ity of California tern Regional rary Facility Ages & Countries THE SECRET SOCIETIES OF ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES A Comprehensive Account of upwards of One Hundred and Sixty Secret Organisations Religious, Political, and Social from the most Remote Ages down to the Present Time Embracing the Mysteries of Ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, Early Christians, Heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and Inquisition, Mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Free- masons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, Nihilists, Fenians, French, Spanish, And other Mysterious Sects BY CHAELES WILLIAM HECKETHORN i i IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II NEW EDITION THOROUGHLY REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS VOL. II. The numbers preceding analytical leadings refer to the sections. PAGES AUTHORITIES CONSULTED xi BOOK XI FREEMASONRY I. THE LEGEND OF THE TEMPLE. 383. Ancestry of Hiram Abiff . 384. Hiram, Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba. 385. Murder of Hiram 3-7 II. ORIGIN AND TRADITIONS. 386. The First Masons. 387. Periods of Freemasonry. 388. Freemasonry derived from many Sources. 389. True History of Masonry 8-12 III. RITES AND CUSTOMS. 390. List of Rites. 391. Masonic Customs. 392. Masonic Alphabet I 3~ I 5 IV. THE LODGE. 393. Interior Arrangement of Lodge. 394. Modern Lodge. 395. Officers. 396. Opening the Lodge . . . 16-18 V. GENUINE AND SPURIOUS MASONRY. 397. Distinction between Genuine and Spurious Masonry. 398. Some Rites only deserve Special Mention ........... 19 VI. CEREMONIES OF INITIATION. 399. Ceremonies 'of Initiation The Apprentice. 400. Ceremonies of Initiation The Fellow - Graf t. 401. Ceremony of Initiation and Story of Hiram's Murder The Master Mason. 402. The Legend Explained. 403. The Raising of Osiris. 404. The Blazing Star 21-29 VII. THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH. 405. Officers. 406. Ceremonies. 407. Pass- ing the Veils 3O~33 VIII. GRAND MASTER ARCHITECT. 408. Ceremonial . . . 34-36 IX. GRAND ELECT KNIGHT OF KADOSH. 409. The Term Kadosh. 410. Reception into the Degree. 411. The Mysterious Ladder. 412. The Seven Steps 37~39 vi CONTENTS PAGES X. PRINCE OF ROSE-CROIX. 413. Distinct from Rosicrucian, and has various Names. 414. Officers and Lodges. 415. Reception in the First Apartment 416. Second Apartment. 417. Reception in the Third Apartment 40-43 XI. THE RITES OF MISRAIM AND MEMPHIS. 418. Anomalies of the Rite of Misraim. 419. Organisation. 420. History and Constitution. 421. Rites and Ceremonies. 422. Rite of Memphis .... 44-46 XII. MODERN KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 423. Origin. 424. Revival of the Order. 425. The Leviticon. 426. Ceremonies of Initiation . 47~5O XIII. FREEMASONRY IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 427. Freemasonry in England. 428. Freemasonry in Scotland. 429. Modern Free- masonry SI-S3 XIV. FREEMASONRY IN FRANCE. 430. Introduction into France. 431. Chevalier Ramsay. 432. Philosophical Rite. 433. The Duke de Chartres 54~56 XV. THE CHAPTER OP CLERMONT AND THE STRICT OBSERVANCE. 434. Jesuitical Influence. 435. The Strict Observance ... 57, 58 XVI. THE RELAXED OBSERVANCE. 436. Organisation of Relaxed Obser- vance. 437. Disputes in German Lodges. 438. Rite of Zinzendorf. 439. African Architects ........ 59~6o XVII. THE CONGRESS OF WILHELMSBAD. 440. Various Congresses. 441. Discussions at Wilhelmsbad. 442. Result of Convention. 443. Frederick William III. and the Masons 61-63 XVIII. MASONRY AND NAPOLEONISM. w\. Masonry protected by Napoleon. 445. Spread of Freemasonry. 446. The Clover Leaves. 447. Obse- quiousness of Freemasonry. 448. Anti-Napoleonic Freemasonry 64-67 XIX. FREEMASONRY, THE RESTORATION AND THE SECOND EMPIRE. 449. The Society of "France Regenerated." 450. Priestly Opposition to Masonry. 451. Political Insignificance of Masonry. 452. Free- masonry and Napoleon IIL 453. Jesuitical Manoeuvres . . 68-7 1 XX. FREEMASONRY IN ITALY. 454. Whimsical Masonic Societies. 455. Illuminati in Italy. 456. Freemasonry at Naples. 457. Details of Document. 458. Freemasonry at Venice. 459. Abatement under Napoleon. 460. The Freemasonry of the Present in Italy. 461. Re- form needed 72-77 XXI. CAGLIOSTRO AND EGYPTIAN MASONRY. 462. Life of Cagliostro. 463. The Egyptian Rite. 464. Cagliostro's Hydromancy. 465. Lodges founded by Cagliostro 78-81 XXII. ADOPTIVE MASONRY. 466. Historical Notice. 467. Organisation. 468. Jesuit Degrees 82, 83 XXIII. ANDROGYNOUS MASONRY. 469. Origin and Tendency. 470. Earliest Androgynous Societies. 471. Other Androgynous Societies. 472. Various other Androgynous Societies. 473. Knights and Nymphs of the Rose. 474. German Order of the Rose. 475. Pretended Objects of the Order. 476. Order of Harmony. 477. Mason's Daughter 84-90 CONTENTS vii PACKS XXIV. SCHISMATIC RITES AND SECTS. 478. Schismatic Rites and Sects. 479. Farmassoni. 480. The Gormogones. 481. The Noachites, or Noachidae. 482. Argonauts. 483. The Grand Orient and Atheism. 484. Ludicrous Degree 91-95 XXV. DIFFUSION OF THE ORDER. 485. Freemasonry in Spain and Portugal. 486. Freemasonry in Russia. 487. Freemasonry in Switzer- land. 488. Freemasonry in Sweden and Poland. 489. Freemasonry in Holland and Germany. 490. Freemasonry in Turkey, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. 491. Freemasonry in America .... 96-99 XXVI. PERSECUTIONS OF FREEMASONRY. 492. Causes of Persecution. 493. Instances of Persecution. 494. Anti-Masonic Publications 100-105 XXVII. FUTILITY OF MODERN FREEMASONRY. 495. Vain Pretensions of Modern Freemasonry. 496. Vanity of Masonic Ceremonial. 497. Masonry diffuses no Knowledge. 498. Decay of Freemasonry. 499. Masonic Opinions of Masonry. 500. Masonic Literature. 5OO. The Quatuor Coronati Lodge 106-110 BOOK XII INTERNATIONAL, COMMUNE, AND ANARCHISTS 501. Introductory Remarks. 502. Socialistic Schemes. 503. History of the International. 504. Objects and Aims of International. 55- The International in England. 506. The International Abroad. 507. The International and the Empire. 508. The International and the War. 509. The International and the Commune. 510. Budget of the International. 511. Attempt to Revive the International. 512. Anarchists . . . . . . . . . . 111-127 BOOK XIII POLITICAL SECRET SOCIETIES I. CHINESE SOCIETIES. 513. Earliest Secret Chinese Societies. 514. More recent Societies. 515. Lodges. 516. Government. 517. Seal of the Hung League. 518. The Ko lao Hui 128-138 II. The COMUNEROS. 519. Introductory Remarks. 520. Earliest Secret Societies in Spain. 521. Freemasonry in Spain, the Forerunner of the Comuneros. 522. The Comuneros. 523. Clerical Societies . 139-142 III. THE HETAIRIA. 524. Origin. 525. The Hetairia of 1812. 526. The Hetairia of 1814. 527. Signs and Passwords. 528. Short Career of Galatis. 529. Proceedings of the Grand Arch. 530. Ipsilanti's Pro- ceedings. 531. Ipsilanti's Blunders. 532. Progress of the Insurrection. 533. Ipsilanti's Approaching Fall. 534. Advance of the Turks. 535. Ipsilanti's Difficulties. 536. Ipsilanti's Fall. 537. Ipsilanti's Manifesto. 538. Ipsilanti's Imprisonment and Death. 539. Fate of the Hetairists. 540. Georgakis' Death. 541. Farmakis' Death. 542. Final Success of the Hetairia 143-156 viii CONTENTS IV. THE CARBONARI. 543. History of the Association. 544. Real Origin of the Carboneria. 545. The Vendita or Lodge. 546. Ritual of Initiation. 547. First Degree. 548. The Second Degree. 549. The Degree of Grand Elect. 550. Degree of Grand Master Grand Elect. 551. Sig- nification of the Symbols. 55 2 - Other Ceremonies and Regulations. 553. The Ausonian Republic. 554. Most Secret Carbonaro Degree. 555. De Witt, Biographical Notice of. 556. Carbonaro Charter pro- posed to England. 557. Carbonarism and Murat. 558. Trial of Carbonari. 559. Carbonarism and the Bourbons. 560. The King's Revenge. 561. Revival of Carbonarism. 562. Carbonarism and the Church. 563. Carbonarism in Northern Italy. 564. Carbonarism in France. 565. Carbonarism in Germany. 566. Carbonarism in Spain. 567. Giardiniere .......... 157-177 V. MISCELLANEOUS ITALIAN SOCIETIES. 568. Guelphic Knights. 569. Guelphs and Carbonari. 570. The Latini. 571. The Centres. 572. Italian Litterateurs. 573. Societies in Calabria and the Abruzzi. 574. Giro Annichiarico. 575. Certificates of the Decisi. 576. The Calderari. 577. The Independents. 578. The Delphic Priesthood. 579. Egyptian Lodges. 580. American Hunters. 581. Secret Italian Society in London. 582. Secret Italian Societies in Paris. 583. Mazzini and Young Italy. 584. Mazzini, the Evil Genius of Italy. 585. Assassi- nation of Rossi. 586. Sicilian Societies. 587. The Consistorials. 588. The Roman Catholic Apostolic Congregation. 589. Sanfedisti . 178-195 VI. NAPOLEONIC AND ANTI - NAPOLEONIC SOCIETIES. 590. The Phila- delphians. 591. The Rays. 592. Secret League in Tirol. 593. Societies in Favour of Napoleon. 594. The Illuminati. 595. Various other Societies. 596. The Accoltellatori 196-201 VII. FRENCH SOCIETIES. 597. Various Societies after the Restoration. 598. The Acting Company. 599. Communistic Societies. 600. Causes of Secret Societies in France 202-206 VIII. POLISH SOCIETIES. 60 1. Polish Patriotism. 602. Various Revolu- tionary Sects. 603. Secret National Government . . . 207-209 IX. THE OMLADINA. 