Romance of History.

The texts are very few from which Modern Librated History is extended. Sermonising, editing, romancing, novel-writing, penny-a-lining, religious tracts, writing to order, compiling, Church periodical jour- page 24 nalising, extempore praying, and other feats of authorship, supply all the scraps of History modern wants require, and lecturers fit in events just as they are wanted for the time.

Thousands of men in boon companionship with monks, and friendly with secret Freemasons, have gleaned a little now and then. In conversation, many past events have been spoken of, or the knowledge of them used to color a conversation, or been arrayed in the figures of a discourse, made a point in argument, a picture in elocution, a bias in policy, a fiat in commerce, or woven into every day life, indirectly and without suspicion. So, from the phantoms of mangled remains, theorisms have gated into theories, and theories become the facts of a pan-demere upon which modern history is built, modern education floats, and from which modem literature overflows.

The origin of the Order of the Free and Accepted Mason is said to have been initiated at the time the Temple of Solomon was built. All the lodges hailing from the Kilwinning Lodge have authority for dating their lodge number from that building. The Kilwinning Lodge was one of 304 working lodges under one Supreme jurisdiction, engaged in building eight cities and four temples at the same time. Thyatyra, under Lebanon; Sondon, near Thrace; Plebec, near Athens; Condon, near Carthage; Karnatic, in Asia Minor; Plesopolo, near the present site of Milan; Cambray, in Sicily, and Octogom, in Thessaly. Solomon's Temple in Thyatyra, was the smallest, and Karnatic the largest. There never was a temple in Jerusalem but the Encyclet, an open Piazetta on pillars.

It was after the cateclyce of Ardot, when men began to multiply, that a man of Angle blood and brace and Cyptic mien, and his eleven sons built a street of houses on the site of the present city of Geneva. At that time many old cities were tenantless, or nearly so: amongst the number were Rome, Carthage, Portobello (Marseilles), Damascus, Cardova (Milan), Aleppo, Bagdad, London, and Bristol. The name of the old man was Martin, his wife's name was May, and his sons were known and dreaded as May's Sons. The town they built was named after their only sister, Geneve. It was built as a stronghold for protection against the wandering Crustæ. The town was attacked 12 years after it was inhabited, and Martin, his sons, and a strong party they had gathered built the Cromlech of Tor. Tor, in time, grew to a city, men of Angle blood flocked to it and hordes of Crumlæ were attracted there for the plunder they could get from the gardens and fields. Tor held out against 26 attacks and 39 besetments, but was overpowered at last, 230 years after the building of the cromlech.

The descendants of May's sons, 1912 men, "Brated in the Guild of the Builder" marched out in the night with 1500 picked men, and pitched on the site and amongst the ruins of the city of Aponlonden, a city of Ancient Thrace. They first built the Fort of Trow, and in page 25 28 years the City of Troy was enclosed in concrete, walls from 24 to 98 feet high, and 24 feet in thickness. At Troy the Guild of the Builder became the Order of Free and Accepted Masons. The descendants of the Sons of May being free by birthright, all others accepted.

Troy withstood 71 attacks, and at last was taken by the Sclav. The inhabitants of Troy escaped from the city in bands, in the night time, and when the city was taken only 400 men were left in it. From Troy the Masons went to the ruins of the old city of Ardovoloc, near the present site of Athens, and built the town of Grice. Three hundred and eighty-four years after the building of Grice the Angle blood of Europe had "become mighty in Athenia," and the Trojan war of Homer commenced, and lasted 74 years and 9 days. Combatants flocked to each side "from the four winds of heaven," and met and fought hundreds of miles from the scene. "Even the gods in heaven were arrayed."

After the Trojan war there was a lull for 32 years. One day, 800 of a new spec came from Geneve and prayed to be made "Greek Copote Pray Citisences." They were "Copte in mien, buttred in spote, an hgi en cheke. Brav men an modste maidens wor thye. Thye getted, say th' kalend, out o' Scotte, a wimmen nane kenned th' degrice o', so brated was she, the mither, nane kenned wrink fra aget o' plame. She falterd pon thresh o' drape o' Killock, ain o' our't, an he ketchd she fra fallin. So com'd thye o' the kith o' Scotte, a brane clan o' Mac o' th' Gregor.—From the Copot of the Lodge of Arrine. (The original is not punctuated, but the sentences are separate)

The first city built after the Trojan war was Tadmor. Eleven other cities followed in quick succession, all of them in sculptured entableted architrave design, of which their ruins give no idea whatever.

