The Mystics and Beta Theta Pi by Beta Theta Pi

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

The M y s t ic s and B e ta T h e ta Pi By

KARL W. FISCHER Indiana University, 1925

Published by

BETA THETA PI 1940

C o p y rig h te d

1940 b y t h e B e t a T h e t a P i F r a t e r n i t y

COMPOSED, PR IN TE D , AND BOUND BY GEORGE BANTA PU B LISH IN G COMPANY M ENASHA, W ISCONSIN

ANCIENT MYSTICAL CANTICLE I love to sing In the M ystic ring, A round the pot A ll boiling hot The good old song O f days gone by O f the M ystery A n d its history. ★ ★ ★ This account of the background of the several societies from which grew the Mystic Seven Fraternity is written for the celebra tion of the fiftieth anniversary of the David son Chapter, the Phi A lpha of Beta Theta Pi, held February 17, 1940, at Davidson, N orth Carolina.

CONTENTS E arly D ays

M i d d l e t o w n ..................................................................................

S o u t h e r n M y s t ic s ........................................................................................................

T h e S e v e n P o in t e d S t a

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M y s t i c S y m b o l i s m .............................................................................................................

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T e m p l e G o v e r n m e n t ..................................................................................................

T h e M y s t ic s

and

S h a k e s p e a r e ..........................................................................

A n I n it ia t io n

1 8 4 8 ...................................................................................................

G e n e s is

T h e W and

T h e S w ord S kull

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t h e M y s t i c a l S e v e n ....................................................................

of th e

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E m o r y U n i v e r s i t y ........................... ................................

B ones

F r a n k l in C o l l e g e .......................................................

C e n te n a r y an d t h e T e m p le

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t h e S t a r a t M i s s i s s i p p i ..................................................................

T h e S croll T e m p le

T h e H ands

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and

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t h e W r e a th

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A L o s t C ir c l e ,

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S tar At

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B e t a A l t a r ........................................................................................................

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Chapel H i l

vii

Home of Phi Alpha of Beta Theta Pi

SOUTH FARMS, CONNECTICUT The Mystical Seven Society, a four-year literary organization, was established at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, in the sum mer of 1837 by Ham ilton Brewer. W hile it is true that fugitive Greek-letter societies existed in several colleges before 1825, th at date usually is considered the genesis of the fraternity movement. That year at U nion College, John H unter and other members of the Class of 1826 form ed K appa A lpha. Im itation and opposition have resulted in the expansion of this field throughout the country. Sigma Phi and Delta Psi followed K appa Alpha and at W ashington (now Trinity) College, H artford, Connecticut, Iota Kappa Alpha was established in 1829 to retain its name and heritage until 1917 when its members donned St. A nthony’s cross. Thus the Mystics were among the pioneers of the secret society movement. At Wesleyan, the Tub Philosophers had been established in 1833 as a secret, four-year society, but this group did not m aintain its organiza tion. Sidera Chase, Wesleyan 1839, Phi Beta K appa, wrote from New York, M arch 15, 1890: Dr. Brewer and myself planned the “M ystical Seven” in the spring of 1837 in the old Burying Ground, South Farms. I with him made a draft of the constitution. It was a unique paper. We went together to Dr. Fisk, subm itted our papers and discussed the m atter. There had been only the “Tub Philosophers,” only as a social union. There were irregular, unorganized, spasmodic, and dead. The Mystics were in no sense Tub Philosophers. . . . I obtained from Dr. Fisk the paper, at the bottom of which were his suggestions, both quaint and mystical, for he entered into the spirit of the organization and issued consent. . . . I was with Frank Bates [Francis A sbury Bates, W esleyan 1839], the introducer of the design. . . . Dr. Fisk wrote: “ I approve of the objects of this association and am w riting to give my approbation to the regular meetings of such associa tion as long as they appear to be conducted on regular principles, and in a profitable m anner. I should prefer, however, that the meetings should be on the seventh day of the week.” A lively account of the first nights of the Mystics (but perhaps ]

TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

less authoritative) is given by Samuel Sully Bement, Wesleyan 1841, in a letter dated M arch 17, 1890, from Lowell, Massachusetts: I entered college in 1837 and was elected to the M.S. I think in 1838. The order was founded by Brewer and W ard [Samuel Henry W ard, W esleyan 1837], and I rem em ber nothing about the Tub. I have always understood that the origin of it was as follows: Brewer and W ard were then, or shortly afterw ards, engaged to two Starr girls, living quite near the college, and, as there were seven children in the family, they were called the seven Starrs, which suggested the Pleiades, and the Seven, and the M ystical from its secrecy, which made it a mystery to outsiders. At first its members were limited to seven, for greater interest and variety of talent it was soon increased to fourteen. There were Brewer, W ard, Tom Nickerson [Thom as Alden Nickerson, Wesleyan 1842], one of the most talented students, H untington of New London [William H enry H untington, Wesleyan 1842], Tutor Nind [George Willis Ninde, Wesleyan 1840], Chandler Robbins [W esleyan 1840] Rev. B. K. Peirce [B radford Kinney Peirce, W esleyan 1841], my chum now passed on, and others whom I do not now call to mind. At our meetings after the literary societies were concluded, we were under the commands of the president, then called Bum-Boat, who was an absolute autocrat, though I rem em ber no acts of tyranny. One night we were ordered to start for a walk, and were taken to the banks of Pam eacha Pond and commanded to strip and plunge in, which we did, listening while in the water to the m idnight bell. . . . B radford K. Peirce recalled in a letter written from Boston, A pril 28, 1885, and directed to Charles M. Bradbury, Virginia ’88, then regent of the Mystic Seven Society: The Society of Mystics in my day (just after its form ation) was quite inform al. Its elaborate ritual was not established until a later date; about the tim e when the chapters were constituted. The papers em body[ing] his accepted form , with other valuable m aterial & relics were stolen sometime since. . . . I shall always be glad to hear of your fortune, and beg to rem ain, Yours in “rare” friendship, Brother Paul, known among men as B. K. Pe irce. This signature discloses the form used within the society and the w riter adds as a postscript, “So mote it b e!” an exclamation favored by m embers of the ring. “Brother P aul,” an appropriatae name for the editor of Zion’s Herald, also related that John William Fletcher Burruss, Thom as Bangs Thorpe, and John Godfrey Saxe had been members of the Tub society and were elected honorary members of the Mystical Seven.

SOUTH FARMS, CONNECTICUT

Q O

By anticipating, it is possible to give a view of the Middletown of 1848, a period but a few years after Ham ilton Brewer and Samuel Henry W ard had seen the “stars.” M adison Cody, who was graduated from F ranklin College of the University of Georgia in 1848, set down in that year this picture of the Connecticut town: In the city of M iddletown, Connecticut, the fraternity received its existence. The city is located upon the Connecticut River about sixty miles from its m outh; whose site is very much broken and diversified with hills and depressions. On one side the town extends to the very m argin of the river. On all other sides are low m ountains and deep ravines giving the scenery a wild, picturesque and rom antic aspect. M iddletown contains about eight thousand inhabitants, has rather a ru ra l aspect, with none of the noise and din which are so annoying to the stranger in our large cities. In the northern suburbs of the city is an elevation which rises about all the others in the immediate vicinity of M iddletown, and upon the summit of this elevation is situate W es leyan University. . . . This Sem inary of learning was established in the year 1831 and as its name im ports is sectarian, belonging to the M ethodist Episcopal Church. It has been well patronised from its first organization, meeting with but few of the obstacles which so much tend to retard the progress of Southern Institutions of Learning. . . . Meetings [of the M ystics] were held regularly in some of the college rooms and plans were devised, suggested and discussed and after a few months our present system was perfected and adopted. Called meetings were not uncommon and it was frequently the case that a knowledge of the meetings could not very well be comm unicated from one to an other without creating suspicion. Resort was had to the advertising board of the college for the purpose of giving necessary notice. On the board at night at a time when it would not be observed a paper was posted up on which was delineated all kinds of devices such as moons, Pots, Pot-hooks, &c., significant to Mystics and Mystics alone, as each of these had previously been agreed upon to have a meaning. . . . Then Cody continued to describe the Founder of the Mystical Seven, Ham ilton Brewer, who became a physician, but died early in life, in 1855: The original founder of the M ystical Seven Fraternity known among the members of the W and by the title of P ater M ysticum resides at this time in Middletown. He is a gentleman about 35 years of age and of medium stature. He is a m an with a kind heart and lively disposition, full of vivacity and firm, possessing a strong and abiding attachm ent of Mysticism and the Mystic Brothers, wherever they may be. He is a practicioner of the healing art and in the city he is regarded as an able Physician, respected and beloved by all his acquaintance. . . .

THE SOUTHERN MYSTICS This point m ust be made clear: Carl F. Price, of New York city, the historian of the M ystical Seven Society of Wesleyan, asserts, “The seven charter members of the Templum made provision in the constitution of 1837 for the establishm ent of branches (not ‘chapters’) in other col leges, and regulations for such procedure were adopted, also special rites for the installation of a branch. But beyond this, no action was taken during the F irst Cycle, looking to the founding of the branches; the right to grant charters had from the first been retained in the Temple of the founders.” In the years that followed, certain temples of a Mystic Seven were established. These groups mentioned letters exchanged with the Mysti cal Seven at M iddletown, but the parent temple did not recognize them as daughters of the same society of 1837. Other Mystic groups were organized as follows: The Sword, Em ory University, Oxford, Georgia, 1841 The Skull and Bones, Franklin College of the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 1846 The W reath, Centenary College of Louisiana, Jackson, Louisiana, 1849 The Scroll and Pen, Genesee College, Lima, New York, 1853 The Star, University of M ississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, 1859 The Serpent, Cum berland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, ca. 1869 The H ands and Torch, U niversity of V irginia, University, Virginia, 1868 The Sword and Shield, Davidson College, Davidson, North Caro lina, 1884 The Star of the South, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N orth Carolina, 1884.

THE SEVEN POINTED STAR The Mystic society was Hebrew rather than Greek in nom enclature. Under the original plan, there were to be seven members of each mystic ring. There were to be seven temples, in time. Each temple was to have one of the seven prim ary colors as its own— thus the “color” of the society would be a com bination of the rainbow, or white. How must the Mystics have shouted a “ra re !”— their favorite adjective of praise— when they chanced to read the lines from W illiam W ordsw orth’s poem, “My H eart Leaps up When I Behold” My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die!

and they m ight have rem em bered the title of another W ordsworth poem, “We are Seven.” Seven was the guide of the Mystic member. The badge as shown here was a seven-pointed golden star, made with seven straight lines, crossing each other in such a m anner as to form a heptagon; form ing seven key stones and seven triangles. Each of these points bore on the obverse a Hebrew character, and the characters from right to left, in m odern spell ing are He, Nun, Samekh, Taw, Waw, Resh and Taw. This is identified by Professor James E. Bear, W ashington and Lee ’15, of the Union Theological Sem inary, Richmond, V irginia, and Professor Kenneth J. Forem an, of Davidson College, as a phrase pronounced Han-nis-ta-roth, m eaning “the secrets” or the “Hidden things.” In form it is the plural feminine of the Niphal (simple passive) participle, with the article. In the Hebrew Bible the word and article appear apparently just once in Deuteronomy 29:29, which reads: The secret things belong unto the L o r d our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. This is the last verse of the twenty-ninth chapter of the Fifth book of Moses in which he is exhorting the people of Israel to keep all com m and

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

ments and he points out the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. In addition to this Hebrew, the star displayed the serpent (seven letters), the Pleiades, a moon in the first quarter and a comet. Below is the boiling cauldron with a ladle bearing the mystic date, 1837. The reverse of one such badge worn by James Elmore Palmer, Emory 1848, a mem ber of the Temple of the Sword, bore his name and crossed swords.

Obverse of Mystic star worn by Thomas D. Hutcheson, Emory ’43.

If this were not enough reference to the sevens, members of one temple also pointed out that the 119th Psalm may be divided into twenty-two sections, each of which bears a Hebrew character and that each also has eight verses. The first seven verses begin with the Hebrew character heading the section. Even the word number, used as a verb, had a special meaning within the mystic ring. At the opening of the meeting, the Bumbote or Pontiff, presiding officer, would num ber the members present, or, as we say, call the roll. Professor Guido H. Stempel, emeritus professor of Philology at Indiana University, suggests that “Bumbote” may have been related to bomb, bom bard, etc., or to bombast. If from bomba, originally “noise,” it would have been The Big Noise inferring that the Wesleyan boys may have used the word in the sense of slang. The powers of the Bumbote, then, would classify him as “The Big Noise.” The original Hebrew motto of the Temple of the W and of the Mysti cal Seven is said to have been suggested by the instructor of that language at Wesleyan, W illiam M. W illett. Members of the Mystics referred to themselves as the “Favourites,” and the other students as ‘ Gentiles, or “H eathens,” as early Betas were “Greeks,” and all others, even mem-

TH E SEVEN POINTED STAR

bers of college fraternities were “ B arbarians.” Remember the line, “B ar barians, we to college came.” Then the cauldron. Charles Smith Rogers, Wesleyan 1858, Phi Beta K appa, wrote in 1890 that the members of the W and had two cauldrons. One was used on the table and contained the lamp with seven burners that illum inated the temple. The larger one, fifteen or sixteen inches in diameter, hung in the tem ple except when it was carried suspended on a pole by two Mystics during a “tram p ” to a meeting at the Mystic Dell. This “ dell” was a lonely cemetery near the Connecticut river where the Mystics gathered beneath a large tree. The Pontiff led with an old sword stam ped “G. W ashington,” and the members sang, to the tune of “ Old Granite State” If you hear a troop a tramping Stout and sturdy in their stamping Like to armies when a camping In the old church yard: ’Tis a band of Mystics You w ill hear them shouting R are!

F rom these expeditions known as Mystic Tram ps developed the use of the Owl and W uotan in Mystic literature. After many rare meetings under the stars, the owl as bird of the night and com panion to Athena or M inerva came to be an attendant and soon took her place in the “Tem ple” beneath the arch inscribed “Templum A rcan.” W uotan, the German wild huntsm an of the night, came to be regarded as a worthy captain or presiding genius by the fierce tram pers who found a rare joy in church yards at m idnight.

SYMBOLISM OF THE MYSTICS AN INVOCATION HYMN Air: “Hilly Dale” In the gathering gloom of the dark, still night In the hush of the Mystic hour, Mighty Wuotan, smile on the Mystic rite, Vindicate thy secret power. 0 , Wuotan, great Wuotan, H ail! thou unseen sprite From the seventh heaven With thy chosen seven In thy temple reign to-night. In this Mystic hour, in this Elfin Bower, As we gather ’round the shrine, Let our hearts be knit by the magic power, As in the days of Aidd Lang Syne. Let thy thunders blast, let thy lightnings brand Every base, unfaithful heart, And be palsied the arm, be severed the hand Ere we from our vows depart. — W illia m

P e rk y ,

Genesee

1862

As written in the Chronicles of the Mystics, this last verse is under scored, apparently with the idea of fixing in the mind of the initiate, the terrible, real threat ever before a Mystic. The Mystic societies as guides had two figures from antiquity. One was the blue-eyed goddess, M inerva, the other the god, W uotan. M inerva, goddess of W isdom, was so-called by the Romans, and was known as Athena by the Greeks. M inerva’s bird, the owl, has been men tioned, and it may be seen on the coat of arms of the Mystic Seven adopted at the University of V irginia. Busts of Minerva were frequent class gifts— for some unexplainable reason— and many colleges and uni versity caretakers dusted them from time immemorial. Minerva is a po p u lar goddess with Greek-letter societies today and is the patron saint of several including Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Kappa Kappa Gamma.

SYMBOLISM OF TH E MYSTICS

W uotan— called W odin by the early Germanic tribes— is the origin of our W ednesday. Woden is the Anglo-Saxon form of the Scandinavian god, Odin. As indicated in the lines of the Invocation hymn, W uotan had a “terrible” power. Was he all-seeing? Did he look over all the Mystics and observe their conduct and tem peram ent? In the last verse, W uotan receives credit for a great power. Thunder, lightning and other terrors were prom ised for the unfaithful! The phrase “ Elfin Bower” refers to the meeting place of the Mystics. From “ ancient” times they had met in the open, sometimes in a glen or ravine— again under the towering trees of a nearby forest. Southern Mystics preferred grave yards, or the banks of a lim pid stream. Now, this raises the question: Did the members meet at a pre-arranged place? A definite reply can be given. Members assembled at a point contigu ous to the campus and then “tram ped” to a place of meeting chosen by the Pontiff. This “tram p” came to be a tradition. Sometimes the Pontiff led members west, or east, but always with his “w and” as an emblem of authority. The “ wand”— an emblem of the societies— sometimes was an old sabre or sword, oftentimes a gavel and then again a roughlyhewn fence rail! Centenary Mystics favored the open country and often met under a small tree which, in time, came to be known as the “Mystic Bush” in Jackson. Picturesque are the recollections and minutes of the Mystics of initiations under the moon and stars of the heavens— all emblems of the societies! In describing the nam e of the Mystics, some members said “The nam e of the F raternity was adopted originally as a mere fancy, and facetiously described as having been chosen for seven reasons, namely, the Seven Heavens, Seven Stars, Seven Planets, Seven Days of the Week, Seven Wise Men of Israel, and the Seven Kings of the Seven-Hilled City.” Shining on the face of the seven-pointed star also m ay be seen the Pleiades. The Favourites sometimes referred to themselves as the Pleiades, or a Mystic as a Pleiad— the one who had become lost— and had returned to the tem ple ring. In classic mythology, the Pleiades are the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, nam ed Alcyone, Celaeno, Electra, M aia, Merope, Sterope or Asterope, and Taygeta. This group of stars is in the constellation Taurus, and six are visible with ordinary sight— as all form er students

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

of Astronom y are supposed to remember. The ancients believed that M erope m arried a m ortal and was ashamed to show herself among her sisters who had been m arried to gods. For this story, the Favourites developed their little theme, and thus “welcomed” a lost Pleiad who had returned from associating with m ortals— an alumnus! In addition to the quarter moon and the Pleiades, the badge also displayed a comet, that interesting phenom enon of the sky. The Books of Chronicles are filled with symbolical drawings of these emblems as well as contemporary sketches of the members of the temples.

WITHIN OUR MYSTIC CIRCLE YOU’LL LOVED AND CHERISHED BE One of the most interesting practices of the Mystics provided that upon initiation, each member received a Mystic name. This feature proved a happy one and the young men delighted in selecting a ch ar acter from fiction or history or a pseudonym the antithesis of the neophyte. An interesting study of the psychological reasons behind these selections might be made. The practice, however, was a puzzler to the historian who tried to decipher rolls of these temples. Fortunately in m any cases, a key is included in the Books of Chronicles. Other secret societies have used this method in welcoming neophytes and some follow it today. Upon initiation, the new member “ adopts” a nam e from classic mythology. Thus he has before him the guiding light of an ideal to pattern his own conduct through college, and through life. In the seventies, Beta Theta Pi used a so- called “XYZ ritu al” which included a Diogenes who was im personated by the neo phyte. A study of the mystic names used within the temples also reveals contem porary thought and opinion. For instance, Thom as W. Brown, Centenary 1850, was the “Raven.” Poe’s moving poem had been published five years before. John J. Hodges, Centenary 1858, selected Klopstock, in honor of the German poet, Friedrich G. Klopstock, author of the epic, Messiah. Bolivar Edwards, Centenary 1859, also looked for an honest man as a Diogenes, and John S. Young, Centenary 1855, was Osceola, the Indian chief. Don Juan was a favorite among the Favourites. He is represented on several rolls: the prince of libertines, a thought that appealed to some young gentlemen of that and this decade. M adison Cody, Franklin 1848, was Sancho Panza, and W illiam B. Jones, Franklin 1847, chose Don Quixote. Some names were amusing. Henry B. Bacon, Franklin 1847, later president of East Alabam a Teachers College, was known as Jerry Go Nimble, and Chandler Robbins, W esleyan 1840, delighted in Anacharsis Cloots. The N orth C arolina Mystics favored politics and ancient history 11

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

as fields to conquer with the Mystic star. W illiam A. Wilson, ’89, was Johnston; Charles A. Webb, ’89, Polk; Thomas L. Moore, ’89, Gordon, and John W. Graham , ’90, Napoleon. Wallace E. Rollins, ’92, and Fred A. Green, ’91, apparently were deep in ancient tomes, since the form er selected A rm inius and Green was known as Miltiades. For the benefit of the sophomores, Arm inius was (and is, unfortunately at exam ina tion time) a German general who broke the power of Rome in 9 A.D., one of the “greatest battles of the world,” and the Athenian general who defeated the Persians at M arathon, is M iltiades. H erbert Barry, Virginia ’88, regent of the Mystic Seven at the time of the union, signed his name Hector. Although Hector of Troy was slain in 1183 B.C., Colonel B arry is with us, and his lines, “The Mystic S tar,” appeared in the M ystic Messenger, were reprinted in Oyjtoc III in 1890 and are included in Francis W. Shepardson’s Beta Bards. THE MYSTIC STAR Of the myriad stars in the Heavens That shine with a splendor so bright, There is none that can rival the radiance Of the Mystical. Emblem’s soft light. With its sevenfold points that are sparkling With a meaning known but to our band, It reigns o’er the hearts of the Mystics With a power none else understand. It leads on to noble achievements And him who stands firm for the right It cheers with its sweet, holy splendor, Shedding o’er him a halo of light. Whoever will faithfully follow Where the Mystical Star shows the way, His life will be stainless and noble And his conscience as clear as the day. Of the daughters of night the most radiant, Our Star reigns supreme and alone; The Queen of the night, it is brightest and best And will be when ages have flown.

TEMPLE GOVERNMENT AND PROCEDURE Seven officers guided the temples of the Mystics. Sometimes known by different titles, they were: Bumbote or Pontiff; Counsellor, Scribe, Publican, H istorian, Editor and Lector. The Lector served as alum ni secretary of the Mystic Seven temples, preparing letters for the M ystic M essenger; the H istorian preserved the records of the tem ple; the P ublican was treasu rer; the Scribe the re cording secretary and the Pontiff presided at the meetings. The ruler of the Mystical Seven of Wesleyan was termed the Chief-Pontiff, while the ruler of the temples of the Mystic Seven at V irginia, Davidson and North Carolina, was known as the Regent. The early minutes of the societies are signed by the Bumbote and the Scribe. The powers of this Pontiff were celebrated in so n g : THE PONTIFF Air: “Sparkling and Bright” Most noble, and rare in his great arm chair, Sits the Pontiff his power proclaiming And none shall dare to refuse him there The homage his station claiming. The Mystics bow as you well know how To him who rules so lightly For all delight in the Mystic rite Where the star shines out so brightly. For the Shall No link With

Mystic band with heart and hand draw love’s chain the tighter shall fail but one and all age shall grow the brighter.

Then, Mystics dear, while we are here Let all be joy and pleasure For when we go, full well we know We lose the Mystic treasure. Then give a rare! And a toast to And a hope that May never tire

to the Pontiff fair his wide dominion love that soars above her pinion.

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI Then form the ring and gladly sing Of all the Mystic glory For when we’re past and gone at last We live in Mystic glory.

In reading minutes of the temples, it will be noted that the Mystics had a “lunch” and a “cauldron” at each circle. “Lunch” it was, but a feast of eloquence and flow of soul. To Mystics, this period of the meet ing was the E ditor’s report. This officer preserved essays, stories, articles and hum orous accounts and read them in the mystic ring. The Lector read selections from current and standard literature, including the great plays. The Lector’s report, criticism (of the previous efforts), and miscellaneous business composed the “cauldron” of the meeting. When any one Mystic asked concerning the business of a meeting, the Bumbote would respond: “Look into the Chronicles.” One such suggestion in the Book of Chronicles of the Temple of the W reath, reads: Now if any Brother would know the marvelous things and wonders which the Bumbote w rought in the presence of the Mystics, let him in quire of the Man in the Moon, for W uotan being pleased with the acts of the Bumbote, commanded the Scribe to write them not, for they are m ore worthy of being untranslated. Seeking to introduce a motion before the ring, a Mystic would say, “ I gyrate,” or “ I gy” (from gyros, circle). The story is told of an early Mystic who attem pted to circumvent this tradition and suggested to the noble and rate Pontiff that he wanted to make “ a circular motion,” w hereupon, he was properly chastised by the Pontiff with the great wand. Most im portant in the symbolism was the figure 7. Some of its uses have been mentioned. The Scribe must have written minutes with an alm anac in his hand. How else could he have come to this notation— from the Centenary minutes C hapter Fifth (July 12th, 1849) Seventh m onth, T hird Week, Seventh Day, 2nd Cycle. or consider the young man at Franklin College of the University of Georgia sharpening his quill and w riting: 3 rd Cycle, 4 th Year, 6th Moon, 2d Week, 7th Day and then adding, laconically, August 27, 1854!

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Photograph of the first page of The Caldron of the Temple of the Skull and Bones.

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

Accounts of the Mystics in Baird’s Manual from edition to edition usually noted that the society had a nom enclature like that of the R ain bow. The latter society, a daughter of the University of Mississippi, also was known as the W W W. In 1886, the surviving chapters of Rainbow form ed a union with Delta Tau Delta and in compliment to the older group, the Delta Tau Delta magazine was re-named the Rainbow and the southern district of the fraternity was known as the Rainbow dis trict. There is no reason, however, to believe that the W W W was like the Mystics. Both it is true used the colors of the rainbow in a peculiar sense, but W W W ’s chapters were called, S A, L S, and other com binations of letters which stood for the form al titles of officials. The W offord College chapter was known as L.S., and the initials meant “Lord Secretary.” M ajor George M. Chandler, M ichigan ’98, the Beta authority on heraldry, nom enclature and revisor of our ritual, points out that the m any likenesses among Greek-letter fraternities are the natural result of the use of the same source m aterial. The rich storehouses of the Bible and of general literature, he asserts, have provided the background for m any a young traveler along a path of life. These young men, and indeed, the founders of almost every college Greek-letter fraternity who builded better than they knew drew upon these works for in spiration, com fort and assistance.

THE MYSTICS AND SHAKESPEARE In addition to M inerva and W uotan, the Favourites held W illiam Shakespeare in high esteem. No literary detective is needed to discern that Macbeth, particularly the W itches’ scene, form ed the basis for part of the ritual which ran / r I

Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

This theme wap repeated tim e and again. These lines may be found in Act IV, Scene 3^ with the setting “A Cavern.” The stage directions also include “ in the middle, a boiling cauldron.” Three witches enter, and the lines are: F irst Witch ’Round about the cauldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty one Sweltered venom sleeping got Boil thou first i’ th’ charmed pot. A ll Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Second Witch Fillet of a fenny snake; In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. A ll Double, double, &c. (Enter H ecate) H ecate 0 , well done! I commend your pains; And every one shall share i’ th’ gains: And now about the cauldron sing, Like elves and fairies in a ring, Enchanting all that you put in.

Hecate, or Heccate, was a trip le diety, being Luna in H eaven; Diana on earth and Proserpine in Hell. She presided over magic and enchant 17

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI ments, and generally was represented as having the head of a horse, dog or bear, although sometimes she is represented with three bodies and three heads looking different ways. This latter attribute— if we may believe contem porary reports— was a quality demonstrated by the college president in watching for another type of devilment among his students. In this particu lar scene, Hecate, the presiding witch, is super intending the brewing of a spell for the noble Macbeth, and following this action, he sees the four apparitions which foretell his doom— a l though Macbeth does not believe them. All Elizabethans were very superstitious. Educated and uneducated alike, they believed in witches. The passage of Macbeth, therefore, prob ably referred to current beliefs. And there is another hand on the ladle of the cauldron. Shortly before 1800 the m anuscript was found of The W itch, a play by Thomas Middleton. The resemblance of p art of it to the witch scenes of Macbeth is very close, as will be shown. Macbeth was in all pro b ab ility written in 1606. The date of M iddleton’s play is not known. Some students put it before 1606, and assert that Shakespeare copied his witch scenes from Middleton. Other students think the play was w ritten after 1606 and assert that Middleton copied from Shake speare. Professor W ilbur D. Dunkel, Indiana ’22, of the department of English of the University of Rochester, some years since studied M iddle ton’s revision of Macbeth. The latter play exists only in the First Folio version. Of the problem of the witches, he says, “Since Hecate’s song appears in M iddleton’s The W itch, M iddleton is assumed for this and other textual reasons to be the author of the revision. Shakespeare cer tainly created the witches. They are as significant a part of the royal complement as the Scottish figures in Macbeth, for James the First was the author of an im portant book on demonology. Although the incantation has not been identified as either M iddleton’s or Shakespeare’s, it may be an old device of w itchcraft.” The plot of The W itch comes from an Italian novel, Bandello. The text quoted here is from The Ancient British Drama (London, 1810), and the play first was printed in 1778. The characters here introduced include Hecate, the Duchess of Ravenna, Firestone— the clown and son of Hecate, and Almachides, who is described in the dramatis persona? as “ a fantastical gentleman.” The parallel to Macbeth may be observed in Act V, Scene 2, set in “A W itches’ H abitation.”

THE MYSTICS AND SHAKESPEARE H ecate What death is ’t you desire for Almachides? Duchess A sudden and a subtle. A C h a rm S ong ( The W itches Going A bout the Cauldron) Hec. Black spirits, and white; red spirits, and gray; M ingle, mingle, mingle, you that mingle may. Titty, Tiffin, keep it stiff in; Firedrake, Puckey, make it lucky; Liard, Robin, you must bob in. Round about, around about, about; All ill come running in; all good keep out! First Witch Here’s the blood of a bat. Hec. Put in that; oh, put in that. Second

Witch Here’s a libbard’s-bane.

Hec. Put in again. First W itch The juice of a toad; the oil of adder Second W itch Those will make the yonker madder. Hec. Put in: There’s all, and rid the stench. Firestone Nay, here’s three ounces of the red-hair’d wench. A ll Round, about, around, &c. Hec. See, see, There, ’t And any But is a

enough: into the vessel with it. hath the true perfection. I’m so light mischief: there’s no villainy tune, methinks.

Fire. A tune! ’Tis to the tune of damnation then, I’ll warrant you that song hath a villainous burthen. Hec. Come, my sweet sisters; let the air strike our tune W hilst we show reverence to yond peeping moon. ( The W itches dance, then exeunt)

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

The lines, “ Double, double, toil and trouble” were incorporated in the m inutes of the Favourites, and for another parallel, consider that George Ashe W ilson, M ississippi ’72, a Mystic of the Temple of the Star and of the Temple of the Serpent, asked in 1928— fifty-five years after he had left college-—“ Do the Betas use any of the old ritual of the M ystics?” Round about the Cauldron go In the Mystic watchword throw Peace from Strife, it doth foretell Nor death itself destroy this spell.

Members of the H ands and Torch repeated these lines which may be com pared with W ilson’s recollection Round about the Cauldron go, Thus the charmlets in we throw, And let no brother ever tell That thus we weave the Mystic spell.

A like charm , used by the Mystics of the Temple of the W reath at Old Centenary in the fifties, has a parallel with Hecate’s last speech in the quoted lines of Macbeth M acbeth Hec.

0 , well done! pains And every one gains And now about Like elves and Enchanting all

Centenary minutes, March 1, 1853 I commend your shall share i ’ th’ the cauldron sing fairies in a ring that you put in

And, now, about the Cauldron sing Like elves and fairies in ring Enchanting all that they put in.

AT THE^FOOT OF MINERVA, 1848 As we m ark the fiftieth anniversary of the Phi Alpha Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, it is interesting to record and to “ attend” this initiation of the Temple of the Skull and Bones of F ranklin College, the University of Georgia, held ninety-three years ago. Georgia Favourites were proud of their regalia for initiation. The year before this ceremony, members

.«

Franklin College, the University of Georgia. Phi Kappa Hall at the extreme left.

of the temple had obtained gowns, cut like those “worn by an Epis copalian m inister” with sashes as follows: red for the Bumbote (the presiding officer) ; blue for the Disciples (neophytes) and white for the Philosophers (m em bers). In addition, the temple owned a screen upon which was depicted the emblems of the society. This was used as a lecture chart during the ceremony. This account is a first-hand story written by M adison Cody, a member of the Class of 1848. Following the recital are appended catalogue rec ords identifying those mentioned in this delightful description. At a previous meeting, “A. W. Church stated that he had received a

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

com m unication from the Temple of the W and, this being the first intel ligence received from the parent association directly. It was full of congratulations and good wishes to the offspring. A short sketch of the history of the Fraternity at Middletown was also embraced in the com m unication in which were related some of the difficulties with which it had to contend, as well as the Founder’s name. This letter was de posited among the archives of the society. . . Mystic Cody, taking his quill and with foolscap ready, wrote When this nite arrived every brother was at his post, clothed as the character of the meeting required. The elect were accompanied by a Favourite to the hall and left alone to their reflections, in the portico of the basement story. I have seen Mystics led up to the altar and inducted into the secrets of the Mystical Seven, but I have never seen any so much agitated as these candidates were m erely at the anticipation of the solemnities which would attend their initiation. It seemed that as soon as they arrived at the hall they expected to see hobgoblins and spirits of the nether world rising up from the ground beneath their feet. The screen was stretched over the box prepared for it with the candle placed inside. The box was placed on a stand at the west end of the hall with the devices facing the door. All the other lights were extinguished so th at a dim, dreary appearance was given to every object in the room. A sufficient num ber of chairs were arranged in two rows fronting each other before the stand for the ring. Space enough was left between these rows for the conductor and the candidate to pass between them as they approached the Bumbote who seated himself in the smaller stand directly in front of the larger carrying the screen. The busts [in the literary society h all] were dressed up with cloaks and caps were placed upon their heads. The Bumbote then announced that all things were readv. The Brethren took their seats clothed in their long, flowing robes appearing by the pale light more like beings from another world than inhabitants of earth. One could not look upon them without being forcibly reminded of the witches in Macbeth p re paring for their unholy rites. On a stand between the two at the end of the passage nearer the Bumbote was placed a skull. The seven raps were given by A. W. Church who acted as Bumbote on this occasion. W hen all noise had subsided, Brother Robert J. M organ, alias Delicate McDecent, left the room to bring up and introduce one of the candidates. On his own accord (and there was no im propriety in the act) when he arrived at the place where the candidates were, he took his handkerchief and hoodwinked Mr. Hall as the two had previously agreed between themselves that he should be first invested with the Mysteries. As soon as this was done, he led his blindfolded com panion up the stairs and walking to the door gave the signal for admission. A response was given and Delicate opened the door. From o

AT THE FOOT OF MINERVA, 1848

the time the candidate began to ascend the stairs to the moment when the door was opened, the brethren had been uttering deep groans which could be distinctly heard outside the rooms. This was an addition to the initiatory ceremonies not required nor recognized by law or precedent, but as it tended rather to increase than detract from the gravity of the occasion, it could not be considered as im proper. After Delicate McDecent had entered and closed the door he proceeded slowly to the stand upon which the skull was laid. The right hand of the candidate being placed on it, the ring being formed, the bandage was removed from his eyes, when he was startled by the apparent reality of all that his excited im agination had conjured up. There was the skull, the screen with all the emblems of Mysticism, clearly depicted. There was the ghostly group around him w rapped in their dark gowns. The oath was slowly and impressively adm inistered, and the skull was kissed with all the seriousness which the occasion demanded. Introductions, first to the Bumbote, afterw ards to the brothers, followed and the newcomer took his seat trem bling and overawed by the objects and appearances which surrounded him. As soon as congratulations were over, all again became silent and Delicate returned for the rem aining candidate, Mr. Briscoe, who for some time had been alone in the dark, hearing nothing but the groans of his brethren, the light taps of Delicate, and the occasional rum bling p ro Â duced by the moving of chairs. W ith much anxiety he waited for his time to arrive. Like Mr. H all his eyes were bandaged and he was taken up to the hall and stationed by the stand with his right hand on the skull. When the bandage was removed, he seemed more confused and bewildered than the one who had just preceded him. W ith a vacant stare he gazed around the hall as if in doubt whether he was in the presence of spirits or of men. When the prescribed oath was adm inistered with the greatest agitation and unfeigned reverence, he bowed his head and gave the skull an old-fashioned kiss which was evidenced by the loud smack of his lips. As soon as this was over, Delicate took Mr. Briscoe by the arm , and introduced him to the Bumbote. Such was his em barassem ent and natural tim idity at the novel objects around him that he did not observe the Bumbote, but mistook the dignified bust of Shakespeare in his dress for His Most M ighty Highness, and actually spoke and bowed and extended his right hand to the pale-faced old gentleman. Everyone managed somehow to rem ain silent, until Mr. Briscoe had been form ally introduced to all the brothers and had taken his seat when his mistake was told him. I have been thus m inute in detailing the proceedings of this meeting and the circumstances of these initiations as I thought they would not only be interesting at some future period, but th at they would in some degree satisfy the curiosity of those who m ight have a desire to know how members were inducted into the M ysteries when the society was in its youth.

TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

0 , rare! Mystic Cody. Our appreciation across ninety-three years. The use of the skull in this account required a postscript and Cody explained. The use of the skull in the initiation of members is first mentioned in the preceding chapter and for the satisfaction of those who may be curious to know when and under what circumstances it was introduced, this note is appended. N othing of the skull is spoken of in our laws or in the initiation ceremonies. In fact, there the individual who was to be obligated and invested with Mystic privileges is required to seal his pledge of secrecy by kissing a Shakespeare. As our emblem is the skull and crossbones, it was thought by the original members that the substi tution of a skull would not only be appropriate, but would add solemnity to that which was already solemn. Its first use was in October, 1846, when W. D. W illiams and C. H. Smith were initiated, and it has been used without exception at every subsequent initiation up to this time so that precedent has made its use obligatory. The initiation which has been retold here was held in the Phi Kappa Hall, the building occupied by a literary society of that name. The Phi K appa hall is shown in the contem porary picture which is used with the perm ission of Professor E. M erton Coulter, author of a history of the University of Georgia. The two members who were initiated had been notified by a mystic letter, an invitation decorated with the cabala of the society, signed by the Scribe, a custom observed by the Favourites. Catalogue records of these young gentlemen are M adison Cody, A.B., 1848. Lawyer. Member of U. S. House of Repre sentatives, 1853-4; Soldier, Confederate States Army, 1861-3. Killed at C ram pton’s Gap, Va., 1863. A tlanta, Ga. Alonzo W ebster Church, A.B., 1847. Lawyer. Librarian of the United States Senate, 1886-1904. Counsel for Chicago & Alton R.R., 1861-74. Died 1909, Newark, N.J. R obert Jarrel M organ, A.B., 1848. Lawyer. Colonel, 36th Tenn. Inf., CSA, 1861-65. Atty. for St. Louis & Iron M ountain R.R. Chancellor of Tenn. Supreme Court, 1869-78. Died 1899, Memphis, Tenn. R obert Carter Hall, A.B., 1849. Died 1868, Athens, Ga. Lucilius H enry Briscoe, A.B., 1847. Private secretary to Governor John son of Georgia. M ember Georgia House of Representatives and of the Senate. Died 1874, M onroe, Ga. W illiam D. W illiams, A.B., 1848. Principal of Georgia Academy for the Blind. Died 1908, Macon, Ga. Charles H enry Smith, 1848. Lawyer. M ajor, CSA. Member Georgia senate, 1866-7. W riter under the name of “Bil A rp.” Author of A Side Show of the Southern. Side o f the War. Died 1903, Cartersville, Ga.

THE GENESIS OF THE UNION Mystic Seven. This fraternity was founded after the W ar in the South. It had a chapter at the M ississippi University, which died in 1878, and still possesses one at the V irginia University. Nothing further is known of it. This is W illiam Raim ond Baird, Stevens ’78, w riting for his first edition (1879) of Am erican College Fraternities. A lthough he was but a young graduate, he had become interested in Greek-letter societies and so rem ained until his death in 1917. In 1879 there was but one temple alive, the Hands and Torch at the U niversity of V irginia. The W and of the Mystical Seven Society at Wesleyan had become a class society and in the seventies was known to outsiders— Gentiles— as the Owl and the W and. The next year members of the H ands and Torch “tried to find out something concerning the history of the society. Two were initiated and a club supper was held in May after the law exams.” (The italics are from the M ystic M essenger.) The Beta Theta Pi general secretary’s reports from year to year showed a breakdown of fraternity m em berships as reported by chapter sec retaries. Only at the University of V irginia were the Mystics mentioned. In 1879, Omicron was reported to have an enrollm ent of eleven and two were initiated within the college year. There were but five rivals m en tioned: Phi K appa Psi, Phi Gamma Delta, Chi Phi, Sigma Chi and Phi Delta Theta, and her prospects were hidden under that adjective which has been used in college grading, “F air.” This year also m arked the Beta union with A lpha Sigma Chi and brought Mr. Baird into the fold of Beta Theta Pi. Before the day when “big business” claimed the attention of the nation, Baird was planning the am algam ation of local fraternities and small sectional organizations and Beta Theta Pi. This change in opinion on expansion is interesting. In the early years of the fraternity, one mem ber on a strange campus presaged a new chapter. A local fraternity or a sm all society to Baird posed a problem of union. M anly B. Curry, R ichm ond ’79, Virginia ’81, in subm itting his re port as chief assistant secretary (district chief) in 1880 said of Omicron 25

HANDS AND TORCH MEMBERS IN 1872 L eft to right, across: George B. Johnson, James F. Maury, Beverly K. Whittle, William Moncure, Bradford R. A. Scott, Lewis W. Minor, Joseph F. Simpson, Franklin W. Pugh, David P. Watson, Allen J. Hooker, Joseph G. Kent and Charles T. Hibbett. The Hebrew inscription is “hand made” and in the center is the “Hands and Torch” chapter guard pin.

THE GENESIS OF THE UNION

at the University of V irginia: “Ten members, initiated, one; to return, nine. Rivals are legion.” The lack of initiations at Charlottesville has been discussed in con nection with several articles in Br]Ta l i t on Hampden-Sydney, William and M ary and V irginia A gricultural and M echanical College. Iij short, it was the custom and fashion in the Old Dominion to take either graduate work or special courses at the University. Thus, Omicron was

H ANDS AND TORCH, 1881-82 L eft to right, front row : Louis Patterson, W. J. Roddey, James H. Woodrow. Back row: Brock Beckwith, Christie Churchill, Patterson Wardlaw, W. J. Bing ham, Frederick C. DelBondio.

composed of members from the Beta chapters at Hampden-Sydney, V irginia A. & M., W illiam and Mary, Richm ond College, W ashington and Lee, and Randolph-M acon. In 1881-82, Omicron had twelve men, six of whom had been adm itted by transfer, and one was initiated in the year. The Mystics that year num bered seven and the other Greek allies on The Lawn included Sigma Chi, Phi K appa Psi, Chi Phi, Delta K appa Epsilon, A lpha Tau Omega, P i K appa A lpha, K appa Alpha (S ), Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta,

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI Delta Psi, Phi K appa Sigma, K appa Sigma K appa and Zeta Psi— fifteen fraternities in all. This is m ore chapters than obtained at any other institution that had a Beta chapter in 1881. In 1883-84, Omicron reported seven members, six in law and one postgraduate. Three of these had been initiated and two were transfers. In this interim , K appa Sigma Kappa, a V irginia fraternity, and Zeta Psi had died, and the Mystics had increased their membership to ten. The Beta magazine for January, 1889 included a resume of the December, 1888, semi-annuals, the reports printed by chapters and sent to alum ni much like our present chapter papers. Charles M. Hep burn, Virginia ’80, editor of the magazine, was a little amazed and com mented Virginia— Yes, sir Omicron! The first for four years! And a good showing, too. There are nine Betas— seven from different chapters, and two initiated, the first since [Field] McLeod in 1884. There are sixteen other fraternities; two eastern, Delta K appa Epsilon and Chi P hi; three western, Phi Delta Theta, Phi K appa Psi and Sigma Chi; and eight Southern, besides two locals. (By the way, great news from Virginia may be expected before many weeks.) Almost perm itting the mystic owl to fly from M inerva’s hand, Editor H epburn then closed his roll-top desk. It is certain that the comity of feeling am ong the Beta chapters in V irginia at this period in the seventies and eighties alone sustained Omicron. How else could a group of men meet on a strange college campus and sing of friendship? Mystics who are with us in 1940 and were in residence at the U niversity at this period do not recall many of the members of our Omicron chapter as Betas. Thus Omicron existed on paper and in the hearts of Betas in the professional schools and each year filed its report of m em berships but neglected to hold meetings, to study available initiates or cherish her silver grays. Brother H epburn had been graduated from Davidson College in the period when fraternities were banned and had joined Omicron while in law school. He was a son of Andrew Dousa H epburn, W ashington and Jefferson, ’51, president of Davidson, 1877-85, and the father of A n drew H. H epburn, ’22; W illiam McGuffey Hepburn, ’21, and Dr. Charles K. H epburn, ’29, all members of the Indiana University chapter. Thus the H epburns are linked with the Mystics and with Phi Alpha and our celebration in 1940.

THE GENESIS OF TH E UNION

In October, 1888, Josiah Jordan Leake, Randolph-M acon ’89, Virginia ’92, wrote to J. Calvin H anna, W ooster ’81, general secretary of Beta Theta Pi, and suggested that an attempt should be made to unite the Mystic Seven with Beta Theta Pi. Leake then was corresponding secretary of his college chapter and an undergraduate, yet his zeal for his fraternity

H ANDS AND TORCH BEFORE THE UNION Back row, left to right: Lomax Gwathmey, Minton W. Talbot, Swepson J. Brook?, Gessner Harrison, Thomas Talbot, J. K. Peebles, James M. Lind. Center: Charles M. Bradbury, Frank Muller, Charles H. C. Preston, Herbert Barry, John H. Boogher, Southgate Leigh. Front row: Henry L. Shepherd and John M. Brooke. This is reproduced through the courtesy of Thomas G. Bell, Virginia ’41.

was not pent up in the badge he wore, but burned upon an open altar. Leake was a native of Ashland, V irginia, and was conversant of the problem at the University and was, in time, a member of Omicron. H anna, in reporting this correspondence to the semi-centennial conven tion of 1889, said The hope of the Randolph-M acon men, was that this plan of union if carried out would result in firm ly and perm anently reestablishing Omi cron Chapter at the U niversity of V irginia. I communicated with the Betas of Omicron and with C. I). Roy, Chief of Dist. IV, and found that

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI the proposition seemed to meet their approval. The Mystic chapter there was strong and was on good terms with the Betas. Before anything m ore was done, Bro. Covington forwarded to me, with the request that I inquire into the m atter, a correspondence that had been going on between Bro. W. R. Baird and H erbert Barry, the Regent or chief officer of the Mystical Seven fraternity. This correspondence had begun with a request on B arry’s part that Mr. Baird should furnish him with certain inform ation concerning the history of the Mystical Seven, and finally led to a favorable discussion on both sides of B aird’s suggestion that an attempt should be made to unite the two fraternities. Thus entered W illiam Raim ond Baird into the Mystic picture. Mem bers of the H ands and Torch were continuing their search for inform a tion concerning the tem ples of the society. Indeed, this search has con tinued until today. Certain facts had been learned, but V irginia sought to establish the status of the Owl and W and at Wesleyan and to identify and locate certain groups of a like society in the south. Cal H anna laid the m atter before what was then known as the Board of Directors of Beta Theta Pi and a special committee was appointed to study the proposal and submit terms of agreement. This group in cluded John I. Covington, M iam i ’70; W illiam R. Baird, Stevens ’78; Mervale Dalton Makepeace, Cornell ’78, chief of District II, and W il liam Birckhead Lindsay, Boston ’79. Makepeace probably was included since he had been the regent of Alpha Sigma Chi when that fraternity form ed a union with Beta Theta Pi in 1879. The Mystic committee, ap pointed by the H ands and Torch, num bered H erbert Barry, Virginia ’88, the regent of the society; Eugene P. W ithers, North Carolina ’88, then a law student at the University of V irginia; Louis L. Young, Virginia ’90; Robert Rockwell Stevenson, Davidson, ’89, and William A lbert Wilson, North Carolina ’89. John M. Brooke, Virginia ’88, then a student at Cornell, also attended the meetings, and Louis Frederick Ruf, Rutgers ’85, was named to replace Makepeace who could not attend and help “make peace” at the conference. Sessions of these two committees were held in New York, December 28, 29 and 30, 1888. Those who attended assert one session was held in B aird’s office at 243 Broadway and that one might have been held in the office of Janies T. Brown, Cornell ’76, at 392 Broadway. There is another reason why Baird found interest in the Mystics. Mrs.

THE GENESIS OF TH E UNION

Baird was the daughter of John H enry Mansfield, Wesleyan 1855, a member of the Temple of the W and of the M ystical Seven. There is no doubt but that he planned to ask members of this tem ple to join Beta Theta Pi on the basis of the union. Yet, as will be shown, the union was form ed with temples of the Mystic Seven society which included V irginia, Davidson and the University of N orth Carolina.

THE MYSTIC SEVEN COMMITTEE ATTENDS THE BETA CONFERENCE Seated, left to right: W. A. Wilson, Herbert Barry, Eugene P. Withers; standing: John M. Brooke, Louis L. Young, Robert R. Stevenson.

