 
 that may be drawn upon in case of emergency, or which 
 may he drawn out in case the policy holder desires to give 
 up his insurance. In this way a member protects his 
 family against his death at the same time he protects 
 himself against emergencies and old age. The compa- 
 nies doing business on the scientific old-line plan are so 
 solid that every member is sure of his protection so long 
 as he desires to keep his membership. In every state 
 there are laws providing for the incorporation of compa- 
 nies using this system and for governing their opera- 
 tions. 
 
 According to the last United States census 325,829 
 males over 19 years of age died in the United States 
 during the census year. During 1901 the eighty Ameri- 
 can life insurance companies previously mentioned paid 
 in death claims $117,884,361, or an average of $361.76 
 for each such death. 
 
 Besides the old line insurance companies' system there 
 is the open business assessment system, in which the con- 
 tract between the association and the insured is some- 
 times called a policy and sometimes a certificate. This 
 system has no lodges or fraternal bond to bind the in- 
 sured together, and the associations are merely business 
 concerns without a representative form of government, 
 generally close corporations. In every state, also, laws 
 are found for their incorporation and supervision. 
 
 The most widely spread system is the fraternal benefi- 
 ciary system or that of the secret societies, composed of 
 societies having a representative form of government, 
 subordinate lodges and ritualistic work, furnishing 
 financial assistance to living members in sickness or des-
 
 57 
 
 titution, providing for the payment of benefits to living 
 members in case of partial or total physical disability 
 arising from sickness or old age, and providing benefits 
 at the death of members for their families or dependent 
 blood relatives. 
 
 The uniform bill adopted by the National Fraternal 
 Congress, which has been engrafted on the statute books 
 of several of the states, defines what constitutes a frater- 
 nal beneficiary society in the following terms : Section 1. 
 A fraternal beneficiary association is hereby declared to 
 be a corporation, society or voluntary association, formed 
 or organized and carried on for the sole benefit of its 
 members and their beneficiaries and not for profit. Each 
 association shall have a lodge system, with ritualistic 
 form of government, and shall make provision for the 
 payment of benefits in case of death and may make pro- 
 vision for the payment of benefit in case of sickness, acci- 
 dent or old age, provided the period of life at which pay- 
 ment of physical disability benefits on account of old age 
 commences shall not be under seventy years, subject to 
 their compliance with its constitutions and laws. The 
 fund from which the payment of such association shall be 
 defrayed shall be derived from assessments or dues col- 
 lected from its members. Payment of death benefits 
 shall be to the families, heirs, blood relatives, affianced 
 husbands, affianced wives, or to persons dependent upon 
 the members. 
 
 The laws of the Fraternal Congress declare that no 
 fraternal society, order or association shall be entitled 
 to representation in it unless the latter "works under a 
 ritual, holds regular lodge or similar meetings, where 
 the purposes are confined to visitation of the sick, relief
 
 58 
 
 of distress, burial of the dead, protection of widows and 
 orphans, education of the orphan, payment of a benefit 
 for temporary or permanent disability or death, and 
 where these principles are an obligated duty on all mem- 
 bers, to be discharged without compensation or pecuniary 
 reward ; where the general membership attend to the gen- 
 eral business of the order, and where a fraternal interest 
 in the welfare of each other is a duty taught, recognized 
 and practiced as the motive and bond of organization." 
 The mutual agreement between the fraternal society and 
 the member is not a policy or contract like that entered 
 into between a life insurance company and its policy hold- 
 er. Fraternal societies simply issue a certificate of mem- 
 bership, in which the member agrees to comply with all 
 the rules and regulations in force at the time he becomes 
 a member, and with all changes -in the laws, etc., that 
 may be lawfully made during his membership. He has 
 no vested or property rights while living and belonging 
 to such societies unless he should become sick or dis- 
 abled, and then only after his claim has been allowed. 
 After the death of a member who has complied with the 
 laws, the beneficiary has a vested or property right to the 
 amount of a deceased member's certificate, as provided 
 by the society's laws. 
 
 As life insurance then is a monetary transaction "do 
 ut des," what need is there of signs and symbols, of grips 
 and passwords, of chaplain and unchristian ceremonies, 
 of blind obedience and unnatural oath, of debasement 
 and slaving submission ? 
 
 About the condition of the insurance feature of frater- 
 nal societies in the state of Illinois the insurance commis- 
 sioner has this to say on August 4, 1901 :
 
 59 
 
 "The state has by statute required these societies to 
 report annually their condition and transactions to the 
 department, and has enacted certain regulations for the 
 government of their business. But these laws are inade- 
 quate for such measure of supervision as looks to the 
 ability of the society to fulfill its obligations in the fu- 
 ture. There is not even a test of present solvency estab- 
 lished. A society encounters no obstacle in delaying the 
 payment of claims and permitting an amount of unpaid 
 losses to accumulate until so large that it is beyond the 
 ability of the members to respond to assessments neces- 
 sary to meet them. No emergency fund is required. 
 
 "In many cases rates so low were adopted at organiza- 
 tion as to lead one to conclude that the law of mortality 
 was construed as containing an exemption applicable to 
 fraternal societies. A reluctance to encounter the criti- 
 cisms and vexations liable to follow a rise of rates or an 
 increase in assessments causes the managers to put off 
 this necessary action, and in the meantime the amount of 
 unpaid death claims continues to grow. This condition 
 was strikingly illustrated during the year by the failure 
 of one of the largest societies in the state." 
 
 The State Insurance Commissioner of Iowa, Mr. Max 
 Bechler, is quoted in the Dubuque Catholic Tribune of 
 August 15th, 1001, as follows: 
 
 "There are fifty-nine fraternal societies doing business 
 in Iowa, five less than last year, and of that number 
 many are exceedingly short-lived, and some would better 
 never have been born. The purpose of a number of com- 
 panies seems to be to furnish cheaper insurance than the 
 next one, and looking at them from the standpoint of 
 an experienced insurance man, I cannot but feel confi-
 
 60 
 
 dent that some of them will surely come to grief. A fra- 
 ternal order cannot stand unless it raises its rates suffi- 
 ciently high to cover the premiums which are bound to 
 require payment at some time in the future. They will 
 also have to be more careful about the physical condition 
 of the members taken in. The fraternal orders have 
 done great good for widows and orphans, but the only 
 hope of the members can be to die before the company 
 does."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS. 
 
 A. J. Canfield, speaking of the Parliament of Reli- 
 gions, says : "It will long remain the enviable distinction 
 of the Brahman, Brahmo-Somaj, Jain, Buddhist, Japan- 
 ese both Buddhist and Shintoist, Confucian and Parsee 
 representatives in the great historic parliament, that 
 they were in the front rank not only by the interest of 
 their appearance, but by their own high character and 
 character of their contribution." Swami Vivikananda, 
 a representative from Calcutta, created a regular furore 
 at this parliament and was one of the most popular mem- 
 bers therof. The Chicago Inter- Ocean at the time said : 
 "Great crowds of people, the most of whom are women, 
 pressed around the doors leading to the hall of Colum- 
 bus, an hour before the time stated for opening the after- 
 noon session, for it had been announced that Swami 
 Vivikananda, the popular Hindu monk, was to speak.'' 
 The following are some quotations from his speeches: 
 ''I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught 
 the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We 
 believe not only in universal toleration but we accept 
 all religions to be true. I am present to tell you that 
 I belong to a religion into whose sacred language, the 
 Sanscrit, the word exclusion is untranslatable. * * * 
 India is the Punya Bhumi, the land of religious merit, 
 the land of spirituality. Our sacred mother-land is a 
 land of philosophy and religion, the birthplace of spirit-
 
 62 
 
 ual giants, the land of renunciation, where, and where 
 alone, from the most ancient to the most modern times 
 there has been the highest ideals of life open to man. 
 Ours is the land from whence, like tidal waves, spiritu- 
 ality and philosophy have again and again marched out 
 and deluged the world, and this is the land from which 
 once more such tides must proceed in order to bring life 
 and vigor into the decaying races of mankind. The eyes 
 of the whole world are now turned towards this land 
 of old India for spiritual food; and India has to work 
 for all the races. Here alone is the best ideal for man- 
 kind, and western scholars are now struggling to un- 
 derstand the ideal which is enshrined in our Sanscrit 
 literature and philosophy, and which has been the 
 characteristic of India all through the ages. 
 
 "We Hindus have now been placed under God's Provi- 
 dence in a very critical and responsible position. The 
 nations of the West are coming to us for spiritual help." 
 
 Swami Vivikananda stayed in America for nearly 
 three years, going from one of the large cities to the 
 other, and gaining admittance in the upper classes of 
 society, made it a point to have special gatherings in 
 the houses of the more fashionables and there he spread 
 his doctrine. The Brahmavadin, an Indian Paper, 
 March 14, 1896, says: 
 
 "His lecture before the Metaphysical Society in 
 Brooklyn and the People's Church in New York were 
 as usual w'ell attended and highly appreciated. In 
 February he will lecture before the Metaphysical So- 
 ciety at Hartford, Connecticut, and the Ethical Society, 
 Brooklyn, where the numerous followers are eagerly 
 anticipating the pleasure of his coming.
 
 63 
 
 "At the close of a second series of lectures in New York, 
 the Swami will accept an urgent invitation extended to 
 him repeatedly by the Harvard University to lecture 
 before the Graduate Philosophical Club, which is the 
 leading Philosophical organization at Harvard." From 
 America the Swami went to England. The London 
 Daily Chronical of June 10, 1896, states that "the 
 Swami's lectures may be heard at 63 St. George's Koad, 
 on Tuesday's and Thursday's, at half past eleven A. M. 
 and at half past eight P. M. up to the end of July. It 
 is also announced that the Swami will lecture in one of 
 the rooms of the Royal Institution, 191 Piccadilly, at 
 half past three Sunday afternoons." Shortly before 
 leaving England The Daily Graphic says : "He has now 
 a considerable following in London. It would not be 
 too much to say that his weekly audiences here number 
 in the aggregate 500, and on the strength of his preach- 
 ing a room in Victoria Street has just been engaged 
 permanently for meetings of these people interested in 
 the Swami's message, while the nucleous of a lending 
 library finds a place along the walls." 
 
 On his return to India he boasted : "I helped on the 
 tide of Vedantism which is flooding the world. 
 
 " * * * before ten years more elapse a vast ma- 
 jority of the English speaking world will be Vedantists." 
 
 His return to India was hailed by his friends and 
 many addresses were read to him. The Colomba address 
 says: "To your self-sacrificing zeal Western nation? 
 owe the priceless boon of being placed in living contact 
 with the genius of India." 
 
 The Calcutta address says of his teaching: "The 
 general effect was a revolution in the religious ideas of a 
 large section of cultivated Americans."
 
 64 
 
 The Ahamara address says : "Which of us ever dreamt 
 that a descendant of the old Indian Aryans by dint of 
 tapas (bodily mortification) would prove to the learned 
 people of England and America the superiority of the 
 ancient Indian religions over every other creed?" 
 
 Another great light at the Parliament was Protap 
 Chunder Mozeomdar of the Brahma-Somaj of India. In 
 his paper he said: "Christianity declares the glory of 
 God, Hinduism speaks about His infinite and eternal 
 excellence. Mohammedanism, with fire and sword, proves 
 the almightiness of his will. Buddhism says how joyful 
 and peaceful He is. He is the God of all religions, of all 
 denominations, of all lands, of all scriptures, and our 
 progress lies in the harmonizing these various systems, 
 these various prophecies and their development into 
 one great system. Hence the new system of religion 
 in the Brahma-Somaj is called the New Dispensation. 
 The Christian speaks in terms of admiration of Chris- 
 tianity, so does the Hebrew of Judaism, so does the 
 Mohammedan of Islam and the Zoroastrian of Zeud- 
 A vesta. The Christian admires his principles of spirit- 
 ual culture, the Hindu does the same and the Mohamme- 
 dan does the same. * * * May the spread of the 
 New Dispensation rest with you all, your brothers and 
 sisters. Representatives of all religions, may all your 
 religions merge into 'The Fatherhood of God and the 
 Brotherhod of men,' that Christ's prophecy may be 
 fulfilled and mankind become one kingdom with God 
 our Father." 
 
 Some Japanese were equally confident that Buddhism 
 was to be "the religion of the future." The Indian Mes- 
 senger of November 11, 1894, says: "A surprising ac- 
 count of the effects of the Parliament of Religions at
 
 65 
 
 the Chicago Exposition is given by a Japanese Buddhist 
 to his co-religionists on his return from Chicago. He 
 says that whilst the Parliament was undertaken in the 
 interest of Christianity, it resulted contrary wise in dis- 
 playing the glory of Buddhism. So strongly has Amer- 
 ica been impressed with the revelation of the inferiority 
 of Christianity, that Buddhist temples and images are 
 now being erected on the Pacific coast. He added that 
 in Europe also Christianity is decaying and Buddhism 
 gaining ground and showing promise of supplanting 
 Christianity. The people of Europe, he says, are indeed 
 eager for the coming of Buddhist priests of Japan." 
 
 Kinza Einge M. Hirai, a Japanese Buddhist, an edu- 
 cated layman, said among many other things this : "The 
 clean Parsee, purified by fire, standing almost alone to- 
 day under the untarnished flag of Zoroaster, still hopes 
 and dreams of the revival of his faith by the influence 
 of this parliament of religions, and he is right, but there 
 is something more. Members of this great auxiliary 
 assembly, there is a surprise for you. The lamb and 
 the lion shall lie down together. Looking more intently, 
 some of us behold a strange thing the paradox, the 
 anomaly the Christian a Buddhist and the Buddhist a 
 Christian: the Moslem a Parsee and the Parsee a Mos- 
 lem. The grand, far-reaching result to grow out of this 
 parliament is not what you conceive, but, as I said be- 
 fore, a surprise awaits you. Out of it shall come a pure 
 being, unfettered, naked, white, with eyes like Christ 
 and dignity like Buddha, bearing the rewards of Zoro- 
 aster and the flaming sword of Moslem. To her the 
 Jew bows his head, the Christian kneels, the Brahman 
 prays; before her the habiliments of sects and creeds 
 fall off, for she is pure and naked, she is the one truth
 
 resurrected from the mingled heart and interchanged 
 mind of the world's great parliament of religions." 
 
 Swami Vivikananda was succeeded by Swami Abbe- 
 dannanda as preacher of Vedantism in America. Says 
 the New York Sun of December 26, 1897 : "A reporter 
 of this paper had an interview with Swami Abbedan- 
 nanda, who said among other things: 'To understand 
 Christ one must understand the Hindu conception of 
 the soul and of the universe: for Christ, although a Jew 
 by race, was in every fiber of His character a Hindu, or 
 A^edantist, and when the Christian looks at his Savior 
 from a Hindu point of view, he will not only get a more 
 beautiful and sublime conception of Christ, but will re- 
 ceive a much better opinion of himself and his fellow- 
 men. All that Christ did and said will become vastly 
 more interesting to him. for he can himself confidently 
 hope some day to become a Christ himself. The beauty 
 of the Vedantic view of Christ is, to be able to realize 
 from experience that you and I and all of us will some 
 day, on this very earth, clothed in flesh and blood, be- 
 come Christ, for in every one of us is the pure and sub- 
 lime soul that shows forth Him on the Mount of Trans- 
 figuration. It needs only to be set free and connect 
 itself with the cosmic intelligence that stands behind 
 and directs, evolves and projects all these gross forms of 
 matter that we sec. In every one of us is a spark of this 
 universal intelligent energy that is moving towards free- 
 dom. In Christ, in Buddha, and in many of our Hindu 
 sages this cosmic energy is set free/' ' ; 
 
 Several Buddhist missionaries are working in the 
 larger cities now to establish temples and make con- 
 verts. Even if their accounts of the success of their
 
 67 
 
 work are exaggerated, still the field in the United States 
 is for a time favorable to the "Oriental Antiquity the 
 present Novelty," since secret societies are continuously 
 preparing the ground.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE OATH IN SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 Webster defines oath as "A solemn affirmation or dec- 
 laration made with appeal to God for the truth of what is 
 affirmed. The appeal to God in an oath implies that 
 the person imprecates His vengeance and renounces His 
 favor if the declaration is false, or, if the declaration is a 
 promise, the person invokes the vengeance of God if he 
 should fail to fulfill it. A false oath is called perjury." 
 
 Whatever the form of an oath may be the significance 
 is the same, viz. : calling upon Almighty God to witness, 
 i. e., take notice of what we say. In order that an oath 
 should be valid it must be administered by a person hav- 
 ing the authority to do so, and to a person competent, 
 mentally and morally, to take it. Now there is no au- 
 thority in this world except it comes from God, and the 
 two authorities established by Almighty God are the 
 Church and the State. 
 
 In order that an oath be lawful there must be some- 
 thing in the nature of the case demanding the solemnity 
 of an oath, and the oath itself must be lawfully adminis- 
 tered, either by an officer of the Church, or of the State, 
 in his official capacity, and the person swearing must 
 swear intelligently, knowing what he declares to be true, 
 and what he binds himself to perform to be right and 
 proper for him to do. The maxim is : "Whoever taketh 
 an oath, ought duly to consider the weightiness of so 
 solemn an act, and therein to avouch nothing but what
 
 69 
 
 he is persuaded is the truth. Neither can any man 
 bind himself by oath to do anything but what is good 
 and just, and what he believes to be so, and what he is 
 able and resolved to perform." 
 
 Secret societies have no right whatsoever, nor any 
 authority whatsoever to administer the oath and by so 
 doing usurp rights which do not belong to them. 
 
 The nature of the oaths in secret societies is in itself 
 sinful : 
 
 1st It is unlawfully administered and taken because 
 God has not constituted secret societies. 
 
 2d There is nothing in the nature of the case to war- 
 rant the solemnity of an oath, and God's name is taken 
 in vain. 
 
 3d Such oaths are unnatural, because the person 
 binds himself to do he knows not what; he swears to 
 keep secret things not yet made known to him, and to 
 obey rules and regulations of which he knows absolutely 
 nothing. 
 
 4th These oaths place the taker under unlawful pen- 
 alties, and bind him to execute these penalties, which is 
 a crime, both against the State and the individual as 
 well as against the Church. 
 
 5th To swear to keep the secrets of others, whether 
 such be for the benefit or injury of other people, is a 
 crime against society. 
 
 Daniel Webster said in a letter dated Boston, Novem- 
 ber 20, 1835, "I have no hesitation in saying that how- 
 ever unobjectionable may have been the original objects 
 of the institution, or however pure may be the motives 
 and purposes of the individual members, and notwith- 
 standing the many great and good men who have from 
 time to time belonged to the order, yet, nevertheless, it
 
 70 
 
 is an institution which in my judgment is essentially 
 wrong in the principle of its formation, that from its 
 very nature it is liable to great abuses ; that among the 
 obligations which are found to be imposed upon its 
 members there are such as are entirely incompatible 
 with the duty of good citizens, and that all secret asso- 
 ciations, the members of which take upon themselves 
 extraordinary obligations to one another, and are bound 
 together by secret oaths, are naturally sources of jeal- 
 ousy and just alarm to others, are especially unfavorable 
 to harmony- and mutual confidence among men living 
 together under popular institutions, and are dangerous 
 to the general cause of civil liberty and good govern- 
 ment. Under the influence of this conviction it is my 
 opinion that the future administration of all such oaths 
 and the formation of all such obligations should be pro- 
 hibited by law." 
 
 Inefficiency of the Oath. We clipped the following 
 from the Chicago Chronicle of Sept. 25th, 1901, and it 
 is too significant to be lost : 
 
 "Today the oath is no longer efficacious as a con- 
 science binder. If a man would deliberately lie to gain 
 a point without being under oath, there is little reason 
 to hope he would not dodge the oath if a mere future 
 punishment were in store for him. All that an oath 
 is good for is to put the witness within the pale of the 
 law. Man will punish him for perjury if he swears 
 falsely and is detected. The old notion of a religious 
 test upon the secret conscience is worthless now. If he 
 can escape perjury he will reel off his yarn as glibly 
 under oath as without it. Punishment in this life by 
 imprisonment at hard labor is the real restraining influ- 
 ence. That it is very effective is the belief of most prac-
 
 71 
 
 titioners. It is common comment that false testimony 
 is injected into the majority of cases." 
 
 The Catholic Church teaches that God has placed the 
 twofold authority of Church and State in this world to 
 watch over the actions of man for the good of society; 
 and these two authorities, namely, Church and State, 
 are sovereign and that it is dangerous (not to say treason- 
 able) to Church and State, therefore wicked, by pledge 
 or promise or oath, to bind one's self to any organization, 
 to any man or set of men in higher allegiance. A Cath- 
 olic on becoming a member of any secret society may no 
 longer openly or confidentially communicate to his con- 
 fessor, spiritual advisor, bishop or pastor what the lodge 
 forbids him to communicate, no matter how closely re- 
 lated to affairs of conscience and religion the case may 
 be. 
 
 As a citizen he may not without violating his oath or 
 promise reveal in court the doings in the lodge-room. 
 
 So members of secret societities may pay outward al- 
 legiance to Church and State, but they pay higher allegi- 
 ance to the lodsre.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 INITIATION INTO SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 "What baptism is to the Christian, initiation is to the 
 lodge-member.'' The initiation into the ancient mys- 
 teries or secret societies of old ,js the model for initia- 
 tion into the secret societies of today,, and, as one is 
 much like the other, the reason for the forms must be 
 the same only that there was more sense in the ancient 
 mode than can be said of the modern. About the an- 
 cient mode of initiation Masonic writers say: "These 
 rites, magnificent and impressive, and startling, by sud- 
 den transitions and striking contrasts, rites commencing 
 in gloom and sorrow, and ending in light and joy, dimly 
 shadowed forth the passage of man from barbarianism 
 to civilization, from ignorance to science, and his con- 
 stant progress onward and upward through the ages, to 
 still sublimer elevations. The trembling and helpless 
 neophyte, environed with terror and gloom, and pursu- 
 ing his uncertain and difficult way through the mystic 
 journey of initiation, which terminated in light and con- 
 fidence, was a type or representative of humanity march- 
 ing upward from the gloom and darkness of the primitive 
 state of barbarism to a high degree of enlightenment, 
 of social refinement and perfection. The mystic cere- 
 mony was, therefore, emblematic of the progressive de- 
 velopment of man, and was intended as an aid to that 
 development.
 
 73 
 
 * * * the true end and purpose of the mys- 
 teries, the first and greatest end thereof, were, according 
 to the ancients, to civilize savage people, soften their 
 ferocious manners, render them social, and prepare them 
 for a kind of life more worthy of the dignity of man." 
 (McCoy, Direct, of Masonry.) 
 
 To betray the mysteries was everywhere considered in- 
 famous, and the heaviest penalties were attached to it; 
 hence also, in all initiations the candidate had to take the 
 most horrible oaths that he would keep the secrets en- 
 trusted to him. Alcibiades was banished and consigned 
 to the Furies for having revealed the mysteries of Ceres ; 
 Protheus, Tantalus, Oedipus, Orpheus and others suf- 
 fered various punishments for the same reason. The 
 candidate had to undergo the purification by Fire, Air, 
 Water and Earth. 
 
 We are told that the rite represents man in his primi- 
 tive condition of helplessness, ignorance, and moral 
 blindness, seeking after the mental and moral enlight- 
 enment which alone can deliver his mind from all thrall- 
 dom and make him master of the material world. The 
 Neophyte, in darkness and with tremblings, knocks at 
 the door of the lodge, and demands admission, instruc- 
 tion and light. So man, born ignorant and helpless and 
 blind, yet feeling stirring within him unappeasable long- 
 ings for knowledge, knocks at the door of the temple of 
 science. He interrogates nature, demands her secrets, 
 and at length becomes the proud possessor of her mys- 
 teries. 
 
 The Eev A. B. Grosh, in his Improved Pocket-Man- 
 ual of Odd-Fellows, has the following to say about in- 
 itiation: "Every Odd-Fellow should keep clearly im- 
 pressed on his mind and heart the lessons taught at in-
 
 74 
 
 itiation. They are a guide to understand properly all 
 that follows after an epitomized summary of the great 
 principles and objects of the Order. They contain the 
 germs which after-instruction and his own practice 
 should develop and mature into blossoming and fruitful- 
 ness. In one word, 'what regeneration by the word of 
 truth is in religion, initiation is in Odd-Fellowship.' 
 
 "A thoughtful man's first entrance into a lodge, un- 
 knowing what is to be transacted there, is a serious 
 event. There, for a time, he is to be isolated from gen- 
 eral society, in a retreat sacred to benevolence and peace, 
 awaj' from the world, with its selfish toils and cares, its 
 factitious distinctions and social vices, surrounded 
 wholly by those who have avowed to devote their lives 
 to fraternity in Odd-Fellowship (secret societies). His 
 object is to learn their principles, to assume their vows, 
 to unite in their labors. That he may do so properly, 
 they require him to pass through rites which shall teach 
 him his present condition as a social being, and the 
 primary principles of the condition he is about to enter. 
 
 "Consider then the social state of man without knowl- 
 edge and practice of those relations which bind him to 
 his Creator and his fellows. How isolated his position; 
 how surrounded by the darkness of ignorance on every 
 side; how feeble, helpless, dependent, in a world that 
 appears adverse and antagonistic? If he find a guide, 
 he knows not whether to % trust or doubt him; and he is 
 yet in such need of one that he follows whithersoever 
 he is led. 
 
 "Himself bound by his ignorance and fears, in the in- 
 durating fetter of selfishness, he knows not that any 
 have more light and freedom than are his; and yet, not 
 fully realizing his own need of both, he may marvel if
 
 told that nearly all mankind are in darkness and chains 
 which they neither behold nor feel. It is not till some 
 voice greets his ear with a promise of instruction, that 
 he begins to conceive that the chaos around him may 
 be resolved into order; the discord to harmony. This 
 conception leads him to desire that wisdom which shall 
 shed light upon his darkness, and unravel the perplexi- 
 ties which bewilder the soul. And yet, the first ray of 
 light will but increase the apparent gloom; for it will 
 exhibit more strongly the vanity of human pursuits and 
 possessions, the brevity of life and the certainty of 
 death, and all life's evils fearfully aggravated and in- 
 creased by the strifes, discords, and dissensions which 
 flow from human ignorance and folly and end at last in 
 death itself. 
 
 "Yet contemplate the scene. From all that gloom, 
 light will shine forth to guide aright. It will humble 
 human pride. It will awaken compassion for others. 
 It will arouse the soul to a just sense of its responsibili- 
 ties to God, and its duty to man. It will fill his heart 
 with a salutary horror of that monster, Sin, whose power 
 has arrayed man against his fellow-man and washed the 
 earth with tears and deluged it in blood. It will bid 
 him beware that his own heart does not cherish moral 
 evil, that bane of happiness and peace, that fountain of 
 discord and strife, that inflictor of guilt and shame, and 
 woe and death, which must reign till men learn to obey 
 the law of truth and love, and the earth is filled with 
 righteousness and peace. 
 
 * * * jeep j n remembrance the signs and words 
 imparted to you, to enable you to enter these courts, and 
 to recognize and be recognized by your brethren. 
 Trifling as they may seem to some, they are the key to
 
 76 
 
 our treasures and our mysteries. And in their use, re- 
 member that they are pledges of secrecy to the brother- 
 hood from you, and to you from us. Kemember, also, 
 that the Omniscient One observes your every discharge 
 of duty and use of privilege. Let your hand, then, be 
 open as day to greet a brother with frankness, or to aid 
 him with cheerfulness and love. Show due courtesy to 
 your brethren and salute respectfully those who preside 
 over the lodge, as the representatives of the lodge itself. 
 The forms through which you have passed are not what 
 they seem to many. Under each act and emblem there 
 is a deep significance. So in life. Apply your instruc- 
 tions there, and everything becomes vocal with wisdom. 
 The eyes blinded by the darkness of a dungeon are 
 naught to the blindness of the moral sense obscured by 
 indulgence in selfishness and sensuality. The fetters on 
 a martyr's limbs, what are they to the chains which 
 evil passions and bad habits impose on the inner man, 
 and whose iron does indeed enter the soul? May your 
 initiation and consequent practice aid in releasing you 
 from all blindness of moral wisdom, set you free from 
 the fetters of ignorance and error, and bring you from 
 a death of selfishness into a life of active benevolence 
 and virtue/' Thus far the Eev. A. B. Grosh. Surely he 
 takes the initiation .seriously, and so do thousands of 
 others. I have been told by more than one person that 
 they took their initiation just as seriously as the novice 
 in Catholic religious orders when he makes his profes- 
 sional vows. 
 
 THE RIDING OF THE GOAT. 
 
 In most secret societies the riding of the goat is one 
 of the features of initiation. Its meaning is this: "In
 
 77 
 
 Egyptian and Grecian mysteries Harpocrates was con- 
 sidered the son of Osiris and Isis. He was believed to 
 have been born with his finger in his mouth, as indica- 
 tive of secrecy and mystery. The Greeks and Komans 
 
 Riding the Goat in the Lodge-Room. 
 
 worshipped him as the god of quiet life, repose and 
 secrecy. He is described by Plutarch as lame in the lower 
 limbs when born. He is represented mounted on a ram, 
 which carries a ball upon its head, his left hand is armed 
 with a club, while he presses the two fore-fingers of the 
 right hand upon his lips, as the symbol of silence, and
 
 78 
 
 intimates that the mysteries of religion and philosophy 
 should not be revealed to the profane or uninitiated." 
 
 Harpocrates. 
 
 Earn the goat was worshiped at Mendes as sacred 
 to Osiris. His worship was similar to that of Apis, the 
 bull, but still of a grosser and more sensual form. The 
 goat was to the Egyptians the symbol of the productive 
 power in nature.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 SIGNS, SYMBOLS AND CEREMONIES. 
 
 In the Voice of Masonry for 1883, we find: "Free- 
 masonry is a science of morality veiled in allegory and 
 illustrated by symbols. * * * A symbol may be de- 
 fined as a pictorial expression of a thought, or of an 
 emotion * * * the leading and most valuable sym- 
 bols of Freemasonry have descended to the present from 
 the remotest past ; they are the same that were exhibited 
 to the Neophyte on his journey through the ceremonies 
 attending his initiation into the ancient religious mys- 
 teries." In the same magazine, on page 891, we read: 
 "The secret meanings of Masonic symbols are not to be 
 found in the printed monitors or manuals or in the so- 
 called 'Lecture' explanatory of the ceremonial of the 
 lodge; they are only revealed by hints, and these hints 
 often carefully concealed under many thick veils." 
 
 Says Husenbeth: "Freemasonry being confessedly 
 an allegorical system, all its points, parts and secrets 
 must partake in common of its emblematic construction. 
 Every doctrine and ceremony has its mystical reference; 
 every landmark its legitimate explanation. But there 
 are often more important antitypes than those which are 
 commonly assigned, and, though they do not appear on 
 the surface, are nevertheless worthy of our most serious 
 consideration." (Cyclopaedia of Freemasonry.) 
 
 "Freemasons ever endeavor to act up to the principles 
 of the ancient secret societies, and, if they differ in some
 
 80 
 
 points from the practice of those ancient worthies, it is 
 in having improved upon their leading principles, by 
 spreading the truth more extensively over the globe." 
 The institution of the mysteries was the most sacred part 
 of pagan religion and artfully framed to strike deeply 
 and forcibly into the minds and imagination of the 
 people. 
 
 Says William Hutchinson : "As we derived many of 
 our mysteries and moral principles from the doctrine 
 of Pythagoras, who had acquired his learning in Egypt, 
 and others from the Phrenicians, who had received the 
 Egyptian theology in an early age, it is not to be won- 
 dered at that we should adopt Egyptian symbols.'' 
 (Spirit of Masonry, London, 1802.) 
 
 Masonry is the mother of all other secret societies as 
 well in fact as in name. Consequently the mysteries of 
 the ancients serve as a foundation for all the signs, sym- 
 bols, rites and ceremonies used in secret societies. Now, 
 as Masons deny the supernatural and place the natural 
 order supreme, the symbols are taken from the natural 
 order of things and a nature- worship and naturalism 
 established. 
 
 The sun, moon, signs of the zodiac, the blazing star 
 and other astronomical symbols as found in the lodge- 
 rooms are taken from the ancient mysteries. Geometri- 
 cal figures and lines of architecture are borrowed from 
 the same source. The rest of the symbols are an imita- 
 tion of the present religious symbols as found in modern 
 religions. Whenever these symbols are mentioned as re- 
 ferring to the Deity or Supreme Architect that being is 
 not the God which Jesus Christ has taught us not the 
 God of the Christians Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In 
 the "Humanitarian" for March, 1897, we read of the
 
 81 
 
 annual meeting of an Astronomical society, and a Mr. 
 Alan Leo gave an address in which he said that "astrol- 
 ogy was built upon a beautiful symbology, the symbols 
 of which were the same today as at the beginning. The 
 circle which represents the sun; the half-circle the moon, 
 and the cross representing the earth. A cross over the 
 circle is Mars or War; a cross under the circle Venus 
 or Love. The Sun, Mars and Venus represent the Spirit. 
 In the half-circle are all the planets referring to the 
 mind. A cross over the half-circle is Saturn or the devil. 
 The half-circle over the cross is Jupiter or Jehovah, the 
 Higher Mind. Every person is born under some influ- 
 ence, and the study of astrology enables people correctly 
 to see the qualities that are in them. The speaker chal- 
 lenged every man to show that astrology is not true; 
 sooner or later it will become," he said, "the religion of 
 the world." (C. W. Heckethorn Secret Societies, etc., 
 page 328.)
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 THE FIVE PILLARS IN THE LODGE ROOM. 
 
 The Voice of Masonry on pages 567, 568 and 569 had 
 this to say ahout these pillars : "In the city of the Sun, 
 Heliopolis, in ancient Egypt, there was erected, about 
 2,700 years before our era, a temple to Amun-Ra, the 
 Sun-God. Before this temple there stood two immense 
 columns, dedicated to Osiris the sun and Isis the moon. 
 The pillar of Osiris was eighteen cubits high, referring 
 to the highest point of the inundation of the river Nile. 
 The height of the pillar of Isis was twelve cubits to de- 
 note the twelve signs of the Zodiac through which the 
 sun passes. These two columns are symbolic of the 
 whole existence of mankind, and the old and continuous 
 struggle between light and darkness in which the right 
 triumphs. Here then was the sun emblematic of activ- 
 ity and life, and the moon symbolic of sleep and death ; 
 and these two upright columns of unequal size were 
 placed in pairs before the temple to signal the final vic- 
 tory of light over darkness, right over wrong, righteous- 
 ness over evil. 
 
 ''*** The two deities, Osiris and Isis, sun and 
 moon, produce, govern and nourish everything connected 
 with the visible universe. * * * The sun is the father, 
 the moon the mother of all things. * * * 
 
 "The larger column in the East is near the Master of 
 the lodge, who stands in the East and represents the sun. 
 He rises and sets his men to work, * * * and the
 
 83 
 
 Senior Warden who stands on the West represents Isis 
 paying men their wages." 
 
 In the mysteries of Osiris and Isis the bull, Apis, to 
 which divine honors were paid, p'' ~td an important 
 part. .He is symbolic of the gene. -ii v c power in na- 
 ture, as the cow is symbolic of the pi( L'< t ,e power. 
 
 The three smaller columns are thus described on the 
 same pages : "The Corinthian is one of the five columns 
 of Freemasonry, the beauty of the lodge. It is the col- 
 umn indicative of the loveliness, the poetry and splendor 
 of the luxuriant city of Corinth in rich and ancient 
 Greece. It is splendid in art and culture as the old 
 Corinthian city with her avenues of marble and bronze, 
 her gardens and groves, innumerable fountains and tem- 
 ples. The Corinthian column is placed in the south of the 
 lodge. It may aptly be termed the jewel of light, be- 
 longing to the Junior Warden. It is set in the eyes and 
 the care of the youthful Junior Warden to perpetually 
 remind him of his responsibility in bringing the initiate 
 from darkness into light, unto an appreciation and un- 
 derstanding of the beauty of the principles and teachings 
 of the Worshipful Craft of Free and Accepted Masons. 
 
 ''The Doric is another of the great columns of Free- 
 masonry, the strength of the lodge. It is the middle 
 pillar of the lodge and its attributes are gracefulness and 
 strength. A massive column, without the ornamenta- 
 tion of the Corinthian, yet gracefully constructed. The 
 Doric column, strong and enduring, is the chief of those 
 marble creations which made Greece famous. 
 
 "While the Corinthian column is beauty, the Doric 
 column is symbolic of strength. It takes its name from 
 Dorus, a mythological god, said to have erected a temple, 
 or caused one to be constructed, dedicated to Juno. The
 
 84 
 
 Greeks did not then know the proper proportion of a col- 
 umn, but they were muscular people and would naturally 
 make a strong column: moreover, they sought to make 
 all their creations picturesque, being lovers of art, and 
 so it was the purpose of their masons to construct a col- 
 umn which should not only be strong but graceful, hand- 
 some and enduring. And it is said, to carry out such 
 ideas, they found that the measure of a man's foot was 
 about one-sixth of his height, and upon such calcula- 
 tions they made a column six times the height of the 
 foot of it. So that the Doric column has the proportion, 
 the strength and the grace, relatively speaking, of the 
 body of a man. The Dorians lived in the southern part 
 of Greece, and were a very hardy people, claiming to be 
 descendants of the mighty Hercules, the historical prede- 
 cessor of Samson. 
 
 "The Dorians and Spartans were masters in the south 
 of Greece, and there, where great trees grew and flour- 
 ished, they took the trunks of the oak and the olive as 
 the first support of their houses. Afterwards came the 
 knowledge of carving their columns out of marble and 
 then they wrought the massive and graceful Dorian tem- 
 ples. But the chief feature of the Dorian column is 
 strength, and therefore it is placed in the west of the 
 lodges, because strength is the characteristic of the 
 Senior Warden. And strength in Masonic symbolism is 
 more than the power of Hercules and Samson ; it is the 
 everlasting moral strength and towering power of right ; 
 it is the upbuilding. uplifting and soaring mightof truth; 
 it is the spiritual brilliancy and universal luster of light. 
 In the city of Acropolis, in Greece, devoted to art, science 
 and philosophy, upon a mountain there stood a temple, 
 a Doric temple, named the Panthenon. It was the first
 
 85 
 
 sight which met the gaze of a traveler going towards 
 Greece and it had withstood the assaults of time for more 
 than two thousand years. It is an example of great 
 strength with the grace of Grecian architecture with 
 which we as Freemasons are made acquainted through 
 the symbolism of the Doric column. 
 
 "The Ionic is the last and most important of the three 
 Grecian columns. It is one of the richest jewels of Ma- 
 sonic symbolism and the column of the Worshipful Mas- 
 ter of the lodge. The Ionic column is said to have been 
 copied from a temple built to Bacchus. The architects 
 of the Ionic column lived in Ionia, Greece, and they 
 were celebrated for their learning and refinement. 
 
 "Probably more buildings of modern times are con- 
 structed after the Ionic style than any other order of 
 architecture. The style is simple and elegant, a fine form 
 in a beautiful dress, and it is placed in the east of the 
 lodge because it is a symbol of wisdom. 
 
 "In the south the Master became acquainted with the 
 beauty of the Corinthian column, typical of the classical 
 beauty of the women and art of lovely Greece; in the 
 west the Master pondered upon the strength of the Doric 
 column, representing the matchless skill of the incom- 
 parable athletes, the men and warriors of splendid 
 Greece ; but the philosophy and wisdom of that gorgeous 
 and poetical nation is fittingly shown by the perfection 
 of the Ionic column. It is a jewel of philosophy and 
 wisdom and it belongs in the east as a helpmate of the 
 Worshipful Master, to remind him of his responsibility 
 to be guided by philosophy, and his duty to be governed 
 bv wisdom."
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE BLAZING STAR. 
 
 The blazing star is one of the most conspicuous em- 
 blems in the lodge. It refers to Sirius or the dog-star. 
 The floods of the Nile in ancient times, like the overflow 
 of the Mississippi in our days, often caused serious dam- 
 age, carrying off cattle, homes and people. The inunda- 
 tion lasted ten or twelve weeks and often longer. The 
 overflowing left behind a debris which fertilized the 
 land, but at first the people did not know the time of the 
 annual return of the overflow. They observed from one 
 year to another that the overflowing was always preceded 
 by an Ethesian (annual) wind, which, blowing from the 
 north to south, drove the vapors towards the source of 
 the Nile and brought the rainfall which caused the over- 
 flow. About this time they saw in the morning one of 
 the most brilliant stars ascending the horizon a little be- 
 fore sunrise. That star became the public mark, on 
 which everyone was to keep a watchful eye, not to miss 
 the instant to retire to higher grounds. As it was seen 
 but a very short time above the horizon towards the 
 dawn of day, which becoming brighter every instant 
 made it disappear, the star seemed to show itself to the 
 Egyptians merely to warn them of the overflowing which 
 soon followed. 
 
 They gave this star two names having a natural rela- 
 tion to the helps they borrowed therefrom. It warned 
 them of the danger ; whereupon they called it Thaaut or
 
 87 
 
 Tayaut, the dog ; they called it also the barker the mon- 
 itor Amibis. The warning given by the dog-star being 
 thoir most important concern, the Egyptians from its ris- 
 ing, anciently dated their year and the whole series of 
 their feasts. The Masons, too, date their New Year 
 from the rising of the dog-star and count the years from 
 the creation of Adam. To them this star is the symbol 
 of prudence. 
 
 The "dog-days" from July to September owe their 
 name to this ancient custom of Egypt. 
 
 THE CROSS. 
 
 The cross in the lodge room is not the sign of salvation 
 through Christ but a pagan emblem the Nilometer of 
 ancient Egypt. The annual overflow of the Nile caused 
 the fertility of the soil, and the more extensive the inun- 
 dation the greater the fertility. The height of the water 
 was measured by a watermark consisting of an upright 
 pole and a cross-bar, arranged in such a way that the 
 cross-bar was raised by the water, but could not move 
 dmvnwnrd. As the overflow of the Nile was considered 
 the Salvation of Egypt, the Nilometer, having the form 
 of a cross or rather the letter T (tau), came to be looked 
 upon with veneration and occult powers were attributed 
 to it. It became an amulet and was the symbol of fecun- 
 dity for which it stands in the lodge. 
 
 The letters J.N.H.J., i. e., Jesus Nazarenus Bex 
 Judaeorum, in the lodge ritual do not signify Jesus of 
 Nazareth, King of Jews, but "Igne Natura Renovatur 
 Integra'' "by fire nature is renewed," or they represent 
 the elements, Earth, Fire, Air and Water.
 
 88 
 SQUARE AND COMPASS. 
 
 The inundation of the Nile naturally obliterated the 
 landmarks, which consisted principally of the holes dug 
 in the earth at certain distances forming the boundary 
 line of each state or division of property. These holes 
 being filled with the alluvial soil brought down from the 
 mountains of Ethiopia, when the waters receded, the 
 whole country presented a level surface, and nothing but 
 the practical assistance of geometry could possibly deter- 
 mine the amount and locality of private possessions. 
 The survey was preceded by a great festival in honor of 
 Osiris and Isis. The Nilometer (cross) was carried in 
 procession, and also the square and compass, the instru- 
 ments in the survey of the land. As the inundation 
 lasted about three months it gave ample time for the 
 festival. 
 
 The square and compass were the Egyptian emblems 
 of justice, because by their use as instruments in the 
 science of geometry everyone had "his old land-mark" 
 restored to him. 
 
 The compass represents also the male generative prin- 
 ciple, the square, the female productive principle.
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 OTHER EMBLEMS AS EXPLAINED IN "ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT- 
 BOOK AND MANUAL." 
 
 The Eye. "As Odd-Fellows, let us always remember 
 those expressive words, that cannot be too deeply im- 
 printed on our minds, 'Thou, God, seest me!' For the 
 eye of the Lord is in every place, beholding the evil and 
 the good. 
 
 "We may also, in this connection, remind ourselves 
 that 'a wholesome tongue is a tree of life;' that the 
 SECRETS we have promised to keep inviolate will never be 
 divulged, except by a man devoid of the principles of 
 honor. 
 
 The Heart and Hand. "The command of our law is 
 that we visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the 
 dead, and educate the orphan. What our hands find to 
 do in these respects, therefore, we should do cheerfully, 
 with the whole heart; not. grudgingly and unwillingly. 
 True friendship goes out with alacrity to the service re- 
 quired of it ; and heart and hand should go forth in con- 
 cert in the cause of suffering humanity; they must not 
 be divided in their energies. 
 
 The Coffin, Skull, and Cross-Bones. "The decree of 
 Heaven is 'Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt re- 
 turn.' We all await the inevitable hour. What is our 
 life ? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, 
 and then vanisheth away. Where are the myriads of 
 the human family that have lived and figured on earth ?
 
 90 
 
 They all sleep with their fathers, and the places that 
 once knew them shall know them no more forever. Oh, 
 let us reflect let us seriously meditate, my brother, on 
 these monitors of "what we are sure to be and what wo 
 may soon become.' 
 
 The Bee-Hive. "The industrious man seldom suffers 
 the agony of want. Even though his labors yield him 
 but a trifle, he is content in the knowledge that he is 
 doing what he can to support himself. The idler is an 
 unhappy wretch who drags out a miserable existence 
 While the sleep of the laborer is sweet and refreshing, 
 that of the idler is restless and unsatisfying. No man 
 can be happy unemployed. No matter how rich he may 
 be he must work if he would not be miserable. This is 
 a law of nature it can not be successfully resisted. As 
 members of this order, we must LABOR, my brother if 
 not necessarily for ourselves, then for our fellows. 
 
 The Links and Axe. " 'Friendship, Love and Truth,' 
 the motto of our Order how trite it has become and 
 how little it is understood and practiced by many who 
 make large professions! Yet what is it? Friendship, 
 Love and Truth, extended towards man by his brother 
 universally, would make of this world a comparative par- 
 adise. It would turn aside half the ills that 'flesh is 
 heir to,' and produce an amount of happiness that would 
 astonish mankind itself. Friendship, Love and Truth, 
 my brother, is no unmeaning expression. Practice them, 
 and you at least will derive consolation from them. Do 
 not imitate the theorizers, who preach our motto through 
 their presses and from their rostrums, and who have 
 none of its life and spirit; but go out among your breth- 
 ren, and make them feel that YOU at least are no vain- 
 glorious boaster, whose thought is only for the loaves and

 
 92 
 
 fishes. Perform the offices of Friendship, Love and 
 Truth do not merely talk ahout them. 
 
 The Lamb. "Innocence is one of the loveliest quali- 
 ties which adorns human nature. The corrupt laugh 
 at and affect to despise it, but in their hearts they honor 
 it. The temperate, the chaste, the benevolent, and the 
 charitable are beloved by the most abandoned wretches 
 that disgrace humanity. Innocence of wrong-doing 
 commends itself to all, and he who evinces it in his life 
 and conduct may command the confidence of the whole 
 world. 
 
 The Bundle of Sticks. " 'In union is strength/ is a 
 common axiom. We must be united in this cause of 
 Odd-Fellowship, not only in our corporate capacity, but 
 in our DEEDS. A single individual, if he labor with a 
 will, may accomplish much in the field of fraternity; 
 but a host, united in solid phalanx in the service of be- 
 nevolence, may revolutionize the world. If the two hun- 
 dred thousand (this was years ago) Odd-Fellows wi 
 boast of in numbers were to go forth xo\v, and put into 
 practice what they profess if they would labor with one 
 heart and one mind in the highways and byways of life 
 how soon might their influence pervade the earth, crush- 
 ing, withering, annihilating the demands of Avarice, and 
 Lust, and Pride, and raising man to the high and holy 
 estate for which his Master designed him ! Brother, 
 forget not your obligations. Wait not for others, but 
 do your part, though you may be but one rod in the bun- 
 dle." 
 
 Quiver and Arrows. "As the marksman prides him- 
 self on the certainty of his aim, so should we, in a higher 
 and more noble sense, study to make our generous deeds 
 sure. We must perform our good offices at random, but
 
 93
 
 96 
 
 so regulate and direct them as to render them serviceable 
 at the proper time, and place, and circumstance. Thu?, 
 unlike the Indian, who desires his bow and arrows buried 
 with him, that he may possess them in the happy hunt- 
 ing-grounds where the Great Spirit dwells, let us hope 
 that the odor of our benevolent actions shall precede us, 
 and trust that the influence of those actions shall be felt 
 and realized after all that is mortal of iis shall have per- 
 ished. 
 
 Moses' Rod. "As 'the great lawgiver of the Jews' re- 
 ceived his authority and was directed by the Almighty, 
 so may you, my brother, by the same authority and di- 
 rection, go forth as a leader in the cause of the oppressed. 
 Under such guidance you may smite with power and ef- 
 fect the high, thick walls of Prejudice which shut man 
 away from his fellow; you may protect him from the 
 enemies which would enslave and crush him, by teaching 
 him to follow the example and practice the precepts 
 which the Jewish leader exhibited and inculcated. 
 
