"The Egyptians, says Porphyry, call Kneph the intelligence, or efficient cause (of the universe). They represent him under the form of a man in deep blue, (the colour of the sky,) having in his hand a sceptre, a belt round his body, and a small bonnet-royal of light feathers on his head, to denote how very subtle and fugacious the idea of that being is." Upon which I shall observe that Kneph, in Hebrew, signifies a wing, a feather, and that this colour of sky blue is to be found in the majority of the Indian gods, and is, under the name of narayan, one of their most distinguished epithets.-See Ruins, p. 230–234.

Porphyry, I presume, 18 mistaken in supposing this god dressed in blue, to be Kneph; for as he was the Supreme God of the Egyptians, his proper dress would be white.

The Roman Catholic cardinals (says Mr. Buck, in his Theol. Dict.) dress in scarlet, to signify that they ought to be ready to shed their blood for the faith and church, when the defence and honour of either require it." This, I imagine, is a mere conjecture, and not founded in fact. The custom, has doubtless, an astronomical bearing. The pope, on gala days, is clothed in a white robe, wearing a golden mitre, and is seated on his white throne; and as the cardinals are second in rank, like the king in the royal arch, their appropriate colour is, no doubt, scarlet. The habit required for the person representing the sun, in the Dyonisian mysteries, says Taylor, is thus described in the Orphic verses preserved by Macrobeus in the first book of his Saturnalia, cap. 18.

He who desires in pomp of sacred dress
The sun's resplendent body to express,
Should first a veil assume of purple bright,
Like fair white beams combin'd with fiery light;
On his right shoulder, next, a mule's broad hide,
Widely diversified with spotted pride

Should hang, an image of the pole divine,
And dædal stars, whose orbs eternal shine.
A golden splendid zone, then, o'er the vest

He next should throw, and bind it round his breast;
In mighty token, how with golden light,
The rising sun, from earth's last bounds and night
Sudden emerges, and, with matchless force,
Darts through old Ocean's billows in his course.
A boundless splendor hence, enshrin'd in dew,
Plays on his whirlpools, glorious to the view;
While his circumfluent waters spread abroad,
Full in the presence of the radiant god:
But Ocean's circle, like a zone of light,

The sun's wide bosom girds, and charms the wond'ring sight.
Eleus. and Bac. Myst. p. 160.

The officers and companions of the chapter being stationed, the high priest says, Companions, I am about to open a chapter of royal arch masons, and will thank you for your attention and assistance. If there is any person present who is not a royal arch mason, he is requested to retire. Companion captain of the host, the first care of congregated masons?-Captain. To see the tabernacle duly guarded. High priest. Attend to that part of your duty. The captain of the host stations the

guard at the outside of the door, gives him his orders, closes the door, and makes an alarm of three times three, on the inside, to ascertain that the guard is on his post; the guard answers by nine corresponding raps; the captain then gives one, and the guard does the same. He then reports that the chapter is duly guarded, by a companion of this degree at the outer avenue, with a drawn sword in his hand. The high priest then gives two raps with his gavel, and asks the following questions:-Captain of the host, are you a royal arch mason?-I am, that I How shall I know you to be a royal arch mason ?-By three times three. He thus proceeds, as is done in the other degrees, to demand the stations and duties of the officers of the chapter; which are as follows:

am.

The captain of the host is stationed at the right hand of the grand council, to receive their orders, and see them duly executed.

The station of the principal sojourner is at the left hand of the grand council, to bring the blind by a way they know not, to lead them in paths they have not known, to make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.*

The duties of the two last mentioned officers, in the ancient mysteries, appertain to one character, Mercury, who was the messenger of the gods, and the conductor of souls to the other world, through the dark regions below.

The royal arch, like the greater mysteries, contains a scenical representation of a journey from this world to the next. In the way are four guarded passes, called vails, emblematical of the equinoxes and solstices, allegorically denominated gates of heaven, through which lies the sun's

course.

