the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you swear unto me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you: and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned; and afterward may ye go your way. And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by; and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent thern away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. And they went and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them

not.

So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.'

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The candidate is then instructed in the mode or manner of giving the signs, and word.

The first sign is in imitation of the scarlet line that Rahab let down from the window of her father's house to assist the spies to make their escape from the city. [See plate 26, fig. 1.] The second sign is represented in plate 26, fig. 2.

The grand hailing sign of distress is given by raising the ight hand and arm to an angle of forty-five degrees, holding between the thumb and fore-finger a handkerchief, which hangs perpendicularly. [See plate 26, fig. 3.]

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The word is given by placing the right feet together, and A placing his hand upon the shoulder of B, says, My life.' B raises her right hand and places it on A's shoulder, and says, For yours.' A then raises and puts his left hand on B's shoulder, and says, ' If ye utter not.' B places her left hand on A's shoulder, and finishes the sentence, This our business.' The word Rahab, is then whispered in the ear of the candidate. [See plate 26, fig. 4.]

The lecture is then given, as follows:

A. It is very dark to-night.

B. Yes, but not so dark but that I can see.

A. What can you see?

B. A scarlet line.

A. Why a scarlet line?

B. Because it saved my life in the hour of danger.

The history of the degree is then related to the candidate, as follows:

Tradition informs us that this degree has been known and conferred upon the nobility and royal personages ever since the days of Rahab, by whom the degree was founded.* It has been very recently conferred upon royal arch Masons, their wives and widows, as an honorary degree.

Sir William Wallace was a brother heroine of Jericho, and while he was at the head of those noble clans, who so valiantly strove to shake off the yoke of oppression, a circumstance oc

* The reader will understand that this history is the one that the Masons give of this degree to those who receive it. Yet I never have seen a person who received it prior to the abduction of William Morgan. And it is generally believed by those heroines of my acquaintance, that it was 'got up' by those concerned in that masonic outrage. And by swearing their female relatives to conceal the same crimes, should they come to their knowledge, which they themselves, as royal arch Masons, felt bound to perpetrate, against the law of the land, upon the traitor Morgan. They expected and hoped to receive the same hospitality from them, in case they were suspected, as did the spies in the house of the harlot Rahab.

curred that illustrates the utility of this degree to sister heroines of Jericho.

As he was riding past a house near the enemy's lines, he saw a female standing in a window giving this sign. [See plate 26, fig. 1.] He discovered it to be the sign of a heroine of Jericho, and immediately rode up to the window; and after saluting her as a sister, inquired the cause of her distress, and of giving the sign; telling her at the same time, that any service or favor in his power to bestow, should be most cheerfully granted to ren der her happy. She told him that her husband was a soldier and had joined the army opposed to Wallace, that she feared he was slain, or had been taken prisoner in a late engagement, and in consequence of his absence, she was in want of almost all the necessaries of life. Wallace replied, 'My life for yours, if ye utter not this my business,' and rode off. [Wallace, at this time, had been to spy out the enemy's camp. She understood him, and acted accordingly.]

Wallace returned to his own camp, and after making strict search he found that the husband of his sister heroine of Jericho was one of his prisoners. He promptly ordered him to be liberated, which was accordingly done, and he returned to his' affectionate wife, to the great joy of all parties.

Not long after this, another circumstance took place no less honorable to Sir William Wallace than the one just related. One day, as he was walking upon the banks of one of those beautiful lakes in Scotland, his attention was suddenly arrested by the upsetting of a sail-boat, some distance from the shore; he saw the merciless element engulfing a large number of his fellow beings of both sexes, which (to all human appearance,) defied the frail arm of man to extricate them. One awful shriek of despair was heard-they sunk-and all was silent. He stood, his eyes riveted upon the scene of destruction; already had the tear of sympathy stole down his manly cheek in view of suffering and death. At length he saw a hand rise from the surface of the water, holding a handkerchief and giving the grand hailing sign of distress of a heroine of Jericho, [as in plate 26, fig. 3.]

He thought of his obligations, and although the undertaking was very dangerous, he plunged into the lake, and swam to the place where he saw the signal, dove down, caught hold of the sister heroine of Jericho, and rose with her upon the surface of the waves, like a lion when he shakes the dew from his mane, and being a man of great muscular strength, he succeeded in bringing the sister heroine of Jericho to the shore; and she was the only person that was saved.