II. ; the more satisfactory, as being a strong proof of its having existed

at least as early as the reign of that monarch.
"After the time of the Ptolemies and Caesars it was again neglected and suffered to go to decay ; but on the revival of trade with India, this line of communication, from the Red Sea to the Nile, was once more proposed, the canal was re-opened by the Caliphs, and it continued to be used and kept in repair till the commerce of Alexandria was ruined by the discovery of the passage around the Cape."
Notwithstanding this account there are other historians who claim that the work was done a century earlier by Seti, the father of Rameses, and they bring forward as evidence the scene on the outside of the North wall of the temple of Karnak in which he is said to have made his triumphant return from Asia by way of Ta-tcnal.
Seti, the father of Rameses 11., was the Pharaoh under whom Joseph served as governor, and history positively informs lis that Joseph intro- duced a system of irrigation into Egypt, by cutting canals from the river Nile to various parts of the desert, thus bringing under cultivation an enormous amount of land, which had long lain waste, barren, and desolate. Therefore, possibly, from the cutting of these canals for irri- gating purposes, Seti, or his son Rameses, might have conceived the idea of connecting the two seas by constructing a canal from the Red Sea to the Nile, and thus operate their ships during war, to transport their warriors to all parts of Asia in time of need.
According to Herodotus, Book II, Chap. 158, Necho (who is spoken of in the second book of Kings), reconstructed this canal, but sacrificed one hundred and twent}' thousand men during the performance of the work. He only desisted from his operations on account of a warning received from an Oracle, which stated " tliat he was labormg for the barbarian^ This prophecy has been fulfilled, or verified, in our day, the canal now being used solely by barbarians for the express purpose
130 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY,
of sending their ships from Port Said to the Red Sea, and vice versa. By this route they are enabled to save much time going to India, etc., over the journey around the " Cape of Good Hope." The Egyptians called all nieu barbarians who lived above the first cataract, or spoke a different language from their own.
This canal was commenced by Necho, B. c. 6io, at a considerable distance north of Suez, and it wound its way along in a north-westerly direction, until it reached and tapped the river Nile at the city of Bubastis, through the Pelusiac branch, near Zaqaziq. The length of this canal, according to Pliny, was about sixty-two Roman miles, or fifty- seven of ours. When Herodotus gives the length of one hundred and fourteen miles to this canal he must have included the distance from sea to sea, as by carefully examining the line from its start, and following the sinuosities of its course through the valley to the site of Bubastis, we shall find that Pliny's account will agree with our own measure- ments.
Necho, no doubt, constructed this canal for the purpose of saving the immense labor and trouble of transporting men and munitions of war across the desert. Seeing parts of the old canal of Seti or Rameses, no doubt first gave him the idea of making a waterway across the istlimus. The fact of there having been one, naturally suggested the idea to Necho of reopening it, or of making another, which work he most assuredly accom- plished, for histor}^ informs us that he sent a fleet of ships to circumnavi- gate Africa, a feat which was accomplished in three years. Tliose making the voyage sailed from Egypt into the Southern Ocean, but stopped whenever and wherever they desired. It is specially mentioned that they went on shore at one place and planted a crop of corn, camping there and waiting for it to grow and ripen, and they harvested it before continuing their voyage around Africa. In this way they lost an immense amount of time.
When the Persians conquered Egypt, under Cambyses, B. c. 525, the canal was found to be no longer navigable, and it remained so until Darius I., in b. c. 520, re-opened it and restored it to its natural chan- nel. He had the interest of this country at heart, consequently everything in his power was done to promote the commercial welfare of the country and the interests of the people. As the centuries rolled
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 1^1
along it again became obstructed, by sand drifting in from tbe desert and filling it up in many places along its entire lengtb ; but was opened up once more by the Emperor Trajan, during the latter part of the first century A. D., or the beginning of our present era. He cleared out the old canal and made it navigable ; but started his work from a different place, and cut a canal to join the old one, which was at a point above Cairo, called Amnis Trajanus.
