Washington telegraph., 1854-10-18

thou enter here I? Heresy turks in every
corner of this house, and the curses of the
damned are upon it. Avaunt. or the fires
of hell shall punish thee, and through all
eternity thy soul shall be with the accursed
The church speaks-wilt thou obey ?'
The candidate may obey. but if he does
not, the officer throws off his priestly gown,
and appears in the uniform of an Orderly
Sergeant. An inner door is opened, and
the guard Composed of four men in uni
form and armed with muskets) enter, and
fronting the candidate, or candidates, (for it
appears that more than one are initiated at
the same time) present their bayonets to the
breast of the candidate. The following
we copy from the ritual-then occurs
The Orderly Sergeant swears the candi-
date to well and truly. and without any men
tai reservation whatsoever, answer such
questions as viii be put to him.
orderly Sergean5.-Sir; (or plural if
more than one)-Before you advance far
ther, it becomes my duty to inform you as
to the objects of the Association to which
you have been elected and now evince de-
sire to become member. It is thoroughly
national, and purely American in its char
acter None but those born on the soil, and
those, too who have pride in their coun-
try's welfare, can enter here You, sir, are
well aware that the formation and growth of
our country is without parallel in the his
tory of the world. In the beginning she
presented the picture Of an infant conquer
ing giant, and our forefathers astounded
the old world with their firm devotion to the
cause of right, and their apparent intention
of sacrificing their all, even life, rather than
be the slaves of a tyrant, or to submit to
the yoke of foreign oppressor. God
crowned them victors and made them free
men. Republicanism was yet an expert
ment in the world, when these United States
were reluctantly recognised as an Indepen-
dent Government by the crowned heads of
the Eastern Hemisphere.
Glittering monarchs and tinseled mobiles
looked upon the young nation with no alarm
for they were confident that a few brief
years would find these States monarchy
its people slaves. But our wise forefathers
succeeded in framing government une-
qualed for its simplicity and grandeur =
Under it we now stand among the greatest
of the nations of the earth-and Americans
are yet free But sad gloom has of late
over-spread our fair land. A foreign
priesthood, with foreign preiudices, and
which has for centuries been the main reli-
ance of dcspotism, has sought to intrude it.
self in our midst, disturb the tranquility
of our people, and impair. if not destroy,
the beautiful fabric erected by our fathers
Alas they have been so far too successful
They have been supported by hordes of
slaves, liberated from European bondage
only to become the tools of a crafty priest
hood in free land, and by-the curse Of
Heaven rest upon the traitors "a corrupt
brotherhood of politicians, which ramifes
every section Of our country. Already we
see representatives of our Government
abroad taking sides with despotism, and
even in our midst are found those proclaim
ing the most pernicious doctrines. Colum-
bias fair fame has baen polluted, and the
rights Of her sons tIampled upon 1t there
fore behooves all true Americans, all who
love liberty. to bestir themselves in their
countrys cause, ere it is too late. The
signs of the times call US to arms, in our
countrys defence, and it is in that cause
and that alone, in which we are enlisted
Do you, sir, feel like joining US?
If the candidate answers in the negative
he is allowed to depart, if in the affirmative
he is asked the following questions
Where and when was you born?
"ora Al
try, and were they ever connected with the
Roman Catholic Church
Have you ever been connected with the
Roman Church, or sympatbised with its po-
litical doctrines?
Do you love your country, and have you
always desired the success of its institu-
tions
Have you ever been seeker after pub
lie office
Are you willing to sign your own inter-
ests, if necessary, into those of your coun-
try
Are you willing to most solemnly pledge
your life. services and property for your
country's good, if either should be demand
ed F?
1hese questions answered IN the a1tlrma-
tive, the Guard shoulder arms, and under
the commands Of the O. s. escort the can
didate to another room. The O. s., the G.
and the candidate then march to the inner
door. where they meet the Sentinel also in
uniform and the following words are ex-
changed:
.Sentiuel-Who comes there
orderly Sergeant-A Guard of the True
Blue, having in charge a countryman, anx-
ious to enlist on the side of right and Liber-
y?
SentineI-But none can pass here who
are not pledged to their country's cause,
and willing to suffer as our forefathers did,
for human liberty.