Freemasonry's Fruitage.

as of tho yesterdays—out of the beaten track of the general traveller—in land seldom visited . This particular spot , which has been denom i nated " the land of sacied romance , " is a smnll territory lying east of the upper Jordan and the Sea of Galilee . In the Scriptures this torritory is called

"tbeland of giants . ' Here a wonderful development of Masonry appears , administering more to the needs of man than ta bis ldligious sentiments . This spot contains , perhaps , not more than tbre e thousand six hundred square

miles . It is the famous land of Baphan , the land of the giants of whom we read , in Numbers xni . 33 : "And there we saw the giants , the sor-s of Aupk , wlrch come of the giants : pud we were in our own sight as grasshoppers , and so we were in their sight . "

When the Israelis came up out of Egypt , this land was already divided intD provinces ; it had wonderful nnd numerous wa'U i cities and \ Mages . Over four thousand years ago Bashpn was in its glory . Out of its hundreds of

walled cities we may mention Barak , Kenath , Carnain , Suweideh ( its ancient name has fceen lost ) , Kerioth , Seleah , Bozrah , Argob , Edr-ei . A description of one dwelling will suffice for all .

Mr . Porter , ?' n his inteiesting work entitk J " The Ginnt Cities of Bashan , " page 26 , says : " I could scarcely believe in the reality of what I saw . * * * The house seemed to have undergone Vttle change from the time its old master had left it ; yet the thick nitrous crust on the

floor showed that it hj > l b : en deserted for long ages . Tho walls were perfect , nearly five feet tiV ' ck , built of largo blocks of hewn stonei , without lime or cement of any kind . The roof was formed of large slabs of the same black basalt ( volcanic rock ) , lying as regularly , and jointed as closely

as if the workmen had only just completed them . They measured twelve feet in length , eighteen inches in breadth , and six inches in thickness . Tho ends rested on a plain stone cornice projection about a foot from each side wall . The chamber was twent y feet long , twelve feet wide ,

nnd ten feet high ; the outer door was a slab of stone * * * It hung upon pivots formed of the projecting slab , working in sockets in the lintel and threshold ; and though so massive , I could open and shut it with ease . " Other chambers and spacious halls , with ceilings twenty

feet high , he also describes , as well as palacps , and temples —evidently for worship . In these ancient cities numerous dwellings are standing to this day , desolate and unoccupied , yet as perfect as the day they were erected . Who taught these giants the art

of Masonry in a land far away fiom the seas , a land without great rivers and without commerce ? In the little Province of Argob alone were sixty of these walled cities , " with gates and bars "—great solid stone buildings , the wonder of the traveller , monuments of ages now long since

gone into history ! " There were giants in the earth in those days , * * * tho same became mi ghty mcD , which were of old men of renown . " For what were these

mon renowned ? We are not told , nor are we told how far back in the ages these men of renown lived . Were the giants of Bashan tbe descendants of the giants spoken of in Genesis vi . 4 ?

How far the Bephaims were advanced in science , what was their religion , their mode of worship , we have nothing from which to obtain any accurate opinion beyond what these massive walls tell us . In Genesis we read that ' the kings of the east smote the

Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim . Ancient history tells us that Ashteroth was the goddess of the Phoenicians . This fact may suggest to us their form of worshi p . So far as our knowledge of ancient history extends , this is the onl y land where habitations kept pace with the buildings of

palaces and temples , and we have reason to believe that these are among the oldest monuments built in stone OD the earth . We learn that the goddess Ashteroth was worshipped here long prior to her being introduced into

the worship of the Egyptians . Prom this fact it is reasonable to conclude this land bad grand buildings in stone , and a form of religion antedating that of Egypt and Greece .

I have wandered thus into most ancient history in order to emphasize the answer to a preceding question . Were the men who were organised , at a later period , into Lodges of Operative Masons , different from the people from whom

they sprung ? Were they men of inquiring minds , seeking for truth ? Did they wish to obtain correct ideas concerning God and their duty to Him and one another ? Wore they wholly egotistic or were they altruistic p

Freemasonry's Fruitage.

Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God . Noah , after leaving the ark , "bnildrd an altar unto the Lord * * * and offered burnt offerings on tho nl ar . " Prom that period down to the date when the colleges of Operative Masons are first mentioned in history , men everywhere , so

far as our knowledge extends , bad altars and monuments for sacrificial purpose ? . Whether the altar was a single stone , as in tho case of Jacob , when ho set up the stono ho used for a pillow during the night and poured oil upon it and consecrated it to the Lord , to the more complex forms

of later days , and in all lands , tho same spirit animated tho generations and peoples of the earth to coruo nearer to God . In E gypt altars grew into immense proportions ; and we have description of a templo whero thousands

could gather within its walls for the worship of Isis and Osiris . So we see how man ' s effort to seek a form of worshi p has grown from the single-consecrated stone to gorgeous temples , with colonnades and all the ornaments of architecture .

But tho forms of human thought were rarely uniform . The ruling authority might determine the forms of public worship to be observed ; but no power could fetter tho mind . In the contemplation of naturo in all her aspects , whether in her soft and gentle tones , or in her lowering

portents of evil , she was ever productive of thought and suggestive of the Supremo , of a power presiding over the uet ; i : f ep of earth and men . Of Him tho teachings aronnd these altars , monuments , and in the temples , were ever

unsatisfying to the soul . It was from this cause that P ythagoras , Solon , Pinto , Arif-tarchus , Euclid , Erastosthenee , Ptolemy , Galen and a host of great minds , all sought for light iu the Eleusinian and Egyptian mysteries .

The same sentiment that provoked the spirit of inquiry into these mysteries , as well as to " earn wages , " brought together mon in the succeeding years to organiso themselves into associations . Membership into these was by initiation , service , trial—the lessons esoteric as well as

exoteric . Such was the case with the Order of Operative Masons . For admission to these Lodges , Bauhutte , or whatever name they used , and by which they were known , preparation and ceremony preceded membership . What this ceremouy was could only be known to the members .

When Sir Christopher Wren was Grand Master , he objected to the admission of candidates who wero not Operative Masons . In this very objection there is tho negative pregnant with the affirmation that speculative , or esoteric teachings , constituted part of the teachings of the Order .

What inducement was there for Masons , educated only in its speeulative tenets , to join an association of Operative Masons , if the Order taught no lessons beyond the practical use of tools , as masons and builders ? The speculative novitiate could have no place in such an Order , if this was the all of its existence . There could be no inducement for

such to apply for membership ; and within its walls such members would be without kindred spirits or associates . No order from Sir Christopher Wren would have been needed to exclude the Speculative Mason , for no purely

Speculative Mason would have applied . After the death of Grand Master Wren , the doors were open to both Speculative and Operative . There was enough for both to learn , and enough taught within tho Lodge to benefit both .

The force of this historical fact will not be destroyed by the assertion that tho esoteric ritual of Masonry sprang into cxioLncc by chance , complete in all its legendary and traditional beauty , at a convocation held in 1737 . The

statement bears upon its face tbe evidence of fabrication . And it is also at variance with the truth of history , which truth is confirmed b y tho "Book of the Constitutions of tho Freemasons of 1723 , "—the authorities for which are now too well known to be disputed .

If further evidence is needed to establish the untruth of

this assertion , peveral are at hand , well authenticated in history . Henry VI . succeeded to the throne of England in his infancy , 1422 . In the third year of his reign Parliament passed an act chaiging the Masons with controverting a

law of the malm , by fixing in their chapters the price of labour ; A . D . M 25 another act Parliament was passed , milking it a penal offence for Masons to meet . These statutes do not seem to have been enforced , but five years later a Lodge was held at Canterbury , under the patronage of the Archbishop himself . And , shortly therefrom , tho