From this period the canal seems to have remained open until the countr}^ was dominated by the Arab Caliphs, when it was closed again, in order to prevent supplies being sent to the rebels in Medina. It was filled up by order of Hl-Mansur, brother of Abbas, the second Caliph of the Abbaside Dynasty, and remained closed until it was once more cleaned out, by order of El-Hakem in the year A. D. i,ooo.
This Caliph was the third of the Fatimide Dynasty, the founder of the sect called the Druses, and a persecutor of the Christians. He believed himself to be an incarnation of the Deity. He was assassinated at the instigation of his sister. From this time nothing was done to the canal to keep it in repair, and consequently through sheer neglect it soon became choked and unnavigable. When cutting the canal was first talked of, and M. de Lesseps was trying to raise funds for the work, the nations ridiculed and scoffed at the idea, and none more so than the British. On its completion England recognized the full value of the canal, and was the first to profit by it. Seeing the immense advantage to be derived in controlling the canal, she purchased from the Khedive his interest in that wonderful piece of work, and to-day is enabled tO' keep in rapid communication with her India and China colonies, also reaping an enormous profit from her investment in this most magnificent water-course — the Suez Canal.
I mentioned above that El-Hakem was the founder of the sect or society known as the Druses, and thinking that it would be of some interest to you, my dear Brothers and readers, I shall give you quite a lengthy account of these very remarkable people, quoting fully from various able authorities, the first of which will be from the work of C. W. Heckethorn's " Secret Societies," Book IV, volume i, page 126, wherein he says, in his remarks concerning the Druses, that: " Their sect may be said to date its rise from the supposed incarnation
132 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
of God in Hakem Bamr Allah, publicly announced at Cairo in A. D. I020."
This Hakem was the sixth Caliph of Eg3'pt, and Darazi, his confessor, took an active part in promoting the imposture, which, however, was at first so badly received that he was compelled to take refuge in the deserts of the Lebanon, where, receiving liberal pecuniary support from Hakem, he found hearers among the Arabs and soon made converts. According to other accounts, Darazi was killed for preaching his doctrine, and thus became the first martyr to the new religion. A footing thus gained, correspondence was opened with Egypt, and Hamze, a Persian Mystic, and Vizier of Hakem, who had from the first been a zealous supporter of Hakem's divinity, hastened to avail himself of the favorable opening. Ten years did not elapse before the two clever rogues, or fiery fanatics, had converted nearly all the Arab tribes inhab- iting the Lebanon, while one portion of them were set apart and initiated into the mysteries of the doctrines of Hamze. But he did not give his name to the sect. By a natural etymology the disciples of Darazi^ the first teacher, obtained the name Druses, though they reject it and call themselves Unitarians. We may thus look upon the Fatimide Caliph Hakem, the Persian Hamze, and the Turk Darazi as the founders of the Druse system, Hakem being its political founder, Hamze its intellectual framer, and Darazi its expositor and propagator.
^^'' Religious books of t lie Druses.'' — Hamze associated with himself four assistants, to whom, as well as to himself, he gave high-sounding names. He called himself, for instance, Universal Reason, the Centre, Messiah of Nations, Jesus United, i. e., he who is ever united with God. He had, moreover, one hitndred and fifty-nine disciples, who went about preaching. The Druses call their religious books, ' The Sittings of the Rulers, and Their Learned Men,' comprised in six volumes. The first has the title, ' The Diploma; ' the second, ' The Reputation ; ' the third, '■ The Awakening; ' the fourth, ' The First of the Seven Parts;' fhe fifth, 'The Staircase,' and the sixth, 'The Reproaches.' In 1S17 the Druses obtained a seventh volume from a Christian, who alleged to have found it in an Egyptian school, and which they call 'The Book of the Greeks.'
