TITLE OF GRAND MASTER.

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cate; the author, having received the Templar Degree under the old constitution, can affirm that in the ritual then practised no reference was made to those other degrees. On the settlement by the Supreme Council and the Grand Conclave, as already mentioned, in the year 1851 the degrees of Knight of Malta or Knight of St. John, the Prince Rose-Croix, and also the Kadosh, were separated from the Templar Degree, a severance which caused at the time much dissatisfaction.

The appointment of the Duke of Sussex himself, as derived from the Emperor Alexander, is liable to the following objections: the Knights Templar, it is acknowledged were incorporated with the Knights of St. John, or Knights of Malta, who, after their expulsion from that island, elected, undoubtedly, as their Grand Master, the Emperor Paul of Russia. But the title of Grand Master, assumed by his son and successor, Alexander, was never conferred by the votes of the Order; on the contrary, after the assassination of Paul, they elected the Prince Caraccioli. After the removal of the Order from Malta in 1800, the chief seat was transferred to Catania in Sicily, whence, in 1826, it was removed by the Pope's authority to Ferrara.

Having shown that the title of the Duke of Sussex, as derived from the Emperor of Russia, was, to say the least, unsatisfactory, are we not justified in taking another and very different view of the subject? The Order having in the course of time fallen into decay abroad, and infirmity having been displayed in its government and management, the English knights, whose Encampments had been in a healthy condition for many years, were fully entitled to take the steps necessary for their own good government; and this course, we fully believe, would have been followed by the ancient brethren of the Order, had indecision or weakness manifested themselves at the fountain-head. Viewed from this point, the rule of the Duke of Sussex, accepted though not elected by the knights in England, seems perfectly satisfactory, nor can we see that any really important objection can be

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SCOTTISH TEMPLARY.

made to the assumption of the title of 'Grand Master,' if the Order think fit to confer it upon their head.

There are several Encampments in England claiming great antiquity. It is asserted that the Encampment of Baldwin was established at Bristol by the Templars who returned from Palestine with Richard I.; it is still one of the most flourishing in England, and has preserved the ancient costume and ceremonial of the Order. This, with another at Bath, and a third at York, constitute the three original Preceptories of this kingdom. It must be confessed, however, that though there is no reason to doubt their authenticity, our information is derived only from the traditions current in these Encampments. It would be more satisfactory if the members would communicate any facts corroborative of the statement. cannot but think that in their archives is concealed much matter of interest to the Order in general, and which would prove of value in any future regulations for the government of the Fraternity, though at present they do not work in connection with the Great Priories.

We

In Scotland the Templars have an organization different from our own and from that existing in any part of the world where this ancient Order is to be found.

"The Religious and Military Order of the Temple' in Scotland consists of two classes, 1. Novice or Esquire; 2. Knight Templar. The Knights consist of three grades, 1. Knights created by Priories; 2. Knights Commanders, elected from the Knights on memorial to the Grand Master and Council, supported by the recommendation of the Priories to which they belong; 3. Knights Grand Crosses, to be nominated by the Grand Master.

The supreme legislative authority of the Order is the Grand Conclave, which consists of the Grand Officers, the Knights Grand Crosses, the Knights Commanders, and the Prior of each Priory. Four Chapters are held annually. At the meeting in March the Grand Officers are elected. The Grand Master is elected triennially. The subordinate Chapters are designated Priories.

CHAPTER XXIII.

ANTIENT AND PRIMITIVE RITE OF MASONRY.

(MEMPHIS MIZRAIM.)

A COMPLETE history of this Order would necessarily involve an account of most of the Rites prevalent last century which devoted themselves to Templary, Theosophic, Hermetic and Occult research. Suffice it for this article to give the reader a general impression upon the more important points of the Rite.

The leading fact is, that prior to the year 1721 some of the English Masons of the York Rite, which last century was known as a Templar Rite of Seven Degrees, were well acquainted with the ancient mystical language of those occult fraternities who boasted the gnosis, or wisdom of old Egypt, and were then, in 1721, addressed as the higher class' of Masons. The Continental brethren developed this Hermetic element to an almost incredible extent. Martinez Paschalis, who was a German, of poor parents, born about the year 1700, after having acquired a knowledge of Greek and Latin at the age of sixteen years, journeyed to Turkey, Arabia and Damascus, and obtaining initiation into the Temple Mysteries of the East, upon his return, established a particular Order of Rose-Croix, or Elected Cohens, which influenced greatly all the Masonry of his century, and especially some of the Orders from which the Rite of Memphis drew its inspiration.

