cessary that he should pass with the greatest speed, to avoid the effects of the flames. To this peril succeeds another. On the other side of this fiery furnace, the floor of the hall is garnished with a huge net-work of red hot iron bars, the narrow interstices of which afford the aspirant the only chances of a secure footing. Having surmounted this difficulty by the greatest address, another and unexpected obstacle opposes his farther progress. A wide and rapid canal, fed from the waters of the Nile, crosses the passage he is treading. Over this stream he has to swim. Divesting himself, therefore, of his garments, he fastens them in a bundle upon the top of his head, and holding his lamp, which now affords him all the light that he possesses, high above the water, he plunges in and boldly swims across.

On arriving at the opposite side, he finds a narrow landing place, bounded by two high walls of brass, into each of which is inserted an immense wheel of the same metal, and terminated by an ivory door. This, of course, the aspirant attempts to openbut his efforts are in vain. The door is unyielding. At length he espies two large rings, of which he immediately takes hold, in the expectation that they will afford him the means of effecting an entrance. But what are his surprise and terror, when he beholds the brazen wheels revolve upon their axles with a formidable rapidity and stunning noise; the platform sinks from under him, and he remains suspended by the rings, over a fathomless abyss, from which issues a chilling blast of wind; his lamp is extinguished, and he is left in profound darkness. For more than a minute he remains in this unenviable position, deafened by the noise of the revolving wheels, chilled by the cold current. of air, and dreading least his strength shall fail him, when he must inevitably be precipitated into the yawning gulf below. But by degrees the noise ceases, the platform resumes its former position, and the aspirant is restored to safety. The ivory door now spontaneously opens, and he finds himself in a brilliantly illuminated apartment, in the midst of the priests of Isis, clothed in the mystic insignia of their offices, who welcome him, and con

gratulate him on his escape from the dangers which have menaced him. In this apartment he beholds the various symbols of the Egyptian mysteries, the occult signification of which is by degrees explained to him.

But the ceremonies of initiation do not cease here. The candidate is subjected to a series of fastings, which gradually increase in severity for nine times nine days. During this period a rigorous silence is imposed upon him, which, if he preserve it inviolable, is at length rewarded by his receiving a full revelation of the esoteric knowledge of the rites. This instruction took place during what was called the twelve days of manifestation. He was conducted before the triple statue of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, where, bending the knee, he was clothed with the sacred garments, and crowned with a wreath of palm; a torch was placed in his hand and he was made to pronounce the following solemn obligation: "I swear never to reveal, to any of the uninitiated, the things that I shall see in this sanctuary, nor any of the knowledge that shall be communicated to me. I call as witnesses to my promise, the gods of heaven, of earth and hell, and I invoke their vengeance on my head, if I should ever wilfully violate my oath."

Having undergone this formality, the neophyte was introduced into the most secret part of the sacred edifice, where a priest instructed him in the application of their symbols to the doctrines of the mysteries. He was then publicly announced, amid the rejoicings of the multitude, as an initiated, and thus terminated. the ceremonies of initiation into the mysteries of Isis, which were the first degree of the Egyptian rites.

The mysteries of Serapis constituted the second degree. Of these rites we know but little. Apuleius* alone, in his "Metamorphoses," has written of them, and what he has said is unimportant. He only tells us that they were celebrated at the summer

It is indeed singular, that Herodotus, who treats circumstantially of the gods of the Egyptians and their religion, should make no mention of Serapis or his rites.

solstice, and at night; that the candidate was prepared by the usual fastings and purifications; and that no one was permitted to partake of them, unless he had previously been initiated into the mysteries of Isis.

The mysteries of Osiris formed the third degree or summit of the Egyptian initiation. In these, the legend of the murder of Osiris, by his brother Typhon, was represented, and the god was personated by the candidate. Osiris, according to the tradition, was a wise king of Egypt, who having achieved the reform of his subjects at home, resolved to spread the blessings of civilization. in the other parts of the earth. This he accomplished, but on his return he found his kingdom, which he had left in the care of his wife Isis, distracted by the seditions of his brother Typhon. Osiris attempted, by mild remonstrances, to convince his brother of the impropriety of his conduct, but he fell a sacrifice in the attempt. For Typhon murdered him in a secret apartment, and cutting up the body, enclosed the pieces in a chest, which he committed to the waters of the Nile. Isis, searching for the body, found it, and entrusted it to the care of the priests, establishing at the same time the mysteries in commemoration of the foul deed. One piece of the body, however, she could not find, the membrum virile. For this she substituted a factitious representation, which she consecrated, and which, under the name of phallus, is to be found as the emblem of fecundity in all the ancient mysteries.