"The ''Murder of Hakem.^ — Hakem was one of the most cruel monsters on record, a Saracen Nero. Amidst carnage, and the most
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 133
revolting persecutions, he spread his doctrine. But in Eg^'pt, where he resided, his heresy outraged the true believers and his savagery the whole people. Sitt-El-Mulk, his own sister, headed the malcontents and one evening, when, according to his custom, he took his ride on a white ass, she caused him to be assassinated by some trusty followers, who having despatched him with their daggers, undressed him, and securely concealed the naked body. The}^ then carefully fastened up his clothes again, by order of his sister, who did not wish the belief in his divinity to be destroyed. At last when the Caliph did not return and those sent to look for him returned with the news that they had found his clothes, but not his body, it was said that Hakem had simply rendered himself invisible, to test the faith of his followers, and to punish apostates on his return. And the Druses, to explain the miracle, say that Hakem possessed a body of more subtle substance than the usual human body, and could go forth out of his clothes without opening or tearing them. The dagger cuts in them are explained away as mysterious indications of certain pur- poses of the Deity.
" '' Hakevis Successors.'' — Hakem left two sons, but the sect did not acknowledge them as such. Ali Ess Ssahir, who succeeded his father as Caliph, is reported to have said to Hamze, ' Worship me as you wor- shipped my father ; ' but Hamze replied, ' Our Lord, who be praised, neither begat nor was he begotten.' Ali replied, 'Then I and my brother are illegitimate ? ' Hamze answered, ' You have said it, and borne testi- mony against yourself.' Thereupon the enraged Ali ordered the whole- sale murder of the Unitarians, unless they returned to the Moslem faith. Those who refused were either slain or iled to Syria to their co-religion- ists. Ali, to conciliate the people who had, by his father's despotism and oppression, been greatly embittered against his dynasty, gave up all title to divine honors and the rights it implied.
'''"'' Doctrines.'' — The Druses believe in the transmigration of souls ; but probably it is merely a figure, as it was to the Pythagoreans. Hakem is their prophet, and they have seven commandments, religious and moral. The first of these is veracity, by which is understood faith in the Unitarian religion they profess and abhorrence of that lie which is called polytheism, incredulity, error. To a brother, perfect truth and confidence are due ; but it is allowable, nay, a duty, to be false toward
134 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
men of another creed. The Sect is divided into three degress : Profane^ Aspirants and ]]'isc. A Druse who has entered the second may return to the first desrree, but incurs death if he reveals what he has learned. In their secret meetings thej^ are supposed to worship a calf s head ; but as their religious books are full of denunciations against idolatry, and as they also compare Judaism, Christianity and Mohammedanism to a calf, it is more probable that this efi&g}? represents the principle of falsehood and evil, Iblis, the rival of Hakem. The Druses have also been accused of licentious orgies, and are said by Baspier in his ' Remarks on Recant ' (an English diplomatist), to marry their own daughters; but according to the evidence of resident Christians, a young Druse as soon as he is initiated, gives up all dissolute habits and becomes, at least in appearance, quite another man, meriting, as in other initiations, the title of ' new born.' The initiated are known by the appellation of Ockals, and form a kind of priesthood in the midst of the general population.
" According to their traditions, the world was at the appearance of God, in the form of Hakem, three thousand four hundred and thirty million 3'ears old, and the\^ believe, like the Chiliast of England and America that the Millennium is almost at hand. The Wise often retire into hermitages, whereby they acquire great honor and influence. When discoursing with a Mohammedan, the Druses profess to be of the same creed; when talking with a Christian, they are Christians. They defend this deception b}^ alleging that it is not lawful to reveal any dogma of their creed to a ' Black' or unbeliever; and their secrecy with regard to their religion has led them to adopt signs and passwords, such as are in use among Free Masons and other secret societies. When in doubt whether a stranger with whom they conversed belonged to their sect, they would ask, ' Do people in your part of the countr}^ sow balm seed?' If the other replied, ' Yes, it is sown in the hearts of the faithful,' he prob- ably was a co-religionist ; but he might be an Aspirant only, and there- fore would question him further, as to some of the secret dogmas ; if he did not understand the drift of their questions, the}^ would know that he was not initiated into the higher grades. But their signs and test words and phrases had frequently to be changed, their import having been dis- covered b}^ the Blacks, which happened especiallj^ when the extensive hermit village of Bajjado, near Chasbai, was destroyed in 1838 by the
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 135
troops of Ibrahim Pasha, and the sacred books of the Druses made pub- licly known.