 The Dove. "The messenger of Peace and Good-will 
 of Promise and of Hope, what lot more happy more 
 desirable than thine ! 'Like a tree planted by the riv- 
 ers, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, thy leaf 
 shall not wither, and whatsover thou doest shall prosper.' 
 Brother, be not wearied in thy progress. Go forth ever 
 in the cause of Friendship bear ever the olive-branch of 
 Peace to the oppressed. 
 
 The Vrazen Serpent. "But whilst thou shouldst be 
 harmless as the dove, thou shouldst also be wise as the 
 serpent. Suffer no man brother though he profess to 
 be to deceive thee by false tokens. All are not Odd- 
 Fellows who take the name. All are not thy co-laborers 
 who claim to be so. He who is selfish, or avaricious, or
 
 97 
 
 uncharitable, is NOT thy brother. Reform him, if thou 
 canst, but discover not to him thy secrets. Do thy own 
 work make not him thy partner in it. 
 
 The Ark of the Covenant. "The ark of the covenant 
 contained the sublimest instructions ever given to man. 
 On these all just laws have been founded. On these have 
 our laws been built. As those sacred deposits were the 
 object of respect and reverence by the Jews, so likewise, 
 my brother, honor thou the teachings thus far impressed 
 on thy mind, and act in conformity with the lessons thou 
 hast learned. 
 
 The Scales and Sword. "Let us weigh well and truly 
 our conduct and our actions, and suffer the balance to 
 be a just one. The spirit of Justice will not permit us 
 to impose false balances. If we have erred, therefore, 
 we must not screen ourselves, but repent. Nor should 
 we screen other delinquents, however much our sympa- 
 thy may be excited in their behalf. He is most merciful 
 who enforces justice on the evil-doer, for it is for the 
 general good; better one suffer than many. 
 
 The Horn of Plenty. "If thou art or shouldst become 
 blessed with abundance, be thankful, not in words mere- 
 ly, but in DEEDS. If thou hast plenty and to spare and 
 wouldst be happy, give of thy abundance in the cause of 
 Benevolence. So shalt thou greatly aid in carrying out 
 the noble designs of this Fraternity. 
 
 The Bible. "What you have been told concerning the 
 sacred deposits of the ark of the covenant, might be ap- 
 propriately repeated here. The Word of God, the Book 
 of books, is the source of all true wisdom, Divine and 
 human. It is a "lamp to our feet, a light to our path,' 
 and contains unerring directions and counsel for every
 
 98 
 
 

 
 100 
 
 phase, circumstance and condition of life. Study it, my 
 brother. 
 
 Sun, Moon, and Seven Stars. "The sun is the em- 
 blem of power and vigor; the moon and stars are not 
 only subordinate to it, but dependent upon it. TRUTH 
 is our great light. If we, in the course of our pilgrimage 
 here on earth, realize its power in our hearts, permit it 
 to control our actions, and in our turn reflect its strength 
 upon others' hearts, we shall be the noblest benefactors 
 that ever blessed humanity. We must, as Odd-Fellows, 
 be sincerely wedded to TRUTH. For our union with her 
 shall survive, not only earth, but Time, the conqueror of 
 Death. 
 
 The Budding-Rod. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of 
 every one of them a rod according to the house of their 
 fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their 
 fathers, twelve rods : write thou every man's name upon 
 his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the 
 rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the 
 house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, 
 where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass 
 that the man's rod whom I shall choose shall blossom : 
 and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of 
 the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against 
 you. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and 
 every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for 
 each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even 
 twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their 
 rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in 
 the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that 
 on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of wit-
 
 101
 
 102 
 
 ness ; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi 
 was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blos- 
 soms, and yielded almonds. 
 
 The Globe. "The globe is the field of our labor. We 
 should not pause in our efforts until the whole world 
 shall be made happy. We should carry our Benevolence 
 and Friendship into every corner of the wide earth, and 
 into the remotest islands of the sea. 
 
 The Hour-Glass and Scythe. ''While we have been 
 thus pursuing this journey, which has brought us at 
 length to the goal we set out to reach, the sands of our 
 life have been falling, and we are nearer the 'bourne 
 whence no traveler returns.' Old Time, with his unerr- 
 ing .scythe, is on our track we can not escape him. Let 
 us now impress this truth let us ENGRAVE it on our 
 hearts that there is not a moment to waste; that, in 
 the brief probation allotted to us here on earth, the, good 
 or ill we accomplish is all of us that shall live among 
 men. 
 
 The Altar of Incense. "Let thy offerings, brother, be 
 submitted in all simplicity and purity of heart. Imitate 
 the patriarchs. Worship thy Maker in spirit and in 
 truth. Call on him frequently fhou hast need of His 
 guidance. Approach His altar in the spirit of humility 
 and of love, and ask his blessings, not only on thyself, 
 but on thy neighbor. So shalt thou find favor in His 
 sight, and insure His countenance and support. 
 
 The Patriarch's Tent. "The patriarchs of old, who 
 dwelt in tents, whose employment was that of shepherds, 
 and who passed their lives in the inculcation of the social 
 virtues, were a happy because they were a good people. 
 Brother, imitate their pure example, and thou shalt find 
 the contentment which they so richly enjoyed.
 
 103
 
 105 
 
 The Three Pillars. "Brother, have 'Faith in God, 
 Hope in immortality, and Charity to all mankind. 'The 
 greatest of these is Charity ;' for our Faith may be lost 
 in sight; Hope ends in fruition; but Charity extends be- 
 yond the grave, through the boundless realms of eter- 
 nity.' The chief pillar of the temple we have reared is 
 therefore Charitv. Remember, then, that on this mainly 
 depends our superstructure, and fail not, faint not in the 
 practice of this Godlike virtue."
 
 OHAPTEB XV. 
 
 THE MAGI. 
 
 The first secret society of which, up to the present 
 date, we have an historical account, were the Magi in 
 the eastern part of Asia, away back in the early dawn 
 of history. Aristotle asserts that the Magi antedate the 
 foundation of the kingdom of Egypt, which antedates 
 the time of Abraham. Magus or Majus is derived from 
 Maya or Maja, the mirror wherein Brahma, according 
 to Indian mythology, "from all eternity beholds himself 
 and his perfections." Magi is often translated "wise 
 men." as in the Gospel where mention is made of the 
 "wise men" who came to adore the Messiah. But these 
 three wise men or kings did not belong to the class men- 
 tioned in this article. Some writers of ancient history 
 assert that Zoroaster was the founder of the Magi. Be 
 that as it may, there was in ancient times a secret society 
 which called itself the Magi. The candidate for initia- 
 tion was prepared by numerous lustrations with fire, 
 water and honey. He had to pass through seven stages 
 of initiation. First, he beheld a deep and dangerous 
 vault from the precipice where he stood, into which a 
 single false step might throw him down to the "throne 
 of dreadful necessity." Groping his way through the 
 mazes of the gloomy cavern, he soon beheld the sacred 
 fire at intervals flash through the recesses and illuminate 
 his path; he also heard the distant yelling of ravenous 
 beasts, the roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the
 
 107 
 
 fierce and threatening bark of dogs. But his attendant, 
 who maintained a profound silence, hurried him forward 
 towards the quarter whence these sounds proceeded, and 
 at the sudden opening of a door he found himself in a 
 den of wild beasts, dimly lighted with a single lamp. 
 He was immediately attacked by the initiated in the 
 forms of lions, tigers, wolves, griffins, and other mon- 
 strous beasts, from whom he seldom escaped unhurt. 
 Thence he passed into another cavern, shrouded in dark- 
 ness, where he heard the terrific roaring of thunder, 
 and saw vivid and continuous flashes of lightning, 
 which in streaming sheets of fire rendered visible the 
 flitting shades of avenging genii, resenting his intrusion 
 into their chosen abodes. To restore the candidate a 
 little he was next conducted into another apartment, 
 where his excited feelings were soothed with melodious 
 music and the flavor of delightful perfumes. On his ex- 
 pressing his readiness to proceed through the remaining 
 ceremonies, a signal was given by his conductor, and 
 three magi immediately made their appearance, one of 
 whom cast a living serpent into his bosom as a token of 
 regeneration ; and, a private door having been opened, 
 there issued forth such bowlings and cries of lamentation 
 and dismay, as struck him with new and indescribable 
 emotions of terror. On turning his eyes to the place 
 whence these noises proceeded, he beheld exhibited in 
 every appalling form the torments of the wicked in 
 Hades. Then he was passed through the devious laby- 
 rinth consisting of seven spacious vaults, connected by 
 winding galleries, each opening with a narrow stone 
 portal, the scene of some perilous adventure, until he 
 reached the Sacellum, or Holy of Holies, which was 
 brilliantly illuminated, and sparkled with gold and
 
 108 
 
 precious stones. A splendid sun and starry system 
 moved in accordance with delicious music. The Archi- 
 magus sat in the east on a throne of burnished gold, 
 crowned with a rich diadem decorated with myrtle 
 boughs, and habited in a tunic of bright cerulean hue; 
 around him were assembled the prassules and dispensers 
 of the mysteries. By these the novice was received with 
 congratulations, and after having entered into the usual 
 engagement for keeping secret the rites of Zoroaster, 
 the secrets were imparted to him. About the "Magi" 
 of today the following from the Chicago Tribune for 
 Sunday, February 7, 1898, is self-explaining: 
 
 "Quietly established in the heart of the city and con- 
 tinuing on its way without flourish of trumpets or undue 
 blazonry of any sort is the Temple of Magi, representing 
 the oldest religion in the world, the religion of the stars, 
 cr, more properly, a scientific religion, which makes it 
 the religion of the entire universe. The basis of this re- 
 ligion is the heliocentric astrology, and it is applicable 
 to the inhabitants of any planet, for, according to the 
 philosophy taught here, there are other inhabited worlds 
 than ours notably Mars, Venus, and the moons of Jupi- 
 ter, and Uranus. Eevealed in the esoteric secrets of the 
 order are many things hidden from the ordinary ken of 
 man. It is claimed, for instance, that messages have 
 been flashed from these other worlds to ours to the initi- 
 ates of the order, the revelation of the astral light shin- 
 ing through space until the inhabitants of planets other 
 than ours have sent word to their brethren here. 
 
 "There is no doubt at all about other planets being 
 inhabited," said B. C. Peterson, G. M. of the jurisdiction 
 of Chicago. "Of this we are aware and have full proof. 
 The inhabitants of Mars are larger and more advanced
 
 109 
 
 in intelligence than we are here; those of Venus are 
 smaller and not so far advanced in civilization; and 
 those of the moons of Jupiter and Uranus are small in 
 stature and are intellectual pigmies, together with an 
 undeveloped religious sense. I cannot say that this 
 knowledge is obtained in any one way in our order. We 
 study the heliocentric system of astrology, believe in the 
 nebular hypothesis, and we believe that every one who 
 enters our fold will find the grand principles of mystic 
 truth and a satisfactory solution to the four cardinal 
 propositions with which all religions deal origin, des- 
 tiny, humanity, and divinity. Our order is a school of 
 profound wisdom, not a college for polish and rhetoric. 
 Many of our best members are independent men and 
 women. 
 
 "INTERIOR is IMPRESSIVE. 
 
 "An effort of the occult is borne in upon one immedi- 
 ately on entering the temple. The atmosphere is that 
 of mysticism, for nothing is more certain than that the 
 aura of the worshipers and students who assemble here 
 invest the place so that its influence is perceptible to 
 others. The banners, emblems and symbols on the walls 
 are all significant and of immediate connection with the 
 order. The most notable are the nine large blue charts 
 or banners that hang on the walls, each covered with 
 strange figures and pictures, and each signifying another 
 and progressive step in the occultism of the order, and 
 also representing the basic foundations of the system. 
 These charts are respectively headed Crucimacicus, Mag- 
 netic, Sidereal, Taratology, Planetary, Formatic, Nebu- 
 lae, Geographical, and Comparative Sizes. Some of these 
 charts, and others that appear in profusion about the
 
 110 
 
 room, are covered with a bewildering array of figures and 
 symbols that cannot be understood save by those initiated 
 into the secret inner orders, and it is not possible to ob- 
 tain any account of their significance in the system. 
 They are esoteric and their real meaning is never di- 
 vulged even to any one who is a member of the order un- 
 less he takes those mystic inner and secret degrees. 
 
 "There are altogether twelve of the outer degrees, all 
 that are in most instances taken by those who join, for 
 there is no encouragement given to undue haste, rather 
 the initiate is cautioned against impatience and is coun- 
 seled to make haste slowly and master one degree thor- 
 oughly before attempting to take another. These degrees 
 are one for each sign of the zodiac, beginning with 
 Libra and progressing throughout the system. The price 
 for these degrees is $5, and it is advised for each one to 
 take a year at least for each degree in order to master 
 what is contained in it well. There are four of the inner 
 or .secret esoteric degrees, at $15 each, and those who 
 rise to these reach a state of wisdom that is but rarely 
 vouchsafed to mortals here. The foundations of this 
 order extend into the mysteries of unknown worlds, dive 
 into the secrets of earth and air, of fire and water, of 
 millions of undiscovered suns, pierce the farthest re- 
 cesses of the universe, and traverse not only the realm 
 of the known as revealed in science and religion, but 
 also the unlimited confines of that world of mystery 
 which has in all ages been the goal of the philosopher, 
 the mystic, the student, and the seeker after truth. 
 
 "KNOW ALL WORTH KNOWING. 
 
 "Viewed in the vast light thrown upon life and the 
 visible world through the interpretation of these things
 
 Ill 
 
 all that has from time immemorial been transmitted to 
 man by books and histories becomes trivial and inconse- 
 quential. By the side of the truths revealed here the 
 Yedas, oldest of all the Bibles of all the religions, show 
 that even they but partially convey the truth, for part 
 of these books have been lost or mutilated in the course 
 of ages, and they originally drew much of their informa- 
 tion from these primary sources whence the students of 
 the order today draw their information as from a well 
 of truth at first hand. The foundation of this order 
 is in the stars, and next to them come geology, mathe- 
 matics, and chemistry, and on these is built the super- 
 structure of the order, thus making it a universal re- 
 ligion, not only for the inhabitants of this world, but 
 for those of other worlds as well. In taking the twelve 
 degrees before mentioned an important step is taken 
 each time in the development of the soul and mind, for 
 each sign of the zodiac corresponds to some portion of 
 the human body; hence, all these degrees, when taken 
 together, make up the grand solar man, with Aries the 
 head and Pisces the feet, meeting in the lower celestial 
 meridian, and completing the esoteric significance of 
 man as a microcosm. 
 
 "In pursuing the study of the planets, many curious 
 things are discovered in connection with them. For 
 instance, each planet has its own distinct color, odor, 
 and humor, and also each one has certain places or lo- 
 calities apportioned to it. Thus Hermes says that 
 there is nothing like the fume of spermaceti for the 
 raising of spirits, so that if a fume be made, of sperma- 
 ceti, lignum aloes, red storax, pepperwort, musk, and 
 saffron, all tempered together with the blood of a lap-
 
 112 
 
 wing, it will quickly gather airy spirits together, and 
 if it be used about the graves of the dead it will gather 
 together the spirits and ghosts of the dead. 
 
 "Light hplds an important place in the occult signifi- 
 cance of the inner circle of the Magi. Originally ema- 
 nating from the divine intelligence, it signifies life, ho- 
 liness, purity, the visible splendor of. the holy of holies, 
 and in all its protean changes it retains throughout 
 certain relations to spiritual qualities. Since the most 
 immediate relation we can hold with the inhabitants 
 of other worlds is through the communication with 
 other planets, the worlds of our own system, it is natu- 
 ral that every color should have its value in relation to 
 these. Thus black, brown, and earthy colors belong 
 to Saturn; sapphire and airy colors and those which are 
 green, purple, golden, or mixed with silver belong to 
 Jupiter ; red, flaming, and bloody colors relate to mars ; 
 all white, fair, golden, and bright colors relate to the 
 sun, and ruddy, saffron, and purple relate to Venus, 
 Mercury, and the moon. Each sign of the zodiac also 
 has its own peculiar fume. To Aries, myrrh; Tau- 
 rus, pepperwort; Gemini, mastic; Cancer, camphor; 
 Leo, frankincense: Virgo, sanders; Libra, galbanum; 
 Scorpio, opoponax ; Sagittarius, lignum aloes : Capri- 
 cornus, benjamin ; Aquarius, euphorbium ; Pisces, red 
 storax. In addition "to these it may be interesting to 
 give here the famous old formula of the great Hermes, 
 said to be the most powerful in the world, compounded 
 of the Seven Aromatics, according to the powers of the 
 seven planets; from Saturn, pepperwort; from Jupiter, 
 nutmeg; from Mars, lignum aloes; from the sun, mas-
 
 113 
 
 tic; from Venus, saffron; from Mercury, cinnamon; 
 and from the moon, myrtle. 
 
 "Just what relation all these details bear to the order 
 it is not possible to tell here, as the intimate mystic sig- 
 nificance they bear to the different degrees is part of 
 the secrets of the Magi, but it should be borne in mind 
 that not the slightest matter relating to every fact of 
 nature is overlooked in this system. Everything has 
 its meaning, like the characters of the old Hebrew al- 
 phabet, which are known by all the wise men to have 
 the greatest efficacy of all, because they have the great- 
 est similarity with the celestials and the other worlds, 
 and this, too, accounts for the fact that the original 
 Hebrew cannot be exactly translated in any other 
 tongue, because the very form of the letters lose some- 
 thing of their value. The Chaldean and Greek tongues 
 also observe something of this relation; the vowels in 
 the Greek answering to the seven planets, and the rest 
 are attributed to the twelve signs of the zodiac, the four 
 elements, and the spirit of the world. 
 
 "Numbers are not less mystical and important, the 
 great mystical number being 142,857. The meaning 
 of this occult number lies far within the study of the 
 degree of taratology, but it is known that it may be ob- 
 tained in the following manner: If we should start all 
 the eight planetary bodies of our solar system, Mercury, 
 Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and 
 Neptune among which are exactly twenty-eight con- 
 junctions, four sevens at the first point of Aries, each 
 traveling its orbit as now, the sums of the periods of 
 their conjunctions will make the mystic number 142, 
 857.
 
 " 'It may be/ said Mr. Peterson, 'that no one outside 
 of the order will be able to grasp the ideas which we in- 
 culcate from a long and involved statement, and al- 
 though our ground is so comprehensive we have no dif- 
 ficulty in giving it a simple formula like this : 
 
 "Instead of God we use the word 0. M. The univer- 
 sal spiritual intelligence. 
 
 "Instead of creation we use the word evolution. 
 
 "Instead of the word Adam we use the word proto- 
 plasm. 
 
 "Instead of a new born soul we speak of a reborn 
 soul. 
 
 "Instead of created souls we speak of an evoluted 
 soul force. 
 
 "We speak of the other side as the astral life. 
 
 "Instead of the resurrection of the physical body we 
 speak of the reincarnation into new forms. 
 
 "We believe in no vicarious atonement. 
 
 "We believe that each being must work out his own 
 salvation. We can only offer the facts of science and 
 the proven laws of nature and life in place of the dog- 
 mas of the various churches. 
 
 "We set reason ahead of faith, and knowledge ahead 
 of unsupported assertions. 
 
 "These propositions form the basis of our order, and 
 to support and elucidate them we are able to call upon 
 all the truths of astronomy, geology, chemistry, and 
 mathematics, thereby coming in harmony with science 
 where revealed religion combats it at every step. The 
 world is slowly but surely working towards better 
 things, a more rational and scientific understanding of 
 the great truths of the universe, and since we are satis-
 
 115 
 
 fied that sooner or later all will come to us we never 
 proselyte it is against our principles.' 
 
 "The Order of the Magi is a secret order, as much so 
 as the Masons; no meetings are public, and only initi- 
 ates attend any con-vocation, hence it is impossible to 
 describe in detail any of the rites used at any of them. 
 But little is known or can be known by the public, but 
 that little is sufficient to show the deep significance and 
 solemnity of the convocations and the initiations. In 
 the center of the temple stands the altar. This altar 
 is covered with a black cloth with the zodiac embroid- 
 ered on it in gold. In the four corners are the four 
 suits of the deck of cards, the diamond for the quarter 
 from Libra to Sagittarius, the spade from Capricornus 
 to Pisces, the heart from Aries to Gemini, and the club 
 from Cancer to Virgo. These cards each represent one 
 of the seasons of the year, and the secret of their pres- 
 ence in a temple devoted to the search after truth is one 
 little dreamed of by modern cardplayers and reads like 
 a tale out of a story book. Cards were invented, says 
 the authority of the Magi, over 20,000 years ago by the 
 Atlantesans, the inhabitants of the lost Atlantis, and 
 they were first used as a book of sacred symbols and 
 were never intended for profane purposes, such, for in- 
 stance, as our modern whist and progressive euchre 
 parties, poker, and such uses. 
 
 "This degradation of cards is akin to black magic, and 
 no member of the order will play any game of cards. 
 They have an astronomical foundation, and an astro- 
 logical philosophy runs through them in this wise: 
 There are thirteen cards in each suit, because there are 
 thirteen lunar circuits in the year; there are fifty-two
 
 lie 
 
 cards in a pack, because there are fifty-two weeks in a 
 year; the spot value of all the cards added together 
 makes 364, the number of days in a year in the old 
 Gregorian calendar, and the joker was added to account 
 for the extra day in leap year, thus accounting for the 
 calendar as it now stands. A deck of cards was orig- 
 inally called the Sacred Text Book, and by far the most 
 astonishing claim made by the order is that it is the 
 book carried by the angel in Revelation. The chief 
 prophecies relating to the order are found in Daniel 
 and Eevelation, and they claim that the mysterious 
 prophecies in those books, concerning which theologians 
 have never been able to agree, are understood and in- 
 terpreted only in the order. 
 
 "Each spot on every card has a definite meaning, and 
 one of the first things the candidate does in receiving 
 the first degree is to have his birth emblem read for him 
 to discover its relation to his life. 
 
 "It is not possible to tell here in full all the part which 
 the cards play in the initiation of the new member and 
 in the unfolding of the secrets of the order, for they are 
 interwoven everywhere. Diamonds mean wealth and 
 power, and they represent the autumn, the richest sea- 
 son of the year ; the spade means labor, duty, and death, 
 and stands for winter; the heart, ethics and religion, 
 and stands for summer ; clubs, life and energy, and rep- 
 resents Aries, the lamb, spring. 
 
 ''There are now in the world about 2500 members of 
 the Order of the Magi, and most of these are in Amer- 
 ica; their identity is a secret, save to their fellow-mem - 
 bers."
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 THE MITHRADES. 
 
 The Mithrades of ancient Persia had their secret so- 
 cieties and have imitators to-dajf. 
 
 On the Mithraic monuments we find representations 
 of the globe, of the sun, the club and bull, symbols of 
 the highest truths, the highest creative activity, the 
 highest vital power. The principal dogmas as revised 
 by Zoroaster, are as follows : From the beginning 
 there have existed two beings, Ormuzd and Ahriman, 
 the principles of the universe. Ormuzd is pure eter- 
 nal light, the spirit of beauty and love, and original 
 source of perfection. Ahriman was also originally of 
 the light, and so far good; but as he envied the light 
 of Ormuzd he obscured his own, became an enemy to 
 Ormuzd and the father of evil, and of all evil beings 
 who joined him in a contest with the good. Ormuzd 
 and Ahriman performed the work of creation at differ- 
 ent epochs, and brought into existence various species 
 of beings. Ormuzd created the community of good 
 spirits; first six immortal spirits of light; then twenty- 
 eight subordinate spirits, representatives of the months 
 and days; and at last a multitude of human souls. 
 Ahriman produced a number of bad spirits, six great 
 spirits of darkness and a large number of bad spirits of 
 a lower rank. The good dwell with Ormuzd in the 
 light; the bad with Ahriman in the kingdom of dark- 
 ness.
 
 118 
 
 The place for initiation was always a subteranean 
 apartment. A ladder with seven steps led from one 
 place to another, by which candidates ascended to 
 the mansion of felicity. The probationer had to un- 
 dergo long and severe trials before he was admitted to 
 the full knowledge of the mysteries. The first degree 
 was inaugurated with purifying lustrations, and a sign 
 was set on the neophyte's brow, whilst he offered to the 
 god a loaf of bread and a cup of water. A crown was 
 presented to him on the point of a sword, and he put it 
 on his head saying: "Mithras is my crown." In the 
 second degree the candidate put on an armor to meet 
 giants and monsters, and a wild chase took place in the 
 subteranean caves. The priests and officers of the 
 temple, disguised as lions, tigers, leopards, bears, 
 wolves, and other wild beasts, attacked the candidate 
 with fierce bowlings. In these sham fights the aspir- 
 ant ran great personal danger, though sometimes the 
 assailants caught a Tartar. In the next degree he put 
 on a mantle on which were painted the signs of the 
 zodiac. A curtain then concealed him from the sight 
 of all ; but this being withdrawn, he appeared surround- 
 ed by frightful griffins. After passing through other 
 trials, if his courage did not fail him, he was hailed as 
 the "Lion of Mithras," in allusion to the zodiacal sign 
 in which the sun attained his greatest power. Then a 
 solemn oath was administered to him, binding him to 
 secrecy under the most severe penalties. 
 
 The Heptasophs have largely borrowed from this an- 
 cient order.
 
 CHAPTEK XVII. 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES IN EGYPT. 
 
 The principal seat of the Egyptian mysteries was at 
 Memphis. They were of two kinds the Greater and 
 the Lesser, or the former taught by priests of Osiris 
 and Serapis, the latter by those of Isis. The candi- 
 date was required to furnish proofs of a pure and moral 
 life as evidence that he was fitted for admission or en- 
 rollment. "When these conditions were, fulfilled, he 
 was required to spend a week in solitude and medita- 
 tion, abstain from all unchaste acts, confine himself to 
 a light diet, and to purify the body by frequent ablu- 
 tions and severe mortification of the flesh. Being thus 
 prepared, the candidate was ordered to enter the pyra- 
 mid during the night, where he had to descend on his 
 hands and knees through a narrow passage without 
 steps, until he reached a cave-like opening, through 
 which he had to crawl to another subteranean cave, on 
 the walls of which he found the following inscription : 
 "The mortal who shall travel over this road alone, with- 
 out hesitating or looking back, shall be purified by air, 
 by fire and by water ; and if he can surmount the fear of 
 death he shall emerge from the bosom of the earth; he 
 shall revisit the light, and claim the right of preparing 
 his soul for the reception of the mysteries of the great
 
 120 
 
 goddess Isis." At the same time three priests, dis- 
 guised in masks resembling the heads of jackals, and 
 armed with swords, sought to frighten him, first by their 
 appearance and noise, and afterward by enumerating 
 the dangers that awaited him on his journey. If his 
 courage did not fail him here, he was permitted to pass 
 on to the Hall of Fire. This was a large apartment 
 lined with burning stuffs, and whose floor was a grate 
 painted flame color; the bars of this grate were so nar- 
 row that they offered scarcely room enough for him to 
 cross. Through this hall he was obliged to pass with 
 the greatest speed to avoid the effects of the flames and 
 heat. Having overcome this difficulty, he next encoun- 
 tered a wide channel fed from the waters of the Nile. 
 Over this stream he had to swim, with a small lamp, 
 which furnished all the light that was afforded him. 
 On reaching the opposite side, he found a narrow pas- 
 sage leading to a landing place about six feet square, 
 the floor of which was made movable by mechanism un- 
 derneath. On each side were walls of rough stone, 
 and behind wheels of metal were fixed. In front was 
 a gate of ivory, opening inward, and preventing any 
 farther advance. On attempting 1<> turn two lai'-v 
 rings annexed to the door, in hopes of continuing his 
 journey, the wheels came into motion, producing a most 
 stunning and tcrriffic effect, and the floor gave way, 
 leaving him suspended by the arms over apparently a 
 deep abyss, from which proceeded a violent and pierc- 
 ing current of cold air, so that the lamp was extin- 
 guished, and he remained in complete darkness. In 
 this process of trial, it will be observed that the candi- 
 date was exposed to the actions of the four great puri-
 
 121 
 
 fying elements Earth, Fire, Water and Air. After 
 the risk of falling into an unknown depth had con- 
 tinued for a moment or two, the floor resumed its orig- 
 inal position, the wheels ceased to revolve, and the door 
 of ivory flew open, disclosing the sanctuary of Isis, il- 
 luminated with a blaze of light, where the priests of 
 that goddess were assembled drawn up into two ranks, 
 clothed in ceremonial dresses, and bearing the mystical 
 symbols of the Order, singing hymns in praise of their 
 divinity, who welcomed and congratulated him on his 
 courage and escape from the dangers which had sur- 
 rounded him. The entrance to the sanctuary was con- 
 structed in the pedestal of the triple statue of Isis, Osiris 
 and Horus ; and the walls were ornamented with various 
 allegorical figures, symbols of the Egyptian mysteries, 
 among which were particularly prominent: 1, A ser- 
 pent throwing an egg out of its mouth ; a symbol of the 
 production of all things by the heat of the sun. 2, A 
 serpent curled up in the form of a circle, holding its 
 tail in its mouth; an allusion to eternity, and to the 
 uninterrupted revolution of the sun. 3. The double 
 tau, which is meant to represent the active and passive 
 power of nature in the generation of all things. There 
 he was made to kneel before an altar, and required to 
 pronounce the following solemn obligation: "I swear 
 never to reveal to any uninitiated person the things that 
 I have seen in this sanctuary, nor any of the mysteries 
 which have been or shall be communicated to me. I call 
 on all the deities of earth, heaven, and of the infernal re- 
 gions, to be witnesses of this oath ; and I trust that their 
 vengeance will fall on my head should I ever become a 
 villain so base and perjured." He was then retained
 
 122 
 
 for several months in the temple, where moral trials 
 of different kinds awaited him. The object of this was 
 to bring out all the traits of his character, and to test 
 his fitness for his vocation. After he had passed 
 through this trial, then came what was called his Mani,;- 
 festation. This consisted of a number of ceremonies, 
 of which the novice was the subject for the space of 
 twelve days. He was dedicated to Osiris, Isis, and 
 Horus, and decorated with the twelve consecrated scarfs 
 and the Olympic cloak. These scarfs were embroid- 
 ered with the signs of the zodiac, and the cloak with 
 figures that were symbols of the starry heavens as the 
 abode of the gods and happy spirits. A crown of palm 
 leaves was placed upon his head, and a burning torch in 
 his hand. Thus prepared, he was again led to the altar 
 where he renewed his oath. He drinks the water of 
 Lethe, presented to him by the high priest to forget all 
 he ever heard in his unregenerated state; and after- 
 wards he drinks the water of Mnemosyne to remember 
 all the lessons of wisdom imparted to him in the mys- 
 teries. Then he is instructed with the meaning of the 
 signs and symbols and declared a person who has been 
 initiated into the mysteries of Isis, the first degree of 
 Egyptian rites. The emblem of the Order was a scep- 
 ter surrounded by an eye, to signify him that rules and 
 sees, symbolical of the sun.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES. 
 
 Among the ancient Greeks the most famous secret so- 
 ciety was that of the Eleusinian mysteries. According 
 to Clemens of Alexandria the Egyptian Melampus in- 
 troduced them into Greece. They were celebrated in 
 honor of Ceres, the Isis of Greece; while Osiris appears 
 as Proserpine, for the death of Osiris and the carry- 
 ing off of Proserpine to the infernal regions smybol- 
 izes the same thing, viz : the sun's disappearance during 
 the winter season. 
 
 The applicant for admission was rigorously examined 
 as to his bodily health, mental capacity and mode of 
 life. If these were satisfactory he was made to take a 
 solemn oath to conceal whatever he would see or hear 
 within the hallowed precincts ; and he who violated the 
 obligation was not only put to death, but devoted to the 
 execration of all posterity. Crowned with myrtle, and 
 enveloped in robes, which from that day were preserved 
 as sacred relics, the neophyte was conducted beyond the 
 boundary impassable to the rest of men. Lest any 
 should be introduced not sufficiently prepared for the 
 rites, the Herald proclaimed: "Far from hence the 
 profane, the impious, all who are polluted by sin." If 
 any such were present and did not at once depart, death 
 was the penalty. The candidate was then presented 
 naked to signify his dependence ; a calf skin was thrown
 
 124 
 
 over his shoulders and the skin of new-slain victims put 
 under his feet. During this time he heard beautiful 
 music and the singing of hymns in honor of Ceres. 
 Suddenly the whole scene changes; utter darkness sur- 
 rounds him ; a low deep sound rose from the earth ; the 
 lightning flashed, mighty winds were heard, terrific 
 thunder broke forth, and spectres glided through the 
 vast obscurity, moaning, sighing and groaning. Mys- 
 terious shades, the messengers of the infernal deities 
 Anguish, Madness, Famine, Disease and Death flitted 
 around; and the explanation of the Hierophant, deliv- 
 ered in a solemn voice, added to the horrors of the scene. 
 This was intended as a representation of the infernal 
 regions, where misery has its seat. As they advanced 
 amidst the groans which issued from the darkness were 
 distinguished those of the suicides thus punished for 
 cowardly deserting the post which the gods had assigned 
 them in this world. Suddenly the bursting open of two 
 vast gates, with a terrific sound, dimly displayed to his 
 sight and bore to his ears, the torments of those whose 
 state was everlasting punishment and despair. Onward 
 proceeded the novice and was soon conducted into an- 
 other region that of eternal bliss, the sojourn of the 
 just of those who had been purified and whose minds 
 had been enlightened by the "Holy Doctrine." This 
 was Elysium the joys of which were equally unutter- 
 able, equally incomprehensible, to mortals not admitted 
 into the mysteries. Here was the statue of Ceres sur- 
 rounded by a dazzling light. The candidate renewed 
 his oath and the secrets of the Order were imparted to 
 him.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE ANCIENT DRUIDS. 
 
 The oldest known secret society in Europe was that 
 of the Druids. Their teaching was in many ways simi- 
 lar to that of Pythagoras and the Magi and their name 
 may have been taken from the Gaelic word Druidh, "a 
 wise man," or "magician." It was an article of the 
 Druidical creed "that it was unlawful to build temples 
 to the gods, or to worship them within walls or under 
 roofs." All their places of worship therefore were in 
 the open air, and generally upon an eminence, from 
 whence they had a full view of the heavenly bodies, to 
 whom much of their worship was directed. But that 
 they might not be too much incommoded by winds and 
 rains, distracted by the view of external objects, or dis- 
 turbed by the intrusion of unhallowed feet, while they 
 were instructing their disciples, or performing their re- 
 ligious rites, they made choice of the deepest recesses 
 of groves and woods for their sacred places. These 
 groves were planted, for that purpose, in the most 
 proper situations and with those trees in which they 
 most delighted. The chief of these was the strong and 
 spreading oak, for which tree the Druids had a very 
 high and superstitious veneration. The elder Pliny 
 tells us that whatever grew on that tree was considered 
 by the Druids a gift from heaven, more especially the 
 mistletoe. When thus found it was cut with a golden
 
 126 
 
 knife by a priest clad in white robe, two white bulls be- 
 ing sacrificed on the spot. The name given it by the 
 Druids meant "All-Heal" and its virtues were believed 
 to be very great. Two other herbs called selago and 
 samulos, were likewise greatly valued by them for their 
 medicinal qualities. But the most remarkable of all the 
 Druid charms was the anguineum, or snakes' egg. It 
 was said to be produced from the saliva and frothy 
 sweat of a number of serpents writhing in an entangled 
 mass, and to be tossed up in the air as soon as formed. 
 The fortunate Druid who managed, as it fell, to catch 
 it in his sagum or cloak, rode off at full speed on a 
 horse that was in waiting, pursued by the serpents till 
 they were stopped by an intervening stream. 
 
 The Druids taught transmigration of the soul in the 
 same way as Pythagoras. They entertained great ven- 
 eration for the numbers three, seven, nineteen and one 
 hundred and forty-seven, produced by multiplyig the 
 square of seven by three. Their chief deities are reduc- 
 ible to two a male and a female, the great father and 
 mother Hu and Ceridwen, distinguished by the same 
 characteristics as belonged to Osiris and Isis, or any 
 other supreme god and goddess representing the two 
 principles of all being. The grand periods of initiation 
 were quarterly and determined by the course of the sun, 
 and his arrival at the equinoctial and solstitial points. 
 The solemn initiations were performed at midnight, and 
 contained three degrees, the first or lowest being the 
 Eubates, the second the Bards, and the third the Dru- 
 ids. The place of initiation was called Goer Sidi. The 
 adytum or ark of the mysteries was called a cromlech or 
 dolmen, and was used as the sacred Pastos. or place of
 
 127 
 
 regeneration. It consisted of three upright stones, as 
 supporters of a broad, flat stone laid across the top, so 
 as to form a small cell. The candidate was first placed 
 in a coffin, where his symbolical death represented the 
 death of Hu, or the sun, and his restoration in the third 
 degree symbolized the resurrection of the sun. He had 
 to undergo similar trials as the applicants in the east- 
 ern countries. A solemn oath was administered to him 
 on a naked sword, and he ratified it by drinking meat 
 out of ^a human skull. A sprig of spruce was the badge. 
 The Druids lasted till the fourth century, when the last 
 of them were converted to Christianity, only in Ireland 
 and England remnants remained till the time of St. 
 Patrick and St. Augustine. 
 
 Upon the model of ancient Druidism are founded the 
 different secret societies known as the American Order 
 of Druids, the Ancient Order of Druids and the United 
 Ancient Order of Druids. The first modern Druid Or- 
 der was founded in London in 1781, and spread to the 
 United States in 1834, and in 1872 the Order was in- 
 troduced from America to Germany.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES IN IRELAND. 
 
 In my book, "100 -Tage in Europa," describing my 
 visit to Ireland in the fall of 1894, and speaking about 
 the persecution the people of Ireland had to endure 
 for centuries, I say on page 22 ft', that I could easily 
 understand, how, in order to get rid of an offensive gov- 
 ernment, the people of Ireland associated in political 
 secret societies; and, that for this reason the Irish- 
 American is more favorably inclined to affiliate himself 
 with secret organizations. 
 
 Therefore I deem it expedient to give a brief 
 history of secret societies in Ireland and their offsprings 
 in this country. What I have to say is based on histor- 
 ical documents. 
 
 In the history of Ireland we find that during the 
 middle of the eighteenth century the peasant tenants 
 were deprived by their landlords of the right of free 
 pasture for their cows, and that fiscal oppression was 
 also very great. A society was formed calling itself the 
 "White Boys," ta'king its name from the fact that the 
 members wore over their dress a white shirt in order to 
 disguise themselves. The object of this society was pri- 
 marily to cut down fences and enclosures around pas- 
 tures. They also called themselves "Levellers," but on 
 account of the many excesses they committed were dis- 
 solved and about 1787 replaced by the "Right Boys."
 
 129 
 
 This society aimed, by legal means, to obtain the reduc- 
 tion of taxes, higher wages, the abolition of degrading 
 personal services and the erection of a Eoman Cath- 
 olic Church for every Protestant Church in Ireland. 
 The penal laws were still on the statute books, and 
 Catholics were not eligible to offices of trust; were not 
 allowed to serve in the army or navy, nor to possess 
 arms, nor to exercise many other rights of citizenship. 
 The American Eevolution had its effect upon the op- 
 pressed of Ireland, and, when the French Eevolution 
 broke out, the people of Ireland hailed it as the dawn 
 of their own independence. The "Eight Boys" became 
 quite powerful in political affairs, and as they were 
 composed of only Catholics, Protestants formed soci- 
 eties of their own. The first one of them called itself 
 the "Oak Boys," taking for their emblem the oak leaves. 
 When this association could not obtain by legal means 
 what it aimed at, it had recourse to arms, and was de- 
 feated by the troops of England. Numerous societies 
 arose about 1790 in Ireland, especially the "Heart of 
 Steel," so-called in order to indicate their perseverance 
 with which they intended to pursue the revenge against 
 those who had succeeded the ejected tenants on land, by 
 murdering them, burning their farms, and destroying 
 their harvest. The "Threshers" objected to what they 
 called the exorbitant dues claimed by clergymen of both 
 creeds. Then arose the "Break-of-Day Boys/' who at 
 dawn of day committed all sorts of excesses against 
 Eoman Catholics, burning their huts and destroying 
 their agricultural implements and produce. Eeligious 
 animosity being thus aroused, the Catholics 'formed the 
 societies of the "Defenders," and the "United Irishmen,"
 
 130 
 
 and they called upon France for aid. The recourse to 
 arms contemplated by them was brought to a premature 
 culmination by the English government. In March, 
 1798, Ireland was declared under martial law by the 
 viceroy, Lord Camden, and in the uprising which fol- 
 lowed a civil war ensued, lasting for over five months, 
 at the cost to England of $200,000,000 and about 
 20,000 men. 
 
 Though the "United Irishmen" were defeated, the 
 society reappeared under the name of "Ribbonmen," 
 so-called because they recognized each other by certain 
 ribbons. As the "Ribbonmen" were composed of Cath- 
 olics, the Protestants organized the "Orangemen." 
 These two opposing bodies were soon involved in fierce 
 hostilities with each other, and nearly all the peasantry, 
 for a time, belonged to either the one or the other. 
 From the ranks of the "Ribbonmen" issued a new so- 
 ciety called "St. Patrick's Boys." Their oath was: "I 
 swear that my right hand be cut off and be nailed to the 
 door of the prison at Armagh, rather than to deceive or 
 betray a brother ; and to persevere in the cause to which 
 I deliberately devote myself; to pardon neither sex nor 
 age, should it be in the way of my vengeance against 
 the Orangemen."
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE ORANGEMEN, 
 
 When founded in Ireland, in 1795, was a secret politi- 
 cal society composed entirely of Protestants. The name 
 was taken in honor of King William the Third, Prince 
 of Orange. The professed object of the society was "to 
 support and defend the reigning sovereign of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, and the succession to the throne 
 in the present royal family as long as it remains Pro- 
 testant." Workingmen and men without much wealth 
 joined the society at first, but when the society spread 
 rapidly over Ireland, England and the British posses- 
 sions, people of all classes began to seek initiation. The 
 society felt itself so strong in Canada in 1860 that it 
 attempted to compel the Prince of Wales, during his 
 visit there, to recognize the order and to pass under 
 its arches and banners, which the Prince, however, re- 
 fused to do. 
 
 Though the society met with much opposition from 
 the British House of Commons, it has still much influ- 
 ence in England and her possessions. To concede some- 
 thing to the spirit of the age and American principles, 
 members of the society in the United States proclaim 
 themselves theoretically the friends of religious tolera- 
 tion, but facts have shown, within my own personal 
 observations, this, as in most similar cases, to be a mere 
 delusion.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE FENIANS. 
 
 Agitation for separating Ireland from England has 
 been kept up for over one hundred years by the people 
 of Ireland, not only at home on the island itself, but 
 wherever Irish emigrants made their home on the face 
 of the earth. The different societies mentioned before 
 being defective and not successful, new organizations 
 arose to take their place. 
 
 In 1857 the "Phoenix Society" in Ireland was reor- 
 ganized in the United States under the name of "Irish 
 Revolutionary Brotherhood," "Nationalists" or "Fenian 
 Brotherhood." The name may have been taken in 
 honor of Fingal, also named Finn or Fionn of Ossian, 
 a commander of an Irish home guard or militia which 
 existed in the Third Century. Although the chief of- 
 ficers of the Order in the United States were known, the 
 society was from the very start, a secret one. It spread 
 rapidly over every state in the American Union and the 
 British possessions. In 1803 a great convention of 
 delegates of the order met in Chicago and avowed the 
 object of the Brotherhood, namely the separation of 
 Ireland, from England, and the establishment of an 
 Irish Republic. The delegates represented fifteen thou- 
 sand enrolled Fenians / one-half of whom were in the 
 Union army. The assembly proclaimed the Fenian 
 Brotherhood to be strictly in accordance with the laws 
 of the United States, ignored partisan politics and dif-
 
 133 
 
 ferences of religion, and declared the Irish people to be 
 a distinct nationality with James Stephens as pres- 
 ident: to whom with central officers elected by 
 an annual congress, state officers elected by state 
 organizations, and centers elected by circles, the 
 directions of affairs should be entrusted. The second 
 Fenian Congress met in Cincinnati in 1865 and about 
 250,000 members were represented, each of which mem- 
 bers was called upon for a contribution of five dollars, 
 and it is said that this call was responded to. About 
 the same time a Fenian Sisterhood was established, and 
 the ladies were not inactive, for in two months from 
 their associating they returned upward of a million 
 dollars to the Fenian exchequer for the purpose of pur- 
 chasing arms and other war material. The surrender 
 of the confederate armies and the disbandment of the 
 Union forces left free those Irish officers and soldiers 
 on whom were mainly centered the expectation of the 
 revolutionists. Many of the officers went to Great 
 Britain and soon spread their principles among the 
 British troops. The "Fenian conspiracy" spread rap- 
 idly over England, Ireland and the British possessions. 
 
 On the eighth of September, 1865, a proclamation 
 from Stephens was circulated stating that the time for 
 action had come. "I speak with a knowledge and au- 
 thority to which no other man could pretend," he says, 
 and concluding : "The flag of Ireland, of the Irish Re- 
 public must this year be raised." 
 
 In the United States an army of Fenians was organ- 
 ized and marched into Canada, but was defeated by the 
 British troops. For several years efforts were made to 
 compel England to concessions for the independence of 
 Ireland, but without success. The society had its oaths,
 
 134 
 
 pass-words, emblems, its laws and penalties, its con- 
 cealed stores of arms, its nightly drills, its correspond- 
 encies and agents, its journals, and even its popular 
 songs and ballads, and plenty of money in the hands 
 of its leaders who drew large salaries. 
 
 The Irish Bishops repeatedly warned their people 
 against joining the Fenians and many of them publicly 
 denounced the society as a secret one whose principles 
 were forbidden b}' Catholic morals. 
 
 On January 12, 1870, the Eoman authorities issued 
 a decree forbidding all Catholics to become members of 
 the Fenian Brotherhood. 
 
 The "Molly Maguires" were a secret society which, 
 both in Ireland and the United States, was accused of 
 many outrages during the years from 1863 to 1875. 
 Clan-na-Gael is the name of the latest Irish society 
 which according to theLeCaron in his"Twenty-five years 
 in the Secret Service," was organized with a "Masonic 
 form of ritual, grips, signs, pass-words, and terrorizing 
 penalties." The Clan announces itself to be: "The 
 vanguard and embodiment of Irish nationality, the mo- 
 tive pcwer which animates and regulates the Irish 
 struggle, and has nobly kept the national flag and na- 
 tional principles to the front in dark and evil days." 
 Though the membership is not very large, the Order is 
 manipulating its forces in various ways to further its 
 objects.
 
 CHAPTBB XXIII. 
 
 THE CARBONARI. 
 
 Centuries ago the wood-choppers and charcoal-burn- 
 ers of the forests of Germ airy, France and Switzerland 
 had a kind of union among therneslves for their mutual 
 protection against robbers and enemies. In the French 
 department of Jura the hewers of wood called them- 
 selves "le bon cousinage" (the good cousinship) and 
 this society spread into Italy during the time of the 
 first Napoleon. Refugees from political feuds, victims 
 of tyrannical rulers, revolutionary leaders, and escaped 
 prisoners often made their homes among these dwellers 
 of the forests and employed themselves in cutting wood 
 and making charcoal. Under pretense of carrying it 
 for sale, they introduced themselves into the villages 
 and bearing the name colliers, carbonajo, or Carbon- 
 ari, they easily met their partisans and mutually com- 
 municated their different plans. They recognized each 
 other by signs, grips, and pass-words. Whem Napoleon 
 I. had invaded Italy the Carbonari declared themselves 
 a political society determined to free Italy from the for- 
 eign intruder. Gradually the leaders avowed an Ital- 
 ian .Republic, and when the expelled dynasty was rein- 
 stated upon the throne of Naples, they assumed an atti- 
 tude of uncompromising hostility against monarchism. 
 Their program was : "Italy shall be free and inde- 
 pendent. Its boundaries shall be the three seas and 
 the Alps. Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, the seven islands
 
 136 
 
 along the coast of the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and 
 Ionian seas, shall form an integral part of the Roman 
 Empire of which Home shall he the capital." The 
 reigning sovereigns were to be disposed of and at the 
 death of the Pope the society was to take hold of the 
 Papal states and the College of Cardinals was to be abol- 
 ished. The new Italy was to be called by its ancient 
 Latin name, Ausonia. All means leading to their ob- 
 ject were deemed jnst. Though in their aggressions 
 against the ruling sovereigns the Carbonari were de- 
 feated and their leaders arrested and the organization 
 disbanded, their principles found followers and their 
 aim an apparent realization when on October 8, 1870, 
 Victor Emanuel declared himself in a manifestal from 
 the Quirinal at Home. King of United Italy. 
 