We have writh us in 1940 three members of this conference committee of 1888. F irst is Colonel H erbert Barry, Virginia â&#x20AC;&#x2122;88, then regent or head of the Mystic Seven society. Colonel B arry also, by virtue of his office was editor of the M ystic Messenger, a spritely publication issued by that society. Several files are extant and the magazine can be comÂ pared favorably with any fraternity periodical of the period. Colonel B arry had written to Baird first to inquire concerning the Mystics. In the meantim e he had gone to New York as a lawyer and today recalls

TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

I came up for a visit with my grandm other toward the end of April, witnessed the parade celebrating the centennial of George W ashington’s inauguration and looked for a job. After some effort I found one with an initial salary of zero. I rem em ber conferences with Baird and others, and the drawing up and signature of some papers. This was in Baird’s office. I have a recollection that when the papers was executed, I raised some questions about how and when I should become a member of the Beta Theta Pi, and my recollection is that Baird said in effect that I had already become such a member, and that he, Baird, was authorized to confer on me all rights and privileges as such. The interesting photograph of the Mystic committee shows the Regent, H erbert B arry in the center of the group as befitted his station as the ruling officer of the Mystic Seven. A second mem ber of the Mystic-Beta committee is William Albert Wilson, N orth Carolina ’88, the owner of this interesting group picture. After many years of service as a M ethodist clergyman in Japan, the Rev. Mr. W ilson has returned and lives in Durham, North Carolina. His record of this conference is On my way to New York, I visited Eugene W ithers in his father’s home in Danville, V irginia, and on the following day we went to the University of V irginia at Charlottesville and there met Brothers Young and Steven son and after being entertained at a banquet by the V irginia chapter, took a night train for New York. Brothers Barry, Brooke and Coving ton met us at the hotel. The Beta Theta P i being so much stronger that the M ystic Seven F raternity, the N orth C arolina Chapter had forseen that we would be absorbed and I, as their delegate, was authorized to accede to this should the question be brought up. This caused but little discussion, and it was agreed that the Mystic Seven should retain their form er Greek letter designations. Before going to Japan in 1890, I was taken into Beta Theta Pi by Julius C. M artin and Charles A. Webb, at Asheville, North Carolina. W hile I expatriated myself and labored in the cause of Christ in Japan over a long period of years, I always considered it an honor to have been associated with the Mystic Seven brethren at North Carolina and to have been initiated into Beta Theta Pi. I have gotten into touch with the C arolina chapter, and hope to find out something about the Duke chapter. Thus this M ystic’s heart goes with his hand into Beta Theta Pi, and at seventy-eight, Brother W ilson well may be numbered among our distinguished Silver Grays. Louis F. Ruf, Rutgers ’85, who has the honor of being the survivor

THE GENESIS OF TH E UNION

among the Beta leaders who attended this conference, gives one interest ing sidelight on the meetings which shows, in part, how John I. Covington gained his fame as a Beta worker. John I. Covington was an elder in a Presbyterian church in New York, and on the evening of December 28, took all the commissioners to the annual dinner and reception of the Presbyterian Social Union of New York City. This was a “soup and fish” full dress affair and made a hit with the Southern boys. . . . Next day we agreed on form al plans. The Rev. Mr. Ruf, a Presbyterian clergyman, is pastor emeritus of the W indemere Presbyterian Church, of East Cleveland, Ohio, and he explains he attended the sessions as M akepeace’s proxy. Makepeace was an architect in A uburn, N.Y., where I attended theo logical sem inary and we were w arm friends, and having graduated from Rutgers in engineering, I sometimes helped in his work. (The last bit was to draw plans for a ja il somewhere.) He had of course been a member of Alpha Sigma Chi at Cornell before it merged with Beta Theta Pi. So had Baird, at Stevens, whom I knew well. James T. Brown was present at all of the sessions. On the second day (December 29) F rank M. Rooney, of the Syracuse Chapter attended (Makepeace and I had helped initiate the petitioners from S y racu se). Rooney did much of the talking while present, perhaps because the Mystics [the Mystical Seven Society] had had a chapter at Genesee Wesleyan Sem inary, Lima, N.Y. The original agreement of this Mystic-Beta committee may be found in the minutes of the Fiftieth A nnual Convention of Beta Theta P i which was held at W ooglin-on-Chautauqua, New York, July 23-27, 1889. M emorandum of a convention between the undersigned committees from the Fraternities of Beta Theta Pi and the Mystic Seven. A fter the ratification of this Convention by the proper authorities of both of the contracting parties hereto, It is agreed— Article 1.— That the chapters of the Mystic Seven at University of V irginia, University of N orth Carolina, and Davidson College shall be received in full standing as chapters of Beta Theta Pi. Article 2.—-That the chapter at the University of V irginia shall be called the University of V irginia chapter, the Omicron of Beta Theta Pi, the H ands and Torch of th e Mystic Seven. T hat the chapter at the University of N orth Carolina shall be called the U niversity of N orth Carolina chapter, the Eta Beta of Beta Theta Pi, the Star of the South of the Mystic Seven. That the chapter at Davidson College shall be called the Davidson

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

College Chapter, the Phi A lpha of Beta Theta Pi, the Sword and Shield of the Mystic Seven. A rticle 3.— That every member in good standing in the Mystic Seven shall be entitled to admission in good standing into Beta Theta Pi upon taking the obligations thereof. Article 4.— That the district or geographical division of Beta Theta Pi in which the three existing chapters of the Mystic Seven shall be placed shall be known as the “Mystic Seven District,” com prising the chapters within the states of V irginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Article 5.— That the name “Mystic Messenger” shall in some manner be placed upon the title page of the Beta Theta Pi magazine. Article 6.— That the form er Mystic Seven chapters shall be privileged to retain any of the features of the Mystic Seven ritual or adm inistration that they please, but that they must in addition observe the forms and obligations of Beta Theta Pi chapters. Article 7.— That any member of the chapters of the Mystic Seven upon becoming a Beta may wear the Mystic Seven badge as a guard or secondary badge; that the Fraternity of Beta Theta Pi will recognize and give full faith and credit to the Mystic Seven badge. A rticle 8.— That the chapters of the Mystic Seven may retain and the chapters hereafter founded within the Mystic Seven district shall adopt, the present rule of the Mystic Seven forbidding the use of intoxicating liquors at banquets or public meetings of the Fraternity. The Beta Theta Pi committee will recommend the adoption of the restriction as to intoxicating liquors by the other chapters of the Mystic Seven district. The Beta Theta Pi committee will recommend to the other chapters of the Mystic Seven district the adoption of the requirem ent of admission that the candidates shall be a believer in the Christian religion. The Beta Theta Pi committee will recommend that after the union of the two Fraternities, the title of their official organ shall be “The Beta Theta P i and the Mystic Messenger.” In witness whereof, the members of said committee have hereunto subscribed their names at New York, N.Y., this 29th day of December, 1 OQQ I OOO

(Signed) H erbert Barry, Mystic Seven. E. P. W ithers, Mystic Seven. L. L. Young, Mystic Seven. R. R. Stevenson, Mystic Seven. W. A. W ilson, Mystic Seven. Wm. Raimond Baird, Beta Theta Pi. James T. Brown, Beta Theta Pi. John I. Covington, Beta Theta Pi. This report was considered by the Committee on Chapters and Char

TH E GENESIS OF THE UNION

ters of which W ilbur H. Siebert, Ohio State ’88, Harvard ’89, was chair man, and this recom m endation was submitted to the convention. Y our committee recommends in regard to the absorption of the Mystic Seven F raternity: 1. That the articles, 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 of the report of the Special Convention of Committees from the Fraternities of Beta Theta P i and the Mystic Seven be adopted by Beta Theta Pi in Convention assembled. 2. That Article 4 of said rep o rt be not concurred in, for the reason that the m atter of geographical division of our territory is discretionary with the General Secretary and is m ade by him with a view to con venience in the management of the affairs of our Fraternity. 3. That Article 5 of said rep o rt be adopted, and further, th at if a secret num ber of the Magazine be issued, this num ber shall be designated the Mystic Messenger of Beta Theta Pi. 4. That the sentiment embodied in Article 8 of said report is fully endorsed by the custom of the Beta Theta Pi F raternity during the last fifty years, but that the F raternity cannot consistently insist upon the adoption in any district of the present rule of the Mystic Seven Fraternity forbidding the use of intoxicating liquors at banquets and public meet ings of the Fraternity, when the ritual distinctly and specifically asserts that connection with the Beta Theta Pi F raternity shall in no wise compromise any member in his social, civil, or religious relations. A fter discussion, this report was considered section by section and adopted with m inor changes, and Secretary H anna was appointed a Special Commissioner to arrange the union. This action was taken looking to agreement by the Omicron chapter and the Mystic Seven society. M ention of South C arolina in this paper indicated that expansion was planned in that state. The twenty-sixth chapter of Beta Theta Pi was organized at the old South Carolina College, now the university, in 1858. It succumbed at the opening of the war and was not revived. V irginia Mystics had contemplated W offord College and perhaps another col lege in that state as possible places for a temple. Again, members of the Temple of the Skull many years before had considered attending South Carolina College. M inutes of the tem ple reveal under date of F ebruary 17, 1854 . . . Then talked the brethren one to another of the great evils which were come upon them from the gentiles. And they said, “The secret things of the most holy M ystery shall rem ain no longer in the midst of this ungodly people. But we will arise and go into the city of Columbia.

TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

even Colum bia of the Carolinas and there we will build us a Temple and worship M inerva. . . .” The University of V irginia Beta chapter was late in organizing in the fall of 1889, but on October 12, Baird and George Washington Flem ing Birch, W ashington and Jefferson ’58, went down to the university and the union was ratified. The consumption was announced in BfjTa

VIRGINIA CHAPTER HOUSE

®Y]Ta l i t in the January, 1890, issue and the title bore the addition “with which has been united, The Mystic Messenger.” If Baird had written in a diary of his trip to Charlottesville, he might have p ut down a line or two about the baseball nine. Alexander Newton Stark, Virginia ’92, the “ cor. sec.” of Omicron wrote about the team in the V irginia chapter letter in our magazine On the 21st inst. the Boston Players League will commence a series of games with ’V arsity team, to last one week, and our team look forward with great interest to the time when they shall cross bats with Ten Thousand D ollar Mike Kelly and his team. The next m onth, Stark was not so enthusiastic

THE GENESIS OF TH E UNION

Our ball team has been a great disappointm ent so far. We have lost three games, two to Lehigh and one to Richmond College. And the third m onth Our base-ball team which has recently changed m anagem ent has shown great improvement in the last three games, beating Lafayette, 15-3 after being beaten by Pennsylvania, 5-4. In the first game of the trip , we defeated Johns Hopkins, 7-1. Alexander Newton Stark, who penned these lines was a medical school student at the U niversity of V irginia, and F rank H. Andrews, Virginia ’92, recalled in 1933, “ Gone is Alexander Newton Stark, who as a young surgeon was a member of that heroic group of volunteers in Cuba who offered themselves as possible hum an sacrifices in order to dem onstrate that the mosquito was the carrier of yellow fever. Stark was, as I recall, chief of General Pershing’s medical staff during the world w ar.” The University of V irginia was expanding. In 1874 there were sixteen professors and two assistants; in 1890, twenty-one full professors and nine assistants and chairs had been established in N atural H istory and Geology, in Practical Astronomy, in English and in Biology and A gri culture. The lib rary had grown from 35,000 volumes to 50,000 and there were 400 young men enrolled as against 298 in 1874. At the period of the M ystic union the Davidson members were in tensely interested in singing and w rote: “We have ordered a num ber of Beta song books, both for ourselves and ‘those Beta girls,’ ” who now, of course, m ust learn new tunes and lyrics to accom pany their friends. This “calico” interest was m anifest among the three Mystic chapters— as indeed it was and has been throughout the fraternity. Upon the oc casion of a meeting, a dinner or a convention, some mem ber of the delegation or a guest usually went as it was term ed, “calicoing.” THE H APPY DAYS OF OLD Oh, those were happy days of old, When all was bright and gay; And oft the pleasing tale is told, Since they have passed away. Yes, grateful is their memory As we recall it now Of the days when the Mystics gathered here, A long, long time ago.

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA As when the fading God of day, Sinks in the glowing west, Lights lip the clouds that nearest lay, And they infuse the restâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; So we lo Mystics yet to come, Shall pass the radiant glow, And sing of those who gathered here, A long, long time ago. And as we all must go ere long, May those who linger here Still sing for us the joyous song, That we have loved to hear; And tell to those who follow us, What all must wish to know, How Mystics loved to gather here, A long, long time ago.