'' ' Customs of tJic Druses.'' — Every village has its meeting-houses, where religious and political affairs are discussed every Thursday night, the Wise men and women attending. The resolutions passed at such meetings are communicated to the district meetings, held in the chief village of every district, which again report to the general assembly in the town of Baklin on Mount Lebanon. This was the fortified seat of government until, in the last century, Deir El-Kammar (the moon monastery) was built as the Lebanon metropolis. At the general assembl}' the questions raised at the district meetings are discussed, and the deputies from the different villages who have attended, on their return home, announce the decisions arrived at ; so that the Druses, in fact, have a regular family council to which, however, the Wise are only admitted, the uninitiated never being consulted on political or social matters. The civil government of the Druses is in the hands of the Sheiks, who again are subject to the Emir or Prince of Lebanon.
" The}^ are warlike and industrious, and two traits in their character deserve notice and commendation ; they refuse to give up any man who has sought refuge among them, and detest the European tall hat which thej'^ compare to a ' cooking pot,' and laugh at it. In the days when Burkhardt visited them, one of their maledictions was, ' May God put a hat on you ! ' The number of Druses does not exceed fifty or sixty thousand, exclusively occupj'ing, in the Lebanon, upwards of forty large towns and villages, and nearly two hundred and thirty villages with a mixed population of Druses and Christians, whilst in the anti-Lebanon, they are also possessed of nearly eighty exclusively Druse villages."
In giving this account of the Druses I felt that it would deeply interest all Masons and students, because, whenever tljey go forth into those Eastern countries, or come in contact with the wandering Arabs of the desert, the descendants of Hagar and Ishmael, who went forth into the desert with a "jng of water and a loaf of bread," will recognize the similarity between their teachings and our own. Many of their signs are an exoteric recognition, as all may see them, though all who see them may not understand them. But, it is a positive fact that mau}^ of these people recognize a brother without either sign or word.
136 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
The Druses, like all other secret societies of antiquit}^, Avere not formed for political purposes, but more expressly for the better under- standing of Man and Nature. Their teachings embraced the most profound philosophies, all arts, science and religion, and in coming to an understanding of these sublime teachings every one began to realize that they were receiving their tnie wages, "LiGHT," PowER and WiSDOM. Then they would be enabled to travel in foreign countries, and receive and appreciate a " Master's Wages."
Ragon sa3'S in his " Cours PhilosopJiiqtic de Initiations Anciennes ct Modern,'''' -page. 171: "That our Blue Lodge degrees demonstrate the following subjects to the initiate and Mason : ist. The history of the human race, classified by epochs. 2d. The history of Civilization and of the progress of the human Mind in the Arts and Sciences, as pro- duced by the Ancient Mysteries. 3d. The knowledge of Nature or the knowledge of the Divinity, manifested in his works and of all religious."
Brother W. H. Kingsbury in the " Trestle Board," Vol. IX, page 244, ct seq., in speaking of Brother Rawson's late travels through Arabia, Palestine and Syria, where he had especially investigated Masonry as practiced by the Druses, says : " The Master represents the unknown, the unseen, the all-powerful, and sits in the place of honor, whence he delivers his orders to his assistants, who are appointed at the time of meeting. The candidate is prepared — partly clothed — and after a strict examination, under the direction of the Master, is led before him screened from the assembly by a veil or shaM'l, held up bj' two brothers. The usual requirements as to age, free birth and free will are made, and also touching his general knowledge of men and things, as in the case of a literary degree among us. Not a word is said about religious faith or creed, not even as to belief in Deity. It is presumed that all rational men have consciousness of a Supreme existence, whether or not it is defined in words or symbols. The very word Allah (God) is an exotic in Arabia. The Bedouin idealizes the race, and imagines it personified into what he calls the ' Abram^ the Great Father, usually written among us ''Abraham,^ from whom are derived all living men, and to whom they all return at death. The only world of being they know is the present, and the ov\y things worth notice are those relating to Man. Their
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 137
Masonry is, therefore, a means of securing a better life here, without any reference to any other, past or future.
