a B THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES sSi.:9l THE STORY OF THE ROYAL ARCH, Copyright. f8(o) THE STORY OF THE ROYAL ARCH WILLIAM HARVEY, J. P., Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland ; Author ot "The Complete Manual of Freemasonry;" Provincial Grand Bard of Forfarshire; M.M. Stirling Royal Arch, No. 76 ; Hon. Mem. Caledonian Dundee, No. 254; R.W.M., Progress Dundee, Xo. 967, 1914-16 ; Charter Mem. Dundee St. Mar}' No. 1149; Hon. Mem. No 6. R A,; Hon. Mem. No. 164, R.A.; P.H., No. 271 R.A.; Founder and First Principal No. 421, R.A.; Hon. Mem. No. 423 R.A.; Founder No. 449 R.A. DUNDEE : M SPARKS, CROSSWELL WORKS. I Q I 9 MIN. 70S- ir^SR-e^s CONTENTS Page A Abednego ... 80 Abiram ... 55 Acknowledged, Re- ceived and ... 65 Admission, The ... 49 Advanced ... 41 Advancement ... 23 Af&liation ... 43 Aholiab ... 62 Ahisamach ... 62 Ammi Ruhaniah .. 62 Anno Inventionis 15 Applicants for Ad- vancement ... 23 Application ... 43 Apron ... 109 Arch, Antiquity of 41 Arch, Catenarian 67 Arch, Holy Royal 67 Arch of Heaven ... 68 Ashe, Dr ... 82 Asher ... 81 Azariah ... 80 C Pa-e Captains of Veils 48, 80 Captives from Baby- lon ... 63 Captivity, The 46, 47 Catenarian Arch ... 67 Chaldea ... 47 Chapter, A Perfect 71 Chapter, Closing of 142 Chapter, Jewels of 70 Chapter, Ofiice-Bear- ers of ... 69 Charge, Closing. R. A. ... 143 Charge, M.M.M. ... 41 Charge, R. A. ... 86 Chisel, The 23, 29 Clark, Dr ... 41 Comoanion. R.A. ... 83 Crowbar, The ... 117 Cutbush, Dr ... 68 Cyrus, 46, 47, 49, 73. 98 Cyrus, Decree of ... 53 Babylon. 11, 22, 46, 47, 49 Babylon, Captives from ... 63 Babylon, Grand Lodge of 49, 52 Badge of M.M.M. 26 Banners, The ... 81 Benjamin ... 81 Bezaleel 61, 62 Blue Masonrv ... 16 Blue Veil ' ... 58 Book, Mark ... 25 Burning Bush ... 59 Bush, The Burning 59 Dan 81, 82, 83 Darius .. 78 Dassigny, Dr ... 16 Dathan ... 55 Decree of Cyrus ... 53 Degree, Origin of E.M. ... 52 Dermott, Bro. ... 13 Discovery. The Great 99 Double Triangle ... 140 Elements, Symbols of 59 EM. Degre'e. Ori- gin of ... 52 CO NT K NTS Page E.M. Lodge, Officers of ... 48 E.M., Obligation of 54 England, S.G. Chap- ter ... 17 Ephraim 81, 82, 83 Era of R.A. ... 14 Euphrates ... 47 Exaltation ... 119 Excellent Master's Degree ... 45 Ezra 71, 76, 77 Pace I Inner Guard ... 49 Intersecting Trian- gles ... 140 Invocation, R.A. ... 84 Invocation, The ... 51 Ireland, Degrees in 19 Israel 46, 81 Issachar ... 81 Fiducial Sign ... 116 Five, a perfect num- ber ... 50 Five Signs, The ... 112 Formula, Opening 86 G Gad ... 81 Geramb, Baron ... 40 Gesenius ... 51 Godwin, George ... 28 Gould, R. F. 16, 18 Guard, Inner ... 49 H H.A.B. 33, 34, 35, 37 Haggai 48, 68, 71, 74 Haggai, Seal of ... 76 Hananiah ... 80 Harmony ... 140 Hastings, Dr ... 77 Heaven, Arch of ... 68 Hebrew Captives ... 63 Hexagon ... 141 Hexapla ... 50 Hiram of Tvre ... 110 Holv Royal Arch ... 67 Hor'eb 14, 114 Horsley, Bishop ... 62 Hosea ... 62 Hur ... 61 Jaffa ... 40 Janitor ... 49 Jehoiachin ... 46 Jehoiakim ... 46 Jerusalem 22, 45, 95 Jeshua 48, 68, 71, 76 Jethro ... 107 Jewel, R.A. ... 140 Jewels of Chapter 70 Joppa ... 39 Josedech ... 75 Josephus 59, 78 Journey to Jerusalem 95 Judah 46, 81, 82, 83 K Key ... 139 Keystone, 13, 22, 27, 36, 40, 52, 100 Korah ... 55 Law, Book of the 103, 105 Lebanon 32, 34 Legend of the Mark 31 Lodge, Closing of 44 Lodge, Mark Book of 25 Lyon, D. Murray 15 M Mackey, Dr A. G., 67, 71, 81, 109, 120 Mallet, The ... 30 Manasseh, .. .. 81 CONTENTS Page Mark 27, 39 Mark Book of Lodge 25 Mark Degree, The 22 Mark, How to choose 25 Mark, Legend of ... 31 Mark Lodge, Of&cers of ... 22 Mark M.M. Charge 41 Mark Mason's Badge 26 Mark Obligation... 25 Mark Overseers ... 33 I\Iark, Resolutions 19 Masons' Marks ... 28 Meshach ... 80 Mishael ... 80 Monitorial Sign ... 115 Moses 14, 55, 107, 114 Mount Horeb 14, 114 Murray, A. A. A. 11 N Naphtali ... 81 Nebuchadnezzar, 46, 98 Nebuzaradan ... 47 Nehemiah 71, 76, 78 Noorthouck ... 67 O Oath of Affiliation 43 Obligation of E.M. 54 Obligation of M.M.M. 25 Obligation, R.A. ... 93 Officers of Chapter 69 Officers of E.M. Lodge ... 48 Officers of Mark Lodge ... 22 Official Jewels ... 70 Oliver, Bro. G. 13,15, 66, 84, 139 Ommific Word ... 14 Opening Charge ... 86 Opening Formula... 86 Origin of R.A. ... 15 Overseers' Mark ... 33 Page P Palestine ... 39 Pedestal 116, 140 Penal Sign, The ... 112 Penitential Sign ... 114 Pentagram 50, 51, 142 Pentalpha ... 142 Pentangle ... 50 Pickaxe, The ... 117 Prayer, Mark Degree 24 Prayer, R.A. ... 89 Preston, Bro. ... 17 Principals, Three 72 Purple Veil ... 58 R Rabboni ... 60 R.A., Era of ... 14 R.A. Jewel ... 140 R.A., Origin of ... 15 Received and ac- knowledged ... 65 Reception, The ... 50 Red Masonry ... 16 Reuben 81, 82, 83 Reverential Sign ... 113 Reward, Sojourners' 106 Rod, The ... 107 Roll ... 101 Royal Arch, Holy 67, 81 S Sash, The ... 108 Scarlet Veil ... 58 Scotland, S.G. Chap- ter ... 11 Scribe E. ... 78 Scribe E. Grand ... 11 Scribe N. ... 78 Seal of Haggai ... 76 Seal of Solomon, 50, 141 Second Temple ... 14 Seraiah ... 76 Seven Steps ... 92 Shadrach ... 80 Shealtiel ... 73 vin. CONTENTS Page Shesbazzar ... 73 Sidonians ... 34 Signs of Zodiac ... 102 Signs, The Five ... 112 Sign, The Fiducial 116 Sign, The Grand ... Ill Sign, The Penal ... 112 Simeon ... 81 Sojourners 68, 79 Sojourners' Reward The ... 106 Solomon, Seal o£ 50, 141 Spade, The ... 117 Standard Bearers 80 Star, Five-pointed 50 Steps, Seven ... 92 SvFord and Trowel 139 Symbol of Silence 139 Symbols of Elements 59 Tabernacle ... 68 Tau ... 110 Templar Masonry 15 Temple, King Solo- mon's 22, 31, nb Temple, Second ... H Tetragrammaton ... 60 Three Principals "72 Three Sojourners 79 Tools of M.M.M. 29 Tools of R.A. De- gree .. 117 Triangle, Double ... 141 Triangles, Intersect- ing ... 140 Page Tribes, T)ie Twelve 81 Tyler ... 49 lyre, Hiram of .. IIO Union and Har- mony ... 149 Uri ... 61 Vatablus ... 83 Veils ... 48 Veils, Captains of, 48, 80 Veils, Passing of 57, 60, 64 AV Warren. Lieut. 41, 76 Webb, Bro. ... 13 White Veil 59, 96 Wisdom, Quest for 90 Woodford, A.F.A. 67, 76 Word, Grand ... 103 Word, Omnific ... 14 Working Tools of M.M.M. ... 29 Zebulon Zechariah Zedekiah Zeredatha z ... 81 ... 73 46, 98 ... 31 Zerubbabel 14, 48. 68, 69. 71. 72 Zodiac, Signs of ... 102 PREFACE. A few months ago I issued a little book entitled '' The Emblems of Fret masonry Described and Explained." The manual met with instant success, but many brethren who w^ere also com- panions remarked that it was a pitv the handbook did not touch upon the degrees which belong to the Royal Arch. Since then I have been frequently urged to prepare a companion work that would be of use to Royal Arch Freemasons by as- sisting them to a clearer understanding of the ceremonial by which a brother is exalted. The following pages seek to do this, and I hope the book will be as fav- ourably received as its predecessor. The Supreme Grand Chapter very wisely limits the circulation of the authorised Book of Instruction and this publication does not seek in any way to encroach upon the ground covered by that recog- nised manual. It has been prepared from sources open to all enquirers, and PREFACE my sole aim, is to stimulate interest in the history and purpose of those degrees which are comprehended within the Holy Royal Arch. WILLIAM HARVEY. 4 Gowrie Street, Dundee. THE STORY OF THE ROYAL ARCH INTRODUCTION. M. E. Companion Alfred A. Arbuth- NOT Murray, Grand Scribe E. of the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland, say3, in one of the many Orations with which he has delighted his fellow Crafts men, that "our Royal Arch Degree is founded upon a story as old as the hills, but as new as every day on which the Sun rises. It is the storv of love and veneration for the Land of our bovhood and the home of our youth." Thought- ful Freemasons who see somethino; more THE STORY OF than a mere jumble of signs and cere- monies in our system will give whole- hearted assent to the words of the Grand Scribe E., and will draw much inspira- tion for the daily round, the common task, from! the splendid teaching of the Royal Arch Degree. The captives re- turned from Babylon pft^r their weary exile of seventy years to find their city in ruins. But faith in their race, and be- lief in their God, encouraged them to re store their homes, and rebuild their Tem- ple. As the Grand Scribe E. says with eloquence, "there are old foundations in life as well as in cities," and there is a message and lesson of hope and encour- agement to be drawn " from, the story of the return from, the Exile ; from the re- building of the Temple and fromi the personal experience which not a single one of us can have missed more or less in our own time. Our inheritance, what- ever it may be, is not one to which we re- quire to descend. It is rather a level from which we require to raise a new structure. In clearing away the rubbish of the Past we shall assuredly find a hidden trea- sure and buried lore which will help us on in the journey of Life, and will be THE ROYAL ARCH 13 another course added to the Temple which Man is continually building on this Earth." The Keystots'e of ^Iasonry. Masonic authorities are at one in the view that the Degree of the Holy Royal Arch is the Keystone of Freemasonry. "If we pass on to the Holy Royal Arch," says Bro. G. Oliver in his Lecture on Freemasonry, " we receive a wonderful accession of knowledge, and find every- thing made perfect ; for this is the ne ■pUfS ultra of iVIasonry, and can never be exceeded by any human institution.'' Dermott calls it the root, heart, and mar- row of Masonrv. and, enlarging upon these words, Bro. Webb writes that the " Degree is indescribably more august, sublime, and important than all which precede it ; and is the summit and per- fection of ancient Masonr\-. It impresses on our minds a belief of the being and existence of a Supireme Deity, without beginning of days or end of years ; and reminds us of the reverence due to His holy name.". " In the Royal Arch De gree," says another, " I beheld mvselt exalted to the top of Pisgah, an exten- 14 THE STORY OF sive scene opened to my view of the '^^lory and goodness of the Most Excellent High Priest of our salvation. I dug deep for hidden treasures, found them, and regained the Omnific Word." Bro. Hutchinson, writing of the moral value of the Degree says, " As Moses was commanded to put his shoes from off his feet on Mount Horeb, because the ground whereon he trod was sanctified bv the presence of the Divinity, so the Mason who would prepare himself for this ex- alted stage of Masonry should advance in the naked paths of truth, be divested of every degree of arrogance, and ap- proach with steps of innocence, humility, and virtue, to challenge the ensigns of an order whose institutions arise on the most solemn and sacred principles ol religion." The Era of the R.A. The era of Royal Arch Masonry com- mences with the year in which Comoan- ions assume that Zerubbabel began to build the Second Temple. This they place in the year 530 Before Christ. Their style for the year 1920 a.d. would be A .'. Inv . •. , that is anno Inventionis, THE ROYAL ARCH 1 5 or, in the Year of the discovery 2450. which they arrive at by the rule of ad- ding 530 to the Christian era, thus — 530 -f 1920 = 2450. The Origin of the R.A. The real origin of the Royal Arch Degree has exercised many minds. Some assert that it was imported from the Holy Land by Templars; others maintain that it flourished in the sixteenth centurv- as part of Templar Masonr}\ Dr Oliver, however, in his " Account of the Schism" says that there*" exists suffi- cient evidence . . . to fix the era of its introduction to a period which is coeval with the memorable schism amongst the English masons about the middle of the eighteenth century." It is generally admitted by those who have traced ^lasonic things to their source that the Degree of the Holy Royal Arch was the first of the many additional degrees which have been built upon the basis of what is regrarded as " Pure and Ancient Freemasonry." The late Bro. D. Murray Lyon was of opinion that the Degree was fabricated on the continent between the years 1735 and 1740, and THE ST )KV O? that after its introduction to Britain it was taken up as a Masonic Degree by Brethren who claimed to be representa- tives of the Grand Lodge of York. Bro. Robert Freke Gould says that, in Eng land, " the degree was certainly worked from about the year 1740, and presum- ably from an earlier date. The members of the Royal Arch are described bv Di Dassigny, in 1744, as 'a body of men who have passed the chair.' At that date, however, the degree of Installed (or Past) Master was unknown . and it would therefore appear that the communication of the secrets of the Royal Arch was the earliest form, in which any esoteric teaching was special- ly linked with the incident of Lodge Mastership, or in other words, that the degree of the Royal Arch was the com- plement of the ISIaster's grade." The degree was worked in regular Lodges in England for many years, but gradually was separated from Blue Mas- onry into Chapters of Red Masonry and these Chapters were frathered under the guidance and control of the Supreme Grand Chapter of England which was THE ROYAL ARCH 17 erected in 1767. So far as Scotland was concerned, the English practice was followed, and until the erection of the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland in 181 7 the Royal Arch degrees were fre- quently worked by regular Lodges. The practice received a certain sanction from the opinion of many Freemasons that the Degree was in earlier days the comple- tion of the Third or ^Master's Degree. In- deed, so able a student of Freemasonry as Preston speaks of a Lodge in the Third Degree as a chapter; and when the opposing Grand Lodges of England came together in 1813 they declared by their Solemn Act of Union that "pure and ancient Masonry consists of three De- grees and no more, viz. : those of the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch." There has always been considerable difference of opinion as to what exactly constitutes the degree or degrees of the Royal Arch. In England it is confined to one degree which, however, consists of a large part of w^hat is contained in two degrees that are practised in Scotland, l8 THE STORY OF viz., those of Excellent Master and Roval Arch. In addition, the Scottish Su- preme Grand Chapter recognises the Mark as one of their Degrees, but this is also tenaciously held by the Grand Lodge of Scotland as properly belong- ing to the Fellow Craft and therefore part of its regular ceremonial. On the other hand the Mark is not known in England. At the meeting of the Grand Lodge of England held on 5th March, 1856 it was unanimously resolved: " That the Degree of Mark Mason or Mark Master is not at variance with the ancient landmarks of the Order, and that the Degree be an addition to and form part of Craft Masonry ; and con- sequently miay be conferred by all regu- lar Warranted Lodges, under such regu lations as shall be . . . sarctioned by the Grand Master." But the unani- mity that prevailed in Grand Lodge was apparently not widespread without, and at the following Communication, when the minute came up for confinr.ation, it was negatived. As Bro. Gould says, " we find then, among the conflict of laws under the various Grand Lodges, that in England the Royal Arch is recognised, THH ROYAI. /KCH IQ and the Mark Degree is not ; in Scotland the Royal Arch is not, but the Mark is, and in Ireland both are recognised." In Scotland the Mark is common both to the Lodge and the Chapter. It had been the subject of m.uch discussion be tween the two supreme bodies,, but at length a mutual understanding was ar- rived at when, on 19th December, i860, the following Resolutions were adopte.i by the Grand Lodge and Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland, and declared to be held as laws and statutes of Grand Lodge: — 1. That all Lodges holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland shall be al- lowed to work the ]\Iark Degree in vir- tue of the Charters which they alreadv possess. 