Tortured By Degrees.

TORTURED BY DEGREES .

From tlie " Keystone . " "POUR hundred years ago men were tortured by degrees—but not for the first time , - * - nor for the last . The " good " Queen Isabella was then on the Spanish throne , with Ferdinand of Arragon for her consort , and Torquemunda for Inquisitor-General . Then of all other times in the world , men—aye , and women and children too—were tortured by degrees . The thumb-screwthe rackand the pulley deprived them slowl

, , y of life , and fire , faggot , and stake often ended their torments . An Innocent Pope ( the Eighth)—innocent in name only , but thrice guilty in deed—inaugurated the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition , and thus made it possible for such a heart-rending book to be written as Fox ' s " Book of Martyrs . " It is fortunate for us that those days are past . No one finds it a pleasure , even for conscience sake , to enlighten the world at the stake . But ours is a liberal age—too liberalperhapswhenin this country at leastone

, , , , may say and do pretty much as he pleases . Our liberty reaches license , and hence , although the punishments of the nineteenth century are different from those of the fifteenth , wo yet are , in a certain sense , tortured by degrees . Our rules have been changed , but our burdens are still upon us . Thus , the so-called Holy Office is without business , and its inquisitors can no longer enforce their saying , " Believe as I believe , or I'll roast you , " yet any man may now be a sort of " Holy Office , " ancl still torture us by degrees .

All our troubles flow from the vanity of men who assiune to be wiser than Solomon . We are taught in the Craft that King Solomon , in his supreme wisdom , established but three degrees among the Craftsmen of Jerusalem who were builders of the Temple—viz ., Entered Apprentices , Fellow Crafts , and Masters . Now , according to recently published accounts , there are two hundred and eighty-two degrees that claim to be Masonic ! Could Beaumont ancl Fletcher have had prophetic reference to this mushroom growth , when they wrote : —

There is a method in man ' s wickedness—It grows up by degrees . " Surely the world would not suffer if , say two hundred and fifty of these degrees , were to be buried out of sight and hearing ! Let us consider this somewhat . Degrees , when multiplied by hundreds , are costly in money ; unduly absorb a man ' s time from himself and his legitimate business , to say nothing of his family ; and nil his head

with a lot of verbiage , which likely crowds out knowledge that would be more profitable to him , if not more pleasant . Jack Kitchener is one of those who is tortured by the munerosity of his degrees . Monday night comes . Supper is just over . Jack jumps up , with the remark— " Wife , I ' ve a Lodge meeting to attend this evening . " " Pray , what Lodge ? " she asks , " Oh I " be replies , " the A . B . and 0 . Rite holds one of its meetings to-night . " Tuesday evening arrives is hurriedl

. Supper y dispatched , and Jack is up and going . " And whither to-ni ght ? " the wife inquires . " The D . E . F . Rite holds an important Communication to-night . " Wednesday comes . The G . and H . Rite meets in high carnival then . I'hursday brings with it a Lodge meeting in the " I . J . and K . Rite . " Friday is illustrated by a cut from supper to attend a meeting in the " L . and M . Rite , " and poor Saturday is crowded also with the " 0 . P . and Q . Rite . " The Mowing week is also hill , to the end of the alphabet of rites . And so on from week to week , and month to month , and year to year . Thus , as Dryden says ,

are" 111 habits gathered by unseen degrees . " This multitude of degrees that requires a man with a head for figures to number , is an inverted pyramid , unnaturally based upon a point that is a very diamond for endurance . This pivot-point is composed of the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry ,