consequence, became greater, the country people flocked into Limisso and other towns, to escape it, and every day the tale was told of fields destroyed and peasants slain by this pest. A young knight, stung by these reports, and setting aide the command of the Master, constructed a model of the serpent, and, by certain contrivances, made it spit forth smoke and fire. With this model he trained his warhorse, until, having overcome his fear of the resemblance, he went forth in search of the reality, found the serpent and slew it. He returned in great pride of heart to Limisso, dragging the serpent after him, and the people, in wonder and joy, received him with all honor, at the same time hastening forward to the preceptory of the Order, where the Grand Master of the Order resolved, that they might witness the victor's reward for freeing the island of the pest. The Grand Master, attended by his officers and brethren, received the young knight in the great hall. There he listened to the narrative of the victor, and when he had described the battle with the serpent, the Grand Master asked him if he was aware of the command given, that no knight should venture to combat the reptile? Receiving an answer in the affirmative, he continued: "Obedience is the first duty of a knight; by disobedience our first parents fell from their estate of bliss; and by your disobedience, you have forfeited your place in ou society. True, you have shown discretion in the means you took to fight the serpent, valor in the combat, but withou implicit obedience paid to the orders of your superiors, your experience is in vain, and your valor worthless. Go; you cease to belong to us." The people would have supplicated the Grand Master to forgive him on account of the good deed done, and his brethren of the Order begged him to reconsider the sentence, but the knight, craving liberty of speech, prayed his auditors to respect the decree, however harsh, of the Master, which he had truly merited, and stepping up to the throne, he laid down his cloak, the red cloak with the white cross, and, bowing to his chief, was slowly retiring. But everything was noticed by the experienced old soldier, who, as the youth crossed the hall to depart, bade

him to return, and, clasping him in his arms, said: "By disobedience you have merited expulsion, but by your obedience you have worked out your redemption. A better fight than with the serpent have you fought this day, and a greater vietory achieved, a victory over yourself."-London Freemason.

THE BEAUTIES OF MASONRY.

THE rich beauties and sacred lessons of Masonry were brought home to my own heart with peculiar force during the recent struggle between the opposing sections of our country. I remember when I lay a helpless prisoner, suffering from a severe wound, fearing to trust the very surgeons, least they should employ their skill to my injury. As one after another came up and asked if I needed immediate attention, I put them off by telling them there were many much worse off than myself; on the evening of the third day, the chief surgeon came up and entered into conversation with me, and on finding from my speech that we were brethren, he pressed my hand and assured me that he recognized the sacred tie that united us, and I put my entire confidence in him from that moment, and I shall never forget his acts of brotherly love towards me, nor how my heart glowed towards him when he manifested fraternal love and sympathy for me. I remember, at a later period of my captivity, when thousands of us, from all parts of our beloved South, were enduring the horrors of a bitter winter, badly sheltered, thinly clad, ill fed, sick, wounded, wretched exiles, with no prospect of freedom to cheer our hearts, our comrades being cut down by disease and famine, how a few score of us, who were Craftsmen, found one another out, cheered each other's hearts, and shared with each other anything we had over and above what actual necessity required. We formed a Masonic society, proved one another, corresponded with a similar society in another prison, visited one another when sick, and through some of those who had authority over us

we were gratified to learn that our sad condition moved the sympathy of our brethren in the city near by, who would have aided us had not the severe rigor of military law prevented. But even the severity of military law did not wholly exclude individual acts of charity and brotherly love, which reached some of us in a disguised form. And I used sometimes to think that the Christianity of that time and place had much to learn of Masonry, for no word of sympathy or warning, in its name, ever reached inside our walls, though the tongues of scores of church bells called together the worshippers within our hearing as often as the holy Sabbath returned, and the city hard by boasted of more churches, in proportion to its population, than any other in the country.

"I remember when I was returning home from captivity, just before the close of the war. I had reached a little town in the old North State, and was wandering about the streets in search of a suitable place to rest, when I perceived in an upper window the sacred emblems of our beloved Order, and yearning for fraternal sympathy, I ascended the stairs, the Tyler sent in my name, and I there found brethren from home, who were providentially in attendance that night, who took me afterwards to their camp, and we spent nearly the entire night in talking over the past, and they sent me on my way rejoicing on the morrow.