 The Carbonari had three degrees of fellowship. Ac- 
 cording to their ritual the places of their meetings were 
 called barraca or collier's hut; the interior of the bar- 
 raca was called the vendita (from the sale of coals) and 
 its arrangements most simple. At the end of the barn- 
 haped vendita there must be three blocks of wood, each 
 supported by three legs, for the Grand Master and his 
 two assistants. On the block for the Grand Master 
 there must be the following symbols: A linen cloth, 
 water, salt, a cross, leaves, sticks, fire, earth, charcoal, 
 a crown of white thorns, a ladder, a long pole, a shovel, 
 a ball of thread, three ribbons one blue, one red, and 
 one black. A furnace and a tree with the roots in the 
 air finish the symbolic furniture. There must be an il- 
 luminated triangle on the right and left with the arms 
 of the vendita and the initial letter of the pass-word of 
 the first degree. The Grand Master* and the two as- 
 sistants hold hatchets in their hands. The members
 
 137 
 
 sit along the walls on wooden benches without backs. 
 The symbols are thus explained : The furnace is the 
 collective work at which the Carbonari labor; the sacred 
 fire they keep alive is the flame of liberty with which 
 they desire to illumine the world. Charcoal is the 
 fountain of light and warmth that purifies the air. The 
 tree with the roots in the air is a figure of kingdoms de- 
 stroyed and thrones overthrown. The cross serves to 
 crucify the tyrants that persecute us ; the crucifix re- 
 minds us of our redemption. The crown of white 
 thorns means the trouble and struggle of good cousins; 
 the crown that is to pierce the tyrant's head. The 
 thread commemorates that the Mother of God spun it; it 
 denotes the cord which is to lead the tyrant to the gibbet 
 and the ladder will aid him to mount it. The leaves 
 are nails to pierce his hands and feet. The pickaxe will 
 penetrate his breast and shed his impure blood. The 
 axe will separate his head from his body. The salt will 
 prevent the corruption of his head, that it may last as 
 a monument of the eternal infamy of despots. The 
 pole will serve to put his head upon. The furnace will 
 burn his body. The shovel will scatter his ashes to the 
 wind. The water will purify us from the vile blood 
 we shall have shed. The linen will wipe away our 
 stains, etc. 
 
 The initiation into the first degree was similar to that 
 in other secret societies, apparently harmless in order to 
 dupe the candidate. In the second degree the candi- 
 date represented Christ, the Grand Master took the name 
 of Pilate and his two assistants those of Caiphas and 
 Herod; the Good Cousins are then called the people. 
 
 The candidate is first led to the Garden of Olives and 
 there repeats the words of Christ in a mutilated form :
 
 138 
 
 "If the sufferings I am to undergo are to be useful for 
 men I do not ask to be freed, from them, but thy will, 
 Lord, and not mine be done." Having taken a 
 draught from a cup filled with bitter drink the candidate 
 is brought before Pilate and accused of being a disturber 
 of the people and ambitious, desiring to destroy the re- 
 ligion and govern the people. He is then led to Cai- 
 phas and from his to Herod. Herod asks him who he 
 is and the reply is : "I am Jesus of Nazareth, the Son 
 of God." A white garment is put on him and, being 
 brought back to Pilate, the master of ceremonies says: 
 "This is Jesus -of Nazareth, King of the Jews." The 
 candidate is then scourged, a crown of thorns placed 
 upon his head, and then Pilate says: "Ecce homo," 
 but the people cry, "Crucify him; his blood be upon us 
 and our children." The sentence of death is pro- 
 nounced, the cross laid upon the shoulders of candidate 
 when the people cry : "Mercy, mercy." The candi- 
 date takes an oath binding hiinself under the penalty of 
 having his body cut to pieces and burnt if he should 
 prove false. The higher degree of Grand Elect was 
 conferred only upon those who had proved their ef- 
 ficiency for work by having manifested their hatred for 
 the rulers of ancient Ausonia (Italy). The candidate 
 had to take the following oath : "I, N. N., a free citi- 
 zen of Ausonia, swear before the Grand Master of the 
 Universe, and the Grand Elect Good Cousins, to devote 
 my whole life to the triumph of the principles of liberty, 
 equality and progress, which are the soul of all the secret 
 and public acts of Carbonarism. I promise that, if it 
 is impossible to restore the reign of liberty without a 
 struggle, I will fight to the death. I consent, should I 
 prove false to my oath, to be slain by my Good Cousins
 
 139 
 
 Grand Elect; to be fastened to the cross in a lodge, 
 naked, crowned with thorns ; to have my belly torn open 
 the entrails and heart taken out, burned, and the ashes 
 scattered to the wind. Such 1 swear.'' The Carbon- 
 ari spread the report that they had the approbation of 
 the Holy See and for a time succeeded in deceiving the 
 ignorant masses. Pius VII condemned them repeat- 
 edly in 1814, 1815 and 1821; as also Leo- XII in 1825. 
 The society spread into France where it assisted in the 
 Revolutions that agitated that country, during the last 
 century.* Giarciiniere was the name of the woman's 
 branch of the Carbonari, the word meaning garden- 
 women, each sister taking the name of a flower. 
 
 THE AlAFIjV 
 
 Is the society of Italians which has been prominently 
 before the people both in Italy and the United States 
 during the last twenty years. The candidate, upon his 
 knees, places the point of a stiletto upon his bare breast 
 over the heart, and swears that he would plunge the 
 blade into his heart rather than betray his brothers in 
 the Mafia. The society was accused of killing the Chief 
 of Police of New Orleans in 1890, and eleven of its mem- 
 bers, who had been arrested and acquitted of the charge, 
 were taken from the jail by a mob and lynched. 
 
 *In 1835 Malegari described the reason d'etre of the Carbonari 
 in these words : "We form a union of brothers in all parts of the 
 earth ; we all strive for the freedom of mankind ; we wish to break 
 every kind of yoke."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE ODD-FELLOWS. 
 
 The Cyclopaedia of Fraternities enumerates the fol- 
 lowing Orders of Odd-Fellows : Albion Order of Odd- 
 Fellows; Ancient and Honorable Order of Odd-Fel- 
 lows, Kent Unity; Ancient Independent Order of Odd- 
 Fellows; Ancient Noble Order of Odd- Fellows; Brit- 
 ish United Order of Odd-Fellows; Derby Midland 
 United Order of Odd- Fellows; Economical Order of 
 and Independent Order of Odd-Fellows; Grand United 
 Order of Odd-Fellows; Improved Independent Order 
 of Odd-Fellows; Independent Order of Odd-Fellows; 
 Household of Euth; Independent Order of Daughters 
 Militant of Odd-Fellows; Independent Order of 
 Daughters of Kebekah of Odd-Fellows; Independent 
 Order of Imperial Order of Muscovites of Odd-Fellows ; 
 Independent Order of Patriarchs Militant of Odd-Fel- 
 lows ; Independent Order of Manchester Union of Odd- 
 Fellows; Kingston Unity of Odd-Fellows; Leeds Unity 
 of Odd-Fellows; Leicester Unity of Odd-Fellows; Loyal 
 Union of Odd-Fellows; Ancient Imperial Independent 
 Nottingham Order of Odd-Fellows; Patriotic Order of 
 Odd-Fellows; Staffordshire Order of Odd-Fellows; 
 United Order of Odd-Fellows; Odd Ladies; Odd Sisters, 
 and West Brunswick Order of Odd-Fellows. 
 
 Odd-Fellowship as an order dates back, according to 
 the Encyclopaedia Britannica, to the year 1745, when the 
 first Lodge was founded at Southwark, England. In
 
 Ul 
 
 1819 the first Odd-Fellow Lodge was organized in the 
 United States at Baltimore, Maryland; and today the 
 order claims to have the largest membership of any 
 benevolent Fraternal Order. 
 
 Neither in this, nor in any subsequent description of 
 an Order, do I deal with the beneficiary or the financial 
 doings thereof, but confine myself to proving the relig- 
 ious character, which will be evident from a careful pe- 
 rusal of the extracts I make from the rituals. 
 
 Eev. A. B. Grosh, the author of "Odd-Fellow's Im- 
 proved Pocket-Manual," says : "Our institution has in- 
 stinctively, as it were, copied after nearly all secret 
 associations of religious and moral character. * * * 
 In Egypt, the most ancient among the ancient King- 
 doms, an institution of this kind existed from the earliest 
 period." On page 27 of the Manual he tells us "the 
 Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man are its 
 foundations of precept and of practice." 
 
 On page 109 a. f., we are told: "The internal, truly 
 living spirit of Love and of universal fraternity, pervad- 
 ing all our rituals and ceremonies, recognized in em- 
 blems, colors, and regalia; using every adjunct for 
 strengthening its influence on the soul; speaking to ear 
 and eye in every lecture, charge, sign, and token, and 
 to the touch in grip and pressure; and manifesting it- 
 self silently like rain, and sunshine and electricity, in 
 beneficent organizations and institutions; this soul of 
 all its teachings and workings of Odd-Fellowship, the 
 hidden name in the white stone, which he knoweth best 
 who most truly possesses it. The Fatherhood of God and 
 the brotherhood of Man, then, are the great principles of 
 our Order, embodied in the mottoes thereof, 'In God we 
 trust,' and 'Friendship, Love and Truth.'
 
 142 
 
 " * * * The most important uses and aims of 
 Odd-Fellowship are : The imbuing of the minds of our 
 brethren with proper conceptions of their powers and 
 capabilities, giving them just and practical views of 
 their duties and responsibilities, exhibiting their de- 
 pendence upon God, and bringing them to a knowledge 
 and practice of the true fraternal relations between man 
 and man. * * * To one whose generous heart de- 
 lights in well doing, and admires our principles, and de- 
 sires to find means for increasing his usefulness to suf- 
 fering men, our Order presents the strongest induce- 
 ments. We open for him a field beyond the limits of 
 his party or his church, as well as within it, needing his 
 labors and offering joyous recompense for his toils. No 
 church in its present state is extensive enough in its fel- 
 lowship to embrace many good men who need the minis- 
 tration of kindred spirits, nor far-reaching enough to 
 reach even its own members when distant from it, and 
 needing aid and protection." 
 
 In the "North West Odd-Fellow Eeview" of February, 
 3 895, we find this : "Our own and kindred associations 
 would never have been called into existence if the 
 churches had done their duty, and, as a matter of fact, 
 our prosperity is mainly due to the great want felt for 
 such institutions. And, when I call to mind the vast 
 amount of work which has been accomplished by our Or- 
 der, how it has alleviated the sufferings of humanity, has 
 nourished the widows and orphans, and given new life 
 and hope to many a fallen brother, and contrast it with 
 the havoc which has from time to time been wrought, 
 the lives that have been sacrificed, the bloodshed and in- 
 dignities heaped upon mankind in endeavoring to uphold 
 some church doctrine which in all probability will cut no
 
 143 
 
 figure whatsoever when we meet at the final tribunal; 
 I incline to the belief that the strong hand of Providence 
 will continue to guide and sustain us in the work which 
 we have undertaken, no matter what the rule of any 
 church may be to the contrary." 
 
 In the May number of the same Review for the same 
 year we read : "The teachings of Odd-Fellowship tend 
 to liberalize the mind, broaden the lives, deepen the 
 springs of action and give us a clearer conception of our 
 duties to ourselves, to our fellow creatures, to our coun- 
 try and to our God. 
 
 "The principle of our Order is one divine in origin, 
 universal in application and elevating to "all who embrace 
 it. * * * No home can be an ideal one unless the 
 principles of our good and glorious Order are represented 
 therein, and its teachings made the rule of life." 
 
 The Past Grand, in his charge to candidate, says : 
 "Odd-Fellowship is founded upon that eteranl principle 
 which, recognizing man as a constituent of one universal 
 brotherhood, teaches him that as he came from the hands 
 of a common parent he is bound to cherish and to protect 
 his fellow-man. It thus presents a broad platform upon 
 which mankind may unite in offices of human benefac- 
 tions. Under its comprehensive influence, all the nations 
 of the earth may concentrate their energies for the good 
 of the common race. Based upon certain truths which 
 are like axioms among all nations, tongues and creeds, 
 its sacred tolerance presents a nucleus which, by its gen- 
 tle influence, gathers within its orbit antagonistic na- 
 tures, controls elements of discord, stills the storm and 
 soothes the spirit of passion, and directs in harmony 
 man's effort to fraternize the world. This is the great
 
 144 
 
 first principle of our fellowship, which we denominate 
 fraternity, a universal fraternity in the family of man. 
 
 " * * * We seek to improve and elevate the char- 
 acter of man, to imbue him with proper conceptions of 
 his capabilities for good; to enlighten his mind, to en- 
 large the sphere of his affections; in a word, our aim is 
 to lead man to the cultivation of the true fraternal rela- 
 tions designed by the Great Author of his being." 
 
 The meetings open and close with prayers. At the 
 opening the Chaplain shall say : 
 
 "Thou King eternal, and invisible, the only wise God, 
 our Saviour, Thou art the Sovereign of universal nature, 
 the only true object of our best and holiest affections. 
 We render Thee hearty thanks for the kind Providence 
 which has preserved us during the past week, protecting 
 us from the perils and dangers of this life ; and for per- 
 mitting us now to assemble in Thy name for the trans- 
 action of business. 
 
 "We humbly beseech Thee, our Heavenly Father, to 
 preside over our assembly, to breathe into our hearts the 
 spirit of love and of a sound mind; and may each and 
 all be governed by an anxious desire to advance Thy 
 glory and ameliorate the condition of mankind. 
 
 "Let thy blessing rest upon our Order, upon all the 
 Lodges, Grand and subordinate, belonging to our entire 
 family of brothers. Let Friendship, Love and Truth 
 prevail, until the last tear of distress be wiped away, and 
 the lodge below be absorbed by the glory and grandeur 
 of the Grand Lodge above. This we ask in humble de- 
 pendence upon, and in most solemn adoration of Thy 
 One mysterious and glorious Name. Amen."
 
 145 
 
 About Initiation, the Rev. Grosh ha? this to say : 
 
 "Every Odd-Fellow should keep clearly impressed on 
 his mind and heart the lessons taught at initiation. They 
 are a guide to understand properly all that Allows after 
 an epitomized summary of the great principles and 
 objects of the Order. They contain fhe germs which 
 after instruction and his own practice should develop 
 and mature into blossoming and fruitfulness. In one 
 word, what regeneration by the word of truth is in re- 
 ligion, initiation is in Odd-Fellowship." 
 
 The Degree of Friendship is based on the history of 
 David and Jonathan as related in the First Book of 
 Kings. 
 
 "Odd-Fellows of the First or Friendship Degree 
 should maintain their feelings and friendship to a broth- 
 er under the most severe tests. Let David be true to 
 Jonathan, and Jonathan be true to David." (Odd-Fel- 
 low's Monitor and Guide, by Rev. T. G. Beharrell). 
 
 On pp. 55. 56 and 57 of the same, he says : "The De- 
 gree of Brotherly Love brings before us the inimitable 
 parable of the Good Samaritan, and all the impressive 
 teachings of the degree on the principle of brotherly love 
 can be called to our remembrance as we read : 
 
 " 'And a certain man went down from Jerusalem to 
 Jericho and fell among thieves, which stripped him of 
 his raiment, and Avounded him and departed, leaving him 
 half dead.' (He lies by the roadside weltering in his 
 blood, and, though conscious, he is unable to help him- 
 self. His money is stolen, his raiment is taken off and 
 carried away, while his wounds are gaping and bleeding, 
 and death is staring him in the face). 
 
 "'And by chance there came down a certain priest 
 that way, and when he saw him he passed by Qn th^ qther
 
 146 
 
 side ' (Here was a functionary of the Jewish church 
 who heard the groans of the wounded man and saw him 
 in his helplessness, but had no sympathy awakened in 
 his breast)^. 
 
 " 'And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, 
 came and looked at him, and passed by on the other side.' 
 (There was another who assisted in the services of re- 
 ligion, but his feelings were not enlisted; he asked no 
 questions of the sufferer). 
 
 " 'But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came 
 where he was, and when he saw him he had compassion 
 on him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and 
 wine, and set him on his own beast and brought him to an 
 inn and took care of him. And on the morrow, when he 
 departed, he took out two pence and gave it to the host, 
 and said unto him, 'Take care of him, and when I come 
 again I will repay thee.' Here was a man who had broken 
 over party prejudice and distinctions, and showed that 
 his religion was not devoid of compassion. This is broth- 
 erly love. This is genuine kindness all that is beautiful 
 and lovely combined. Self and prejudice is sacrificed on 
 the altar of humanity, goodness and mercy. The ties 
 of our brotherhood are not easily broken, and this parable 
 gives us an answer to the question, Who is my neighbor? 
 and we readily see that the Good Samaritan was a neigh- 
 bor to him who fell among thieves. We accept the in- 
 junction of the great Teacher, 'Go thou and do like- 
 wise/ " 
 
 When the candidate is admitted to this degree he is 
 asked \vhat he wants, and the Vice-Grand answers : "Ad- 
 mit him, that he may be instructed in the divine lesson 
 of humanitv." When the candidate has taken the usual
 
 147 
 
 obligation, he is told "Heaven has witnessed your vows, 
 and the Common Father has smiled on that compact." 
 
 In the third or highest degree of Odd-Fellowship, in 
 the Subordinate Lodge, the Noble Grand is dressed as 
 High Priest during a certain part of the performance. 
 
 Says Rev. Beharrell, page 59 : "When the mysteries 
 of this degree are given, he (candidate) graduates, and 
 in the use of his knowledge goes forth to a practice of 
 what he has learned an exemplification in his life of 
 the principle of our Order. He is now to represent the 
 ministers of God at the sacred altar in the performance 
 of their work and office." 
 
 The candidate who applies for admission in this de- 
 gree of Truth is asked "why does he seek to obtain this 
 degree?" and the answer is : "Because Truth is the Im- 
 perial Virtue." Noble Grand: "What does he expect 
 from the Truth ?" Conductor : "That it will teach him 
 his duties to God and to his fellow-men." 
 
 The candidate is dressed in a white robe and a stole 
 put around his shoulders. The symbols and emblems of 
 the order are then explained to him. When this is done 
 the Noble Grand, dressed as High Priest, will say : "My 
 brother, you are now admitted to the Third Degree, 
 known as the Priestly Order. You have already been in- 
 formed that it is dedicated to the principles of Truth. 
 You were prepared for admission by having placed on 
 you a white robe. This was intended to represent the 
 purity of truth. But the emblematic color of this de- 
 gree is scarlet, implying that truth is an Imperial vir- 
 tue. The pure white robe is an external symbol, repre- 
 senting that your lips should speak the truth, and at all 
 times be ready to administer words of affection to a 
 brother requiring consolation. You are now placed in a
 
 position among us to gain rank, and the highest in the 
 lodge. It, therefore, becomes your duty to enforce, by 
 example as well as precept, the tenets of our Order. Its 
 mysteries are confided to your charge; you are to pre- 
 serve them inviolate; duty and honor, your own solemn 
 vows, all require that you be faithful, and that you also 
 guard your brethren against any breach of fidelity. Be 
 true and steadfast in this as well as in all things, and 
 thus demonstrate that merit constitutes the great title 
 to our privileges, and that on you they have not been 
 undeservedly conferred."
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ENCAMPMENT ODD-FELLOWSHIP 
 
 "Is properly called Patriarchal, and consists of the three 
 degrees of Patriarchal, Golden Rule, and Royal Purple. 
 A part of the dressing of an Encampment room is the 
 Tent and Crook, and tells us that the Patriarchs dwelt 
 in tents or had movable dwellings and were shepherds 
 watching their flocks. The motto of our Order is carried 
 into Patriarchal Odd-Fellowship and exemplified in a 
 different style. 
 
 "Friendship is taught and impressed in the way of hos-' 
 pitality to a stranger and toleration as to religious faith. 
 Abraham entertained angels in the guise of men, and we 
 are taught to entertain strangers because some have en- 
 tertained angels unaware, and we may do the same. 
 Abraham, under the title of Abram, is represented as 
 driving a man from his tent and out into the wilderness 
 because he did not worship his God. He was reproved 
 and required to call back the stranger and bear with him 
 in his difference of opinion and service. 
 
 "Love is taught and strongly impressed upon the heart 
 by an exemplification of the Golden Rule, 'Whatsoever 
 ye would that others should do to you, do ye also even so 
 to them.' Those of every nation, clime, kindred and cus- 
 tom, with all their conflicting interests, are ranged side 
 by side, and the moral law is presented as a basis on 
 which thev mav all meet and unite in service to the Su-
 
 150 
 
 preme Kuler of the universe and in offices of human ben- 
 efactions. 
 
 "Truth is taught in the mimic journey of life, and the 
 importance of care as we pass from point to point, and 
 make watch after watch until the end is reached and we 
 pass from labor to rest. 
 
 "The motto of Encampment or Patriarchal Odd-Fel- 
 lowship is /Faith, Hope and Charity/ and under this 
 motto and guided by these principles, we go forth to do 
 the work of life. They are the three pillars on which 
 the structure rests. An exercise of Faith gives us the 
 groundwork for the Hope and inspires us to the exercise 
 of Charity, that greatest of all the virtues, 'and now 
 abideth Faith, Hope and Charity, these three, but the 
 greatest of these is Charity/ (Beharrell Monitor and 
 Guide.) 
 
 The ceremonies in these Encampment Degrees 
 are quite lengthy. I will therefore only copy what refers 
 strictly to the religious part thereof. "The High Priest 
 of an Encampment shall wear a robe made of purple 
 fabric, trimmed with ermine or white fabric, a mitre, 
 breastplate, white surplice of muslin or silk, etc. 
 
 "The Chief Patriarch shall wear a purple gown, yellow 
 belt; turban with black band and yellow top and a 
 crook." 
 
 The High Priest acts, during part of the initiation, 
 as Abraham, in the Patriarchal Degree, and the candi- 
 date is given the name of Isaac. After passing through 
 the usual preliminary exercise the candidate is brought 
 before Abraham and this takes place : 
 
 Abraham: "You give me great joy, my son. Your 
 footsteps have been led to Beersheba by the finger of 
 God. He has commanded me to make a three days' jour-
 
 151 
 
 ney to the land of Moriah and there offer up to Him a 
 sacrifice." 
 
 Junior Warden (for Isaac) : "'Let obedience crown 
 your head. Honor the Lord's behest, and make no delay 
 in fulfilling them." 
 
 Abraham: "My son, you speak wisely, and we will 
 proceed on the three days' journey." 
 
 (A procession is formed, headed by the High Priest 
 as Abraham and the candidate as Isaac, the latter being 
 blindfolded and carrying a bundle of sticks. A psalm 
 or ode may be sung. The altar is placed to suit. On 
 arriving at the place for the altar the blindfold is re- 
 moved. ) 
 
 Abraham : "Here, my son, we will erect an altar, for 
 this is Mount Moriah." 
 
 Junior Warden (for Isaac) : "What shall we do for 
 a sacrifice ?" 
 
 Abraham: "Be patient, my son, and the Lord will 
 provide one." 
 
 (The altar being in readiness, the Watches, one or 
 more, stand near, holding torches.) 
 
 Abraham : "We have been blessed hitherto, and we 
 must hasten to serve the Lord, for His will must be done, 
 that we may realize honor and glory. His command 
 that I, Abraham, shall make this sacrifice, is not for 
 an idle purpose, but it may serve as an illustrious ex- 
 ample to generations unborn, to show that God ever 
 blesses the obedient, and accords to them prosperity. My 
 son Isaac, be not surprised; it is God's order that you 
 shall be sacrificed. The angel of the Lord shall gather 
 and keep your ashes in a golden urn as a memorial of 
 your submissive obedience, and of my faith in God."
 
 152 
 
 (A bowl of water and a towel are provided.) 
 
 Abraham : "Patriarchs, let us place the fagots on the 
 altar. Isaac, wash your hands with me in this bowl, 
 which contains pure water. With this white linen dry 
 your hands. (They wash and wipe their hands.) Pa- 
 triarchs, place Isaac upon the altar." 
 
 (The candidate, as Isaac, is blindfolded and caused to 
 kneel on the altar.) 
 
 Abraham : "Let us unite in praise to God." 
 
 (Patriarchs surround the altar. Lights are turned 
 low. Torches are lighted, ready to fire the altar. The 
 High Priest, as Abraham, stands with his left hand on 
 Isaac, right hand elevated, and recites the first four 
 verses of Psalm XXIII, as follows:) 
 
 Abraham : "The Lord is my shepherd : I shall not 
 want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he 
 leadeth me beside the still waters. 
 
 "He restoreth my soul : He leadeth me in the paths of 
 righteousness for His name's sake. 
 
 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, I fear no evil : for Thou art with me, Thy rod 
 and Thy staff they comfort me." 
 
 (The above may be chanted.) A short pause. 
 
 Abraham : "Now, let the torch be applied." 
 
 (At a distance from the altar the muffled gong is 
 struck three times. A short pause.) 
 
 Abraham : "Let the fagots be fired." 
 
 (Imitation thunder. The gong is again struck three 
 times, followed by a short pause.) 
 
 Abraham: "Isaac is not to be sacrificed. Let him 
 be removed from the altar and restored to light, and be- 
 come a member of the Patriarchal family, and I will re- 
 turn and dwell at Beersheba."
 
 153 
 
 Here the symbols and emblems of the Degree are ex- 
 plained and the signs and pass-word given. 
 
 The second Encampment degree is called "The Golden 
 Rule." The Patriarch, who is admitted to this degree, 
 is brought by the Junior Warden before the High 
 Priest. 
 
 Junior Warden : "Most Excellent High Priest, I pre- 
 sent to you Patriarch , who has taken the obliga- 
 tion of this degree." 
 
 High Priest: "Patriarch, you have been taught to 
 recognize as a cardinal virtue the Golden Rule, which 
 commands us to do unto others as we would have them 
 do unto us. Here we endeavor to inculcate a just ob- 
 servance of the high moral affections and duties for the 
 enforcement of which society can not enact a code. 
 
 "Here no artificial distinctions of nation, sect or tribe 
 are recognized. All stand upon a common level, and are 
 alike entitled to that consideration and regard which 
 each claims for' himself . The rule by which we walk is 
 founded upon the immutable truth that all men are 
 brethren ; but the code of society regulates the degree of 
 association. From one common source the existence of 
 all is derived, and we are bound to each other by com- 
 mon ties. A nerve of the same life runs through the 
 human race and gives to each an interest in all that live. 
 Recognizing as we do this .bond of union, the evils that 
 afflict our brother-man become in a measure our own, 
 his misfortunes are our misfortunes, and his sufferings 
 do but increase the pains that shoot through our sys- 
 tems, and render life so feverish and fitful. If we smite 
 him we smite a member of our own body, and if we strike 
 for his blood, our own flesh shall feel the v wound.
 
 154 
 
 "From all this vast brotherhood we claim sympathy 
 in distress, truth in intercourse, and free and full tolera- 
 tion. As we claim these for ourselves, and yield them 
 up at the mandate of none, so we are bound freely and 
 fully to accord them to others." 
 
 High Priest: "Junior Warden, you will retire with 
 the candidate." 
 
 (Junior Warden and candidate retire for a time so 
 as to give an opportunity for arranging everything for 
 further proceedings. The members of the lodge assume 
 different costumes representing the different races of 
 men: the White, Brown, Yellow, Red and Black; and 
 the creeds of Jews, Pagan, Christian, Mohammedan. 
 When everything is in readiness both Warden and can- 
 didate re-enter.) 
 
 Junior Warden (to candidate) : "You see before you 
 representatives of the different peoples of the earth. 
 There is the White race, now scattered throughout the 
 world. Its origin was in ancient Asia, the region onco 
 occupied by Adam, Noah and Abraham, but now overrun 
 by semi-barbarous hordes as different in religious faith 
 as in manners. Many of them still cling to the ancient 
 worship of Judaism, some to the Crescent and some to 
 the Cross. The- religion of the Cross prevails where civi- 
 lization exists, and yet its devotees are divided into sects 
 as antagonistic in creed as though they were dissimilar 
 in origin. 
 
 "The Brown race inhabits parts of Southern Asia. 
 Tt is far advanced in the arts and sciences. Its temples 
 of worship are of great splendor, and exhibit architectu- 
 ral skill equalling that of any other people. Its religion 
 is Paganistic, and its social habits are defined by strict 
 and rigid caste.
 
 155 
 
 "The Yellow race, consisting of the Mongolians of 
 Asia, are votaries of Pagan rites according to the teach- 
 ings of Confiicius. For centuries they have given prac- 
 tical evidence of advanced mental power, by the produc- 
 tion of handiwork whose mysteries have remained un- 
 fathomed by other races. 
 
 ''The Eed race consists of unlettered savages, roaming 
 through the pathless wilderness, chasing the fleet deer 
 with the quiver and bow. The sun, moon and the myri- 
 ads of stars receive their profound adoration as symbols 
 of an eternal Great Spirit. 
 
 "And there you behold the Black race. It inhabits, 
 as borders, the wilds of Africa. In general they are bar- 
 barians and monsters in the practice of the most dire 
 rapine, yet some of them are more gentle as the Nubi- 
 ans, who dwell upon the burning sands of the Equator 
 and dance to the music of a reed beneath the spreading 
 palm. 
 
 "In recognition of the Benign Power that created all 
 things, man seeks to honor the Creator by ceremonies of 
 adoration. That group embraces men of different creeds, 
 who are followers of the Christian religion, and there 
 is the Pagan, a worshiper of idols, or of the elements 
 of fire. And here arc the intolerant and persecuting Mo- 
 hammedans, who are ever ready to immolate the man of 
 another creed upon the altar of their own peculiar faith." 
 
 (The candidate is again blindfolded and conducted 
 around the lodge, whilst the brethren representing the 
 different nations and creeds seat themselves among the 
 Patriarchs. The lights are turned up and the blindfold- 
 ing removed.) 
 
 Chief Patriarch: "Patriarch, look around you. Be- 
 hold the change a few moments have wrought, emblem-
 
 156 
 
 atic of that change which shall occur when the Golden 
 Rule shall have asserted its power and obtained its do- 
 minion over the world. The high and impassable bar- 
 riers that separate man from his fellow-man are broken 
 down. All sit together as brothers in harmony and love. 
 The descendants of Abraham and the followers of the 
 Crescent are co-mingled with those of the Cross as one 
 happy family, knowing no diversity of faith or creed, 
 and a calm repose has come upon the elements of strife. 
 The spear of the warrior is broken and the sword of the 
 conqueror lies rusting in the scabbard, and discord and 
 contention shall be known no more." 
 
 (The usual instruction given after each initiation 
 about the emblems, symbols, signs and grip are here 
 given to the new member.) 
 
 The Royal Purple or Third Encampment Degree is 
 conferred only upon such Patriarchs as have been apt 
 scholars in the previous degrees. The initiatory cere- 
 monies represent man's journey through life. The can- 
 didate is, as usual, blindfolded, and led over rough roads, 
 hears sweet music, afterwards followed by great noise, 
 clap of thunder, sound of arms, etc., followed by music 
 and then a bridge is crossed, when candidate is brought 
 to a halt before the presiding officer. 
 
 Guard : "Most Excellent High Priest, a pilgrim has 
 arrived and desires your blessing." 
 
 High Priest: "Present the pilgrim. (He is present- 
 ed.) Restore him to light." (Blindfold is removed.) 
 
 High Priest : "Patriarch, I welcome you to this tem- 
 ple of our Order; your progress hither may have ap- 
 peared tedious, but we trust that the lesson you have 
 gathered by the way will prove profitable. All human 
 excellence is the reward of perseverance, toil and danger,
 
 157 
 
 such as we have endeavored to picture to the imagina- 
 tion in the mimic journey of life through which you 
 have been conducted a scene that has not been re- 
 hearsed for idle amusement, but to awaken rational med- 
 itation in a mind as mature as yours. * * * 
 
 The new Patriarch is instructed in all the secrets of 
 the order, its signs, emblems, etc., and the ceremony 
 closed with the following prayer : 
 
 "Father of Mercy, God of Jove, we beseech Thee, of 
 Thy great goodness, to defend us from peril and danger 
 this night. Let Thy blessing rest upon us ; and may all 
 our works begun, continued and ended redound to 
 Thy glory and the happiness of all mankind. Amen."
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 DEGREE OF PATRIARCH MILITANT OF THE I. O. O. F. 
 
 "Patriarchal Proclamation calling a meeting : 
 
 "Lot, my brother's son, has been taken prisoner by 
 Chedorhaomer, King of Elam, and carried away into 
 captivity. Now, therefore, I do command all of my 
 trained servants, born in my own house, to report with- 
 out delay, at my tent beneath the Oak of Mamre, near 
 Hebron, there to be enrolled and supplied with weapons 
 of war, and march at once in pursuit of the enemy ; re- 
 capture my brother's son at all hazards, and bring him 
 back to his home. ABEAM, 
 
 Patriarch." 
 
 The candidate has to take the usual solemn obligation 
 always to conceal and never to reveal, etc., and is in- 
 structed in the object of the Order, its signs, etc., and 
 then the Commandant shall say : 
 
 Commandant : "Sir, you have now attained the high- 
 est and most exalted rank in Odd-Fellowship. Step by 
 step you have been deservedly advanced to this high and 
 honorable distinction, and I am gratified that you have 
 been found worthy to be enrolled as one of our number. 
 The true soldier, engaged in a just warfare, presses for- 
 ward and strikes valiantly against the stronghold of the 
 adversary, never yielding until that adversary capitu- 
 lates. He is not easily turned aside; he fears no danger, 
 he heeds no voice excepting that of his commander ; and 
 when the conflict is ended, he is equally ready to grant
 
 159 
 
 quarter and regard the rights of those who can no longer 
 protect themselves. 
 
 "So you, as a soldier in our cause, must always earnest- 
 ly contend for those reforms best calculated to promote 
 the moral welfare and advance the condition of man- 
 kind. Upon all questions affecting the good and well- 
 being of the community in which you live, you must have 
 an opinion of your own, which you should fearlessly ex- 
 press whenever occasion may require; yet at all times 
 bearing in mind that others have an equal right to en- 
 tertain honest opinions of their own. 
 
 "On taking the obligation you were required to kneel, 
 in token of obedience to those in authority, and of proper 
 humility; you were required to place your right hand 
 over your heart, to indicate the sincerity of your purpose 
 to faithfully adhere to your sacred pledge of honor; and 
 your left hand was made to grasp the naked blade of the 
 sword, in order to teach you that justice will sooner or 
 later overtake you, should you disregard your obliga- 
 tion. * * * " 
 
 Surely it is evident that Odd-Fellowship is a religious 
 organization. The women branches of the Order have 
 a similar ritual with an oath, etc.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. 
 
 This Order of Knighthood is a secret society, founded 
 in 3864, at Washington, D. C., by prominent Freema- 
 sons. The ceremonial is founded on the story of Damon 
 and Pythias, and the principles are : Friendship, Char- 
 ity and Benevolence, with .the motto "Be Generous, 
 Brave and True." The first or initiatory rank is that 
 of Page ; the second, the Armorial rank of Esquire ; and 
 the third, the Chivalric rank of Knight. 
 
 The Chaplain in the Order of Knights of Pythias is 
 called Prelate. At the opening of a "Castle," as the 
 meetings are called, he says : 
 
 Prelate (standing) : "My station is at the left of the 
 Chancellor Commander, opposite the altar. My duties 
 are to administer the obligation, to offer invocation to 
 the Deity and ask His blessing upon our brotherhood; 
 and to perform all other services required of me by the 
 laws of the Order and the by-laws of this Lodge." 
 
 The Chancellor, explaining his duties, asks : 
 
 "What is the duty of every member of this Lodge ?" 
 
 All: "To avoid anger and dissension; to work to- 
 gether in the spirit of fraternity; to exemplify the 
 friendship of Damon and Pythias." 
 
 Chancellor Commander : "To aid us in this work, the 
 Prelate will invoke the divine assistance."
 
 161 
 
 Prelate : "Supreme Ruler of the Universe, we humbly 
 ask Thy blessing upon the officers and members of this 
 Lodge. Aid us to avoid anger and dissension; help us 
 to work together in the spirit of fraternity; and inspire 
 us to exemplify the friendship of Damon and Pythias. 
 Hear and answer us, we beseech Thee. Amen." 
 
 All: "Amen." 
 
 OPENING ODE. 
 
 "God bless our knightly band, 
 Firm may it ever stand, 
 Through storm and night. 
 
 "When the wild tempest rave, 
 Ruler of wind and wave, 
 Do Thou our Order save 
 By Thy great might. 
 
 "For this our prayers ascend, 
 God bless, protect, defend, 
 God guard our rights; 
 Thou who art ever nigh, 
 Viewing with watchful eye, 
 To Thee aloud we cry 
 'God save the Knights.' " 
 
 The Master- at- Arms goes up to the altar, opens the 
 book of laws and places the sword of defense in proper 
 position. 
 
 At the initiation for the rank of Page the ritual pre- 
 scribes : 
 
 "On two trestles, twelve inches high, covered by a 
 black pall reaching to the floor, shall be placed an open 
 coffin, which, shall contain a skeleton. On the coffin shall
 
 162 
 
 be two crossed swords, with the hilts towards the Prelate, 
 and on these the open book of law." 
 
 Keeper of 
 
 Records 
 and Seal. 
 
 Chancellor 
 Commander. 
 
 Master 
 of Fi- 
 nance.- 
 
 Master 
 of Ex- 
 chequer 
 
 o 
 
 Master at Armi. 
 
 tf K 
 " 
 
 a 
 
 O 
 
 In above diagram the regular STATION of each officer 
 is correctly shown and the Illustration correctly shows 
 the Prelate standing opposite Candidate, but the Mas- 
 ter at Arms should stand at the right of the Candidate. 
 
 The candidate is blindfolded and a white sash, extend- 
 ing from the right shoulder to and below the left hip, is 
 put upon him. 
 
 When he is brought before the Prelate this official 
 says:
 
 163 
 
 " * * * Master-at-Arms, require the stranger to 
 kneel upon both knees, place his left hand upon his left 
 breast, and his right hand, palm downward, on the book 
 of law." 
 
 The hoodwink is removed and the candidate says : "I, 
 N. N"., solemnly promise that I will never reveal the 
 password, grip, signs, or any other secret or mystery of 
 this rank, except in a Lodge of this Order, recognized by 
 and under the control of the Supreme Lodge Knights of 
 Pythias of the World, or when being examined by the 
 proper officers of a Lodge, or to one whom I know to be 
 a member of this rank. I further promise that I will not 
 become a member of, recognize or countenance any or- 
 ganization using the name of this Order or any deriva- 
 tive thereof, which is not recognized by and under the 
 control of the Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias of 
 the World. I further promise that I will obey the laws 
 and, as far as possible, comply with the requirements 
 of the Order. I further promise that I will heed the 
 teachings of this rank, and seek to profit thereby; and, as 
 I meet the members of this Order, I will endeavor to ex- 
 emplify, in my conduct and my demeanor toward them, 
 the principles of friendship embodied in the lesson of to- 
 night. To the faithful performance of this obligation 1 
 pledge my sacred word of honor. So help me God, and 
 may He keep me steadfast." 
 
 All: "Amen." 
 
 Prelate : "Stranger, by this vow you are bound until 
 death/' 
 
 All : "Even unto death/'
 
 (A short advice is given, an anthein sung) : 
 
 "In the deep hush o'er the earth is stealing, 
 
 Father, I come to thee; 
 In humbleness of heart I bow, appealing 
 Be merciful to me, 
 Be merciful to me. 
 
 Patriarch : "You will now arise. My friend, you have 
 pledged your sacred word of honor roan can give no 
 higher pledge. You have called upon the Ruler of the 
 Universe to aid you in keeping the obligation inviolate." 
 (Between candidate, master-at-arms and vice-chan- 
 cellor a conversation takes place till candidate is brought 
 before the station of vice-chancellor.) 
 
 Master-at-Arms : "Vice-Chancellor, I present to you 
 a friend who desires to receive further instructions." 
 
 V. C. (standing) : "How am I to know that he has 
 taken the obligation of the rank of page?" 
 
 M. A. : "He is in possession of a sprig of myrtle." 
 V. C. : "What does the myrtle symbolize ?" 
 M. A.: "The friendship which bound Damon to 
 Pythias." 
 
 V. C. : "'How should we exemplify that friendship ?" 
 M. A. : "By the practice of fraternity." 
 V. C. : "I accept the emblem (takes it from him) as 
 an evidence of your intention to join us in the practice 
 of fraternity; and I will now instruct you in the secret 
 work of this rank." 
 
 (This is done, and then candidate is brought before 
 the Chancellor Commander, who standing says) : 
 
 "The friendship of Damon and Pythias shines 
 through the mists of centuries, a glowing tribute to the 
 humanity of the past. It was made the sweet song of
 
 165 
 
 ancient Greece, and is immortalized in the permanence 
 of our order. 
 
 "Damon, a senator of Syracuse, had incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of Dionysius,* and was under sentence of death. 
 Many delighted to honor him when he wore the robes of 
 office; now he had but one friend in all Syracuse, the 
 companion of his brighter, better days. Pythias was 
 true, and knowing Damon's love of home, he begged the 
 tyrant to grant his friend a respite, that he might see his 
 wife and child before he died, and offered himself as a 
 hostage, as a pledge for Damon's return. The fervor of 
 this strange request touched the heart of Dionysius. It 
 was to him a mystery. He granted the request, and 
 Pythias became a hostage for Damon, who hastened to- 
 ward home by the distant sea. The mystery deepens 
 the tyrant cannot solve it. By this decree, in the lone 
 dungeon where Pythias wears the chains, the fair Cal- 
 anthe urges her lover to break his bond and fly with her 
 where danger cannot come. He will not go; he has 
 pledged his word ; honor is more to him than life, and in 
 his refusal the tyrant marvels still more. 
 
 "Will Damon return ? The love of home, of wife and 
 child, the tender memories that shine like burning stars 
 through the gathering gloom, hold him, until, ere he 
 knows, the last hour of respite is hastening by. Giving 
 
 NOTE This is the Dionysius of whom history, among many 
 other things, tells us this : "Dion, the philosopher, one day gave 
 a sharp reproof to him on account of his cruelty. Dionysius felt 
 highly offended and resolved to avenge himself on Dion. So he 
 took the son of Dion prisoner, not indeed, to kill him, but to give 
 him up into the hands of an irreligious teacher. After the young 
 man had been long enough under the teacher to learn from him 
 everything that was bad and impious, Dionysius sent him back to 
 his father. The object he had in view was this : He foresaw that 
 this corrupted son, by his impious conduct during his whole life- 
 time would cause the father constant grief and sorrow, so much so 
 that he would be for him a life-long affliction and curse. This the 
 
 tyrant thought was the longest and greatest revenge he could take 
 on Dion for having censured his 
 
 is conduct.'
 
 166 
 
 
 
 a last fond embrace to his loved ones, a last longing, lin- 
 
 * o o y 
 
 gering look at his once happy home, he starts for Syra- 
 cuse to redeem his promise and save his friend. 
 
 "The hour of execution is at hand ; Damon has not re- 
 turned and his hostage is brought to the block to suffer in 
 his stead. The evening sun shines golden on the towers 
 and temples of ancient Syracuse as Pythias looks out 
 among the vast throng, who taunt him with the seeming 
 falseness of his friend. Belying upon the honor of Da- 
 mon, trusting in his word, proud of his friendship, he 
 calls upon the gods to prevent his return, and, in re- 
 sponse to the cruel jeers of the mob, proclaims the fidelity 
 of Damon, and turns to meet his fate. 
 
 "At the last moment, when the headsman's axe is 
 raised, a horseman is seen in the distance, coming with 
 the speed of the wind. 
 
 "It is Damon he has been true to his promise. He 
 has saved his friend. The air resounds with the shouts 
 of the populace, in recognition of a virtue that has long 
 been buried under the weight of human selfishness. At 
 the strange scene the tyrant looks in wonderment, and 
 as he looks, the cruel purpose of the hour passes away, 
 and friendship sits upon the throne, wearing the crown 
 'that ne'er encumbers nor can be transferred.' The 
 heroes still live, and will live while friendship warms the 
 heart of man. This virtue is the corner-stone of the 
 Order, and our members are sworn to exercise it toward 
 each other. 
 
 "Keep sacred the lesson of to-night; and so live that 
 when you come to the river that marks the unknown 
 shore, your hands may be filled with deeds of charity, 
 'the golden keys that open the palace of eternity. I now
 
 167 
 
 confer upon you the rank of Page in the Order of 
 Pythias/ " (invests the candidate with a blue collar.) 
 
 In conferring the second degree or Rank of Esquire, 
 the Master-at-Arms brings the candidate before the 
 Prelate and says : 
 
 "Prelate, by order of the Chancellor Commander, I 
 present a Page that you may administer to him the obli- 
 gation of the rank of Esquire." 
 
 Prelate: "Advance your left foot, place your left 
 hand upon your breast, close your right hand, raise your 
 right arm as if to strike a downward blow, and repeat 
 after me : 
 
 "I, N. N"., solmenly promise that I will never reveal 
 the password, grip, signs or any other secret or mysteries 
 of this rank, except in a Lodge of this Order, recognized 
 by and under the control of the Supreme Lodge, Knights 
 of Pythias of the World, or when being examined by the 
 proper officers of a Lodge, or to one whom I shall know 
 to be a member of this rank. 
 
 "I specially promise that I will not commit to writ- 
 ing any of the secret work of this Order, so that it may 
 become known; nor will I permit it to be done by anoth- 
 er, if in my power to prevent. 
 
 "I further promise, so far as may be in my power, to 
 guard the good name of a member of this or any other 
 rank of this Order, and I will not speak ill of him until 
 I am satisfied, by careful investigation, that he has dis- 
 regarded his obligation, has violated the laws of his coun- 
 try, or has been guilty of conduct unbecoming a gentle- 
 man. I further promise that in my dealings with men, 
 I will endeavor to be careful, cautious and prudent ; and
 
 168 
 
 for the frailties of others will exercise the same charity 
 I would ask for myself. 
 
 "To the faithful observance of this obligation I 
 pledge my sacred word of honor. So help me God and 
 may He keep me steadfast." 
 
 In initiating the candidate for the rank of Knight the 
 Master-at-Arms brings him to the dark room and puts 
 him in charge of a Monitor, who gives him a lengthy 
 admonition and closes the same by saying : 
 
 "The darkness which surrounds you is symbolic of 
 life. Man sits in gloom, and the purpose of his existence 
 is*& mystery. 
 
 "Thus shut out from the light of day 'the world for- 
 getting, by the world forgot' learri now from me the 
 highest purpose of our Order. As you are now helpless, 
 alone, an unmanned bark upon an unknown sea, your 
 heart-beats the only chart and log-book, hear what I 
 would say; and as you hear, resolve that from the ashes 
 of the past you will arise, and, in the spirit of Pythian 
 fidelity, do your duty to your fellows and to your God." 
 
 After some more talk of this kind the candidate is 
 placed in company with Pythagoras, who addresses him 
 thus: 
 
 Pythagoras to Candidate : "In me behold Pythagoras. 
 Centuries before your eyes had opened upon the light of 
 day, I had attained the knowledge of all the ages. The 
 arts of ancient Egypt, the science of Arabia and the 
 philosophy of Pho?nicia, the lore of the Chaldean sages 
 and the occult mysteries of the Persian Magi, are to me 
 an open book. I welcome yon as a seeker after knowl- 
 edge; but bear in mind, neophyte, this truth-^-the 
 wish to know contains not always the faculty to acquire. 
 He who seeks to discover must first learn to imagine and
 
 169 . 
 
 to deliberate. The life that contemplates is nobler than 
 the life that enjoys. He who merely is, may be a dull, 
 insensate hind; he who is, is in himself divine. The 
 journey which is before you is to you unknown. f.t lies, 
 perhaps, through flower bespangled plains and verdant 
 meads, where summer sunshine shifts through interlac- 
 ing boughs, and perfiimed zephyrs sigh, and music 
 throated birds entrance the listening ear. Its peradven- 
 ture winds its devious and uncertain way along the 
 mountain-side, where unsealed peaks their towering sum- 
 mits lift amid the thunder's sullen roar, and depths abys- 
 mal yawn beyond the treacherous precipice, or else where 
 darkling rivers run, 'mid ray less gloom, through caverns 
 measureless to man, down to a sunless sea. Mayhap it 
 leads through bog and fen and foul morass, where hide- 
 ous creatures climb and crawl, and slimy serpents cling 
 and coil, and nameless, countless horrors lurk unseen. 
 Fear is the deadliest foe of knowledge. Be brave. The 
 coward fancies perils which may not exist, and dies a 
 thousand deaths ; to the hero danger comes only to nerve 
 his arm and steel his soul to combat and to conquer. And 
 now, farewell. You go to claim the golden spur that 
 knighthood wears. To wear it you must win it. Should 
 you succeed, your guerdon and reward will be compan- 
 ionship with loyal-hearted and chivalric knights ; should 
 you fail, on you and you alone will rest the burden of the 
 blame." (The Senate Chamber is now prepared, and 
 when the Senators have taken their seats the King en- 
 ters and the Herald cries:) 
 
 Herald: "The King." 
 
