given in proper form, he was directed to continue on through another descending passage to a series of underground apartments specially designed for the various steps in the progress of the ceremonies. Over the door of entrance to these rooms was engraved the sentence: "The courageous soul which travels alone this fearful way, without hesitation or timidity, after purification by earth, fire, water, and air, shall be enlightened by the glorious mysteries of Isis." Then these guardians, disguised as the keepers of the gates of death, with jackal heads, recounted the several trials awaiting his onward march. THE FIRST STAGE IN THE INITIATION-THE TEST His courage sustaining him, he was permitted to pass on into the HALL OF FIRE, where every device was resorted to for the deception of the senses, giving the appearance of fire and danger without the realities. Jets of flame in the walls and ceiling, heightened by mirrors, intensified by colored glass, threw a many-tinted light over a floor of iron bars, painted in imitation of hot grates over intense fires. This bursting suddenly on the eyes after the long dark passage must have been appaling. In the Hall of Fire the candidate learned this lesson. To the courageous and true all difficulties vanish. The courage of the neophyte sustaining him, he passed forward unhurt into the HALL OF WATER. THE TEST BY WATER. The Hall of Water was also so designed as to present that element in all its aspects of steam, mist, rain, waterfall, and rushing stream, with but one way directly through the swift current to the opposite shore, where stood other guardians, armed with the symbols and weapons of the keepers of the dead, whose awful shapes are associated with the rites of sepulture, and suggest most gloomy and awful visions, and who opposed his further progress by refusing to open an iron door which was vast and solid, and covered with inscriptions and emblems, teaching the value of fortitude, perseverance, and integrity. THE TEST BY AIR. After satisfying the guardians of his right to advance, the door was opened, and he entered the HALL OF WINDS. Here he was at the mercy of swift winds blown upon him from every direction, and so contrived as to whirl him off his feet, and carry him about the apartment helplessly, teaching him the power of the unseen, the unknown, and enforcing the rule of humility. On the enunciation of the required prayers he was relieved from his peril, and light being admitted, in the hands of an attendant, this inscription was visible on a door. "He that would be exalted must humble himself." The door was then thrown open, and he was led into the sanctuary of the goddess Isis, where before the high altar were arranged in full dress the band of priests and attendants, solemnly chanting as if in supplications for his deliverance from trials and dan gers. Before the altar he knelt and repeated the solemn oath of secrecy, after which he was received on probation for half a year, during which time the most seductive temptations of wine and women were displayed before him, as a test of his moral strength and endurance. Some say that valuables, such as gold and jewels, were laid in his way as if carelessly, as a temptation to break the law of right of possession. THE SECOND STAGE-THE SACRIFICE. If he passed through all these trials and remained chaste, pure, and honest, he was admitted to a further advance which was called the MANIFESTATION. In this series of ceremonies, which were continued for twelve days (one for each sign of the Zodiac), he was dedicated to the great gods, and invested with the twelve mystic scarfs, also a sacred cloak, embroidered with zodiacal signs and symbols of the starry heavens, the abode of the gods and happy spirits, and the reward of the faithful and pure. He was crowned with palm leaves as symbolic of the new life given him, and a lamp was placed in his hand, signifying his office of teacher and guide, and |