A Mystic Legend Of St. John The Evangelist.

A MYSTIC LEGEND OF ST . JOHN THE EVANGELIST .

BY JEFFERSON . From the " Masonic Advocate . " " Proud science scales the skies

, From star to star doth roam ; But reacheth . not the shore where lies The spirit ' s home . Winds bear the breath of flowers To travellers o ' er the wave ; But hear no message from the boAvers Beyond the grave . "

r piIB Isle of Pattnos lies in the JEgean Sea . It was to that abode of dreariness and - * - desolation that St . John the Evangelist Avas banished . The decree was a Roman edict , and , consequently , inexorable . The holy Evangelist obeyed it , and , under the escort of Roman centurions , he was taken to this isolated and barren island , Avhere his enemies thought he would never have another opportunity of making a convert . The fame of the man as a moral teacher had excited the attention of many thousands of

people , both Jews and Romans , and the authorities began to fear that his prestige ivoidd become so great that harm might come to the government . His spiritual theory , as they thought , came in conflict with Roman science—that was enough . The arm of the civil government was expected to protect the people even in their reli gion , and as there were many things in St . John ' s preaching which were not comprehended in Roman philosophyit was not strange that Domitian ordered his banishment . It was

, an act in full accord Avith the civilization of the times . Tradition even tells the story that on the order of Domitian the old Evangelist was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil , and finding that even this did not result in his death , he banished him to the Isle of Patmos , where the wild waves of the JEgean Sea , dashing against the rocky shores , made the only music that saluted his ears .

HOAV long he remained on this island Ave have no means of knowing , but the legendary story which we propose to give will explain the manner of his deliverance and the agencies by which it was accomplished . While yet in the belief of the ancient faith of the Hebrews , St . John had given his name and services to a mystic order then known to the world as the " Elusinians , " who taught , as Dr . Weishaupt informs us , " the mysteries of Illuminism , " which , even the inferior degree , as they claimed , taught the "lost secrets" of the most ancient patriarchs and philosophers . This associationlike

, that of the Craft of Masonry , which some think is the same institution continued in its more modern forms , had its enemies and Avas bitterly opposed and persecuted by those who believed they were the enemies of the true civilization . It is said that St . John , being a member of this order , was rescued after a number of months , and placed once more among his brethren . While on this lonely island the great Evangelist spent much of his time in deep

reli gious communion . He had his mystic visions of the future and saw that grand panoramic display Avhich has been given to the world as a revelation of the future and of the moral order and destiny of the human race to the end of time . The darkness which surrounded him in that benighted and desolate region of the earth made his situation as hopeless as it was forlorn , and left him without a single hope of ever being delivered . Banished from the earthand shut in the world of his oAvn

, up thoughts , it was fortunate for his personal happiness that the light of a divine Illuminism surrounded him . It was knoAvledge of the present and the future . The hi gh wrought pictures of rapid changes , of moral revelations , of spiritual life and immortal 80