The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1890-01-18

Orient studying Masonry and practising
conjuring, both TO my entire personal and
satisfaction. While was In Port
Louis, on the Island Of Msuritlus, Of the
South African coast, received the degrees
Of Mark and Most Excellent Master, and /
the Royal Arch 10 Friendship Lodge.
completed my chapter degrees in Keystone
Lodge, Shanghai, China. This Lodge is
under obedience to the Grand Orient Of the |
United States, and it is composed Of some
Of the brightest men in China. While /
was in Shanghai frequently attended a
native Lodge with an unpronouncable
name. the translation of which was 1.-THE
Rising SUM-" This was presided over by q
Mandarin Of one Of the highest ranks.
The senior deacon was a prince, and the
way the work was done would be revela-
tion TO q Western Mason. OF course the
Chinese language was spoken, but the
work ls almost identical the world over and
1 had no difficulty IN following IL. have
seldom seen work that WAS any smoother
or more impressive. It was In this Lodge
that met Kwong Ii Mel, the spendthrift
son Of q rich banker, Of whom shall have
more to say before Il have finished this ar
ticle.
A TEMPLE OF WHITE MARBLE.
In 1880 1 took my Scottish Rite degrees
In the Triple Esperance Lodge in Port
Louis, Mauritius. This is one Of the largest
and oldest lodges in the world. 1t cele-
brated its centennial while was there. Its
building is one Of the finest temples in the
fraternity. It is constructed Of white
marble, only one story high, and stands in
the centre of block.
Its roof coYers four acres Of land, and 1t
contains rooms enough to allow every de
gree in Masonry to be conferred the same
night, in a different room. The banquet
ing hall is as large as the dining room Of
the Fifth Avenue Hotel. The grounds
surrounding the temple are beautifully laid
out, and are shut in from the public gaze
by stone wall ten feet high. The lodge
containt 800 active members and quite a.
many en- congo.
l
Islands, and therefore all lodge meetings
are held in secret l once attended meet
ing in the dining room Of Mr.. Barnard, =
wealthy carriage manufacturer, whose
house is directly opposite the Hotel Bala
In Manila, as well as in China, there are
many native lodges, but the ones 1 have CO.
peclally alluded to are English, although
many natives are enrolled as members.
On one Of my Hrst visits to South Africa
I accompanied party Of English officers,
on hunting expedition. We were on the
plains at the base Of the hills and were hav-
ing great sport. We had about dozen
white men in the party and not less than
thirty NATIVES to drive the wagons, take
care Of the horses and beat up the game,
We had passed q number of springboks aud
antelopes; and Lietenant Miles, who was
my hunting mate, and had bagged our
share. Among the natives noticed one
had charge Of the teamsters and appeared
to be fellow of moro than ordinary intel
llgence. When we broke camp the next
morning had little difficulty with one
of the men whose duty it was to look after
my horse. But when we had mounted and
started out for the DAYS sport forgot all
about the occurrence. Itappears, however,
that the native had better memory.
think that it was the third or fourth night
after this that started out on little tour
J of exploration. 1t was = glorious night
and the moon made the landscape as light
! as day. had hardly gone quarter of q
mile when felt sharp blow on the head.
: The next moment l was unconscious.
J When 1 recovered my senses. 1 found the
foreman kneeling oyer me rubbing my
J hands.
) whats the matterP'' / Easped. "What
has happenedP"
'It iS lucky for you was near you,"
mysteriously replied the negro, in excellent
English. A few minutes later he explained
TO me that he had heard the hostler / had
quArreled with make threats against my
lite and he had consequently kept close
watch upon him. He saw him follow me
this night, and. therefore, Joined in the
chase, Before he could reach me, though,
he saw the fellow hit me on the back of the
head with club, Hs fred shot from his
revolver and hurried to nay side, but the
would-be assassin had escaped. On our
way back TO camp asked him why he had
taken such an interest In me. In reply he
held out his hand, and TO my amazement,
gave me the grip Of Master Mason. he
was = member Of the native lodge in Ora
Jamestown. and knew me to be = member
Of the craft by the gold watch charm al
} ways wear.
have Visited PArSee Lodges in Bombay,
J Persian Lodges in Malaga and Bagdad,
English Lodges iu Great Britain, French
Lodges in France, native Lodges in Mex
! leo, Dutch Lodges In Java, Spanish Lodges
! In Cuba and South America. have seen
the work in Arabia, Egypt, Australia and
! South Africa, and 1t is needless to say am
: acquainted with the lodge rooms Of the
} United States. mention the range of my
experience to show you that 1 am prepared
. 10 speak authoritatively upon the subject,
, and when say that the three finest Ma
} sonic temples in the world, according to
my judgment, are in Philadelphia, Pa,
; Port Louis, MauritiuS, and Cape Town,
South Africa, expect this statsnent to
: have some weight.
IhaYe already described to you the Port
Louis Temple. The one in Cape Town
rivals 1t in beauty, and in certain partic.
ulars It excels. 1t is the property of Krap
Lodge. 1t 10 situated in the cOntrO of q
large grove Of oak trees, aud It's various
chambers are fitted out for their work in
the most elaborate manner imaginable
: For instance the blue lodge rooms haYe sub