604. The Panslavists ' 210,211 X. TURKISH SOCIETIES. 605. Young Turkey. 606. Armenian Society 212,213 XI. THE UNION OF SAFETY. 607. Historical Sketch of the Society . 214-216 XII. THE NIHILISTS. 608. Meaning of the term Nihilist. 609. Founders of Nihilism. 610. Sergei Nechayetf. 6ll. Going among the People. 612. Nihilism becomes Aggressive. 613. Sophia Bardina's and other Trials. 614. The Party of Terror. 615. Vera Zassulic. 6 1 6. Officials Killed or Threatened by the Nihilists. 617. First Attempts against the Emperor's Life. 6 1 8. Numerous Executions. 619. The Moscow Attempt against the Emperor. 620. Various Nihilist Trials. 621. Explosion in the Winter Palace. 622. Assassination of the Emperor. 623. The Mine in Garden Street. 624. Constitution said to have been Granted by late Emperor. 625. The Nihilist Proclamation. 626. The Emperor's Reply thereto. 627. Attempt against General Tcherevin. 628. Trials and other Events in 1882. 629. Coronation, and Causes of Nihilistic CONTENTS ix PAOE8 Inactivity. 630. Colonel Sudeikin shot by Nihilists. 631. Attempt against the Emperor at Gatshina. 632. Trial of the Fourteen. 633. Reconstruction of the Nihilist Party. 634. Extension of Nihilism. 635. Decline of Nihilism. 636. Nihilistic Proceedings in 1887. 637. Nihilism in 1888. 638. Slaughter of Siberian Exiles, and Hunger- Strikes. 639. Occurrences in 1890. 640. Occurrences from 1891 to Present Date. 641. Nihilistic Finances. 642. The Secret Press. 643. Nihilistic Measures of Safety. 644. The Nihilists in Prison. 645. Nihilistic Emigrants. 646. Nihilistic Literature. 647. Trials of Nihilists 217-256 XIII. GERMAN SOCIETIES. 648. The Mosel Club. 649. German Feeling against Napoleon. 650. Formation and Scope of Tugendbund. 651. Divisions among Members of Tugendbund. 652. Activity of the Tugendbund. 653. Hostility of Governments against Tugendbund 257-262 XIV. THE BABIS. 654. Bab, the Founder. 655. Progress of Babism. 656. Babi Doctrine. 657. Recent History of Babism . . . 263-269 XV. IRISH SOCIETIES. 658. The White-Boys. 659. Right-Boys and Oak- Boys. 660. Hearts-of-Steel, Threshers, Break-of-Day-Boy.s, Defenders, United Irishmen, Ribbonmen. 661. Saint Patrick Boys. 662. The Orangemen. 663. Molly Maguires. 664. Ancient Order of Hibernians. 665. Origin and Organisation of Fenianism. 666. Origin of Name. 667. Fenian Litany. 668. Events from 1865 to 1871. 669. The Soi- disant General Cluseret. 670. Phosnix Park Murders, and Conse- quences. 671. Dynamite Outrages. 672. The National League. 673. Comic Aspects of Fenianism. 674. Events from 1888 to 1896. 675. Most Recent Revelations ........ 270-287 BOOK XIV MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 676. The ABC Friends. 677. Abelites. 678. Academy of the Ancients. 679. Almusseri. 680. Anonymous Society. 68 1. Anti-Masonic Party. 682. Anti-Masons. 683. Apocalypse, Knights of the. 684. Areoiti. 685. Avengers, or Vendicatori. 686. Belly Paaro. 687. Californian Society. 688. Cambridge Secret Society. 689. Charlottenburg, Order of. 690. Church Masons. 691. Congourde, The. 692. Druids, Modern. 693. Duk-Duk. 694. Egbo Society. 695. Fraticelli. 696. Goats, The. 697. Grand Army of the Republic. 698. Green Island. 699. Harugari. 700. Hemp-smokers, African. 701. Heroine of Jericho. 702. Human Leopards. 703. Hunters, the. 704. Husdanawer. 705. Indian (North American) Societies. 706. Invisibles, the. 707. Jehu, Society of. 708. Karpokratians. 709. Klobbergoll. 710. Knights, the Order of. 711. Know-Nothings. 712. Ku-Klux-Klan. 713. Kurnai Initiation. 714. Liberty, Knights of. 715. Lion, Knights of the. 716. Lion, the Sleeping. 717. Ludlam's Cave. 718. Mad Councillors. 719. Magi, Order of the. 720. Mahttrajas. 721. Mano Negra. 722. CONTENTS PAGES Melanesian Societies. 723. Mumbo - Jumbo. 724. Odd Fellows. 725. O-Kee-Pa. 726. Pantheists. 727. Patriotic Order Sons of America. 728. Phi-Beta-Kappa. 729. Pilgrims. 730. Police, Secret. 731. Portuguese Societies. 732. Purrah, the. 733. Pythias, Knights of. 734. Rebeccaites. 735. Redemption, Order of. 736. Red Men. 737. Regeneration, Society of Universal. 738. Saltpetrers. 739. Sikh Fanatics. 740. Silver Circle, Knights of the. 741. Sonderbare Gesellen. 742. Sophisiens. 743. Star of Bethlehem. 744. Thirteen, the. 745. Tobaccological Society. 746. Turf, Society of the. 747. Utopia. 748. Wahabees 288-326 ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA VOL I. Page 36 Buddha's Image ; Work on Buddhist Religion ; Budda's Birth- place recently discovered ....... 3 2 7 Page 45 Temple of Hathor 327 Page 142 Family of Waldo 328 Page 1 68 Vehm, Lindner's work on the ....... 328 Page 169 Beati Paoli John of Parma 328 Page 198 Astrological Society in London 328 Page 230 Master Pianco and the Rosicrucians 329 Page 231 Asiatic Brethren and their Custodian of Archives . . . 329 Page 258 Meaning of term Garduna ........ 329 Page 270 The Camorra, Laws against the 329 Page 273 The Camorra, Grant's " Stories of Naples and the Camorra" . 330 Page 315 The German Union : Bahrdtand his mysterious correspondents 330 VOL. II. Page 60 African Architects and their sections ...... 330 Page 132 Tae-ping-wang, the Chinese Artista 331 Page 139 Europe after the Congress of Vienna 331 Page 159 The Carbonari: the author of "The Memoirs of the Secret Societies of the South of Italy, particularly the Carbonari " . 33 1 Page 207 Polish Patriotism : Courriere's opinion thereof . . . -331 Page 259 Baron von Stein on the Tugendbund and secret societies Baron von Stein, Privy Councillor to the Count Palatine of Cologne 332 Page 260 The Tugendbund and the German rising 332 Page 278 Fenians : O'Leary's " Recollections of Fenians and Fenianism " 333 Page 299 Human Leopards ; why so called many secret societies on West coast of Africa 333 Page 301 Indian (North American) Societies : the legend of Manabozko and Chibiabos 333 AUTHORITIES CONSULTED N.B. The books to the titles of which an * is prefixed are in the author's aim library. CARBONARI. *WRIGHTSON, R. H. History of Modern Italy. London, 1855. *CANTU, C. II Conciliatore e i Carbonari. Milano, 1878. *Memoirs of the Secret Societies of the South of Italy, particularly the Carbonari. London, 1821. SAINT-EDME. Constitution des Carbonari. Paris, 1821. *DE WITT. Les Societes secretes de France et d'ltalie. Paris, 1830. ORLOFF. Memoires sur le royaume de Naples. COLLETTA. Storia del reame di Napoli. LE BLANC. L'Histoire de Dix Ans. GROS. De Didier et autres conspirateurs sous la Restauration. Paris, 1841. *SANTINI, L. Cenno Storico sull' Origine della Carboneria e suoi fasti nelle provincie Napoletane. MS. 1881. (This work was specially written for "Secret Societies" by an Italian gentleman well acquainted with the subject.) *CRAVEN, Hon. R. K. A Tour through the Southern Provinces of Naples. 4to. Plates. London, 1821. *PE>E~, G. Relation des Fjvenements Politiques et Militaires a Naples en 1820 et 1821. Paris, 1822. FREEMASONS. *BARRUELL, Abbe. The History of Jacobinism. Translated from the French. Four vols. London, 1797. BAZOT. Tableau historique, philosophique, et moral de la Magonnerie en France. BEDARRIDE. De 1'Ordre magonnique de Misraim. Paris, 1845. Vie de Joseph Balsamo. Paris, 1791. Memoires authentiques pour servir a 1'Histoire de Cagliostro. Stras- burg, 1786. *CARLILE. Manual of Freemasonry. London, 1845. CLAVEL, G. L. B. Histoire Pittoresque de la Franc-Maonnerie. Paris, 1844. xii AUTHORITIES CONSULTED DE LA TIERCE. Histoire des Francs-Masons. 1745. DERMOTT. The Ahiman Rezon. *ECKERT, E. E. Verurtheilung des Freimaurer-Ordens. Three vols. Schaffhausen, 1863. EYBERT. Les Martyrs de la Franc- Maonnerie en Espa^ne. Paris, 1854. *FELLOWS. Mysteries of Freemasonry. London, 1860. *FINDEL, J. G. History of Freemasonry. With Preface by D. Murray Lyon. London, 1871. *Fox, THOS. L. Freemasonry. Account of Early History of Free- masonry in England. London, 1870. *Freemasons' Quarterly Review. London. *Freemasonry, Ritual of, including Account of Murder of William Morgan. By a Traveller in the United States. Engravings. Devon, 1835. HUTCHINSON. Spirit of Freemasonry. HELDMANN. Les trois plus anciens Monuments de la Confraternity maconnique allemande. Le Monde Maconnique (periodical publication). 1859-79. Procedures de Hnquisition de Portugal contre les Francs- M aeons. 1740. JUGE. Le Globe ; Archives genurales des Societ^s secretes, non poli- tiques. Paris. LENNING. Encyclopaedic der Freimaurerei. LENOIR. La Franc-Maconnerie rendue & sa veritable Origine. LINDNER, W. Mac-Benach. Leipsic, 1819. *MACKEY. Lexicon of Freemasonry. London, 1867. *Fatti ed Argomenti intorno alia Massoneria. Geneva, 1862. Masonry the same all over the World. Boston, 1 830. *0rigine de la Maconnerie Adonhiramite. ITelyopolis, 1787. MOUNTER. De 1'Influence attribuee aux Philosophes, aux Francs- Macons et aux Illumines sur la Revolution de France. Paris, 1801. Les plus secrets Mysteres de la Franc- Maconnerie. Jerusalem (Paris), '774- *OLIVER. History of Initiations. London, 1841. Theocratic Philosophy of Freemasonry. London, 1840. Programma Massonico adottato dalla Massoneria Italiana Ricostituta. 