2. That, to prevent confusion with brethren belonging to Lodges out of this Kingdom, or with Sister Grand Lodges, this degree, although held' by the Grand Lodge to be a second part of the Fel- low-Craft Degree, shall only be con- ferred on Master INIasons, and the secrets shall only he cornniumcated in -presence THE STORY OF of tJiose who have taken it either from a Lodge or Chapter entitled to grant it. 3. That the Grand Lodge of Scot land and the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland shall adopt the same Ritual in conferring the Degree, being that now adjusted by their respect- ive Committees. 4. That any candidate applying to be admitted to the Royal Arch Degrees • — if he has received this Degree in a regular Lodge^shall not require to take it a second time from the Chapter into which he seeks admission; but in the event of his not having received it, he shall be obliged to take it from that Chapter. 5 That as regards the Royal Arch Degrees, this Degree shall be reckoned the Fourth Degree in Masonry. 6. That nothing contained in these Regulations shall interfere with the superintendence which the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter claims over Mark Masonry out of Scotland— or with the Lodges holding of it in England or abroad. THE ROYAL ARCH As I cherish the hope that this little l>ook will be found useful by Royal Arch Masons in all parts of the globe, I have decided to deal with the three Degrees, viz. : — The Mark Master. The Excellent Master. The Royal Arch. THE MARK DEGREE. The one link that connects the Mark Degree with that of the Royal Arch is the Keystone. The whole of the Degree is built upon the cutting, the rejection, and the recovery of this particular piece of rrasi-irv at the time of the building of King Solomon's Temple. The Key- .stone was intended for the arch of the S V , and almost five hun dred years later when the Captives re- turned from Babylon to Jerusalem, the S V yielded up its trea- sures for the good of humanity. It is therefore at the S V that the two Degrees find their common meet- ing point, and it may be that that is the reason why the logical Scot insists on re- garding the ^lark as pertaining to the ceremonial of the Royal Arch. Officers of a Mark Lodge. The following are the recognised officers in a Lodge of ^Lark Masters: — ^Lark Master. Mark Senior Warden. THE ROYAL ARCH 23 !Mark Junior Warden. Master Overseer. Senior Overseer. Junior Overseer. Inner Guard. Janitor. Applicants for Advancement. Those who would be admitted to the Mark Degree must have been regularly entered Apprentices, passed Fellow- Crafts, and raised to the High and Sub- lime Degree of Master Masons. They must be able to demonstrate their rank as masons when called upon, and they must be ready to reaffirm their faith in God, and to take upon themselves a fur- ther obligation to maintain secrecy with regard to all grips, signs and tokens. The Chisel. Having expressed his desire to be ad- vanced to the Degree of jNlark Master Mason, and having been admitted with- in the door of the Lodge, the Master Mason is received on the edge of the Chisel an instrument that morally de- monstrates the advantages of discipline and education bv which means alone he THE STORY OF may become a fit member of regularly organised society. The Benefit of Prayer. As in all the earlier Degrees the bles- sing of Heaven is invoked. "Almighty God, G. and G.O. of the U., we humbly beseech Thy blessing upon this assembly gathered together in Thy name. Do Thou especially bless him who now kneels before Thee. Grant that he may so regulate his dailv life that when, at the close of his earthlv lab- ours, he comes before Thee, he may be found worthy to receive the mark of Thy approval, and become a perfect stone in that immortal Temple not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens." To Prove His Right. Fortified thus by prayer, the postulant is addressed by the Mark Master who explains to him that since the buildinc: of K S 's T and the institution of the Degree of Mark Master Mason as now practised, a regulation has been made among the Craft that no one shall be advanced to the rank he now desires unless previously raised to the THE ROYAL ARCH sublime degree of Master Mason, and he thereupon requests the postulant to demonstrate to tJie brethren assembled that he has passed through the earlier degrees. How TO Choose a Mark. Having satisfied the brethren that he is qualified to receive the Degree, the Mason is next taught how to select his Mark which, once selected and recorded in the Mark Book of the Lodge, cannot thereafter be changed. He is also taught the manner in which to applv for his wages ; and thereafter, kneelin.i? at the altar, in the manner sanctioned by long usage, repeats the following Obligation. I, A. B., of my o\\'ti free will and ac- cord, in the presence of the G.O. of the U., and of this Lodge of Mark Master Masons, do hereby, hereat, and hereon, most solemnly promise and swear that I will never reveal any of the secrets, parts or points of a M.M.^L to any one w^ho is not a M.M.M., nor to any one of this Degree, unless he has come by them' in as lawful a manner as I am now about to do in the body of a regularly warranted, Ba 26 THE STORY OF and duly constituted Lodge of three or more M.M.M.'s. I further solemnly promise that I will conform to the laws and regulations of the — — ■ — Lodge, which I will always acknowledge to be my mother Lodge of Mark Masters, and that I will obey all signs and summonses sent to me from a regularly constituted Lodge of M.M.M.'s. provided they be within reach of my cable-tow, and do not interfere with my own necessary avo- cations. I further solemnly promise that I wall not unjustly use any F.C.'s mark; that I will receive a brother's mark when offered to me requesting a favour, and grant his request when just and lawful, and in my power to do so, without prejudice to myself or family ; and that when presiding over an Opera- tive or Mark Masters Lodge, I will as a Warden, pay the wages that are due, and as a Master endeavour to reward merit and suppress jealousy. The Badge of a Mark Mason. Having been obligated and instructed in the secrets of the Degree the brother is invested with the badge and distin- guishing jewel of a Mark Master Mason THE ROYAL ARCH 2^ to signify his advancement in the science. The jewel is a model of the stone which the builders rejected, the Keystone of the Arch of the S V of K ■ S 's T . The badge not only points out the brother's rank as a Mark Master Mason, but is meant to le- mind him that whether he may m ^v , — Qr \ ]^is words and ac- tions are observed and recorded by T.G.O.O.T.U, to Whom he must give an account of his conduct through life, and Who will reward or punish accord- ing as the brother has observed or dis- regarded His divine command. The Mark. As a rule the Mark worn by Free- masons all over the world as an indica- tion of their rank in the fraternity as- sumes the form of a Mark Master's Key- stone. It is made generally of pebble, sometimes of mother-of-pearl, occasion- ally of gold or silver. The Mark should, in addition to the cr}'ptic letters and equilateral triangle, contain the device adopted by the wearer, which device is really the person's own mark chosen by himself, recorded in the mark book of his 28 THE STORY OF Lodge and not thereafter capable of be ing changed for any other device. Tha model Keystone is a peculiar pledge of brotherhood and should a Mason in dis- tress present such a badge to another Mason it is the duty of the latter to ren- der such assistance as is within his power. Masons' Marks. The subject of Masons' Marks has given rise to much controversy. De- vices are to be found in all old buildings, often in great abundance. It is not clear what their original purpose was, but there is a belief that they formed a sort of language understood by early opera- tives and were thus a means of communi- cation. Mr George Godwin, the eminent architect, though a non-mason, took great interest in the subject, and was one of the first to point out that marks were to be found on all important buildings of ecclesiastical or national importance. He contributed a paper to the Transac- tions of the London Society of Antiquar- ies, and there he states that, in his opin- ion, " these marks, if collected, and com- pared, might assist in connecting the various bands of operatives, who, under THE ROYAL ARCH 29 the protection of the church — mystically united — spread themselves over Europe during the Middle Ages, and are known as Freem.asons." The Working Tools. The working tools of a Mark Master Mason are the Mallet and the Chisel. Every brother in passing through the E — ^ A and F C Degrees has been made familiar with their uses. They are further employed by the Mark Master Mason to cut his mark of approval and thus to indicate that the finished stone is fitted for its place in the intended structure. But by the brother who is not an operative but a member of the Free and Accepted or Speculative Masonic Body the tools are applied in a moral sense and thus become instruments of wise instruction. The Chisel. The Chisel morally demonstrates the advantages of discipline. The mind, like the diamond in its original state, is rude and unpolished ; but as the effect of the chisel on the external coat soon brings to view the inner beauties of the 30 THE STORY OF gemi, SO education discovers the latent virtues of the mind, and draws them forth to range the wide field of matter and space, and to display the summit of human knowledge — our duty to God and man. The Mallet. The Mallet morally teaches the thoughtful Freemason to correct irregu- larities, and reduce man to a proper level, so that by quiet deportment in the school of discipline, he may learn to be content. What the Mallet is to the workman, enlightened reason is to the passions ; it curbs ambition, represses envy, moderates anger, and encourages good dispositions, whence arises among good Masons that comely order Which nothing earthly gives nor can destroy The soul's calm sunshine, and the heart- felt joy. By being reminded of the moral ad- vantages of discipline and education the Freemason is, or should be, led to en- tertain a firm but humble hope that, by the correction of irregularities and the subjugation of passions, he may be THE ROYAL ARCH 3 1 found worthy to receive the approving mark of T.G.O.O.T.U., as fitted to fomi part of that spiritual edifice, " that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." The Legend of the Mark. The ceremonial of the Alark Degree is based upon a Legend that has been handed down from time immem.orial and, in the form of a Lecture, is usually nar- rated to the brother on his advancem.ent. Its chief value lies in the fact that it illustrates the meaning and origin of the varioois s — ■ — ■ — s and s s which have been communicated to the postu- lant, and provides a short account of the industrial organisation v/hich. according to Masonic tradition, was in existence at the building of K S s T . At that date, and before the institu- tion of the Degrees of Master Mason and Installed Master, there were eighty thousand operatives employed. A cer- tain number of these were hewers in the quarries at Zeredatha, and the remainder were engaged as builders at the Temple. THE STORY OF Besides these, there were thirty thousand employed in the Forests of Lebanon. In order that even,' member of this mighty army of one hundred and ten thousajid workmen might be known to his superior officers every part of the workmanship was subjected to the nicest scrutiny, and every faithful labourer re- ceived with punctuality the reward of his industry and skill. The immense multitude was divided into eleven hundred lodges of F C ■ — ^"s, and an equal number of E — • A 's, the latter being placed under the supen^ision of the for mer, who taught them their business. Over the whole presided three thousand, three hundred Overseers, or Mark Mas- ters. There were three such officials in each Lodge and these are to-day repre- sented by the Master and Wardens. Each F C had a pecul- iar mark known to his three Overseers, and the Overseers, though they had but one miark in common by which they stamped their approval of the work of the F C , had other marks by which they denoted the juxtaposition of anv two stones. Thus, without any THE ROYAL ARCH 33 difficulty, was each individual's work known and recognised as perfect, and its proper place in the building indicated. The F C s were allowed to select any mark not previously fixed on by another in their own Lodge. It might consist of three, five, seven, nine or an\- odd number of lines, joined together to form, any figure v/ith the exception of the equilateral triangle. The Overseers, as already indicated, had but one mark, the which al- ludes to the Triune Essence of the Deity. The three thousand three hundred Over- seers were divided into one hundred Lodges. There were thirty -three in each Lodge, and each Lodge had three rulers. These were the Mark Masters. They were elected by H.A.B. himselt. They acted as Masters and Wardens, and on them devolved the responsibility of paying the others their wages. When the F C s and their Overseers or Mark Masters applied for their wages, they put in their hand.