" The idea of collective man (humanitj-) is very ancient and its teachings are simple ; that man was derived from the great source ; that he returns to the same and that it is his dut}' to make life as important as possible ; first for himself, which means with the Arab a discharge of duty to others for the sake of its return to himself. The will of the Sheikh (Master) is the law of the Lodge, but the will of the Master must be guided by the ancient law, which is invariable and inevitable. The teachings of the Lodge enlightens the conscience and lifts the neophyte above himself into a prevision of motives, the only sure guarantee of morals.
''The notion, which has grown into a belief, that an injury done to any member of the race will reflect upon any doer of the deed, not as an accident, but as a necessity of law, is a law of nature. Learning chiefly through observation, the Arab sees in the frequent exercise of the will of the Sheikh an apparent check or interference with the law of nature ; but experience teaches him, through more careful observation, that the law invariably re-asserts itself. The Abraham is the ideal of excellence in human life, the type that the initiate is instructed to imitate in the daily walk of life. The esoteric work of the Lodge would be out of place here and intelligible to only a few initiates. A general idea, therefore, of the objects or purpose of the Lodge will be more acceptable to the reader.
" There is no Masonic literature in Arabic beyond the walls of the coast cities, and there is no true Masonry in those cities. The ritual, the whole framework of the craft in the cities, has become Europeanized, more or less, according to the locality, as having been the abode of merchants and others from Europe. The true Arab Mason never records anything except in memory. There can be no paper brother among them, no book Mason, and to advance the neophyte must have obtained from authorized sources.
" Masonry in the desert is the privilege of the few. None but the choicest men are admitted to the charmed circle. To a stranger in such a country, Masonic knowledge is an unqualified passport and introduction. An interesting feature of the craft is this : When one proposes a journey
138 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY,
through a distvirbed and dangerous country or district, some trusty brother is selected to whom the traveller is delivered, and the Masonic tie is renewed between them, when the guardian becomes responsible for his ward, life for life. This custom never fails of commanding respect, even between hostile tribes, except the traveller be guilty of shedding blood not in self defence. The protection of women and children is an obligation that is never neglected. Any shortcoming in this matter would heap dishonor on the head of the erring one.
" I^iterature has changed the character of our craft in so many points that careful study is required to ascertain the ancient meaning and practice, and even the closest application sometimes fails in tracing an ancient origin, for some things in frequent use in the Lodge and elsewhere by the brethren. No such innovation (removal of an ancient landmark) is possible in the desert, where the traditions of all the Tribal Lodges correct the errors that may have crept in through some over- zealous worker. The language in use in the Lodge is not that of modern literature ; but is that of the earl}- ages, known as Yoktan, in the centre; of Ishmael, in the West; of Yemen, in the South. The earliest language that has been preserved is poetic. The ritual of the modern Lodge is rhymned, questioned and answered in the choicest terms, according to the grammar of the present idiom, which also is the oldest. To the philologist these items are proof of the antiquity of our Fraternity more convincing even than monuments of stone, which can be made in every age, while language must grow, and is not made. The Egyptians recorded in writing and in pictures their rites and ceremonies, which make visible the condition of the fraternity and those matters at that time, about four thousand years ago. We reap in those pictures the same lessons that are taught to us now, although they are distributed through the several degrees from the first to the thirty-second.
" The work in the Arab Lodge shows a close connection between the members of the ancient brotherhood of Egypt and Arabia, and also established the antiquity of the origin of the Bedouin Lodges. There is not a word in use in the modern Lodge that has any reference to moderti discoveries in science, or to the political or religious changes of the last twenty centuries. Neither Christ nor Mohammed are mentioned. This fact opens a charming vista to the antiquarian and philologist. The
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 139
cost of indulgence in this storehouse of antiquity is a local residence among the Bedouin Arabs, and a thorough knowledge of their language and customs.
" Jl^itli the Arab the instruction of the Lodge is a preparation for a better life ; with the Egyptians it was a preparation for death. The Arab still lives in the same social conditions in which history noticed him forty centuries ago, while the Egyptian ceased to exist as a Nation about twenty-five centuries since. How much these different results were due to their peculiar ideas, is 3'et an unsolved problem. Arab Masonr}' fur- nishes a beautiful emblem of eternity, whose cycles are marked by supreme efforts for the redemption of mankind from the slavery of Ignorance and Superstition ; while the Craft in our day lends itself for the perpetuation of errors peculiar to priest-craft.
