Arch Liar Of The Age.

welfare ; by blood , the corporeal ; by children , the natural , and by the clothing , all worldly goods . The neophyte then says .- ' Scratch my name out , O Satan , from the Book of Life ; inscribe my name on the Book of Death . '

Then he or she adds : ' I promise to make pleasing sacrifices to thee . I will slay magically each month , and every fortnight go so far as to even drink the blood of a

young child . ' Lastly , the newly initiated cries out : ' I will never confess my sins entirely , and 1 shall guard an eternal silence on my dealings with thee , O Devil ! ' "

Thinking perhaps that the public might get too much of him , Taxil next invented Diana Vaughan , " some time the devil ' s bride and executrix of his unholy commands , but now reformed and eager to disclose the diabolical secrets she learned during her apprenticeship in hades and as high priestess of the Masons . "

'" On Diana , " explained Taxil , " devolved the awful duty of killing the children intended for sacrifice and whose blood is drunk by the fanatics . To her also was given the task , after a certain novitiate , of enticing men to join the Order and enrolling them under the devil ' s banner . "

Of course , a person that did such things and saw such things had a story to tell , and presently Diana too blossomed out as an . author of books on Masonry and devilry . From one of them this description of the famous " black mass " is borrowed :

In a thick cloud of perfumes the priest ascends the altar of Satan ' s synagogue . On the table is seen a goat with a human face , already excited by some preliminary homages , intoxicated by perfumes and adoration .

The priest opens a box and takes out some wafers . The rites performed and the words spoken during the continuance of the magical ceremony are blasphemous m character , and the sacred vessel and its contents are subjected to insult and mockery . The goat plays the infernal part ,

cursing and reviling , and lastly the following incantation is delivered : ' Master of the Esclandres , dispenser of the benefits of crime , intendant of sumptuous sins and great vices , sovereign of contempt , preserver of old hatreds and inspirer of vengeance and misdeeds . '

At this ceremony the children of the choir are clad in red and wear scarlet caps surmounted by two horns . They hold black candles in their hands . "

The above are some of the printable contents of Miss Vaughan ' s great book , but as a matter of fact there never was a Miss Vaughan . The mythical Diana was simply a nom de plume for Leo Taxil , who exploited his alter ego for all it was worth . Among other rubbish , he told his readers

that the young lady had been dedicated to the service of Satan when scarcely fifteen years old . She rose quickly to the higher offices and soon became " the Vicar of Hell ' s " first assistant . " The Vicar , " said Taxil , was General Pike , of Charleston , S . C ., which is called the ' Infernal Rome . ' "

While high priestess of the Masons , Diana—we are further informed—owned a private devil , named Asmodaeus , who executed all her commands with promptness and dispatch , and small wonder , seeing he travelled about on a " monster ,

half lioness , half crocodile , fitted with tremendous wings . " As for Asmodaeus , he had three heads , either of which he could use at will , an ox-head , a ram ' s head , and that of a crowned personage , spitting fire .

Before parting company with her subterranean friends , Miss Vaughan obtained from them a number of interesting documents with signatures attached . Of the latter that of " Devil Bitru " is one of the most elaborate . It was signed to the following document : .

" This is to testify that the most puissant and gracious Bitru recognises Sophia-Sapho , also known as the greatgrandmother of anti-Christ , " & c , & c . " On the eight day of the month of Paophy , in the year 000896 , said Diana will give birth to a daughter , who will be the grandmother of anti-Christ , ' & c , & c , & c .

And this rot , and more of it , was eagerly swallowed by hundreds of thousands of Europeans during twelve long years at the end of the nineteenth century , for Taxil ' s books were translated into German , Italian , Spanish , and several

Scandinavian dialects as quickly as they appeared , the various publishers securing the right of translation long beforehand , outbidding each other in the matter of royalties . " The public made me what I am , the arch-liar of the

Arch Liar Of The Age.

period , " said Taxil recently , " for when I first commenced to write against the Masons my object was amusement pure and simple . The crimes I laid at their door were so grotesque , so impossible , so wildly exaggerated , I thought everybody would

see the joke and give me credit for originating a new line of humour . But my readers would not have it so ; they accepted my fables as gospel truth , and the more I lied for the purpose of showing that I lied , the more convinced became they that I was a paragon of veracity .

" Then it dawned upon me that there was lots of money in being a Munchausen of the right kind , and for twelve years I gave it to them hot and strong , but never too hot . When inditing such slush as the story of the devil snake who wrote prophecies on Diana ' s back with the end of his tail . I

sometimes said to myself : ' Hold on , you are going too far , ' but I did not . My readers even took kindly to the yarn of the devil who , in order to marry a Mason , transformed himself into a crocodile and , despite the masquerade , played the piano wonderfully well .

One day when lecturing at Lille I told my audience that I had just had an apparition of Nautilus , the most daring affront on human credulity I had so far risked . But my

hearers never turned a hair . ' Hear ye , the doctor has seen Nautilus , ' they said with admiring glances . Of course no one had a clear idea who Nautilus was—I did not myself—but they assumed that he was a devil .

' Ah , concluded Taxil , ' the jolly evenings I spent with my fellow authors hatching out new plots , new , unheard-of perversions of truth and logic , each trying to outdo the other

in organised mystification . I thought 1 would kill myself laughing at some of the things proposed , but everything went ; there is no limit to human stupidity . "— " American Tyler . "

The Old Tyler.

THE OLD TYLER .

HOW often have we heard this expression , and yet how . little we have thought of it . The Tyler is a most important factor to a well-regulated Lodge . He is the old Tyler "

because he is a good Tyler . If it were otherwise he would not have remained in the position long enough to earn the prefix of " old" to the title . His duties are varied and exceedingly onerous . So much so that he is the " best abused" man in the Lodge . It matters not what goes

wrong , " it is the Tyler ' s fault . " He is the general " scapegoat " for the dereliction of others , and yet , aside from the Master and Wardens , he fills the most important Office in the Lodge . We have been exceedingly tickled and somewhat amazed at times to see with what complacency the

Brothers would unload on him when " jacked up" by the Master for a neglect of some particular thing assigned them in the preparation of Lodge work . In addition to being the carry-all for the whole Lodge , we have seen Brothers , because he failed to recognise them and did not stand at a present

when they passed his sword , become fretted at him . Carrying a sword at the head of a procession is the smallest part of his duty . If he is a good Tyler and a complete success , he is never changed by the incoming Masters . If he is a good Tyler he earns his wings long before he ever gets them . — " Commercial Appeal , " Memphis , Tenn .

Rejected Candidates.

REJECTED CANDIDATES .

THE matter of rejection in our Masonic bodies is not treated as seriously as it should be . When a candidate is rejected , his friends call upon him and offer sympathy , and

insist upon his trying again . Brethren frequently go so far as to tell who was present , and if they can find out , how many black balls were cast . Such information is a Masonic misdemeanor , and subjects the offender to discipline . The only knowledge to which a candidate is entitled is the fact

that he has been rejected . If he wishes to renew his application at the proper time , it is a matter for himself to decide , and his friends should not urge him , as he may meet with the same result . The unanimous secret ballot is the bulwark of Freemasonry , and it must be maintained to insure the perpetuity of the Institution . — " Illinois Freemason . "

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