THE WAND OF THE MYSTICAL SEVEN W illbur Fisk affixed his signature to the constitution of the Mystical Seven Society, October 16, 1837, and thus as president of Wesleyan, recognized the circle. That same fall appeared the Eclectic Fraternity, also known as Phi Nu Theta, which established one other chapter, at Ohio Wesleyan, but that group did not survive the Civil W ar. Phi Nu Theta has rem ained a local society with a proud heritage in Middletown. There were the usual literary societies, the Cuvierian or N atural H istory Society (1836), and the Wesleyan Institute (1837) organized by m inis terial students. The Mystics of Wesleyan established their society for themselves, and although they recognized a second temple, the Scroll and Pen, they did not perm it control to pass to this branch. When the Civil W ar enlisted students’ attention from books to haversacks, all chapters of the Greekletter fraternities at Middletown were affected as on m any another campus. Thus it was that in May, 1867, the Mystical Seven ceased to be a four-year social fraternity and became a senior society. Some mem bers of the Mystics were the charter members of the Gamma Phi Chapter of Delta K appa Epsilon which was chartered January 18, 1867. This Deke group elected eleven honorary members of whom six were Mystics. The Mystical Seven Society was ruled by H am ilton Brewer, the first Chief-Pontiff, from 1837 until 1855, and followed his death by Sidera Chase, until his death in 1897. Edw ard Gayer Andrews, Wesleyan 1847, a bishop in the then M ethodist Episcopal church, presided at a meet ing of the society held in June, 1883, when the nam e “ Owl and W and”— which had been used by the class society-—was abandoned and the group returned to its public use of the “Mystical Seven,” which was “resumed with no change in the inner working of the society.” The Mystical Seven of W esleyan is incorporated under that title and owns a commodious hall and a rich collection of Wesleyan historical m aterial. George Hapgood Stone, Wesleyan 1868, a member of the M ystical Seven, became one of the charter members of Delta K appa Epsilon. Stone was a moving figure in the Mystic society and was interested in the 39

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

mysteries of the society. Professor Stone, sometime teacher at Colorado College, also was a member of the United States Geological Survey. He was a little older than the usual student when he returned to college in 1865, for he had been in the service three years. First as an artillery m an in a Pennsylvania battery and then as a signal corps private, Stone found in this latter assignment an opportunity to “test” his ingenuity by solving confederate ciphers. He is said to have solved a confederate

W ESLEYAN CHAPTER HOUSE

cipher from the keyword, Fredrika Bremer. Now, the Mystical Seven, too, had a cipher. This is of passing interest since Professor Stone has a con nection with the H ands and Torch temple of the Mystic Seven. If you are interested in the federal and confederate ciphers and how to decode them, a good source is W illiam R. Plum , M ilitary Telegraph in the Civil War, I. (Chicago, 1882). The “ Wesleyan Annex” of Beta Theta Pi was a forerunner of our Mu Epsilon chapter. David J. Carlough and certain other students of Wesleyan U niversity were initiated into Beta Theta Pi at Amherst Col lege to form the nucleus of a chapter. These young men had knelt before the Beta altar in the spring of 1889, and although Mu Epsilon was not

THE WAND OF THE MYSTICAL SEVEN

organized officially until May 17, 1890, this group had made other in i tiations in M iddletown and was a sub rosa status. The Hands and Torch temple of the Mystic Seven on October 11, 1889, issued a charter to a “Temple of the W and of the Mystic Seven” at Wesleyan University and named as charter members these young men who had j oined Beta Theta Pi. Thus the Betas at Wesleyan (although without a Beta charter) were made Mystics by initiating themselves! This maneuver was designed to draw to Beta Theta P i some members of the Mystical Seven Society. This m ust be cited since the M ystical Seven as a society rem ained apart. A fter the Beta-Mystic Seven union had been announced in January,

jf so le m n ly bromise io ^e sp 'iipUslabit/ secret a ll ik e signs, fy m b s is a n d proceedings

c f the IK ». IK %fraierr.iiy, io obey its 'B o n tiiiu tiiq a n d tfa is e in- m y ^fra ie m iie f relations, io blace due aenfsccr.cs ir. every w orthy r^err.ber c f the order, and io use a ll honorable e ffo rt is a t s i ti his advanctrr.crj, io vphold the d iin iiy ar.d honor c f the £FratemU?, and io forcoe-r uphold oorr.cetioq with

a n d m aintain m y (sh a tte r as a Q haptor o f IK t). I!., ar.d should m y '

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reveal aqyth in g

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confidentially and as a %9els 'firother.

_ _

Pledge of Alonzo J. Edgerton, Wesleyan ’50. A

1890, some members of the Mystical Seven did sign the pledge of al legiance to Beta Theta Pi. Illustrated here is such a signature of Alonzo Jay Edgerton, Wesleyan 1850, whose Mystic name was Roman, and it will be noted that the paper was signed, August 6, 1894. Mr. Edgerton then was judge of the United States district court for South Dakota. Clarence L. Newton, W esleyan ’02, president of Beta Theta Pi in the centennial year and a guest at this happy celebration, points out that many of the older members of the Mystical Seven who were living in 1890 at the time of union, did actually become members of Beta Theta Pi. These included some of the earliest members of the W and and some from classes down to the sixties. Today double mem bership is not per m itted in college fraternities, but the situation was not unusual fifty years ago. M any of our chapters have on their rolls from ten to fifteen

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

names of Betas who had been initiated into another society before jo in ing the diam ond and three stars. Mr. Newton recalls particularly William Thomas Elmer, Wesleyan 57, Phi Beta K appa, sometime probate judge, mayor and city judge of M iddletown, who took an active interest in Mu Epsilon of Beta Theta Pi. Some of these older Mystics found their interest centered in Beta Theta Pi since their sons or other kinsmen were numbered among those who honored the “ Boys of ’39.” U nder the terms of union as is shown “every member in good stand ing in the Mystic Seven shall be entitled to admission in good standing into Beta Theta Pi upon taking the obligations thereof.” This did not m ention the Mystical Seven Society at either Wesleyan or Syracuse, but in practice members of both were solicited to join Beta Theta Pi. Again, the provision obviously did not contemplate each member of the temples of the Scroll and Pen and of the W and, but there was no legal authorization for the addition of the names of eighty-five members of the W and to the Wesleyan Beta roll, or 108 names to the roll of the Syracuse Beta chapter. M any of these gentlemen were no longer with us in 1890 and could not have answered the roll call. The term s of agreem ent included a union of the Mystic Seven with temples, or chapters, at V irginia, Davidson and North Carolina. Mem bers of the N orth Carolina chapter were queried concerning the establish ment of circles at Wesleyan and Syracuse, and in announcing the union effected, it was stated that these two were a part of the Mystic Seven society. The new Beta chapter at Wesleyan took the name Mu Epsilon for M ystiha Hepta, and this year marks its fiftieth anniversary. Many items of interest concerning the Mystical Seven and the Mystic Seven have been preserved in our chapter house at Middletown. David J. Carlough, ’92, of Patterson, New Jersey, has m aintained a continuous interest. Charles N. Rudkin, ’14, now of San M arino, California, when in college preserved many im portant records by copying them into a manuscript called a Bibliography of the M ystical Seven which is incorrectly titled since it also includes data on the temples of the Mystic Seven. The Mystical Seven has had, directly and indirectly, a fine influence on a large num ber of men of college age. Some of them were not members of the sevens; others were members of like societies, and all of them

THE WAND OF THE MYSTICAL SEVEN

honored W illbur Fisk of Wesleyan University and H am ilton Brewer, the founder of the Mystical Seven Society. Dr. James L. McConaughy, Yale ’09, president of W esleyan in 1940, in discussing his predecessor said Dr. Fisk said “ N othing is more im portant, in the form ation of an enterprising character, than to let the youth early learn his powers. And in order to do this, he must be put upon his own resources, and must understand, if he is ever anything he must make him self; and that he has within himself all the means for his own advancem ent.” His educational views were far in advance of the time. It is rather refreshing to turn back a century and find (in this inaugural) a num ber of proposals that have a very modern ring. W illbur Fisk was beloved by many families hundreds of miles from M iddletown. A study of fam ily and place-names sometimes is valuable in developing a point in describing community life. Next to Fisk at Wesleyan there was Stephen Olin, the b rillian t orator and M ethodist leader. These gentlemen were honored in many ways, but finest perhaps was the perpetuation of their names in the families of other members of the same sect. This same tendency has been rem arked in the course of other Beta historical articles concerning the Presbyterian and the United Presbyte rian churches. M any were the Betas who carried in their names the touch stone to a leader of the church. Consider that these Mystics and Betas honored Wesleyan and other Methodists— and as these are but isolated examples— remember the power of such an influence. W illbur Fisk was named for a grandm other on his m other’s side, hence the unusual spelling. The historian of the M ystical Seven Society, Mr. Price, also is the author of W esleyan s First Century (Middletown, 1932), a very readable history of the university. He points out that Fisk spelled his name in such a m anner and that Ham ilton Brewer, founder of the Mystical Seven, received a diplom a so notarized which is extant. These bear the leader honor: W ilbur Fisk Glenn, Emory ’60; W ilbur Fisk Rozell, Randolph-M acon ’78; Wesley W. Thomas, Em ory ’43; John Wesley Turner, Emory ’52; John Wesley Childs, DePauw ’45; John Wesley Locke, DePauw honorary; John Wesley Lindsay, Wesleyan ’40; Amzi Wesley Genung, Wesleyan ’46; Olin Wesley Hill, W esleyan ’96; Charles Wesley W alters, D ickinson ’79; W illiam W esley Fink, Iowa W esleyan ’71; A sbury Coke Nixon, Emory ’45; Francis A sbury Bates, Wesleyan ’39.

TEMPLE OF THE SWORD H enry R obert Branham , Wesleyan 1842; A.B., Emory College, 1842; M.D., Jefferson Medical College, 1845. Physician. Appointed an asÂ sistant surgeon in the Confederate army, 1862; surgeon, 1864-5. Died 1877, W ashington, D.C. H enry Robert Branham , founder of what he termed the Temple of the Sword of the Mystic Seven at Emory University, was born in Eatonton, Georgia, in 1821. Em ory College was organized at Oxford, Georgia,

H ENRY R. BRANHAM, Wesleyan Emory â&#x20AC;&#x2122;42

under the patronage of the M ethodist church. The movement began in 1834 when Stephen Olin, of Wesleyan fame, then president of RandolphM acon in V irginia, attended the Georgia M ethodist Conference held in W ashington, Georgia. Dr. Olin asked for aid for Randolph-Macon and some members then expressed the opinion that Georgia Methodists better had support a college of their own. This feeling was the germ of the 44

TEM PLE OF THE SWORD

idea although some preachers opposed the plan, as they “feared it was the entering wedge to a requirem ent for a m inisterial education.” The first Georgia M ethodist school, a m anual labor institution, was opened in B ranham ’s home town, but in 1838, Oxford had been in corporated and the college was opened there in September, 1838. F if teen students had been “p rep ared ” at this m anual labor school and were ready for college; one of them was H enry Robert Branham who entered as a freshman. When the students arrived in Oxford, they found that classes were to be held in a four-room dwelling until the college build ing was finished. W illbur Fisk as well as Olin was known in Georgia. In 1831 the Georgia Conference had addressed a letter to Dr. Fisk “approving Wes leyan University.” After one year of “college” under these conditions, young Branham was sent north— to W esleyan, the home of Fisk and Olin. There, in his sophomore year, he was elected and made a member of the Temple of the W and of the M ystical Seven. The young Georgian was not alone at Wesleyan as there were South ern boys from as far off as Louisiana studying on the banks of the Con necticut. Branham returned to his Georgia home the next year and re entered Em ory as a junior, receiving his degree in 1842. And with him as he traveled tow ard the Southern Cross, he carried the star of his college society. This account is from the official history of the Mystical Seven Society, published on the occasion of its centennial in 1937. In the winter and spring of 1840-41, however, “Ned Brace,” Henry R. Branham, made a journey through the South, and in the course of his peregrinations, came to Oxford, Georgia, the seat of Em ory Col lege. W hile there he innoculated some of the undergraduates with his Mystical enthusiasm. On A pril 2, 1841, he wrote to Daniel J. Pinckney (Daniel Jarvis Pinckney, Wesleyan 1841) in Middletown that he favored establishing a branch of the M ystical Seven in that institution. On May 20, he met with seven Emory undergraduates and they founded the Temple of the Sword, adopting the name and form “ of a sim ilar society founded in 1837 in the W esleyan U niversity.” Clearly this was a good im itation, though not an organic part, of the Mystical Seven at Wesleyan, and the likeness was heightened as the enthusiastic undergraduate Branham (now m atriculated at E m o ry ), without waiting for authority, instructed these Georgian Mystics in the laws and customs of the original society. Some tim e later he calmly announced to his Middletown friends that the Mystical Seven had been

