Arch Liar Of The Age.

ARCH LIAR OF THE AGE .

UNDER the above caption there appeared in a recent issue of the " Washington Post , " over the signature , " Heloise Countess D'Alencourt , " the following letter from Paris . Leo Taxil , arch-liar of the age , is dying in this city

worth several millions of francs—all made in juggling with the truth . And , as he told one of his friends the other day , he will expire with a smile of triumph on his lips , because his life ' s work as a Munchausen has just been made the subject of a serious debate in the Austrian Chambers .

Taxil was the man who- " showed up" Masonrys connection with the devil ; he invented " Satanism and Luciferianism , " and reported gravely and learnedly on the cult of the Diabolists , who never had any existence at all except in his mind . The " Black Mass , " with its maniacal

ceremonies and Cagliostro hocus-pocus , was another of his impositions on the credulous that went the rounds of the world's press ; he also- sprung Diana Vaughan , " devil ' s bride and great-grandmother of the anti-Christ , " upon an unsuspecting public , with the result of having accepted as a

creature of flesh and blood a phantom that could not be produced for the combined fortunes of Morgan and Carnegie . Finally , after keeping it up for twelve years , from 1 st April 1885 , to 1 st April 1897 , he called a meeting of his admirers at Paris on All Fools' Day and made this quaint

little speech : " Ladies and Gentlemen : Don ' t be angry with me . I have fooled you all these years . The stories of Masonry and

devil-cult and devil-brides , & c , which I palmed off on you in a hundred books , pamphlets and lectures were all stuff and nonsense . They were lies , lies , and nothing but lies , invented for the purpose of testing popular credulity . "

Then a broad smile , a polite bow- —exit Taxil , his pockets bulging with ill-gotten gain , every centime of which meant a ridiculous exaggeration of a highly-coloured caricature . Taxil hails from Marseilles , and received an excellent education , but was disowned by his father when quite young

for alleged connection with Masonry . He now says he attended only three Lodge meetings , having been expelled for some yarn he told the Order shortly after his admittance . But inadequate knowledge of the rites and purposes of the society that kicked him cut did not hinder Taxil from writing a number of books on Masonry to " expose " its wickedness .

One of his best-selling books , of which 200 , 000 were struck off at 24 francs a copy—an unheard-of price in France —charged that every Mason was a murderer . Here is the

proof offered : " Before a man is admitted to the higher degrees he is blindfolded and taken into a room where a live sheep is lying on the floor . The animal ' s mouth and feet are secured and

it is clean shaven , so that its skin feels to the touch like that of a human being . Next to the animal a man is placed , who breathes heavily , feigning to struggle against imaginary enemies . The

candidate is given to understand that the sheep ' s body is that of a disloyal Mason who gave away the secrets of the Order and must die , according to some ancient law , the candidate being made executioner , as a warning to him .

Then he is given a knife , and after some ceremonial is persuaded to ' kill the traitor , ' that is , plunge the knife repeatedly into the body of the sheep , which he imagines to

be that of an unknown human being , his Brother . Thus every Mason is a murderer in spirit at least , if not actually , for sometimes treacherous Masons take the place of the animal . "

This daring falsehood attracted wide attention , and even such men as Bismarck , Emperor William I ., Emperor Frederick , and the Prince of Wales , who were , and are

respsctively , Masons of high degree , raised their voices against the monstrous imposition . Taxil had long been aching for an advertisement of that kind , and immediately sprung another book against Masonry on the unsuspecting

masses . - In this volume he " proved " to his own satisfaction that Masons were not of this world , but of that below ; that they were devil-ridden and subject to the orders of the powers

of hell . "" 1 hey belong to the party of the Evil One , " he cried , " and their very existence is a menace to society . Murderers and assassins , as a matter of course , they indulge in works of hatred and vengeance , such as only the devil can think out , " & c .

Arch Liar Of The Age.

In 1892 his book , " The Devil in the Nineteenth Century , " made its appearance , which purported to give the actual experience of one Dr . Bataille with his satanic majesty in various parts of the world . Here are some extracts .

" While Dr . Bataille was a Mason of the lower degrees , he saw nothing particularly wicked in their conduct , except that they were frauds and liars , but when he joined the ranks of the highest Masons , the Palladists , his eyes were opened .

At his inauguration , Luther and Voltaire were called from hell to preach to the Brothers . Lucifer himself was expected , too , but before he could make his appearance , ' the Brother sent to China' had to show up . At last he came , bringing a small white box . The box contained three human heads—the heads of missionaries murdered especially for the

purpose . Thereupon the Masons assembled round the heads , burying their knives into them while calling for Lucifer . Later the skulls were ground up in a mill , the mass being burned upon the altar of the Masons' idol , called Baphomet . '

Finally , all the lights but one were extinguished and the Master Mason read the incantation to Lucifer , at the conclusion of which he asked all the Brothers to open their arms wide . Then subterranean rumbles and a windstorm ensued , and the light went out ! Earthquake and thunder followed , the hall illuminated with indescribable radiance .

Looking up , Dr . Bataille beheld Lucifer on the throne . He made a speech , walked among the Brothers , looked each through and through , and finally shook hands with the Brother from China . The Brother indulged in an unearthly

yell ; darkness enveloped the hall , and Lucifer vanished . When the . lights were relit the Brother from China was found dead . The devil had taken him . " The book has 2 , 000 pages , and this is one story of 500 or 600 , among them " hair-raisers " of this sort :

" The Devil-pope Pike ( an American gentleman , by the way ) and his meetings with Lucifer to advise about acts of wickedness for the Masons to commit . "

" The devil ' s workshops under the rock of Gibraltar , where hundreds of devils and Masons are at work producing paraphernalia used by the Masons , " & c . This book is illustrated with pictures of the devils " as

they walk among us . W e are introduced to Beelzebub sporting duck ' s feet , monkey paws , batwings , long horns , ass ' s ears , and a cow ' s tail . Devil Moloch has the head of an ass , while the female devil , Astarte , wears a coquettish apron and has cat ' s paws .

" Out of compliment for my readers—there is no higher form of flattery than imitation—all my devils were fitted with donkey ears , " said Taxil afterward . Dr . Bataille devoted many pages of his book to a minute description of the Masons' Temple in Charleston , U . S . A .,

depicting it as the abode of the devils' cult , with a devil pope as high priest , and though the Catholic Bishop of Charleston took the trouble to deny this silly story in a letter to the papal court , Taxil maintained that his report was absolutely

true , and that his pictures were made from actual photographs . By this time Taxil thought his millions of admirers on the continent ripe for even wilder extravagances of his fancy , so the devil-cult was invented . Flis introduction of the ' * new

religion , by the usual high-priced book , reads as follows : " We all know that the kingdom of the fallen on this earth is divided into two camps , one of the Luciferians , who encircle the globe , who possess a pope , a curia , a college of

cardinals , who are , in fact , a parody on the court of the Vatican . The other camp is composed of isolated groups , working alone or under the tutelage of some seer , following a personal end . There seems to be no relation between the great army of Luciferians and the cliques of Satanists . "

The book divulged the contract between Satanists or Masons and the devil . As far as fit to print , it is here reproduced : " I abjure baptism and Christian faith . I repudiate

obedience to God . I deny the sacraments . I swear fidelity and vassalage to the Prince of Darkness . I will do as other Satanists do , and I will endeavour to bring others to this belief .

Then the neophyte is baptised in the name of the devil . New godfathers and godmothers are assigned and the old one banished . The devil receives a piece of the clothing as a gauge of possession . By faith and baptism he rules the spiritual