DEFENSE OF FORT SAINT ELMO, MALTA, AGAINST THE TURKS, IN 1565, BY THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA, UNDER THE COMMAND OF JOHN DE LA VALETTE, GRAND MASTER.

and they fled. Joy and triumph succeeded to danger and dread. This may justly be regarded as the last great event in the military history of the Order of St. John. The siege was raised Sept. 8, 1565, and so late as the year 1784, at Malta on that day, an annual procession was solemnly made in memory of their deliverance. June 9, 1798, the island of Malta was taken by the French, under Bonaparte. In the same year the Knights chose Paul I., Emperor of Russia, as Grand Master, who took them under his protection. Upon the reduction of the island by the English, in 1800, the chief seat of the Order was transferred to Catania, in Sicily, whence in 1826, it was removed by authority of the Pope to Ferrara. The last public reception of the Order took place at Sonneburg in 1800, when Leopold, King of Belgium, Prince Ernest, and several other noblemen were created Knights according to the long-established customs of the Order. The assembly is called a Council. The officers are: 1. Commander; 2. Generalissimo; 3. Captain General; 4. Prelate; 5. Senior Warden; 6. Junior Warden; 7. Treasurer; 8. Recorder; 9. First Grand; 10. Second Grand; 11. Standard Bearer; 12. Warder; 13. Sentinel. The Order must be conferred in an asylum of a legal Commandery of Knights Templar, or in a Council of the Order of Malta, regularly convened for the purpose, distinct from, and after, the Templar's Order. The ancient ceremonies of reception were simple and impressive: "The novice was made to understand that he was 'about to put off the old man, and to be regenerated;' and having received absolution, was required to present himself in a secular habit, without a girdle, in order to appear perfectly free on entering into so sacred an engagement, and with a burning taper in his hand, representing chastity. He then received the holy communion, and afterward presented himself 'most respectfully before the person who was to perform the ceremony, and requested to be received into the company of Brothers, and into the Holy Order of the Hospital of Jerusalem.' The rules of the Order, the obligations he was about to take upon himself, and the duties that would be required of him being explained, he, with great solemnity, vowed and promised to render henceforward, by the grace of God, perfect obedience to the Superior placed over him by the choice of the Order, to live without personal property, and to preserve his chastity.' The brother who received him then said as follows: 'We acknowledge you the servant of the poor and sick, and as having consecrated yourself to the service of the church.' To which he answered: 'I acknowledge myself as such.' He then kissed the book and returned it to the brother, who received him, in token of personal obedience. He was then

invested with the mantle of the Order, in such a manner as that the cross fell on his left breast. A variety of other minor ceremonies followed, and the whole was concluded with a series of appropriate and solemn prayers." The Order of the Knight of Malta is conferred in a Commandery of Knights Templar, and is acknowledged in the United States as one of the orders of Masonic knighthood.

KNIGHT OF THE MEDITERRANEAN PASS, some times called KNIGHT OF ST. PAUL. An honorary degree, conferred on Knights Templar and Knights of Malta. Its ceremonies are very impressive, and its organization into councils, governed by appropriate officers, assimilates its forms to that of one of the regular degrees of Masonry. The ritual of this degree informs us that it was founded about the year 1367, in consequence of certain events which occurred to the Knights of Malta. In an excursion made by a party of these Knights in search of forage and provisions, they were attacked while crossing the river Offanto (the ancient Aufidio), by a large body of Saracens, under the command of the renowned Amurath I. The Saracens had concealed themselves in ambush, and when the Knights were on the middle of the bridge which spanned the river, they were attacked by a sudden charge of their enemies upon both extremities of the bridge. A long and sanguinary contest ensued; the Knights fought with their usual valor, and were at length victorious. The Saracens were defeated with such immense slaughter that fifteen hundred of their dead bodies encumbered the bridge, and the river was literally stained with their blood. In commemoration of this event, and as a reward for their valor, the victorious Knights were affranchised in all parts of the Mediterranean coasts, that is to say, had free permission to pass and repass, wherever and whenever they pleased, from which circumstance the degree, which was then founded, received its name of "Mediterranean Pass." It will be seen from these details that there is no real connection between this degree and that given under the same name to Royal Arch Masons, although there is some internal evidence that the latter was surreptitiously obtained from, and is only a corruption of, the former. [See MEDITERRANEAN PASS.]

KNIGHT OF THE NINTH ARCH, sometimes called the ANCIENT ROYAL ARCH OF SOLOMON. The 13th degree of the Ancient and Accepted rite. The ceremonies of this degree afford abundant information on certain points, in which the sacred volume is not entirely free from obscurity, and these have reference to the mode in which Enoch, notwithstanding the destruction caused by the deluge, and the

lapse of ages, was enabled to preserve the true name in its purity; that it might eventually be communicated to the first possessors of this degree. The body is called a Chapter, and represents the audience chamber of King Solomon. The hangings are alternately red and white. The presiding officer is styled "Thrice Potent Grand Master," and represents King Solomon. The apron and collar are purple, bordered with white. The jewel is a gold triangle: on one side is engraved the delta of Enoch, surrounded with rays; on the obverse is a representation of two persons letting down a third through a square opening into an arch. Around this device are the letters: "R. S. R. S. T. P. S. R. I. A. J. S., Anno Enochi, 2995."

KNIGHTS AND NYMPHS OF THE ROSE. An Order of Adoptive or Androgynous Masonry, established in Paris toward the close of the eighteenth century; but its existence was brief. A full history of the ceremonies are furnished for the benefit of the curious. The place of meeting was called "The Temple of Love." It was ornamented with garlands of flowers, and hung round with escutcheons, on which were painted various devices and scenes of gallantry. There were two presiding officers, the man being styled Hierophant, the female the High-Priestess. The former initiated men, the latter women. The Conductor Assistant of the men was called Sentiment, that of the women Discretion. The Knights wore a crown of myrtle; the Nymphs a crown of roses. The Hierophant and High-Priestess wore, in addition, a rose-colored scarf, on which were embroidered two devices within a myrtle wreath. One dull taper was the only light during the initiation; at the closing business the hall was illuminated by numerous wax candles. When a candidate was to be initiated, he or she was taken in charge by Sentiment or Discretion, divested of all weapons, jewels, or money, hoodwinked, and loaded with chains, and conducted to the door of the Temple of Love, where admission was demanded by two knocks. When admitted and presented, the candidate was asked his or her name, country, condition in society, and having answered these questions was asked, “What are you now seeking?" to this the answer was, Happiness." The interrogatory then proceeds a little further, "What is your age?" and the candidate has, if a male, to reply, "The age to love;" the female, "The age to please and to be loved." The candidate's feelings and opinions on matters of gallantry are further probed, and all being satisfactory, the chains are removed and replaced by garlands of flowers, which are called "the chains of love." After some other probationary exercises of a like character, the O B is administered: "I promise and swear by the Grand Master of the Universe