" That mysterious Asiatic Peninsula, called Arabia, ever seems to be a geographic, historic and political wonder; for, while Empires like Assyria, Persia, India, Greece, and Rome were changing and vanishing, Arabia and Ishmael's children remained immutable. The Assyrians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans tried in vain to subjugate Hagar's progeny; the}' stand to-day with their language, manners, cus- toms and traditions where they stood three thousand years ago. Renan, and Maspero have lately given the world some valuable hints on that mysterious people and country. Perhaps Freemasonry with its gentle, peaceful and persuasive methods of approaching people will succeed in opening that sealed country to the world ; if so Dr. Rawson will be con- sidered as a pioneer in the grand enterprise."
There were some very interesting articles published in Blackwood's Magazine by a student and Brother Mason, who claims that these people are the true lineal descendants of Hiram, King of Tyre. He had lived among the Druses and had studied their peculiar manners and customs and was thoroughly competent, worthy, and well qualified to write upon this subject. He tells us that after having carefully inves- tigated the esoteric teachings of their mystic rites and ceremonies he found many things in common between their Rites and Freemasonry. He also says that he was very much astonished in finding many of the words identically the same and that their work for the pre-requisite of initiation was identical with the A. F. and A. M. In fact he, upon one occasion,
140 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
received satisfactory evidence from one of these people, when making a contract with him, of his knowledge of the 'V of a Master Mason, for, in ratifying the contract he was very much surprised to hear the man men- tion what is generally given on many points. He adduces and summarizes the following for his belief as to their origin : — -ist. " That they had lived from time immemorial where Hamze found them, on the slopes of Lebanon, towards Tyre and Sidon. 2nd. Their one great hero of Old Testament history is Solomon. 3rd. They stoutly maintain that the}^ built King Solomon's temple. 4th. Their religious rites and cere- monies are to the present day intimately associated with the mystic rites of Freemasonry, which, as it is well known, are supposed to have originated at the building of Solomon's temple.''
" Sir Charles Warren, R. E., K. C, M. G., Worshipful Master Lodge Quatuor Coronati, London, England," says Professor Marks, D. D., (one of the most profound Hebrew scholars), '' found in an Arabic manuscript, written in Hebrew characters of the fifteenth century, that the keyword to the MS. was Mach or Mock, and on further investigation he discov- ered that each letter of the keyword was the beginning of a sentence, which ultimately read thus : — We have found our Master Hiram. He made out the meaning readily, inasmuch as the passage referred to Masonry, which, by-the-b}^, is traced np to the patriarchs, if not to Adam himself. Both Hebrews and Arabs make up a sentence upon one word, using each letter of it as expressive of a separate word."
Brother W. H. Kingsbury gives to Masonry an antiquity like myself and many other writers. He claims, however, that " Modern Masonry is a combination of the mysteries of the Hebrews, the Phcenicians and the Egyptians ; mysteries which were in older da3'S unknown to au}' but the High Priests of the several Orders and which were entirely apart and dis- tinct from the popular rendering of them. I take it that the knowledge derived from these severally was as follows: From the Hebrews Jl' or Knowledge — God ; from the Egyptians 5 the Sciences; from the Phoeni- cians B the Fine Arts, and these are symbolized in the Lodges; the W. M., JV. a Hebrew, or Grand Master Solomon; the S. W., 5., an Egyptian, or Grand Master Hiram ; the J. W., B., a Phoenician, or Grand Master Hiram Abiff. In a word, I think there is not a doubt that in our Order we are the direct descendants from Phoenicians, who
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 141
first moulded Masonr}' into its present form, and who were unable to openly worship the true God, for fear of the people.
" Masonry has unquestionabh' come down to us through the Gentiles and not through the Hebrews. The Lodge of the Phceniciaus was constructed with windows at the East, South, and West. The