 King (having taken his position and is standing) : 
 "Is every Senator in his proper place?" 
 
 Herald (saluting) : "All are present, sire."
 
 170 
 
 King : "With knightly courtesy I greet you." (Sena- 
 tors salute.) "Be seated, Senators." (King and Senators 
 take seats. Herald and attendants remain standing.) 
 "Senators, you are the chosen guardians of the portals 
 through which must pass all who would attain the honors 
 of Pythian knighthood. Your decisions are supreme and 
 from your edicts, once formally pronounced, there is no 
 appeal. As senators, pledged to protect our Order against 
 the intrusion of those unfit to wear the armor of a 
 Knight, I urge you to he ever on your guard, and to let 
 nothing sAverve you from the line of Pythian duty. Do 
 not measure value hy the effrontery which is too often 
 the mask of cowardice, nor count as fear the gentle mien 
 that is frequently the guise of sterling manhood. Seek 
 always to have the full and perfect measure of him who 
 craves from you the honor of the knightly spur. In all 
 you do, be just and yet he merciful. Kemember, 
 
 "Wise were the kings who never chose a friend 
 
 till they had unmasked his soul 
 
 And seen the bottom of his deepest thoughts. 
 
 "There is present an Esquire who seeks to stand upon the 
 summit of Pythian knighthood. Avouching his readi- 
 ness to undertake any duty, to undergo any test, which 
 your wisdom may prescribe, he awaits with confidence 
 your decree. Ere he is brought before you, I have but 
 this to say: To be held worthy of the high honor that 
 he craves, brave must he be, a lover of the right, a foe 
 forever of the wrong, ready to do all and to dare all for 
 the cause of truth/" 
 
 The First and Second Senators make their speeches as 
 soon as the candidate is brought in the room and the 
 Third Senator says :
 
 171 
 
 "I wish for him a thorough test, that all may see the 
 truth of boasted valor, and that, when he shall prove 
 that he is worthy of it, he may gain and hold our warm- 
 est friendship. And so, let him be made to leap upon a 
 score of spikes of steel, set firmly in a solid slab of oak ; 
 and as he does, let each one look and listen, to see if in 
 his face he show the pallid flag of fear, or by any groan 
 give token of a coward soul." 
 
 Each of the eight or more senators gives his advice 
 about the test, when a vote is taken and the King de- 
 clares : "The test of steel/' The real test is a triangu- 
 lar piece of heavy Avood, about eighteen inches or two 
 feet long on each side, and about two inches thick, 
 bristling with steel spikes, the points carefully sharp- 
 ened, and the whole making a most gruesome-looking 
 instrument of torture. The fictitious test is an exact re- 
 production of the real test, excepting that the steel spikes 
 are replaced by spikes made of soft rubber, painted so as 
 to resemble those of steel. 
 
 King: "Esquire, you will carefully examine the in- 
 strument, and fully satisfy yourself as to its composition. 
 (Pauses until candidate has examined the test.) You 
 see that it is a solid slab of oak, in which are firmly set 
 sharp spikes of steel. Executioners, place the test. This 
 test may seem to you cruel and uncalled for; and while 
 there is much I dare not reveal, I wish to say : A moral 
 coward is often tempted to deeds of reckless daring, 
 rather than face the jeers of those about him. A man 
 of courage and noble purpose will by no act of his do 
 violence to his manhood. With confidence in himself and 
 in his friends, prudence marks his conduct and success 
 crowns his life. With this admonition, and the assur- 
 ance that you are to be the judge of what is prudent, I
 
 172 
 
 bid you meet the test. Master-at-Arms, conduct the Es- 
 quire to the test." 
 
 (The Master-at-Arms conducts the candidate to a seat 
 near the steps, requires him to remove his shoes, and 
 causes him to stand upon a platform of several feet high, 
 the fictitious test lying on the ground floor.) 
 
 King: "Esquire, you have presented yourself as an 
 aspirant for the honors of knighthood, avowing your 
 readiness to undergo any test that might be imposed on 
 you. The wisdom of the Senate, after full debate, de- 
 creed the test of steel. That decision is supreme, from 
 that edict, thus formally pronounced, there is no appeal. 
 Therefore I bid you instantly to leap, with both feet, 
 upon those spikes of steel.'"' 
 
 (If candidate fails or refuses to obey, the King will 
 order) : 
 
 "Executioners, do your duty." 
 
 (The attendants will at once seize the candidate firrn- 
 iy, but without violence, and place both feet upon the 
 test.) 
 
 The Chancellor Commander gives instruction to the 
 new Knight, and says, among other things: "In the 
 test you were called upon to meet, we sought to impress 
 you that a Knight of Pythias should be obedient to every 
 official command, and that, with confidence in his breth- 
 ren, he should fearlessly do his duty. * * * 
 
 The usual oath is- taken and the explanation of the 
 symbols, signs, etc., given. 
 
 The principal objectionable features, for reason cf 
 which the Catholic Church has forbidden its members to 
 join the Knights of Pythias, and demanded a with- 
 drawal of those who had joined it, are :
 
 173 
 
 First, the oath of secrecy by which the member binds 
 himself to keep secret whatever concerns the doings of 
 the Order, even from those in Church and State who 
 have a right to know, under certain conditions, what the 
 subjects are doing. 
 
 Secondly, this oath binds the member to blind obedi- 
 ence, which is symbolized by the test. Such an obedi- 
 ence is against the law of man's nature, and against all 
 human and divine law. 
 
 Thirdly, Christ is not the teacher and model in the 
 rule of life, but the Pagan Pythagoras and the Pagans 
 Damon, Pythias and Dionysius. 
 
 In 1895, a large number of German Knights of 
 Pythias, on account of a question as to the use of the 
 German language in the meetings, seceded and formed 
 the "Improved Order of Knights of Pythias." 
 
 There are two organizations of wives, daughters, sis- 
 ters and mothers of Knights of Pythias, the Eathbone 
 Sisters and the Pythian Sisterhood. The Order is ex- 
 tending all over the world.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 GOOD TEMPLARS, SONS OP TEMPERANCE, RECHABITES, ETC. 
 
 To reform those addicted to drink and to prevent oth- 
 ers from falling into the vice of intemperance, friends 
 of virtue have at all times endeavored to obtain pledges 
 or promises from their friends to observe temperance. 
 Prior to Father Matthew, it was customary to make peo- 
 ple take the pledge. In the beginning of last century it 
 was a frequent occurrence in the New England states 
 that members of this or that church took the "pledge" 
 publicly. In some localities so-called Temperance Soci- 
 eties were organized, whose object at first was praise- 
 worthy and well-meant. 
 
 When the anti-Masonic excitement during the years 
 between 1825 and 1850, held out longer than was an- 
 ticipated, these Temperance Societies were taken hold of 
 by Freemasons and Odd-Fellows. Complaints .had been 
 frequently made that, especially the Odd-Fellows, were 
 too convivial and intemperate in their meetings. The 
 Order of Rechabites was introduced from England 'by 
 the Odd-Fellows in 1842, and in the same year the Free- 
 masons founded the Sons of Temperance. From these 
 two organizations all secret Temperance Societies have 
 sprung. In 1851, the Good Templars and the Independ- 
 ent Order of Good Templars; since then, numerous or- 
 ganizations of the same character. 
 
 As all these associations were founded by Freemasons, 
 they partake of the Masonic character.
 
 175 
 
 That the object of the Orders is not confined to tem- 
 perance is evidenced by the mode of initiation, the form 
 of the obligation, and the manner of religious worship. 
 
 After passing through the usual ceremonies, candi- 
 date is brought before the Worthy Commander, in front 
 of altar, who, holding the Bible in his left hand, says to 
 the candidate, who kneels before the altar: "You will 
 now give your assent to the Good Templars' vow and 
 obligation." 
 
 OBLIGATION. 
 
 "You do hereby on the holy Evangelists, in the pres- 
 ence of Almighty God, and surrounded by this cordon 
 of living, throbbing hearts, without any reservation 
 whatever, most solemnly promise and covenant that you 
 will most faithfully adhere to and perform all previously 
 assumed vows and obligations of abstinence from intoxi- 
 cating drinks while life shall last. 
 
 " You furthermore promise that you will sacredly keep 
 and never improperly reveal to anyone not a member of 
 this degree, and not to him or them until after due trial 
 you have proved them to be such, anything pertaining 
 to this degree, any business transacted, any edict, order 
 or communication received from superiors. You also 
 promise that you will yield due and cheerful obedience 
 to and aid to the utmost of your ability in carrying out 
 all lawful requirements of your superior in office. 
 
 "To all of which without the slightest reservation you 
 most solemnly promise and covenant." 
 
 Knights : "God bless our brother and keep him stead- 
 fast to do and perform the same." 
 
 That temperance is used only as a drawing card to 
 attract well-meaning people to this un-Christian organ-
 
 176 
 
 ization, is evident from the above obligation. If tem- 
 perance is the only motive, what use is there of secrecy ? 
 What is meant by the secret work? That temperance 
 is looked upon as a human and natural virtue, and not 
 as a Christian virtue, is evidenced by the "Instruction" 
 which the candidate receives : 
 
 Past Degree Templar: * * * "We claim that our 
 pledge is in accordance with the Divine will * * * 
 God never made Alcohol * * * The Marshal 
 brings the candidate to the Chaplain, who (holding the 
 Bible before him) says : "These sacred pages before us 
 tell of a heaven as well as an earth, of the moral man as 
 well as the intellectual and the physical. Remember well 
 what you have heard, forget not what you shall hear, 
 for it is the language of the Most High I repeat to you, 
 that your hearts may be still more strengthened in this 
 good work. 
 
 "Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah say- 
 ing: 
 
 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel : Go 
 and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jeru- 
 salem, will ye not receive instructions to hearken to my 
 words ? saith the Lord. 
 
 "The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that he 
 commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; 
 for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's 
 commandment : notwithstanding 1 have spoken unto you, 
 rising early and speaking ; but ye hearkened not unto me. 
 
 "I have sent also unto you all my servants and proph- 
 ets, rising up oarly and sending them, saying : 'Return 
 ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your 
 doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and 
 ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and
 
 177 
 
 to your fathers; but ye have not inclined your ear, nor 
 hearkened unto me/ 
 
 "Because the sons of Jonadab, the son of Eechab, have 
 performed the commandment of their father, which he 
 commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened 
 unto me. 
 
 "Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of 
 Israel : 'Behold I will bring upon Judah and upon all 
 the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil that I have 
 pronounced against them; because I have spoken unto 
 them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto 
 them, and they have not answered/ 
 
 "And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Eechabites : 
 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Be- 
 cause you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab, 
 your father, and kept all his precepts, and done accord- 
 ing unto all that he had commanded you: Therefore 
 thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel : Jonadab, 
 the son of Eechab, shall not want a man to stand before 
 me forever !' 
 
 "Study well the history of this remarkable people, who, 
 for their fidelity, are so distinguished by the King of 
 Kings. 
 
 "The Rechabites, though they dwelt among the Israel- 
 ites, did not belong to any of their tribes. They were 
 a separate people, but devoted worshipers of Jehovah. 
 Jonadab, the son of Eechab, was a man jealous for the 
 right, and assisted the king in driving a great evil from 
 the land. He gave to his children the rule of temper- 
 ance. Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons 
 forever. And their fidelity to that pledge is to them the 
 promise of perpetual existence. Since they entered into 
 that covenant, nearly three thousand years have rolled
 
 178 
 
 by. The glory of Egypt, of Babylon and of Jerusalem 
 have faded. Great and mighty nations have been swept 
 from the face of the earth, and still this simple .peo- 
 ple exist in the land of their fathers, and to this day 
 they sacredly observe their ancient covenant. 
 
 "You will see in this an example of fidelity which is 
 worthy of your imitation; and you will also learn that 
 heaven never fails to reward integrity to this cause with 
 peculiar honors/' 
 
 The Chaplain has about a dozen different prayers to 
 say, according to the ritual. 
 
 That temperance is not considered by them as a Chris- 
 tian virtue is evidenced from the above instruction of the 
 Chaplain.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA. 
 
 This society is oath-bound, secret, of a religious char- 
 acter and this is Masonic in its teaching and ceremonial. 
 The proofs of it are found in Woodman's Handbook and 
 in the Ritual, both published in 1894, by order of the 
 Head Camp. The order is an Illinois corporation, work- 
 ing under a charter granted May 5, 1884. It was found- 
 ed at Lyons, Iowa, in 1883, by Joseph C. Root, a promi- 
 nent Freemason, an Odd-Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, 
 member of the American Legion of Honor and of the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen. That Masonic 
 teaching was adopted is clear, from the following, which 
 is found on page XLIY of the "Selected Literature" 
 part of the Handbook. There we read : * * * "The 
 fellowships of religion are the strongest and deepest, the 
 sweetest and most satisfying of all the unions and fra- 
 ternities of man. But for some reason or other the 
 churches have not attracted to their fellowship the toil- 
 ing masses; the strong and big-hearted men of our day 
 are not always found in the pews. Where is the fault? 
 Is the church's light too pale, or her heart throbs too 
 faint, her blood too thin and cold, her sympathy too per- 
 functory and heartless? And why does she not draw 
 within her walls the brawn and muscles of our land? 
 Why are not the rugged, sturdy toilers attracted to her 
 shrine for the sympathy and fellowship their hearts 
 crave? Why are not young men warming their neg-
 
 180 
 
 / 
 
 lected and shivering hearts at her sacred altar? Because 
 the church has not used her opportunity, nor been the 
 place and home it should be to satisfy the cravings and 
 restless throbs of humanity's great and famished heart. 
 Fraternities like the Modern Woodmen of America re- 
 spond to the need of the human heart; strong, toiling 
 men binding themselves together to bear each other's 
 sorrows, and contribute to each other's joys. In their 
 humanity, their warmth, their thoughtful consideration 
 for the emergencies and necessities of this world they 
 stand in striking contrast to that religion whose only 
 thought and investment is in the, next world* * * 
 
 According to this the Church has outlived her useful- 
 ness and the Lodges or Camps are to take her place. 
 
 On page 179 of the Handbook we read : "Through our 
 lodge system and the obligations and teachings of our 
 rituals we bind our organizations closely together in 
 bonds of fraternal support, aid and sympathy." 
 
 The framer of the ritual has this to say on page 265 
 of the Handbook : * * * "Having determined upon 
 creating the fabric, the next question was, what shall be 
 its form, -shape and name? Various conceptions of a 
 form of ceremonies came to mind, but every one lacked 
 newness or originality. Tn one, Odd-Fellowship suggest- 
 ed the idea, in another Masonry had already conceived 
 the form, the test, the ceremony. In that treasury of 
 ancient mystery, the magic numbers and mystic symbols 
 of Pythagoras, the rose cross of. Rosenkreutz, the grand 
 Eleusyan rites, the exoteric and esoteric doctrines of 
 Greece, and the Dyonysian ceremonies had been studied 
 by generations of master minds, to add to the knowledge 
 of the ancient craft the wisdom and the inventions of 
 hundreds of years' experience in secret work designed to
 
 181 
 
 impress men by the grandeur of its exemplification of 
 noble truths by symbolic ceremonials and dramatic spec- 
 tacles, requiring a keen mind, a bright intellect, and a 
 manly courage to enter and remain within its inner vale. 
 The lessons of that immortal drama of Damon and 
 Pythias were recalled, with its God-like lessons of friend- 
 ship, self-devotion, and self-sacrifice, but another pre- 
 tentious order had already made use of that. Thus it 
 became to the willing mind, ready to devise a ritual, a 
 confusion of scenes, teachings and ideas that were needed 
 to formulate his conception of that which was necessary 
 for an order which he hoped and believed, if properly 
 prepared and panoplied, would commend itself to the 
 judgment of practical men, when their attention should 
 be called to it," 
 
 Page 269 : "The author, in his ritual, has two or three 
 ideas that he wished to permeate it. One was that the 
 objection that was raised against some secret societies 
 of being a semi-religious body should not be pertinent to 
 the Modern Woodmen of America. The belief of an 
 applicant in matters of Deity or religion has no bearing 
 upon the object of Woodcraft, as defined in the ritual. 
 The fact that he is a moral man, of temperate habits 
 and good physical and mental condition, are all the pre- 
 requisites of a useful member. The fraternity should 
 not arrogate to itself to select the Christian and reject 
 the unbeliever, or to favor the Eepublican and frown 
 upon the Democrat. If a man has no regard for the 
 Bible, he should not be required to insult its sacredness 
 in the eyes of his venerating neighbor by refusing to be 
 obligated upon it. So it were better to dispense with 
 such a requirement. * * * The doors are then left
 
 182 
 
 open to the Jew and Gentile, the Catholic and Protest- 
 ant. * * *" 
 
 On page 16 of the ritual we read: Escort (to can- 
 didate) : "Before you become one with us it will he nec- 
 essary for you to he regularly adopted as a Son and 
 Neighbor. I will assure you, however, that nothing will 
 violate your political or religious obligations, or hurt 
 your self-respect, but a valuable lesson will be taught 
 you by the cermonies peculiar to our Fraternity." 
 
 The man did not know what he was saying when he 
 wrote the above, or he wilfully and knowingly told a 
 flagrant falsehood. Extracts from the Bible are used, 
 religious hymns are said or sung. Does such not inter- 
 fere with the applicant's religion if he is a Catholic? 
 Most assuredly it does. And how is it consistent with 
 "self-respect" to be dressed as a mendicant, hurled 
 around the hall on the goat; and all the bobby-hobby as 
 prescribed by the ritual? Ts it consistent with an Amer- 
 ican citizen's self-respect to blindly obey? 
 
 Among the heathens it was a custom to mark their 
 slaves by branding their seals or escutcheons on their 
 forehead, so that they might remain constantly in the 
 service of their master, and in case they ran away that 
 it might easily be known to what master they belonged. 
 
 The Modern Woodmen brand, or pretend to brand 
 their members. And as to the oath; it is not less than a 
 curse which can never be pronounced under grievous 
 sin. But let me quote at length from the ritual. On 
 page 25ff. the following is found : 
 
 Forest Patriarch (Advisor) : "Whither do you 
 journey ?" 
 
 Escort: "We are seeking the Camp of the Modern 
 Woodmen, that we may possess the Arcana."
 
 183 
 
 Forest Patriarch: "Strangers, your ambition is a 
 laudable one, but know you not that the way is one of 
 secrecy ?" 
 
 Escort : "We come before you willing to do as others 
 have done before us/'' 
 
 Forest Patriarch : "You are strangers, without 
 friends, in a strange land; you have many weary miles 
 to travel before you can reach the summit of your ambi- 
 tion; you will be hungry and thirsty, and you may be 
 beset by great dangers. I know of the Order you seek ; 
 even now from their battlements, on yonder mountain 
 I see their banner, and upon it is inscribed the words: 
 'Peace, Light and Safety/ Before you resume your 
 journey. I will ask you to partake with me of this fruit. 
 (Offers him fruit. Stranger eats. Watchman and as- 
 sistants pass fruit to all present. During this cere- 
 mony all the Foresters repeat in concert the following:) 
 (Taken from the Bible.) 
 
 "As the apple tree among the trees of wood, so is my 
 beloved among the sons. T sat down under his shadow 
 with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 
 
 "Awake, 0, north wind, and come thou south; blow 
 upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. 
 Let my beloved come unto his garden and eat his pleasant 
 fruits. 
 
 "The mandrake gives a sweet smell, and at our gates 
 are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I 
 have laid up for thee, 0, my beloved/' 
 
 Soon thereafter the Forest Patriarch offers water and 
 the candidate and Escort drink the water offered them 
 whilst the Foresters say in concert: 
 
 "Thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake 
 not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of
 
 184 
 
 thy calamity; for better is a neighbor that is near than 
 a brother that is far off. 
 
 "Love worketh no ill .to his neighbor, therefore love is 
 the fulfilling of the law. 
 
 "Let every one. of us please his neighbor for his good 
 to edification. 
 
 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 
 
 "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, nor rob him." 
 
 And again, page 31: "Who is my neighbor? It is 
 he that succored the wounded man after the Priest and 
 Levite had passed him to the other side. He that showed 
 mercy to him. Go and do likewise." 
 
 CEFJEMCWX OF ADOPTION. 
 
 FRATERNAL DEGREE OF M. W. OF A. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 [The hall should be prepared as during meetings. The 
 Saw, Saw-buck, Stick of Wood, Camp Goat, Ladle and 
 Quicksilver, the Branding Iron and the false wine or 
 beer glasses should all be in readiness, but out of sight 
 of candidate. The Consul remains robed as Venerable 
 Father.] 
 
 (Escort and candidate wear their regular clothing; 
 advance to the door, give three raps, and Watchman 
 repeats three raps.) 
 
 Watchman (opens door) : "Why would you enter 
 here?" 
 
 Escort: "That we may receive farther instructions 
 in Woodcraft." 
 
 Watchman : "Then advance seriously to yonder sta- 
 tion, and receive your final obligation/'
 
 185 
 
 (The Foresters have already ranged themselves in 
 open ranks with presented axes at the outer door, and 
 as the Escort and candidate march through the ranks the 
 Foresters march with them around the hall and again 
 open ranks in front of the Adviser's station, and the 
 Escort and stranger march through the ranks and stand 
 in front of the Adviser.) 
 
 Escort: "Worthy Advisor, having made our vows 
 twice, we now come before you to receive our third and 
 final obligation." 
 
 Adviser : "Then take this fragile vessel in your right 
 hand. Obey my commands, and you shall receive the 
 Arcana of our Camp." 
 
 (Hand fragile vessel that may be easily broken to 
 stranger, who shall take it in his right hand ; place table, 
 chair or bucket, so that he can readily break it at the 
 proper time. An egg shell, after the contents have been 
 removed, or an old lamp chimney, make the best fragile 
 vessels Consul gives three raps. ) 
 
 "I, (your name), in the presence of our Venerable 
 Consul and theee witnesses, on my sacred honor as a 
 man, promise and declare that I will not wrong or de- 
 fraud the fraternity in its treasury, nor a member in 
 his purse; that I will promptly pay all dues and death 
 assessments, and thus do my duty to the widow, the 
 fatherless, and the orphan: that I will not propose for 
 membership any person whom I know to be of unsound 
 health, of bad repute, or irregular habits; that I will 
 not reveal any transactions of the Camp, or the signs, 
 ciphers, words, symbols, grip or written work of the 
 fraternity to any person not lawfully entitled to the 
 same. And that, under no circumstances and condi- 
 tions in which I may be placed, will I, though threatened
 
 186 
 
 with dire calamity, or tempted with great reward, ever 
 reveal the pass-words of the Fraternity, except to those 
 who are entitled to receive the same in a regularly con- 
 stituted Camp of Modern Woodmen, or when I may be 
 acting as Venerable Consul of the Camp, Deputy Head 
 Consul, or Head Consul. May I be dashed to pieces as 
 I now dash this fragile vessel into fragments, if I prom- 
 ise not the truth. 
 
 (Stranger casts vessel into receptacle provided. Which 
 being done) : 
 
 "To all this I sincerely and in honor promise." 
 
 Adviser: "Livy informs us that the sanctity of an 
 obligation had more influence with the ancient Romans 
 than the fears of laws and punishments. A true Wood- 
 man will never disregard his obligations. Escort, you 
 will now conduct the candidate to the Venerable Con- 
 sul's station." 
 
 (Consul gives one rap. Escort, candidate and Forest- 
 ers march around the hall and then to the Consul's 
 station ; the Foresters standing in two ranks facing each 
 other, with axes presented.) 
 
 Escort: "Venerable Consul, this candidate has re- 
 ceived the final obligation, and comes before you for fur- 
 ther direction." 
 
 Consul: "My Son, before you can receive the full 
 mysteries of Woodcraft, you must undergo a test of your 
 physical ability to do the practical work of a Wood- 
 man. I now place you in the hands of these Merry 
 Foresters. Go with them, obey them, and fear not." 
 
 (The candidate is hoodwinked, placed upon the Camp 
 Goat, and rode rapidly around the Camp hall three or 
 four times, care being taken not to be too rough, while 
 all the neighbors sing the "Banner of Woodcraft.")
 
 187 
 
 (After this the candidate is taken from his "fiery 
 steed," and the hoodwink removed. He is then placed 
 over the saw-buck and a stick of wood, with a saw in 
 his hand.) 
 
 Chief Forester: "We will now test your ability by 
 giving you two minutes in which to saw in two this stick 
 of wood. Go to work." 
 
 (The Chief Forester takes out his watch and times the 
 candidate, whilst the Foresters sing a song. The stick 
 of wood should be a very tough one, and if the saw is 
 dull the task is more difficult.) 
 
 (Whilst the candidate is sawing the wood one of the 
 Foresters is pretending to be heating the ladle over the 
 fire; the, bottom of the ladle is painted red, to make it 
 look as though it is red-hot, and it contains quicksilver, 
 which resembles melted lead. As the stick is sawed 
 through, the Chief Forester says:) 
 
 Chief Forester: "Well done, noble Woodman; we 
 will now try your courage." 
 
 (Foresters bring the test.) 
 
 (The Foresters then form a circle around their chief 
 and the candidate, while one of the Foresters brings the 
 ladle and presents it to candidate.) 
 
 Chief Forester : "Woodman, if you are a brave man, 
 you will place your fingers in this melted lead, and thus 
 show to these Foresters that you are worthy of the com- 
 panionship of brave men ; and that you are obedient to 
 the command of your Chief.'' 
 
 (If the candidate refuses, the Chief Forester will say : 
 "I will give you until I count three to obey me." If 
 candidate still refuses the Foresters shall all say : "Noble 
 Chief, forbare the test." If candidate complies with
 
 188 
 
 the request, the Chief Forester shall grasp him by the 
 hand and say: "Thou are truly a brave man and well 
 worthy.") 
 
 Chief Forester : "My Son, you must now receive the 
 brand of Woodcraft, for all true Woodmen must be so 
 marked that they may be known among men. This not 
 only enables you to be identified when you need help, 
 but it protects the order against fraudulent death claims. 
 In every case of death the body can be identified. 
 
 Escort : "Worthy Chief, we have with us a Woodman 
 who has already been adopted, but, owing to sickness, 
 could not be branded at the last meeting. Shall he be 
 branded now?" 
 
 Chief Forester: "Bring him forth." 
 
 (Escort brings forward a Woodman, whose coat and 
 vest are taken off, his shirt opened, displaying his naked 
 back; when in position.) 
 
 Chief Forester : "Forester, bring forth the branding 
 iron." 
 
 (A Forester brings forward the branding iron, which 
 is painted and made to look like red-hot iron, and so 
 that the smoke is forced out when it touches the back.) 
 
 Chief Forester: '""Woodman, art thou prepared to 
 undergo this test, in order to become one of us, and that 
 you may be known among woodmen ?" 
 
 Woodman : "I am." 
 
 Chief Forester : "Foresters, do your duty." 
 
 (While the two Foresters hold the Woodman, the 
 Forester strikes the back with the branding iron, making 
 the letters 'M. W. A.' The supposed victim yells with 
 pain, and the smoke arises from the back.)
 
 189 
 
 Chief Forester (turning to candidate) : You will now 
 prepare for this test." 
 
 (If candidate refuses, one of the Foresters suggests 
 that he be permitted to be branded at another meeting, 
 when he has recovered from the effects of the present 
 scene. Which, of course, is granted. If he consents, he 
 is stripped to the bare back, and the Forester ordered to 
 use the branding iron; if the candidate does not flinch, 
 the Chief Forester shall say : "0, twice brave man, and 
 twice welcome to our Camp." Before the Chief Forester 
 says this, however, he says : "Forester, strike the brand 
 deep into the flesh," and the Forester strikes the back 
 with a piece of ice, which gives a burning sensation.) 
 
 Chief Forester : "Foresters, we will now conduct the 
 stranger to the Venerable Consul." 
 
 (Escort and candidate, with the Foresters, march and 
 countermarch around the hall to the Consul's station.) 
 
 Chief Forester: "Venerable Consul, we present you 
 this candidate, who has undergone successfully all physi- 
 cal tests." 
 
 Consul : "My son, I congratulate you upon your cour- 
 age and endurance. You have earned the right to work 
 in the forest." 
 
 (The Escort pretends to pour colored liquid into two 
 glasses, the glasses being so made as to look as though 
 they contained the liquid, but really when held to the 
 lips nothing flows from them. The Escort hands the 
 glass to Consul.) 
 
 Consul : "My Son, I now ask you to drink with me to 
 your health and future success. (Handing glass to can- 
 didate, and pretends to drink himself.)
 
 190 
 
 (If candidate attempts to drink, of course he fails, and 
 the Venerable Consul says) : 
 
 Consul : "My Son, this incident is to teach you the 
 deceptiveness of the wine-cup. Let it be a lesson to you 
 in sobriety. I will now read to you a portion of our 
 Fundamental Laws, which should be a guide to you in 
 your future conduct. (He reads from Section 'B' of Di- 
 vision 'O/ Fundamental Laws), as follows: 'If com- 
 plaint is made to the Head Consul that a Neighbor is 
 notoriously intemperate or immoral, or has engaged in a 
 business or occupation on the prohibited list, except as 
 provided in Division %' Section 'B,' he may require the 
 Camp to proceed to investigate the matter, in accordance 
 with Division 'E,' Standard Local Camp By-Laws. 
 Should the Camp fail to expel him, the Head Consul 
 shall investigate the matter, and if he finds that the 
 Neighbor is guilty as charged, he may suspend said 
 Camp and all its members until said Camp shall expel 
 said accused/ 
 
 (If the stranger refuses to drink, the Venerable Con- 
 sul says) : 
 
 Consul : "My Son, by this act you have given us great 
 evidence of your sobriety. May your conduct continue 
 in the line of virtue and temperance." (Here the Consul 
 reads from Section 'B/ Division 'O/ as above.) 
 
 Consul: "Escort, you will now conduct the stranger 
 to the ante-room, and afterwards attend him in his fur- 
 ther steps in Woodcraft." 
 
 (Escort and stranger march and countermarch with 
 the Foresters to the ante-room.)
 
 19] 
 PART II. 
 
 (Escort and candidate are now clothed in the uniform 
 of the Foresters. The Escort, advancing to the inner 
 door, gives three raps; the Watchman repeats three raps, 
 and opens door.) 
 
 Watchman: "What means this intrusion?" 
 
 Escort : "We are seeking further instruction in Wood- 
 craft/' 
 
 Watchman : "Advance to the station of the Venerable 
 Consul, and be careful that you heed his admonition." 
 
 (The Foresters meet the Escort and candidate at the 
 inner door, and march with them to the Consul's sta- 
 tion. ) 
 
 Escort: "This candidate comes before you, Venera- 
 ble Consul, for further instruction." 
 
 Consul : "My Son, I will now give you the secrets of 
 Woodcraft, that you may possess more of the Arcana, 
 and be in full fellowship with these Foresters." 
 
 (Takes with his right hand the right hand of candi- 
 date, and teaches him the grip. ) 
 
 This being done and explanations made about the 
 signs and countersigns, the Consul says: 
 
 "The Tracians, every evening before they slept were 
 accustomed to cast into an urn a white pebble if the day 
 had been passed pleasantly, but if not, a black one. At 
 their death, by counting the pebbles, their lives were 
 judged to have been happy or otherwise. 
 
 "The Modern Woodmen are expected at each meeting 
 of the Camp to deposit a pebble. If they have been hap- 
 py and comfortable during the time intervening since 
 the last meeting, a white pebble will be deposited; if
 
 192 
 
 otherwise, a black one. At the proper time each evening 
 the pebbles will be counted and discussed. After depos- 
 iting the pebble you will be at liberty to take a seat with 
 your Neighbors of the Camp. 
 
 "The working tools of this Camp are the Beetle, Axe 
 and Wedge. By practical artisans these tools have been 
 used to clear the forests and let civilization, commerce 
 and arts occupy the ground. They fitly symbolize indus- 
 try, power and progress. Drones can see no poetry in 
 the homely appliances of labor, but the philosopher sees 
 in them subjects for thought and practical demonstra- 
 tion. The branches of palm, the five stars and shield 
 are also emblems of our Fraternity. The palm signifies 
 
 peace, the five stars light and the shield safety. 
 * * * 
 
 (A recess is now taken for about five minutes, and 
 the Venerable Consul calls the Camp to order), and 
 says: 
 
 "My Son, you will please take your position at the 
 altar. (Candidate is placed in position by the Escort.) 
 Are you now a Woodman and ready to assume a Wood- 
 man's duties?" 
 
 Candidate: "I am." 
 
 Consul : "My Son, you are now to be tried by a more 
 severe test than any yet given you. You must act with 
 fortitude and moral courage, and all will be well. You 
 will be conducted by the Escort and these Foresters to 
 the camp-fire, and you will obey the instruction of the 
 Chief Forester." 
 
 (The candidate is now hoodwinked and marched 
 around the hall with the Foresters to the camp-fire, 
 which has been prepared while the candidate is hood-
 
 193 
 
 winked. Lights are turned down in the hall and the 
 camp-fire is lighted. The sawmill is placed in position 
 a little way from the camp-fire. The hrush and stake at 
 which the Escort is to be burned is concealed in readi- 
 ness. The Foresters form a circle, with the Chief, Es- 
 cort and stranger in the center. The hoodwink is then 
 taken from the stranger.) 
 
 Chief Forester : "Woodman, we are now getting into 
 the forest of Brotherly Love, for our daily work, and you 
 and your friendly Escort are to remain here to watch 
 the camp-fire and protect the same. In this forest is a 
 band of outlaws, they prey on their fellow men. They 
 have long desired the secrets of Woodcraft, that they 
 might pass unmolested through the different parts of 
 the forest. You must always be on your guard, never 
 to divulge to them the secrets of Woodcraft. Will you 
 be true to your obligation?" 
 
 "Candidate : "I will." 
 
 Chief Forester: "We will now leave you and go to 
 our work." 
 
 (The Foresters now form and march out, singing one 
 verse of the "Woodman's Jubilee Song" and chorus. 
 The Escort and stranger seat themselves by the camp- 
 fire.) 
 
 Escort: "Stranger, in the dark recess of this forest, 
 where we have pitched this Camp, the solitude is to me 
 awe-inspiring. I dread the approach of the outlaws, who 
 have sworn to obtain the secrets of Woodcraft, even by 
 murder, if necessary. Hark; I hear footsteps and 
 voices." 
 
 (With wild yells, the outlaws enter the camp, and 
 bind the stranger and the Escort. These outlaws may
 
 194 
 
 be from four to six, according to the size of the Camp, 
 and if the Camp is very small, some of those who acted 
 as Foresters can disguise themselves and re-appear as 
 outlaws. The outlaws should wear black masks, and as- 
 sume the disguise fitted to the part.) 
 
 Chief Outlaw: "We demand the secrets of Wood- 
 craft. Be quick ; we have no time to parley." 
 
 Escort : "We will not give them to you." 
 
 Chief Outlaw : "Bring this man to the stake, and we 
 will see if his spirit is stronger than his flesh." 
 
 (The Escort is bound to the stake, and some brush 
 piled around him, and the candidate is now hood- 
 winked. ) 
 
 Chief Outlaw : "Men, apply the torch." 
 
 (A light is then made, by burning a newspaper in a 
 tin bucket of some sort, or by red fire, and the Escort 
 cries in a loud voice, I-H-L-T-B-C, Help ! Help ! Help ! 
 Or I die.) 
 
 Chief Outlaw: "You shall die and no one can help 
 
 you." 
 
 (The Escort is now unbound from the stake and laid 
 upon the floor and covered with a sheet. Instead of the 
 brush formerly used around the stake, it is replaced by 
 half -burned brush, which has been prepared beforehand. 
 The hoodwink is taken from the candidate. 
 
 Chief Outlaw : "Behold the funeral pyre of your dead 
 comrade. (Pointing to the stake.) There lies his dead 
 body. Pointing to the sheet.) Now will you give me 
 the secrets of Woodcraft ?" 
 
 Candidate: (Makes his own answer, or, perhaps, re- 
 fuses to answer.)
 
 195 
 
 Chief Outlaw: "Think not you will escape so easily 
 as with even the horrible death of your companion. We 
 know how to torture, and we must have the secrets of 
 Woodcraft. Men, prepare the rack." 
 
 (The candidate is again hoodwinked, and bound to 
 the carriage, and the saw is started in motion, and the 
 candidate slowly approaches the saw, the hoodwink being 
 removed.) 
 
 Chief Outlaw : ( The Chief Forester's whistle is heard 
 in the distance.) ''Men, the Woodmen are coming. 
 (Leaning over the Woodman on the carriage.) Give me 
 the word, and I will release you; if you do not, I will 
 leave you here to die this horrible death before the For- 
 esters can return." 
 
 (If the candidate still refuses, one of the outlaws whis- 
 pers to the Chief Outlaw, so that he can be overheard 
 by the candidate: "Are you sure the machine is all 
 right?" The other whispers : "I suppose so/' The out- 
 laws then withdraw. All is perfectly still, and the car- 
 riage slowly moves the candidate closer to the revolving 
 saw. Just as the body of the candidate is about to touch 
 the saw the Foresters return. The saw is stopped in 
 the motion, and the candidate unbound and released.) 
 
 Chief Forester : "You have proven a worthy Neighbor, 
 and that you would give your life rather than betray the 
 secrets of Woodcraft." 
 
 (The candidate is now conducted to the position in 
 front of the Venerable Consul. The lights are turned 
 up, and the Camp hall put in order.) 
 
 Chief Forester: "Venerable Consul, we return this 
 man with our approbation. He has worthily undergone 
 the great test/'
 
 196 
 
 Consul: "My Son, you are now at the end of your 
 journey. (Dips his hand in perfume, and showers it 
 gently over the candidate.) By the token of this fra- 
 grant perfume, I welcome you at our camp-fire. May the 
 happiness of you and yours be augmented by this act. 
 May your life as a Woodman be worthy of the confidence 
 we bestow upon you as our Neighbor; and, like sweet in- 
 cense and the odor of this perfume, may your influence 
 be pleasant to all about you, and honorable to the Fra- 
 ternity to which you now belong." 
 
 The founder of the Modern Woodmen, J. C. Root, in 
 June, 1890, at Omaha, Neb., founded the "Woodmen of 
 the World." But there is no relation between the two 
 orders, except that the same man founded both, that they 
 employ similar emblems, and based on the same Masonic 
 spirit. 
 
 Royal Neighbors of America is the Woman Branch of 
 the Woodmen's Fraternity. 
 
 Surely, Catholics reading carefully what I say about 
 this Order understand readily how much they have been 
 deceived when they join the Order and how they should 
 lose no time in severing their connection therewith. 
 
 OWLS OF WOODCRAFT. 
 
 About the Owls of Woodcraft, the following explains 
 itself: 
 
 "From the correspondence that has come to my desk 
 and applications for copies of the ritual, I am satisfied 
 the membership of the Modern Woodmen want the boys' 
 auxiliary, the Patriotic Owls of Woodcraft. There was 
 some delay in printing the rituals, owing to some minor
 
 197 
 
 changes I deemed it advisable to make. The Fraternity 
 is founded upon principles of patriotism- and honor, and 
 seeks to inculcate these principles, while at the same 
 time it contains dramatic and military incidents which 
 are intended to attract and hold the youth. I want the 
 ritual carefully examined, and am willing to trust any 
 Woodman to have access to it. Hence, any Woodman 
 who sends me one dollar, together with a certificate 
 from his Camp Clerk, will receive a copy. The receipt 
 for this one dollar will be received in part payment for 
 a charter, the price of which. Avith supplies, is fifteen 
 dollars. 
 
 "I have yet to hear other than words of praise for the 
 proposition, and I have faith to believe it will prove a 
 potent factor in the advancement of Woodcraft. Ad- 
 dress all communications to 
 
 "C. E. WHELAN, 
 "Madison, Wisconsin."
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN. 
 
 This society claims to be the oldest secret society of 
 purely American origin in existence. This claim rests 
 on its being a virtual continuation of the Sons of Lib- 
 erty, formed prior to the War of the Revolution, and the 
 secret societies to which the latter gave birth. 
 
 In 1765 Colonel Barre made the memorable speech in 
 the House of Commons against taxation of the Ameri- 
 cans. In reply to Charles Townshend's assertion that 
 the colonies had been cared for and nourished by the 
 indulgence of the British Government, Barre scornfully 
 denied it, saying that care was exercised in sending unfit 
 persons as Governors to rule over them men whose be- 
 havior on many occasions had caused the blood of th<>-c 
 "Sons of Liberty" to recoil within them. A secret or- 
 ganization had been, formed of citizens of Maryland in 
 1764-65 to protest against the unjust and oppressive 
 British legislation affecting the American colonies. 
 Hearing of the speech of Barre, they at once assumed the 
 name "Sons of Liberty." The activity of the Sons of 
 Liberty at Baltimore and elsewhere in Maryland as early 
 as 1766-77, gave rise to the organization of St. George's, 
 St. Andrew's and St. David's societies in that state, com- 
 posed of those who were loyal to the British crown, and 
 it is explained that in order to ridicule those organiza- 
 tions, the Sons of Liberty claimed the patronage of an
 
 199 
 
 undoubted American, an Indian Chief named "Tamina," 
 whose life and exploits they professed to trace from his 
 own descendants. They called themselves Sons of St. 
 Tamina, afterwards Tammany. Members of this society, 
 in 1813, organized the Order of Red Men, and from this 
 the Improved Order of Red Men was established, in 
 1834, at Baltimore. Their ritual was framed on Ma- 
 sonic principles and the nomenclature, legends, customs 
 and ceremonies of the aboriginal Americans introduced. 
 Thus we have among the officers : Great Incohonee, 
 Groat Sachem, Sagamore, Sannap, Prophet, Braves and 
 Hunters. The members are said to attend a Council, in 
 a Wigwam, on a certain Sun of a certain Moon of the 
 Great Sun (year of discovery, i. e., discovery of America; 
 from which they take their date). The Great Sun com- 
 mences on the first Cold Council. Fire is kindled, in- 
 stead of the meeting being opened, and the close is de- 
 scribed as the quenching of the Council Fire. Fathoms, 
 feet and inches stand for dollars, dimes and cents. Every 
 adopted paleface receives a new name, often that of an 
 animal, bird, or some quality or characteristic of mind or 
 body. The Council opens and closes with prayer. 
 
 At the proper time, the Sachem says : "Brothers, you 
 will now rise, while our beloved Prophet invokes the 
 Great Spirit." 
 
 The Prophet will approach the place of the council 
 brand and repeat the following : 
 
 "0, Thou Great Spirit of the universe, good and pow- 
 erful as Thou art, whose power is displayed in the splen- 
 dor of the sun, the glories of the night, the foliage of the 
 forest, the roaring of the rivers and the great waters of 
 the deep, look down from Thy majestic throne of grace
 
 200 
 
 and shed Thy bounties upon all Bed Men of the forest. 
 Do Thou, Great Spirit, inspire each Eed Man's breast 
 with that holy courage that will teach him to paddle his 
 canoe safely to 'that undiscovered country, from whose 
 bourne no traveler returns.' Teach him truth, wisdom, 
 'and brotherly love toward his fellow Eed Men. Grant 
 that our walks be upright and pleasing in Thy sight. 
 Banish all discord from our councils, that our Council 
 Fire may forever burn to Thy glory. Bless us with plen- 
 ty, and reward our labors two-fold. May the Eed Man 
 and the paleface be friends. Enable us to prove by our 
 good works that we are brethren, and show the stranger 
 that with us virtue, charity, love, peace, freedom and 
 friendship dwell. Inspire our Great Councils with wis- 
 dom, that they may be able to guide their respective 
 Tribes in the right path, that they do not go astray and 
 follow the path of the evil spirit. Preserve our homes 
 from danger, and make us wise and virtuous. Teach us 
 the trail we must follow while we live in this forest, and 
 when it is Thy will that we shall cross the river of death, 
 take us to Thyself, where Thy Council Fire of Love and 
 Glory burneth forever in righteousness. Thou, Great 
 Spirit, hear us." 
 
 Brothers respond : "0 Thou, Great Spirit, hear us." 
 The initiation is similar to what takes place in other 
 lodges. The candidate is partly undressed, blindfolded, 
 a rope tied around his waist and moccasins put on his 
 feet. Having gone through some preliminary perform- 
 ances, the following takes place : 
 
 Guard of Wigwam: "Who comes there?"
 
 201 
 
 Junior Sagamore: "The Junior Sagamore, with a 
 pale face, whom the hunters have captured in the for- 
 est." 
 
 ( The Guard advances in the direction of Senior Saga- 
 more and says) : 
 
 Guard of Wigwam: "Senior Sagamore, the Junior 
 reports the capture of a pale face, found astray in the 
 sacred home of the Eed Man." 
 
 Senior Sagamore : "Admit them." 
 
 (Enter Junior with Braves, Warriors, paleface and 
 Scouts. The Scouts remain standing at the inner 
 wicket. The First Sannap leaves his position, and 
 watches every movement of the Chiefs. The others trail 
 once around the council chamber, halting a short dis- 
 tance in front of the Senior's tepee, who, beholding the 
 captive, rushes toward him with uplifted knife, but is 
 intercepted by the Junior, who says) : 
 
 Junior Sagamore : "Hold, Senior. Our Warriors and 
 Braves have decided that the captive shall be tortured at 
 the stake." 
 
 Senior Sagamore : "At the stake ! Then let us pro- 
 ceed. Pale face, you have been captured by the Braves, 
 and unless some Chief interposes, you perish at the stake. 
 Why do you tempt your fate; or is it your wish to be- 
 come a Ked Man ?" 
 
 (The pale face must answer affirmatively, or he can- 
 not proceed.) 
 
 Senior Sagamore: "Know, then, that Ked Men are 
 without fear, and none but such can be adopted by our 
 Tribe. Are you a man of courage ?" 
 
 (Pale face answers.) 
 
 Senior Sagamore: "Then, before you can be admit-
 
 202 
 
 ted, you must prove yourself such. The honest and brave 
 man meets death with a smile : the guilty tremble at the 
 very thought. 
 
 "Warriors, seize your prisoner bind him to the 
 stake." 
 
 (The Warriors seize pale face and bind him to the 
 stake with thongs. ) 
 
 Senior Sagamore : "Too often have we been deceived 
 by pale faces, who professed friendship and bravery, but 
 who repaid our hospitality with ingratitude and treach- 
 ery. What they have been, I fear he is a spy. There- 
 fore, prepare your keenest and brightest scalping knives, 
 and your weightiest war clubs. Our brave Junior Saga- 
 more will superintend the execution." 
 
 Junior Sagamore : "Warriors, prepare for the execu- 
 tion. Braves, make ready and pile high the fagots. He 
 has declared he is a man without fear. The flames from 
 the fagots will test his boasted courage. Proceed." 
 
 (The Warriors will secure their war clubs, the Braves 
 will gather the fagots, and place them at the feet of the 
 pale face and around the stake ; they will place two cones 
 of red fire on each side of the stake. When this is done, 
 the Junior says) : 
 
 Junior Sagamore : "Braves, light the fagots." 
 
 (Two of the Braves will light the cones, and, at a 
 signal from the Junior, the Warriors and Braves, led by 
 the Junior, will perform a scalp dance around the pale 
 face. The First Sannap, having observed what was tak- 
 ing place, hurries to the Prophet's tepee, and explains 
 by signs the situation to him. The Prophet, leaving his 
 tepee and coming nearer the scene, perceiving the danger 
 of the pale face, exclaims) :
 
 203 
 
 Prophet: "Hold." 
 