-^ in a difi^erent manner and at different ■svickets, so that if a F C presumed to put in his hand at the M. M. M 's wicket, he was instantly 34 THE STORY OF dete-cted as can imposter and the W. ]. W. of the Mark Masters was ready with an a to c off his h as a punishment. From this circumstance part of the penalty of the Degree is de- rived, and both it and the other penalty are believed to have been approved forms of punishment among the Sidonians in ancient times. The p w — ■ of the Degree is said by Masonic tradition to have ori- ginated either in consequence of the ^lark Master's Degree having been in- stituted there by H. A. B., before he reached Jerusalem, or from the fact that the timber, after having been felled in the Forests of Lebanon, was carried there on floats by sea. Tradition informs us that the shore at that place was so steep that it was impossible to ascend from the rafts without assistance from above, and that this was rendered by Brethren who were stationed there for the purpose and who used the s- g ■ called the L which is now the p^ g — of the Degree. The blaster's business was to prove each stone, not only as to its soundness which he did by giving it three blows THE ROYAL ARCH 35 with his mallet, and as to its finish by turning it over for careful inspection, but as to its being made exactly accord- ing to the working-plan with which each ]Mark Master was provided. If found perfect in every way, it received the ]N[ark Masters mark and was sent on to the Temple; but if not, it was condem- ned and tlirown over among the rubbish. This was effected, we are told, by two or more F C s taking it be- tween them, and after swinging it back- wards and forwards three times, heav- ing it over. From this circumstance the Fretemason gets the h o s of the Degree. One of the other s s of the De- gree, as it is connected with thanks-giv- ing, may be of an early date but is usually ascribed to an event which took place during the building of the Temple. Ever\' sixth working day it was the cus- tom of the Overseers or Mark Masters to wait upon the Grand Master, H. A. B., to receive instructions and also the neces- sary plans for carrying on the works and keeping the men employed. It Y.'ould appear that part of the work- ing plans had been mislaid, but an m- 36 THE STORY OF genious and intelligent F C having either seen the portion of the im- perfect plan in the Overseer's possession before it was lost, or forming a good idea of it from the nature of the work, perceived that a stone of a very particu- lar form and construction was needed to complete the design. Probably think- ing to gain, honour to himself for dis- playing a superior knowledge of his work, he immediately coinmenced to block out such a stone. After spending much labour on it, he ultimately finished it by putting his ov\ti mark upon it. When the working plans were examin- ed by the Overseers no design could be found for this particular stone, and it was therefore deemed superjfluous, and the F C ' — instead of honour received nothing but angry words and reproaches for having idled away his time. In the heat of passion the Over- seer ordered the stone to be throwUi over among the rubbish, which was according- ly done by two men who were doubtless well-pleased at what they considered the deserved humiliation of their com- panion. The sorrowful F C who had cut the stone, on seeing the THE ROYAL ARCH 37 unworthy treatment of his work, assum- ed that posture from which the F C of to-day derives the sign of s w or 1 n. The stone lay long neglected among the rubbish. At last, however, the time drew near when the keystone of the S V designed by K S as part of the equipment of his temple was required, and to v.'hich the portion of the working plan alluded to belonged. Search was made at the Temple but no such stone could be found, and on further enquiry it was ascertain- ed that no stone of the requisite form had ever been brought there. Tb*^ Ox'erseer of the builders then sent to the Overseer of the hewers in the quarries, who had received the plan and orders for that part of the building, to enquire why the stone had not been sent forward. The latter declared he knew nothing about it. There was no plan of any such stone among those entrusted to his care. The work now came to a standstill, ar.d the reason was speedily demanded by H. A. B. who not only recollected drawing the plan, and writing instruc 38 THE STORY OF tions about the stone which he wished finished in a particular manner, but also of giving them himself to the Overseer of the hewers. The latter was sent for and sharply reprimanded for his care- lessness in losing that portion of the plan. On learning the shape of the stone re quired, the Overseer recollected that one of the given description had been cut by one of his workmen. He informed the Grand Master of this, adding that, owing to his not finding it noticed in his plans, he had refused to mark it as ap- proved, and had, indeed, caused it to be rejected. Having: elicited the matter so far, Hiram sent for the F C who had cut the stone, and questioned him concerning it. From the answers given the Grand Master concluded that it must have been the very stone required. He caused instant and careful search to be made for it amongst the rubbish where happily, it was found uninjuxed. As the Master Overseer had displayed so much lack of knowledge of his busi- ness as not to be able to discover the use of the keystone, the Grand Master de- posed him, depriving him of his Lodge THE KOYAL ARCH and insignia of office which he conferred on the humble F C whom he made a Mark INIaster, and raised to fill the offender's place. The F C , or newly made Mark Master, was commanded to cut the Mark Master's m.ark on the stone en closing his own, and outside of it in a circle the following letters: — H. T. W. S. S. T. K. S. There is now much doubt as to the original meaning of the phrase of which these letters are the initials of the words composing it, but they are generally sup- posed to have been equivalent to the his- toric statement adopted by modem Free- masons in relation to them. Having been duly marked, the stone was conveyed to the Temple with much pomp and parade. The new Mark Master, delighted when he saw it fixed in its place, clasped his hands together in an ecstacy of joy and, looking-up, emiployed that prayer of thankfulness to God which is now the accompaniment of the sign of joy or ex- altation. JOPPA. This town of Palestine which figures prominently in the Mark Degree was the THE STORY OF seaport of Jerusalem from which it was distant about forty miles in a westerly direction. The place is now called Jaffa. Baron Geramb, who visited the Hoi} Land in 1842, and set forth his impres- sions in his work entitled a " Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mount Sinai," has a reference to Joppa that cannot fail to interest Freemasons. " Yesterday morn- ing, at daybreak/' he says, " boats put off and surrounded the vessel, to take us to Joppa, the access to which is diificidt on account of the numerous rocks that present to view their bare flanks. The boats being much lower than the bridge, upon which one is obliged to climb, and having no ladder, the landing is not ef- fected without danger. More than once it has happened that passengers, in springing out, have broken their limbs ; and we might have met with the like ac- cident if several persons had not hast-^n- ed to our assistance" Thus is the Ma- sonic tradition confirmed by modern travellers. The Keystone. Critics of the Royal Arch Degree sometimes challenge the legend of the S V on the ground that the THK ROYAL AKCH 4I arch was unknown in the days of Solo- mon. The researches of antiquaries and travellers, however, tend to confirm the tradition. Lieutenant Warren, a brother of the Craft, working under the auspices of the Palestine Exploration Fund, saw evidence of the antiquity of this form of architecture; Wilkinson discovered arches with regular keystones at Thebes and these were assigned to a period foui hundred and sixty years previous to the erection of the Temple. Further, Dr Clark asserts that lancet-shaped arches to be found in the Cyclopean gallerv of Tyrius take us back to the days of Abra- ham. Advanced. The brother who receives the signs and secrets of a Mark ^Master Mason is ^aid to be " advanced." The term is not inappropriate since it is used to indicate that the Master iMason is promoted be- yond the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry and is advancing along the pathway that leads to the Holy Royal Arch. The Mark Master's Charge. After he has been admitted to a know- ledge of the characteristic secrets of the 42 THE STORY OF Mark Piaster's Degree the postulant is addressed by the presiding officer, or other worthy and well-informed brother, in the following or similar terms: — Brother A. ll, I congratulate you on having been thought worthy of being ad- vanced to this honourable degree. Per- mit me to impress upon you that vour assiduity should ever be commensurate with your duties, which become more and more extensive as you advance in Free- masonry. In the honourable character of Mark Master Mason it should be more particularly your duty to let your con- duct in the Lodge and among your bre- thren be such that it Avill stand the test of the G. O's square ; so that you may not, like the nnhnished and imperfect .w^ork of the negligent and unfaithful of former times, be rejected and thrown aside. While such is your conduct, should misfortune assail you, friends forsake you, envy traduce you, and malice persecute you, yet may you have confidence that among Mark Master Masons you will find friends who will administer relief in your distress, and comfort in your afflictions. Above all things, ever bear in mind as a consola- THK KOYAL ARCH 43 lion under all the frcwns of forture, and as an encouragement to hope for better prospects, that the stone which the build- ers rejected (possessing merits to them unknown) became the chief stone of the corner. Affiliation as a M. M. M. In Scotland where the Degree of M. M. ]M. is recognised as a part of Craft Masonry it frequently happens that a brother who is desirous of becoming a R. A. Mason is already in possession of the Mark Degree. In such a case it is necessary that he should be affiliated to the Mark Lodge which works under the Charter authorising the Royal Arch Chapter. The applicant is introduced as a brother desirous of being affiliated, and having proved that he is in posses- sion of the Degree he takes the oath of affiliation : — I , in the presence of A.G., and before these brethren assembled do solemnly promise that, as an affiliated member of this Mark Master's Lodge I will obey the Office-Bearers and Bye- laws in all matters that are not inconsis- tent with my duty to mv mother Lod'^^e. The brother is then formally received 44 THE STORY OF into the raembership of the Lodge, and IS fit to advance to the next Degree. The Closing of the Lodge. The labours of the day being ended, and all wages so far as due and deman- ded paid, the Lodge is closed in the man- ner prescribed! by ancient usage. Bui in doing so, the Right Worshipful Mark ALaster gives expression to the main idea of the Degree:- Let us, he says, with all reverence and humility express our gratitude to T. G. O. O. T. U. for favours already receiv- ed, and as the stone, rejected of the build- ers, became the head of the corner, so may we, by patience in -vvell-doing, be built up as living stones into a spiritual house meet for His habitation. THE E.M. DEGREE. In older Masonic works the Degree of Excellent Master was regarded as one of great importance. "None," say these older books, " but the meritorious and praise- worthy, none but those who through dili gence ^nd industry have advanced far towards perfection can be admitted to this degree of masonry. " In its original establishment, when the Temple at Jerusalem was finished, and the fraternity celebrated the cope stone with great joy, it is demonstrable that none but those who have proved themselves to be complete masters of their profession were admitted to this honour; and indeed the duties incumbent on every mason, who is accepted and ac knowledged as a Most Excellent blaster, are such as render it indispensable that he should have a correct knowledge of all the preceding degrees." 46 THE sroRY The Captivity. The Lodge in which Excellent Mas- ters now work, and in which they confer the Degree on those who are found worthy, is presumed to represent the Grand Lodge of Excellent Masters which existed at Babylon during " the sevent) years of the captivity," The period began in the third year of Jehoiakim, and ended in the first year of Cyrus which Bishop Lightfoot dates as anno miindi 3470. Shortly after the death of the wise King of Israel disaster came upon his dominions. During the reign of Rebcboam, his son and succes sor, ten of the twelve tribes revolted and as a consequence the Jewish people were divided into the separate Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The Kingdom of Judah retained possession of the Temple, but presently Jerusalem was attacked from without, and, after a series of stir- ring events, it was finally captured and looteB by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who carried awav captive first Jehoiac hin, and finally Zedekiah, the last King of Judah. The city surrendered at mid- night in the eleventh year of the reip^n of THE ROYAL ARCH 47 Zedekiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the Babylonian Guards. According to the Masonic tradition this general rifled the Temple of its sac- red vessels — other authorities maintain that the treasures of the House of God had been carried off at an earlier date — set the Temple and the city on fire, and carried the citizens captive to Babvlon, the ancient capital of Chaldea, situated on both sides of the Euphrates, and once the most magnificient city of the ancient world. Here, in alien surroundings, the ''^w- ish captives continued for three score years and ten and, durino: these -ears they would naturally seek to preserve their identity in the land of their cap tors ; and such of them as followed the mason craft would find a common meet- ing place in the Lodge. Only those who were descendants of the children of the Captivity, were admitted to membership, and doubtless at their meetings thev would frequently sigh for the old home from which they were exiled. At length in the seventieth year of their captivity, Cvrus on his ascending the throne and commiserating the calam- 4^ THE siowY OF \{y which had befallen the ancient Deople of the Lord, issued an edict granting them permission to ret^r^ to Zion and rebuild the Temple which the earlier king had laid in ruin?; This they were not slow to do. Under the care of Ze- rubbabel, the Prince of Judah, who was assisted by Jeshua the High Priest, and Haggai the Scribe, thev returned to the land of their fathers. But previous to their departure thev aereed upon certain ^igns and tokens to mark them out from the rest of their brethren. These were ■commiunicated in the Lodge of Excellent Masters which was arranu;ed and fur- nished after the pattern of a Craft Lodge with this difference that it was divided into separate compartments by four cur- tains or Veils. 