The Grecian Empire ruled Europe, Asia Minor, and part of North Africa for 1509 years without an army, without taxes, without magistrates, without burthens on the people, under Lodge ruling—an empire of ninety-eight millions, when the Parthian attack on Palmyra was made and another era of bloodshed commenced. The Parthians were horde which took possession of the ancient city of Damascus, long unoccupied. They kept up their attacks on Palmyra for 24 years, and were at last cut to pieces by the Abyssinians to get possession of their city.

Borne was a city of ancient Thrace, solitary when Martin built Geneve. The first to take permanent possession of it was the Gypsy from the Nile. Thirty-three thousand of that tribate ravaged part of Western Europe, and made a halt in Some. Tears afterwards, a Greek Parthian named Romolose went to Rome. He was a powerfully built man, and stood seven feet four inches in height. The Gypsy worshipped and made a demi-god of him. In 13 years he had put the city in order, and in 10 years more he had 29,000 men drilled to the sabre, and 9000 to the pike. With this force he set out on raid. page 26 He invested Turin, and demanded ransom, which was paid. He demanded more, which was refused, and he sacked the city. From Turin he went to Portobello, and demanded and was paid a ransom there. He marched Europe for 27 years, and then sold his chieftainship and remained in Rome a king in all but name. Romolose was a kind, genial man in private, and never permitted bloodshed. The sacking of Turin was beyond his control. In the whole of his subsequent career as a Brigand chief he never permitted violence. Accident made him king of a Copte which would hold prayer meetings, cut throats, dance around a Maypole or violate the maidens, just as they were ordered. From Romolose to Aurian was 91 years, and he first proclaimed Rome an Empire. Rome was then the rendezvous of "the unquiet spirits" that is, the unregenerate (a significant word in modern ears) of all Europe. It was a plebiscite more powerful than the Empire of Greece, because one was armed for aggression, the other unarmed; the one would not sacrifice a single life, the other would sell thousands for the spoils of a temple.

The Grecian Empire was then in its zenith. Eighty one cities and suburbs held nine-hundred and fifty one millions, and all within the boundaries of municipal government. Thebes was 214 miles of continuous streets, 14 miles in width, every dwelling placed on acres of ground, unalienable. The smallest Grecian city was Thessus, 42 miles in length. Every viadary (cross street) was connected by telephene communication, worked by a keyed instrument beating on compressed air. Street trams worked by eight men attained a speed of 12 miles an hour with 12 passengers, but locomotion was discouraged, unless good reasons were given. No bazaars or shops were permitted, every want was supplied by licensed itinerant peddlars, and all prices were fixed. The lodges regulated everything, and the State kept 30 years supply of corn in the granaries. No man was allowed to traffic with the food of the people, or sell the produce of his own patrimony. No rent, taxes or tithes but one—a tenth of the land was cultivated for the public store. The language spoken was Ina Europia and the Stote o' Scottia—the present Lowland Scotch.

The Greeks were Angles regenerating in spe rapidly. The census returns taken every ten years showed an increase of 19 per cent, and the average duration of robust health was 94 years.

Asia Minor was one vast city of cities. Meander a Roman Emperor, was the first to attempt conquest. He brought on the first Punic war by invading Thrace. Rather than sacrifice life, Thrace was abandoned to Roman government. The second Punic war ended by the sacrifice of Acropolis, and the third in the loss of Carthaginia. In these three raids the Romans lost no men, and the Greeks but 36. The tribute demanded was paid.