1863. *RAGON. Cours philosophique des Initiations anciennes et modernes. Paris, 1841. Manuel Complet de la Ma9onnerie des Dames. Paris, 1860. *RAGON, J. M. La Francmaconnerie. Paris, N.D. *WEISSE, J. A. The Obelisk of Freemasonry, according to the Dis- coveries of Belzoni. Plates. New York, 1 880. *WADZEK, F. Leben und Schicksale von F. M. Grossinger. Frank- furt, 1789. ^Francs-Masons, L'Ordre des, trahi et le Secret des Mopses re veld- Plates. Amsterdam, 1745. AUTHORITIES CONSULTED xiii *Sarsena oder cler Vollkommene Baumeister. Leipzig, 1860. *Warfare of Freemasonry against Church and State, The Secret. Trans- lated from the German. London, 1875. *ZSCHOKKE, H. Gesammelte Schriften. Thirty-six vols. Aarau, 1850. *ROBISON, J. Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe. Second edition. London, 1 797. *SAINT-FELIX. Aventures de Cagliostro. Paris, 1854. SAINT- VICTOR. La Vraie Maonnerie d'Adoption. London, 1779. The Secrets of Freemasonry Revealed. London, 1759. A Master-Key to Freemasonry. London, 1760. *SPRATT, E. Constitutions for the Use of the Grand Lodges in Ireland. Dublin, 1751. VERNHES. Defense de 1'Ordre de Misraim. DE WIDEKIND. Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Deutschland. OFFEQ, A. Der Hammer der Freimaurerei am Kaiserthrone der Habs- burger. Amberg und Leipzig, 1880. *DALEN, C. VAN. Kalender fiir Freimaurer auf das Jahr 1894. Leipzig, 1894. *RHODOCANAKIS, Prince. The Imperial Constantinian Order of St. George. 4to. London, 1870. INTERNATIONAL AND COMMUNE. Contemporary journalism of various countries. MAZZINI. Scritti editi e inediti. Milan, 1861-3. Histoire de 1'Internationale. Par Jacques Populus. Paris, 1871. *La Fin du Bonapartisme. Par E. de Pompery. Paris, 1872. *La Comune di Parigi nel 1871. Per J. Cantu. Milano, 1873. *WRIGHTSON, R. H. History of Modern Italy. London, 1855. *BARONI, C. I Lombardi nelle Guerre Italiane, 1848-9. Torino, 1856. *VILLETARD, E. Histoire de 1' Internationale. Paris, 1872. *YORKE, 0. Secret History of the International. London, 1872. IRISH SOCIETIES. ^Incipient Irish Revolution : an Expose of Fenianism of To-day. London, 1889. *WATERS, THOS. The Ribbonman ; or, The Secret Tribunal. Glas- gow, N.D. *MOORE, THOS. Life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. "Speeches from the Dock ; or, Protests of Irish Patriotism. Contemporary Journalism. RUTHERFORD, JOHN. The Secret History of the Fenian Conspiracy. London, 1877. xiv AUTHORITIES CONSULTED *FROST, THOS. The Secret Societies of the European Bevolution. Two vols. London, 1876. *LE CARON, H. Twenty-five Years in the Secret Service. London, 1892. *HOPKINS, T. Kilmainham Memories. The Story of the Greatest Political Crime of the Century. London, 1896. *DOWSETT, C. F. Striking Events in Irish History. London, 1890. MISCELLANEOUS. *BLAGDON, F. W. Geography of Africa. Maps and plates. London. Der Abelit. 4to. Leipzig, 1746. Zuverliissige Nachrichten iiber Schonherrs Leben. Konigsberg, 1839. (Mucker.) SCHOOLCRAFT, H. R. History of the Iroquois. New York, 1846. Algic Researches. New York, 1 839. *BELL, H. J. Obeah : Witchcraft in the West Indies. London, 1893. BATEMAN, C. S. LATROBE. First Ascent of the Kasai ; being some Records of Service under the Lone Star. London, 1889. *ROVANI, GIUSEPPE. Cento Anni. Two vols. Milano, 1889. WAKE, C. S. Memoirs of International Congress of Anthropology. Chicago, 1894. ROTH, H. L. Aborigines of Tasmania. London, 1890. Aborigines of Hispaniola. London, 1887. MORGAN, L. H. League of Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois. Rochester (New York), 1851. DINAUX, A. M. Les Societe*s Badines. Two vols. Paris, 1867. KINGSLEY, MARY H. Travels in West Africa. London, 1897. HENNE AM RHYN, OTTO. Das Buch der Mysterien. Leipzig, 1891. POLITICAL. *BRUCK, H. Geheime Gesellschaften in Spanien. Mainz, 1881. *BARRUELL, Abbe\ The History of Jacobinism. Translated from the French. Four vols. London, 1797. *BLACKETT, H. Garibaldi : His Life and Times. Illustrated. London, 1882. *BONNEMERE, E. Histoire de la Jacquerie. Paris, N.D. ""Contemporary Journalism. *CANTU, J. L'Incendio di Parigi nel 1871. Milano, 1873. Lemon- nier, A. Histoire de la Revolution de Paris. Two vols. Bor- deaux, 1871. *CARRANA, T. Delia Difesa di Venezia. Genova, 1850. *CAUSSIDIERE. Memoirs of Citizen ; or, Secret History of the Revolu- tion of 1848. Two vols. London, 1848. *GOLOVINE, IVAN. L'Europe Rdvolutionnaire. Paris, 1849. AUTHORITIES CONSULTED xv *GARIBALDI, G. Autobiography. Translated by A. Werner. Three vols. London, 1889. *HODDE, L. de la. Geschichte der Geheimen Gesellschaften und der republikanischen Partei in Frankreich von 1830-1848. Aus dem Franzosischen. Basel, 1851. *HORNER, S. A Century of Despotism in Naples and Sicily. Edin- burgh, 1840. *LAMMOXIER, A. La Revolution de Paris. Bordeaux, 1871. * MAYERS, Rev. M. J. Note-Book of the late Civil War in Switzerland (Sonderbund War). London and Zurich, 1848. ^Monthly Magazine and British Register. Fifty-seven vols. From February 1796 to July 1824. London. *PLAYFAIR, WILLIAM. History of Jacobinism. London, 1795. *DUMAS, A. Les Garibaldiens. Paris, 1868. *BEAUJIONT-VASSY, Vicomte de. Histoire des Etats Italiens depuis le Congres de Vienne. Bruxelles, 1851. *ROCCA. Memoirs of the War of the French in Spain. Translated by M. Graham. London, 1815. *Proces centre Demerville et autres prevenus de conspiration contre Bonaparte. Paris, au IX. *D'ARLINCOURT, Vte. de. L'ltalie Rouge. Paris, 1850. *BARONI, C. I Lombardi nelle Guerre Italiane, 1848-9. Torino, 1856. *Secret Societies of the Army for the Destruction of the Government of Bonaparte. London, 1815. *Sejour d'un Officier Franais en Calabre. Paris, 1 820. *Die Geheimen Deutschen Verbindungen in der Schweiz seit 1833. Basel, 1847. *MULLER, E. D. Politica Segreta Italiana. Torino, 1880. SCHLEGEL, G. Thian ti Hwin (the Hung League). 4to. 1866. DOOLITTLE. Social Life of Chinese. London, 1869. *W ALTON, W. The Revolutions in Spain. Two vols. London, 1837. *SANTA-ROSA. La Re volution Piemontaise en 1821. Paris, 1822. NIEBUHR, B. G. Ueber Geheime Verbindungen im preussischen Staat. Berlin, 1815. *BROWNE, E. G. A Traveller's Narrative to illustrate the Episode of the Bab. Cambridge, 1891. SELL, E. The Bab and the Babis. Madras, 1895. GOBINEAU, J. A. de. Les Religions et les Philosophies dans 1'Asie Centrale. Paris, 1865. "Parliamentary Paper: Further Correspondence respecting Anti- Foreign Riots in China. March, 1 892. Fol. *Revue Retrospective, ou Archives Secretes du Dernier Gouvernement [de France], 1830-1848. 4to. Paris, 1848. *TEDESCHI, C. I Milanesi a Venafro. Milano, 1861. *BARTHOLDY, K. M. Geschichte Griechenlands. Two vols. Leipzig, 1874- *KEIL, R. Die Griindung der deutschen Burschenschaft in Jena. Jena, 1883. xvi AUTHORITIES CONSULTED *STREITER, J. Studien eines Tirolers. Leipzig, 1862. BARTHOLDY, J. L. S. Der Krieg der Tyroler Landleute. Berlin, 1814. ILSE, L. F. Geschichte der politischen Untersuchungen von 1819-27 und von 1833-42. Frankfurt, 1860. Rossi, P. La Morte del Ministro Rossi. Roma, 1848. SCHOOLCRAFT, H. R. Notes on the Iroquois. Albany, 1847. CODRINGTON, R. H. The Melanesians. Oxford, 1891. FERRERO BELLA MARINORA. Un poco piii di Luce. Firenze, 1873. THOMSON, J. The Straits of Malacca. London, 1875. *BAUR, W. Das Leben des Freiherrn vom Stein. Berlin, 1891. RUSSIAN POLITICAL SOCIETIES. *Duc, L. de. La Russie Contemporaine. Paris, 1854. *LAVIGNE, E. L'Histoire du Nihilisme Russe. Paris, 1880. ^Revelations of Russia in 1 846. Two vols. Plates. London, 1846. *Ru'ssie. Memoires Secrets sur la Russie sur la Fin du Regne de Catherine II. et sur Celui de Paul I. Four vols. Paris, 1804. MICHALOF, G. Die Geheime Werkstatte der Polnischen Erhebung von 1830, mit Streiflichtern auf Russland und Frankreich. Leipzig, 1877- *SCHNITZLEK, J. H. Histoire Intime de la Russie sous Alexandre et Nicolas. Two vols. Paris, 1847. *SCHERR, JOH. Die Nihilisten. Leipzig, 1885. *STEPNIAK. La Russia Sotterranea. Milano, 1882. * Underground Russia. Translated from the Italian. London, 1883. *THUN, A. Geschichte der Revolutionaeren Bewegungen in Russland. Leipzig, 1883. *Deutsche Rundschau, Geheime Denkschrift iiber die Nihilistischen Umtriebe vom Jahre 1875. June 1 88 1. *Unsere Zeit, 7^ Heft, 1886. Russlands innere Zustande : Der Nihil- ismus und die Reformen. ""Contemporary Journalism. *Century, January 1888. Russian Provincial Prisons. * February 1888. Russian Political Prisons. ^ BOOK XI FREEMASONRY VOL. II. SECRET SOCIETIES FREEMASONRY THE LEGEND OF THE TEMPLE 383. Ancestry of Hiram Abiff. Solomon having deter- mined on the erection of the temple, collected artificers, divided them into companies, and put them under the com- mand of Adoniram or Hiram Abiff, the architect sent to him by his friend and ally Hiram, king of Tyre. According to mythical tradition, the ancestry of the builders of the mystical temple was as follows : One of the Elohim, or primitive genii, married Eve and had a son called Cain ( 1 20) ; whilst Jehovah or Adonai, another of the Elohim, created Adam and united him with Eve to bring forth the family of Abel, to whom were subjected the sons of Cain, as a punishment for the transgression of Eve. Cain, though industriously cultivat- ing the soil, yet derived little produce from it, whilst Abel leisurely tended his flocks. Adonai rejected the gifts and sacrifices of Cain, and stirred up strife between the sons of the Elohim, generated out of fire, and the sons formed out of the earth only. Cain killed Abel, and Adonai, pursuing his sons, subjected to the sons of Abel the noble family that in- vented the arts and diffused science. 