'Officeiv'S of ax 1-^xckllent Mastehs' Lodge. The following a-^ the recognised of- iicers in a Lodge ^f Excellent Masters. Excellent Master. Excellent Senior Warden. Excellent T'lninr Warden. ^'''^^l^^i^ of T^~i'rH Veil. Captain of Second Veil. THE ROYAL ARCH 49 Captain of First Veil. Inner Guard. Tyler or Janitor. The Admission. All who are admitted to the Degree of Excellent Master must have been duly en- tered, passed, raised, and advanced to tlie Mark. They gain admission by means of the p g and p w of a Mark Master. The Application. The Lodge having been opened in due and ancient form, and the routine busi- ness disposed of, the I G intimates that Brother , who has been raised to the high and sublime de- gree of ]^Iaster Mason, and duly advan- ced to the degree of Mark Master Mason, is desirous of availing himself of the De- cree of Cyrus so that he may return to Jerusalem to assist in rebuilding the Temple, and he now approaches the Grand Lodge of Babylon humbly pray- ing that the Lodge will grant him per- mission, and furnish him with such to- kens as shall be satisfactory to the 50 THE STORY OF Brethren who have already arrived at Jerusalem. The Reception. Everything being found in order the candidate is received on the pentagram applied to his 1 b . The device represents the f p — of f — — — , and is therefore intended to remind him of his duties as a Master Mason. The Pentagram. The pentagram is the jewel of the De- gree. It is a "-eometrical figure repre- senting an endless triangle and having five points. It is called " the pentangle of Solomon and is said to have constitu- ted the seal or signet of our Ancient Grand Master, and to have been inscrib- ed on the foundation stone of Masonry." Others maintain that it was the Hexapla or six-pointed star that was Solomons seal. Among the Pythagoreans this device of the five-pointed star was employed as an emblem of health " because," says Mackey, " it constituted a figure of five lines and five points." Five is one of the perfect numbers in Freemasonry, and was one of the sacred numbers among THE ROYAL ARCH the Hebrews. It is frequently used as such in the V of the S L . " This usage," writes Gesen- ius, " perhaps passed over to the He- brews from the religious rites of Eevpt, India and other Oriental nations ; a^mong whom -five minor planets and -five ele- ments and elementary powers, were ac- coimted sacred. " The Invocation. After he has been received on the Pen- tagram the Candidate kneels that, as m the former Degrees, the blessing of Hea- ven may be invoked. Masonic liturgv supplies a form in the following words : — O Thou Eternal and Onmipotent God, Who didst appear to Thy sen^ant Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, enkindle, we beseech Thee, in our hearts devotion to Thee, love to our Brethren, and charity to all mankind. Comfort us and all Thy people with Thy divine grace. Guide and assist us in re- building a second Temple to Thy Holy service, and grant that when the veil of this earthly tabernacle shall be rent asunder we may be received into tnat 52 THE STORY OK Holy Sanctuary where Thou reignest for ever and ever. So mote it be ! Origin of E. M. Degree. Up to this point the Candidate is m mental darkness with regard to the De- gree, and properly to understand and appreciate the ceremonial through which he is about to pass, the origin of Hhe De- gree is explained to him by the Right Worshipful and Excellent Master: — Brother in order to make clear to you the purpose and meaning of this Degree, I think it right to inform you that this Lodge is presumed to represent the Grand Lodge of Excellent Masters assembled at Babylon about 470 years after the building of King Solomon's Temple. You will recall that, in the Degree of ^Master Mason, you were made to per- sonify our Grand Master, H. A. B., and that in the Degree of M. M. M. you were made to typify the young and gifted Ci aftsman who shaped the Keystone for the S V — . In this Degree, your Conductor has introduced you as representing one of the descendants of THE ROYAL ARCH S3 the Children of Israel who were carried captive into Babylon. You are presum- ed tO' be desirous of returning to Jerusa- lem to assist in rebuilding the Temple; and with that object in view, you are further presumed to have sought admis sion to the X-odge. As you will readil V understand, the first three degrees in Freemasonry, as well as that of Mark Master Mason must, during these 470 years that are presumed to have elapsed, have been widely spread ; and as the Decree of Cyrus only affects the descendants of those who were brought captive to Babylon, so, as a means of preventing others from sharing in the great and .glorious work now commen- cing, we, previous to the departure of Zerubbabel and our Brethren, instituted a new degree in Masonry. For so doing we have the example of our ancestors who, at every building of importance adopted particular marks of recognition known only to those employed at it- However, since the time when King Solo^ mon reformed the science, and admitted the Gentiles to a participation in ouJ mysteries, no alteration has been made, but we feel that the present circumstances 54 THR STORY OF render this new degree necessar)-'. We only communicate it, however, to those who have been found qualified to preside over Operative or F C Lodges, trusting that they will take due care whom they take along with them or employ under them. Obligation of E. M. The applicant having satisfied the the Lodge as to his knowledge of the earlier Degrees, and having indicated his willingness to undertake an obliga- tion of secrecy with regard to this De- gree is obligated as follows: — I, , in the presence of A. G. and in the body of this legally consti- tuted Lodge of Excellent Masters, do, of my own free will and accord, hereby and hereon,, solemnly promise and sin- cerely swear never to reveal any of the secrets, parts or points of this Degree to any of an inferior Degree, except in the body of a lawfully constituted Lodge of Excellent Masters, not fewer than seven R. A. Masons, myself included, being present, and not even then except to him who is a M. M. M. and is desir- THE ROYAL ARCH , 55 ous of proceeding to the Degree of the Holy Royal Arch. Three Sinister Figures. In the course of the ceremonial the candidate is informed of three persons mentioned in the Old Testament and who have gained a certain measure of immor- tality through their rebellion against established order. These are Korah, Dathan and Abiram. The story of the rebellion of these men may be read m the Seventeenth Chapter of the Book of Numbers. The verses that bear most closely upon the matter are these: — " The Lord spake unto Moses saying, " Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. " And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram ; and the elders of Israel followed him. " And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. " So they got up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every 56 ^ THE STORY side ; and Dathan and ' Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. " And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works ; for I have not done them of mine own mind. "If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men, then the Lord hath not sent me.^ " But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swal- low them; up, with all that appertain unto themi, and they go down quick into the pit ; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. " And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them : " And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed themi up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. " They and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit, and the THE ROYAL ARCH 57 earth closed upon them: and they per- ished from among the congregation.'' The purpose of the allusion to this Old Testament catastrophe is doubtless to impress upon Freem.asons not only their duty to God but that, as citizens, it is expected of them that they will obey established authority. The Passing of the Veils. The candidate having withdrawn from the Lodge, the Veils are extended so as to divide the hall into separate parts, whereupon he is readmitted and conduc- ted through the ceremony of Passing the Veils. This interesting part of the ritual has its own symbolical meaning. The Veils allude to the veils or coverings of the Tabernacle erected by Moses in the Wil- derness, and the ceremony of Passiag theVeils may be considered as emblem- atical of the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness, and of their return from Babylon to Jerusalem. The Veils — as \vere the veils of the tabernacle— are of different colours — blue, purple, scarlet and white, or fine linen! — and each has its own meaning. Ca 58 THE STORY OF The Blue Veil. The First or the Blue Veil presents the peculiar colour of the three ancient or symbolical degrees. It is an em blem of universal friendship and bene- volence, and instructs the thoughtful and attentive brother to recognise that in the mind of a Mason those virtues should be as expansive as the blue arch of heaven. The Purple Veil. The colour of the Purple Veil is pro- duced by a due mixture of blue and scarlet, the former of which, as already explained, is the characteristic colour of the symbolic, or hrst three degrees. It teaches us to cultivate and improve that spirit of hannony between the brethren of the symbolic degrees, and the compan- ions of the sublime degrees, which should ever distinguish the membeis of a society founded upon the principles of ever- lasting truth and universal philanthrop} . The Scaklet Veil. The Scarlet Veil is emblematical of fervency and zeal, and is the appropriar* colour of the Royal Arch Degree. Tr admonishes the Freemason to be fervent THE ROYAL ARCH 59 in the exercise of his devotiors to God, and zeilous in his endeavours to promote the htippiness of men. The White Veil. The White Veil is emblematical of that purity of heart and rectitude of conduct which should at all times charac- terise a Freemason and which are the only passports to the Grand Lodge above. Symbols of the Ele:ments. According to Josephus, the Jews un- derstood the different veils to represent or typify the four elements. The fine white linen veil was a symbol of the earth, so understood because it was woven from flax, a product of the earth ; the scarlet w^as the natural symbol of fire ; the purple denoted water, or the sea, because its colour was derivec' from the murex, a shell -fish whose habitat is the ocean : and blue, as reproducing the colour of the sky was held to be a very ap].ropri- «te symbol of the air. Tne Burning Bush. This great source of true Masonic Light is referred to and occupies a pro- 6o THE STORY OF minent place in the ceremoriial of the Holy Royal Arch because it was there that the Tetragrammaton was delivered to Aloses. Notable Names. Certain names linger in the memory as a result of taking part in the ceremony of Passing the Veils and as these names are all of Scriptural origin it is worth while noting their significance. The first is Rabboni. It may be translated as meaning " a most excellent master or teacher," and ''^ more frequently met with in the foni! " Rabbi '' which is described as " the usual form of address with which the learned were greeted " Jahn tells us in his " Biblical Archaeology '' that the Jews had their seven wise men who were cal- led "Rabboni." John the Baptist is once called " Rabbi " by his disciples. Elsewhere in the Gospels the term is used in allusion to our Lord. Once " Rab- boni " is applied to Christ. In the i6th verse of the twentieth chapter of John we read: " Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. THE ROYAL ARCH 6l The next is — Bezaleel. The name is derived from that of the chief architect of the Temple, who was the son of Uri and who was expressly called by Jehovah to superintend the erection of the " tent of meeting." The facts are set forth in the 31st chapter of Exodus : " And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, " See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah : " And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understand- ing, and in knowledge, and in all man- ner of workmanship. " To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, " And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in canqng of timber, to work in all manner of workmar.ship." Bezaleel was charged with the con struction of the furniture for court and Tabernacle. He also superintended the making of the garments for the priests and the preparation of all neces- sarv oil and incense. We learn further THE STORY OF from Exodus, chap. 35, verse 34 that Bezaleel had the gift of imparting m- struction to his subordinates. One of these was — Aholiab. He was the son of Ahisamadi, of the tribe of Dan, and is generally under- stood to have had no small share in the work of building the Tabernacle. Two other names that are made famil- iar to the postulant as he passes the veils are Ammi Ruhamah. These occur in the first verse of the sec- ond chapter of Hosea, which reads " Say ye unto the brethren, Ammi ; and to your sisteirs Ruhamah." Marginal notes in the authorised version of the English Bi- ble defme " Ammi " as meaning " my people " and " Ruhamah " as " having obtained mercy." Bishop Horsley com- menting upon these terms says: — "Al- though the Israelites, in the days of Hosea, were in general corrupt and addic- ted to idolatry, yet there were among them,, in the worst times, some who had not bowed the knee to Baal. These were always Ammi and Ruhamah: God's own people and a darling daughter. It is THE ROYAL ARCH 63 probable that God here commissions these faithful few to admonish the inhabitants of the land in general of the dreadful judgments that would be brought upon them by the gross idolatry of the Jew- ish church and nation : * Say ye unto your bretliren. O Anin:i, (O my people) and to )Our sisters, Ruhamah (O darling daughter)' As terms indicative of the mercy of God they are potent with mean- ing to Masons. Hebrew Captives from EaBYLON. Brethren who pasb the Veils and re- ceive the secrets belonging to each are m that way prepared to represent Hebrew captives in Babylon anxious to avail themselves of the decree of Cyrus which grants permission to God's chosen people to leave the land of their captivity and to return to Jerusalem to take part in the vrork of reconstruction. The postulant is now told bv the mas ter that he may proceed on his- symbol- ical journey. On his arrival at jerusa lem he will meet guards or sentinels stationed for the purpose of keeping off intruders and securing that only proper- ly equipped persons shall be admitted to 64 THE STORY OF the scene of operations. These guards or sentinels will be recognised bv the standards ^\•hich they bear and whicxi shall be either Blue or Purple or Scarlet or White, and each will permit the so- journer to pass onwards to the Sanhe- drin on receiving the s t and w of his banner. The Passing of the Veils practically concludes the Degree of Excellent Mas- ter for, when next the candidate is in- troduced to his fellow craftsmen, he learns thnt the Lodge has become a Chap- ter and his brethren have assumed the title of Companions. It is fitting therefore that he should pause here to consider the meaning and purpose of Masonry as these have again been impressed upon him by the Degree of Excellent Master. He should again recall to memor}- him who was truly the 77tost excellent of masons and who did not hesitate e\en to part with life itself rather than with honour. Mav he ever stunulate his successois to imitate his glorious example, that the essence of virtue may enshrine our mor- al laws, and like the beautiful rose of THE KOYAL ARCH 65 Sharon, in conjunction with the lily of the valley, exalt our intellectual part. When Death, the grand leveller of all human greatness, draws his sable cur- tain around us, and when the last arrow of our mortal enemy hath been despat- ched, and the bow of this mighty con- queror broken by the iron arm of time ; when the Angel of the Lord declares that time shall be no more, and when, Dy this victory, God hath subdued all things to Himself, then shall we receive the re- ward of our virtue, by acquiring an im- mortal inheritance in those heavenly mansions veiled from mortal eyes, where every secret of Masonry will be revealed. Then shall the great Jehovah, the Grand Master of the Universe, bid us enter into his cele.stial lodge where Peace, Order and Haimony eternally reign. Received and Acknowledged. Brethren who receive the Most Excel- lent Masters Degree are said to be "re- ceived and acknowledged.^' After the completion and dedication of the Tem- ple certain brethren, according to Mas- onic tradition, agreed to remain to keep the magnificient structure in repair. As 66 THE STORY OF a reward for their devotion they were " received " by King Solomon and " ac- knowledged " by him as Most Excellent Masters, because the possession of this particular degree implied a more inti- mate knowledge of the science of mas on-ry than that possessed by those of in- ferior degrees. Dr Oliver, whose imagm- ation never failed him,, asserts that there were nine Lodges with nine Excellent Masters in each at the date of the build- ing of the Tem(ple. THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH. Royal Arch Freemasons are called " Companions," and they assemble in a *' Chapter." There are nine principal officers and these, together with the les- ser officers and the Companions gener- ally, are arranged roughly to form a catenarian arch. A Catenarian Arch. Dr Albert G. Mackey. in his " Lexicon of Freemasonry,'" says " if a rope be sus- pended loosely by its two ends, the cun-e into which it falls is called a ca- tenarian arch." Xoorthouck tells us that " it is a knoAvn truth that a semi-circular arch will not sus- tain its own weight." He maintains that the crown will crush out the sides unless these latter are supported bv abut- ments. The Rev. A. F. A. Woodford, noticing Noorthouck's remarks in his " Masonic Cyclopaedia,"' argues that "the catenarian arch, if truly constructed, will 'stand independent of any collateral aid." Masons know that the form of a 68 THE STORY OF sym,bolic lodge is what is somewhat 'inaccurately described as " an oblong square;"' similarly the form of a chap- ter is roughly that of a catenarian arch. Zerubbabel, as Prince; Haggai, as Prophet ; and Jeshua, as High Priest are First, Second and Third Principals re- spectively, and these form the Key- stones of the Arch. The First, Second and Third Sojourners form the base, and the outline from base to Keystones is filled in by the others present, each ac- cording to the position he holds in the Chapter. The Arch of Heaven. Job compares heaven to an arch sup- ported by pillars. " The pillars of hea- ven tremble," he says, "and are aston- ished at His reproof;" and comment- ing on this passage, Dr Cutbush writes, " The arch, in this instance, is allegori- cal, not only of the arch of heaven, but of the higher degree of Masonr}', com- monly called the Hob^ Royal Arch." The Tabernacle. The apartment in which the Chapter assembles is sometimes referred to as a THE ROYAL ARCH 69 Tabernacle. It derives this name from the fact that it is understood to repre- sent the temporary tabernacle which Zerubbabel erected near the ruins of the Temple so that the Jews while en gaged on the work of reconstruction might enjoy the privileges of their an cient faith. Office-Bearers of a Chapter. The following are the recognised of- ficers in a Royal Arch Chapter: — Principal Z. . Principal H. Principal J. Past Principal Z. Depute Principal. Scribe E. Scribe N. Treasurer. Recorder. Chancellor. First Sojourner. Second Sojourner. Third Sojourner. Sword- Bearer. Director of Ceremonies. Superintendent of Works. First Standard-Bearer. 70 THE STORY OF Second Standard-Bearer. Third Standard-Bearer. Organist. Steward. Janitor. The Official Jewels. As in Craft Masonry each officer has his appropriate jewel, so Companions in a Chapter have peculiar decorations and are called to discharge particular duties. The following are the jewels : — Principal Z. wears a.n Eastern Crown. Principal H. wears an irradiated eye. Principal J. wears an open Bible irradi- ated. Scribe E. wears crossed pens. Scribe N. wears crossed pens. I St Sojourner wears an irradiated square. 2nd Sojourner wears a square. 3rd sojourner wears a square. Treasurer wears a key. Standard-Bearer wears a standard bear- ing the triple tau within a double triangle. Sword-Bearer wears crossed swords. Director of Ceremonies wears crossed batons with a wreath. Organist wears a lyre. THE ROYAL AKCH 7 1 Steward wears a triangle. Janitor wears a sword. The jewels are of gold or gilt. All are worn depending from a crimson col- lar, and all except the janitor's are plac- ed upon a triangle. A Perfect Chapter. The "General Regulations" of 1875 quoted in the appendix to Mackey's ^* Lexicon of Freemasonry " gives the following particulars as to what consti- tutes a perfect Chapter : — " According to the ancient custom, a complete Chapter of this order of Free- masonry consists of the three Principals (Zerubbabel, Haggai and Joshua), who when in Chapter assembled, are to ■ ^ considered conjointly as the Master, and each severally as a Master, two Scribes (Ezra and Xehemiah), three Sojourners, ajid others — making up the nimiber of seventy-two as a Council (the number of the Jewish Sanhedrim), and no regular Chapter can consist of more; but any number may be exalted, and received ^ companions, though thev are not to hold the staff of office, or be considered as counsellors when more than that number are present.** 72 THE STORY OF The Three Principals. The three Principals typify the three stones removed from the arch of the S V by the Sojourners in the course of their excavations. The Principals are Zerubbabel, HagG;ai, and Jeshua. An early catechism says that, just as the drawing forth of the three stones made the discovery complete so, by the passing of the Sojourners through each of the offices of First, Second and Third Principal is the mystical know- ledge of a Royal Arch Chapter obtained. Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Sheaitiel and related to the house of David. It is believed that he was born at Babvlon, and he was leader of one of the bands that returned from the Captivity. He has sometimes been identified with Sheshbazzar who is described as " the prince of Judah," and is said to have received from Cyrus the sacred vessels of the Temple and to have carried them to Jerusalem.. The reason for identify- ing Zerubbabel with Sheshbazzar is that •while in the 3rd chapter of Ezra Zerub- babel is credited with laying the foun- THE ROYAL ARCH 73 dations of the Temple, in the fifth chap ter this work is said to have been carrie.i out by Sheshbazzar. There are frequent instances of men having two names and this may be the explanation here. Others contend that the men were not identical, and that both may have returned from the Captivity at the same time; and that while Sheshbazzar may have been the chief official, Zerubbabel may have been the 'moving spirit in the work of con structing the Temple. Zerubbabel was the chosen servant of the Lord and both Haggai and Zechariah point to him as one of those who are to rebuild the Tem- ple. He returned to Jerusalem at the beginning of the reign of Cyrus. The work w"as not allowed to proceed unhin- dered. The builders were impeded by the enemies of the Jevv's and only after a special appeal had been made to Darius were the builders permitted to proceed without molestation. Biblical students infer frorm a comparison of certain pas- sages in Zechariah that Zerubbabel is the person to whom allusion is made m the fourth ' night vision ' of that pro- phet as the coming Messiah. Zerub- babel succeeded to the governorshiD of 74 THE STOKY OF Judah early in the reign of Darius Hy- staspes. Haggai. Haggai was the first of the three pro- phets who flourished after the Captivity. The sphere of his labours was the post exilic community, and as far as one may gather fromi his writinf^«;. his ministry was confined to a few months of the sec- ond year of Darius Hystaspes, B.C. 520. Tradition says that he was born at Baby- lon, and it is believed that he accompan- ied Zerubbabel to Jerusalem,. A fair start was made with the rebuilding of the Temple, but the assaults of the Sa- maritans led to a suspension of opera- tions, and the opposition of the enemy, aided by the indifference of the Tews, was responsible for the site of the Tem- ple lying waste for fifteen years. Hag- gai reproved the people for their neglect a.nd he and Zechariah incited them to work with such effect that the building was resumed and the Temple completed B.C. 516, the sixth year of the reis^n of Darius. Freemasons present him in in- timate association with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and for this they have the au- thoritv of the Volume of the Sacred THE ROYAL ARCH Law. in the iirst chapter of " Hag^ai " "sve read : — " In the second year of Darius, the King, in the sixth month, in the first da\ of the month came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest saying : " Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, sa\ing. This people say. The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. . . . " Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet sa\ing: — " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts } " Consider your ways. " Go up to the mountain, and bring w^ood, and build the house ; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be (glori- fied, saith the Lord. . . . " And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel. gov- ernor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the peo- ple ; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of Hosts, their God.'' Hap«^ai is believed to have finished his work as prophet in Jerusalem, and 76 THE STORY OF to have died there. The Rev. A. F. A. Woodford in his " Masonic Cyclopaedia" says that Brother Captain H. Warren one of the conductors of the Palestine Exploration enterprise discovered the seal of Haggai during his researches in subterranean Jerusalem. Jeshua. Jeshua is another form of Joshua the name applied to several men of more or less importance in the Book of the Law. The otne in whom Freemasons are speci- ally interested was the High Priest who along with Zerubbabel headed the first band of exiles on their return from Baby- lon to Jerusalem. Ezra nnH Nehemiah refer to him as Jeshua ; Haggai and Zechariah call him Joshua. He was one of those who took a principal part in the work of erecting the altar of burnt offer- ing, and also in laying the foundations for the new Temple. He was the High Priest by lineal descent from the Ponti- fical family ; for he was the son of Josa- dech, who was the son of Seraiah, who held the office of High Priest at the time when the Chaldeans laid the first Tem- ple in ruins. When the prophets Hag- THE KOYAL AKCH 77 gai and Zechariah began to stimulate the laggard Jews to rebuild the House of God Jeshua is frequently coupled with Zerubbabel and this gives the Free- mason authority for including him as one of the Principals of a chapter. Ezra. Ezra, the Scribe, who acts as Secre- tary of the Chapter derives his name and calling from " Ezra, the priest, the scribe of the law of the God in Heaven. "" He is thus described in the 12th verse of the seventh chapter of Ezra. The auth- or of the article on " Ezra " in Hastings' " Dictionary- of the Bible " tells us that Ezra conceived the idea of infusing new life and new ideals into the Judgean com- munity, by leading a fresh band of zeal- ously religious exiles from Babylonia back to Judaea on a mission of reform. Doubt- less, through the kind offices of influen- tial Jews, he secured the goodwill of Ar- taxerxes, the King, and at last an edict was issued permitting all Jews to leave Babylon. Ezra gathered a band around him which is variously estimated at 1496 and 1690 men besides women and chil- dren, and after a four months' journey across the desert reached Jerusalem. 