 (He rushes into the group and to the captive, scatters 
 the fagots, and seizing a knife from the Junior Saga- 
 more, cuts the thongs that bind the pale face, and, look- 
 ing at the Warriors and Braves, says) : 
 
 Prophet: "Is it fit that you should execute on sus- 
 picion alone? Is it not more becoming of Eed Men to 
 show mercy to the stranger who has been found astray 
 in the forest? The tomahawk has been buried, and the 
 innocence of his intent has been proven by his courage. 
 I pronounce him a man without fear. Eetire. (Turn- 
 ing to the captive, he continues) : Pale face. Kishe Man- 
 itou saw fit to create the red skin and the white, there- 
 fore they should be brothers ; but the speaking books of 
 the pale faces teach them wisdom, which makes them 
 mistrustful and covetous. With the children of the for- 
 est it is otherwise. All their wealth and stock belongs 
 to the Tribe in common. Honor is given to whom honor 
 is due; and they hold it to be their duty, in every case of 
 difficulty and danger, to assist a brother. 
 "Pale face, 1 understand that you have said that you 
 wished to be "numbered with our Tribe; if so, I would ad- 
 vise our well-tried Junior Sagamore to refer your case 
 to our Sachem, and, if accepted by him, he will impart 
 to you that which will make the forest as free to you as 
 the air is to the eagle, and every Red Alan you meet will 
 know you as a brother. 
 
 "Pale face, I have done." 
 
 (Prophet now retires to his station, and the Junior 
 Sagamore steps up to the pale face.) 
 
 Junior Sagamore: "At the recommendation of our
 
 204 
 
 Prophet I will refer your case to our Sachem. What 
 says our Senior Sagamore?" 
 
 Senior Sagamore: "What the Prophet says is good. 
 To your care, caution and bravery, T commit the cap- 
 tive." 
 
 Junior Sagamore : "Know, then, that no paleface dare 
 approach the presence of our Sachem until he shall have 
 obliged himself to lock up, in the inmost recess of his 
 bosom, all he may hear and see, in the council chamber, 
 which is to be kept secret from all persons not members 
 of the Improved Order of Red Men. Are you willing 
 to take this pledge of honor ? (Answers.) Braves, con- 
 duct the pale face to our beloved Prophet." (Braves 
 conduct the pale face to the Prophet, when the Junior 
 introduces him thus :) 
 
 Junior Sagamore: "Venerable Prophet, this is the 
 pale face whose life you caused to be spared. He wishes 
 to take the pledge of honor." 
 
 Prophet : "Pale face, it is a duty incumbent on me, 
 before you can be introduced to our Sachem, to adminis- 
 ter to you a sacred pledge of honor, one which I assure 
 you will in no wise conflict with your civil or religious 
 liberty. Let your thoughts be seriously upon your pledge, 
 while you repeat it after me. 
 
 "Therefore, place your left hand over your heart, ex- 
 tend your right hand toward heaven, palm outward, and 
 
 repeat, saying your name when I say mine : I, , 
 
 being desirous of becoming acquainted with the mysteries 
 of the Improved Order of Red Men, do hereby solemnly 
 promise and declare that I will keep secret from all per- 
 sons, except such as shall prove to be Improved Red
 
 205 
 
 Men, all signs, passwords, and other matters that are 
 to be kept secret. And I do further promise, that I will 
 never attempt to kindle a council fire unless I am duly 
 and regularly authorized so to do, or assist, or participate 
 in any council, the fire of which has been kindled by a 
 suspended or expelled brother, or any person not author- 
 ized by the Great Council of the United States to kindle 
 the same. To all this I promise and pledge my sacred 
 honor, without intending any evasion whatsover. So help 
 me the Great Spirit. 
 
 (The Prophet will continue:) 
 
 Prophet: "Your pledge of honor has been given, 
 which we in faith accept. A token of my favor you must 
 bear and to our Sachem give, ere all the signs and mys- 
 teries of this degree are revealed. (Presents him with 
 eagle's plume.) Behold the eagle's plume fit emblem 
 to bear to him to gain the knowledge you crave. May 
 the Great Spirit bless and safely guide you." 
 
 Junior Sagamore : "Braves, conduct the pale face to 
 our Sachem." 
 
 (The Braves conduct him within a short distance of 
 the tepee, and then retire to rear of pale face. The War- 
 riors all rise suddenly, and with uplifted clubs rush to- 
 ward pale face, the Junior warding off the threatened 
 blows.) 
 
 The pale face is soon instructed in the secret work and 
 declared a member of the tribe. Besides the Adoption 
 Degree there are the Hunters' Degree, the Warriors' De- 
 gree and the Chief's Degree. For brevity's sake I will 
 give only the ceremonies of the highest or Chief's De- 
 gree. 
 
 The degree application having been balloted for, the
 
 206 
 
 Sachem will direct the Sannap to retire to the forest, 
 \vhf>re, finding the candidate for exaltation, he will pre- 
 sent him with the Red Tomahawk and White Feathered 
 .Arrow. All the lights in the wigwam must be extin- 
 guished except the council fire. After a few breaths, the 
 Sachem will say : 
 
 Sachem : "'"'Guard the wicket, let the warning be 
 given/'* 
 
 Sannap: "The Sannap and a runner from the War- 
 riors' Council, bearing a message to the Chiefs.'' 
 
 Sachem : "Let them be admitted." 
 
 (As soon as the)' have entered the wigwam, the two 
 Pow-wows will advance and receive the warrior * * * 
 the Prophet will remove the outer covering from en- 
 trance to his tent, which will then be screened only by 
 the transparency of a human skeleton. He will light the 
 council brand behind the skeleton and exclaim) : 
 
 Prophet: "The Great Spirit is offended at his red 
 children, and has withdrawn the visible symbol of his 
 pleasure. The spirit of darkness has gone abroad, and 
 spread its sable mantle over the once smiling bosoms of 
 creation. The azure heaven above, the green earth be- 
 neath, the pleasing foliage of the forest, the shining 
 bosoms of the lakes, the rippling waters of the swift run- 
 ning rivers, arid the variegated hues of the angry wa\<- 
 of the great oceans which surround our land all, all 
 have merged into darkness and disappeared. The beasts 
 of prey have gone forth, the ravenous wolf breaks the 
 dismal gloom with his sanguinary bark, the stealthy pan- 
 ther utters his piteous but deceptive cries; all, all is 
 darkness and desolation. Let us invoke the Great Spirit 
 for mercy, for life, for light. (The Prophet removes the
 
 207 
 
 skeleton and says) : Oh, thou Great Spirit, bless every 
 heart sincere in freedom's cause. Bless our fraternal 
 band; in friendship may it stand. Extend it thro' the 
 land, by Thy Almighty power." 
 
 (A few more verses of similar incantations are said 
 and a Wampum Belt is given to pale face.) 
 
 Sannap: ''Venerable Prophet, the tomahawk has 
 been buried, and the brother returns with the sacred 
 \Yampum Belt." 
 
 Prophet: "My son, hearken to the voice of the 
 Prophet. The Great Spirit loves the Red Man and He is 
 One. Let our words go quickly forth, and assemble our 
 chiefs together, to witness the entering of this brother 
 into the covenant of faith, which shall never be broken; 
 that we also may be one, and have but one war club, one 
 council fire, and one voice.'' 
 
 (The Sachem, Senior and Junior Sagamores will now 
 advance to the Prophet, bringing froin their stumps the 
 council brands, which the Prophet will receive, and unit- 
 ing them in one flame, continues) : 
 
 Prophet : "By the blending of these fires, fit emblems 
 of purification, vigor and life, by which the primitive 
 red men symbolized the mysterious union into which 
 they were bound in the strong bonds of amity and love, 
 let us also symbolize the inseparable ties of fraternity 
 which shall henceforth bind us. 
 
 "As this fire is consuming, so let the sordid and 
 grosser passions of our nature be destroyed, as it is warm 
 and invigorating, so let the fire of love burn within us, 
 to nourish and stimulate us; and as its rays dispel the 
 darkness and gloom from our midst, so may the divine
 
 law, emanating from the Great Spirit, illuminate our 
 souls, and shed its hallowed rays upon our path." 
 
 (Lighting the calumet, the Prophet continues) : 
 
 Prophet : "As the smoke from this calumet, ascend- 
 ing to the Great Spirit, blends together, so may our af- 
 fections blend together in this covenant of faith, which 
 shall not be broken. You shall keep our secrets, and we 
 will keep yours; you shall administer to our wants, and 
 we will administer to yours. These are our words, they 
 have gone forth from our mouths and shall not return. 
 
 "And now, as a token and pledge of your fidelity to us, 
 that you will fulfill to the utmost of your ability, with- 
 out equivocation or mental reservation, the various re- 
 quirements of this degree, its doctrines and teachings, 
 we extend to you the calumet, by which was solemnized 
 the most sacred compacts among the primitive Eed 
 Men." 
 
 The calumet is smoked, the signs and grips explained, 
 and an instruction on the symbols given. 
 
 Surely, the above is sufficient to prove that a Christian 
 cannot belong to the Improved Order of Red Men.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 .. '. ....-j 
 
 KNIGflTS OF THE MACCABEES. 
 
 The modern Order of the Maecabean Knighthood is 
 built upon the tradition and history of the ancient Mae- 
 cabean dynasty, the achievements of which are recorded 
 in the books of the Maccabees in the Old Testament. It 
 has all the characteristics which make it fall under the 
 ban of the Church. It is a secret oath-bound society, has 
 a ritual of its own, as will be seen by extracts, etc. 
 The Order was founded in 1878, by members of the 
 Order of Foresters, Freemasons, etc., at London, On- 
 tario, and extends today nearly all over the northern 
 states. Among the different objects of the organization, 
 paragraph 6 says: "to educate the members socially, 
 morally and intellectually/' A ritual was prepared, 
 adopted, and prescribes: "The altar is to stand 
 in the center of the hall covered with drapery, as fol- 
 lows : The top black, the sides red, six inches deep, and 
 four inches of white added to the red ; or four inches of 
 white fringe may be used. On this will be placed the 
 Bible and circle, upon which the obligation is taken." 
 
 Among the different officers the Chaplain is sixth in 
 order. The constitution says : "He shall perform such 
 duties as the ritual prescribes, and as may be ordered 
 from time to time by the Supreme Tent." 
 
 "The hat for the Chaplain shall be plain black, in 
 shape of a tent, with the addition of a scarlet mitre in
 
 210 
 
 front of the hat, and maltose cross in front of mitre." 
 His jewel is "Bible open with inscription C 2d book' on 
 top, and in the center the word 'Chap.' ' : 
 
 At the opening of a tent, as the meetings are called, 
 the Chaplain is called upon by the Sir Knight Lieuten- 
 ant Commander : "The Prelate will now perform his all- 
 important duty." 
 
 Prayer of the Prelate : 
 
 "Almighty and eternal God, the creator of all, we im- 
 plore Thee to look down upon us at this time and give, 
 us Thy divine assistance in furthering Thy holy will 
 among our fellow men. Assist us, we pray Thee, to build 
 up our Order for the benefit of ourselves, and the protec- 
 tion of the widow and orphan, wherever dispersed over 
 this Thy footstool, and may all mankind learn to walk 
 in the paths of righteousness. Amen." 
 
 Response by all : "Amen ! Amen ! Arnen !" 
 
 The candidate for admission is partly undressed, a 
 large pack is placed on his back, a hoodwink over his 
 eyes, a girdle around the waist, a staff in hand, with 
 novice hat on for the; first reception. He has to pass 
 through several mock examinations as to his physical 
 ability, etc. 
 
 The Sir Knight Commander examines the candidate 
 carefully, testing his pulse, sounding his chest, feeling 
 the muscles of his arms and legs and whirling him 
 around quickly. The Past Commander examines him 
 in the same manner, after which he is commanded to 
 "pass on." As the candidate passes the Record Keeper's 
 station, that officer holds him and examines him in the 
 same manner, but with more care; testing his pulse, 
 measuring his chest and sounding his lungs. The exam-
 
 211 
 
 ination is not satisfactory, and the Sir Knight Com- 
 mander says : "Guard $, it is my orders that you at once 
 conduct the stranger to the ante-room, and turn him 
 over to the executioner, who will inflict the severest pen- 
 alty prescribed by our laws. Away with him. Let jus- 
 tice be done." 
 
 The candidate is hurried to the ante-room, the Sir 
 Knights crying out as he passes down the hall : "Away 
 with him, execute him he must die," making great 
 noise at the same time. 
 
 The order for expulsion is revoked, and the candidate 
 is conducted to the Prelate, who addresses him thus : 
 
 "Whereas, our forefathers, the Maccabees, were bound 
 together in holy bonds of brotherhood to protect their 
 members and families from persecution and want, so 
 we, the members of this illustrious Order, will, so fax 
 as in our power lies, imitate their glorious example by 
 supporting and defending the helpless and innocent 
 throughout the whole inhabitable globe. As kinsmen, 
 we greet you, but to prove your sincerity and courage, 
 you must pass through three years of warfare, when, if 
 you prove faithful and escape the dangers of war, we 
 will receive you in tent, No , there to par- 
 take of equal share and part in the spoils of all our vic- 
 tories." 
 
 The candidate is led several times around the room, 
 during which time an ode is sung, a portion of which 
 reads thus : 
 
 "See the Stranger, how he comes 
 Grasp your arms both true and strong, 
 For we know not whether he's friend or foe; 
 Give him battle, test his mettle, 
 
 Try his courage both well and long, 
 Even if in death the stranger is laid low."
 
 212 
 
 The candidate is then brought before the Sir Knight 
 Commander and the following takes place : 
 
 Sir Knight Com.: "Halt, stranger, from whence 
 come you ?" 
 
 Candidate (by Master-at-Arms) : "From a far coun- 
 try, to unite with our kinsmen, the Knights of the Mac- 
 cabees." 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "What is your object ?" 
 
 Candidate : "To assist in the protection of humanity, 
 and more particularly the widows and orphans.'' 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "Your object is divine, and if we 
 find you worthy we will give you a glorious reception. 
 You will now proceed to the field of battle and report at 
 the end of the second year. If you are a man of iron 
 nerve and indomitable will, you will return unscathed 
 and unharmed; but if you show a craven, cowardly 
 spirit, not having the courage to assert your rights, and 
 a daring to maintain them, the officers and members of 
 this tent cannot, nor will they be responsible for your 
 fate. You have passed through one year of light war- 
 fare. The second year will be more sanguinary, testing 
 to a still greater degree your physical and moral courage. 
 You will therefore arm yourslf as becomes a valiant 
 Knight, and march again to the battle field. There you 
 will meet with an overpowering force, who will dispute 
 your rights to pass through their territory, which you 
 will find strongly fortified at every point. None but a 
 brave, lion-hearted man can possibly overcome them. 
 You must win or you must die. There will be no chance 
 for retreat, no avenue open for escape. Should you fal- 
 ter, you will fall on a desolate and barren field. Your 
 body will become food for vultures, whilst your bones
 
 213 
 
 will be left to bleach in the heat of a torrid sun. Your 
 name ever after will be a stench in the nostrils of brave 
 men the world over, and your posterity will have to bear 
 the disgrace of your cowardice for all times to come. 
 You stake your honor, your happiness, nay, your life in 
 the struggle. Be courageous, firm and unyielding, ever 
 ready to protect humanity, especially the widows and or- 
 phans, and all will be well. Forward, march." 
 
 (The guards then conduct the candidate rapidly three 
 times around the hall; obstructions should be placed in 
 his path. This can be done with bags filled with shav- 
 ings or other light substance. The guards are to keep 
 the candidate from falling when he stumbles. Com- 
 mands should be given as "Charge down on the right," 
 "Charge on the left," "Form in line on the left flank," 
 "About face, charge," and keep on tramping with the 
 feet and clashing with spears, to represent as much as 
 possible a battle going on. The last time around, the 
 candidate is brought to the Sir Knight Commander's 
 station, and at the command "Halt" every Sir Knight 
 should be seated and remain perfectly quiet.) 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "Halt, my soldier, we greet you. 
 Have you been successful in your wars the past year?" 
 
 Candidate (by Master of Arms) : "We have, and now 
 return after many long marches and hard fought battles 
 in protecting humanity, and especially the widows and 
 orphans." 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "Your deeds are glorious. You 
 have been successful in your second year's struggle. You 
 bear the scars of honorable warfare. So far you have 
 proven yourself to be a man of iron nerve, with a daring 
 and a courage truly commendable. You bid fair to win
 
 214 
 
 the glorious battle of life through which you are now 
 passing, and leave your posterity a protection for which 
 they will ever hless you. It becomes my painful duty, 
 however, to inform you that the great struggle in which 
 you have been engaged has but just commenced. The 
 opposing forces are rallying their entire strength. They 
 have gathered together the strongest and bravest men in 
 the domain. They have added to their munition of war. 
 They are armed and equipped with the most deadly 
 weapons known to modern warfare. The greatest danger 
 is yet to be encountered. Your courage and valor is yet 
 to be put to the severest test. E would to heaven that you 
 could escape this fearful encounter. But the decree of 
 the Sir Knight Commander has gone forth. His fiat is 
 the law of the land. His commands must be obeyed 
 throughout the realm, by every inhabitant thereof, even 
 at the cost of life itself. Steel your heart, gird on your 
 armor, be sure of foot and strong of nerve, for another 
 long year you must battle day and night. Though foot- 
 sore, weary and hungry, your strong arm must not 
 weaken. Grasp firmly your weapon of defense; every 
 obstacle must be removed by your own hands; there will 
 be none to aid you. Let not the din or noise of battle, 
 or the hardship you will have to encounter, shake your 
 courage.. Face death. Drive your foes before you like 
 chaff before the wind, and at the end of this year's 
 struggle should you return covered with battle scars, and 
 grim with the smoke of battle, you will be received by 
 the valiant knights of this tent, and the honors you will 
 then have so dearly earned will be meted out to you. The 
 strong arms of brave men will forever after protect you
 
 215 
 
 and those dependent upon you for all that makes life a 
 blessing. Hark !" 
 
 (At this stage of the proceedings one Sir Knight with 
 a small snare drum, one with a brass drum or large piece 
 of sheet iron with a drum stick, stands in the rear of the 
 hall ; another with a drum stands in the rear of the can- 
 didate. Small arms or anything to imitate them should 
 be distributed among the members, and twelve Sir 
 Knights, six in line, on each side of the hall, with spears, 
 to be in position. All perfectly quiet. When the Sir 
 Knight Commander says: Hark, the drums will beat, 
 the trumpet blow quick and sharp, the arms to be fired, 
 the spears clashed together, and the Sir Knights passing 
 to and fro and tramping heavily with their feet. This 
 is continued for a moment. When the Sir Knight Com- 
 mander raises his hand as a signal, quiet will be imme- 
 diately restored and he will proceed) : 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "Do you hear the rumbling of ar- 
 tillery, the clash of arms and the tread of brave .men 
 ready to give battle ? They wait your coming. Again I 
 command you, forward, march." 
 
 (The candidate will then be rapidly conducted around 
 the hall three times. Obstructions are again to be placed 
 in his path, the drums beat, arms discharged, spears 
 clash, military commands to be given, and heavy tramp- 
 ing of all the members. The last time around the bags 
 are to be piled up, one upon another, at the farther end 
 of the hall, so as to make a fortification as high as the 
 hips of the candidate. The guards move the candidate 
 quickly against the obstructions, holding him from fall- 
 ing, but taking him from his feet. He is then brought 
 to the Sir Knight Commander's station.)
 
 216 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "Halt, my war-worn kinsman, we 
 greet thee. Have yon protected the homes of the widows 
 and orphans the past year ?" 
 
 Candidate (by Master of Arms) : "We have, and now 
 return every one." 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "Sir Knight Guards, our kinsman 
 having served three years of warfare, and having per- 
 formed many chivalrous acts in protecting humanity, 
 and especially the widows and orphans, prepare him for 
 the grand reception he so justly merits." (Remove pack 
 and staff, leaving hoodwink on.) The guards then con- 
 duct the candidate to the altar, facing the Sir Knight 
 Commander. The twelve Sir Knights, holding spears, 
 are masked with false faces, comic or otherwise, with 
 long black cambric cape over shoulder or gown and hood 
 or turban on the head. They fall into line on one side of 
 the hall. Another Sir Knight armed with the worst- 
 looking mask, scarlet cape or blouse, red hood or turban, 
 armed with a large battle axe (wood, imitation of iron), 
 takes his place on the left of the masked Sir Knight. 
 All the members pull down their vizors over their faces. 
 The Sir Knight Lieutenant Commander commands: 
 "Attention," the twelve Sir Knights fall into line and 
 bring their spears to a carry by their right side. 
 
 Sir Knight Lieut. : "Right face, forward, march." 
 
 They march once and a half around the hall and then 
 twice around the altar, forming a circle around the can- 
 didate. When the Sir Knight with battle axe is oppo- 
 site the left side of the candidate, the Sir Knight Lieut. 
 Commander commands, "Halt, inward face, charge 
 speara." 
 
 (At the last command the Sir Knights raise their
 
 217 
 
 spears, with both hands above their right shoulders, as if 
 making a thrust, bringing the points of the spears to the 
 breast and back of and nearly touching the candidate. 
 The Knight with battle axe raises it over the left arm 
 of the candidate. The lights are now nearly turned off. 
 A little to the rear and left of the altar, a Sir Knight 
 ignites a red fire alcohol and salt can be used instead, 
 if red fire cannot be obtained. As the red fire blazes up 
 the Sir Knight Commander says) : 
 
 Sir Knight Com. : "The battle is over, the victory is 
 won, let the clouds disperse; bring the brave and intrepid 
 stranger from darkness to light." 
 
 The hoodwink is immediately removed by the guards. 
 As soon as the red fire burns out the lights are turned up, 
 and the Sir Knight Lieut. Com. says: "Attention, Sir 
 Knights, carry spears, ground spears." 
 
 The twelve Sir Knights remain in this position until 
 after the obligation is given. The Sir Knight with the 
 battle axe keeps it raised over the left arm of the can- 
 didate until the penalty is reached. 
 
 The Past Sir Knight Commander now advances with- 
 in the circle and administers the following obligation: 
 
 Past Sir Knight Com.: "My kinsman from a far 
 country, are you still desirous of joining with your fel- 
 
 ]ows of tent, No of the Knights of the 
 
 Maccabees? (Candidate will answer, 'I am.') Then 
 you will place your hand on the volume of the Sacred 
 Word, on which is laid the Circle, and be bound in the 
 compact. Repeat your name in full, and say after me: 
 
 I, . do solemnly and voluntarily promise in the 
 
 presence of Almighty God and this duly convoked tent 
 of the Knights of the Maccabees, that I will be faithful
 
 218 
 
 and true to the tent denominated tent, No , 
 
 of which I am now to become a member; that I will 
 maintain and uphold the constitution and by-laws of 
 the Order, or of any tent to which at any time I may be- 
 long; that I will be true to all Sir Knights of the Order, 
 and will forever keep and conceal all the secrets, signs, 
 passwords, grips and other private work of the Order, 
 and that I will not, under any circumstances, make them 
 known to anyone in the world, or suffer others to do so, 
 if in my power to prevent it, unless it be a Sir Knight 
 of the Order who I know is entitled to the same, or in a 
 body of a tent while at work; that I will not defraud a 
 member or tent of anything, or allow it to be done by 
 others, if in my power to prevent it; that I will not be- 
 come a member of any society of men who claim to be a 
 branch of this Order unless they are chartered by the 
 executive of this Order, and that I will respect and pro- 
 tect the relatives of all Sir Knights, especially the wid- 
 ows and orphans. To all this I most sincerely promise 
 and swear with a fixed, solemn and determined resolution 
 to keep and perform the same, binding myself under 
 no less a penalty, for the willful violation of any of these 
 provisions, than that of having my left arm cut off above 
 the elbow (the Sir Knight on the left draws battle axe 
 across the candidate's left arm) so that I would forever 
 be unable to prove myself a Knight of the Maccabees. So 
 help me the Most High, and keep me steadfast in the 
 same until death." 
 
 The Sir Knight Lieut. Commander then steps up and 
 takes the candidate by the hand, saying: "My beloved 
 kinsman, indeed, you have been obligated on the Bible 
 and the Circle. The Bible, that divine light, sent to poor
 
 219 
 
 humanity from above, we shall all take as our rule and 
 guide while on this sublunary abode. These sacred 
 writings are a symbolical chain by which we all are 
 united in the bonds of brotherly love and universal phil- 
 anthropy. Without them no tent is perfect. The Circle 
 has ever been considered symbolical of the Deity, for as 
 a circle appears to have neither beginning nor end, it 
 must justly be considered a type of God, without either 
 beginning of days or ending of 3 r ears. It also reminds 
 us of a future state, where we hope to enjoy everlasting 
 happiness." 
 
 Sir Knight Lieut. Com. : "Attention, Sir Knights, 
 carry spears, forward, march." The Sir Knights march 
 once around the altar to their places on one side of the 
 hall, removing their masks and spears and taking seats. 
 The candidate is then conducted to the Sir Knight Com- 
 mander, who proceeds to instruct him in all the signs 
 and other secrets of the Order and gives him the follow- 
 ing admonition : 
 
 "My kinsman, you have been advanced through a 
 severe struggle to this beautiful degree of the Order. 
 You have been tried and not found wanting. The cere- 
 monies through which you have passed teach you a les- 
 son that should be remembered as long as you live. The 
 great object of this Order is to provide for the widows 
 and orphans of those who are morally and physically 
 qualified to become members. Upon your admission your 
 qualifications were thoroughly tested. The utmost cau- 
 tion was exercised b} r the members before you were al- 
 lowed to proceed. You then passed through three years 
 of warfare, representing childhood, manhood and old 
 age. Your first } r ear's struggle was light, you found no
 
 220 
 
 obstructions placed in your pathway, illustrating child- 
 hood days, when all is happiness, and life is full of hope 
 and song. In your second year's struggle, you met with 
 frequent obstructions, representing manhood. Being full 
 of energy and courage, you overcame them and won a 
 victory over all opposition. The third year's struggle 
 represented old age. You found all the obstacles in your 
 path more difficult to surmount, and had it not been for 
 the trustworthy guides who supported and assisted you 
 in the battle of life, you would have fallen and been left 
 by the wayside, to perish unprotected and alone. This 
 beautifully illustrates the benefits to be derived from a 
 membership in this Order. When death overtakes you, 
 you will have the consolation of knowing that you have 
 brothers who will provide for those dependent upon you, 
 and this urges upon you the necessity of providing for 
 those that you may at any moment leave behind in a cold, 
 cold world, and we trust you will place your entire trust 
 in the Great Architect of the Universe, who alone is able 
 to pull down or build up your destiny here and hereafter. 
 The tower of Babel, a work of the greatest magnitude, 
 undertaken and carried on with the greatest skill of the 
 time, but without the sanction of the Almighty, fell to 
 the ground, and the workmen were confounded and scat- 
 tered to the corners of the earth, while others of like 
 magnitude, under his guidance have been raised within 
 the shortest space of time, and become the wonders of 
 the whole earth. The Maccabees in ancient days, under 
 His all-powerful guidance, accomplished the most diffi- 
 cult tasks with the greatest ease, and in war were enabled 
 to conquer enemies ten times their own number. The 
 same God rules today, and if we place like trust in His
 
 221 
 
 divine word, we shall receive the same assistance and 
 support. As you have been deemed worthy to share the 
 privileges of this chivalrous Order, you must be sensible 
 that your responsibilities are increased in proportion to 
 your advantages. Let it ever be your desire and constant 
 aim to prove yourself worthy of the confidence that the 
 Sir Knights of this tent have entrusted you with. Let 
 uprightness and integrity be your guide. Let justice and 
 mercy attend your steps. Let fervency and zeal stimu- 
 late you in the discharge of the various duties incumbent 
 upon you. Be ever zealous for the prosperity and wel- 
 fare of the Knights of the Maccabees. Be faithful to the 
 members of your tent and the. Order. Let your conduct 
 be such as will entitle you to the esteem of them all. If 
 misfortune assail you while you remain true to the obli- 
 gations which you have of your own accord assumed, 
 have confidence that among the Knights of the Macca- 
 bees you will find friends who will comfort you in your 
 sorrow, ever remembering as a consolation under the 
 frowns of fortune, and as a hope for better prospects, 
 that the stone which the builders rejected became the 
 chief stone of the corner/' 
 
 The candidate is conducted to the Sir Knight Com- 
 mander's station and made to kneel on left knee in front 
 of that officer, who dubs him a Knight of the Order of 
 the Maccabees in these words:' 
 
 "My kinsman, I now dub and create you a Knight of 
 the Maccabees, and a member of this chivalric Order, 
 
 and of tent, No We hail you as a Sir 
 
 Knight, and accept you as a kinsman." 
 
 Wbn wJH (flaro fr> aav hgt fViie is Tint a Tplrffioiwi 
 
 mony?
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 ORDER OF HEPTASOPHS OR SEVEN WISE MEN. 
 
 This Order, an offspring of Greek Letter College so- 
 cieties, was founded in 1852 by a prominent Freemason 
 in New Orleans, La. Its ceremonial is based on the 
 Magi of old and the doctrine of Zoroaster. Ormisda 
 and Ahriman are introduced at the initiation to instruct 
 the candidate ; the name of God is "Supreme Archon of 
 the Universe." The Seven Wise Men or Magi of ancient 
 Persia are the sponsors for the name. The historian of 
 the Order tells us that "the Order gives no adherence to 
 any religious creed, but requires from its candidates the 
 profession of a belief in a Supreme Being. It bears aloft 
 the motto, "In God We Trust," admitting to its mys- 
 teries both the Jew and Christian on the common ground 
 of mutual dependence and universal brotherhood under 
 the Fatherhood of God. To this end it inculcates the 
 principles of "Wisdom, Truth, and Benevolence." Ma- 
 sonic traditions and principles are also manifested in the 
 ceremonial and symbolism : a seven-pointed star enclos- 
 ing a seven-branched candlestick, the All-Seeing Eye, 
 the ark and altar, its group of seven, etc. 
 
 I quote from the ritual : 
 
 "The property and paraphernalia of this Order are : 
 
 "First Degree A platform consisting of seven de- 
 scending steps, a long narrow box, hoodwink, sponges, 
 chains, etc.
 
 , 223 
 
 "Second Degree The same platform as in first de- 
 gree, reversed when in use, a table or stand with mova- 
 ble legs, rods, chains, hoodwinks, etc. 
 
 "Third Degree A movable stool or platform on cas- 
 tors, scroll or book, hoodwinks, pen, ink, etc." 
 
 The meetings are called conclaves ; Archon, whose title 
 is "Most Eminent," Herald, Provost, Chancellor, Wax- 
 den, are the names of the officials . The candidate for in- 
 itiation is blindfolded and conducted into the conclave, 
 where standing in front of the Provost, who is addressed 
 as Venerable Astrologer, by whom he is instructed : "In 
 my capacity as Astrologer * * * I have studied the 
 wisdom of the stars and the silent moving of the spheres ; 
 that * * * consulting the horoscope T found no un- 
 favorable omen, otherwise I would have forbidden your 
 entrance here. But if you have entered these portals 
 with the hope that our mysteries would be imparted to 
 you, loosely and thoughtlessly, or without any farther or- 
 deal than the slight one you were made to pass through 
 on your first admission into our Order, be assured now, 
 as you will presently be convinced, that your hope is a 
 vain one. 
 
 "An old adage says that 'Truth is to be found at the 
 bottom of a well.' We are apt to value too lightly the 
 experience, knowledge, or, in fact, any other acquisition, 
 that is gained too easily. 
 
 "You will be caused to pass down a narrow, rough and 
 toilsome descent. As the passage narrows, you will have 
 to bow your head, to avoid dangerous overhanging cliffs, 
 and jutting rocks. One defiant step, one disobedient 
 whim, may dash your brains to atoms as you pass down 
 the treacherous abyss. Be cautious, be calm, be resolute,
 
 224 
 
 but obey your conductors in all things, as } r ou value your 
 life. 
 
 "This ordeal is necessary, not only to satisfy us of the 
 existence of those qualities of faith and fortitude, with- 
 out which it is impossible for one to be a worthy mem- 
 ber of this Order, but to detect any hidden or unfavorable 
 omen, which my divination may have failed to discover 
 previous to your admission here." 
 
 (The candidate is blindfolded and made to pass down 
 a rough descent. He is to imagine that he is in a dark 
 cavern, which narrows and becomes narrower as it de- 
 scends ; he has to get on his knees to pass through ; and 
 finally on his hands and feet he has to pass through a 
 short and narrow passage. This may be made by two 
 chairs thrown down and set back to back (a barrel or 
 box may be used ) : wet sponges and chains may be placed 
 in the passage way. Having emerged, the candidate is 
 placed upon his feet and brought quietly to the station 
 of the Provost, and stands with his back to that station.) 
 
 Inspector General : "Venerable Astrologer, the candi- 
 date has thus far passed the ordeal in safety." 
 
 Provost: "Having emerged from the cave of mys- 
 teries, you are now on the bank of a dark, deep and silent 
 stream, which it is necessary to leap over. One false 
 step may cost you your life. Have faith, have courage. 
 Place your hope beyond the stream; do not fall within 
 its destructive vortex. Eemember, if you fail it is the 
 River Lethe, the River of Death. Leap, now, leap with 
 all your might." 
 
 The candidate leaps as far' as he can on the floor, and 
 is caught as he alights by the conductors, who prevent 
 him from falling.
 
 225 
 
 Ins. Gen. : "Venerable Astrologer, the candidate has 
 passed in safety." 
 
 Provost : "Then I pronounce him worthy. Let him 
 be conducted to our Most Eminent Archon." 
 
 (He is conducted twice around the conclave room and 
 then halted before the Archon's station.) 
 
 Archon: "Let the bandage be removed from the eyes 
 of the candidate, and let him be clothed with a blue 
 apron and seated before me, to receive the instructions 
 of the first degree. 
 
 "The legend of this degree gives an example of integ- 
 rity unpersuaded and unawed, and an instance of its 
 proper recognition and due appreciation. 
 
 "It appears that Kai el Ko-az, king of Persia, being 
 taken captive in Mazanderan, while invading that coun- 
 try, was beset by entreaties from some, as well as threats 
 from others, to impart the secrets of the Seven. The 
 High Priest of Zahma, who besought these instructions, 
 was so struck with the answer of Kai el Ko-az refusing 
 to impart them, that he recommended the king of Ma- 
 zanderan to spare the life of so wise and noble a pris- 
 oner, though he came as an invading enemy, which was 
 accordingly done." 
 
 (I pass over the other part of the instructions for want 
 of space.) 
 
 In the second degree the candidate when brought be- 
 fore the Provost is addressed thus : 
 
 Provost: "Candidate, do you solemnly promise to 
 preserve and keep the instructions of the second degree, 
 and never impart them unlawfully ?" 
 
 Candidate : "I do." 
 
 Provost : "Before receiving the mysteries of the sec-
 
 226 
 
 ond degree, it will be necessary for you to pass through 
 another ordeal. In the first degree, your courage and 
 constancy, against impediments, and in the hour of ad- 
 verse vicissitude, were tested. Now you will be made to 
 show how you will deport yourself amid the giddy 
 heights of ambition. Your ascent will be quick and 
 rapid; you may imagine yourself upon the lofty peaks 
 of the Himalaya Mountains. It is well that you are 
 blindfolded so that the narrow defiles and hair-breadth 
 contiguity to steep precipices, may not be apparent to 
 your eyes, and cause you to slnidder, tremble and fall. 
 My parting advice to you is to 'look aloft'; let your 
 thought ever be upward; for if you realize your danger, 
 and waver for a moment, a terrific descent awaits you." 
 
 ( The construction of apparatus for the sec- 
 ond degree's initiation may be left to the fancy of the 
 members; a series of rough, but not dangerous, ascents 
 and quiet descents may be made, terminating by a sort of 
 bridge, or any other contrivance which breaks down 
 noisily but safely. When the candidate shall have at- 
 tained the top of the ascent, he is allowed to halt, and is 
 thus addressed:) 
 
 Ins. Gen. : "Be not over-elated at your success in thus 
 attaining to a position of lofty grandeur, for ambition 
 blinds us in danger, vanity conceals from us our own 
 weakness, and pride ever precedes a fall." The candi- 
 date moves on, the trap is sprung, and he is made to come 
 down suddenly. 
 
 Ins. Gen. (In a loud voice) : "The candidate has 
 passed the ordeal in safety." 
 
 Provost: "Then let him be conducted to our Most 
 Eminent Archon,"
 
 227 
 
 (Candidate is taken twice around the room, and halted 
 near the Archon's station.) 
 
 Archon : "Let the bandages be removed from the eyes 
 of the candidate, and let him be clothed with a green 
 apron and seated before me to receive the instructions 
 of the Second Degree. 
 
 "The legend of the Second Degree presents to us a 
 beautiful story of gratitude. It appears that a short time 
 after the occurence related in the First Degree, Eos- 
 tram, a victorious Persian warrior, having invaded 
 Mazandcran and taken captive the King of that country, 
 brought him, in turn, before Kai el Ko-az. The latter 
 out of gratitude, ordered his immediate release." 
 
 (Here follows a similar instruction by the Chancellor 
 as in the First Degree.) 
 
 The Third Degree is conferred in similar manner as 
 the other two, till at a certain point in the initiation the 
 Provost says to Candidate :) 
 
 Provost : "I will now put you in charge of Ormisda, 
 who will be your guide. You have nothing to fear as 
 long as j^ou listen to him and follow his directions." 
 
 ( * * * Ormisda now takes the candidate in 
 charge, and conducts him around the room a number of 
 times, delivering the following address to the candidate 
 as he passes slowly along:) 
 
 Ormisda : "The path of life is thought dull by many 
 when pursued with a grave sense of the object of the 
 journey. But there are lessons of wisdom to be gathered, 
 and we may sow our pathway with good deeds as we pass 
 along. It is the object of our Order to awaken the mind 
 to the leading principles and duties of life. It is strange
 
 228 
 
 that its greatest purposes are most frequently lost sight 
 of, while they should be its greatest pleasure. 
 
 "I am not a favorite with those who journey this way, 
 and can only stay with such as find me welcome. I per- 
 ceive that my discourse does not interest you, and that, 
 like most of the travelers, you find me a dull companion. 
 Henceforth Ahriman will conduct you. His guidance 
 you will find more congenial." 
 
 He is taken in charge by Ahriman, who strikes the 
 candidate on the shoulder and conducts him on around 
 the room, addressing him as follows:) 
 
 Ahriman : "Rejoice, my friend, that you are now rid 
 of the guide Ormisda. He is an old sober-sides, always 
 preaching. It is strange that some people are neither 
 content to enjoy themselves, nor let others do so. For 
 what is the world, if it be not for our enjoyment ? What 
 is the use of always preaching morality, and that sort 
 of thing? Trust to the impulses of your own heart, and 
 all will be right. What he has been saying is all fol-de- 
 rol: a little philosophy will soon teach you to set it at 
 naught. Come, my friend, let us grapple with the world 
 as we find it." 
 
 (The candidate is halted before the Archon. He 
 either stands upon the floor or a moveable platform. The 
 latter is better.) 
 
 Archon : "In your progress, thus far, you have doubt- 
 less thought this to be a purely charitable Order. Well, 
 it is charitable ; that is, charity amongst ourselves. But 
 at this period of your advancement, it is time to present 
 some other ideas to 3 r ou, which have hitherto been' with- 
 held. They were withheld because we first wished to 
 know more about von. We wished to know whether you
 
 229 
 
 would do to tie to. Charity, ray friend, is a good thing; 
 but charity won't always do : charity won't buy the baby 
 a frock, or put bread and butter upon the table. It is 
 true that we make use of charity and other such things, 
 as a cloak for our designs. Nothing can be done now-a- 
 days, except under some cloak of that sort. Our object 
 is, first, the teaching of philosophy plain, practical 
 philosophy, that teaches you as a first principal, to take 
 care of number one. Secondly, to help your fellow- 
 members in all their schemes and purposes, right or 
 wrong, against the rest of the world. We are associated 
 as an Order for our own individual purposes. We are 
 bound to assist each other in distress ; that is a small mat- 
 ter; and we must, each one of us, be at all times ready 
 to do for a brother whatsoever he may demand. We 
 must know nothing beyond the interests and necessities 
 of the Order. Thus far, our hearts must ever be open 
 fountains, whence continually should flow aid and com- 
 fort for our brethren. Show your appreciation of the 
 grand object of the Order, and gladden us by your un- 
 questioning acquiescence in our requests. Be seated, and 
 let your resolution of maintaining the good of this Order 
 be firm as the rock which now unyielding lends you its 
 support. Here, set your name to this scroll, in testimony 
 of your sincerity and good fellowship." 
 
 (The candidate is placed upon a rock, in the centre 
 of the room, pen and ink handed him, the bandage 
 is removed and he is directed to sign his name to the 
 sheet, whereon has been written (or is afterwards writ- 
 ten above his signature), unknown to him, a draft for 
 $100, or some onerous obligation, which is placed in a
 
 230 
 
 book, the obligation being hidden or folded under. If he 
 refuses to sign, the members all shout aloud :) 
 
 Members: "He refuses he is unworthy of fellow- 
 ship in our Order. Away with him.'* 
 
 (If he consents, they express their gratification. The 
 bandages are then replaced and the Archon says:) 
 
 Archon : "You have been fully enlightened as to the 
 aim of our brotherhood, and it is now necessary for you 
 to kneel and take an obligation to assist your fellow-mem- 
 bers in all their purposes, public or private, without in- 
 quiring whether they be right or wrong provided they 
 are not against your own interest." (Kneels.) 
 
 (This is a plain proposition to do a wrong thing. The 
 candidate may consent or not. It is, of course, no inten- 
 tion of the Order to permit any member to take a wrong- 
 ful obligation. The degree is a lesson against tempta- 
 tion. Those candidates who consent, of course, will kneel, 
 the others will remain standing.) 
 
 Archon : "Brothers, you know your duty." 
 
 (The candidate or candidates will now be rushed upon 
 by the members, whether they consent or not; those who 
 consent will be rushed on for the purpose of giving them 
 a lesson for such thoughtless and wrongful yielding to 
 temptation: .those who refuse, will be rushed upon at 
 the same time, as if it were the intention of the members 
 to punish them for their obstinacy. (If the candidates 
 are on a moveable platform it will be made to shake 
 like an earthquake for a while, before they are rushed 
 upon.) They will be hastened around the room amid 
 demoniac noises, clashing of swords, thunder, lightning 
 and rain. At length they will be halted before the 
 Chancellor's chair. Those who have consented will be
 
 23J 
 
 seated on the left: those who refused will be seated on 
 the right. The bandages are taken from the candidates' 
 eyes. After a panse the Chancellor proceeds:) 
 
 Chancellor : "It was never our intention that a can- 
 didate should he permitted to take a wrongful obligation. 
 What you have just passed through was intended as a 
 lesson against temptation. 
 
 "The Order of Hepta sophs, or Seven Wise Men, 
 teaches nothing that can conflict with the most sacred 
 duties. On the contrary ; it seeks to enforce those duties 
 which in the hardening struggle of life, men are too 
 prone to forget. Be ever firm and watchful, and ever 
 adhere to principles. Is this your signature? 
 
 (The document is shown to candidate and its contents 
 read aloud.) 
 
 "You should never do an act without counting seven 
 times, and know what you are doing. See the evidence 
 of the onerous charge which you have so thoughtlessly 
 assumed." 
 
 (The Chancellor burns the paper.) 
 
 "Let the remembrance of this name ever be bright in 
 your memory, lest you be brought down to bewail misery 
 and desolation, induced by recklessness and folly." 
 
 Chancellor's address to the candidate on the right : 
 
 (This address is given only to the candidate or can- 
 didates who refiised. If none refused, this address is 
 omitted.) 
 
 Chancellor: "You have had the self-possession and 
 courage to discern the advances of false philosophy and 
 to resist them. I congratulate you, and have only to 
 add, that what you have passed through is simply a lesson 
 showing in the rugged path you were made to pass over,
 
 232 
 
 as a punishment by your resistance of temptation, how 
 the evil are ever seeking to throw obstacles and diffi- 
 culties in the way of virtue and integrity." 
 
 Address to candidates on the left : 
 
 (This is omitted if there be no candidates present who 
 consented. ) 
 
 Chancellor: "To you who failed to preceive the snare 
 into which you are being led, we have no censure to 
 offer. Many of us have been alike thoughtless and in- 
 considerate. 
 
 "We are happy to know, from the character you have 
 sustained, and which has shown you worthy of admis- 
 sion and advancement in our Order, that yours has been 
 an error of want of thought and attention, and not of 
 principle. But let the lesson sink deep into your heart. 
 Error is honey-tongued, artful and persuasive. Let us 
 not suffer ourselves to be beguiled by it. Conduct the 
 candidate to the Eminent Archon." 
 
 (The Archon now addresses the Inspector General, as 
 follows : ) 
 
 Archon: "Inspector General, you will now see that 
 the candidate is clothed in a crimson apron, and again 
 seated before me for instructions." 
 
 INSTRUCTION OF THIRL) DRGKEE. 
 
 Archon: "In the ancient mystic teachings, two be- 
 ings, or principles, were represented as controlling the 
 entire universe. These were Ormisda and Ahriman, who 
 represent the good and the evil principle, the right and 
 the wrong. The choice of the right or the wrong, is ever 
 before us and within us. It depends upon ourselves
 
 233 
 
 which shall obtain mastery. If we lend a willing ear to 
 the latter, we will find its subtleties artful and persuasive 
 and its reasonings and arguments plausible and seduc- 
 tive. To err is human. It therefore behooves us to be 
 guarded and cautious whenever any proposition is made 
 to us, either from within or without, involving anything 
 not strictly conforming to the moral sense. By remem- 
 bering this caution, and refusing to yield to false philo- 
 sophy, however ingenious, much evil may be avoided. 
 
 "You will now take your seat among the members of 
 the Conclave, and I proclaim you to be a Third Degree 
 member of this Order." 
 
 The Improved Order of Heptasophs is an offspring of 
 this Order and was founded in 1878. 
 
 Though in both orders we do not find the oath and 
 prayers, as in many other societies, still it is obvious from 
 the foregoing, taken verbatim from the ritual, that the 
 Order of Seven Wise Men falls under the ban of the 
 church, and that no Catholic can belong to the same and 
 retain his membership in the church.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 FORESTERS. 
 
 There are, at present, according to the Cyclopa?dia of 
 Fraternities, the following Orders of Foresters: An- 
 cient Order of Foresters, Ancient Order of Foresters in 
 America, Canadian Order of Foresters, Companion of 
 the Forest (Foresters), Glenwood Degree of Foresters, 
 Independent Order of Foresters, Negro Independent 
 Order of Foresters, Independent Order of Foresters of 
 Illinios, Irish National Order of Foresters, Junior For- 
 esters of America, Juvenile Foresters, Knights of the 
 Sherwood Foresters, Miriam Degree of Foresters, For- 
 esters of America, Pennsylvania Order of Foresters, 
 Royal Order of Foresters, United Order of Foresters, 
 Female Foresters, etc. 
 
 One and all of the Forester Orders are children of the 
 Masonic Fraternity. When the Order was first started 
 in England, by Masons, about the middle of the eigh- 
 teenth century, for convivial purposes, the ceremonies 
 were drawn from the legends and stories concerning 
 Robin Hood, Little John, and their merry men, with 
 which the English people were so familiar. 
 
 I select the United Order of Foresters, and show from 
 the ritual of that Order that the Foresters are a secret 
 society, to which a Catholic can not belong. 
 
 The title of officers are: High Chief Ranger, High 
 Marshall, Senior and Junior Beadle, Woodward, etc. The
 
 235 
 
 common members are called Foresters, and the candi- 
 date is dubbed "captive." Meetings are called Courts. 
 When a candidate, as "captive/' is prepared for initia- 
 tion, one of the brothers proceeds to the ante-room to 
 prepare candidate, which is done by blindfolding him 
 securely and tying a chain around his arms. Meanwhile 
 the Court Eoom is prepared and among the articles are : 
 A lot of brushwood, standing, to represent a forest, a 
 long narrow trough with pieces nailed across about 18 
 inches apart and a strong canvas nailed loosely over all, 
 so when the candidate steps into it the canvas sinks down 
 between the cross-pieces and every step is the same, the 
 canvass sinking down at each step. There is also a double 
 inclined plane sloping in two directions, made of strong 
 wide boards with cleats nailed irregularly across one 
 slope making it difficult to walk up, and when the top is 
 reached, the other slope is so fixed that when the candi- 
 date steps on it, it gives way and lets him down very 
 suddenly about a foot. Also another inclined plane made 
 of rollers placed close together, so that every time the 
 candidate attempts to mount, he slips back. There is, 
 besides, a shallow box filled with round sticks, cobble 
 stones and straps nailed across, to trip the candidate. A 
 tremendous tin horn with reed fixed in end, to blow a 
 blast in the ear of the candidate, a flat paddle to slap can- 
 didate and help him over obstacles. As soon as the Court 
 is properly prepared the Woodwards report to the Chief 
 Eanger, who calls the Court to order with three raps. 
 Chief Eanger: "Vice Chief Eanger, Officers and 
 
 Brothers, Mr. , having been duly declared worthy 
 
 to be admitted to the mysteries and privileges of For- 
 estry, I have to ask your kind attention during the
 
 236 
 
 initiation. Let it be felt by all that upon an occasion of 
 so great importance, the ceremony cannot be too solemnly 
 or impressively rendered. I charge you to receive the 
 candidate as one worthy to become a member of our For- 
 est Home. Extend to him your fraternal consideration, 
 so that he may be impressed with the conviction that this 
 Court rightly knows how to honor every accession to its 
 members.*' 
 
 Chief Ranger : "Vice Chief Ranger, I will thank you 
 to direct that the candidate be admitted in due form." 
 
