The Nemesis: A Tale Of The Days Of Trajan.

. girding a fire , Avhich may at any moment burst and . hurl us to destruction . Deceit in life , deceit in ¦ death , naught else . A lie Avithin the sacred joys of home , a lie upon the altar , a lie upon the earth , within the sea , perhaps in yonder stars . What is

existence , but a lie to death , hope a gay cheat , joy a pickpocket . Have we not sighed in the . midst of roaring glee , battled Avith pain Avith smiles upon the lip , struggled with despair , and shoAved a dauntless front to the world . Rushing forth

from halls of revelry to gloom and silence , spurning the rose buds to emboAver ourselves among the nightshade ' s deadly leaves , tossed like a feather on -each gust of wind , gloom closing forward , closing -fast behind our trembling Avretched raft- Sin

-in the roAvers' banks pulling false strokes , and death at the helm steering full on—Avhat ?" Adrian paused for a feAv minutes while Paulus -watched him Avith intense sadness . The old man

¦ saw the struggle of the soul , the tossing up of the mind in the search for truth , and he thought how , -glorious it would be to open to him those mysteries , which put death at defiance , and set a beacon up to light ; the lands beyond the grave . He at

length spoke—On to the grave , it is the goal of all , the noble , . mean , the rich , the poor , the haughty conqueror , and the slave . There , fixed by the Great Spirit "is the post , round which we turn and leave the

earth behind , Avhich Avhen Ave reach Ave gaze back and see all time , Avhich Avhen we reach we know - at once all love , Avhich when we reach we find at last relief .

" Does then the dull grave that blights the poets ' wreath , and snatches from the victors' hand the -crown give to earth ' s children ought but nothingness . Shall Ave not turn to dust , incorporate with dust that thought and dreamed such dreams as

ours . The flowers that bloom and dress so fair the grave , die , but in dying leave behind the germs , from which still rarer gems will blush in spring . So man departs but leaves behind a race , that has his all and adds more to that store . In

turn they die , bequeathing all their wealth of knoAvledge to the upgrowing race they leave be'hind them . This do Ave knoAV , but when the portals close that shut our life out and turn our flesh to dust , no knowledge of the past has plainl

y told that Ave shall have an after life , or that the ¦ mind is immortal , or that it incorporates with the minds of those , whose dust mingles with its body . "

The Nemesis: A Tale Of The Days Of Trajan.

" The wise men of the past tell that the soul is everlasting , ancl knoAvs not death , but they have not told what will become of the soul Avhen freed from the body . Vague have been their dreams . The bright globes which deck the brow of night

have been called storehouses of the soul , where journeying on from star to star , they gather from each a portion of its attribute , until they reached perfection , and then can know no further change . Dreams all . The play is ever the same , the

argument ever the same . They tell you . that the actors only change , not life , and that our knoAVledge only leads us to know nothing . Adrian this is false reasoning . Too long have Ave bowed at the shrines of false gods , the clay is coming when

the true Deity will appear . " "Who is then the true Deity ?" " You are not ready for the tidings yet , my son , examine Avell your heart , lay aside the Sophisms of the school , examine nature , and then come to

me when these studies are exhausted . " " You then- know sure land , a terra iirma beyond the quagmires of our superstition ?"

" Because I know ib , therefore am I as I am , no longer the noble and wealthy Corinthian , the possessor of an ancient name and great riches . I have abandoned all for this cause , ancl my labours have not been in vain . "

" Our order , is ib in its mysteries ?" " Our order is a means toAvards an end . Use its doctrines , study the earth , cleanse yourself from all the pride of knowledge , and I shall lead you from the creature nature , up to its creator . "

" You promise me this ?" " I do , be patient , you knoAV not IIOAV soon the knoAvledge may be communicated to you . " ( To be continued . )

Masonic Notes And Qujeries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUJERIES .

THE LIBRABT . I find among my papers the following memorandum : —At the Grand Loclge held May 2 nd , 1814 , the Duke of Sussex , M . W . G . M ., said : "As an object of literary and antiquarian research , the science Avas highly curious to the scholar and the divine . For this purpose it was his Avish , among other things ,

that a library should be formed for Masonic investigations , and it would be found that this would be by no means a trifling or an easy acquisition ; for such a library could not contain any of the trash foisted on the vulgar as Masonic history , but must embrace a very numerous collection of rare and valuable books in HebreAV , Celtic , Greek , Latin , and Oriental languages . " This was received by the numerous body assembled with the warmest applause .