This legend was purely astronomical. Osiris was the sun, Isis the moon. Typhon was the symbol of winter, which destroys the fecundating and fertilizing powers of the sun, thus, as it were, depriving him of life. This was the catastrophe celebrated in the mysteries, and the aspirant was made to pass fictitiously through the sufferings and the death of Osiris.

The secret doctrines of the Egyptian rites related to the gods, the creation and government of the world, and the nature and condition of the human soul. In their initiations, says Oliver, they informed the candidate that the mysteries were received

from Adam, Seth, and Enoch, and they called the perfectly initiated candidate Al-om-jah, from the name of the Deity. Secrecy was principally inculcated, and all their lessons were taught by symbols. Many of these have been preserved. With them, a point within a circle, was the symbol of the Deity surrounded by eternity; the globe was a symbol of the supreme and eternal God; a serpent with the tail in his mouth, was emblamatic of eternity; a child sitting on the lotos was a symbol of the sun; a palm tree, of victory; a staff, of authority; an ant, of knowledge; a goat, of fecundity; a wolf, of aversion; the right hand with the fingers open, of plenty; and the left hand closed, of protection.*

ELECT, PERFECT AND SUBLIME MASON. One who is in possession of the 14th degree of the ancient Scotch rite. See Perfection.

ELECT OF PERIGNAN. A French degree illustrative of the punishment inflicted upon certain criminals whose exploits constitute a portion of the legend of symbolic masonry. The counterpart of this degree is to be found in the Elected Knights of nine, and Illustrious Elected of Fifteen in the ancient Scotch rite.

ELECTED KNIGHTS OF FIFTEEN. See Illustrious Elected of Fifteen.

Maitre élu des neufs.

There are but two
Solomon, and one
The meetings are

ELECTED KNIGHTS OF NINE. The ninth degree in the ancient Scotch rite. officers: the Most Powerful, who represents Warden in the West, representing Stokin. called Chapters. In this degree is detailed the mode in which certain ****** ******, who just before the completion of the

See, for the facts recorded in this article, Apuleius, Metamorph.; Clavel, Histoire de la Franc-Maçonrie; Oliver, Signs and Symbols; Pluche, Histoire du Ciel, etc.

Temple, had been engaged in an execrable deed of villany, received their punishment. It exemplifies the truth of the maxim, that the punishment of crime, though sometimes slow, is ever sure; and it admonishes us, by the historical circumstances on which it is founded, of the binding nature of our masonic obli gations. The symbolic colours are red, white, and black. The white is emblematic of the purity of the knights; the red, of the crime which was committed; and the black, of grief. This degree, under the title of "ELU," constitutes the 4th degree in the French rite.

ELECTION. It is an ancient regulation that no candidate can be elected a member of our order, until strict enquiry shall have been made into his moral character. For this purpose, all letters of application, except those of transient persons, must lie over at least one month, during which time they are entrusted to a committee of investigation, whose unfavourable report is equivalent to a rejection by the lodge, and precludes the necessity of a ballot. If it be favourable, the ballot is then entered into. The reason why an unfavourable report of the committee is equivalent to a rejection, is, that as it takes two at least of the committee to make the report unfavourable, it is to be supposed that these two would of course black-ball the candidate. And as two black balls constitute a peremptory rejection, they may be considered as already given by the report. For the further regulation of the election, see the word Ballot.

The election of the officers of a lodge, must always take place before St. John the Evangelist's day, which is with us the commencement of the masonic year. Should it from any circumstances be postponed, it cannot afterward be entered into, except by dispensation from the Grand Master. Nominations of candidates are not permitted by the usages of masonry, but a short time previous to the election, the brethren should be called off to refreshment, for the purpose of interchanging their opinions. They are then called on, and each brother deposits in the ballot