1 Enoch, a son of Cain, taught men to hew stones, construct edifices, and form civil ;societies. Irad and Mehujael, his son and grandson, set boundaries to the waters and fashioned cedars into beams. Methusael, another of his descendants, invented the sacred characters, the books of Tau and the symbolic T, by which the workers descended from the genii of fire recognised each other. Lamech, whose prophecies are inexplicable to the 1 In the Purdnas the ingenuity of the descendants of Cain, and the degree of perfection to which they carried the arts of civil life, are highly extolled. 4 SECRET SOCIETIES profane, was the father of Jabal, who first taught men how to dress camels' skins ; of Jubal, who discovered the harp ; of Naamah, who discovered the arts of spinning and weaving ; of Tubal-Cain, who first constructed a furnace, worked in metals, and dug subterranean caves in the mountains to save his race during the Deluge ; but it perished nevertheless, and only Tubal-Cain and his son, the sole survivors of the glorious and gigantic family, came out alive. The wife of Ham, second son of Noah, thought the son of Tubal-Cain hand- somer than the sons of men, and he became progenitor of Nimrod, who taught his brethren the art of hunting, and founded Babylon. Adoniram, the descendant of Tubal- Cain, seemed called by God to lead the militia of the free men, connecting the sons of fire with the sons of thought, progress, and truth. 384. Hiram, Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba. By Hiram was erected a marvellous building, the Temple of Solomon. He raised the golden throne of Solomon, most beautifully wrought, and built many other glorious edifices. But, melancholy amidst all his greatness, he lived alone, under- stood and loved by few, hated by many, and among others, by Solomon, envious of his genius and glory. Now the fame of the wisdom of Solomon spread to the remotest ends of the earth ; and Balkis, the Queen of Sheba, came to Jeru- salem to greet the great king and behold the marvels of his reign. She found Solomon seated on a throne of gilt cedar wood, arrayed in cloth of gold, so that at first she seemed to behold a statue of gold with hands of ivory. Solomon received her with every kind of festive preparation, and led her to behold his palace and then the grand works of the temple, and the queen was lost in admiration. The king was captivated by her beauty, and in a short time offered her his hand, which the queen, pleased at having conquered this proud heart, accepted. But on again visiting the temple, she repeatedly desired to see the architect who had wrought such wondrous things. Solomon delayed as long as possible presenting Hiram Abiff to the queen, but at last he was obliged to do so. The mysterious artificer was brought before her, and cast on the queen a look that penetrated her very heart. Having recovered her composure, she questioned and defended him against the ill-will and rising jealousy of the king. When she wished to see the countless host of workmen that wrought at the temple, Solomon protested the impossibility of assembling them all at once ; but Hiram, leaping on a stone to be better seen, with his right hand THE LEGEND OF THE TEMPLE 5 described in the air the symbolical Tau, and immediately the men hastened from all parts of the works into the presence of their master. At this the queen wondered greatly, and secretly repented of the promise she had given the king, for she felt herself in love with the mighty architect. Solomon set himself to destroy this affection, and to prepare his rival's humiliation and ruin. For this purpose he em- ployed three fellow-crafts, envious of Hiram, because he had refused to raise them to the degree of masters on account of their want of knowledge and their idleness. They were Fanor, a Syrian and a mason ; Amru, a Phoenician and a carpenter ; and Metusael, a Hebrew and a miner. The black envy of these three projected that the casting of the brazen sea, which was to raise the glory of Hiram to its utmost height, should turn out a failure. A young work- man, Benoni, discovered the plot and revealed it to Solomon, thinking that sufficient. The day for the casting arrived, and Balkis was present. The doors that restrained the molten metal were opened, and torrents of liquid fire poured into the vast mould wherein the brazen sea was to assume its form. But the burning mass ran over the edges of the mould, and flowed like lava over the adjacent places. The terrified crowd fled from the advancing stream of fire. Hiram, calm, like a god, endeavoured to arrest its advance with ponderous columns of water, but without success. The water and the fire mixed, and the struggle was terrible ; the water rose in dense steam and fell down in the shape of fiery rain, spreading terror and death. The dishonoured artificer needed the sympathy of a faithful heart ; he sought Benoni, but in vain ; the proud youth perished in endeavour- ing to prevent the horrible catastrophe when he found that Solomon had done nothing to hinder it. Hiram could not withdraw himself from the scene of his discomfiture. Oppressed with grief, he heeded not the danger, he remembered not that this ocean of fire might speedily engulph him ; he thought of the Queen of Sheba, who came to admire and congratulate him on a great triumph, and who saw nothing but a terrible disaster. Suddenly he heard a strange voice coming from above, and crying, " Hiram, Hiram, Hiram ! " He raised his eyes and beheld a gigantic human figure. The apparition continued, " Come, my son, be without fear, I have rendered thee incombustible ; cast thyself into the flames." Hiram threw himself into the furnace, and where others would have found death, he tasted ineffable delights ; nor could he, drawn by an irresistible 6 SECRET SOCIETIES force, leave it, and asked him that drew him into the abyss, " Whither do you take me ? " " Into the centre of the earth, into the soul of the world, into the kingdom of great Cain, where liberty reigns with him. There the tyrannous envy of Adonai ceases ; there can we, despising his anger, taste the fruit of the tree of knowledge ; there is the home of thy fathers." " Who then am I, and who art thou ? " " I am the father of thy fathers, I am the son of Lamech, I am Tubal-Cain." Tubal-Cain introduced Hiram into the sanctuary of fire, where he expounded to him the weakness of Adonai and the base passions of that god, the enemy of his own creature whom he condemned to the inexorable law of death, to avenge the benefits the genii of fire had bestowed on him. Hiram was led into the presence of the author of his race, Cain. The angel of light that begat Cain was reflected in the beauty of this son of love, whose noble and generous mind roused the envy of Adonai. Cain related to Hiram his experiences, sufferings, and misfortunes, brought upon him by the implacable Adonai. Presently he heard the voice of him who was the offspring of Tubal-Cain and his sister Naam ah : "A son shall be born unto thee whom thou shalt indeed not see, but whose nume- rous descendants shall perpetuate thy race, which, superior to that of Adam, shall acquire the empire of the world ; for many centuries they shall consecrate their courage and genius to the service of the ever-ungrateful race of Adam, but at last the best shall become the strongest, and restore on the earth the worship of fire. Thy sons, invincible in thy name, shall destroy the power of kings, the ministers of the Adonais' tyranny. Go, my son, the genii of fire are with thee ! " Hiram was restored to the earth. Tubal-Cain before quitting him gave him the hammer with which he himself had wrought great things, and said to him : " Thanks to this hammer and the help of the genii of fire, thou shalt speedily accomplish the work left unfinished through man's stupidity and malig- nity." Hiram did not hesitate to test the wonderful efficacy of the precious instrument, and the dawn saw the great mass of bronze cast. The artist felt the most lively joy, the queen exulted. The people came running up, astounded at this secret power which in one night had repaired every- thing. 