78 THE STORY OF Home, in his " Introduction to the Scrip- tures/' says that the Scribe was the King's Secretary of State, who registered all acts and decrees. The duty of Scribe E. to day is to register all acts, laws, and transactions for the general good of the Chapter, and, like his early name-sake, he is understood to be " well skilled in languages." Xehemiah. Scribe N., who assists Scribe E. in the Chapter, represents the Nehemiah who was associated with Ezra in the re- ligious life of the people after their re turn from Babylon to Jerusalem. Jose- phus describes him as "a man of good and righteous character and very ambi- tious to make his own nation happy," ad- ding that he " left the walls of Jerusalem as an eternal monument of himself." Ac- cording to the Book that bears his name, this great Jewish patriot learned of the lamentable state of affairs in the Home land, and succeeded in getting him- self appointed governor of the Province of Judaea. When he arrived at Jerusa- lem he immediately set about the rebuild ing of the walls of the Holy Citv. ac complishing the work within the space of THE ROYAL A RCH 79 two months. The nation then solemnly rededicated itself to the service of Je- hovah, the Book of the Law being read by Ezra in the presence of Nehemiah. This early association of these two Jew- ish leaders is memorialised in the close companionship which exists to-day be- tween E. and N. The Sojourners. There are three Sojourners who hold office in a Royal Arch Chapter, and each has certain duties to perform according to the rank which he holds, viz, First, Second, or Third Sojourner. The word means a " stranger " or " foreigner " — a man living out of his own country — ■ and in this sense all the children of Is- rael were sojourners in Babylon. But while the Jewish people were thus, gen- erally, sojourners, the Royal Arch Ma- son has given special prominence to three who are represented in the tradi- tion as arriving at Jerusalem footsore and weary, and urgently pleading to be permitted to have a share in the great and glorious work of rebuilding the Tem- ple. Their identity is unknown, and history offers no means of tracing them, 8o THE STORY OF but a masonic tradition, entitled, as one author wisely says, " to but little weight"' alleges that they w^ere three holy men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, better known, perhaps, to Bible readers as Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, the trinity of worthies who were so miracu- lously preserved in the fiery furnace in- to which they had been thrown by Ne- buchadnezzar. IThe Standard Bearers. There are four officers who carry stan- dards or banners. These aie the Cxj tains of the Veils. The Captain of the First Veil carne a blue banner. The Captain of the Second Veil car ries- a purple banner. The Captain of the Third Veil car- ries a scarlet banner. The Captain of the Fourth Veil car lies a white banner. The significance of these colours has already been explained w'hen dealing vith the A'eiis and need not therefoie be referred to at greater length here. THE ROYAL ARCH The Banners. While the ceremony of the approach of the Sojourners to Jerusalem to soli- cit a share in the rebuilding of the Tem- ple demands only the presence of four standard, or banner bearers, the Trac- ing Board of the Royal- Arch Degree, as practised in England, displays twelve banners, being those traditionally ascrib- ed to the twelve tribes of Israel. They are as follows ; Judah, scarlet— a lion couchant. Issachar, blue — an ass crouching beneath its burden. Zebulon, purple — a ship. Reuben, red — a man. Simeon, yellow — a sword. Gad, white — a troop of horsemen. Ephraim, green — an ox. Manasseh, flesh-coloured — a vine by the side of a wall. Benjamin, green — a wolf. Dan, green — an eagle. Asher, purple — a cup. Naphtali, blue^a hind. The banner of the Royal Arch Degree which, however, Dr Albert Mackey re- gards as not peculiar to that Degree but 82 THE STORY OF cx)mmon to it and Craft Masonry is made up of four of these tribal banners. The escutcheon, or shield, says Mac- key, is divided into four compartments or quarters by a green cross, over which a narrower one of the same length of limb, and of a yellow colour is placed, form- ing what the heralds call " a cross vert voided or.^' Each of the compartments formed by the limbs of the cross is oc- cupied by a different device. In the first quarter is placed a golden lion on a field of blue, to represent the standard of the tribe of Tudah; in the second, a black ox on a field of gold, to represent Ephraim; in the third, a man on a field of gold, to represent Reuben ; and in the fourth, a golden eagle on a blue ground, to represent Dan. Over all is placed, as the crest, an ark of the covenant, and the motto "Holiness to the Lord." This banner is a composite of the ban- ners of the four principal tribes of Is- rael. According to Dr Ashe, when the Israelites were in the wilderness the twelve tribes had four principal banners or standards, every one of which had its peculiar motto; and each standard also THK ROYAL ARCH S3 had a distinct sign described upon it. They encamped round about the tabei ■ nacle, and on the east side were three tribes under the standard of Judah ; on the west, were three tribes under the standard of Ephraim; on the south, were three tribes under the standard of Reuben ; and on the north, were three tribes under the standard of Dan ; and the standard of Judah was a lion, that of Ephraim, an ox, that of Reuben, a man, and that of Dan an eagle." The symbolic meaning which the Heb raws gave to these ensigns is not without interest for Freemasons. Vatablus, quot- ing a Jewish author, says that the man in the banner of Reuben signified relig- ion and reason ; the lion in that of Ju- dah denoted power; the ox in that of Ephraim represented patience and toil- some labour; and the eagle in that of Dan betokened wisdom, agility and sub- limity. Companion. A member of a Roval Arch Chapter is called a "Companion'" just as a crafts- man in a Lodge is called a " brother.'* The origin of the term is not clear. Dr 84 THE STORY OF Oliver says, and more modern authors— for want of any solution of their own — have been willing to follow him, that the title most probably refers to the com- panionship in exile and cap-tivity which must have existed amongst the Jews dur- ing the years of their residence in Baby ion. There is no doubt >>"t that the use of the word is comparatively modern. Still, the idea may have been suggested by the association to which Oliver allu- des. Like " brother " it indicates the degree of intimate friendship which ought to govern the members of the Chapter. The Invocation. Freemiasons are constantly reminded of their duty to God, and never fail to invoke His divine aid in all their under- takings. Royal Arch Companions, true to the instincts which have been fostered in the earlier degrees, call upon Him at the opening of the Chapter to bless the work of their hands, and they express the pious hope that all that is done may be to the honour and glory of His holy name. The feelings of the brethren find THE ROYAL ARCH fitting Utterance in thie following noble Invocation : — O. G. Thou G. and G. A. O. T. U. at whose word the pillars of the skv were raised and its beauteous archer formed, whose breath kindled the stars, adorned the moon with silver rays, and gave the sun its resplendent lustre, we are assem- bled in Thy great name to acknowledge Thy power, wisdom and goodness, and to implore Thy blessing. We pray Thee to bless us in our undertaking through life for this great end. Endow us with a competence of Thy most holy Spirit that we may be enabled to trace Thee out in all Thy wonderful works, as far as it is agreeable to Thy divine will, that Thy praises may resound with the fervent love of Thy creatures from pole to pole; and rebound from the vaulted canopy of the heavens, through universal nature. Peace, Love and Unity. After invoking the blessing of A.G. the Principals pronounce the Chapter open according to the formula customary with the Order. Part of this consists of the time-honoured verse which, though 86 THE STORY OF differing slightly in different localities, is substantially the same all over, and is recognised by R. A. Companions where- ever they assemble: — We three Dj meet and agree In pe-ce, love, and unity This Royal Arch Chapter to open And not to close the sanie Until we three Or three such as we Do meet and agree In peace, love, and unity. We three Do meet and agree In pep'Ce, love, and unity This Royal Arch Word to speak and not to reveal the same Until we three Or three such as we Do meet and agree In peace, love, and unity. An Opening Charge. In early days the First Principal of a Chapter was wont, on suitable occasions, to deliver a Charge to his Companions on THE ROYAL ARCH 87 the genius and purpose of Freemasonry. As it it not unworthy of a place in the ceremonial of to-dav, I venture to quote it: — Companions, the Masonic svstem ex- hibits a stupendous and beautiful fabric, founded on universal wisdom, unfolding its gates to receive, without prejudice or discrimination, the worthy professors of eveiy description of genuine religion or knowledge; concentrating as it were into one body their just tenets, unencumbered with the disputable peculiarities of any sect or persuasion. This system originated in the earliest of ages, and among the wisest of men. But it is to be lamented, that to the de- sponding suggestions of some of the weaker minds among our own fraternity, the prejudices of the world against our invaluable institution are in a great mea sure imputable. Unable to comprehend the beautiful allegories of ancient wis- dom, they ignorantly assert that the rites of masonry are futile; its doctrines inefficient. To this assertion, indeed, they give by their owm misconduct, a semblance of truth, as we fail to discern THE STORY OF that they are made wiser or better men by their admission to our mysteries. Companions, I need not tell you that Nature alone can provide us with the ground of wisdom; but Freemasonry will teach and enable us to cultivate the soil, and to foster and strengthen the plant in its growth. Therefore, to dispel the clouds of ignorance, so inauspicious to the noble purposes of our Order, and to hold a moral whereby we may see the power and greatness of <-^p All -wise Dis- poser of events, the Roval Arch Degree gives us an ample field for discussion, by which we are shewn, in the sad experience of the once -favourite people of God, a lesson how to conduct ourselves in every situation of our existence ; and that when fortune, affluence, sickness or adversity attend us, we ought never to lose sight of the Source whence it came, always re- membering that the Power which gave is also a Power to' take away. Having in itself this grand moral which ought to be cultivated by every man among us, " to do unto others as we would wish to be done by," it imitates in itself every vir- tue man can possess, and thus aims at THE ROYAL ARCH 89 presenting the ultimatum of all terrestrial happiness. Companions, may we so study virtue as to hand down to posterity a name un- spotted by vice and worthy of imitation. The Benefit cf Prayer. The candidate who would proceed from the Degree of Excellent Master to that of the Holy Royal Arch must enter the Chapter in a devout fr^^m.e of mind and, being duly received by the Companions as one worthy of their privileges, kneel at the entrance or outer Court while the High Priest offers prayer in the follow- ing words of our "^^oco.-.ic Lituf^v : Almighty God, sole Architect and Ruler of the Universe "^ whose command the \YOT\d burst forth from chaos, and all created matter had its birth, look down, we pray Thee, at this time in a more peculiar manner, on this Thy servant, sand henceforth crown him with every blessing from Thine inexhaustible store. But, above all, give him grace to consider well his present undertaking, that he may not proceed therein lightly, nor recede from it dishonourably, but steadily pur- Da 90 THE STORY OF sue it, ever remembering the intention, which is the acquisition of true wisdom and understanding, by searching out Thy great and glorious works, for pro moting Thy honour and glory, for the benefit of the whole creation and his own eternal welfare. The Quest for Wisdom. The student of our mysteries who turns a listening ear to the voice of the Al- mighty, as that speaks through the V— — of the S — — • L will find much in the Scriptures of the Old Testamejnt that bears upon the Degree. Especially m this connection, and at this point, when the Candidate is about to approach the Altar to take upon himself the Obligation of a Royal Arch Companion may he be di- rected to study the words of the All -Wise as these are contained in the second chap- ter of the Book of Proverbs: — My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to under- standing ; THE ROYAL ARCH 9I Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understand- ing; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures ; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God, For the Lord giveth wisdom ; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and under- standing. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous : he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righ- teousness, and judgment, and equity, yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth mto thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, un- derstanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things: 92 THE STORY OF Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the wavs of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked ; Whose ways are crooked, and they f roward in their paths ; To deliver thee from the strange woman,, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words ; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. The Seven Steps. The candidate makes his approach to ] THE ROYAL ARCH 93 the Altar or Pedestal by seven steps. He halts at the third, fifth, and seventh step and makes obeisance as instructed by his Conductor. This manner of ad- vancing is said to derive from a practice of King Solomon who, when daily pas- sing each of the seven pillars which sup- ported the arch of the private gallery on the way to his devotions was wont thus to halt and make nhf^i^jqnce. Seven is one of the sacred numbers in Masonry and with it the brother has been made more and more familiar as he has passed through the various degrees. Here it should remind him of the Divine injunc- tion to keep one dav in seven sacred to the Lord. The Obligation. With his heart composed by prayer and meditation, the ^"^d^d^te may ap- proach the Altar as directed by his Con- ductor and, kneeling there, take upon himself his further Obligation: — I, A. B., in the presence of A. G. and in the body of this properly con stituted R A Chapter do, of my own free will and accord, hereby, her eat and hereon, solemnly and sincerely prom- 94 THE STORY OF ise, vow and swear that I will never re- veal any of the secrets, parts, or points of or belonging to the Degree of the ^oly Royal Arch to any one of an inferior de gree except in the body of a lawfully constituted Royal Arch Chapter; nor will I aid or assist in the exaltation of any one to this Degree unless at least seiven R.A. Masons are present, convened under proper authority for that purpose. I further solemnly swear that I will not pronounce nor assist at the pronouncing of the G W of the Degree, whether in a Chapter or out of it, except in the manner recognised and approved by the Order; that I will pay all due obedience to the Laws and Regulations of the Supreme Grand Chapter; that I will obey the officers and byelaws of this Chapter, which I will always acknow- ledge to be my mother Chapter; that I will acknowledge and obey all signs and summonses sent to me from a regularly constituted R.A. Chapter provided the same do not interfere wdth my other duties and avocations ; that I will assist all poor and distressed R.A. Compan- ions to the utmost of my power, in so THE KOYAL ARCH 95 far as I may safely do so consistently with my duty to myself and my family. All this I swear to observe without evasion, equivocation or any mental re- servation whatsoever under no less a pen- alty than that of : and m.ay the Most High ke(iHp me stedfast in this great and solemn obligation. The Journey to Jerusalem. After taking the obligation of a R.A. Companion, the Craftsman is conducted by the First Sojourner through a cere- mony the purpose of ivViVi^ is to reveal the method by which the long lost Sac- red Word was preserved, afterw^ards re- covered and finally restored to the Craft. Equipped with the signs, tokens, and words the candidate and sojourner set out on their symbolical pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As they had been informed, they are met by sentinels whom they dis tinguish by the different colours of their badges. They are able to satisfy these respective Companions of their right to proceed towards the Sanhedrin and in due time they arrive at that Supreme Council. 96 THE STOKY OF The legend of the Craft upon which the whole ceremonial is based is an ex- tremely interesting one, and I do not know that it can be better presented than by reproducing an ancient Masonic Cate- chism' for the preservation of which we are indebted, curiously enough, to a non- Mason ! The White Veil having been drawn apart we were admitted into the presence of the Principals. Q. — What then occurred? A. — The M.E.Z. enquired who we were. Q. — And your answer? A. — We replied that we were Sojourn- ers from. Babylon, and the following conversation then resulted: — Q. — What is the nature of your re quest ? A. — Having heard that vou are about to rebuild the Temple of the Lord, we have come with the hope that we may be permitted to sojourn among you and contribute our best sen^ices to forward that great and glorious work. I THK KOY^L AkCH 97 Q. — We highly commend your inten- tion, bit we \v sh to know more particu- larly who you are. A. — We are descended from your own kindred • and people sprun-: tn - y^wr own tribes, and branches from the same original stock, equally with the descend- ants of your forefatb^^^: .AKraham, Isaac and Jacob. But we ^-^--p been under the displeasure of Almiihtv God through the offences committed by our ancestors, who deviated from ^^"^ Masonic iTin- ciples and laws, and not only committed numberless errors, but ran into exen kind of wickedness • -- "'^-^^ the Almight) displeased, gave judgment a^^^^nst them, by the mouth of Teremiah and other prophets, by whom he declared that the fruitfulness of tb^ "^ ^- "* should ha spoiled, their city become desolate, and an abomination, and that they should feel his wrath for seventy years. Q. — Our own knowledge of these facts, and the candour with which you have related them lea.ve no doubt as to -our sincerity, but we wish to know who were your immediate ancestors? A. — We are not of the lineage of that 98 THE STORY OF race of traitors who fell away during the siege of the citv. anrl went over to the enemy, when liberty and kindred had most need of their assistance, nor of the^lower class of people left behind by the chief of Nebuchadnezzar's officers to cultivate the vineyards, and for other servile purposes, bnt ^^^ offisprmg of those princes and nobles v/ho were carried into captivity with Zedekiah. Q. — What has led to your return from Babylon to Jerusalem? A. — The seventy years of the capti vity having expired, and the anger of the Lord appeased, he hath stirred up Cyrus, King of Persia and Babylon, to issue a proclamation that those of th** Lord''s people \^ho were inclined might return to Jerusalem and rebuild tb<= Temple, for that he, Cyrus, had dis- covered the God of Israel to be the only true and living God. Q. — In what branch of the work do you wish to be engaged? A. — ^We deem the lowest sen'ice in the work of the Lord to be to us an hoij our, and therefore onlv beg employment. On hearing this the Principal said THR ROYAL ARCH 99 that our humility besDoke our merit, and that they did not doubt but that we wci? qualified for the highest offices. These, however, had already been filled ; but he instructed us to report to the Superin tendent of Works who would provide tools and direct us whnt to do. The Principal gave us this one particular in- junction, that, if, in the course of our work we should find anything belonging to the old Temple we would instantly report the matter to him. The Great Discovery. The Sojourners faithfully obey the in- structions of the Principal, and having been supplied with tools, engage in pre- paring the ground for the foundation of the second Temple. They make a dis- cover}- which they deem of importance and at once repair to the Sanhedrin to re- port. Again I quote the ancient Cate- chism as to the sequel : Having been ushered into the pres- ence of the Principals the following con versation takes place : Q. — We understand you have made a discovery which you wish to communi- cate to us. THE STORY OF A.— We have M.E.Z. We duly re- ported ourselves to the Superintendent of Works who directed ns to clear the ground for the intended structure. Early this imorning on breaking the ground with my pick-axe I struck on something which I judged fromi the sound to be hollow. I called upon one of my com- panions to remove the soil with his shovel, and this being done we found a large brazen ring fixed to a broad flat stone with certain words engraved there- on signifying " the way to hidden trea- sure." We took this as an injunction to search at or around it. We accordingly raised the stone and found under it the crown of a perfect arch. With my crow- bar I removed the kevstone when we dis- covered a cavity beneath. Our curiosity was excited to know what it contained, but afraid of dan_i?er from, foul air or other causes, we drew ^^^^ who should descend. The lot fell uponi me. I was let down with a c t round my waist, and reached the bottom without impediment. The sun, however, at that early hour in the morning only peeping from, the porticoes of the east, and dart- THE ROYAL ARCH ing his beams parellel with the plane of the horizon, and the aperture being ex- tremely small, I found rnvself enveloped in almost total darkness. Beginning to suifer from the foulness of the air I gave the signal on which we had agreed and was drawn up. Q. — Did you resume your search? A. — We did. On examining the key- stone we found certain characters which proved to us from the knowledge we al ready possessed that we had discovered nothing less than the S V of K S . We therefore set to work and removed another stone to admit more light and air. One of my companions was then let down. In grop- ing about he laid his hand on something wrought in due and regular form on the top of which was a Roll. Wishing to ascertain what it was he gave the signal and was drawn up. The Roll proved, on inspection, to be the Book of the Holy Law. Naturally we rejoiced at the dis- covery, and resolved on further search. Q. — Did you have f^r^^e'- success? , A. — We had M.E.Z. Having enlarg- ed the opening by withdrawing a third THE STORY OF Stone my other comipanion was lowered into the V . The sun by this tinie had reached its meridian altitude and, aided by its light, he found the place to be a splendid apartment sup- ported on seven pillars. Round the architraves were the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the nnm/:^c; of the twelve tribes of Israel. What had formerly been found wrought it.f-^ dne and regular form, proved on inspection to be an Altar of pure white marble. It was in shape a double cube and was erected to the Lord God. At that moment the meridian sun, darting his rays through the aperture on to the top of the pedestal, brilliantly il- luminated a circle of o-old on which was the grand, peculiar, nnd mysterious name of Deity. On a trians^le of the same metal within the circle were inscribed other characters of which we could not understand the meaning, but we doubt not that they, too, are connected with tlis Sacredi Word. On the front of the Al- tar were the initials, S.K.I., H.K.T. and H.A.B. which we recognised as those of the three Grand Masters who presided at the building of the Temple. THE ROYAL ARCH I03 Being of opinion that we had made a discovery of importance we closed the aperture carefully and have now come> as instructed, to report the facts to you, M.E.Z. The Book of the Law. At this point the Sojourners learn the important nature of their discovery. The Roll is indeed no less than the long-lost book of the Holy Law. They are en- joined to return to the S V , accompanied by Scribe E., in case any- thing may have been misunderstood or unobserved. Having made a further ex- amination they are received again into the Sanhedrin when Scribe E. explains that all had been correcth- stated by the Sojourners, and that in addition he had discovered a Jewel at the base of the Altar. This appears to have belonged to H.A.B. and has upon it certain in- scribed characters which he is able tc interpret. The Grand Word. The Jewel is a triano^le and on each of its three sides it has p svllable and the three svllables collectivelv constitute the peculiar and grand word of the Order. 104 ''UK STOKV OF The first syllable of this mysterious comipound is Chaldaic and the interpreta- tion thereof is " I am." In Hebrew it signifies "I shall b^ " ^.ri thris. curious- ly enous^h refers to t^e n-esent, future, and eternal existence of ^ G.T.G.A.O. T.U. The second syllable is Syriac. Tt means " Lord " or " Powerful," it is ai so a compound word formed from the preposition " Beth " which in various Eastern tongues signifies ''' In " or " On" and another expression which impiie> "Heaven" or "On High." Therefore the syllable may be interpreted as meaning, " Lord in Heaven or on high." The third syllable is E^ivptian, means " Father of All ;" and in Hebiew denotes " Strength '' or " Power," and expresses the Omnipotence of the Father of All. The three syllables when combined may be rendered in the following phrase : " I am and shall be Lord in Heaven, the Powerful, the Father of All- in every clime, in every age Adored by savage and by sage." the royal arch i05 The World's Debt. The legend upon which the Royal Arch Degree is based maintains the im- portance of the discoverv of the Sojourn- ers and avers that the world is indebted to Masonry for the preservation of the Book of the Law. Put for the Masonic wisdomi and precaution of the three Grand Masters in constructing under the Temple a vault sufficient to withstand the flames and fury of the enemy the last re- maining copy ofthe Law would have been lost when the Temple was laid in ruins. And while thus imTX)rtant to the world in general, the discovery of the Sojourn- ers had an added interest for members of the Craft in particular as the charac- ters on the triangle found in the vault furnished a clue to the true and long lost method of pronouncing the sacred word upon the circle, the word which, accord- ing to Masonic tradition w^s lost at the building of the Temple, and would one day be recovered and restored to the Bro- therhood. The S V It is not particularly clear from which source the story of the S V I06 THE STORY OF has been imiported into Royal Arch Mas- onn^ but "An Historical Catechism,*' issued not later than 1700, and having reference to attempts that were made to rebuild t^f Temple, has the following passcc;^e which is of more than average interest to Companions: — "At their lay- ing a foundation, there was a stone which slipped from i{ts place and discovered the mouth of a cave cut in a rock. The overseers of the work not being able to see the bottom of it, let dowm a labourer by a rope. Being come to the bottom-, he was up to the ankles in water, and found the place four-square ; and laying his hand on a little pillar above the water he miet with a book wrapt up in a clean linen cloth. Being drawn up, the specta- tors were amazed it should be so fresh, lying in such a dark hole. The book being opened surprised both the Jews and Grecians that were present; they found in the beginning of it these words writ in capital letters, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Sojourners' Reward. The next step in the careers of the THE ROYAL ARCH lO/ Sojourners from Babvlon indicates that merit and eminent services should be acknowledged and rewarded at all times. The Sojourners aro invested with the Sash and the Jewel, they are furnished with the Rod, clothed with the Apron, and are welcomed as brethren and com- panions who, if they continue faithful and act with honour will receive instruc- tion from their fellow-craftsmen. The Rod. The Royal Arch Mason uses the Rod as an emblem of Power. As such it ha.