The basis of the Antient and Primitive Rite, or Order of Memphis, for they are one and the same, is to be

360

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RITE.

found in the Rite of Philalethes,' or Lovers of Truth, an Order promulgated about the year 1773, and identical in its principles with the 'Primitive Philadelphes,' or Lovers of Mankind. On this, as a groundwork, was established, in the year 1814, at Montauban, France, by the Brothers Samuel Honis, of Cairo, Gabriel Mathieu Marconis de Negre, the Baron Dumas, the Marquis de Laroque, Hypolite Labrunie, and J. Petit, a Grand Lodge of the Disciples of Memphis. In the same year was published at the Orient of Memphis' the Hieroglyphic of Master of Masters, which claimed for the Oriental, or Egyptian Rite, that it was the only true system of Masonry, and fortified by unquestionable authenticity. Whatever was the aim of the authors of this pamphlet, it is noteworthy that the Rite, of which we now treat, employed its language and philosophy almost verbally in its ceremonies.

The Disciples of Memphis continued work at Montauban for a short time until the Grand Lodge fell into abeyance, and was then revived at Paris in the year 1839, as one of the subordinate bodies of the recently constituted Sovereign Sanctuary and Grand Orient of the Antient and Primitive Rite of Memphis, which had published its statutes, and extended to Marseilles and Brussels in 1838, flourishing, with various vicissitudes, until now. In the year 1857 the Illustrious and Enlightened Brother Jacques Etienne Marconis, Grand Hierophant, (son of Gabriel Mathieu Marconis), inaugurated the Rite in person at New York, with Illustrious Brother David M'Clellan as Grand Master, and afterwards, in the year 1862 (when he had united his privileges with the Grand Lodge of France), chartered it as a Sovereign Sanctuary, with the sanction of the said Grand Lodge, the Patent being vised by the Grand Master Marshal Magnan, and sealed with the seals of the said Grand Lodge, Illustrious Brother Harry J. Seymour being appointed Grand Master General. On the 3rd June, 1872, the said Sovereign Sanctuary of America granted a Charter for the Sovereign Sanctuary 33°, in and for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the following

ORIGINAL OFFICERS OF THE RITE.

361

officers appointed under the said Charter were installed by Illustrious Brother Harry J. Seymour, 33-96°, in person, at Freemasons' Hall, London, on the 8th October, 1872, viz. ::

Illustrious Brother John Yarker, 33-96°, Grand Master General.

Illustrious Brother Michael Caspari, 33-95°, Grand Chancellor General.

Illustrious Brother Samuel P. Leather, 33-95°, Grand Treasurer General.

Illustrious Brother Charles Scott, J.P., 33-95°, Grand Inspector General.

Illustrious Brother Patrick John Graham, M.A., LL.D., 33-95°, Grand Keeper of the Golden Book. Illustrious Brother A. D. Loewenstark, 33-95°, Grand Secretary General.

This body, in the year 1875, sanctioned the conferment of the Rite of Mizraim upon Members of the Rite of Memphis, the former having now no separate governing body in this country. It is unnecessary to follow this history in detail, as full information can be obtained from the Constitutions, &c., Public Ceremonials, and History of the Rite' (John Hogg, London).

The Rite is divided into three series, and subdivided into seven classes, which form the schools which are to teach the Masonic knowledge, physics, and philosophies which have an influence upon the happiness and moral and material well-being of temporal man.

The

The First Series teaches morality; that study of himself which endows the Mason with the beautiful name of philosopher, or lover of wisdom, by which is understood that triumph over the passions which represents the union of virtue with justice and liberty. neophyte is taught the signification of symbols, emblems, and allegories; he is impressed with that need of mutual assistance which nature has wisely willed that we should relatively hold to each other, and the extension to others of that mutual love and tolerance which forms the true and stable basis of all society.