385. Murder of Hiram. One day the queen, accompanied by her maids, went beyond Jerusalem, and there encountered Hiram, alone and thoughtful. The encounter was decisive, they mutually confessed their love. Had-Had, the bird who THE LEGEND OF THE TEMPLE 7 filled with the queen the office of messenger of the genii of fire, seeing Hiram in the air make the sign of the mystic T, flew around his head and settled on his wrist. At this Sarahil, the nurse of the queen, exclaimed : " The oracle is fulfilled. Had-Had recognises the husband which the genii of fire destined for Balkis, whose love alone she dare accept ! " They hesitated no longer, but mutually pledged their vows, and deliberated how Balkis could retract the promise given to the king. Hiram was to be the first to quit Jerusalem ; the queen, impatient to rejoin him in Arabia, was to elude the vigilance of the king, which she accomplished by with- drawing from his finger, while he was overcome with wine, the ring wherewith she had plighted her troth to him. Solomon hinted to the fellow-crafts that the removal of his rival, who refused to give them the master's word, would be acceptable unto himself; so when the architect came into the temple he was assailed and slain by them. Before his death, however, he had time to throw the golden triangle which he wore round his neck, and on which was engraven the master's word, into a deep well. They wrapped up his body, carried it to a solitary hill and buried it, planting over the grave a sprig of acacia. Hiram not having made his appearance for seven days, Solomon, against his inclination, but to satisfy the clamour of the people, was forced to have him searched for. The body was found by three masters, and they, suspecting that he had been slain by the three fellow-crafts for refusing them the master's word, determined nevertheless for greater security to change the word, and that the first word acci- dentally uttered on raising the body should thenceforth be the word. In the act of raising it, the skin came off the body, so that one of the masters exclaimed " Macbenach ! " (" the flesh is off the bones," or the "brother is smitten "), and this word became the sacred word of the masters' degree. The three fellow-crafts were traced, but rather than fall into the hands of their pursuers, they committed suicide, and their heads were brought to Solomon. The triangle not having been found on the body of Hiram, it was sought for and at last discovered in the well into which the architect had cast it. The king caused it to be placed on a triangular altar erected in a secret vault, built under the most retired part of the temple. The triangle was further concealed by a cubical stone, on which had been inscribed the sacred law. The vault, the existence of which was only known to the twenty- seven elect, was then walled up. II ORIGIN AND TRADITIONS 386. The First Masons. All nations, all states, all corpora- tions, to increase their power and deduce from above their raison d'etre, attribute to themselves a very ancient origin. This wish must be all the stronger in a society altogether ideal and moral, living the life of principles, which needs rather to seem to be, not coeval with, but anterior and superior to all others. Hence the claim set up by Free- masonry of being, not contemporary with the creation of man, but with that of the world ; because light was before man, and prepared for him a suitable habitation, and light is the scope and symbol of Freemasonry. Lest non-Masonic readers should think we are joking as regards Masonic asser- tions concerning the antiquity of the craft, we will quote from two Masonic writers, one more than a century old, and one quite of recent date : Edward Spratt, in his " Book of Con- stitutions for the Use of Lodges in Ireland," 1751, makes Adam the first Mason, who " even after his expulsion from paradise retained great knowledge, especially in geometry." Dr. J. A. Weisse, in " The Obelisk and Freemasonry," pub- lished in 1880, says: "Freemasonry commenced from the Creation, and was established by the family of Seth. The Masonic apron originated from the covering or apron of fig- leaves, adopted by Adam and Eve after the Fall." Need I quote more ? Now in the Introduction (6, 7) I have stated that there was from the very first appearance of man on the earth a highly favoured and civilised race, possessing a full know- ledge of the laws and properties of nature, and which know- ledge was embodied in mystical figures and schemes, such as were deemed appropriate emblems for its preservation and propagation. These figures and schemes are preserved in Masonry, but not in the pseudo-Masonry of the majority of craft members. The truest Masons at the present day are found without the lodge. I shall endeavour in these ORIGIN AND TRADITIONS 9 pages as much as possible to teach Masons the real truths hidden under the symbols and enigmatical forms, which, without a key, appear but as absurd and debasing rites and ceremonies. The aim of all the secret societies of which accounts have been as yet or will be given in this work, except of those which were purely political or anti-social, was to preserve such knowledge as still survived, or to re- cover what had been lost. And since Freemasonry is, so to speak, the resume of the teachings of all those societies, dogmas in accordance with one or more of those taught in the ancient mysteries and other associations are to be found in Masonry ; hence also it is impossible to attribute its origin to one or other specific society preceding it. Freemasonry is or rather ought to be the compendium of all primitive and accumulated human knowledge. 387. Periods of Freemasonry. Masonic writers generally divide the history of the Order into two periods, the first comprising the time from its assumed foundation to the be- ginning of the last century, during which the Order admitted only masons, i.e. operative masons and artificers in some way connected with architecture. The second or present period, they denominate the period of Speculative Masonry, when the Order no longer chooses its members only amongst .men engaged in the raising of material structures, but receives into its ranks all who are willing to assist in building a spiritual temple, the temple of universal harmony and know- ledge. Yet persons not working masons had ere then been admitted, for the records of a lodge at Warrington, as old as 1648, note the admission of Colonel Main waring and the great antiquary Ashmole. Charles L, Charles II., and James II. also were initiated. But from what has been said above, it follows that true Masonry always was speculative, and that to deduce its origin from the ancient Dionysiac or any other kindred college is only partly correct. The name " masonic " was adopted by the society on its reconstruction in the last century, because the brotherhood of builders who erected the magnificent cathedrals and other buildings that arose during the Middle Ages had lodges, degrees, landmarks, secret signs, and passwords, such as the builders of the temple of Solomon are said to have made use of. The Free- masons have also frequently been said to be descended from the Knights Templars, and thus to have for their object to avenge the destruction of that Order, and so to be dangerous to Church and State ; yet this assertion was repudiated as early as 1535 in the "Charter of Cologne," wherein the io SECRET SOCIETIES Masons call themselves the Brethren of St. John, because St. John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Light. Ac- cording to the same document, the name of Freemasons was first given to the Brethren chiefly in Flanders, because some of them had been instrumental in erecting in the province of Hainault hospitals for persons suffering from St. Vitus's dance. And though some etymologists pretend the name to be derived from massa, a club, with which the doorkeeper was armed to drive away uninitiated intruders, we can only grant this etymology on the principle enunciated by Vol- taire, that in etymology vowels go for very little, and conso- nants for nothing at all. The derivation from mai-son is as probable as any other that is alleged. 388. Freemasonry derived from many Sources. But con- sidering that Freemasonry is a tree the roots of which spread through so many soils, it follows that traces thereof must be found in its fruit ; that its language and ritual should retain much of the various sects and institutions it has passed through before arriving at their present state, and in Masonry we meet with Indian, Egyptian, Jewish, and Chris- tian ideas, terms, and symbols. 389. True History of Masonry. The plain history of Free- masonry, without the varnish and tinsel Masonic writers have bedizened it with, may be summed up as follows : In antiquity there were corporations of architects and engineers, who undertook the building of temples and sta- dia ; the " Dionysiacs " in Greece, the " Collegium Muriorum " in Rome were such. They were the prototypes of the asso- ciations of masons, builders, carpenters, who in the Middle Ages flourished, chiefly in Germany and England. These, sometimes numbering six to eight hundred members, made contracts with monks, chapters, and other ecclesiastical authorities for the erection of cathedrals or churches. Even- tually they made themselves independent of the Church, and in the thirteenth century they formed an extensive building association, originating at Cologne, and having lodges, as they called the directing members, at Strasbourg, Vienna, Cologne, and Zurich. There were other lodges, but these were the most important. They called themselves Free masons, and had ceremonies of initiation. Towards the end of the sixteenth century non-operative masons were admitted into the fraternity, who were called "accepted" Masons; they included men distinguished for learning or high posi- tion. Thus the work in the lodges became more symbolical than operative. The really working masons and builders OEIGIN AND TRADITIONS 1 1 gradually dispersed, and the accepted masons, whose expec- tations of being initiated into esoteric knowledge in the lodges were disappointed, withdrew from them, so that in 1717 there were only four lodges in London, which Dr. Desaguliers, James Anderson, and George Payne formed into a Grand Lodge, with which modern Freemasonry, purely symbolical, though retaining the technical terms of archi- tecture, may be said to begin. The fraternity was soon persecuted ; the Popes, beginning