"These and many other scenes come home to my mind when I think of the beauties of Masonry. How often have we seen in our Lodges and in this Grand Lodge, those who have worn the blue and gray, sitting side by side-the past forgotten for here all are brethren. Peace and good wil! reign among us from one end of the country to the other, the few jarring strings that marred the harmony of the instrument for a brief time, when the war first closed, were soon attuned into perfect accord, and here we have peace. Let us hope that the spirit of Masonry may ere long indirectly exert its blessed influence over the whole country, and that all may be brought into one harmonious whole."-Grand Master of Florida.

WHAT IS TO "HELE"?

I HAVE no doubt that many, like myself, have noticed how frequently an initiate is perplexed when called upon to pronounce the word hele in one part of the ceremony through which he has passed. He generally exhibits hesitation before he utters it, and then pronounces it as if he were not sure that he has caught the word aright. His perplexity is sometimes increased by the W. M. pronouncing the word as if written hail, or hale-a pronunciation which some are ready to defend. I doubt not that you agree with me in deeming it very desirable, not only that our ritual should be correctly recited, but that it should be well understood-and the meaning of every phrase and of every word should be thoroughly apprehended; and this should be especially so in our obliga tions. Now, I do not think that this is the case in relation to the word in question. What does the verb hele really mean? I dismiss the words hail and hale as being wholly out of the question. I believe the only Anglo-Saxon word so pronounced is hal, which we spell hale-healthy, sound, robust. &c.; or when used as a salutation, spelt in English, hail, implying probably a good wish, as welcome! or, as we sometimes say, "all right." A hail-fellow is a companion-a good fellow. But neither of these words can have reference to secrecy, or concealment. Is not, then, the word we should use, the old Saxon word hele, from helan, to cover? From this same word we get our hell, which signifies a covered or hidden place, and answers to the Hebrew sheol, and the Greek Hades, both translated hell in our bibles, although it is plain in almost every place in which the word is used, that it simply means the unseen or hidden place in which departed spirits are kept, and not a place of punishment, which the word is now used to denote. Thus the psalmist says (Ps. cxxxix, 8) If I make my bed in hell, thou art there." If hele should be the word we should use, the meaning is to cover. I see why our Outer Guard is called a Tiler-his duty being to cover, that is to hide or conceal, the entrance to the Lodge. This word to cover is often thus used to signify to protect or guard, as a

shield is said to cover or guard the body; as also to hide, conceal, or put out of sight. So Job says, "If I cover my transgressions, as Adam" that is, if, like Adam, I try to conceal my transgressions. In like manner, the psalmist says, "If I say darkness shall cover me," which is immediately explained by "The darkness hideth not from thee." Thus the Tiler covers, conceals, or protects the door of the Lodge. Down to the present day, I believe, the meaning of the old word is retained in Cornwall, where tilers or tylers are called hellyers, or coverers, because they cover as the roof of the house. But, then, why have we hele, conceal, and never reveal?"

Some say these are mere synonyms, heaped on one another to render the obligations more impressive. I do not think so-firstly, because an accumulation of words tends to weaken a sentence rather than give it strength or emphasis; and secondly, because the construction of the sentence will not justify that assumption. "Hele, conceal, or never reveal" might do so, but "hele, conceal, and never reveal" certainly will not. The conjunctive conjunction denotes that to reveal is something in addition to what goes before. Why, then, are the three words used? What is the difference in their meaning? Will this do?

1. Hele, to cover or hide; that is never to permit certain things to be seen.

2.

Conceal, to be so cautious in our words that even the most astute or quick-witted stranger shall never be able to discern or discover what is not proper to be made known.

3. Never reveal, to abstain from making known, in any way what is entrusted to us as Masons.

These suggestions are offered with all deference, and in the hope of eliciting something on the subject from some of our erudite brethren.-WM. CARPENTER, in London Freemoson.

DISCOVERIES AT JERUSALEM.

THE discoveries made in Jerusalem by the English party working under the direction of those who control the "Pales tine Exploration Fund" are of much interest. Excavations