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

form ed at Em ory and was prospering. The news was received with astonishment. But no form al protest was made: it would have been useless, anyway, and might have slammed the door in the face of a possible organic union with these Southern Mystics— which, however, was never consummated. It was proposed at Oxford to admit women to membership among the Wesleyan M ystics; but after months of debate its purposes were de feated by three argum ents: women cannot keep a secret; they would not shine in their literary perform ances; they might possibly be ac cepted to mem bership upon other than truly Mystical qualifications. The T em ple of the Sword flourished for a few years, in spite of the subsequent founding of rival societies at Emory, “Arcanians,” The In separable Eight, and The Crescents, the last-named for a while being especially troublesom e, until quite overshadowed by the Mystics. This success led them to plan the establishing of Mystical societies at T ran sylvania University, Kentucky; Tuscaloosa, A labam a; University of Georgia in Athens, G eorgia; Columbia College, South Carolina; and M ississippi University, in Oxford, Mississippi. Letters on all these p ro posals are still in existence. It seemed to them fitting that the Mystical Seven rites should be observed in seven different colleges. But this feeling did not obtain in Middletown. These and many other letters concerning other so-called temples are in the archives of the Mysti cal Seven Society. The Wesleyan Mystics corresponded with these groups which they held to be clandestine, but they did not recognize them then or at any time. B ranham ’s neophytes, the first Favourites in the South, were Miles W alker Lewds, ’42; Osborn Lewis Smith, ’43; George W ashington W hit field Stone, ’42; Thom as Dance Hutcheson, ’43; Wesley Wailes Thomas, ’43; Gustavus John O rr, ’44 and James Jones Kennedy, ’44. The Temple of the Sword is said to have been the first chapter of any college secret society in the South. The photograph of the Hutcheson badge is supplied by Thomas C. Hutcheson, of Atlanta, a grandson. Branham had known these young gentlemen as fellow toilers in the m anual labor school— that circle of friendship was formed before a mystic ring encircled them all in 1841. Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, Yale 1813, was president of Em ory and was to serve until 1848. The records of this temple outside of the Middletown data have been left by the pens of her members. Several accounts are included in articles published in the Em ory Phoenix, a college magazine, and are quoted in H enry M. Bullock, A H istory of Em ory University, 1836-1936 (Nash ville, 1936). Professor Bullock quotes George W. W. Stone, an early

TEM PLE OF TH E SWORD

Mystic, as recalling that Judge Longstreet was a member of the temple. The president was known throughout the south as a hum orist and an educator and, in time, became the father-in-law of Henry Branham. This account also noted that the first Mystic rival arrived in 1843 and was known as the Crescent, soon to be followed by others under the names Irenian (commonly called the Rosebud) and the Calliopean. All these circles, known at Em ory as “Mystical societies,” met on F ri day at nine o’clock and usually were in session until m idnight. Some times a feast of roast possum ended the discussions. W riting in his diary, Joseph Augustus Turner, ’47, a Mystic, said: “This was complimentary, for none are ever elected to a place in this club unless they are consid ered of superior talent. I gained my reputation for talent more by the speeches I made in the Phi Gamma Society than by any proficiency in my textbooks.” There were two literary societies at Emory— Phi Gamma and the Few. Phi Gamma had been organized M arch 7, 1837, by a membership of seven souls and these included Branham, George W. W. Stone, first president; Osborn L. Smith, afterwards president of his alm a m ater; Miles W alker Lewis, John Augustus Jones— all members of the Temple of the Sword. The Few Society was named in honor of Ignatius Alphonso Few, president of the board of trustees. The Mystic society was successful and by 1851 observed an evening during commencement week for its celebration. This was term ed a septennial celebration and W illiam H enry Chambers, ’45, editor of the Columbus Sun, delivered an oration. President Longstreet was popular among the Em ory students as were his two daughters who were accomplished musicians. His whole life was spent among young persons and his stories of experiences among Georgia folk were written for pure enjoym ent—-even in 1940. The Em ory societies apparently received cordial treatm ent from the adm inistration of the college until the arrival of President James R. Thomas, a Georgian who was a graduate of Randolph-M acon. In his report to the trustees in 1857, Thomas wrote that a spirit of jealousy and party coalition had several times been excited “to a pitch of bloody desperation.” The riv alry caused an unprecedented m ultiplication of personal encounters. Then, too, since the students met after nine o’clock, averred President Thomas, “There was an excuse for those inclined to

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be absent from their rooms at irregular hours and to engage in vicious revel.” On the balance, however, the president reported that the secret orders “ originated in a purpose of improvement, and usefulness and, moreover, that they have in some measure answered the ends of their institution, yet we think we are not wide of the truth when we say, that these secret associations have been prostituted, in some instances, to unworthy pu r poses, and have thereby produced mischiefs abundantly more than suf ficient to countervail all the good that has resulted from them.” A fter this declaration, and following a conference among the faculty, it was decided that each m atriculate should be required to pledge him self not to join any of these “Mystic Associations.” No question was raised about President Thom as’ gram m ar or phrasing. The next year, 1858, the president found that the rule had worked advantageously, although he also suggested that students be prohibited from living in the college dorm itory which were “still furnishing their well-known facilities for mischief.” At this period Emory had usually 140 students and some forty enrolled in the preparatory department— now, of course, all of these must find rooms in the town. The ban on the mystical associations in time closed the Temple of the Sword. In all, fifty-eight young men are known to have walked with M inerva. They are listed in the Beta Theta Pi catalogues with the qual ification that they were members of the Temple of the Sword. Branham was to go north again before he entered into his life’s work. He was graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, M arch 20, 1845, and the next m onth he claimed as his bride, Miss F ran ces Elizabeth Longstreet, a daughter of Em ory’s president. The interest ing daguerreotype used with this article was made at this period. It shows Dr. Branham wearing his Mystic star and is lent by a grand daughter, Mrs. F. P. H am ilton, of New Orleans. The Longstreets and the Branham s moved to Oxford, M ississippi, about 1851, and after the war, Dr. B ranham returned there to practice as a surgeon. Longstreet was president of Centenary of Louisiana for one year, 1848-49, and then went to the University of M ississippi where he remained until 1856. One of the most interesting stories concernng the Temple of the Sword rem ains to be told. Some seven years ago, Mr. W. H. M. Weaver, of Macon, Georgia, became interested in queries concerning the Emory

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temple and supplied many data concerning them as well as the interest ing photograph of his father, shown as a college student wearing his Mystic Star. In addition, he gave an interesting account of an event which, no doubt, fixed President Thom as’ firm-set lips on the mystical

WILLIAM M. WEAVER, Emory ’59 As a college student

societies. Mr. W eaver was a son of W illiam M organ W eaver, Em ory ’59. This account, he asserted, has been passed down from generation to generation among persons living around Oxford. Three students one night were strolling down the campus walkway leading from Few and Phi Gamma halls, all singing, not boisterous, but just as boys would. Someone was seen following, darting from tree to tree. One of the three challenged with something after the following: “ If you do not stop snooping around here, I will heave a brick your way!f5? Then, without further ado, he did throw a brickbat, intending the missile to strike the tree, a large oak, but missed the tree just as the dodger emerged, the brickbat striking the intruder, knocking him down, and fracturing his collar bone. The boys ran in the direction they were going, but by a circuitous route, walked back upon the prostrate man, who turned out to be none other than Dr. W. D. W illiams, one of the college professors. The boys

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assisted the doctor to his home, summoned a physician, and nursed him back to health. This act of the three good Sam aritans cleared them of suspicion, although the faculty believed the culprit was known to mem bers of the Mystic Seven. The society failing and refusing to divulge such knowledge as the faculty believed it to be possessed of regarding the incident, the faculty, so far as that body was concerned, immediately took steps to force the disbandm ent and further functioning of the Mystic Seven at Emory College, which was done. Dr. W illiams in 1896, and up to his death, was superintendent of the Georgia State Academy for the Blind located at Macon, Georgia. The w riter [M r. W eaver] knew him well and remembers talking to him. All three boys were members of the Mystic Seven. They did not tell, and the other four members could not do so, knowing nothing of the occurrence. But the sequel: Dr. W illiam D. W illiam s was a member of the Temple of the Skull and Bones of the Mystic Seven at Franklin College, a temple to be discussed next in order! Mr. Weaver had no knowledge of this since apparently Dr. W illiam s did not mention it, and the Mystic roll has not been published outside of the catalogues of Beta Theta Pi. The last name on the roll of the Temple of the Sword is that of Ben jam in H ow ard W ailes, a member of the Class of 1858, so it may be as serted that the tem ple bell did not ring after that year. When the young gentlemen of Em ory answered the call of Ft. Sumpter, the college com pany was headed by Mystic Gustavus John Orr, ’44; President Thomas was the first lieutenant. By 1868 the Em ory trustees had begun to discuss lifting the fraternity ban in the college, and the next year favorable action obtained. At the first rum or, students considered reestablishing the Mystic group and the Crescent, but trustees had long memories and replied in the negative. The new group then turned to the University of Georgia and learning of the standing of a Chi Phi chapter there, sought that monogram badge for their own. This petition was successful and the group was organized sub rosa and swung out as K appa Chapter of the Southern Order of Chi Phi. On the roll of this chapter are the same family names that num bered the chairs of the Temple of the Sword of the Mystic Seven. K appa A lpha also organized before the trustees ban was lifted and these two groups were recognized at commencement, 1869.

TEMPLE OF THE SKULL AND BONES George M cIntosh Troup H urt, Em ory 1847; A.B., University of Georgia, 1846. Pvt., 56th Ala. Inf., C.S.A., Planter. Died 1901, A tlanta, Georgia; buried, Columbus, Georgia. Franklin College, the liberal arts college of the projected University of Georgia, was the seat of the Temple of the Skull and Bones the second Mystic “branch” established. The temple was organized the last day of July, 1846, in Athens. The founder of this temple was George M cIntosh Troup H urt, who had been a student at Em ory College, from January, 1843, until Decem ber of that same year. In January, 1844, he transferred to Franklin and after an exchange of letters with Emory, established the new temple. It will be recalled that Wesleyan reported communications from Em ory that mentioned F ranklin as a possible place for a new temple of the society. A history of this temple is preserved and from that account, from the talented pen of M adison Cody, Georgia ’48, it appears All things being arranged prelim inary to the laying of the corner stone of the Mystic Edifice, Othello (H urt) summoned to his aid, Tristam Shandy, alias G. L. O rr, a senior philosopher of the Temple of the Sword. Tristam obeyed the summons with alacrity, bringing with him for the better organization of the ring, Brother Orpheus, alias J. R. Branham , a Junior Philosopher of the same temple. The first meeting was held in Prof. Jackson’s recitation room , the room over the library, and usually occupied by the trustees in the transactions of their business. This meeting was on the last day of July, 1846, Orpheus acting as Scribe and Tristam Shandy as Bumbote. The first ring of the temple bell num bered Samuel Johnson Bailey, James George Collier, and Charles Lafayette Dendy, all seniors, and Alonzo W. Church, “ of the rising senior class as Godolphin G rasshop per.” Charles Scott Venable, a member of the Beta chapter at HampdenSydney and the University of V irginia, was a member of the Franklin faculty at this period. Again, Professor Venable met with the V irginia Betas and the V irginia Mystics following the union in 1890. M aterial on the Temple of the Skull and Bones includes the temple 51

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history, referred to above; a m anuscript periodical, The Caldron, which extends from August 25, 1848, to M arch 1, 1849, and the Second Book of Chronicles of the M ystical Seven, August 27, 1853, to May 26, 1854. We also have a roll num bering thirty-eight Mystics which is not com plete. The Caldron and the Chronicles are in the libraries of the Univer sity of Georgia. The first page of the Caldron (a collection of literary addresses) is reproduced through the courtesy of Professor E. Merton Coulter, the historian, who is the author of College Life in the Old South (New York, 1928), a history of the university. A transcript of the Chronicles is owned by the writer, also through the courtesy of Dr. Coulter. Before num bering the Mystics, let us sketch the background of the U niversity of Georgia. The seal employs the date 1785 which was the year the Georgia legislature approved a bill setting up an ambitious educational plan. The scheme attem pted to link the elementary schools, academies with the University at the top. The first college building in Athens, chosen as the seat of the university, said to be the oldest south of Chapel Hill, was built of brick and named Franklin in honor of the Philadelphian. E arly commencements at Franklin were as tedious as those elsewhere, but with this difference: There was a rule in force as early as 1830 that any senior who could not compress his address into ten m inutes m ust p a y fifty cents a minute for his “over-time.” A nother interesting item concerning the early Franklin centers in an argum ent (a frequent “indoor sport” in the state of the Georgians in the early days) between President Alonzo Church and Stephen Olin, of W esleyan fame. Church was a fellow alumnus of Olin (M iddlebury), but there was no “school sp irit” in their arguments. The starting point of this dispute went back to the charge that the Presbyterians controlled the university, and its branches ramified much into politics and per sonalities. Friends of Church asserted that Olin had written under the signature “F riend of Equal Rights” an attack on the university. This epistle was printed, it was said, and all members of the legislature received a copy. In addition, some persistent m onitor announced that Olin, although a m inister of the Gospel, had not attended m orning prayers at the uni versity on seventy-four occasions and had been absent from forty-eight evening prayer services. Before this acrimonious argum ent was com pleted, Judge Augustus Longstreet, our friend from Emory, had entered

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as a third party through his States Rights’ Sentinel and came to Olin’s rescue, although it was quietly whispered that Judge Longstreet enjoyed the fight. Early-day Georgia was an exciting place to live, and the students of F ranklin College lost little of it by living in Athens. W ithin eight days of the first rites conducted by the Favourites within the Temple of the Skull and Bones, another cauldron burned high. It was necessary to initiate additional disciples since all who were within the ring were seniors with the exception of Godolphin Grasshopper. These new Mystics were R obert Jarrel M organ, ’48; Leonidas Cole F er rell, ’47; H enry Holcombe Bacon, ’47; and W illiam Bemen Jones, ’47. As Franklin Mystics had heard of the approval given by President Fisk at W esleyan, they, too, waited on their college executive. In Sep tember, 1846, a delegation of three: Isham Richardson Branham , Em ory ’47; Robert Archelaus H ardaway, Emory ’47; and Henry R ichard H arris, ’47, answered the macedonian cry and came over from Oxford and a called meeting was held in the Demosthenian Literary Society hall. In company with the F ranklin members, this group called on President Church seeking his approval of the constitution of the society. That dig nity had a ready palliative and explained that he m ust consult with his faculty. At the same time arose an intense religious excitement which caused the suspension of classes for a period. The Mystics were about despaired of receiving permission, when the faculty nodded with the qualification that meetings should be held in the daylight hours. Could the wind have been blowing from Oxford, Georgia? The comment of M adison Cody on this point is interesting. He writes that Professor Charles G. McCay was a friend of the Mystics, yet only four years before this same professor and indeed, the president of Franklin College, had been victims of a student attack, receiving wounds and bruises from sticks and stones wielded by the students. This attack had taken place because the faculty members were doing what would be termed “police duty” today. The Mystics determ ined to appoint their own time of meeting, and there were no form al protests from members of the faculty until 1849 when a rule was prom ulgated th at “ all new students who joined the first term of the year must not connect themselves with anyJ secret societies, J else they would be liable to expulsion or such other penalty as they might think p ro p er to inflict upon the offender.”