After the Third Punic war the Romans again invaded the Acropolis and plundered Thracian Palma, slaughtering 15,000 of the inhabitants. The arming of every man under 60 years of age was ordered immediately, and the War of Epyrus followed, in which the Greeks and Romans fought 247 pitched battles. The Romans were routed in every battle but the last, where they were victorious. The Greeks rallied again, in the night, pursued the retreating Romans, and annihilated the whole army. Out of 323,241 men only 74 escaped, and they were made prisoners.

But it was in vain to attempt to suppress the ruck of continents. Roman generals hunted them up everywhere, and enlisted them with no other promise of pay beyond plunder. (Thousands of men might be enlisted in England now, in one month, with no other promise, if another Delhi was to be looted. Dr. W. Russell bemoans his loss of a fortune during the carnage at Lucknow, through not having purchased a jewel stolen by one of the soldiers). The Romans collected 400,000 men in Europe and 300,000 from the Gambia, raid after raid followed. More than 80,000lbs weight of gold, in wrought ornamental chased design was taken from four temples only. It was in vain to think of protecting a territory defenceless and wealthy, and the order was given to dismantle Greece.

Once only, after the war of Epyrus, the Greek and Roman armies met. The battle of Epyrometre was fought between 300,000 Romans and 28,000 Greeks, under Lycurgus. The Romans left 98,214 men dead on the field.

The dismantlement of the temples had commenced. Hundreds of ship loads of treasure were sent away, and part of it sculptures from the High Court of Acropolis. Gold and silver was removed from every public place, and no show of wealth left.

The massacre of the peaceful inhabitants after the dismantlement of the temples was more bloodthirsty than ever. Thebes was attacked, and 94,214 of the unarmed population massacred. Palmyra was the next, and 41,000 were slaughtered there.

The last and crowning act was the massacre of Mycenæ. 214,000 people were slaughtered in one day, by an army under the command of Fluvius.

Every avocation was suspended; no work was done but the work of demolition, and the ruins that are left testify to the completeness of the sacrifice.

The vessels of wrought gold, silver frieze and architrave work, the libraries, manuscript, municipal records, statistics, astronomical instruments, lodge minutes, bummistrie, and lodge gossip, and all that was portable was shipped away to India, Terra-del-Fuego, The Orkneys, Ireland, Scotland, Formosa, Japan, China, Singapore, and other places of security. 98 cargoes are now in the vaults of the St. Asaph Lodge, (a grand loot had it been discovered by the hero of Assaye). 904 cargoes were landed on Soland, (this Island) at the Bluff Inlet. To sate the Roman King, Immanuel Severus, a tribute of 4,000 merks, (about £2,400,000 sterling), was paid in monthly "donations," and no opposition was made to his "borrowing a few images and picters to make his bed place look smirt." "After the little brust we've had," said His Majesty, "and now the dominion weal is set, we can be 'pon friendship again." The few images and picters required to make the bed place of the King look smirt amounted to 1924 statues from the Acropolis, and every painting in Europe now recognised as the work of an Old Master.

The Tribute was paid for 28 years, when Fluvius provoked a war in Britain with Beatrice, (mother of Boadicea) Queen of the Icini. The Empire of Rome was drained of every fighting man. The reserves actually fled to Africa, so terror stricken were they at the name of the "Gaunt Islanders." Boadicea, a girl of eighteen, with 28,000 men, followed the flying Romans as far as Tripoli, and near that fortress cut down 12,000 of them. The panic (attributed to Hannibal) was so complete, that the Empire collapsed and did not show vitality for 30 years, and did not mass another army for 208 years, until the military conscript of Julius Cæsar.

A this time the destruction of sculpture, statuary, entablature, basa relief, entombed architrave, and every vestige of Masonic cuniform inscription, tablet, or symbol was going on uninterruptedly, and when Greece was abandoned and the Lodges removed to India, the wreck was thought to be complete.

Greece tranquilised under Republics. The period from Homer to Thucliydes, was semi-masonic, from Thucliydes to Socrates and the ultimate incorporation of Greece into the Roman Empire, I have nothing to do with here.

Freemasonry originated as a Guild of working men. When sculpture, entablature, architecture, and motive power were restored in Greece, and cities and temples endowed, Masonic lodges became custodians of the treasures and records of former dynasties.