Memoirs Of The Freemasons Of Naples.

to be Freemasons , and neglect to accuse them before the confession at Easter , should be doubly excommunicated ; and that no one , except the holy father , should have the power to free them from the excommunication . If any one should die in this predicament , and be imprudently buried in holy groundhis body should be immediately

, taken up and tin-own on the highway , to be devoured by wild beasts , and the earth purified where it had lain . After these sermons , or rather invectives , against the Freemasons , several persons , suspected to be such , were publicly insulted and imprisoned ; they dared not show themselves -in the streets , for fear of becoming victims

to persecution and a blind religious zeal . The persecutions in Aix-la-Chapelle lasted but a short period ; the higher authorities of the p lace became convinced of the honest sincerity of the Craft , and they were allowed greater freedom than heretofore . Men of knowledge and understanding will always be

able to put a proper value on noble and virtuous actions ; whoever , therefore , raises himself above the suspicions of mean souls , will suspend a too hasty judgment before he knows what the Freemasons truly are . When he is properly informed , lie will regard them with esteem and admiration , as a respectable body , whose charity extends

from pole to pole , over all the human race . If he will notice those who compose the heads of the society , he will be convinced that their sole aim is the practice of virtue . If they become Masons themselves , they will behold at once the beauty ancl grandeur of the institution —they will then see the necessity of that secret so truly observed hy all real Freemasons . Their deeds are known and spread all over the world ; their works are multiplied by those heavenly virtues of charity ancl benevolence .

While the Freemasons were thus being persecuted in Naples , their Prussian brethren were experiencing the benefit of having a Brother in the person , of a Prince , who , when he came to the throne , declared himself their protector . Frederick William II . was one of the most illustrious members ofthe Society of Free ancl Accepted Masons . He was taught at an early period of life to

believe the institution had a great tendency to promote charity , good fellowship , harmony , and brotherly love , and he resolved to become a Freemason as soon as a favourable occasion should offer , but lie was obliged to wait a long time before lie eould accomplish his object . His father had such an unconquerable aversion to Freemasonsthat he would not have hesitated in putting any

, one to death- whom lie should discover to have been instrumental in initiating the Prince Eoyal into the mysteries of the Craft ; and such was the temper of the King , that he very probably would have been so enraged

against his eldest son , for becoming a member of such a fraternity , that he would have disinherited him . However , both the Prince and the Baron de Bieifeldt resolved to run all risks , aud it was determined by the latter , who was ono of his Royal Highnesses' gentlemen of the bed-chamber , and some other officers of the householdthat they would at all hazards make him a Mason .

, Thej * thought the fair of Brunswick ivould afford a good opportunity for putting their scheme into execution , as there were always a great concourse of people in that town during the fair , and that a lodge , therefore , might easily be held there without giving people any reason to suspect the nature of their meeting . The baron and his

friends , accordingly , provided themselves with all the apparatus necessary for holding a lodge , ancl bavin" - put them up in trunks , placed them in a waggon , which they attended iu disguise . But an unlucky affair had well nigh led to a discovery which ivould have perilled the life of all parties concerned . The officers of the customs ,

placed at the gates of Brunswick , examined the waggon as it was passing into the town , and finding a number of large candlesticks and other things used in the lodges of Freemasons , they could not conceive for what purpose the articles could be intended , and were going to seize them and the driverswhen one of the latterwith

, , : some presence of mind , said they were poor harmless jugglers , wdio were going to exhibit numberless curious tricks at the fair , and that the contents of the trunks in their waggon were merely the ornaments of their little stage , and the implements necessary for displaying their dexterity . This tale had the desired effect ; the pretended

jugglers ivere suffered to pass , and the Prince Royal , arriving soon after incog ., was admitted in one night , speciali gratia , to all the degrees of Masonry . The secret w * as exceedingly well kept by all parties during the lifetime of the Prince ' s father , for his royal highness hacl the chance of a crown to loseand the other persons

, had lives to forfeit b y the disclosure . They were , therefore , all deeply interested in observing a scrupulous silence on the subject . But when this monarch ascended the throne , he frankly avowed himself a Mason , and his determination to give the fraternity all the protection in his power .

But to return to Naples . While Pallante ' s trial was still pending , the Queen gave birth to a prince , and claimed , as had been stipulated in her marriage contract , admission and a vote in the councils of state . The

King offered no opposition to her desire ; but the late Minister , Tenucci , ivho feared her talents as well as the power of her family , knowing also that they had secretly befriended the Freemasons , whom he now believed to be his enemies , cunningly placed obstacles in her way , and then openly attempted . to frustrate her designs . She conqueredand Tenucci lost all hope of again

taking-, office . No king banished from his kingdom could more bitterly lament and complain of his situation than did Tenucci ; the neglect of those he thought his friends , the disrespect shown him by his inferiors , his deserted rooms , together with the general change of scene , made him wretched . All the display of those vices , which

are inherent in human nature , were by him attributed , to the surprising corruption of the time ; and to escape the hated sight of man , he retired into the country , where he ended his days . After having been connected with the management of state affairs for upwards of forty- years , he died in 1783 in comparative poverty , surviving his downfall but a very short period .

ihe fall of Tenucci , while it caused a feeling of terror in Jus followers , and the persecutors of the Freemasons , confirmed the opinion of the power of the Queei ., both in the minds of the people , and in the councils of state . She was in the bloom of youth—only twenty-five years of age—blessed with children , beautiful , proud by naturebut still more proud from the greatness of her

, family . She found it easy to rule her husband , ivho ivas wholly absorbed in sensual pleasures . The Marquis deila Sambuca , late Ambassador at the Court- of Vienna , was , through her means , appointed Minister , iu place of Tenucci . On his arrival in Naples , he supported her in all her laudable schemes for the welfare of the people .

Pallante , now believing himself in danger , tied , and nothing was heard of him afterwards ; and for a time the persecutions of the Freemasons in Naples ceased , and they were acknowledged as loyal and patriotic subjects . Thus the Queen became the centreon whom rested the hopes of the greatthe ambitious

, , ancl the patriotic ,- she felt conscious of her power , and was elated by her success . ( To le con ! imi ' ed . )