Morning journal and courier., 1886-09-08
MASONIC,

been issued, and the gathering will be a large one. A party of twenty-five, inelud-
 ing quartette and grand organist, will be
 present from Boston, The rooms of the
 rite are situated in the Insurance building on
 the fifth story and include five in number.
 The walls are handsomely decorated with
 pictures and emblems derived from antiqui
 ties in Egypt, where the rite originated. The
 artist who performed the work has beer
 in Egypt and seen the objects painted or
 the walls. Standing near the sanctuary and
 looking toward the northeast corner, we ex
 anime the paintings, going around with the
 sun.
 The first figure is of Isis of Basins, the
 black goddess with the ioness head. This
 is from @ statue in black granite. On the
 other side of this east end sits Osiris in the
 space between the two columns. The figure
 is the same size as that of Isis and is in
 typical robes.
 in the center of this Masonic East' is g
 "star of perfection" which has twelve rays
 brilliantly tinted, having the signs of the
 zodiac between the points, as drawn by the
 Egyptians more than thirty centuries age
 and long before the Greeks had any knowl-
 edge of astronomy. The form of the lodge
 is Ian oblong,' and is said to lie between
 east and west and extend from the surface to
 the center, as indicated by three oblongs in
 of four triangles, or three oblongs, and the
 lines used in forming the various figures in.
 cluded in it, the square, pentagon, and the
 enclosing circle, form what is called the
 Egyptian cannon of proportion, the
 scale by which all their art work was
 made, and the model which was borrowed by
 the Greeks and used in their most wonderful
 D Al . s--
 tention of the Egyptian or Greek artist in
 making any work of art, statue or picture, and determine whether the object was to pre- sent good or an evil principle, good or evil deed. We have an example of it's applica- tion on the door of entrance, in the goats head in five pointed star
 In the east are four columns from the Isis temple at Denderah, where each one has four heads of the goddess sculptured on the sides of the capital. Behind can be seen 8 blue background studded with gold and silver stars arranged like the constellations ill the northern heavens.
 Turning to the south side, the first group on the left is an initiation scene from the Belzoni mystery chamber, in the Valley of the Kings, in Upper Egypt. There are nine rooms in that underground series of cham bers, each covered from floor to ceiling with figures and writing delineating the various scenes of the initiation into the ancient mys- teries.
 The next panel contains very interesting group; Osiris again, as Serapis, the god of the under world, and Isis as Ament, and Horns as Thoth.
 On the west end we have view of the river Nile, beyond which rise the two great pyramids of Jeezeh. The sun is setting be- hind them, throwing golden haze over a wide stretch of the Lybian desert. On the left under the palm tree stands the god Alum, life size, besides large handled cross, the emblem of immortality. His duty was to attended the soul in it's decling years as it approached the end of the human life and prepare it for it's passage over the Nile. On the opposite side stands Hapi, the god who presided over the river Nile. He holds 3 vase filled with fruit.
 We now turn to the north, the palace of Masonic darkness" where we find the dead Osiris on bier attended by the deities who were supposed to come for and guide the soul from this life to the life in the invisible world. Under the bier are four figures, the four genii of the lower regions. Their heads recall the four beasts named in Revelations iv, ?.
 A center panel is covered ten feet high and twelve wide by copy, natural size, of fu- 1eral tent which was found in tomb in Egypt about four years since. It was em- 1roidered in colors, as seen here, on leather
  s-Em- -Kheb, to cover the ark that held her emains when in the boat passing across the Nile.
 In the next panel is the funeral boat with ts typical ark in which the body of the dead vas carried westward" across the Nile, or scred lake, such as every temple had, and .lso were and are now attached to or sur ounding temples in India. The boat is cu- ious in shape, bears emblems of the Creator md is provided with an oar in which the ,uiding eye is painted. The ark is decorat- d with emblems of life and immortality, md figure of Osiris as prepared for the omb. The ark, masonically, is typical of he central and most profound secret in Free and as such it is given 8 promi- lent place.
 The last panel has a cancpied heaven in he form of woman whose feet stand in he west and whose hands hang in the east. Iany stars deck the space around her and re scattered over her body, as if through the 'lue space of heaven. Below her idealized orm sits the strange but familiar image of he Creator as figured by the ancients-as ,lace of his own. He is busy at 8 potter's wheel, forming lump of clay into the body a man. This figure closes the series on he walls.
 Passing over many minor but suggestive mblems we speak next of the ceiling, which 5 adorned with an elaborate design which is lightly varied from the Egyptian emblem f Divine Providence as is shown in Villiers tuart's s'Tent of an Egyptian Queen" and ther books on Egyptian antiquities. The riginals of all the figures and other forms of ecoration used in this work can be found ! books on ancient Egypt in any large brary.
 In the anterooms the decorations are lainly on the glass doors and on the parti- l ons. There are heads of horns and Thoth, lotus and many designs and emblems.
 Thoth guards the door leading to the read | lg room, on the right, but the door bears 1 le sacred pspyrus, lotus and the serpent of | pod omen. On the left of this door is the | d of sarcophagus of Pharaoh, with it's in- 1 ,ription in hieroglyphs, the translation of | hich is: le region of the grave (Rustan), and to | siris, Lord of Tatton, Lord of Abydos, that | icy may grant good repose and oxen and l sese and bread, good store, and good water | purifcation, and all enjoyment and hap | mess to the disembodied spirit of Ra-Se- | enen, Lord of upper and lower Egypt, pro- | aimed righteous" This sarcophagus, with it's inclosed mum y of the Pharaoh, was found only four | sars since and is now in the Museum of | oulak, Egypt. From the masters chair, from the "south, |
 the west and in the north, emblematic de- | gns suggestions of Oriental thought, rever- l ice and faith meet the eye. The floors are decorated expressly for each | om, and the one in the large is emblematic | aving in the midst, near the center, two in- rlaced triangles or 8 six-pointed star ff- ! en feet in diameter, formed in expressive | ,lors and figures. Borders and tesselated | Id tiled spaces complete the design. The furniture is copied directly from gyptian models, in form, colors and decor ions. The chairs are mounted on movable lrones and each bears appropriate emblems. | The general committee are: Illustrious Sir Knights-Henry L. Hill, chairman, sorge R. Chamberlain, Henry E. Talmadge, Lev cit L. Camp, Charles B. Matthewman, pr. Joseph
 Smith, Charles J. Buckbee, Charles W. Scran- h. George W. Bigelow, Frank A. Newton, Prof. ,njamn Jepson, John J. Osborn, Christopher c. ldel William G. Morris, Charles A. Lines. The subcommittee are:
 H. Smith, B. Jepson, F. A. New Finance-L. L. Camp. 0. W. Scranton, H. L. H.
 F furniture and Fitting-G. R. Chamberlain, c. J. lckbee, w. G. Morris.
 and Painting-C A. Lines J. J. Os- + Tn, c. c. Andel
 W. Bigelow, c. B. Matthew an, H. F. TaImadge.
 Carpenter-Edward P. Brett.
 Painters-J. Wolcott & Co.
 E Furniture-Chamberlin6 6E Go. P. Kelly. and Rohectors-Silas Galpin Leighton Rawsen, D. DILL D., w York |