with Clement XII., and ending with the present one, cast their thunderbolts at it ; despotic rulers tried to suppress it. Of course the Masons themsilpil^b a great extent invited this persecution by the mystery in which they attempted to shroud their principles and proceedings, as also by the in- troduction of the "high degrees." The original Masons had confined themselves to the three degrees existing among operative builders apprentice, fellow-craft, and master. But these did not satisfy the vanity of some of the aristocratic members, or the ambition of such as wished to use the Order for party purposes. The chevalier Andreas Ramsay, a par- tisan of the exiled Stuarts, who asserted the Freemasons to be descended from the Crusaders, first gave the impulse to the starting of high degrees, in which political objects were aimed at, and which, after the country of the Stuarts, were called Scotch degrees. They were greatly multiplied, and the pursuit of these party purposes, of superstitious rites, and of personal vanity, invested every one with still increasing mysteries. At last they fell into the hands of impostors and adventurers, such as, for instance, Cag- liostro. In Germany the Order was made use of by three parties Reactionaries, Revolutionaries, and knightly fanatics. The Reactionaries founded Rosicrucianism, in which magic, astro- logy, alchemy, spiritism, and superstition in general occupied its cheats and dupes, opposing religious, political, and scienti- fic progress. The Revolutionaries, by means of the Illuminati, who insinuated themselves into the Masonic order, en- deavoured to bring about a new political and religious era. Knightly fanaticism was transplanted from France into Germany by the well-intentioned but visionary Baron Hund, who about the middle of the last century founded the Masonic system of the so-called Strict Observance (435), which followed the lines of the Knights Templars, from whom Hund wished to derive the Masonic order ; we shall see that at the Congress of Wilhelmsbad (441) this assertion was 12 SECRET SOCIETIES negatived. The mystery of the ritual, and the splendour of some of the rites, gained Freemasonry many adherents in France, where the lodges were at last united under a Grand Lodge, called the Grand Orient, the first Grand Master of which was the Duke of Chartres, afterwards Philippe Egalite*. Napoleon, when in power, appointed his brother Joseph Grand Master (444). Ill RITES AND CUSTOMS 390. List of Rites. Anciently, that is, before the rise of modern Masonry at the beginning of the last century, there was but one rite, that of the " Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons," or blue or symbolic Masonry ; but vanity, fancy, or interest soon led to the introduction of many new rites or modifications of the three ancient degrees. The following are the names of the rites now practised in Europe and America : I. York rite, or Craft Masonry, of which an account will be given. In America it consists of seven degrees : The first three as in this country ; 4. Mark Master ; 5. Past Master ; 6. Most Excellent Master ; 7. Holy Royal Arch. All these also obtain in this country ; the Royal Arch, being the most important, will be treated of in full (405 et seq.). II. French or Modern rite. It consists of seven de- grees : The first three the same as in Craft Masonry ; 4. Elect ; 5. Scotch Master ; 6. Knight of the East ; 7. Rose Croix. They are all astronomical. III. Ancient and Accepted Scotch rite. It was organised in its present form in France early in the last century, though it derives its title from the claim of its 'founders that it was originally instituted in Scotland. It is, next to the York rite, the most widely diffused throughout the Masonic world. The administrative power is vested in Supreme Grand Coun- cils, and the rite consists of thirty-three degrees, of which the 1 2th, Grand Master Architect; the i8th, Prince Rose- Croix ; and the 3Oth, Grand Elect Knight of Kadosh, are the most interesting, and particulars of which will be given under separate heads. IV. Philosophic Scotch rite. V. Primitive Scotch rite, practised in Belgium. VI. Ancient Reformed rite. VII. Fessler's rite. VIII. Rite of the Grand Lodge of the Three Globes at Berlin. '3 14 SECRET SOCIETIES IX. Rite of Perfection. X. Rite of Misraim (418-42). XI. Rite of the Order of the Temple. XII. Swedish rite. XIII. Reformed rite. XIV. Schroeder's rite. XV. Rite of Swedenborg (see 264). XVI. Rite of Zinzendorf. Count Zinzendorf, physician of the Emperor Charles VI., invented this rite, which was a modification of the Illuminism of Avignon, adding to it the mysteries of Swedenborg. His system consisted of seven degrees, divided into three sections : i. Blue Masonry ; 2. Red Masonry ; 3. Capitular Masonry. The rite was never introduced into this country. XVII. Eclectic rite. This was established at Frankfurt in 1783 by Baron de Knigge, for the purpose of checking the spread of the haut\s grades, or philosophic rites, which were increasing excessively. Eclectic Masonry acknowledged the three symbolic degrees only, but permitted each lodge to select at its option any of the higher degrees, provided it did not interfere with the uniformity of the first three. But the founder was disappointed in his expectations the high degrees continued to flourish, and but few Eclectic lodges ever existed. 391. Masonic Customs. Some Masonic peculiarities may conveniently be mentioned here. Freemasons frequently attend in great state at the laying of the foundation stones of public buildings; they follow a master to the grave, clothed with all the paraphernalia of their respective degrees ; they date from the year of light. The Knights of the Sun, the 28th degree of the Scotch rite, acknowledge no era, but always write their date with seven noughts, 0,000,000. No one can be admitted into the Masonic order before the age of twenty-one, but an exception is made in this country and in France in favour of the sons of Masons, who may be initiated at the age of eighteen. Such a person is called a Lewis in England, and a Louveteau in France. This latter word signifies a young wolf ; and the reader will remember that in the mysteries of I sis the candidate was made to wear the mask of a wolf's head. Hence a wolf and a candidate in these mysteries were synonymous. Macrobius, in his " Satur- nalia," says that the ancients perceived a relationship between the sun, the great symbol of those mysteries, and -a wolf ; for as the flocks of sheep and cattle disperse at the .sight of the wolf, so the flocks of stars disappear at the RITES AND CUSTOMS approach of the sun's light. We have seen in the account of the French Workmen's Unions (369) that the sons of Solomon still call themselves wolves. The adoption of the louveteau into the lodge takes place with a ceremony resembling that of baptism. The temple is covered with flowers, incense is burnt, and the godfather is enjoined not only to provide for the bodily wants of the new-born member, but also to bring him up in the school of truth and justice. The child receives a new name, generally that of a virtue, such as Veracity, Devotion, Beneficence ; the godfather pronounces for him the oath of apprentice, in which degree he is received into the Order, which, in case he should become an orphan, sup- ports and establishes him in life. In the United States the rights of a lewis do not exist. 392. Masonic Alphabet. The Masonic alphabet preserves the angular character of primitive alphabets. Thirteen characters (9 + 4) compose the Masonic system of writing. Hence all the sounds can only be represented by means of lines and points, in the following manner : a.l c.d *f y.A i.l 77171 o.p f.r s.t The letter a is written _J ; the same sign with a dot in it, _il, means b. The sign > means u, and with a dot ;>, v. Masonic abbreviations are always indicated by three dots, placed triangularly ; thus, brother is abbreviated B .'. Lodge is written L .'. or Q .'. ; in the plural LL .'. or [3 .