the Masonic arms, as illustrated in Fellows' chart, in which are
pictured, as its objects of adoration, the sun and moon, the seven
stars, known as Pleiades in the sign of Taurus; the blazing star
Sirius, or Dog-star, worshipped by the Egyptians under the name of
Anubis, and whose rising forewarned those people of the rising of the
Nile River; the seven signs of the Zodiac from Aries to Libra,
inclusive, through which the sun was supposed to pass in making his
apparent annual revolution, and which constitutes the Royal arch from
which was derived the name of one of its higher degrees; and its
armorial bearings, consisting of pictures of the Lion, the Bull, the
Waterman, and the Flying Eagle, which representing the signs at the
cardinal points, constituted the genii of the seasons. Besides these,
we have the checkered flooring or mosaic work, representing the earth
and its variegated face, which was introduced when temple worship
succeeded its grove form; the two columns representing the imaginary
pillars of heaven resting upon the earth at Equinoctial points, and
supporting the Royal arch; also the letter "G" standing for Geometry,
the knowledge of which was of great importance to the natives of Egypt
in establishing the boundaries of their lands removed by the
inundations of the Nile, the square and compass, being the instruments
through which the old landmarks were restored, and which ultimately
became the symbols of justice. The cornucopia, or horn of plenty,
denoted the sun in the sign of Capricorn, and indicated the season when
the harvest was gathered and provisions laid up for Winter use; the
cenotaph or mock coffin with the sign of the cross upon its lid,
referred to the sun's crossing of the celestial equator at the Autumnal
Equinox, and to the figurative death of the genius of that luminary in
the lower hemisphere; whose resurrection at the Vernal Equinox is
typified by the sprig of acacia sprouting near the head of the coffin.
The serpent, issuing from the small vessel to the left, represented the