^ been employed by all nations, but th^. Freemason carries it in commemoration of the Rod with w^hich Moses wrougiit sc many wonders in the land of Egypt dnn in the Wilderness. The tradition of the. Royal Arch hails Moses as an excellent grand m.aster, and says that when in the year of Light 2513 he was tending the flock of Jethi'o, his father-in-law, at the foot of Mount Sinai, he was called by the Almighty, and commanded to go down into Egypt, and deliver his breth- ren from their cruel bondage. Moses, then in banishment, greatly hesitated, I08 THE STORY OF saying, "Who am I, that I should go?"' The Lord, to encourage him, promised to be with him. Moses, still doubting, asked for a sign to convince him of the Almighty's power, and to confirm the Almighty's promise. Then the Lord said to him, " What is that in thine hand?" Moses answered, "A Rod." The Lord said, " Cast it on the ground.' Moses did as commanded whereupon the Rod instantly became a serpent ; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, " Put forth thine hand and take it by the tail." Moses obeyed when the serpent became a Rod again. With this Rod Moses divided the waters of the Red Sea, and made them to stand as two great walls. With this Rod he smote the rocks in the wilderness whence water gushed out. The Sash. The Sash is a sacred emblem denoting Light, as it is composed of two prin- cipal colours, p'urple and crimson. The purple implies awe and reverence, and the crimson in rays sismifies justice tem- pered with mercy. The irradiated fonn THE ROYAL ARCH IO9 is a further symbol of Light ; and the combination of colours effected in the Sash has always been regarded as em- blematic of royal power and dignity. The Apron. The Apron, like the Sash, is bordered with the colours, purple and crimson, but the characteristic feature of this badge of an R.A. Mason is the Triple Tau, one of the most ancient of em- blems. It is translated from the He- brew, and is highly esteemed as " the emblem of all emblems," and "the grand emblem of Royal Arch Masonry." Like many other details it is traced to a Scrip- ture origin. It is supposed in its sim- plest form to be the sign or mark refer- red to by Ezekiel when he commanded the man with the ink-horn to "go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." This sign, says Mackey in his " Lexicon " was to distin- guish them as persons to be saved on ac- count of their sorrow for sin, from those no THK STORY OF who as idolaters, were to be slain; and its form was that of the Hebrew letter " tau," which, in the ancient Phoenician alphabet, and on the coin of the Macca- bees, was the shape of a cross. In early days civil magistrates are said to have placed this mark on the brow of those whose innocence was established ; and it is said also that in ancient times, mili- tary leaders similarly marked those who escaped unhurt from battle, as evidence that they were in perfect life. It is as a combination of three T's or the Triple Tau that it is most familiar to Ro^al Arcli Companions. The sign, or device has been turned to account in various ways to suit the conceit or invention of the Masonic worker. One body of students incline to the view that it is made up of the initials " T " a-<^ " H '' and that these indicate the Temple of Solomon as they are the initials of Temfhtm Hierosolymi. Others see in it a com- bination of three T- Squares and argue that it refers to the three similar jewels of the three Ancient Grand Masters. Yet others believe that it is the monogram of Hiram of Tyre. Another group, seek- THE ROYA[, ARCH ing for a linguistic interpretation, main- tain that it is merely a modification of the Hebrew character " shin " which is a recognised abbreviation -^ the sacred name among Jewish people. One of the lectures favoured by English Free- masons furnishes a mathematical interpre- tation. The device "bv ^^c; intersection, ' says the Lecture, " forms a given num- ber of angles that may be taken in five several combinations and reduced, their amount in right a7^:Tles will be found equal to the five Platonic bodies which represent the four elements and the sphere of the Universe." But whatever, amid these conflicting explanations, may be the true reading, the Freemason adopts it as a symbol and by wearing it acknowledges himself a servant of the true God who established his worship at Jerusalem and to whose service the glor- ious Temple of Solomon was erected. The Grand Sign. The Grand Sign of a Royal Arch Freemason, like everything else connec ted with the Degree, has its own peculiar meaning. It alludes to the opening of THE STORY OF the arch by the removal of the three stones by the Sojourners, and the three halts in giving it, and the three arches formed by the three Principals, refer to the three descents of the Sojourners be fore they discovered the mysterious tri- angle. The Five Signs. There are five signs in the degree of the Holy Royal Arch. These corres pond to the Five Points of Fellowship in the Degree of Master Mason. Just as, by the Points, the representative of Hiram Abiff is taught the duties which he owes to his brethren, so by the five signs of the Royal Arch is a Companion instructed in a peculiar manner in the relation which he bears to the most High, outcast from the Presence through the sin of his first parent yet received at last into the Grand Chapter as a child of God's mercy. The Penal Sign. The first is the Penal Sign, and this not only reminds the Royal Arch Mason of the penalty of his Obligation, but also recalls the fall of Adam and the awful penalty thereby entailed upon posterity, THE ROYAL ARCH II3 no less than death. By the action itself it is intimated that the disobedient shall be cut off from the land of the living by the just judgment of Almightv God even as the head is severed from the body by the sword of human justice. It is said to have been derived from the act of the Sojourner who thus guarded his eyes from the intensity of the suns rays when their reflection shone so bril- liantly on the gold plate found on the pedestal. The Reverential Sign. Having in mind the transgression of Eden, and the ease with which human frailty may succumb to sin, we are taught by the second sign to bow with resigna- tion before the chastening hand of the living God, at the same time engrafting His law in our hearts. Masonic tradi- tion records that in this expressive at- titude the father of the human race pre- sented himself before his offended judge and heard the dreadful sentence that the ground should not long-er produce in abundance, but that man should earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow. E 114 THE STORY OF Masonic tradition further records that this attitude of reverent submission was at a later date assumed by Moses at the foot of Blount Horeb. There the glory of the Lord appeared to him in the burn- ing bush when, unable to look upon the dazzling radiance of the Deity he, by this sign, shielded his eyes from the brightness of the Divine presence and at the same time placed his hand upon his heart in token of submissive obedience, which act was afterwards accounted to him for righteousness. The sign, by a singular co-incidence, agrees with that attitude which according to tradition, was adopted by the Sojourner who pene trated into the S — — V and was rewarded by discovering the Book of the Law. Tradition says that, on ascending from the V he bound his companions to secrecy bv the Penal Sign, but, that, as his right hand was occupied with the Roll, he was under the necessity of com- municating the sign with the left hand. The Penitential Sign. This, which is the third sign, may not inaptly be regarded as the parent of THK KOYAL ARCH the second sign. It denotes that frame of mind and condition of heart without which our prayers and oblations of praise can never be acceptable at tlie Throne of Grace, before which how should frail and erring creatures present themselves but with uplifted hands and bended knees in token at once of their humility and dependence? In this humble posture Adam first presented himself before his p^lorious Creator to bless the Author of his being. Thus did he again present himself before the face of his offended Judge when — expelled from the earden of Eden through the sin of disob-edience — he sought to avert Divine wrath and conciliate Divine mercy. The expres- sive form of contrition he handed down to posterity for ever, and it was in this penitential and supplicatory attitude that the chiefs of the Sanhedrin offered thanks to the Most High for the recovery of the long lost Book of the Lav/. The Monitorial Sign. The fourth sign w^hich is derived from the manner in which it is believed the Il6 THE STORY OF Sojourners descended into the S V reminds us of the weakness of human nature which is unable of itself to resist the powers of darkness unless assisted by the aid which is from Hea- ven. By the action itself we acknow- ledge our frailty and feebleness, con- fessing that we cannot do any good or acceptable service except through the strengthening power and mercy of the Most High,, from whom all good coun- sels and just works proceed, and with- out whose special favour we must ever be found unprofitable servants in His sight. The Fiducial Sign. The fifth sign which is derived from the action of the Sojourner in prostrat- inig himself before the Pedestal when he apprehended the sublime nature of his discover}', fitly sums up the humility and reverence whioli are inculcated by those that have gone before. In this form;, which was adopted by our ances- tors and practised by the atoning priests, Ave express our contrition and humility as though we would prostrate ourselves with THE ROYAL ARCH I I 7 our faces to the ground, throwing our- selves upon the mercy of the living God, our Creator and our Judge, and looking forward with humble and sublime con- fidence to the fulfillment of His gracious promises by which means alone we may hope to pass through the Ark of our re- demption into the glorious presence of Him who is the great I am, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Author and the Finisher of our Faith. The Working Tools. The Working Tools of a Royal Arch Companion are the Crowbar, the Pick- axe, and the Spade. Our worthy operative brethren use the crowbar to raise materials of great weight and bulk, the pickaxe to loosen the soil and prepare it for digging, and the spade to remove the rubbish. But, once again, as in the earlier de- grees, the Freemason employs the tools as instruments of moral instruction : and thus the Royal Arch Mason is reminded by them that it is his sacred duty to lift from, his mind the heavy weight of pas- sion and prejudice which encumbers it, Il8 THE STORY OF and hinders him in his progress towards virtue; to loosen the hold which habits of sin and folly have laid upon his dis- position ; and to remove the rubbish of vice and ignorance which prevents him from beholding that eternal foundation of truth and wisdom upon which he de- sires to erect the moral and Spiritual Temiple of a consecrated life. The industrious student of our my- steries cannot fail to draw from these simple tools still further food for moral reflection. To the mind of such an one the Crowbar may readily suggest itself as an emblem of uprightness of life, in- tegrity of character, and unvielding de- votion to duty. The sound of the Pick axe may remind him of the sound of the last trumpet at whose call the grave will give up its dead ; while the Spade will suggest to his mind the grave itself into which the frail and mortal part of man is laid away from; sight. Nor can he fail to learn further from a diligent contemplation of the moral use of these tools that he miust search to the very foundations that underlie all human knowledge if he w^ould under- THE ROYAL ARCH irg Stand the great object of his earthly pil- grimage — the end of his labours — the establishment of Truth. Truth may be buried for a time under a mass of error , the ruins of a better civilisation may have been thrown down upon it ; indeed its very existence may be forgotten ; but the diligent searcher after it will early recognise that the best way to come to it is to examine things as they are and not to conclude they are as we fancy of ourselves, or have been taught by others to imagine. Truth crushed to earth, shall rise again, The eternal years of God are hers. Above all, a Royal Arch Companion, as a \\ortljy member of our :macnt brotherhood, will strive ever to be tiue rj himself, And it must follow as the night the day, He cannot then be false to any man. Ex. A. IT ATI ON. The ceremony of investing a brother with the secrets of the Holy Royal Arcii is described as his " Exaltation." The 120 THE STORY OF term means " elevated " or " lifted up, ' and according to Mackey " is applicable both to a peculiar ceremony of the de- gree, and to the fact that this degree, in the rite in which it is practised, con- stitutes the summit of Ancient Masonry '* The I^hrke Lodges A tradition favoured by Royal Arch Companions is that there were three suc- cessive Lodges established at long dis- tant dates, each of them presided over by three Grand Masters. The legend is not historically accurate but is rather a symbol intended to illustrate three im- portant stages in the growth and pro- gress of the science of Masonry. The Holy Lodge. The first stage or epoch is marked by the founding of the First or Holy Lodge which was established Anno Lucis 2415 by Moses with whom were associated Bezaleel and Aholiab. The place selec- ted for its consecration was the foot of Mount Horeb at which spot the record preserved in the V of the S L informs us that the G.A.O.T.U. revealed Himself to His faithful ser vant, Moses. And here the leader of the THE ROYAL ARCH Israelites from bondage to freedom re- ceiveio ih^ forms of those mysterious- prototypes, the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, both of which figure conspicuously in the ceremonial of Free- masonry. Here, too, at the hand of the Most High, Closes received the Sacred Law with its sublime precepts inculcating the moral and religious duties of man. The Sacred Lodge. 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