*. Our common alphabet has an equally simple origin, as well as the Arabic numerals ; they are all contained in the figure A. b several noble Portuguese instituted a lodge at Lisbon, under the Grand Lodge of England, of which George Gordon was Master ; but the priests immediately determined on putting it down. One of the best-known victims of the Inquisition was John Coustos, a native of Switzerland, who was arrested in 1743, and thrown into a subterranean dungeon, where he was racked nine times in three months 102 SECRET SOCIETIES for not revealing the secrets of Masonry. He had, however, to appear in an auto-da-fo, and was sentenced to five years' work as a galley slave ; but the British Government claiming him as a subject, he was released before the term of his punishment expired. Thirty-three years passed without anything more being heard of Freemasonry in Portugal ; but in 1776, two members of the craft were arrested, and remained upwards of fourteen months in prison. In 1792, Queen Maria I. ordered all Freemasons to be delivered over to the Inquisition ; a very few families escaped to New York, where they landed with the words, Asylum quecrimiis. Among their American brethren they found not only an asylum, but a new home. The French Empire ushered in better days ; but with the restoration of the old regime came the former prejudices and persecutions. In 1818, John VI. promulgated from the Brazils an edict against all secret societies, includ- ing Freemasonry ; and, again in 1823, a similar though more stringent proclamation appeared in Lisbon. The punishment of death therein awarded was afterwards reduced to fine and transportation to Africa. In Austria, the papal bulls provoked persecutions and seizures; hence arose the Order of the Mopses (471), which spread through Holland, Belgium, and France. In 1747, thirty Masons were arrested and imprisoned at Vienna. Maria Theresa, having been unable to discover the secrets of the Order, issued a decree to arrest all Masons, but the measure was frustrated by the good sense of the Emperor Joseph II., who was himself a Mason, and therefore knew that the pursuits of the Order were innocent enough. Francis I., at the Diet of Ratisbon in 1794, demanded the suppression of all masonic societies throughout Germany, but Hanover, Brunswick, and Prussia united with the smaller States in refusing their assent. The history of Freemasonry in Central Italy during the last century and this, as may be supposed, is a mere re- petition of sufferings, persecutions, and misfortunes; the members of the craft being continually under punishment, through the intolerance of the priesthood and the inter- ference of the civil power. But persecution was not confined to Catholic countries. Even in Switzerland, the Masons at one time were perse- cuted. The Council of Berne, in 1745, passed a law with certain degrees of punishment for members of lodges ; which law was renewed in 1782. It is now abrogated. Frederick I., King of Sweden, a very few years after the PERSECUTIONS OF FREEMASONRY 103 introduction (1736) of Freemasonry, forbade it under penalty of death. At present the king is at the head of the Swedish craft. The King Frederick Augustus III. of Poland caused, in 1730, enactments to be published, forbidding, under pain of severe punishment, the practice of Freemasonry in his kingdom. In 1757, the Synod of Stirling adopted a re- solution debarring all Freemasons from the ordinances of religion. In 1799, Lord Radnor proposed in the English Parliament a bill against secret societies, and especially against Freemasonry ; and a similar but equally fruitless attempt against the Order was made in 1814 by Lord Liverpool. The Society is now acknowledged by law ; the Prince of Wales is at the head of the craft. 494. Anti- Masonic Publications. One of the earliest English publications against Freemasonry is "The Free- masons ; an Hudibrastic Poem" (London, 1723). It is written in the coarsest style of invective, describing the Masons as a drunken set of revellers, practising all kinds of filthy rites. Several works of no literary merit appeared at various intervals between 1726 and 1760, professing to reveal the masonic secrets, but their authors evidently knew nothing of the craft. In 1768, a rabid parson published a sermon, entitled "Masonry, the Way to Hell." It is beneath criticism. Numerous works of a similar tendency, or pro- fessing to reveal what Masonry was, thenceforth appeared at short intervals in England, France, Germany, and Italy, such as " Les Plus Secrets Mysteres de la Ma^onnerie " ; " Le Maschere Strappate" (The Masks torn off); "The Veil Removed, or the Secret of the Revolutions fostered by Freemasonry " ; Robison's " Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe carried on in the Secret Meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies," a work which must have astonished the Masons not a little, and for which they were no doubt in their hearts very grateful to the author, for he makes the Masons out to be very terrible fellows indeed. The work of the Abb Barruel is of the same stamp ; it is entitled, "Mmoires pour servir a 1'Histoire du Jacobinisme," and is noteworthy for nothing but absence of critical power and honesty of statement. The Jesuits, though imitating the ritual of the Masons, have naturally always been their enemies, generally secretly, but sometimes openly, as, for instance, through the Italian zappatori (labourers), whose avowed object was the destruction of the Masonic Order. Protestants also have written fiercely against the Order, 104 SECRET SOCIETIES Lindner's "Mac-Benach" (1818), and Hengstenberg's and Moller's in quite recent years, are samples of such writings. One of the most voluminous works against Freemasonry is that of Dr. E. E. Eckert, of Dresden. It is in three thick volumes, printed at various places (1852-80). The title is, " Proofs for the Condemnation of Freemasonry as the Starting Point of all Destructive Activity." He sees Masonry everywhere, even in Chinese secret societies ! According to Eckert, Freemasons were the originators of the Illuminati and Burschenschaft in Germany, of the Jacobins and Juste Milieu in France, of the Carbonari in Italy, of the Liberals in Spaiii, and the Gioviue Italia ! He was expelled from Berlin in consequence of his attacks on highly-placed Masons. The latest work of importance hostile to Masonry is by the late Pere Deschamps, in three large volumes, entitled, " Les Soci^t^s Secretes et la Soci^te " (Paris and Avignon, 1882-83). The writer, a priest, sees only evil in the fraternity, and, in fact, all evil in the world political, social, moral is due to the occult action of the Masons, whose object is the overthrow of all religion, morality, and justice. In 1873, a German work, entitled, "The Secret Warfare of Freemasonry against Church and State" (an English translation was published in 1875), had brought the same charges against the Society's action on the Continent. And Masonry continues to be the bugbear of the Church. In 1875, Pope Pius IX. fulminated a bull against the Order ; in 1 884, shortly after the installation of the Prince of Wales as Grand Master Mark-Mason, the Pope issued an encyclical, Humanum genus, in which he denounced the Order as criminal, impious, revolutionary, and everything bad ; towards the end of September of this present year (1896) an anti-masonic congress, convoked by the Church, was held at Trent, and attended by about six hundred priests, presided over by Cardinal Agliardi, armed with the Pope's brief condemning Freemasonry. The whole proceed- ing was an exact counterpart of the meeting held on the 1st February 1762, when " many gentlemen, eminent for their rank and character." including "Pomposo" Johnson, ' ; were, by the invitation of the Rev. Mr. Aldrich, assembled " to in- quire into the noises made by the Cock-lane ghos"t. Sitting with closed doors, the Congress discussed Miss Diana Vaughan, who, in a book published by, or attributed to her, described how at an early age she was initiated into Free- masonry, and that in American lodges she had frequent interviews with Lucifer, and some of his imps. The truth or PERSECUTIONS OF FREEMASONRY 105 untruth of this statement was seriously debated by the "learned divines" assembled at Trent! And they left the matter in doubt. The reverend fathers seem to have been particularly shocked at the liberties taken with the devil's personality ; yet they must know that the devil has for ages been an object of ridicule, the theme of ribald songs and jokes even in the mystery plays. Dr. Bataille wrote a book entitled, " The Devil in the Nineteenth Century," which is a specimen of the grossest superstition, which was ridiculed in a reply afterwards pub- lished by a Count H. C M and wherein he regrets that a large number of high personages, particularly among the clergy, should have been thus imposed upon. Dr. Bataille in his book referred largely to devil-worship in the East; Count H. C. contradicts most of the doctor's statements. xxvi [ FUTILITY OF MODERN FREEMASONRY 495. Vain Pretensions of Modern Freemasonry. After this necessarily compressed account of Freemasonry, past and pre- sent, the question naturally suggests itself What is its present use ? Are its pretensions not groundless ? Is it not an institution which has outlived the object of its foundation ? Is not its present existence a delusion and an anachronism ? Since all that is said and done in the lodges has for many years been in print, is the holding out of the communication of secrets not a delusion, and the imposition of childish oaths not a farce ? The answers to all these questions must be unfavourable to Freemasonry. When Masonry was purely operative, it had its uses ; when it became speculative, it was more useful still in its earlier stages, at least on the Con- tinent, and indirectly in this country also ; for either by itself, or in conjunction with other societies, such as the Illuminati, it opposed the political despotism, then prevalent all over Europe, and formed an anti- Inquisition to clerical obscurantism and oppression, wherefore it was persecuted by Protestant and Roman Catholic rulers alike. The rapid progress achieved in modern times by humanity and tolera- tion, is undoubtedly due to the tendency which speculative Masonry took in the last, and to its political activity in all countries, except England, in this century. Founded in ages when the possession of religious and scientific know- ledge was the privilege of the few, it preserved that knowledge then indeed a small rivulet only from being choked up by the weeds of indifference and superstition ; but now that that small rivulet has been overtaken by, and swal- lowed up in, the boundless, ever-advancing ocean of modern science, which may boldly proclaim its discoveries t6 the world, a society that professes to keep knowledge for the few is but a retrograde institution. Philo, about 1780, pro- perly defined English Masonry, as it then was, and is to-day : " The lodges indiscriminately receive members, go through ceremonies, play at mysteries without understanding them, eat, drink, and digest well, and now and then bestow alms are the formal English lodges." 