 Vice Chief Ranger : "Brother Senior Beadle, let the 
 candidate be admitted in due form." 
 
 (The members will then put on their masks, and the 
 Senior Beadle will give three loud raps on the door, when 
 the Junior Beadle will blow his horn as an alarm, or 
 answer by three raps twice :) 
 
 Senior Beadle: Vice Chief Ranger, there is an 
 alarm in the outskirts of the forest." 
 
 Vice Chief Ranger : "An alarm ! Ascertain the cause 
 thereof and report to me forthwith." 
 
 (Senior Beadle again gives three raps on the door, 
 then partly opens it, or opens the wicket and exclaims:) 
 
 Senior Beadle: "Who comes there?" 
 
 Junior Beadle : "A Brother Forester with a captive." 
 
 Senior Beadle: "Vice Chief Ranger, I have to re- 
 port that the alarm was caused by a brother with a cap- 
 tive, and asks admittance." 
 
 Vice Chief Ranger: "Let the captive be properly 
 secured and brought hither." 
 
 (The candidate is pushed through the door, and in- 
 stantly grabbed by two of the brothers, who rush him to 
 the center of the room, amid the loud braying of horns
 
 237 
 
 and crash of thunder, where he is met and stopped sud- 
 denly by the Vice Chief .Ranger, who addresses him in a 
 loud and excited voice : ) 
 
 Vice Chief Ranger: "Captive stranger, why did you 
 enter the silent precincts of our wild retreat? Why 
 violate our law by trespassing in the outskirts of our 
 forest and thus incurring the penalty of death ? Did you 
 not know that none but true Foresters were allowed here ? 
 Why did you seek to enter ?" 
 
 Senior Woodward (Answering for candidate) : "Be- 
 cause I come to enlist with the brave and noble band of 
 Foresters." 
 
 Vice Chief Ranger: "Ah, he desires to join our 
 Forestic band. Then lead him to our Forest Home, 
 where Robin Hood, our Chief Ranger, may examine 
 him." 
 
 (The candidate is led around the hall and over the 
 rough road, during which time an ode is sung. He is 
 halted before the altar, on each side of which the Wood- 
 wards stand with their uplifted axes; the chains and 
 hoodwink are taken off and the Chief Ranger addresses 
 him thus:) 
 
 Chief Ranger: ''Mr. , before you can be en- 
 rolled as a Forester, it is necessary that you give a solemn 
 pledge to be true to the principles of the Order and keep 
 inviolate the secrets which may be communicated to 
 you ; for which purpose, therefore, I will thank you to 
 stand before the altar of Liberty, Benevolence and Con- 
 cord, with your right hand on your left breast, your left 
 hand elevated, and repeat after me the solemn obligation 
 of a Forester
 
 238 
 
 I, , of my own free will and accord, in the pres- 
 ence of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and of the 
 members of the United Order of Foresters, here as- 
 sembled, do most solemnly and sincerely promise and 
 declare that I will ever conceal and never reveal any 
 word, sign, grip or token, or' any other secret or private 
 work of the United Order of Foresters which shall now 
 or may hereafter be communicated to me, to any one 
 in the world, unless it be to a brother Forester, I know- 
 ing him to be such, by due examination, or upon the 
 word of a brother who is known to me, or in the body of 
 a regular constituted Court. I will not repeat outside 
 of the Court room any transaction whatsoever, which 
 may take place therein, which by the regulation of the 
 Order should be kept secret, unless 1 am duly authorized 
 so to do by the constituted authorities of the Order. I 
 further promise that I will not wrong a brother or see 
 him wronged, if in my power to prevent it, and will do 
 all I can legitimately to alleviate the needs, protect the 
 honor and advance the welfare of a Brother Forester. I 
 will be obedient to all the laws and usages of the Order, 
 and will hold allegiance to the Supreme Court and be 
 loyal thereto, as the Supreme authority of the entire 
 Order. I will obey all legal mandates of the High Court 
 and of any Court of which T may be a member. And I 
 I will take no part in any illegal distribution of the funds 
 or property of any Court. And I further promise and 
 agree, that should T, from any cause, cease to be a mem- 
 ber of the Order, my obligation of secrecy shall remain 
 binding and in full force, and that all my right, title and 
 interest in and to any property or funds of the Court 
 shall thereby terminate and become absolutely void. For
 
 239 
 
 the faithful observance of all which, I hereby pledge my 
 most sacred honor." 
 
 The candidate is then instructed in the signs and 
 counter-signs and is told : "The grip of a Forester is 
 given thus : Grasp with your right hand, the whole of 
 the brother's right hand, below the knuckle joint. It is 
 intended as a memorial of the dependence upon each 
 other of our first parents, who, when expelled from the 
 Garden of Eden, through the sin of disobedience, became 
 in more than a figurative sense, the first Foresters the 
 wilderness of the world before thorn, with all its dangers, 
 trials and temptations. We are taught by this to recog- 
 nize the duty of walking hand in hand through the forest 
 of this life and helping each other to surmount its diffi- 
 culties and to bear up under its disappointments." 
 
 When the Marshal introduces the Chaplain he says : 
 
 "High Chief Ranger, T have the honor to present the 
 Chaplain of this Court for installation." 
 
 High Chief Eanger: "Brother Chaplain, you have 
 been chosen to fill a most important position in this 
 Court. I trust you will always strive to conduct the de- 
 votional exercises acceptably, so that we may look to 
 have the blessings of heaven rest upon our labor here." 
 
 Both at the opening and closing of the Court the 
 Chaplain says a prescribed prayer.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 ORDER OF THE RED CROSS. 
 
 This Order is usually referred to as Knights of the 
 Red Cross. It was founded in 1879 by members of the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen and Freemasons. Its 
 ritual is based on Biblical incidents. The emblem is a 
 red Greek cross surmounted by a crown, a white five- 
 pointed star in the center, with the motto of the order, 
 "Omnia pro charitate," on a blue band encircling it. 
 The semi-religious character is evident from the form of 
 prayer and the mode of initiation. The oath is a fea- 
 ture which adds to the marks why a Christian can not 
 join or remain a member of this Order. At the proper 
 time, when the meeting takes place, the Commander 
 says: "Brother Prelate, you will invoke the divine 
 blessing. 
 
 OPENING PRAYER. 
 
 "Supreme Ruler of the "Universe, Maker and Father 
 of all things; who is there in Heaven but Thee; who 
 upon earth can stand in competition with Thee ? Thine 
 omniscient mind brings all things to review, past, pres- 
 ent and to come. Thine omnipresent arm directs the 
 movements of the vast Creation. Thine Omnipresent 
 eye pervades the recesses of every heart. Thy boundless 
 benefactions supply us with every comfort and enjoy- 
 ment. Thy unspeakable perfection and glory surpass
 
 241 
 
 the understanding of the children of men. We do most 
 humbly invoke Thy special blessing upon the purpose of 
 our assembly. Let this Commandery be established in 
 Thy honor and glory ; endow the officers with wisdom to 
 discern and fidelity to pursue its true interest; may the 
 members be ever mindful of the duty they owe to their 
 superiors, the love they owe to their equals, and the good 
 will they owe to all mankind. Teach us to be charitable 
 to one another, to help each other in time of need, and 
 may the members ever exemplify their love to Thee by 
 their beneficence to their fellow man and eventually en- 
 joy the reward of a well spent life in the heaven of rest 
 on high and Thy name shall have all the glory, Amen." 
 (At initiation the candidate is blindfolded, etc., 
 marched around the hall and stands before the Com- 
 mander, who says:) 
 
 Commander: "Halt! Who are you?" 
 Sergeant: "One who haa come from the outside 
 world to unite with a band of brothers pledged to assist 
 each other to perform acts of kindness, join in the noble 
 work of relieving the distressed, and protecting the 
 widows and orphans of deceased brethren." 
 
 Commander: "Such being your desire, you will be 
 conducted to the Altar, there to take upon yourself an 
 obligation which all of us have taken, and in which you 
 will find nothing that conflicts with any duty you owe to 
 God, your country, your family or yourself." 
 (Sergeant conducts the candidate to the altar.) 
 Commander: "If it is still your wish to become a 
 member of our Order you will place your hands in a 
 proper position (on the Bible and the Square Cross, with
 
 242 
 
 the letter C on top; the wrists crossed), say, I, with your 
 own name, and repeat af ter me : 
 
 "I, , in the presence of the Supreme Ruler of 
 
 the universe and the brethren here assembled, do hereby 
 solemnly pledge and vow not to divulge or make known 
 in any manner whatsoever any of the secrets or mysteries 
 of the Order of the Eed Cross, that have been or shall be 
 hereafter communicated to me; that I will acknowledge 
 the Supreme Commandery of this Order, and the Grand 
 Commandery within whose jurisdiction I may be, and 
 obey all the laws, rules and regulations governing the 
 same, also the Commandery of which I may hereafter 
 become a member. That I will assist all worthy and 
 distressed brethren of the Order so far as my ability will 
 permit, that I will give employment to a brother when 
 in my power to do so, in preference to a stranger, every- 
 thing else being equal ; that I will not wrong or defraud 
 a brother of this Order, and will give him due and time- 
 ly notice of impending danger when in my power to do 
 so ; that I will assist the widows and orphans of deceased 
 members and protect them as far as shall lay in my 
 power. All this I solemnly promise and vow, binding 
 myself under no less penalty than that of having my 
 name stricken from the roll of membership, and to be 
 treated by all good men as one unworthy to hold any 
 honorable position in society, so help me the Most High, 
 the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, to keep and perform 
 this, my solemn obligation, as a member of the Red 
 Cross." 
 
 Commander : "Brother Sergeant, you see before you 
 the Holy Bible, upon which rests the Square Cross and 
 the letter C. The Holy Bible is given us as a rule and
 
 243 
 
 guide to our faith. The Square Cross to guide us in the 
 path of rectitude, squaring our action by the square of 
 Virtue, ever keeping in mind the noblest of virtues, 
 Charity. I will now proceed to make you acquainted 
 witli the signs and password of our Order."
 
 CHAPTEE XXXV. 
 
 UNITED SONS OF INDTJSTBY. 
 
 The Chaplain defines his duties as : "To conduct the 
 devotional exercises and perform such other duties as 
 the President may direct/' 
 
 OPENING PRAYER BY CHAPLAIN. 
 
 "Almighty Maker of the Universe, and giver of every 
 good to mankind, we return our heartiest thanks to Thee, 
 that we are permitted to again assemble here. Be with 
 all connected with our Order, and aid us in extending 
 its benefits in all parts of our land. Be with all Orders 
 and associations having for their object the advancement 
 of education and the moral welfare and happiness of 
 mankind. Amen." 
 
 The candidate for initiation in the different degrees 
 of Apprentice, Journeyman and Master Mechanic, has 
 to pass through the usual process of examination, cross- 
 questioning, etc., till he is told to kneel before an open 
 coffin containing a skeleton, representing a dead traitor 
 to the Order, his right hand resting on the coffin and 
 left hand on his breast: 
 
 President: "Brother , if you are still willing 
 
 to proceed, you will repeat after me the following ob- 
 ligation:
 
 245 
 
 MASTER MECHANIC'S OBLIGATION. 
 
 "In the presence of Almighty God and these witnesses 
 assembled in this duly organized Lodge of United Sons 
 of Industry, now working in the Third, or Master Me- 
 chanic's Degree, do most solemnly affirm that I will 
 never reveal any or either of the secrets that may be 
 committed to my care now, or at any other time, to any 
 person or persons, upon any pretence whatsoever, unless 
 to a worthy brother of this degree, and then only when I 
 am duly authorized so to do for the good of the Order. 
 The Grand Hailing Sign of Distress or the words which 
 accompany it, I will never give under any circumstances, 
 unless my life is in danger or for the purpose of instruc- 
 tion ; and should I see that sign given by day or hear the 
 word which accompanies it by night, I will go to the 
 assistance of the brother in distress, and aid or relieve 
 him if in my power. Furthermore, should I at any time 
 see or hear of a worthy brother of this degree about to 
 be despoiled unlawfully of any property, or any undue 
 advantage taken of him, I will warn him of such if 
 within my power. Should I at any time have any place 
 of emolument at my disposal, and a worthy brother of 
 this degree apply for such, I shall give him the prefer- 
 ence, I deeming him capable of fulfilling the duties 
 requisite thereof. Binding myself upon the violation of 
 this obligation to no less penalty than total expulsion 
 from the Order. So help me God, and keep me steadfast 
 in this, my solemn vow and obligation, of this, the 
 Master Mechanic's Degree of the United Sons of In- 
 dustry." 
 
 President: "Brother, which do you most desire: 
 light or darkness ?"
 
 246 
 
 Candidate: "Light." 
 
 President: "Give our brother light." 
 
 (At the head and foot of the coffin stand two masked 
 persons in long black robes, and on the right hand 
 side stands the Chaplain, in a long white robe, 
 also masked. As the hoodwink is removed from candi- 
 date's eyes, they each point with forefinger at the skele- 
 ton, when the Chaplain exclaims: "Behold the secret 
 doom.") 
 
 Vice President : "My brother, behold the traitor's 
 doom. He whom you first saw surrounded by friends, 
 who would have shielded him from every danger; who 
 would have been his support in every trial, proved recre- 
 ant to the trust confided to him. Those brothers, for 
 self-protection, and in strict compliance with their ob- 
 ligation, were forced to turn against him the sword of 
 Justice as a brother. He fell from the high position to 
 which they had exalted him, his shafts of enmity were 
 turned, his babbling tongue was forever silenced; be 
 met a traitor's doom. Behold ! Beware ! Hold sacred 
 your obligation. Let his fate be an example forever be- 
 fore you; let the impression sink deep into your heart. 
 That you may be guided aright is the prayer of all these 
 Brothers who now surround you." 
 
 President: "Guide the brother still further on his 
 way." (Escort hoodwinks the candidate and marches 
 him three times around the hall, halting in front of the 
 President, when hoodwink is removed.) 
 
 President: "Brother, as you have taken the third 
 and last step, you are now entitled to all the signs, grips 
 and passwords of this lodge."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 ORDER OF MUTUAL PROTECTION. 
 
 Tin* opening ode having been sung, the Chaplain shall 
 say : 
 
 Chaplain : "We thank Thee, Our Heavenly Father, 
 for the happiness we enjoy in our meetings, for the. 
 friendship which binds us together a,s members, and for 
 the mutual protection which this Order affords. We 
 entreat Thee to assist us to govern our hearts by the 
 blessed law of charity, that we may become more perfect 
 ::iid worthy of our membership and of Thy love and 
 protection." 
 
 For initiation the ritual prescribes : "The Bible is to 
 be placed on a stand in front of the Chaplain." 
 
 The Chaplain directs the candidate: "Place your 
 right hand on the Bible, pronounce your full name and 
 repeat after me: 
 
 "I, , do solemnly promise to assist in carrying 
 out the objects of this Order and bind and obligate my- 
 self to the faithful discharge, to the best of my ability, 
 of the 1 duties of a member, and that E shall never divulge 
 or make known the business or private work of the lodge 
 to anyone not entitled to receive it, for the keeping of 
 which I pledge my sacred word of honor."
 
 CHAPTEE XXXVII. 
 
 KNIGHTS OP THE ORIENT. 
 
 According to the Kitual : "The aim of the Order is 
 to improve the condition of mankind." The Chaplain 
 is called "Grand Prophet/' His duties are: "to assist 
 in the ceremonies of initiation and to perform such 
 other duties as the Grand Chief Orient may direct." The 
 candidate is called Pilgrim. He is gravely told, as in 
 other lodges, by the Grand Marshal: "Sir, my first 
 duty, requires me to assure you that neither your polit- 
 ical, moral nor religions liberty will in any wise be affect- 
 ed by the obligation, rites, regulations or laws of the 
 Order." 
 
 The Grand Marshal conducts the Pilgrim to the 
 Grand Chief Orient and says: "Grand Chief Orient, 
 he who stands before you has signified his desire to be- 
 come one of us, and his willingness to covenant with, and 
 obedient to our laws and usages." 
 
 Grand Chief Orient (to candidate) : "Pilgrim, is this 
 true?" 
 
 Candidate: "Yes, it is true." 
 
 Grand Chief Orient: "Then answer promptly and 
 respectfully our questions; attend closely to our rites 
 and ceremonies, and yield willing obedience to official 
 commands, and unwavering fidelity to our obligations, 
 laws and rules. Under these requirements will you 
 assume and comply with our obligations, laws and regu-
 
 249 
 
 lations, and ever afterwards conduct yourself as be- 
 comes an upright member of this Order ?" 
 
 Candidate answers. 
 
 Grand Chief Orient: "Grand Marshal, conduct the 
 Pilgrim to our Grand Prophet, where he will be duly 
 obligated." 
 
 Grand Marshal: "Grand Prophet, the Grand Chief 
 Orient directs that you administer our binding obliga- 
 tion upon this Pilgrim." 
 
 Grand Prophet: "Pilgrim, having signified your will- 
 ingness to proceed, as they sat in ancient mosques of 
 the orient, be seated in our temple of modern wisdom 
 
 and repeat: I, , do sincerely promise, declare and 
 
 say that I will truly and faithfully regard and conform 
 to all the obligations that I now or hereafter may assume 
 in this Order, and will warn against, and, if in my pow- 
 er, prevent the exposing or publishing in any manner 
 whatsoever, any sign, grip, password or position, or 
 other privacies thereof. 
 
 "And now I sacredly promise, that once having as- 
 sumed them, I will never again permit myself to be 
 seen in either of the positions of this Order, so that they 
 will be discovered as such, or confer any degree, or 
 make known to any uninitiated or unprepared person, 
 unless authorized by a Supreme or Grand Council, or 
 such authority as shall legally emanate therefrom, and 
 then provided only I shall find such person to be a male 
 of the human race. 
 
 "And I further promise that I will ever and always 
 promptly respond to the distress sign." 
 
 Grand Chief Orient : "Arise, be faithful ; go, journey 
 with and learn wisdom from our Grand Marshal."
 
 250 
 
 Grand Marshal : "Come; our way" to wisdom is direct. 
 Race and association here a.re chosen, but no distinction 
 is made on account of wealth, religion or politics. Here 
 we germinate thought, gather reason from symbolism, 
 elevate man's social position, and inculcate equality of 
 heart and mind; believing these are principles that will 
 aid in keeping more perfect the fraternal band of union 
 between man and man. 
 
 "But come; our Grand Vice Orient has a word of 
 wisdom to repeat, to which in silent reverence listen." 
 
 Grand Vice Orient: "Pilgrim, remember, a sensible 
 man will seek and enter the portals of any secret society 
 with calm and serious thought. Be not deceived, but 
 rather assured that oft, in either pantomime or bur- 
 lesque, many a valuable lesson is taught. Ignorance 
 sometimes aided by prejudice, frequently condemns se- 
 cret, charitable and benevolent fraternities, as conducive 
 of no good to society, containing no pure sentiment or 
 true instructions. High associations should be the aim 
 of all men. Charity should speak in silence, Benevo- 
 lence knows no boast, nor Friendship falsity. We can 
 gratify no idle curiosity. No thoughtful man can jour- 
 ney tl trough our gates without finding something be- 
 yond of more than meaningless pantomine. The pur- 
 pose of this Order is not to erect vain altars, but to 
 exemplify a lesson, and to practice those principles cal- 
 culated to form and strengthen thought and reason. 
 If man's heart is responsive to the latter's call and he 
 loves the beautiful and good, and desires their reward, 
 we welcome him to our fellowship. Life's responsibil- 
 ities, its sorrows and its sadness are ever before us to 
 keep more perfect the fraternal bond of union between
 
 261 
 
 man and man. A great fact thus speaks to mortal man, 
 to which you will in silent reverence kneel and listen." 
 
 After a lengthy exhortation, the Grand Chief Orient 
 says : 
 
 "Brothers of the Orient, the hour for ribald speech and 
 boisterous mirth is at an end. Let us forsake the orgies 
 into which we have been led, and to this weary pilgrim, 
 seeking favor at our hands, confer the boon, that he may 
 sit within this Oriental Circle, and with us council over 
 the woes of fallen man. Grand Marshal, give the pil- 
 grim courteous guidance to the altar of our Grand 
 Prophet, that, lie may pour the oil of calm repose, in 
 words of wisdom, over the fretted, downcast soul, and 
 fit it for the splendors of our Oriental Temple." 
 
 (Grand Marshal conducts pilgrim to the Grand 
 Prophet and instructs him to kneel on both knees.) 
 
 Grand Marshal : "Grand Prophet, by command of 
 the Grand Chief Orient, I present this pilgrim, who 
 seeks wisdom and consolation, to prepare him to mingle 
 with our circle." 
 
 (After more advice, the Grand Chief Orient says) : 
 
 "Princes, give heed and join in this grand and solemn 
 rite forming a crescent around the throne, symbolic 
 of our ancient creed. Pilgrim, step by step you have 
 scaled the ladder, leading to the summit of our oriental 
 splendors. Amid the grand old mosque and temples of 
 orients; in the palace of the princes, round about the 
 chancel, gathered there the noble throng of youth and 
 beaut}', brilliant as the morning sun. And now, sur- 
 rounded by this Council and brothers of this circle, by 
 my command, I bid you bow your head and receive the 
 crown you have so ably won."
 
 262 
 
 (Crown is put on candidate's head.) 
 
 Grand Chief Orient : "Brothers of our ancient Order, 
 behold the emblem of your creed. Salute your peer. 
 
 "Oriental Prince, having successfully passed through 
 the rites and ceremonies of the Order, it only remains 
 for me to instruct you in the signs, passwords and grip, 
 that you may be able to make yourself known to mem- 
 bers of the Order."
 
 CHAPTEK XXXVIII. 
 
 HOME FORUM BENEFIT ORDEE. 
 
 This Order was founded by prominent members of the 
 Modern Woodmen and of the Masonic Fraternity, and 
 chartered under the laws of the State of Illinois, in 1892. 
 "The Eitual finds its inspiration in Eoman history. It 
 was about the Eoman Forum that Cicero, Caesar, Brutus, 
 Anthony and other distinguished Eomans met to discuss 
 the questions of their time and form laws, and the 
 Home Forum of to-day, adopting the old Eoman name, 
 meets to decide questions of interest to its members and 
 impart the lesson of honesty, fraternity, benevolence, 
 temperance, and patriotism, the initials of which are 
 found in the angles of the golden star of the Order." 
 (Cyclopaedia of Fraternities, pp. 136 and 137.) 
 
 From the Eitual, page 7, ff. President (to candi- 
 date) : "... .Will you promise. . . .never to reveal what 
 we shall here teach you ?" 
 
 (The candidate will answer: "I will.") 
 
 President: "Then I charge you to be circumspect. 
 Treasure in your memory the words which shall be 
 spoken to you, and seal your lips, that nothing may 
 injure our Order or violate the pledge you have just 
 made. Orator, you may now conduct our Friend to the 
 Vice President, who will further enlighten him." 
 
 (The Orator conducts the candidate to the station of
 
 254 
 
 the Vice President, who will rise. -The Orator will sig- 
 nal and then say) : 
 
 Orator: "Respected Vice President, this Wayfarer, 
 who was lately introduced to our worthy President, has 
 given the promise of secrecy and has heen greeted as a 
 Friend. With the charge of our President fresh in his 
 mind, he comes to you that with your aid he may far- 
 ther advance on his way." 
 
 Vice President : "Friend, you are indeed welcome to 
 this, the home of our loved Order 
 
 " As you entered this hall, you observed in the 
 
 center of the room certain emblems, some of which are 
 familiar to you. These objects we have adopted as sym- 
 bols, and each is an embodiment of one of our funda- 
 mental principles. Each Companion when entering the 
 Forum must advance to the Altar and turn, facing the 
 Vice President who occupies this station, and give to 
 him the Forum Signal, made thus (gives the signal). 
 Having been recognized by the same signal, he may then 
 retire to a seat anywhere in the Forum. Our Orator, 
 who has faithfully guided you thus far, will now intro- 
 duce you to the Historian. Salute him with the Forum 
 signal and present him with this emblem (giving him 
 the Fasces), and he will interpret for you its hidden 
 meaning." 
 
 (The Orator will proceed with the candidate to the 
 Historian, signal and say) : 
 
 Orator: "Venerable Historian, this Companion has 
 just entered our Home and been welcomed at our fire- 
 side. What lessons of wisdom have you culled from 
 ancient lore, that you may now impart to him ?" 
 
 (The candidate will then give the Forum signal and
 
 255 
 
 tender to the Historian the Fasces, which he will accept, 
 and then say) : 
 
 Historian : "As you come bearing to me this emblem, 
 you are thrice welcome. I greet you as a Companion, 
 and will unfold to you the hidden meaning bound up in 
 this Fasces. The pages of history (opening the Bible) 
 tell of nations of old from whom we, even in this twen- 
 ticth century, may learn wisdom. The massive archi- 
 tecture of the Pharaohs, the Proverbs of Solomon, the 
 esthetic culture of the Athenians, and the legislation of 
 Home, alike excite our wonder and challenge our ad- 
 miration. The artist who skillfully wrought the Parian 
 marble has passed away, but the statue remains, a 
 monument to his genius. The voices of the orator and 
 the poet are stilled, but history has recorded their great- 
 ness on enduring tablets. Among these nations of an- 
 tiquity, none has bequeathed to us a more perfect system 
 of legislation than Koine. In the name of our Order, 
 and in this Fasces, we revive the memory of the ancient 
 Roman Forum. In the Forum the citizens assembled 
 and discussed political affairs. Here the Tribunes, 
 elected by the people the House of Eepresentatives of 
 that early day met and enacted laws for their govern- 
 ment. Here Cato and Cicero, Hortensius and Caesar 
 poured out their eloquence. Here were held the Courts 
 of Justice, plaintiff and defendant arguing their causes 
 in the light of day. Here were suspended the laws of 
 the Twelve Tablets that he who run may read. When 
 the Justice entered the Forum to administer the law, 
 he was preceded by a lictor bearing upright thus (illus- 
 trating) the Fasces, as an Emblem of Authority. The 
 keen blade of the axe symbolized the majesty of the law,
 
 256 
 
 the bundle of rods, its power when firmly held together. 
 When the Justice took his seat, the lictor inclined the 
 Fasces thus (indicating), thereby acknowledging the 
 sovereignty of the people. We have adopted this em- 
 blem, and in the hands of our President and Vice Presi- 
 dent, it signifies a ruling power which must be respected. 
 Every Companion here has had a voice in framing our 
 laws and in electing our officers; therefore the will of 
 the people sustains this Emblem of Union and Power."
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIX. 
 
 THE ELKS. 
 
 The Elks are a secret society with a ritual prescribing 
 prayers at the opening and closing of the meetings; an 
 oath of secrecy and the usual performances at initia- 
 tion. Their annual Lodge of Sorrow for the dead is held 
 on the first Sunday in December. This, too, is of a re- 
 ligious character ; candles are burned upon an altar, in- 
 cense is used, and a discourse of a religious nature is 
 delivered. The name is said to have been taken 
 from the description of the Elk in "Buffon's 
 Natural Histor}'," where the animal is described as 
 "fleet of foot, and timorous of doing wrong, avoiding all 
 combats except in fighting for the female and in defense 
 of the young and helpless weak."
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 ROYAL AECANUM. 
 
 This secret society was founded by members of the 
 Masonic Order and prominent people in and around 
 Boston in 1877, and incorporated as the Supreme Coun- 
 cil of the Royal Arcanum under the laws of the State 
 of Massachusetts. The Order succeeds in keeping its 
 Royal Secrets, but by accidental circumstances I have a 
 copy of the ritual, and I will quote from it to show the 
 religious character of this Order. A large number of 
 the Order claim to belong to the Catholic Church. Its 
 chief emblem is a royal crown within a circle, on the 
 circumference of which are ten small maltese crosses 
 without notches. Among the objects of the Order we 
 read: "To educate its members socially, morally and 
 intellectually." In the by-laws we read that "Frater- 
 nal orders are a national blessing. They promote thrift, 
 economy, sobriety, without freezing the soul into selfish- 
 ness, as is apt to be the case in the usual struggle for 
 wealth or high social position. They bring men into 
 closer social relations and cherish those feelings that 
 thrive and put forth blossoms in each other's welfare. 
 They make men thoughtful and help'ful, expanding the 
 sentiments of Virtue, Mercy and Charity. They teach 
 us the religion that breaks bread to the hungry, gives a 
 cup of water to the thirsty, watches at the bed of the 
 sick, visits the imprisoned, the fatherless, and the wid-
 
 259 
 
 owed, duties that are sadly neglected, and for a long 
 time were supposed to be confined to the church." 
 
 On page 1 of the Book of Duties, as corrected January 
 1, 1898 (Eitual), we read: Sec. 601. "The Book of 
 Duties must be adhered to in all respects, unless special 
 authority to use substitutes for portions thereof is grant- 
 ed by the Supreme Council or the Supreme Regent." 
 
 On page 2: "Any initiatory ceremony not provided 
 for in the Book of Duties is strictly prohibited, except 
 in cases where the Supreme Eegent shall, by dispensa- 
 tion, authorize definite changes in Part II., etc." 
 
 From page 5 : "There are ten stations in a Council 
 Chamber, corresponding to the ten points upon the 
 crown, the emblem of the Eoyal Arcanum. The elev- 
 enth station, at the entrance of the room, is known as 
 the 'Altar or Secret Station.' This shall be of such 
 dimensions as shall be necessary for the proper exempli- 
 fication of the degree; it shall have a hinged cover pro- 
 vided with a secure lock, having three keys, one of which 
 shall be in the keeping of the Eegent, one in that of the 
 
 Vice-Eegent, and the third in that of the Guide 
 
 The interior of the Station shall be of sufficient 
 
 depth to hold the Protective Badge, the Eoyal Secret, 
 the Jewels, the Sash, the Books of Duties; and these 
 must be kept therein when the Council is not occupied 
 with its duties. 
 
 "The Protective Badge is a tablet of metal, on which 
 shall be distinctly engraved the letters Y. M. C. 
 
 "The Eoyal Secret is a tablet of metal, on which, in 
 distinct figures, shall be the mystical number. This 
 shall always remain in the Secret Station or Cabinet,
 
 260 
 
 except for the brief period when used in conferring the 
 Degree. 
 
 "The V-shaped screen and its furniture: A folding 
 screen of two wings, white on both sides. Each wing 
 six feet three inches in height, and three feet ten inches 
 wide; a white stand, tripod or bracket and a basin 
 fitting it. 
 
 "The 'M' screen and its furniture : A folding screen 
 with four wings all light blue. Two inner wings six 
 feet three inches high, two feet ten inches wide; outer 
 wings same height, five feet wide. A knapsack sixteen 
 inches by eighteen inches, so made as to be easily weight- 
 ed with from twenty to one hundred pounds, and sup- 
 plied with hooks (page 6) of hoop-iron to suspend it 
 from the shoulders, and with a hook at the lower end for 
 quick attachment of additional weight if desired. A 
 small table with a decanter and one or more glasses. 
 
 "The Sash : A blue cashmere sash without ends, four 
 inches wide and fifty-six inches long to top of crossing, 
 lined with cambric, and having a row of half-inch yellow 
 metal lace on. each edge, and a hook at the hip for the 
 Protective Badge. 
 
 "The Banner is to be of fawn-colored silk, eighteen by 
 twenty-seven inches, cut swallow-tailed at bottom, and 
 trimmed all around with half-inch gilt lace, and one 
 and a quarter-inch fringe at bottom. 'Royal Arcanum' 
 printed at top in gold, scarlet symbol in center, and 
 mystic number in gold at the bottom. Cross pole of 
 black walnut with gilt ball at ends. Banner hung to 
 pole by gilt lace loops, and pole to have cord and tassel 
 at each end of cord.
 
 261 
 
 From page 9: ". .The Guide, satisfied that all pres- 
 ent are members of the Royal, Arcanum, and that the 
 Council chamber is prepared for duty, standing at altar 
 and facing it and Regent (shall say) : 'Regent, the 
 outer and inner door are securely guarded, the secret 
 symbol is properly displayed, the officers are at their 
 stations, properly clothed, and all present are entitled to 
 sit with us/ } ' (Guide will then occupy his station.) 
 
 Regent: "Brothers, let us now assemble around the 
 altar." (Then shall all except the Warden and the Sen- 
 try, form in a circle about the altar. The four principal 
 officers shall stand inside the circle, facing the altar, 
 with their backs towards their respective stations.) All 
 except the Chaplain give the sign of the Order, and re- 
 main so during prayer. 
 
 (Chaplain inside the circle near the altar and facing 
 it and Regent) : 
 
 "Our Father, who art in heaven, as we assemble 
 around this altar, we humbly ask Thine aid in perform- 
 ing the duties of this hour. As members of this benefi- 
 cent Order, with a due sense of our responsibility, may 
 we do to others as we would have them do to us, by prac- 
 ticing Virtue ourselves, by showing Mercy to others, and 
 by exercising Charity for all. Amen." 
 
 All: "Amen." 
 
 Regent : "Give the sign." All do so. 
 
 (Page 10.) Regent: "The governing principles of 
 the Royal Arcanum are :" 
 
 All: "Virtue, Mercy, Charity." 
 
 Regent: "And the greatest of these is Charity. 5 * 
 
 Past Regent: "May Virtue lead, Mercy guide, and 
 Charity control us in every thought, word and action."
 
 262 
 
 Here may be sung the Opening Ode. 
 Tune, "Kock of Age^." 
 
 "Band of Brothers, let us be 
 
 Bound by cords of Charity, 
 
 Mercy lend us from above, 
 
 Olive branch of peace; O love, 
 
 Plant in all these hearts of ours, 
 Virtue's ever blooming flowers. 
 
 "Friendship spread they sheltering wing; 
 
 Let the social joys that spring 
 From our Council meetings start, 
 
 .Quicker pulls through the heart, 
 May we by our work be brought 
 
 Up to higher realms of thought. 
 
 "By the wisdom of these plans, 
 By the joining of our hands, 
 
 Hope's strong anchor here is laid 
 In unselfish votes we made, 
 
 That our loved ones when we fall 
 
 Share the fostering care of all." 
 
 PA.P.T I OF THE MYSTERIES. 
 (From page 13, ff. of the Book of Duties.) 
 
 Eegent: "Guide, are there applicants in waiting?" 
 
 Guide: "I find in waiting Mr. - , who de- 
 
 sires membership in our Order and instruction in the 
 Mysteries." 
 
 Kegent: "Have more than sixty days elapsed since 
 the date of approval of the applicant's medical examina- 
 tion?" 
 
 (Secretary refers to the papers and answers Yes or 
 No. If the answer is Yes, the applicant must be re- 
 examined and approved before he can receive the De- 
 gree.) 
 
 Regent: "Brothers, we are about to receive another 
 tiM-mber into our circle. Let the ceremony of initiation
 
 263 
 
 be conducted in an orderly and dignified manner. The 
 Past Eegent and the Collector will now retire, examine 
 the applicant and qualify him for admission to the 
 Council." 
 
 (The Past Eegent, Collector and Guide rise at their 
 stations. Guide receives from the Secretary the applica- 
 tion. Then the three advance in parallel lines to the 
 altar, all reaching it at the same time. Guide delivers 
 the application to the Past Eegent. Eegent gives three 
 raps with the gavel, all remain standing until the Past 
 Eegent and the Collector have saluted, and led by the 
 Past Eegent, have retired and the door has been closed.) 
 
 Eegent gives two raps and may declare a recess until 
 the return of the Past Eegent and Collector. 
 
 (In the ante-room the Past Eegent shall see that the 
 application, the Medical Examiner's inquiries, and the 
 obligation are properly signed by the applicant and duly 
 certified.) 
 
 Past Eegent: "Friend, are these your signatures?" 
 
 (The applicant must acknowledge them to be such.) 
 
 Past Eegent: "Have you made the statement in the 
 application and answered the questions in this medical 
 examination truthfully and without reservation ?" (The 
 applicant must answer in the affirmative.) 
 
 Past Eegent : "Do you still desire to secure the bene- 
 fits and privileges of the Eoyal Arcanum, and to be in- 
 structed in the Mysteries of the Order?" (The appli- 
 cant must reply in the affirmative.) 
 
 Collector: "Our rules prescribe that the applicant 
 shall now pay one assessment in advance, and the dues 
 for the current quarter, all of which amount to $ "
 
 2(14 
 
 (The Collector, after receiving the amount stated, 
 shall give a receipt therefor.) 
 
 Past Regent : "Await, my friend, the coming of one 
 who will guide you through the Mysteries." 
 
 (Past Eegent gives XX-XX-X.) 
 
 Regent: "Warden, wha.t alarm is that at the inner 
 door?" 
 
 Warden (having opened the wicket) : "Who knocks ?" 
 
 Past Regent: "The returning officers/' 
 
 Regent : "Admit them." 
 
 (The Past Regent and the Collector shall then enter, 
 the door heing closed after them, and advance to the 
 altar (the P. R. preceding Col.) and salute. The Guide 
 shall proceed to the altar and reach it simultaneously 
 with P. R. and Col.). 
 
 Past Regent : "Regent, the way is clear for Mr 
 
 to be instructed in the Mysteries of this Order." 
 
 (P. R. hands application with his left hand to G., who 
 receives it with his right hand.) 
 
 Regent: "Resume your stations." 
 
 (P. R. and Guide face to the left and C to the right. 
 C. moves to a position at end of altar opposite G., and 
 then all three leave altar simultaneously, C. and G. on 
 parallel lines, and resume stations; G. returns applica- 
 tion to Sec. Then Regent) : 
 
 Regent : "Guide, you will now retire, prepare the ap- 
 plicant, conduct him to the threshold of this Council 
 Chamber, and thence as you are bidden." 
 
 (If more than one applicant, R. should appoint Assist. 
 G. to accompany each of the others in Part I.) 
 
 (Guide retires to the ante-room, and then advances to
 
 2is> 
 
 the inner door with the applicant or applicants, hood- 
 winked, and gives XX-XX-X.) 
 
 Warden (opening the door slightly) : "Who knocks ?" 
 
 Guide: "A friend." 
 
 Warden: "Vice "Regent, a friend awaits without." 
 
 ViceEegent: M Admit him/' 
 
 (Guide enters with applicant or applicants, the door 
 being closed behind them. Guide- leaves applicant at 
 the threshold each Asst. G. remains with his appli- 
 cant and advances to the altar alone, under sign of 
 Duty.) 
 
 Guide: "Regent, a stranger stands upon the thresh- 
 old of our secret Councel Chamber/' 
 
 Regent : "Who is the stranger ?" 
 
 Guide : "One who is a friend and would be more." 
 
 Regent : "What are his desires ?" 
 
 Guide : "To know, for himself, the Mysteries of the 
 Royal Arcanum, and to secure for those dear to him, the 
 benefits which our Order bestows." 
 
 Regent: "Let the friend advance." 
 
 (Guide returns to applicant and leads him to the 
 altar. When all applicants stand at altar, each Asst. G. 
 steps to the rear of the one he conducts, the G. at left 
 of line and applicants.) 
 
 Regent: "Friend, thus far you have chosen well, but 
 you are as yet unacquainted with your duties and your 
 privileges. Listen attentively to words which will en- 
 lighten you." 
 
 Chaplain (advancing to the altar, facing applicant) : 
 "Our Order requires that you should now give a solemn 
 promise. Withholding it, you can go no farther. I as- 
 sure you that this promise will not conflict with either
 
 your religious belief or your duties as a eiti/en. Are 
 you willing to proceed ?" 
 
 (The applicant must reply in the affirmative.) 
 
 Eegent: "Guide, place the applicant in position to 
 receive the Obligation." (o o o.) 
 
 (The Council may require the applicant to repeat the 
 Obligation, or give his assent thereto after it has been 
 read to him.) 
 
 (The guide shall instruct applicant as to his position; 
 each Asst. G. places his applicant in position to receive 
 the Obligation, and at proper time relieves him of that 
 position, etc.) 
 
 Chaplain : "Friend you will now give your attention 
 while I read the Obligation of this Order : 
 
 "In the presence of Almighty God and these witnesses, 
 I do, of my own free will and accord, most solemnly 
 promise that I will strictly comply with all laws, rules 
 and usages of this Fraternity, established by the Su- 
 preme Council of the Tioyal Arcanum. I will hold alle- 
 giance to said Supreme Council and be loyal thereunto, 
 as the supreme authority of the entire order. I will 
 obey all orders emanating from the Supreme or Grand 
 Councils or from the Subordinate Council, of which 
 I am a member, so long as they do not conflict with my 
 civil or religious liberty. I will not defraud or wronu 
 any department of this order, or any member thereof, or 
 suffer it to be done by. others, if it be in my power to pre- 
 vent, I will never introduce anything of a political or 
 sectarian character at any meeting of, or in any way 
 bearing reproach upon, this Order. I will keep forever 
 secret all that may transpire during my initiation and 
 will never improperly communicate to any person any
 
 267 
 
 of the words, signs or tokens, and should I be expelled 
 or leave the Order, I will consider this Obligation as 
 binding out of it. as it is in it. I will assist a distressed 
 brother or his family when in distress, as far as is in 
 my power, without material injury to myself or family. 
 I will answer all proper signs of the fraternity and us;' 
 all proper means to protect a brother from defamation. 
 
 "And should I violate this, my solemn promise, I 
 hereby consent to be expelled from the Fraternity, and 
 may God aid me to keep and perform all of these obli- 
 gations. 
 
 "My Friend, you have heard this solemn obligation. 
 Do you, in the presence of the officers and the members 
 of this Council, promise faithfully to abide by it ?"' 
 
 (The Applicant must answer in the affirmative, after 
 which the Guide quietly relieves him from the position 
 he had assumed while taking the Obligation.) 
 
 Eegent: "Friend, you will now retire with the Guide 
 to the ante-room, whence you will soon return, to have 
 thrown open to you the portals of the Royal Secret." 
 
 (Guide retires with applicant to the ante-room, re- 
 moves the hoodwink, and there prepares him by placing 
 upon him the sash, resting upon the right shoulder and 
 passing across the body and under the left arm, and by 
 baring his right arm for an inch or two above the wrist. ) 
 
 (As soon as applicant has retired, and Eegent o, then 
 V. E. and C. rise at their stations simultaneously, ad- 
 vance to the altar, give sign of Duty, and proceed, V. E. 
 receding, to perform their Duty, and after it is fin- 
 ished they return to altar in the same order, give sign 
 of Duty, and then resume their stations.)
 
 2<;s 
 
 PART IT. OF THE MYSTERIES. 
 (Prom page 19 ft. of the Book of Duties.) 
 
 Vice Regent : "Regent, the Council Chamber is ready 
 for the reception of the applicant/' 
 
 Regent: "Admit him." 
 
 (If more than one applicant, all except one previously 
 selected by R. and by him named to GL may be, in single 
 file, and slowly, with accompaniment of music, if prac- 
 ticable, conducted by G. past V-screen, then between it 
 and M-screen, so each may see the contents of both 
 screens and then seated apart from members of Council, 
 in front of either stations of the P. R. or C., and so 
 remain until the other applicant has duly passed through 
 the Courts of V. and M. and the inner Court, to the 
 point designated for the removal of Sash, and then all 
 applicants being placed at altar, proceed in due form. 
 The foregoing instructions does not prohibit a Council 
 from conducting more than one applicant through the 
 entire ceremony. When the applicant who is now to 
 receive the full Degree, is seated, the Regent will say:) 
 
 "A few words to the friend (or friends) who has (or 
 have) been seated in our midst, in explanation of his 
 (or their) position would be well at this moment. You 
 have readily assented to the obligation of the Royal 
 Arcanum as rehearsed by our Chaplain, and the cere- 
 monies you are about to witness consist of conferring 
 the full degree of the Royal Arcanum. Our laws pro- 
 vide that when two or more persons are to be initiated, 
 all candidates except one previously chosen, may be con- 
 ducted to seats in our Council Chamber, affording a 
 full view of the exemplification of our ritualistic work
 
 368 
 
 upon the remaining applicant. It will be your duty to 
 pay strict attention to these proceedings and to apply 
 to yourself the great principles and attributes of the 
 Eoyal Arcanum, as if the full Degree had been con- 
 ferred upon you personally." 
 
 (The Warden gives XX-XX-X answered by the Guide 
 in the same manner. Guide enters with applicant hood- 
 winked, and places him on the V-screen facing the cen- 
 ter.) 
 
 Guide: "The applicant is waiting." 
 
 Guide raises hoodwink so thnt applicant can see what 
 is before him. 
 
 Vice Regent: "Friend, you stand within the outer 
 Court of the Eoyal Secret. It is constructed to repre- 
 sent the initial letter, or sign, of the first of the three 
 great principles of the Eoyal Arcanum, Virtue. It is 
 hung in white, indicating that the first step into the 
 Mysteries should be one of purity. 
 
 "Virtue in this Order, however, means more than this. 
 !( stands for purity of soul and for a courage not to be 
 daunted. Your right arm is bared, indicating a readi- 
 ness to receive the benefits and favors of the Order. You 
 see water before you. Bathe your hand in it to signify 
 that you wash yourself from the impurities of the outer 
 world." 
 
 (Prompted by Guide, if necessary, the applicant must 
 immerse his right hand in the water.) 
 
 Guide: "The applicant has obeyed." 
 
 (Guide again hoodwinks Applicant.) 
 
 Vice Regent : "As one about to enter upon a difficult 
 journey, in pursuit of important benefits, invites success 
 by careful preparation, so have you, by this rite, been
 
 270 
 
 prepared to advance with pure hands towards the inner 
 Court, there to win the mystic emblem and the privi- 
 leges which our Order confers." 
 
 (Here the Guide shall suspend from the Sash, under 
 the Applicant's left arm, the Protective Badge.) 
 
 (Here may be sung o o o after the air "Auld Lang 
 Syne.") 
 
 "How sweet the thought that Virtue Dwells 
 
 In eveiy human breast, 
 That God sends forth to mortal world 
 
 To make his children blest. 
 Then brothers, strive through life to keep 
 
 That spark alive and bright, 
 That it may burn till heaven's own flame 
 
 Shall make our pathway light." 
 
 liegent: "Friend, heaving been obedient to the in- 
 structions of the outer Court, you are entitled to be called 
 a Brother in Virtue, and have earned the right to pro- 
 ceed." 
 
 Members (in union, led by the Past Eegent) : "Brother 
 in Virtue, in all your relations to our Order, may you 
 prove this title worthily I >< si owed." 
 
 (While the members thus speak, the Guide shall lead 
 the applicant into the M-screen, in which N Guide 
 removes hoodwink as soon as applicant is in the M- 
 screen.) 
 
 Guide: "The applicant <iamis in the second Court." 
 
 Regent : "Brother in Virtue, you are now advanced 
 to the second Court of the Eoyal Arcanum, and stand be- 
 fore the second symbol of the Order. In its form, it 
 represents the initial letter of the second great principle 
 of our Order, Mercy. Its color is blue, signifying thai- 
 Mercy is an attribute of heaven itself. It is a double 
 Court, showing that which it represents twice blessed;
 
 271 
 
 blessing him that gives and him that takes. You stand 
 at its central point, which suggests that the quality sym- 
 bolized is an attribute of the heart, the source of all 
 noble actions. To pass tins Court a test is required. 
 Listen to further instruct ion,-." 
 
 Orator: "Life is like the double Court in which you 
 stand. There are always two paths lying before you, 
 only one of which you can pursue. In the one you help 
 mercifully to lift from your brother and those dear to 
 him,, the burdens., sorrows and responsibilities which may 
 rest heavily upon him, in the other, you increase the bur- 
 dens of life, and bring to home and friends a sorrow 
 which neither regrets nor remorse can ever remove. You 
 now have the opportunity of proving yourself merciful, 
 and thus worthy of companionship in the Eoyal Ar- 
 canum. Of the two courts before you, enter either, as 
 you may select. :\Iav the promptings of your heart he 
 merciful and wisely direct your choice, that no obstacle 
 may bar your progress through the second work of tin: 
 
 (If applicant hesitates, the Guide quietly directs him 
 to remove the burden from k-g brother, and assists him 
 to assume it.) 
 