Three of the officers stationed at these passes, are called grand masters of the first, second, and third vail, who require certain tokens and pass-words of the candidates on their admission through them. The fourth officer is styled royal arch captain. He is stationed at the inner vail, or entrance of the sanctum sanctorum, to guard the same, and see that none pass but such as are duly qualified, and have the proper pass-words and signet of truth. The colours of their several banners are, the first blue, the second purple, the third red, and the fourth white; which have the same astronomical reference as the dresses of the

In the lower degrees, the duty of messenger, as well as that of regulating and conducting the ceremonies, is performed by two officers who are denominated deacons. These, like the rest of the masonic drama, I find to be astronomical characters. "The ancient Egyptians, says the astrologer Julius Firmicus, (Astron. Lib. 2, c. 4,) divide each sign of the zodiac into three sections; and each section was under the direction of an imaginary being whom they called Lecan, or chief of ten: so that there were three decans in a month, and thirty-six in a year. Now, these decans, who were also called gods, (Theoi,) regulated the destinies of mankind,-and were placed particularly in certain stars." (Ruins, p. 237.) In the course of time, a trifling variation in the orthography of the name of these officers, admitting of little or none in the pronunciation, has taken place. The duties of the decans and those of the deacons are sufficiently allied to identify them. "Among the Greeks, those youths who served the tables were called diaconoi, deacons; that is ministers, attendants." (Calmet's Dict.)

1

grand council. The white banner, as masonry asserts, is emblematical of that purity of heart, and rectitude of conduct, which is essential to obtain admission into the divine sanctum sanctorum above.

In the duty assigned to the royal arch captain, there is evidently an allusion to that required of the "severe and incorruptible boatman, Charon," who was prohibited from transporting souls across the lake or river Acheron to the Elysian fields, the heaven of the ancients, without the signet of the judges, who were appointed to examine into the characters of the deceased, and to allow or withhold their permission accordingly.- -"To arrive at Tartarus, or Elysium, souls were obliged to cross the rivers Styx and Acheron, in the boat of the ferryman Charon, and to pass through the gates of horn or ivory, guarded by the dog Cerberus." (Ruins, p. 148.)

Nine companions must be present at the opening of a royal arch chapter. Not more nor less than three are permitted to take this degree at the same time. The candidates are prepared by tying a bandage over their eyes, and coiling a rope seven times round the body of each, which unites them together, with three feet of slack rope between them.

Thus prepared, they are led into the royal arch chapter; which, they are told, is dedicated to enlighten those that are in darkness, and to show forth the way, the truth, and the life.

On entering the chapter they pass under what is called a living arch, which is formed by a number of companions arranging themselves on both sides of the door, each joining hands with the one opposite to himself. The conductor says, stoop low, brothers; remember that he that humbleth himself shall be exalted; stoop low, brothers, stoop low; we are about to enter the arch; which is raised up for him, but lowered when the candidates come under it. They seldom pass the first pair of hands without being obliged to support themselves on their hands and knees. Their progress may well be imagined to be very slow; for, notwithstanding their humble condition, they are under the necessity of sustaining on their backs nearly the whole weight of the living arch above. The conductor, to encourage them, calls out occasionally, stoop low, brothers, stoop low! If they go too slow to suit the companions, it is not unusual for some one to apply a sharp point to their bodies, to urge them on; after they have endured this humiliating exercise as long as suits the covenience of the companions, they pass from under the living arch.

The reader will readily perceive that this scene is an imitation of the trials of the greater mysteries; and, although a faint one, the likeness is too apparent to be mistaken. It was anciently a religious rite, and the ceremony has outlived the principle that produced it.

Having got through the arch, the candidates are conducted once round the chapter, and directed to kneel at the altar to receive the obligation. The principal sojourner then thus addresses them:-Brethren, as you advance in masonry, your obligation becomes more binding. You are now kneeling at the altar for the seventh time, and about to take a solemn oath or obligation: if you are willing to proceed, say after me:

I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in presence of Almighty God, and this chapter of royal arch masons, erected to God, and dedicated to Zerubbabel, do hereby, etc. At the conclusion of the oath, the candi

dates kiss the book seven times.

Here the farce of dedication to St. John, which was originally intended as a sheer hoax upon the mystics of the minor degrees, is no longer continued. I shall hereafter endeavour to analyze the name of Zerubbabel. The candidates are now conducted once round the chapter, and directed to kneel; while the sojourner reads a prayer. (See Webb's Monitor, p. 134.)

After prayer, the principal sojourner says, " Companions, arise, and follow me.

"

He conducts them once round the chapter, during which time he reads from Exodus, iii, 1-6.

"Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of the bush; and he looked, and behold the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."

By the time this reading is ended, the candidates have arrived in front of a representation of the burning bush, placed in a corner of the chapter, when the principal sojourner directs them to halt, and slips up the bandage from their eyes.

A companion who performs this part of the scene, viz., personating Deity, steps behind the burning bush, and calls out vehemently, "Moses! Moses!!" The principal sojourner answers for the candidates, "Here am I."

The companion behind the bush exclaims still more vehemently, 'Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground. [Their shoes are now taken off.] I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'

The principal sojourner then directs them to kneel down and cover their faces, and says, ' And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.'

The principal sojourner then says to the candidates, Arise and fol low me,' and leads them three times round the chapter, during which time he reads from 2 Chron. c. 35-v. 11–20.

The terror in which the initiated into the ancient mysteries were thrown, by the counterfeiting of thunder, lightning, etc., is here imitated. This occurs after the words, "and brake down the wall of Jerusalem;" the companions then make a tremendous noise, by firing pistols, clashing swords, overturning chairs, rolling cannon balls across the floor, etc. The candidates being blindfolded, must of course be surprised and terrified at such a scene.

In the meantime, the candidates are thrown down, bound, and dragged out into the preparation room, and the door closed. On being

brought again into the chapter, they pass under the living arch. This is formed on one side of the hall or chapter; on the other side is what is called the rugged road, which is generally made of blocks of wood, old chairs, benches, etc. The conductor consoles the candidates, by observing, this is the way many great and good men have travelled before you; never deeming it derogatory to their dignity to level themselves with the fraternity. I have often travelled this road from Babylon to Jerusalem, and generally find it rough and rugged. However, I think I never saw it much smoother than it is at the present time.

By this time, the candidates have stumbled over the rugged road, and arrived again at the entrance of the living arch. The conductor says, companions there is a very difficult and dangerous pass ahead, which lies directly in our way. Before we attempt to pass it, we must kneel down and pray.

Sundry prayers and passages of scripture are recited before the rugged path is got rid of. There are clauses in one of them, which make it appear that it was originally addressed to the sun when in the lower hemisphere, imploring his return to the upper regions, as follows:

"Hear my prayer, O Lord! give ear to my supplications for the enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath made me to dwell in darkness. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. Hear me speedily, O Lord! my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust. Bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off my enemies; for I am thy servant."

The most appropriate prayer, as regards the mysteries of masonry, is, perhaps, that recorded by Dermott, which is used in the lodge of Jewish freemasons.

"O Lord, excellent art thou in thy truth, and there is nothing great in comparison to thee; for thine is the praise, from all the works of thy hands, for evermore.

"Enlighten us, we beseech thee, in the true knowledge of masonry; by the sorrows of Adam, thy first-made man; by the blood of Abel, the holy one; by the righteousness of Seth, in whom thou art well pleased; and by thy covenant with Noah, in whose architecture thou was pleased to save the seed of thy beloved; number us not among those that know not thy statutes, nor the divine mysteries of the secret Cabala.*

"But grant, we beseech thee, that the ruler of this lodge may be endued with knowledge and wisdom, to instruct us and explain his secret mysteries, as our holy brother Moses † did, in his lodge, to Aaron,

Cabal or Cabala is a secret science, professed by the Hebrew Rabbins, concerning the allegorical interpretation of the bible.-Edit.

In the preface to the Mishna, we find this tradition of the Jews, explained as follows:-God not only delivered the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, but the explanation of it likewise; when Moses came down from the mount and entered into his tent