The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-02-05
A MASONIC SENSATION.
Emblems of the Craft Found Beneath an
ObclislS in Egypt.


obelisls in Egypt.
Great interest has been excited in Ma
sonic circles by reports from Egypt that
Masonic emblems have been found under
the pedestal of Cleopatra's Needle, which
is to be brought to this country. A dis
patch from Lieutenant. Commander Cor
ringe of the United States Navy says:
Immediately under the pedestal of
the obelisk, and in the east angle formed
by the steps, 1 found block of hewn
syenite granite, forty inches in the cube,
representing q perfect Masonic altar.
Under this and Immediately below l
found a white marble slab, representing
the apron, extending across the founda-
ton of polished syenite granite, one hum
dred and two inches long and fifty.one
inches broad and twenty-five and half
inches thick, the upper half hewn into a
perfect square. At the same level and
touching the short section of the square
and in the west angle of the foundation
I found another block of syenite granite
markedly regular in form, the surface of
which represented rough ashlar steps
and the foundation of which was COM
posed of white granite. Beside these
four pieces I found other less noticeable
and important but equally significant
emblems."
Many Masons accept this as proving
the great age of the Masonic society.
Ex-Speaker Hustled, of New York, a
Mason of high rank, is somewhat skepti-
cal, saying:
II am free to say that I do not believe
the emblems have any direct connection
with operative Masonry as it is practiced
at the present day. That the discoveries
are wonderful and valuable is certain.
They will start up all the archeologists
and give new impetus to fraternity
writers. Anything that concerns crypt
ology is interesting to me, but have not
yet been able to discover any connection
between Egyptian cryptology aud the
modern craft. l became Mason at the
age of twenty-one, have reached the
thirty third degree and have been Grand
Master of the State. have made Ma
sonic history study, but have never
been able to trace Masonry more than
four hundred years back-not step be-
yond the Crusades. AS near as can
judge it had its origin on the Continent
of Europe, with the builders of the great
European cathedrals, and was organized
for the protection Of the workmen from
the bosses aud the feudal leaders. 1t
was purely operative Masonry then, and
it naturally adopted the tools of the craft
as emblematic of their trade-union, and
grips and passwords which were also in
tended to guard from intrusion. Every
thing in that day partook of the religious
element, and consequently religion en-
tered largely into the organization of the
guild. The belief in God was insisted
upon--one God-which was broad
enough to admit the Jew as we'll as the
Christian. But fail to find anything of
the religious element which necessarily
betokens great antiquity. King Solomon
is recognized because the temple at Jeru-
salem was the oldest building of which
we have any certain account. This is
natural. The Bible gives many interest
ing details of the temple, and those who
felt an interest in the order incorporated
these details with the working history of
the Order"
Masonic Emblcms In Egyptian Ruins.
Washington Special to N. Y. Hcrald.l
Major Benjamin Perley Poore, who is
a Scottish Rite Mason Of the thirty-third
degree, said that he was not surprised by
the announcement from Lieutenant Com
mander Gorringe that he had found en-
shrined beneath the Alexandria obelisk
Masonic emblems. The major stated
that some thirty-five years ago, when q
young man, he visited Egypt twice, and
and the tombs on the banks of the Nile
abundant evidences of the existence of
society-evidently secret society-which
used emblems similar to many of those
now used by the brethren of the mystic
tie." This society superintended the
erection of the pyramids and other stu
pendous piles of masonry, some of which
were built step by step as the head of the
Order progressed in his acquisition of the
mysteries of the Order, and after his
death it became his burial place. Major
Poore narrated his visit to subterranean
place of interment in Egypt, which was
piled up to the ceiling with sarcophagi,
on each one of which was portrayed its
embalmed inmates name, with the i'm
plements of his trade or the symbols of
his profession. At last he came to one
on which was painted a male figure about
ten inches in height, standing in the po-
sition and making the sign now portion
of the ceremonial of one of the degrees of
the Scottish Rite and wearing his jewel.
Around are grouped many of the symbols
now used in speculative Masonry, inclu-
ding the all-seeing eye, the square, the
guage divided into the parts, the gavel,
the rough and perfect ashlars and the
plumb. These might have denoted
practical Mason, but they are inter-
mingled with small pictures of figures
represented as giving signs recognizable
by the craft, and the jewel, which was
found on the breast of the embalmed oc.
cupant of the sarcophagus, was a small
bronze figure of Silence, with finger on
its lips. 1t was at that time against an
edict of the Pacha to remove any antiqui-
ties from Egypt without having first OBJ
tanned frman, which could only be
gotten by an expenditure of time and
money. "So," said Maj. Poore, Il had
to content myself with cutting off that
portion of the sarcophagus on which
these symbols and the figure had been
painted. That with the jewel and the
fright hand of the embalmed mummy 1
brought home, aud they are now at my
residence in Massachusetts,. These, with
other symbols from Egypt, have been ex-
amined by hundreds of American Free
Masons, who have recognized them as
Identical with those used by the fraterni-
ty here at the present day."
MYSTERIES HANDED DOWN ALONG THE
AGES
When asked whether he regarded the
Freemasonry of to-day as lineally de-
scended from the Egyptian Order, Major
Doa.o UI ON not rrnporod IN