 Guide : "He has lifted the burden/' 5 
 
 Regent: "Brother, you have well borne this test. 
 You have been taught concerning the burdens and 
 responsibilities which our Order bravely and mercifully 
 carries, and which you must help to bear. They are 
 symbolized by the burden which you have just assumed. 
 Without assistance all our burdens are heavy and grie- 
 vous, as you find this, yet with a strong heart and with 
 brotherly sympathy and help, they become light and are
 
 272 
 
 easily borne. Having shown yourself worthy, you 
 are entitled to stand within the inner court, and to ad- 
 vance towards the Mysteries of the Eoyal Secret." 
 
 (The guide 011 the left of the applicant shall then 
 lead him bearing the burden, from the M-screen past the 
 Orator around the Council room to the altar, while Guide- 
 repeats:) 
 
 Guide : "Mercy moves around the desolate homes of 
 men, amidst the poor and neglected, and angel whose 
 wings are bright with hues of paradise. Its trophies are 
 immortal,, they will live when the weapons of victorious 
 battle have been broken, and the sound, of the poet's lyre 
 is hushed forever. When green wreaths have faded, when 
 the glorious monuments of human skill have perished 
 and when the stars themselves have ceased to burn, they 
 will be remembered among the jewels in heaven." 
 
 (K~g brother emerges from M-screen, and standing 
 in front of the Past Regent, or Orator says :) 
 
 "Regent, when a weary, way-worn traveller, I sank ex- 
 hausted beneath my heavy load, this Brother in Virtue 
 mercifully relieved me of my burden, and has nobly 
 borne it. "Brothers, extend to him that Mercy which he 
 has so freely shown to me.'' 
 
 Regent and Council : "Blessed are the merciful, for 
 they shall obtain mercy." 
 
 Regent: "Guide, remove the burden." 
 
 (Here may be sung o o o :) 
 
 "As we bespeak God's Mercy, may 
 
 We ever Mercy show, 
 To cheer a brother's saddened heart, 
 
 Crushed by its weight of woe. 
 For who can tell what he may need 
 
 Upon this changeful earth? 
 Be merciful to a friend and foe, 
 
 And thus prove human worth."
 
 273 
 
 Regent: "Brother in Virtue having safely, accom- 
 plished the journey through the second court, you are en- 
 titled to be called a Brother in Mercy." 
 
 Members (in union led by Past Eegent) : "Brother 
 in Mercy, in all relations to our Order may you prove 
 this title to be worthily bestowed." 
 
 Regent: "Brother in Virtue and Mercy, you now 
 stand within the inner court, at the center of our mystic 
 circle. One step more and the lest obstacle will be re- 
 moved from your pathway. You have successfully 
 passed the ordeals thus far presented, you have been puri- 
 fied in Virtue's court, you have shown b} r a wise choice 
 that Mercy dwells in your heart, and you have received 
 with attention all our instructions. My brother, the 
 altar before you is the symbol of the third and great un- 
 derlying principle of our Order Charity. This is the 
 source and origin, the purpose and end of this fraternity. 
 This symbol teaches the duty of self-sacrifice, -the sur- 
 render of our own pleasure and enjoyment, and the 
 charitable offering of our possessions, our service, and our 
 sympathy for our brethren when in need. Within the 
 sacred recesses of this altar are concealed the Royal 
 Secret. Before you can become with us a Brother in 
 Charity, you must discover this Secret, and learn its 
 mystic meaning. Search and find it." 
 
 (The applicant, prompted by the Guide, must raise 
 the cover and take out the tablet. The Guide closes 
 the cover.) 
 
 Regent : "What have you discovered ?" 
 
 (The applicant, prompted by the Guide, shall answer: 
 "This Tablet/') 
 
 "What characters are inscribed thereon ?"
 
 274 
 
 (The applicant, prompted by the Guide, shall answer: 
 " M v ) 
 
 Regent: " M The Royal Mystery. Do you find 
 the Key by Avhich this mystic number may be read and 
 explained ?" 
 
 (Applicant prompted by Guide replies : "I find noth- 
 ing more.") 
 
 Eegent : "Guide, where is the Key to this Mystery ?" 
 
 Guide (raising the cover) : "Regent, the Key is not 
 within the sacred station." 
 
 Regent o o o "Brothers, our secret station has 
 been despoiled of the Key to the Royal Mystery. It is 
 the Protective Badge of this Order, and without it the 
 mystic number can not be explained to this applicant. 
 Guide, you are responsible for the safe-keeping of the 
 Mysteries. Seek and find the Key, that this Brother in 
 Virtue and Mercy may become also, with us, a Brother 
 in Charity." 
 
 (Guide, taking the tablet and assuming his station in 
 the Council:) 
 
 Guide: "Brother?, lias any one of you got the Key to 
 the Mystery?" 
 
 Chaplain : "Regent. I can find the Key to our Mystic 
 number." 
 
 Regent: "Brothers, be seated. Guide repair to the 
 altar. Chaplain you will obtain the Key, and explain 
 the use to the applicant." 
 
 (If there is more than one candidate, the Asst. Guides 
 should at this point request those seated to rise, and 
 should conduct them to the altar, ranging- them in line 
 with the candidate already there, so that all may face 
 the Chaplain and hear and understand the explanation.
 
 275 
 
 Chaplain advances to altar, passes around its end to 
 rear of candidate, and removes the badge from the appli- 
 cant, not stealthy, but in such a manner that all the 
 applicants' attention it attracted, and each can himself 
 witness the removal of- the .Key, and understand the 
 explanation. The Chaplain then assumes a position on 
 the opposite side of the altar, facing applicant, and hold- 
 ing the hadgc in his right hand, and taking with his 
 left hand the tablet from the Guide, thus holding, then:) 
 
 Chaplain: "Brother, this is the Key to the mystic 
 number. It is the Protective Badge of the Order. 
 While you lawfully wear this badge, you are entitled to 
 the benefits and honors of the Eoyal Arcanum. Some 
 brother took this badge from its secret station, and 
 placed it on your person, to secure for you its protec- 
 tive influence. As soon as you began to bear the burden 
 which the Order imposes, you were unconsciously placed 
 under its care and became entitled to share in all its 
 benefits, privileges and promises. The burdens are light 
 and the benefits come to us in the hour of greatest need, 
 even though we ourselves are unconscious of them. 
 Cherish, then, this truth in your memory, that as long* 
 as you help to bear the burdens of the Order, you will 
 be protected by its great and important privileges." 
 
 Eegent: "Chaplain, you will deposit at my station 
 the mystic number and its Key." 
 
 (The Chaplain will then resume his station.) 
 
 Eegent : "Guide, you will present the Brother for in- 
 struction and investment." 
 
 (Guide conducts all applicants to Eegent's station.) 
 
 Eegent (holding the key and mystic number before 
 applicant) : "Brother, you see before you the Eoyal
 
 lie, 
 
 Mystery, the Koyal Secret, the Eoyal Arcanum, the mys- 
 tic number of the Order. (Regent placing Key on 
 station and pointing to Banner:) Now, as you are 
 in full possession of the knowledge of the Royal Secret, 
 I declare you a Brother in Virtue, Mercy and Charity, 
 and invest you with the regalia, which combines with the 
 mystic symbol, our emblem, the crown." 
 
 Members (in union led by the Past Regent) : "May 
 you never prove unworthy of it." 
 
 (The sash will here be removed. Here may be sung:) 
 
 '"Greatest of these is Charity.' 
 
 Oh, learn this lesson well, 
 And oft forgive your fellowman 
 
 Who can his weakness tell? 
 With Virtue, Mercy, Charity, 
 
 Let brothers' hands be bound, 
 Till Love's pure flame shall closely weld 
 
 Brave hearts the whole world around." 
 
 Regent "I "will now instruct you in the signs, signals 
 and passwords. This is the sign of Duty (A). It is 
 used in the Council addressing the Eegent, upon enter- 
 ing or retiring from the Council, whenever you rise to 
 speak, and in crossing the Council Chamber. Its answer 
 is (A), which should always be given in response to a 
 member entering or retiring. 
 
 "This is the sign of Virtue (B) ; this is the sign of 
 Mercy (C) ; this is the sign of Charity and the sign of 
 the Order (D). 
 
 "In order to enter a Council while it is occupied with 
 its Duties, you will give three raps on the outer door. 
 The Sentry will open the wicket. You will then give 
 him the Semi-Annual Password, which is changed on 
 the first meeting in January and July of each year, and 
 must be procured by you only of the Regent, no other
 
 277 
 
 person can give it to you, and he only while you are in 
 good standing in the Order. For the present term the 
 password is - . You will then be admitted to the 
 ante-room, where you will clothe yourself with the proper 
 regalia, advance to the inner, or Council room door, and 
 give one distinct rap. The wicket will then be opened 
 by the Warden, to whom you will give your name, rank 
 in the Order, and the name and number of the Council 
 to which you belong. This information will be con- 
 veyed to the Vice Regent, who will instruct the Warden 
 to admit you, if correct. You will then give him the 
 
 Permanent Password of the Order, which is . 
 
 This will admit you to the Council room. You will ad- 
 vance to the altar, face the Regent and give the sign of 
 Duty. After he responds, you will be at liberty to be 
 seated. Shoiild you wish to retire during a session of 
 the Council, you will advance to the altar, give the same 
 sign, and having been recognized, you will be at liberty 
 to retire. 
 
 "All movements of officers and members on the Coun- 
 cil room floor during a session should be, as far as pos- 
 sible, on lines of right angles with each other. 
 
 "In order to make yourself known to a brother outside 
 of the Council chamber, the signals and answers in 
 which you have been instructed may be used. Besides 
 these, this grip may be used (E), or this word (F), its 
 answer being (G). 
 
 "In communicating with a brother, you are entitled 
 to use the initials V. M. C. in signing your name. You 
 have also the right to the use of the mystic number on 
 all proper occasions. It may be used by you in connec- 
 tion with your signature, to indicate that you are a mem-
 
 278 
 
 ber of this Order, and whenever you see this mystic num- 
 ber in connection with a signature, you know that it has 
 reference to the Royal Arcanum. The work, or busi- 
 ness, done in the Council is called its Duties. In these 
 Duties, one rap of the gavel calls the Council to order or 
 seats it, o; two raps call up the officers, o o, and three 
 raps call up the Council, o o o. 
 
 "Brother in Virtue, Mercy and Charity, I greet you 
 as a member of the Royal Arcanum, and now present 
 you with a copy of the constitution and laws of the Or- 
 der. It is your duty to thoroughly acquaint yourself 
 with their requirements, that you may know your obliga- 
 tions and privileges, your rights and duties, as a member 
 of the Order. Its welfare depends upon the prosper] ty 
 of the Subordinate Councils. Your duty is not fully dis- 
 charged by the payments of dues and assessments. You 
 should give a reasonable amount of service to the Coun- 
 cil by developing its fraternal and social features, by at- 
 tending its regular meetings, by inducing acceptable per- 
 sons to apply for membership, and by discharging with 
 fidelit} r every duty assigned you, either as officer or mem- 
 ber. 
 
 "I will now present you to your brethren and request 
 that, as your name is called, you (or each of you), will 
 move f orward one step, and give the sign of Duty, in or- 
 der that the brethren may know you by name." 
 
 (Here Guide faces applicant towards altar and as the 
 names are called by Regent, each will move forward one 
 step, and give the sign of Duty.) 
 
 Regent "Brothers of Council, I introduce to 
 
 you Brother , who is now entitled to all the ben- 
 efits and priviliges of our beneficent Order. You will
 
 279 
 
 unite with me in the hopes that, in the enjoyment of 
 them he will remain faithful to his obligation, so that, 
 when the summons come to him which must come to all, 
 he will pass awa} r confident that the protecting arm of 
 the Royal Arcanum will shield those dear to him/' 
 (Here may be sung) : 
 
 "Welcome, stranger! Royal Brother! 
 
 We fraternally unite 
 Hearts and hands with cordial greeting, 
 
 In our Council here to-night. 
 Welcome to our new-made brother 
 
 Who has asked us if we would 
 Add by mystic rites another 
 
 To our Royal Brotherhood." 
 
 (The Regent will here declare a brief recess, during 
 which the Orator, Warden and Guide shall restore the 
 Council room to its ordinary condition. Guide will con- 
 duct member just admitted to the Secretary's desk, where 
 he will sign the B.y-Laws and examine his application to 
 see that his beneficiary is properly named, in accordance 
 with the laws of the Order.) 
 
 CLOSING THE DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL. 
 (From page 20, ff. of Book of Duties.) 
 
 Regent: "Brothers, the Duties appointed for this 
 Council meeting are now nearly completed. Collector, 
 what have been the cash receipts since the last meeting?" 
 
 (Collector will name the amounts, for the General 
 Fund and for the W. and 0. B. Fund separately, and 
 then the total of both, which the Secretary will repeat.) 
 
 Regent : "The Secretary will so enter them upon the
 
 280 
 
 records of this Council. Has the Treasurer receipted 
 therefor ?" 
 
 Collector : "He has." 
 
 Regent: "The Secretary will so record it. Has the 
 last assessment laid been forwarded to the Supreme 
 Treasurer, and has a receipt been received therefor?" 
 
 (Treasurer responds and Secretary records the an- 
 swer.) 
 
 Regent : "Has the Monthly Report been prepared 
 ready to be mailed to the Grand Secretary ?" ( Secretary 
 responds.) 
 
 Note If not, the Regent should see that this is done 
 before closing the Council, as the prompt forwarding 
 of such a report is important. 
 
 Regent: "o o o Brothers, let us gather about our al- 
 tar." 
 
 (The same position will be assumed in this as in the 
 opening Duty." 
 
 Regent : "Brothers, give the signs." 
 
 (All do so led by Regent.) 
 
 Chaplain : "Let us pray. God of infinite benevo- 
 lence, Thou art the Father of all our mercies, and the 
 God of all grace. In closing the service of this Council, 
 we devoutly seek Thy benediction, and ask Thy bless- 
 ing to rest upon us, and as we go forth to the active du- 
 ties and responsibilities of life, may it be to fill the meas- 
 ure of our days with usefulness, with purer motives, 
 brighter hopes, and personal consciousness of the Divine 
 approval. Amen." 
 
 All: "Amen."
 
 281 
 (Here may be sung) : 
 
 CLOSING ODE. 
 
 Tune, "Greenville." 
 
 "Brethern of our social Order, 
 
 Each his heart with care inspects; 
 Succor all within our border, 
 
 The hungry feed, the poor protect. 
 As you leave those sacred portals. 
 
 Mingling with the outer world, 
 Raise the standard, bear it proudly, 
 
 Let you banner be unfurled 
 
 "Heaven guide us as we journey 
 
 'Mid the scenes of pain and woe, 
 May our hearts with love and piety, 
 
 Shower sun shine where we go. 
 Bless our parting, and our slumbers, 
 
 Fill our baskets and our store, 
 Peace abound in all our members, 
 
 Till we meet to part no more." 
 
 Regent (at his station) : "Brothers, - Council, 
 No. , lloyal Arcanum, will next be opened for Duty 
 on the of - , 19 , at o'clock. The Guide 
 will see that the Boyal Secret, Protective Badge, Sash, 
 Jewels, and Book of Duties are safely deposited and se- 
 curely locked within the secret station. Brothers, the 
 Duties of this session are fully performed, and I declare 
 this Council closed" o. 
 
 THE FINAL DUTY THE BURIAL OF A BROTHER. 
 (From page 40, ff. Book of Duties.) 
 
 "Note The use of the following form of Final Duty, 
 cr any part of it, is optional with each Subordinate 
 Council, and other passages of Scripture may be intro- 
 duced in place of, or in addition to, those quoted in the 
 ceremony.
 
 282 
 
 "At the funeral of a brother, his Council shall be rep- 
 resented, if desirable, by seven members selected by the 
 Regent, six of whom shall act as pall bearers, if desired. 
 In the number shall be the Regent, the Past Regent, and 
 the Chaplain, or persons appointed to represent them. 
 
 "An emblem of immortelles, ivy or laurel leaves, or 
 evergreen, in the form of the letter C, shall be provided. 
 
 "In passing to the grave, the ]>;ill bearers shall form 
 about hearse, the Regent at the right, the Past Regent 
 at his left, and the Chaplain bearing the emblem at the 
 rear. Should the Council attend in a body, they shall 
 precede the hearse. After the pall bearers have removed 
 the casket to the grave, they shall form about in the 
 shape of the letter V. the Chaplain being the apex at the 
 head. 
 
 Chaplain : "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow 
 to anger and plenteous in mercy. 
 
 "He will not always chide, neither will He keep his 
 anger forever. 
 
 He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor re- 
 warded us according to our iniquities. 
 
 "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is 
 His mercy toward them that fear Him. 
 
 "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He 
 removed our transgressions from us. 
 
 "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pit- 
 ieth them that fear Him. 
 
 "For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that 
 we are dust. 
 
 "As for man, his days are as grass ; as a flower of the 
 field, so he flourisheth.
 
 283 
 
 "For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; and the 
 place thereof shall know it no more. 
 
 "But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to ever- 
 lasting upon them that fear Him. 
 
 "Man that is born of woman is of few days and full 
 of trouble. 
 
 "He cometh up like a flower and is cut down; he fleeth 
 as a shadow, and continueth not. 
 
 "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his 
 months are with Thee. Thou hast appointed his bounds 
 that he cannot pass. 
 
 "For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that He 
 shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. 
 
 "And though after my skin worms destroy this body, 
 yet in my flesh shall I see God. 
 
 "Whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall be- 
 hold, and not another., though my veins be consumed 
 with me." 
 
 Regent : "Brothers, we stand in the presence of death ! 
 One of our members has passed into the sublimest Court 
 of all, solved the drc-ad Royal Secret, and fathomed Mys- 
 teries, the portals of which are opened only by the grim 
 Warden, Death. This is but the mortal part of our 
 brother which lies before UP, so familiar, so beloved. It 
 was cast aside when his spirit put on immortal garments. 
 Our brother lives, a life only just begun. He has pre- 
 ceded us but a little, and awaits in a better land the com- 
 ing of those he loves. With tender sympathy and rev- 
 erent love, we place upon his casket (here the Regent 
 shall receive the emblem from the Chaplain and place 
 it upon the casket) the emblem of our trust, that it is
 
 284 
 
 well with our brother forever, and well with all the dear 
 ones he has left behind." 
 
 (After the lowering of the casket:) 
 
 Chaplain: "Let us pray: God, our Father, Su- 
 preme Ruler of the Universe and Governor of all things, 
 we know that without Thee not even a sparrow falleth 
 to the ground, and we may, therefore, trust with Thee 
 the soul of our dead brother, as we return his body to its 
 kindred dust. Thou art a God of mercy and loving kind- 
 ness, and lookest upon us all as a father upon the chil- 
 dren whom he loves. Teach us by this lesson of mortali- 
 ty how frail and weak we are ; how slight our hold upon 
 this world; and how sure, with Thy grace, we may make 
 our anchorage in the ocean of eternal love. We commend 
 unto Thee these sorrowing ones. Minister unto them 
 divine consolation. Bless them and us with Thy care and 
 protection. Unite us all again in Thine own good time, 
 and be to us now and ever, our Father and our God. 
 Amen." 
 
 All: "Amen."
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 SUPREME COURT OF HONOR. 
 
 This Order has a Ritual which prescribes the duties 
 of the Chaplain thus on page 53 : "Worthy Chaplain, 
 it will be your duty, as well as your privilege, to invoke 
 the divine favor and blessing upon the proceedings of 
 this Order; you will also assist in initiating candidates. 
 Your position is one of high dignity, and may you en- 
 deavor to so conduct the exercises and the duties devolv- 
 ing upon you that they may be beneficial to the members 
 and for the good of the Order." 
 
 At the opening of the Lodge the Worthy Chancellor 
 says : "Officers and members, you will bow your heads 
 while the Worthy Chaplain invokes the Divine blessing." 
 
 Worthy Chaplain : "Our Father and our God, we call 
 upon Thee to bless all the members of this Court ; guide 
 our every action through life, and help us to be faithful 
 brothers and sisters of this noble Order; may each and 
 all of us be governed by a fervent desire to advance 
 Patriotism, Liberty and Brotherhood, and to better the 
 condition of mankind. This we ask in humble depend- 
 ence and in most solemn adoration of Thy gracious 
 name. Amen." 
 
 At the closing of the Lodge the Chaplain has to say : 
 "0, everlasting Father, we ask Thy blessing upon the
 
 286 
 
 members of our noble Order and upon our every effort 
 in the cause of rigbt. Make us true to our brothers and 
 sisters., kind and loving in our homes, loyal and obedient 
 to all, and worthy members of the great brotherhood of 
 mankind. Amen." 
 
 The Chaplain instructs the candidate thus: "My 
 brother, it is well that you have come to me, for the faith 
 and trust in a Providence of unceasing good are inter- 
 woven with the inmost activities of hearts that yearn for 
 right and seek for liberty. Men never ri*e so high or 
 go so far when the way is hid and their only guide is 
 duty and an unshaken confidence in the invincible right. 
 It is not in the province of this Society to analyze or dis- 
 cuss controverted questions of faith and practice, but we 
 all know and see the need and the waiting of the world 
 for a religion of brotherhood, charity and love applied to 
 the common affairs of human society. \Ve need to un- 
 derstand that the broadest liberty of action is harmon- 
 ized with the most delicate regard for the rights and 
 comfort of others. So that the deepest and most rever- 
 ent faith in the overshadowing verities of God and man 
 may become a working force of our common right in the 
 daily affairs of our common existence. 
 
 "I welcome you, then, on your onward way, in the 
 name of Patriotism, Liberty and Brotherhood, and give 
 you another word to inscribe on your heart with the word 
 Patriotism, and that is the word Liberty the liberty of 
 Love, liberty of Law and Justice and Eight, for that is 
 the only -liberty worthy of the devotion of man. ..." 
 
 At a funeral of a member, the Chaplain, after reading 
 from the Bible, says this prayer: "Almighty God, we 
 give Thee hearty thanks for the good example of those,
 
 287 
 
 Thy servants, who, having iini&hed their course in faith, 
 do now rest from their labor. And we beseech Thee, 
 that we, with all those who are now departed in the true 
 faith of Thy holy Xame, may have our perfect consum- 
 mation and bliss, both in body and soul, in Thine eternal 
 and everlasting glory, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
 Amen." 
 
 For the ceremony of initiation, the ritual prescribes : 
 - each Court shall have a degree team, 
 appointed by the Worthy Chancellor, composed of five 
 sisters and six brothers, one of the latter to act as Con- 
 ductor, which shall drill and become familiar with the 
 floor work. The sisters shall wear robes made in Grecian 
 style, one each of the following colors : Scarlet, yellow, 
 green, blue and pink, with crowns or turbans made of 
 the same color as the robes. The brothers shall wear suits 
 of the style worn by the warriors of King Solomon, con- 
 sisting of sandals, long stockings, armor coats and hel- 
 mets. All members of the degree team except the Con- 
 ductor shall bear spears or battle axes ; the Conductor 
 shall wear a sword. 
 
 The candidate is hoodwinked, marched around the 
 hall whilst the members sing the following welcome 
 march : 
 
 "Some think this world is made for fun and frolic, 
 
 And so do 1 (and so do I). 
 Some think it well to be all melancholic, 
 
 To pine and sigh (to pine and sigh). 
 But I, I love to spend my time in helping 
 
 Some worthy friend ( some worthy friend ) , 
 To help their loved ones when their life is ended 
 
 Is far from wrong (is far from wrong). 
 Tra la, la, la, la, la, la. Tra la, Tra la, Tra la, la, la, la. 
 
 The Court of Honor does this for you, 
 Does this for you, we'll do this for you, 
 
 Tra la, la, la, la, We will do this for you."
 
 288 
 
 "Some think the Court initiates its members 
 
 Upon a goat (upon a goat). 
 But oh, to us the way it bucks and capers 
 
 Is fun for all ( who'er in the boat ) . 
 And oh, to us the mazy dance is charming, 
 
 It can't be beat (you can not beat). 
 And surely there is naught that is alarming 
 
 In nimble feet (with nimble feet). 
 Tra la, la, la, etc. 
 
 "Ah, we think strange that some should take to sighing 
 
 And like it well (and like it \vell). 
 For us, we have no thought of trying 
 
 So can not tell (how can we tell?/ 
 With goat and candidates the day soon passes 
 
 So soon is gone (so soon is gone) . 
 For fun was made for joyous lads and lasses 
 To call their own (to call their own) 
 Tra la, la, la, etc." 
 
 The candidate takes the usual solemn obligation never 
 to reveal any of the work of the Order, and the hokus- 
 polt-us, as in other orders, as to test, is not omitted.
 
 CHAPTEE XLIL 
 
 THE GLOBE FRATERNAL LEGION. 
 
 The Eitual does not make the Chaplain a necessary 
 figure at the meetings; but it has the religious hymn 
 and the oath as in other secret societies. 
 
 INITIATORY ODE. 
 
 'Witness ye men and angels; now 
 Before the Lord we speak 
 To Him we make our solemn vows, 
 A vow we dare not break. 
 
 ''Lord, guide our doubtful feet aright 
 And keep us in Thy ways; 
 Turn Thou our prayers to praise. 
 Etc." 
 
 President: "The Instructor will please conduct the 
 candidate to the Altar, where he will assume the solemn 
 obligation that all of you have assumed. 
 
 President to Candidate : "You will now place your 
 right hand on your heart, your left pointing heavenward, 
 
 bent at elbow, and repeat after me : I, , in 
 
 the presence of Him from whom emanates every good, 
 and of these tried brethren, do promise that I will not 
 knowingly wrong, cause or permit to be wronged, if in 
 my power to prevent it, any member of this Order. I 
 will protect to the utmost of my ability the fair name 
 and character of anyone whom I know to be a member 
 of this Order; will go to the aid and assistance of any 
 member of this Order if in distress, whenever called upon
 
 290 
 
 so to do, and will, if found worthy, relieve or aid in re- 
 lieving them to the utmost of my ability. I will also 
 patronize, or aid any worthy member of this Order to ob- 
 tain employment when I can consistency do so without 
 detriment to my own interest or interference with any 
 of my civil or religious liberties. I will not commend 
 for membership in this Legion any person whom I know, 
 to be of immoral habits, or whose character I know, or 
 have good reason to believe, to be other than good, and 
 who is not of sound mind and body, and in every way 
 worthy to become a member of this Legion. I will use 
 my best efforts in promoting the interest of the Legion, 
 when I can do so without interfering with my regular 
 business. I will not while a member, or if at any time I 
 cease to be a member, ever while T live, reveal to anyone 
 not entitled to know, any of the secrets of the Legion. 
 All this I promise on my honor, and for any violation 
 therof, I consent to be punished as provided for in the 
 constitution, by-laws, rules and regulations of this Le- 
 gion, j 
 
 President : "We have in use in our Legion, as you have 
 already been informed, certain passwords, grips, signs, 
 countersigns, etc., which our Instructor will now make 
 known to you." 
 
 But why occupy time in discussing more of the three 
 hundred or more similar societies, one by one, in detail ? 
 They all agree substantially in their first principle. They 
 all teach the same religious doctrine naturalism and 
 salvation without. Christ. They all belong to the Ma- 
 sonic family, which is the mother of all, in fact as well 
 as in name.
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 COLLEGE SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 About one hundred and -lii'ty thousand college 
 students in the United States belong to so-called Greek 
 Letter or College Societies. College bred men and wom- 
 en, the so-called better educated class of people among 
 us, are thus imbued with the principles of secret socie- 
 ties, and after returning to their homes are, as a rule, 
 prime movers in such societies, as stated in the beginning 
 of this book. 
 
 Tradition has it that Thomas Jefferson introduced the 
 first Greek Letter Society from France into the William 
 and Mary College of Virginia, and that from there the 
 society spread to Yale, Harvard and the other seats of 
 learning, before the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. Outside of the "hazing" and other "horse-play" 
 practiced in some colleges and universities, the mode of 
 initiation varies but little. From time to time the offi- 
 cials in the seats of learning interfere and it is conceded 
 that in nearly all the schools the former brutal treatment 
 is abolished. 
 
 The mode of initiation is described thus : "About two 
 weeks after the scholastic term in September has com- 
 menced notice is given to all newly arrived students, who 
 are of the required age and standing, to join the society, 
 if they so desire. A day is set for the ceremony of initia- 
 tion. Those who have signified their intention to join
 
 292 
 
 receive, on the after noou oi' the appointed day, a black 
 envelope containing a black-edged card or sheet of paper, 
 bearing the badge of the society and the summons : 'You, 
 N. N., will be waited upon at your room this evening and 
 be presented for initiation into the dark and awful mys- 
 teries of Fraternity. Per Order.' 
 
 ''The half of a card of fantastic design and peculiarly 
 notched edge is also enclosed, and the candidate in- 
 structed to surrender himself 1 only to that person who 
 presents him with the other half of the card ; care being 
 taken that no two cards are notched alike, so his card 
 must exactly match the edge of the card of the bearer. 
 At a convenient hour in the evening two masked students 
 present the card and conduct the candidate to the place 
 of initiation. Here he is. blindfolded, led forward, hears 
 doors open and close, and, the hoodwink being removed, 
 he finds himself in utter darkness, but is made aware 
 that he is not alone. He hears pandemonium break loose, 
 as it were, all around him. His name is called, a skele- 
 ton redolent with phosphorus and a red demon take hold 
 of him, blindfold him anew, and he is led up an eleva- 
 tion. Having answered the last question put to him, he 
 tumbles, falls down apparently deep on a blanket held in 
 readiness, is tossed high up in the air amid admiring 
 shrieks of 'Go it, Freshie/ 'Well done/ 'Shake him 
 up/ 'Go it again/ and so on until a new candidate de- 
 mands the attention of the tossers. Then he is officiously 
 told to set himself into a chair, the seat of which lets him 
 into a pail of water beneath, though a large sponge prob- 
 ably saves him from an actual wetting. His head and 
 hands are thrust through a pillory, and he is reviled 
 whilst in that awkward position. He is rolled into an
 
 283 
 
 exaggerated squirrel wheel, a noose is thrown around his 
 neck and he is dragged beneath the guillotine, when the 
 bandage is taken from his eyes and he glares upon the 
 glittering knife of block tin, which falls within a foot of 
 his throat and cannot possibly go any farther. Being 
 thus executed he is thrust into a coffin, which is ham- 
 mered upon with such energy that he is at length re- 
 called to life, pulled out again and made to wear his coat 
 inside outward. This is the sign that his initiation is 
 over and lie can now stand by and enjoy the fun of the 
 initiation of others. Hanging himself with the turn- 
 coated class-mates, whom he finds have preceded him, he 
 looks upon a motley throng of struggling sophomores 
 arrayed in every variety <!' hideous ;ind fantastic dis- 
 guise, shoiiting, screaming, horn-blowing and putting the 
 freshmen through the various stages of ceremonies which 
 in his own case have just been completed. He is then 
 made to take the oath and promise secrecy, as required 
 by the respective society/' 
 
 In the old country the university students had and 
 have their different secret societies ; some of them harm- 
 less and others not so. 
 
 Initiation in one of the oldest seats of learning into 
 the companionship of students is thus described : 
 
 "The ceremony of initiation was called 'deposition.' 
 The candidate announced himself to the dean of the 
 philosophical faculty, and asked that he might, through 
 the 'deposition/ be received among the fellowship of 
 the students. The candidate was called a 'Branen/ and 
 when the number of Branens for admission was suffi- 
 cent, the dean appointed a day for the 'deposition/ On 
 the appointed day,- the 'depositor* appeared in a bur-
 
 294 
 
 lesque dress before the assembled Branens and ordered 
 his assistants to dress them in the most ridiculous man- 
 ner, especially with horned hats arid caps. Then the in- 
 struments for the deposition were distributed, viz.: 
 Coarse wooden combs, shears, axes, hatchets, planes, 
 saws, razors, looking glasses, etc. The Depositor then 
 marched the Branens in rank and file, placed himself at 
 their head and conducted them to the hall where the de- 
 position was to take place. The dean and spectators be- 
 ing already awaiting them, the Depositor addressed them 
 in a speech. Then he commenced the deposition by 
 striking each Branen Avith a bag of bran or sand and 
 compelled them to scamper about with all manner of 
 laughable gestures and din-kings in order to escape tli- 
 stroke of the bag. Riddles and questions were put to 
 them and whoever failed in answering them correctly 
 \vas subjected to new attacks \vith the bag. The Branens 
 now give up the instruments they hold in their hands, 
 lay down fiat on the ground, their heads together. The 
 Depositor then planed their shoulders, filed their nails, 
 pretended to bore through or saw off their feet, hewed 
 every limb of their body into shape, knocked off their 
 horns and tore out of tbeir mouths with a pair of long 
 tongs the satyr's teeth, placed there on purpose. The 
 Branen had then to sit on a stool with one leg, a napkin 
 was placed around his neck, lie was soaped with brick- 
 dust or shoe-blackening and shaved so sharply with a 
 wooden razor that the tears started down his cheeks. 
 The combing with the wooden comb was equally rough, 
 and after the combing the hair was sprinkled with saw- 
 dust and shavings. Then the Branens were driven out 
 of the hall, amidst a great noise, changed their suits and
 
 295 
 
 returned in their ordinary dress to the hall, where the 
 dean addressed them in an advisory speech. As a sym- 
 bol of wisdom each tasted a grain of salt, as a sign of 
 joy a few drops of M'inc were poured over the head of 
 each one by the dean and the c-ertifk-nlr of the accom- 
 plished deposition ended that part of the ceremony."
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 THE SO-CALLED SECRET WORK. 
 
 In each oath mentioned in the foregoing description 
 of the different secret societies the words "secret work" 
 or the equivalent thereof occur. What is this secret 
 work ? To whom is it known ? In each local lodge and 
 in each Grand, or State Lodge, and in the so-called Na- 
 tional Lodge of each of the three hundred or more secret 
 societies, there are the "Select Few" and the "Inner Cir- 
 cle." What does this mean ? 
 
 When a new lodge of any secret society is established, 
 the organizer has his eye on the more intelligent and 
 prominent applicants. In Ms application for the Char- 
 ter, he states the local standing of his candidates, and 
 makes particular reference to the character, etc., of a 
 few, whom he calls No. 1. These few are watched for 
 a year or so, and a correspondence is kept up between 
 them and headquarters about apparently indifferent sub- 
 jects; and, by the time they have been "sounded" on 
 topics of the day, and this and that, one of the leading 
 men at "headquarters" under some pretext or other finds 
 a reason to visit the local lodge and come in contact with 
 the "select few" who have been the object of special ob- 
 servation. There may be a banquet, or a reception, or a 
 something, according to local circumstances, to bring 
 the members and their friends together. The "expert" 
 from headquarters, after some speeches or conversation,
 
 has made his pick, has his "selected few" spotted. He 
 approaches them in a most pleasant manner, is glad to 
 find so much intelligence in a place where he had ex- 
 pected less, and surely all the superior qualities the com- 
 munity enjoys were due to such men as they, and he 
 thinks so much of them that he desires to be their partic- 
 ular friend, and would like to establish a mutual friend- 
 ship. During the course of the conversation following, 
 our agent from headquarters has his men "all attention." 
 He explains to them why "all must not be told to all," 
 but they, having superior education and talents, might 
 be told the "secret work.'' As they are leaders in local 
 nffairs, a great advantage will accrue to them by being 
 promoted in their respective lodge : it will be to increase 
 their standing with their local people, it means better 
 trade and more money, or greater honor and a higher 
 office and more money, etc. Gradually it comes to a 
 point that there are two or three in each local lodge who 
 have gained the confidence of the higher officials. An 
 animal State conference is arranged to which these "se- 
 lect few" will be sent as "Delegates." The "State 
 Picker" will repeat the process of the local organizer, 
 will spot his men, sound them and have again a "select 
 few" who will be sent to the National Conventions as 
 State Delegates. The "Supremes" at the National Con- 
 vention will again pick out their "Select Few." 
 Out of these "State and National Select Few" an "Inner 
 Circle" is formed which rules the whole organization at 
 the'dictates of "a few" of a circle within the "Inner Cir- 
 cle." These final "selected few" direct the "secret 
 work."
 
 298 
 
 In every secret society of "good financial standing" 
 these "select few" are Freemasons. From the timber, 
 they find most suitable for their purpose, they recruit 
 the ranks and file of Freemasonry. Thus Freemasonry 
 is the mother in fact as well as in name of all secret soci- 
 eties; they emanate from it and in their end-object, re- 
 turn to it, making possible the great strength of this en- 
 emy of the Catholic Church. Thus an edict from the 
 head of Freemasonry reaches all those members of any 
 secret society who have shown the necessary qualification 
 and in this way united action is assured. No Catholic 
 will ever be allowed to belong to the "select few" because 
 he is not trusted. "If he is a traitor to the church of his 
 mother, we cannot trust him ; when death is near he will, 
 generally, prefer the Pope and his Priest to our friend- 
 ship, and he may tell all he knows; therefore "not all 
 must be told to all' and we Masons prefer to know our 
 own." Such and similar remarks were made to me by 
 friends Avho belong to Freemasonry. In oilier words, 
 Catholics who join the Masonic Orders, or any secret 
 society, are considered fit for swelling the ranks and the 
 coffer, and the votes at election day, and are despised by 
 their very so-called Masonic or lodge breilnvn. 
 
 Now what is Ihc "secret \\<>rk ?'' What else but polit- 
 ical wire-pulling and practical work against the Church 
 of Jesus Christ. I have been asked time and again, in 
 my twenty years of priesthood, at the time of election, to 
 use my sieenlotal influence for some or other candidate. 
 Keeping my political views pretty well to myself, as'far 
 as party lines are concerned, but at the same time not idle 
 in using my privilege ns an American citizen, T often 
 heard these word- : "Well, Father Rosen, you know that
 
 299 
 
 So, and So, aiid So, are prominent members in our 
 lodge; we all are in for him, he must get there; he is a 
 good man, and though you may not like his principles as 
 a Mason or a lodge member, it is well for you to stand in, 
 be with us this time; we want your friendship; we 
 helped you in building- churches : why ! the other Sunday 
 before the election, I went to hear you preach; it was I 
 who put that five in the collection box, and if there is 
 anything we can do for you call on us, etc." 
 
 Some Catholics have been foolish enough to be 
 "caught" by such talk. Account for the many bills be- 
 fore State and National Legislation interfering with the 
 rights of parents in regard to the religious education of 
 their children, whether they are Indians or whites; 
 whether they live in Indiana. Illinois. Wisconsin, or the 
 Dakotas, or any other State in the Union. When there 
 is a question of electing a Freemason to an office, or 
 having a bill passed which tends to annihilate Christian- 
 ity, an edict from the head of Masonry is sufficient to set 
 the whole machinery of Masonry and all secret societies 
 in motion to obtain the desired end.
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE CHURCH
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 The Dogmatic Constitution of the Catholic Faith, as 
 promulgated by the Vatican Council, April 24, 1870, 
 bears relation to secret societies. It reads thus : 
 
 "PIUS, 
 
 "Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, with the Ap- 
 proval of the Sacred Council, for perpetual Remem- 
 brance. 
 
 "Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Re- 
 deemer of mankind, before returning to His heavenly 
 Father, promised that He would be with the Church Mil- 
 itant on earth all days, even to the consummation of the 
 world. Therefore He has never ceased to be present with 
 His beloved spouse, to assist her when teaching, to bless 
 her when at work, and to aid her when in danger. And 
 this, His salutary providence, which has been constantly 
 displayed by other innumerable benefits, has been most 
 manifestly proved by the abundant good results which 
 Christendom has derived from (Ecumenical Councils, 
 and paj'ticularly from that of Trent, although it was held 
 in evil times. For, as a consequence, the sacred doctrines 
 of the faith have been defined more closely, and set forth 
 more fully, errors have been condemned and restrained, 
 ecclesiastical discipline has been restored and more firm- 
 ly secured, the love of learning and piety lias been pro-
 
 1504 
 
 raoted among the clergy, colleges have been established 
 to educate youth for the sacred warfare, and the morals 
 of the Christian world have been renewed by the more 
 accurate training of the faithful, and by the more fre- 
 quent use of the sacraments. Moreover, there has re- 
 sulted a closer communion of the members with the visi- 
 ble head, an increase of vigor in the whole mystical body 
 of Christ, the multiplication of religious congregations 
 and of other institutions of Christian piety, and such ar- 
 dor in extending the kingdom of Christ throughout the 
 world, as constantly endures, even to the sacrifice of life 
 itself. 
 
 "But while we recall with due thankfulness these and 
 other signal benefits which the divine mercy has be- 
 stowed on the Church, especially by the last (Ecumenical 
 Council, we cannot restrain our bitter sorrow for the 
 grave evils, which are principally due to the fact that the 
 authority of the sacred synod has been contemned, or its 
 wise decrees neglected by many. 
 
 "No one is ignorant that the heresies proscribed by the 
 Fathers of Trent, by which the divine magisterium of 
 the Church was rejected, and all matters regarding re- 
 ligion were 'surrendered to the judgment of each indi- 
 vidual, gradually became dissolved into many sects, 
 which disagreed and contended with one another, until 
 at length not a few lost all faith in Christ. Even the 
 Holy Scriptures, which had previously been declared the 
 sole source and judge of Christian doctrine, began to be 
 held no longer as divine, but to be ranked among the 
 fictions of mythology. 
 
 "Then there arose, and too widely overspread the 
 world, that doctrine of rationalism, or naturalism, which
 
 opposes itself in every way to I lie Christian religion as a 
 supernatural institution, and works with the utmost zeal 
 in order that, after Christ., our sole Lord and Saviour. 
 has been excluded from the mind of men, and from the 
 life and moral acts of nations, the reign of what they call 
 finre reason or nature may be established. And after for- 
 aaking and rejecting the Christian religion, and denying 
 the true God and Plis Christ, the minds of many have 
 sunk into the abyss of Pantheism, Materialism, and 
 Atheism, until, denying rational nature itself, and every 
 sound rule of right, they labor to destroy the deepest 
 foundation of human society. Unhappily, it has yet far- 
 Iher come to pass that, while this impiety prevailed on 
 even 7 side, many even of the children of the Catholic 
 Church have strayed from the path of true piety, and by 
 the gradual diminution of the truths they held, the Cath- 
 olic sense became weakened in them. For, led away by 
 various and strange doctrines, utterly confusing nature 
 and grace, human science and divine faith, they are 
 found to deprave the true sense of the doctrines which 
 our Holy Mother Church holds and teaches, and endan- 
 ger the integrity and soundness of the faith. Consid- 
 ering these things how can the -Church fail to be deeply 
 stirred? For, even as God wills all men to be saved, 
 and to arrive at the knowledge of the truth, even as 
 Christ came to save what had perished and to gather 
 together the children of God who had been dispersed, 
 so the Church, constituted by God the mother and teach- 
 er of nations, knows its own office as debtor to all, and 
 is ever ready and watchful to raise the fallen, to support 
 those who are falling, to embrace those who return, to 
 confirm the good and to carry them on to better things.
 
 306 
 
 "Hence, it can never forbear from witnessing to and 
 proclaiming the truth of God, which heals all things, 
 knowing the words addressed to it: 'My Spirit that is 
 in thee, and my words that I have put in thy mouth, 
 shall not depart out of thy mouth, from henceforth and 
 forever/ (Isaiah, lix, 21.) 
 
 "We, therefore, following the footsteps of our prede- 
 cessors, have never ceased, as becomes our supreme Apos- 
 tolic office, from teaching and defending Catholic truth, 
 and condemning doctrines of error. And now, with the 
 Bishops of the whole world assembled round us, and 
 judging with us, congregated by our authority, and in the 
 Holy Spirit, in this (Ecumenical Council, we, supported 
 by the Word of God, written and handed down as we re- 
 ceive it from the Catholic Church, preserved with sacred- 
 ness and set forth according to truth, have determined 
 to profess and declare the salutary teaching of Christ 
 from this chair of Peter, and in sight of all, proscribing 
 and condemning, by the power given to us of God, all 
 errors contrary thereto."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ENCYCLICAL LETTER, HUMANUM GENUS. 
 
 Eii cyclical Letter of His Holiness, Leo XIII.,, called 
 "Humanmn Genus." 
 
 "To Our Venerable Brethren, all Patriarchs, Primates, 
 Archbishops and Kishops of the Catholic World, in 
 favor and communion with the Apostolic See. 
 "Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction. 
 
 "The race of man, after its miserable fall from God, 
 the Creator and the Giver of heavenly gifts, 'through 
 the envy of the devil,' separated into two diverse and op- 
 posite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for 
 truth and virtue, the other for those things which are 
 contrary to virtue ;md to truth. The one is the king- 
 dom of God on earth, namely,, true Church of Jesus 
 Christ: and those who desire from their heart to be 
 united with it, so as to gain salvation, must of necessity 
 serve God and His Only-begotten Son with their whole 
 mind and with an entire will. The other is the kingdom 
 of Satan, in whose possession and control are all whoso- 
 ever follow the fatal example of their leader and of our 
 first parents, those who refuse to obey the divine and 
 denial law. and who have many aims of their own in 
 contempt of God, and many aims also against God. 
 
 "This twofold kingdom St. Augustine keenly discerned 
 and described after the manner of two cities, contrary in 
 their laws because striving for contrary objects; and with
 
 308 
 
 a subtle brevity he expressed the efficient cause of each 
 in these words: 'Two loves formed two cities: the love 
 of self, reaching even to contempt of God, an earthly 
 city ; and the love of God, reaching to contempt of self, 
 a heavenly one/ At every period of time each has been 
 in conflict with the other, with a variety and multiplicity 
 of weapons, and of warfare, although not always with 
 equal ardor and assault. At this period, however, the 
 partisans of evil seem to be combining together, and to 
 be struggling with united vehemence, led on or assisted 
 by that strongly organized and wide-spread association 
 called the Freemasons. No longer makin'g any secret 
 of their purposes, they are now boldly rising up against 
 God -Himself. They are planning the destruction of 
 Holy Church publicly and openly; and this with the set 
 purpose of utterly despoiling the nations of Christen- 
 dom, if it were possible, of the blessings obtained for us 
 through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Lamenting these 
 evils, we are constrained by the charity which urges our 
 beart to cry out often to God : 'For lo, Thy enemies have 
 made a noise ; and they that hate Thee have lifted up the 
 head. They have taken a malicious counsel against Thy 
 people, and they have consulted against Thy Saints.' 
 They have said, 'Come, and let us destroy them, so that 
 they be not a nation.* 
 
 "At so urgent a crisis, when so fierce and so~ pressing an 
 onslaught is made upon the Christian name, it is Our 
 office to point out the danger, to mark who are the ad- 
 versaries, and to the best of Our power to make hear! 
 against their plans and devices, that those may not per- 
 ish whose salvation is committed to TTs, and that the 
 kingdom of Jesus Christ intrusted to Our charge may
 
 309 
 
 not only stand and remain whole, but may be enlarged 
 by an ever-increasing growth throughout the world. 
 
 "The Eoman Pontiffs, Our predecessors, in their inces- 
 sant watchfulness over the safety of the Christian peo- 
 ple, were prompt in detecting the presence and the pur- 
 pose of this capital enemy immediately it sprang into 
 the light instead of hiding as a dark conspiracy; and 
 moreover they took occasion with true foresight to give, 
 as it were, the alarm, and to admonish both princes and 
 nations to stand on their guard, and not allow them- 
 selves to be caught by the devices and snares laid out to 
 deceive them. 
 
 "The first warning of the danger was given by Clement 
 XII. in the year 1738, and his Constitution was con- 
 firmed and renewed by Benedict XIV. Pius VII. fol- 
 lowed the same path: and Leo XII., by his Apostolic 
 Constitution, 'Quo graviora,' put together the Acts and 
 Decrees of former Pontiffs on this subject, and ratified 
 and confirmed them forever. In the same sense spoke 
 Pius VIII., Gregory XVI., and many times over Pius 
 IX. 
 
 "For, as soon as the constitution and the spirit of the 
 Masonic sect were clearly discovered by manifest signs 
 of its action, by cases investigated, by the publication of 
 its laws, and of its rites and commentaries, with the ad- 
 dition often of the personal testimony of those who were 
 in the secret, this Apostolic See denounced the sect of 
 the Freemasons, and publicly declared its constitution, 
 as contrary to law and right, to be pernicious no less to 
 Christendom than to the State ; and it forbade anyone to 
 enter the society, under the penalties which the Church 
 is wont to inflict upon exceptionally guilty persons. The
 
 310 
 
 sectaries, indignant at this,, thinking to elude or to 
 weaken the force of these decrees, partly by contempt of 
 them, and partly by calumny, accused the Sovereign 
 Pontiffs who had passed them, either of exceeding the 
 bounds of moderation in their decrees or of decreeing 
 what was not just. This was the manner in which they 
 endeavored to elude the authority and the weight of the 
 Apostolic- Constitutions of Clement XII. and Benedict 
 XIV., a.s well as of Pius ATI. and Pius IX. Yet in the 
 very society itself there were to be found men who un- 
 willingly acknowledge that the Koman Pontiffs had acted 
 within their right, according to the Catholic doctrine and 
 discipline. The Pontiffs received the same assent, and 
 in strong terms, from many princes and heads of gov- 
 ernments, who made it their business either to delate the 
 Masonic Society to the Apostolic See, or of their own ac- 
 cord by special enactments to brand it as pernicious, as, 
 for example, in Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, 
 Bavaria, Savoy, and other parts of Italy. 
 