106 FUTILITY OF MODERN FREEMASONRY 107 496. Vanity of Masonic Ceremonial. There are thousands of excellent men who have never seen the inside of a lodge, and yet are genuine Freemasons, i.e. liberal-minded and enlightened men, devoted to the study of Nature and the progress of mankind, moral and intellectual ; men devoid of all political and religious prejudices, true cosmopolitans. And there are thousands who have passed through every masonic degree, and yet are not Masons ; men who take appearances for realities, the means for the end, the cere- monies of the lodge for Freemasonry. But the lodge, with all its symbols, is only the form of the masonic thought. In the present age, however, this form, which was very suitable, nay, necessary, for the time when it was instituted, becomes an anachronism. The affectation of possessing a secret is a childish and mischievous weakness. The objects modern Masons profess to pursue are brotherly love, relief, and truth ; surely the pursuit of these objects cannot need any secret rites, traditions, and ceremonies. In spite of the great parade made in masonic publications about the science and learning peculiar to the craft, what discovery of new scientific facts or principles can Masons claim for the Order ? Nay, are well-known and long-established truths familiar to them, and made the objects of study in the lodges ? Nothing of the kind. That noble character, the Emperor-King Frederick III., who had early in life been initiated, resigned the Grand- Mastership when, after patient and diligent inquiry, for which his exalted position gave him exceptional facilities, he, in spite of a secret inclination to the contrary, became satisfied of the unsoundness and vanity of masonic pretensions. 497. Masonry diffuses no Knowledge. We get neither science nor learning from a Mason, as a Mason. The Order, in fact, abjures religious and political discussion in this country, and yet it pretends that to it mankind is indebted for its progress, and that, were it abolished, mental darkness would again overshadow the world. But how is this pro- gress to be effected, if the chronic diseases in the existing religions and political systems of the world are not to be meddled with? As well might an association for the ad- vancement of learning abjure inquiry into chemical and mechanical problems, and then boast of the benefits it con- ferred on science ! It is Hamlet with the part of Hamlet omitted. If then Masonry wishes to live on, aud be some- thing more than a society of Odd Fellows or -Druids, more lodges must be formed by educated men and fewer by the mere publicans and other tradesmen that now found lodges to io8 SECRET SOCIETIES create a market for their goods who might do some good by teaching moral and natural philosophy from a deeper ground than the scholastic and grossly material basis on which all teaching at present is founded, and by rescuing science from the degraded position of handmaiden to mere physical comfort, into which modern materialism has forced it. 498. Decay of Freemasonry. The more I study Free- masonry, the more I am repelled by its pretences. The facility and frequency with which worthless characters are received into the Order ; the manner in which all its statutes are disregarded; the dislike with which every brother who insists on reform is looked upon by the rest ; the difficulty of expelling obnoxious members ; the introduction of many spurious rites, and the deceptiveness of the rites themselves, designed to excite curiosity without ever satisfying it ; the puerility of the symbolism ; the paltriness of the secret when revealed to the candidate, and his ill-concealed disgust when at last he gets behind the scenes and sees through the rotten canvas that forms so beautiful a landscape in front all these too plainly show that the lodge has banished Freemasonry. And like monasticism or chivalry, it is no longer wanted. Having no political influence, and no political aspirations, or, when it has such aspirations revealing them by insane excesses, such as the citation before masonic tribunals of Napoleon III., the Emperor of Germany, the Crown Prince, the Pope, and Marshal Prim, by French, Italian, and Spanish Masons respectively,and after afarcical sham trial, condemning the accused so cited to which summons of course they paid no attention to death, or in plain English, to assassination, a crime really perpetrated on the person of Marshal Prim ; being no longer even a secret society for a society sanc- tioned by the State, as Freemasonry is, cannot be called a secret society; having no industrial or intellectual rallying- point it must eventually die from sheer inanition. It may prolong its existence by getting rid of all the rites and cere- monies which are neither simple nor graud, nor founded on any authority or symbolic meaning, and by renouncing the silly pretence of secrets, 1 and undertaking to teach what I have sketched in various portions of this work, concerning the origin and meaning of Masonry and its symbols, illustrat- ing its teaching by the ornaments and practice of the lodges. This seems to be the only ground on which Freemasonry could claim to have its lease of existence, as Freemasonry, 1 " Un secrete, che sanno tre, Un secreto mai MOD c." Italian Proicrb. FUTILITY OF MODERN FREEMASONRY 109 renewed, for not even the Masonic marriages, introduced by French lodges, will perpetuate its existence. I have before me accounts of two such marriages, performed without the usual ecclesiastic or civil ceremonies, the one in the lodge La France Mafonnique in Paris in 1887, and the other in a lodge at Toulouse, in the same year, as also of two others, celebrated in Paris, in 1882, when M. Elysee Reclus, a Free- mason, and one of the five well-known Anarchist brothers, gave away two of his daughters to two brothers, at a dinner held in a private house, simply declaring the two couples by that mere declaration to be married. But the ladies do not approve of these hole-and-corner espousals. 499. Masonic Opinions of Masonry. Masons have been very indignant with me for making these statements; but honest members of the craft know, and occasionally admit, that I am right. In 1798 a Mason wrote in the Monthly Magazine, "The landlord (who is always a brother) pro- motes harmony, as it is called, by providing choice suppers and good liquors, the effects of which are late hours and ineb- riety ; and thus are made up two-thirds of modern lodges." And again : " Hogarth was a member of the fraternity, and actually served the office of Grand Steward in 1735, . . . yet in his picture of ' Night,' one of the most conspicuous figures is that of a master of a lodge led home drunk by the tyler." The too facile admission of worthless members is regretted by the same writer, as it is by modern Masons (e.g. Freemason, 26th June 1875). Brother John Yarker in his " Notes on the Scientific and Religious Mysteries of Antiquity " (Hogg, 1 872), a zealous Mason, says: "As the masonic fraternity is now governed, the craft is fast becoming the paradise of the bon vivant, of the ' charitable ' hypocrite, who . . . decorates his breast with the 'charity jewel'; . . . the manufacturer of paltry masonic tinsel ; the rascally merchant who swindles in hun- dreds and even thousands, by appealing to the tender con- sciences of those few who do regard their 0. B.'s, and the Masonic ' Emperors ' and other charlatans, who make power or money out of the aristocratic pretensions which they have tacked on to our institution, ad captandum vulf/us." This I think is enough to show that my censures are well founded. 500. Masonic Literature. It is almost absurd to talk of masonic literature; it scarcely exists. Except the works written by Oliver, Mackey, Findel, and Ragon, there is scarcely anything worth reading about Freemasonry, of which a Freemason is the author. The countless lectures by brethren, with a few exceptions, consist of mere truisms no SECRET SOCIETIES and platitudes. Its periodical literature in this country at all events is essentially of the Grub Street kind, consisting of mere trade-circulars, supported by puffing masonic trades- men and vain officials, who like to have their working in the lodge trumpeted forth in a fashion which occasionally trenches on imbecility, as could readily be shown by extracts from newspaper reports. All attempts permanently to establish masonic periodicals of a higher order have hitherto failed from want of encouragement. The fact is, men of education take very little interest in Masonry, for it has nothing to offer them in an intellectual point of view ; be- cause even Masons who have attained to every ne plus ultra of the institution, know little of its origin and meaning. 5