 "But, what is of highest importance, the course of 
 events has demonstrated the prudence of Our Predeces- 
 sors. For their provident and paternal solicitude had not 
 always and everywhere the result desired ; and this, 
 either because of the simulation and cunning of some 
 who were active agents in the mischief, or else of the 
 thoughtless levity of the rest, who ought, in their own 
 interest, to have given to the matter their diligent atten- 
 tion. In consequence the sect of Freemasons grew with 
 a rapidity beyond conception in the course of a century 
 and a half, until it came to be able, by means of fraud or 
 of audacity, to gain such entrance into every rank of 
 the State as to seem to be almost its ruling power. This
 
 311 
 
 swift and formidable advance has brought upon the 
 Church, upon the power of princes, upon the public well- 
 being, precisely that grievous harm which Our Prede- 
 cessors had long before foreseen. Such a condition has 
 been reached that henceforth there will be grave reason 
 to fear, not indeed for the Church for her foundation 
 is much too firm to be overturned by the effort of men 
 but for those States in which prevails the power, either 
 of the sect of which we are speaking, or of other sects 
 not dissimilar which lend themselves to it as disciples 
 and subordinates. 
 
 "For these reasons We no sooner came to the helm of 
 the Church than We clearly saw and felt it to be Our 
 duty to use Our authority to the very utmost against so 
 vast an evil. We have several times already, as occasion 
 served, attacked certain chief points of teaching which 
 showed in a special manner the perverse influence of Ma- 
 sonic opinions. Thus, in Our Encyclical Letter, 'Quod 
 Apostolici nntneris.' We endeavored to refute the mon- 
 strous doctrines of the Socialists and Communists ; after- 
 wards, in another beginning 'Arcanum,' We took pains 
 to defend and explain the true and genuine idea of do- 
 mestic life, of which marriage is the 'spring and origin ; 
 and again, in that which begins 'Diuturnum,' We 
 described the ideal of political government conformed to 
 the principles of Christian wisdom, which is marvelously 
 in harmony, on the one hand, with the natural order of 
 things, and, on the other, with the well-being of both sov- 
 ereign princes and of nations. It is now Our intention, 
 following the example of Our Predecessors, directly to 
 treat of the Masonic Society itself, of its whole teaching, 
 of its aims, and of its manner of thinking and acting, in
 
 312 
 
 order to bring more and more into the light its power 
 for evil, and to do what We can to arrest the, contagion 
 of this fatal plague. 
 
 "There are several organized bodies which., though dif- 
 fering in name, in ceremonial, in form and origin, are 
 nevertheless so bound together by community of purpose 
 and by the similarity of their main opinions, as to make 
 in fact one thing with the sect of the Freemasons, which 
 is a kind of centre whence they all go forth, and whither 
 they all return. Now, these no longer show a desire to 
 remain concealed; for they hold their meetings in the 
 daylight and before the public eye, and publish their own 
 newspaper organs: and yet, when thoroughly understood, 
 they are found still to retain the nature and the habits of 
 secret societies. There are many things like mysteries 
 which it is the fixed rule to hide with extreme care, not 
 only from strangers, but from very many members also ; 
 such as their secret and final designs, the names of the 
 chief leaders, and certain secret and inner meetings, as 
 well as their decisions, and the ways and means of car- 
 rying thent out. This is, no doubt, the object of the 
 manifold differences among the members as to right, of- 
 fice, and privilege of the received distinction of orders 
 and grades, and of that severe discipline which is main- 
 tained. Candidates are generally commanded to promise 
 nay, with a special oath, to swear that they will 
 never, to any person, at any time or in any way, make 
 known the members, the passes, or the subjects dis- 
 cussed. Thus, with a fraudulent external appearance, 
 and with a style of simulation which is always the same, 
 the Freemasons, like the Manichees of old, strive, as far 
 as possible, to conceal themselves, and to admit no wit-
 
 nesses but their own members. As a convenient manner 
 of concealment, they assume the character of literary 
 men and scholars associated for purposes of learning. 
 They speak of their zeal for a more cultured refinement, 
 and of their love for the poor ; and they declare their one 
 wish to be the amelioration of the condition of the 
 masses, and to share with the largest possible number 
 all the benefits of civil life. Even were these purposes 
 aimed at in real truth, they are by no means the whole of 
 their object. Moreover, to be enrolled, it is necessary 
 that the candidates promise and undertake to be thence- 
 forward strictly obedient to their leaders and masters 
 with the utmost submission and fidelity, and to be in 
 readiness to do their bidding upon the slightest expres- 
 sion of their will; or, if disobedient, to submit to the 
 direst penalties and death itself. As a fact, if any are 
 judged to have betrayed the doings of the sect or to have 
 resisted commands given, punishment is inflicted on 
 them not infrequently, and with so much audacity and 
 dexterity that the assassin very often escapes the detec- 
 tion and penalty of his crime. 
 
 "But to simulate and wish to lie hid ; to bind men like 
 slaves in the very tightest bonds, and without giving any 
 sufficient reason ; to make use of men enslaved to the will 
 of another for any arbitrary act; to arm men's right 
 hands for bloodshed after securing impunity for the 
 crime all this is an enormity from which nature recoils. 
 Wherefore reason and truth itself make it plain that the 
 society of which we are speaking is in antagonism with 
 justice and- natural uprightness. And this becomes still 
 plainer, inasmuch as other arguments also, and those 
 very manifest, prove that it is essentially opposed to nat-
 
 314 
 
 ural virtue. For, no matter how great may be men's 
 cleverness in concealing and their experience in lying, it 
 is impossible to prevent the effects of any cause from 
 showing, in some way, the intrinsic nature of the cause 
 whence they come. 'A good tree cannot produce bad 
 fruit, nor a bad tree produce good fruit/ Xow, the Ma- 
 sonic sect produces fruits that are pernicious and of the 
 bitterest savor. For, from :what we have above most 
 clearly shown, that which is their ultimate purpose forces 
 itself into view namely, the utter overthrow of that 
 whole religious and political order of the world which 
 the Christian teaching has produced, and the substitu- 
 tion of a new state of things in accordance with their 
 ideas, of which the foundations and laws shall be drawn 
 from mere Naturalism/ 
 
 "What We have said, and are about to say, must be 
 understood of the sect of the Freemasons taken gener- 
 ically, and in so far as it comprises the associations kin- 
 dred to it and confederated with it, but not of the indi- 
 vidual members of them. There may be persons amongst 
 these, and not a few, who, although not free from the 
 guilt of having entangled themselves in such associa- 
 tions, yet are neither themselves partners in their crim- 
 inal acts, nor aware of the ultimate object which they 
 arc endeavoring to attain. In the same way, some of the 
 allilialed societies, perhaps, by no means approve of the 
 extreme conclusions which they would, if consistent, em- 
 brace as necessarily following from their common prin- 
 ciples, did not their very foulness strike them with hor- 
 ror. Some of these, again, are led by circumstances of 
 times and places either to aim at smaller things than the 
 others usually attempt, or than they themselves woiild
 
 315 
 
 wish to attempt. They arc not, however,, for this reason, 
 to be reckoned as alien to the Masonic federation : for the 
 Masonic federation is to be judged not so much by the 
 tilings which it has clone, or brought to completion, us 
 by the sum of its pronounced opinions. 
 
 'Now, the fundamental doctrine of the Naturalists, 
 which they sufficiently make known by their very name, 
 is that human nature and human reason ought in all 
 things to be mistress and guide. Laying this down, they 
 care little for duties 1<> God. of pervert them by errone- 
 ous and vague opinion*. For they deny that anything 
 has been taught by God ; they allow no dogma of religion 
 or truth which cannot be understood by the human in- 
 telligence,, nor any teacher who ought to be believed by 
 reason of his authority. And since it is the special and 
 exclusive duty of the Catholic Church fully to set forth 
 in words truths divinely received. |<> leach, he-sides other 
 divine helps to salvation, the authority of its office, and 
 to defend the same with perfect purify, it is against the 
 Church that the rage and attack of the enemies are prin- 
 cipally directed. 
 
 ''In those matters which regard religion let it be seen 
 how the sect of the Freemasons acts, especially where it 
 ; s more free to act without restraint, and then let any 
 one judge whether in fact it does not wish to carry out 
 ilie policy of the Naturalists. By a long and persevering 
 labor, they endeavor to bring about this result namely, 
 that the office and authority of the Church may become 
 of no account in the civil State; and for this same rea- 
 son they declare to the people and contend that Church 
 and State ought to be altogether disunited. By this 
 means they reject from the laws and from the common-
 
 316 
 
 wealth the wholesome influence of the Catholic religion; 
 and the)' consequently imagine that States ought to be 
 constituted without any regard for the laws and precepts 
 of the Church. 
 
 "JS T or do they think it enough to disregard the Church 
 the best of guides unless they also injure it by their 
 hostility. Indeed, with them it is lawful to attack with 
 impunity the very foundations of the Catholic religion, 
 in speech, in writing, and in teaching; and even the 
 rights of the Church are not spared, and the offices with 
 which it is divinely invested are not safe. The least 
 possible liberty to manage affairs is left to the Church ; 
 and this is done by laws not apparently very hostile, but 
 in reality framed and fitted to hinder freedom of action. 
 Moreover, We see exceptional and onerous laws imposed 
 upon the clergy, to the end that they may be continually 
 diminished in number and in necessary means. We see 
 also the remnants of the possessions of the Church fet- 
 tered by the strictest conditions, and subjected to the 
 power and arbitrary will of the administrators of the 
 State, and the religious Orders rooted up and scattered. 
 
 "But against the Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff 
 the contention of these enemies has been for a long time 
 directed. The Pontiff was first, for specious reasons, 
 thrust out from the bulwark of his liberty and of his 
 right, the civil princedom ; soon he was unjustly driven 
 into a condition which was unbearable because of the 
 difficulties raised on all sides: and now the time has 
 come when the partisans of the sects openly declare, 
 what in secret among themselves they have for a long 
 time plotted, that the sacred power of the Pontiffs must 
 be abolished, and that the Pontificate itself, founded by
 
 .'517 
 
 divine right, must be utterly destroyed. If other proofs 
 were wanting, this fact Avould bo sufficiently disclosed by 
 the testimony of men well informed, of whom some at 
 other times, and others again recently, have declared it 
 io be true of the Freemasons that they especially desire 
 to assail the Church with irreconcilable hostility, and 
 that they will never rest until they have destroyed what- 
 ever the Supreme Pontiffs have established for the sake 
 of religion. 
 
 'If those who are admitted as members are not com- 
 manded to abjure by any form of words the Catholic 
 doctrines, this omission, so far from being adverse to the 
 designs of the Freemasons, is more useful for their pur- 
 poses. First, in this way they easily deceive the simple- 
 minded and the heedless, and can induce a far greater 
 number to become members. Again, as all who offer 
 themselves are received whatever may be their form of 
 religion, they thereby teach the great error of this age 
 that a regard for religion should be held as an indifferent 
 matter, and that all religions are alike. This manner of 
 reasoning is calculated to bring about the ruin of all 
 forms of religion, and especially of the Catholic religion, 
 which, as it is the only one that is true, cannot, without 
 great injustice, be regarded as merely equal to other re- 
 ligions. 
 
 "But the Naturalists go much further ; for, having, in 
 the highest things, entered upon a wholly erroneous 
 course, they are carried headlong to extremes, either by 
 reason of the weakness of human nature, or because God 
 inflicts upon them the just punishment of their pride. 
 Hence it happens that they no longer consider as certain 
 and permanent those things which are fully understood
 
 318 
 
 by the' natural light of reason, such MS ccriaiuly are the 
 existence of God, the immaterial nature of the human 
 soul, and its immortality. The sect of the Freemasons, 
 by a similar course of: error, is exposed to these, same 
 dangers; for although in a general way they may profess 
 the existence of God, they themselves are witnesses that 
 they do not all maintain this truth with the full assent 
 of the mind or with a firm conviction. Xeither do they 
 conceal that this question about God is the greatest source 
 and cause of discords among them ; in fact, it is certain 
 that a considerable contention about this same subject 
 has existed among 'them very lately. But, indeed, the 
 sect allows great liberty to its votaries, so that to each 
 side is given the right to defend its own opinion, either 
 that there is a God, or that there is none; and those who 
 obstinately contend that there is no God are as easily in- 
 itiated as those who contend that God exists, though, 
 like the Pantheist", they have false notions concerning 
 Him; all which is nothing else than taking away the 
 reality, while retaining some absurd representation of 
 the divine nature. 
 
 "When this greatest fundamental truth has been over- 
 turned or weakened, it follows that those truths also 
 which are known by the t cadi ing of nature must begin to 
 fall namely, that all ihing< uere made by the free will 
 of God the Creator : that the world is governed by Provi- 
 dence; that souls do not die; that to this life of men 
 upon the earih there will succeed another and an ever- 
 lasting life. 
 
 "When these truths are done away with, which are as 
 the principles of nature, and important for knowledge 
 and. for practical use, it is easy to see what will become
 
 319 
 
 of both public and private morality. We say nothing of 
 those more heavenly virtues, which no one can exercise or 
 even acquire without a special gift and grace of God ; of 
 which necessarily no trace can be found in those who re- 
 ject as unknown the redemption of mankind, the grace of 
 <iod, the Sacraments, and the happiness to be obtained 
 in heaven. We speak now of the duties which have their 
 origin in natural probity. That God is the Creator of 
 the world and its provident ruler: that the eternal law 
 commands the natural order to be maintained, and for- 
 bids that it be disturbed; that the last end of men is a 
 destiny far above human things and beyond this sojourn- 
 ing upon the earth: these are the sources and these the 
 principles of all justice and morality. If these be taken 
 away, as the Naturalists and Freemasons desire, there 
 will immediately be no knowledge as to what constitutes 
 justice and injustice, or upon what principle morality is 
 founded. And, in truth, the teaching of morality which 
 alone finds favor with the sect of Freemasons, and in 
 which they contend that youth should be instructed, is 
 that which they call 'civil,' and "independent/ and 'free;' 
 namely, that which does not contain any religious belief. 
 But how insufficient such teaching is, how wanting in 
 soundness, and how easily moved by every impulse of 
 passion, is sufficiently proved by its sad fruits, which have 
 already begun to appear. For wherever, by removing 
 Christian education, the sect has begun more complete- 
 ly to rule, there goodness and integrity of morals have be- 
 gun quickly to perish, monstrous and shameful opinions 
 have grown up, and the audacity of evil deeds has risen 
 to a high degree. All this is commonly complained of 
 and deplored; and not a few of those who by no means
 
 320 
 
 wish to do so are compelled by abundant evidence to give 
 not infrequently the same testimony. 
 
 "Moreover, since human nature was stained by orig- 
 inal sin, and is therefore more disposed to vice than to 
 virtue, for a virtuous life it is absolutely necessary to 
 restrain the disorderly movements of the soul, and to 
 make the passions obedient to reason. In this conflict 
 human things must very often be despised, and the great- 
 est labors and hardships must be undergone, in order 
 that reason may always hold its sway. But the Natural- 
 ists and Freemasons, having no faith in those things 
 which we have learned by the revelation of God, deny 
 that our first parents sinned, and consequently think 
 that free-will is not at all weakened and inclined to evil. 
 On the contrary, exaggerating rather our natural virtue 
 and excellence, and placing therein alone the principle 
 and rule of justice, they cannot even imagine that there 
 is any need at all of a constant struggle and a perfect 
 steadfastness to overcome the violence and rule the pas- 
 sions of our nature. Wherefore we see that men are pub- 
 licly tempted by the many allurements of pleasure ; that 
 there are journals and pamphlets with neither modera- 
 tion nor shame; that stage-plays are remarkable for li- 
 cense; that designs for works of art are shamelessly 
 sought in the laws of a so-called realism,; that the con- 
 trivances for a soft and delicate life are most carefully 
 devised; and that all the blandishments of pleasure are 
 diligently sought out by which virtue may be lulled to 
 sleep. Wickedly also, but at the same time quite con- 
 sistently, do those act who do away with the expectation 
 of the joys of heaven, and bring down all happiness to 
 the level of mortality, and, as it were, sink it in the earth.
 
 321 
 
 Of what We have said the following fact, astonishing not 
 so much in itself as in its open expression, may serve as 
 a confirmation. For since generally no one is accustomed 
 to obey crafty and clever men so submissively as those 
 whose soul is weakened and broken down by the domina- 
 tion of the passions, there have been in the sect of the 
 Freemasons some who have plainly determined and pro- 
 posed that, artfully and of set purpose, the multitude 
 should be satiated with a boundless license of vice, as, 
 when this had been done, it would easily come under 
 their power and authority for any acts of daring. 
 
 "What refers to domestic life in the teaching of the 
 Naturalists is almost all contained in the following dec- 
 larations. That marriage belongs to the genus of com- 
 mercial contracts, which can rightly be revoked by the 
 will of those who made them, and that the civil rulers of 
 the State have power over the matrimonial bond. That 
 in the education of youth nothing is to be taught in the 
 matter of religion as of certain and fixed opinion; and 
 each one must be left at liberty to follow, when he comes 
 of age, whatever he may prefer. To these things the 
 Freemasons fully assent; and not only assent, but have 
 long endeavored to make them into a law and institu- 
 tion. For in many countries, and those nominally Cath- 
 olic, it is enacted that no marriages shall be considered 
 lawful except those contracted by the civil rite ; in other 
 places the law permits divorce; and in others every effort 
 is used to make it lawful as soon as may be. Thus the 
 time is quickly coming when marriages will be turned 
 into another kind of contract that is, into changeable 
 and uncertain unions which fancy may join together, and 
 which the same when changed may disunite. With the
 
 322 
 
 greatest unanimity the sect of the Freemasons also en- 
 deavors to take to itself the education of youth. The\ 
 think that they can easily mould to their opinions that 
 soft and pliant age, and bend it whither llu-y will: and 
 that nothing can be more fitted than this to enable them 
 to bring up the youth of the State after their own plan. 
 Therefore in the education and instruction of children 
 they allow no share, either of teaching or of discipline, 
 to the ministers of the Church ; and in many places they 
 have procured that the education of youth shall be ex- 
 clusively in the hands of laymen, and that nothing which 
 treats of the most important and most holy duties of 
 men to God shall be introduced into the instructions on 
 morals. 
 
 "Then come their doctrines of politics, in which the 
 Naturalists lay down that all men have the same right, 
 ;md are in every respect of equal and like condition; that 
 each one is naturally free: that no one has the right to 
 command another: that it is an act of violence to require 
 men to obey any authority other than that which is ob- 
 tained from themselves. According to this, therefore, all 
 things belong to the free people: power is held by the 
 command or permission of the people, so that, when the 
 popular will changes, rulers may lawfully be deposed; 
 and the source of all rights and civil duties is either in 
 the multitude or in the governing authority, when this is 
 constituted according to the latest doctrines. It is held 
 also that the State should he without God; that in the 
 various forms of religion there is no reason why. one 
 should have precedence of another ; and that they are all 
 to occupy the same place. 
 
 "That these doctrines are equally acceptable to the
 
 323 
 
 Freemasons, and that they would wish to constitute 
 States according to this example and model, is too well 
 known to require proof. For some time past they have 
 openly endeavored to bring this about with all their 
 strength and resources ; and in this they prepare the way 
 for not a few bolder men who are hurrying on even to 
 worse things, in their endeavor to obtain equality and 
 community of all goods by the destruction of every dis- 
 tinction of rank and property. 
 
 "What therefore the sect of the Freemasons is, and 
 what course it pursues, appears sufficiently from the 
 summary We have briefly given. Their chief dogmas are 
 so greatly and manifestly at variance with reason, that 
 nothing can be more perverse. To wish to destroy the 
 religion and the Church which God Himself has estab- 
 lished, and whose perpetuity He insures by His protec- 
 tion, and to bring back after a lapse of eighteen centu- 
 ries the manners and customs of the pagans, is signal 
 folly and audacious impiety. Neither is it less horrible 
 nor more tolerable that they should repudiate the bene- 
 fits which Jesus Christ has mercifully obtained, not only 
 for individuals, but also for the family and for civil so- 
 ciety, benefits which, even according to the judgment and 
 testimony of enemies of Christianity, are very great. In 
 this insane and wicked endeavor we may almost see the 
 implacable hatred and spirit of revenge with which Satan 
 himself is inflamed against Jesus Christ. So also the 
 studious endeavor of the Freemasons to destroy the chief 
 foundations of justice and honesty, and to co-operate 
 with those who would wish, as if they were mere ani- 
 mals, to do what they please, tends only to the ignomini- 
 ous and disgraceful ruin to the human race. The evil,
 
 324 
 
 too, is increased by the dangers which threaten both do- 
 mestic and civil society. As We have elsewhere shown, 
 in marriage, according to the belief of almost every^ na- 
 tion, there is something sacred and religious ; and the law 
 of God has determined that marriages shall not be dis- 
 solved. If they are deprived of their sacred character, 
 and made dissoluble, trouble and confusion in the family 
 will be the result, the wife being deprived of her dignity, 
 and the children left without protection as to their in- 
 terests and well-being. To have in public matters no 
 care for religion, and in the arrangement and adminis- 
 tration of civil affairs to have no more regard for God 
 than if he did not exist, is a rashness unknown to the 
 very pagans; for in their heart and soul the notion of a 
 divinity and the need of public religion were so firmly 
 fixed, that they would have thought it easier to have a 
 city without foundation than a city without God. 
 Human society, indeed, for which by nature we arc 
 formed, has been constituted by God the Author of 
 nature; and from Him, as from their principle and 
 source, flow in all their strength and permanence the 
 countless benefits with which society abounds. As we 
 are each of us admonished by the very voice of nature to 
 worship God in piety and holiness, as the giver unto us 
 of life and of all that is good therein, so also and for 
 the same reason, nations and states are bound to wor- 
 ship Him ; and therefore it is clear that those who would 
 absolve society from all religious duty act not only un- 
 justly, but also with ignorance and folly. 
 
 "As men are by the will of God born for civil union and 
 society, and as the power to rule is so necessary a bond of 
 society that, if it be taken away, society must at once be
 
 325 
 
 broken up, it follows that from Him who is the Author 
 of society has come also the authority to rule,; so that 
 whosoever rules, he is the minister of God. Wherefore, 
 as the end and nature of human society so requires, it 
 is right to obey the just commands of lawful authority, 
 as it is right to obey God who ruleth all things ; and it is 
 most untrue that the people have it in their power to 
 cast aside their obedience whensoever they please. 
 
 "In like manner, no one doubts that all men are equal 
 one to another, so far as regards their common origin 
 and nature, or the last end which each one has to attain, 
 or the rights and duties which are thence derived. But 
 as the abilities of all are not equal, as one differs from 
 another in the powers of mind or body, and as there are 
 very many dissimilarities of manner, disposition, and 
 character, it is most repugnant to reason to endeavor to 
 confine all within the same measure, and to extend com- 
 plete equalit}' to the institutions of civil life. 
 Just as a perfect condition of the body re- 
 sults from the conjunction and composition of 
 its various members, which, though differing in 
 form and purpose, make, by their union and the dis- 
 tribution of each one to its proper place, a combination 
 beautiful to behold, firm in strength, and necessary for 
 use ; so in the commonwealth, there is almost an infinite 
 dissimilarity of men, as parts of the whole. If they are 
 to be all equal, and each is to follow his own will, the 
 State will appear most deformed; but if, with a distinc- 
 tion of degrees of dignity, of pursuits and employments, 
 all aptly conspire for the common good, they will present 
 a natural image of a well-constituted State. 
 
 "Now, from the disturbing errors which We have de-
 
 326 
 
 scribed the greatest dangers to States are to be feared. 
 For, the fear of (rod and reverence for divine laws -being 
 taken away, the authority of rulers despised, sedition 
 permitted and approved, and the popular passions urged 
 on to lawlessness, with no restraint save that of punish- 
 ment, a change and overthrow of all things will neces- 
 sarily follow. Yea, this change and overthrow is deliber- 
 ately planned and put forward by many associations of 
 Communists and Socialists; and to their undertakings 
 the sect of freemasons is not hostile, but greatly favors 
 their designs and holds in common with them their chief 
 opinions. And if these men do not at once and every- 
 where endeavor to carry out their extreme views, it is not 
 to be attributed to their teaching and their will, but to 
 the virtue of that divine religion which cannot be de- 
 stroyed; and also because the sounder part of men, re- 
 fusing to be enslaved to secret societies, vigorously re- 
 sist their insane attempts. 
 
 "Would that all men would judge of the tree by its 
 fruits, and would acknowledge the seed and origin of the 
 evils which press upon us, and of the dangers that are 
 impending ! We have to deal with a deceitful and era fty 
 enemy, who, gratifying the ears of people and of princes, 
 has ensnared them to smooth speeches and by adulation. 
 Ingratiating themselves with rulers under a pretence of 
 friendship, the Freemasons have endeavored to make 
 them their allies and powerful helpers for the destruction 
 of the Christian name ; and that they might more strong- 
 ly urge them on, they have, witli determined calumny, 
 accused the Church of insidiously contending with rulers 
 in matters that affect their authority and sovereign 
 power. Having, by these artifices, insured their own
 
 327 
 
 safety and audacity, they have begun to exercise great 
 Aveight in the government of States; but nevertheless 
 they are prepared to shake the foundations of empires, 
 to harass the rulers of the State, to accuse, and to cast 
 them out as often as they appear to govern otherwise 
 than they themselves could have wished. In Hke man- 
 ner they have by flattery deluded the people. Pro- 
 claiming with a loud voice liberty and public prosper- 
 ity, and saying that it was owing to the Church and 
 to sovereigns that the multitude were not drawn 
 out of their unjust servitude and poverty, they have 
 imposed upon the people: and, exciting them by 
 a thirst for novelty, they have urged them to assail 
 both the Church and the civil power. Neverthe- 
 less, the expectation of the benefits which were hoped for 
 Avas greater than the reality; indeed, the common pople, 
 more oppressed than they Avere before, are deprived in 
 their misery of that solace Avhich, if things had been 
 arranged in a Christian manner, they Avould have had 
 Avith ease and in abundance. But Avhoever strive against 
 the order which Divine Providence has constituted pay 
 usually the penalty of their pride, and meet with afflic- 
 tion and misery where they rashly hoped to find all 
 things prosperous and in conformity Avith their desires. 
 "The Church, if she directs men to render obedience 
 chiefly and above all to God the Sovereign Lord, is 
 Avrongly and falsely believed either to be envious of the 
 civil poA\ r er, or to arrogate to herself something of the 
 rights of sovereigns. On the contrar}', she teaches that 
 Avhat is rightly due to the civil poAver must be rendered to 
 it with a conviction and consciousness of duty. In teach- 
 ing that from God Himself comes the right of ruling,
 
 328 
 
 she adds a great dignity to civil authority, and no small 
 help towards obtaining the obedience and good will of the 
 citizens. The friend of peace and sustainer of concord, 
 she embraces all with maternal love! and, intent only 
 iipon giving help to moral man, she teaches that to 
 justice must be joined clemency, equity to authority, and 
 moderation to law-giving; that no one's right must be 
 violated; that order and public tranquility are to be 
 maintained; and that the poverty of thttse who are in 
 need is, as far as possible, to be relieved by public and 
 private charity. 'But for this reason,' to use the 
 words of St. Augustine, 'men think, or would have it 
 believed, that Christian teaching is not suited to the 
 good of the State ; for they wish the State to be founded 
 not on solid virtue, but on the impunity of vice.' Know- 
 ing these things, both princes and people would act with 
 political wisdom, and according to the needs of general 
 safety, if, instead of joining with Freemasons to destroy 
 the Church, they joined with the Church in repelling 
 their attacks. 
 
 "Whatever the future may be, in this grave and wide- 
 spread evil it is Our duty, Venerable Brethren, to endea- 
 vor to find a remedy. And because We know that Our 
 best and firmest hope of a remedy is in the power of that 
 divine religion which the Freemasons hate in proportion 
 to their fear of it, We think it to be of chief importance 
 to call the most saving power to Our aid against the 
 common enemy. Therefore, whatsoever the Koman 
 Pontiffs Our Predecessors have decreed for the purpose 
 of opposing the undertakings and endeavors of the 
 Masonic sect, and whatsoever they have enacted to deter 
 or withdraw men from societies of this kind, We ratify
 
 329 
 
 and confirm it all by Our Apostolic authority : and trust- 
 ing greatly to the good will of Christians, We pray and 
 beseech each one, for the sake of his eternal salvation, to 
 be most conscientiously careful not in the least to depart 
 from what the Apostolic See has commanded in this 
 matter. 
 
 "We pray and beseech you, Venerable Brethren, to 
 join your efforts with Ours, and earnestly to strive for the 
 extirpation of this foul plague, which is creeping through 
 the veins of the State. You have to defend the glory of 
 God and the salvation of your neighbor; and with this 
 object of your strife before you, neither courage nor 
 strength will be wanting. It will be for your prudence 
 to judge by what means you can best overcome the 
 difficulties and obstacles you meet with. But as it befits 
 the authority of Our office that We Ourselves should 
 point out some suitable way of proceeding, We wish it 
 to be your rule first of all to tear away the mask from 
 Freemasonry, and let it be seen as it really is; and by 
 sermons and Pastoral Letters to instruct the people as to 
 the artifices used by societies of this kind in seducing men 
 and enticing them into their ranks, and as to the deprav- 
 ity of their opinions and the wickedness of their acts. 
 As Our Predecessors have many times repeated, let no 
 man think that he may for any reason whatsoever join 
 the Masonic sect, if he values his Catholic name and his 
 eternal salvation as he ought to value them. Let no one 
 be deceived by a pretence of honesty. It may seem to 
 some that Freemasons demand nothing that is openly 
 contrary to religion and morality ; but, as the whole prin- 
 ciple and object of the sect lies in what is vicious and
 
 330 
 
 criminal, to join with these men or in any way to help 
 them cannot be lawful. 
 
 "Further, by assiduous teaching and exhortation, the 
 multitude must be drawn to learn diligently the precepts 
 of religion '; for which purpose We earnestly advise that 
 by opportune writings and sermons they be taught the 
 elements of those sacred truths in which Christian phil- 
 osophy is contained. The result of this will be that the 
 minds of men will be made sound by instruction, and 
 will be protected against many forms of error and in- 
 ducements to wickedness, especially in the present un- 
 bounded freedom of writing and insatiable eagerness for 
 learning. 
 
 "Great, indeed, is the work; but in it the clergy will 
 share your labors if, through your care, they are fitted for 
 it by learning and a well trained life. This good and 
 great work requires to be helped also by the industry of 
 those amongst the laity in whom a love of religion and 
 of country is joined to learning and goodness of life. By 
 uniting the efforts of both clergy and laity, strive, Vener- 
 able Brethren, to make men thoroughly know and love 
 the Church; for the greater their knowledge and love 
 of the Church, the more will they be turned away from 
 clandestine societies. 
 
 ''Wherefore, not without cause, do We use this occasion 
 to state again what We have stated elsewhere, namely, 
 that the Third Order of St. Francis, whose discipline We 
 a little while ago prudently mitigated, should be studi- 
 ously promoted and sustained; for the whole object of 
 this Order, as constituted by its founder, is to invite men 
 to an imitation of Jesus Christ, to love of the Church, 
 and to the observance of all Christian virtues; and there-
 
 331 
 
 fore it ought to be of great influence in suppressing the 
 contagion of wicked societies. Let, therefore, this holy 
 sodality be strengthened by a daily increase. Amongst 
 the many benefits to be expected from it will be the great 
 benefit of drawing the minds of men to liberty, frater- 
 ity, and equality of right; not such as the Freemasons 
 absurdly imagine, but such as Jesus Christ obtained for 
 the human race and St. Francis aspired to: the liberty, 
 We mean, of sons of God, through which we may be free 
 from slavery to Satan or to our passions, both of them 
 most wicked masters; the fraternity whose origin is in 
 God, the common Creator and Father of all; the equality 
 which, founded on justice and charity, does not take 
 away all distinctions among men, but, out of the varieties 
 of life, of duties, and of pursuits, forms that union and 
 that harmony which naturally tend to the benefit and 
 dignity of the State. 
 
 "In the third place, there is a matter wisely instituted 
 by our forefathers, but in course of time laid aside, which 
 may now be used as a pattern and form of something 
 similar. We mean the associations or -guilds of work- 
 men, for the protection, under the guidance of religion, 
 both of their temporal interests and of their morality. 
 If our ancestors, by long use and experience, felt the 
 benefits of these guilds, our age perhaps will feel it the 
 more by reason of the opportunity which they will give 
 of crushing the power of the sects. Those who support 
 themselves by the labor of their hands, besides being, by 
 their very condition, most worthy above all others of 
 charity and consolation, are also especially exposed to the 
 allurements of men whose ways lie in fraud and deceit. 
 Therefore they ought to be helped with the greatest pos-
 
 332 
 
 sible kindness, and to be invited to join associations that 
 are good, lest they be drawn away to others that are evil. 
 For this reason We greatly wish, for the salvation of the 
 people, that, under the auspices and patronage of the 
 Bishops, and at convenient times, these guilds may be 
 generally restored. To our great delight, soladities of 
 this kind, and also associations of masters, have in many 
 places already been established, having, each class of 
 them, for their object to help the honest workman, to 
 protect and guard his children and family, and to pro- 
 mote in them piety, Christian knowledge, and a moral 
 life. And in this matter We cannot omit mentioning 
 that exemplary society, named "after its founder St. 
 Vincent, which has deserved so well of the people of the 
 lower order. Its acts and its aims are well known. Its 
 whole object is to give relief to the poor and miserable. 
 This it does with singular prudence and modesty; and 
 the less it wishes to be seen, the better is it fitted for the 
 exercise of Christian charity and for the relief of suffer- 
 ing. 
 
 "In the fourth place, in order more easily to attain what 
 We wish, to your fidelity and watchfulness We commend 
 in a special manner the young, as being the hope of 
 human society. Devote the greatest part of your care 
 to their instruction ; and do not think that any precau- 
 tion can be great enough in keeping them from masters 
 and schools whence the pestilent breath of the sects is to 
 be feared. Under your guidance, let parents, religious 
 instructors, and priests having the care of souls, use 
 every opportunity, in their Christian teaching, of warn- 
 ing their children and pupils of the infamous nature of 
 these societies, so that they may learn in good time to be-
 
 333 
 
 ware of the various and fraudulent artifices by which 
 their promoters are accustomed to ensnare people. And 
 those who instruct the young in religious knowledge will 
 act wisely, if they induce all of them to resolve and to 
 undertake never to bind themselves to any society with- 
 out the knowledge of their parents, or the advice of their 
 parish priest or director. 
 
 "We well know, however, that our united labors will by 
 no means suffice to pluck up these pernicious seeds from 
 the Lord's field, unless the Heavenly Master of the vine- 
 yard shall mercifully help us in our endeavors. We 
 must, therefore, with great and anxious care, implore of 
 Him the help which the greatness of the danger and of 
 the need requires. The sect of the Freemasons shows 
 itself inselent and proud of its success, and seems as if it 
 would put no bounds to its pertinacity. Its followers, 
 joined together by a wicked compact and by secret coun- 
 sels, give help one to another, and excite one another to 
 an audacity for evil things. So vehement an attack de- 
 mands an equal defense namely, that all good men 
 should form the widest possible association of action and 
 of prayer. We beseech them, therefore, with united 
 hearts, to stand together and unmoved against the ad- 
 vancing force of the sects ; and in mourning and suppli- 
 cation to stretch out their hand to God, praying that the 
 Christian name may flourish and prosper, that the 
 Church may enjoin its needed liberty, that those who 
 have gone astray may return to a right mind, that error 
 at length may give place to truth, and vice and virtue. 
 Let us take as our helper and intercessor the Virgin 
 Mary, Mother of God, so that she, who, from the mo- 
 ment of her Conception, overcame Satan, may show her
 
 334 
 
 power over these evil sects, in which is revived the con- 
 tumacious spirit of the demon, together with his unsub- 
 dued perfidy and deceit. Let us beseech Michael, the 
 prince of the heavenly Angels, Avho drove out the infernal 
 foe; and Joseph, the spouse of the Most Holy Virgin, 
 and heavenly Patron of the Catholic Church; and the 
 great Apostles, Peter and Paul, the fathers and victor- 
 ious champions of the Christian faith. By their patron- 
 age, and by perseverance in united prayer, We hope that 
 God will mercifully and opportunely succor the human 
 race, which is encompassed by so many dangers. 
 
 "As a pledge of heavenly gifts and of Our benevo- 
 lence, We lovingly grant in the Lord, to you, Venerable 
 Brethren, and to the clergy and all the people committed 
 to your watchful care, Our Apostolic Benediction. 
 "Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the twentieth day 
 of April, in the year 1884, the seventh year of Our 
 Pontificate. POPE LEO XIII."
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE HIERARCHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 At the very first gathering of bishops in the United 
 States, in the year 1810, they urged the faithful to 
 keep aloof from all secret societies. On March 13, 1826, 
 Leo. XII. published his Encyclical "Quo Graviora" in 
 which he says : "These sects must be repressed, for the 
 cause of religion is, especially in these times, so bound 
 up with the stability of society, that in no way can the 
 one be sundered from the other. For all that belong 
 to those secret societies, dearly beloved Catholic princes 
 and sons in Jesus Christ, are the enemies, not less of your 
 authority, than of religion also. They are making 
 an attack upon both ; they are plotting to overturn both 
 from their foundation, and, if they prove able, they will, 
 for a certainty, not permit either any religion or any 
 royal power to exist. So great is the cunning and astute- 
 ness of these men, that, when they appear most bent on 
 extending your power, then they are most busy in con- 
 triving its total overthrow. They give you very many 
 reasons to persuade those who have in their hands the 
 administration of affairs, that our power and that of 
 the bishops, should be curtailed and weakened, and that 
 many of the rights which belong to this See, and those 
 which belong to the bishops who participate in our cares, 
 should be transferred to the secular rulers. This they 
 do not only from that most bitter hatred which they bear
 
 336 
 
 to all religions, but also from a cunning scheme, hoping 
 that the people who are subject to your authority, when 
 they see those restraints abolished, which were imposed 
 by Christ and His Church, which He established, will 
 be the more easily induced, with such an example before 
 their eyes, to change, or even destroy the form of politi- 
 cal government. 
 
 " Be assured that no one can join any of 
 
 these societies, without becoming guilty of a most griev- 
 ous crime. Therefore, all ye beloved children who pro- 
 fess the Catholic faith, shut your ears to the words of 
 those, who, in order to persuade you to assent to join 
 the lower grades of their society, affirm most emphatic- 
 ally, that in those grades nothing is permitted which ia 
 contrary to reason and religion ; and further, that noth- 
 ing is heard or seen which is not holy, and right, and 
 pure. Yet that wicked oath which is taken in the lower 
 grades is enough in itself to make you see that it is crim- 
 inal to join even the lowest grades, or to remain after 
 you have joined them. Moreover, although the weightier 
 and more criminal matters are not usually committed 
 to those who have not attained to higher grades, yet 
 it is very plain that the power and audacity of these 
 mischievous societies are increased in proportion to the 
 numbers, and the unanimity of those who have inscribed 
 their names. Therefore those who have passed the lower 
 grades must be guilty of the crimes committed by those 
 in the higher grades." 
 
 When the Odd-Fellows and Good-Templars established 
 lodges in the United States, the question was raised, 
 whether these Orders were included in the above con- 
 demnation by Leo XII. To settle the controversy the
 
 331 
 
 Archbishop of Philadelphia, Most Rev. F. P. Kenrick, 
 under date of Feb. 20, 18-13, asked the Prefect of the 
 Propaganda for a decision. After a lengthy correspond- 
 ence from different sides, and the Roman authority hav- 
 ing obtained all available information, Cardinal J. Ph. 
 Fransoni, under date Sept. ?, 1850, replied that these 
 societies were included in the letter of Leo. XII, and 
 consequently no Catholic could. join them or remain a 
 member. 
 
 In their Pastoral letter addressed to all the faithful 
 in the United States, at the close of the Third Plenary 
 Council of Baltimore, Dec. 7, 1884, the assembled bish- 
 ops say: "... .Our Holy Father Leo XIII., has lately 
 shown that the Masonic and kindred societies. . . .have 
 . . . .gone so far, in many countries, as to array them- 
 selves in avowed hostility against Christianity, and 
 against the Catholic Church as its embodiment; that 
 they virtually aim at substituting a world-wide frater- 
 nity of their own, for the universal brotherhood of Jesus 
 Christ, and at disseminating mere naturalism for the 
 supernatural revealed religion bestowed upon mankind 
 by the Saviour of the world. He has shown too, that, 
 even in countries where they are as yet far from acknowl- 
 edging such purposes, they nevertheless have in them 
 the germs, which, under favorable circumstances, would 
 inevitably blossom forth in similar results. The Church, 
 consequently, forbids her children to have any connection 
 with such societies, because they are either an open evil 
 to be shunned or a hidden danger to be avoided. She 
 would fail in her duty if she did not speak the word of 
 warning, and her children would equally fail in theirs, 
 if they did not heed it.
 
 338 
 
 "Whenever, therefore, the Church has spoken authori- 
 tively with regard to any society, her decision ought to 
 be final for every Catholic. He ought to know that the 
 Church lias not acted hastily, nor unwisely, nor mis- 
 takenly: he should be convinced that any worldly ad- 
 vantages which lie might derive from membership in 
 such society, would be a poor substitute for the mem- 
 bership, the sacraments, and the blessings of the Church 
 of Christ; he should have the courage of his religious 
 convictions, and stand firm to faith and conscience. But 
 if he be inclined or asked to join a society on which the 
 Church has passed no sentence, then let him, as a reason- 
 able and Christian man, examine into it carefully, and 
 not join the society until he is satisfied as to its lawful 
 character. 
 
 "There is one characteristic which is always a strong 
 presumption against a society, and that is secrecy. Our 
 Divine Lord Himself has laid down the rule: 'Every 
 one that doeth evil, hateth the light and cometh not to 
 the light, that his work? may not be reproved: but he 
 that doth truth cometh to the light, that his works may 
 be made manifest, because they are done in God' (John 
 iii, 20, 21). When therefore associations veil themselves 
 in secrecy and darkness, the presumption is against them, 
 and it rests with them to prove that there is nothing 
 evil in them. 
 
 "But if any society's obligation be such as to bind its 
 members to secrecy, even when rightly questioned by 
 competent authority, then such a society puts itself out- 
 side of the limits of approval, and no one can be a mem- 
 ber of it, and at the same time be admitted to the sacra- 
 ments of the Catholic Church. The same is true of any
 
 339 
 
 organization that binds its members to a promise of 
 blind obedience to accept in advance and to obey what- 
 soever orders, lawful or unlawful, that may emanate 
 from its chief authorities, because such a promise is con- 
 trary both to reason and to conscience. And if a society 
 works or plots, either openly or in secret, against the 
 Church, or against lawful authorities, then to be a mem- 
 ber of it is to be excluded from the membership of the 
 ( 'atholic Church. These authoritative rules, therefore, 
 ought to be the guide of all Catholics in their relation 
 with societies. jSTo Catholic can conscientiously join, or 
 continue in, a body which he knows that any of these con- 
 demned features exist. If he has joined it in good faith 
 and the objectionable features become known to him 
 afterwards, or if any of these evil elements creep into a 
 society which was originally good, it becomes his duty to 
 leave it at once. And even if he were to suffer loss or run 
 risk by leaving such a society or refusing to join it, he 
 should do his duty and brave the consequences, regardless 
 of human considerations." 
 
 Of the decrees of the Council, twelve paragraphs of 
 Caput HI. are devoted to secret societies. The above 
 words from the Pastoral are used and in paragraph 249 
 the decree reads : "If a society, besides being secret and 
 oath-bound, has a chaplain of its own, and a ritual pre- 
 scribing prayers and religious services, then such a soci- 
 ety becomes also heretical and schismatical, and members 
 incur the censures against heretics and schismatics, viz. : 
 They cannot be counted any longer as Catholics." 
 
 When in 1894 the Roman authorities pronounced sen- 
 tence against the societies of the Odd-Fellows, Knights 
 of Pythias, Good Templars and. Sons of Temperance,
 
 340 
 
 and all similar societies, most strenuous efforts were 
 made to have the decree changed, but of no avail. In 
 one of the many responses given by Rome, the Sacred 
 Congregation observes : "This is not a question of mere 
 ecclesiastical law, which docs not bind under serious loss, 
 but it is one of the natural and divine laws, and of not 
 giving scandal under that law." 
 
 ISTo Catholic can belong to any of these societies and 
 at the same time receive the sacraments of the Church. 
 The final decision of Rome has never been changed, and 
 these societies arc absolutely condemned. The only case? 
 in which relief is afforded is by an appeal to the Apos- 
 tolic Delegate at Washington. There are a few cases 
 where extreme hardship would be created through the 
 loss of insurance, for which premiums had been paid 
 regularly for a number of years. The adjustment will 
 practically depend upon the circumstances of the appeal- 
 ing members. 
 
 For any appeal to the Apostolic Delegate to be con- 
 sidered worthy of consideration, the following four con- 
 ditions must exist in the same case: 
 
 First. If the Catholic member in question entered 
 the society before he was aware that it was forbidden by 
 the Church. 
 
 Second. If there be no scandal, or if the same be re- 
 moved by the timely declaration of the party in question 
 that his sole motive in remaining is not to lose the finan- 
 cial benefits, and that he will abstain from all intercourse 
 with the forbidden society. 
 
 Third. If the member in question cannot leave the 
 society except with grave damage to himself or his fam- 
 Of.
 
 341 
 
 Fourth. There must not be the least danger to him- 
 self or to his family of being perverted by the sectaries, 
 especially is the case of sickness or death to be consid- 
 ered, so that the danger of an un-Catholic funeral be en- 
 tirely absent. 
 
 No priest or bishop can absolve a member of any of 
 these societies, but recourse must be had in the individual 
 case to the Apostolic Delegate. It is needless to remark 
 that the four conditions above enumerated will hardly 
 ever concur in any single practical case. This ought to 
 settle the question concerning Catholics and secret soci- 
 eties, but it seems that it is necessary for Rome to con- 
 demn one after the other by designating each one by 
 name.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MGI;. MARTIXELLI ON THE SECRET SOCIETY QUESTION. 
 
 In a criticism of the (13th) edition of Father Sabetti's 
 Moral Theology, the book reviewer of the American 
 Catholic Quarterly Review, October, 1896, wrote : 
 
 "We are not certain that we vfully understand the au- 
 thor's interpretation of the clause in the decree of Janu- 
 ary 18, 189fi, which reserves to the Apostolic Delegate 
 the decision regarding the verification of the conditions 
 which justify a confessor in granting absolution without 
 exacting a formal renunciation of the three societies late- 
 ly condemned. If we remember rightly, the decree does 
 not prescribe this reference to the Delegate in singulis 
 casibus, as the learned author seems to imply, but in 
 casibus particularibiis, which is generally interpreted to 
 mean in cases where there exists a doubt as to the appli- 
 cation of the four conditions demanded by the Holy See. 
 As the majority of these cases meet us at the death-beds 
 of penitents, it is obvious that the recursus to the Dele- 
 gate toties quoties is absolutely impossible. Nor will the 
 'desired uniformity' be lacking if confessors adhere 
 scrupulously to the terms of the decree. This appears 
 to us so self-evident that we are convinced it is also the 
 author's view, and we refer to it merely for the purpose 
 of putting our readers on their guard against a possible 
 misinterpretation of his words."
 
 343 
 
 The Catholic Standard and Times publishes the fol- 
 lowing letter, dated November 10, 1896. and addressed to 
 the managing editor of the Quarterly, Father Loughlin : 
 
 "Kev. Dear Sir: My attention has been called to the 
 criticism of Father Sabetti's 'Moral Theology' in the last 
 number of the Quarterly. I desire to say that Father 
 Sabctti is right regarding the necessity of applying to 
 this Delegation in every case for the permission to re- 
 main an associate member of the forbidden societies, and 
 your critic is wrong. With regard to the hour of death 
 of the penitent, every confessor must surely know that 
 in such cases absolution is given after the penitent prom- 
 ises to apply to the proper authority for the permission 
 in case he should recover his health and life. With sen- 
 timents of highest, esteem and fraternal charity, I remain 
 most faithfully yours in Christ. 
 
 "{SEBASTIAN, 
 "Abp. of Ephesus, Ap. Del."
 
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