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This rule, as in the case of the members of the Temple of the Sword at Emory, ended the mysteries within the Skull and Bones’ cauldron. As will be noted, Zip Coon was editor of this first “issue” of The Caldron, and that it is dated September 1, 1848. There was no news as the reports had not been received how the members had spent the sum mer. This is the Mystic name of W illiam Andrew Reid, a member of the Class of 1850. This collect ion includes short essays on “Friendship,” The Study of N ature,” and “A Comparison of the Beauties of Nature and of A rt.” To enable present-day Betas to know of the Mystic style— which fol lowed the Hebrew Bible constructions-—these are the opening verses of the temple meeting dated August 27, 1853. Now when the evening of the seventh day was come, about the first hour of the night, the Favourites began to collect together, the robes and the secret things of the M ystery and to bear them to the Temple, for behold, there were to be great works therein, even the initiation of a certain heathen into the Most Holy Mysteries. . . . The meeting closes on these lines . . . Then the Pontiff commanded the Caldron to be read, and lo, Rhoderic did read from a piece of parchm ent all that the heathen did for seven days. Then there was a period of relaxation and after that the Pontiff having ordered the Favourites to come to the Temple on the next seventh night bringing that which was appointed unto each one, rapped seven times. And they all went their way. Th is is the style used in w riting the minutes of the temples of the Sword, the W reath and the Star of the South and the Sword and Shield. W hen the subject m atter called, the scribe was able to say Even before the tim e wherein lunch is wont to be spread before the Brethren, Don Juan arose and spoke unto the Pontiff after this m anner: “ I p ray thee have me excused: for verily a certain heathen, Williams by nam e (the same who stretched forth his leg and danced nim bly for the gentiles) hath m ade a great feast and sent and bid me come to the supper: So I pray thee let me go for even now a goodly company as sembled.” Then the Pontiff harkened unto Juan and said: “Go and peace be with you” . . . M embers of this tem ple particularly were fond of the song, “A Life in the Mystic Ring,” and they also refer to a sheet of Mystic songs used within the temple walls. No mystic or Greek-letter fraternities appeared at Franklin following

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the ban issued in 1849 until 1866 when Sigma Alpha Epsilon, another friend of M inerva, appeared in Athens. The next year Chi Phi was or ganized and since that date many fraternities have enrolled students of the University of Georgia. The members of the Temple of the Skull and Bones are listed in Beta Theta Pi catalogues with the qualification that they were Mystics. Charles Seton H ardie, for many years treasurer of the city of Savan nah, Georgia, replied to a Mystic query in 1925 concerning this temple.

CHARLES S. HARDIE, Franklin ’48 As a college student

In that year he m arked his ninety-fifth birthday, as he was born August 9, 1830. M ajor H ardie wrote I m atriculated at old F ranklin College, Athens, Ga., in August, 1844, and graduated in August, 1 8 4 8 .1 became a member of the Franklin College chapter of the Mystic Sevens in 1846. . . . Though classed as a secret society, the object of the Mystic Sevens was purely literary. We used to meet at night, and in secret, at regular intervals and to discuss the political questions of the day as far as we were able to understand them. As a token of mem bership each member of the Franklin College chapter was required to provide him self with a badge made after a prescribed form . I have preserved mine with jealous care from that time, for I have always cherished it as the most precious m em orial of

TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

Mystic star worn by Charles S. Hardie, Franklin â&#x20AC;&#x2122;48, enlarged to show detail.

the past which I have in my possession. I have it before me now and will try to describe it. . . . It is a gold breast pin made in the shape of a seven pointed star, % of an inch wide from the point of one star to the opposite point. On the obverse side near the end of each point there is a character which looks like a letter of the Hebrew alphabet and in the lower part of a circle made by a snake in the act of swallowing its tail, is a pot or caldron on a blazing fire with the curved handle of a ladle projecting from the right side and across the pot, in front are the figures, 1837. Above the pot and just below the m outh of the snake there are seven stars. On the reverse side there is a skull and cross bones and my name engraved in script. . . . In a subsequent letter, written from Savannah, August 21, 1925, two years before his death, M ajor H ardie added that Our meetings were never held out of doors but always in a room at night and in secret. Our principal place of meeting was in a room we' were perm itted to use in the Phi K appa society building, that society being one of the two regular debating societies of the college. The college-day picture of M ajor H ardie is supplied by M artha Gallaudet W aring, of Savannah, Georgia, who also had made the photographs of her g randfatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s badge.

TEMPLE OF THE WREATH Daniel M artindale, A.B., W esleyan University, 1846. Professor of N atural Science, Centenary College of Louisiana, 1849-52. Editor, The Southern M irror, 1849-52. Died 1853, Clinton, Louisiana. The title page of the first known m inute book of the Temple of the W reath at Centenary College of Louisiana, Jackson, reads as follows: F irst Book of the Chronicles of the MYSTIC SEVEN Temple of the W reath Founded in the 2nd Cycle 5th Year of the Mystic Seven V ulgar Era, June 27th 1849 In the Centenary College of Louisiana at Jackson, Louisiana. This book which includes a key to the mystic names of fifty-eight members includes the period of organization of the ring and minutes until November 1, 1859. There were subsequent initiations since the roll shows admissions until F ebruary 15, 1861. The M ystical Seven record at Middletown shows th at a Temple of the W reath was organized at Centenary in 1845, but suspended until 1849. The historian of the M ystical Seven further writes th at the “Tempie of the W and at W esleyan enjoyed the pleasantest epistolary relations with this temple, although the letters at best were infrequent and only occasional.” The last letter from Jackson to Middletown is said to have been dated M arch 25, 1861, and to have been signed by H. E. Cockerham. Centenary College, as its nam e im plies, was nurtured by the M ethodist church. The college had been established in 1825 at Jackson as the Col lege of Louisiana. D uring the centennial year of Am erican M ethodism, 1839, the church organized at Brandon, M ississippi, a Centenary Col lege for the education of young men. In 1845 the state of Louisiana sold the College of Louisiana to private investors and these gentlemen turned over the property to the M ethodist conference. This church group moved 57

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CENTENARY SHOWS HER REGALIA This interesting picture from Beta Lore shows George S. Mayo, ’56; Thomas W. Compton, ’56, and Robert J. Perkins, ’56, members of the Temple of the Wreath. Mystic emblems include the skele ton hand, the cauldron, the skull, the sword and a ladle. Mayo, apparently, has added a pistol and all three proudly wear their seven-pointed stars.

Centenary from Brandon to Jackson, Louisiana, and a charter was ob tained fo r a Centenary College from the state. At Jackson, Centenary opened a brilliant ante bellum career and in 1854 a large auditorium , seating 3,000 persons, was added to the col lege plant. In the late forties and early fifties, Centenary was an im por tan t school, draw ing support from the English-speaking planters in the lower end of the M ississippi valley in Louisiana and southwest Missis sippi. The life of the Temple of the W reath parallels flush times at Cen tenary for both were made inactive by the Civi 1 W ar.

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The Book o f Chronicles of this temple is owned by the family of Judge Charles Kilbourne, of Clinton, Louisiana, a son of James G. Kilbourne, Centenary ’50, a lawyer who was a captain in the Confederate army. From this official record, it appears that ‘‘Tristam Shandy, Bum bote of the Temple of the Sword, gave unto one Cheops, an Egyptian, the power and unction of Priest and Law Giver; and gave him authority to preach the Mystic doctrines and to baptise in the nam e of the Faith.” Tristam Shandy was Gustavus John Orr, Em ory ’44, the same Mystic who had attended the installation of the* Temple of the Skull and Bones at Franklin. Cheops is identified in the key as D an’l M artindale, and the date “ 1843” appears after his name, presum ably the date of his initia tion. Daniel M artindale was graduated from W esleyan University in 1846 and was a member of the Mystical Seven. He had gone to Louisiana after leaving college and in 1849 was named professor of N atural Sci ence at Centenary. He was always referred to in the Centenary records as the founder of the Temple of the W reath and upon his death a com mittee was commissioned to erect a m onum ent to his memory. Authorized then by Emory, but with no actual connection with the Mystical Seven, the Temple of the W reath opened with three charter m em bers: James Gilliam Kilbourne, Charles McVea, and John W. H ar ris. Professor M artindale set down the first known record of the temple and signed it both as Bumbote and Scribe. He also sketched his arrival 3. Now this Cheops as he journeyed came unto a land of plants and flowers and sweet smelling herbs, which land the natives call Louisiana, and to a town in this land which is called Jackson. Now in this town there was a Sanhedrim of Wise men ruled over by one Augustus, who was once king over the nation in which abideth the “Temple of the Sword.” And this Sanhedrim over which Augustus reigned was called Centenary College. Augustus was Dr. Longstreet, the Georgia educator. The minutes of this temple are more form al than those of Franklin, of Davidson or of N orth Carolina. Each phrase or sentence is grouped as a Bible verse and is num bered within the report of the meeting which is entitled a “chapter.” The Centenary Mystics were on friendly terms with “Augustus,” for on July 6, 1849 15. A nd it so chanced that W uotan looking propitiously on the Mystics, caused the pale-faced moon to shine forth and the stars to deck the skyJ with radiant Ogems.

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16. Ih e n the Bumbote walked forth in his strength, having in his hand the sacred wand, and followed by the Mystic band. With merry songs and holy “Rares, so mote it be” they journed on, and when they came near unto the habitation of Augustus, who is Governor of the Sanhedrim , the Mystics arranged themselves in order, and shouted his Governorship a cheerful “Rare, so mote it be.” M any interesting events are chronicled in these minutes including the occasion of the initiation of Thomas Bangs Thorpe. This was held in July, 1850, and it is written that Thorpe, known as Tom Owen, though an old Mystic and one of the Philosophers of the Tub, had never re ceived the sacred rite of initiation. So Professor M artindale, who was presiding as Bumbote, “took the Mystic wand and made the Seven sounds, and form ed the Mystic Ring, and Tom Owen was brought in, and received the solemn rite, and was made of the Temple of the W reath, a Philosopher. Then the Mystics spent much time in pleasant converse with Tom Owen upon the ancient times of the Mystics, and of the ‘Tub Philosophers’ in the land of W ilberia, among the tribe called Wesleyans, at the Temple of the W and.” Thom as Bangs Thorpe, thus mentioned, received a Master of Arts degree from Wesleyan in 1847 and was what we would call a nature w riter. Among other books he wrote one called Tom Owen, the Bee Hunter. Two honorary members are known to have been num bered: John McVea, a state senator, and George M cW horter, treasurer of Louisiana. Both of these gentlemen had come to Jackson for the commencement held July 2, 1851, and on that occasion a great banquet was spread and aided by Tom Thorpe, the Centenary Mystics celebrated in high style, and “ a band of sweet players upon harps and tim brels came beneath the window, and played rare melodies for the M ystics; they lived in the land of Baton Rouge. The Brethren fed them .” The Stars rise, Time flies The owl cries: “ Come, Ye Wise.” These lines introduce a meeting and a closing form ula is “Then the sweet notes of the Bumbote’s song rang wild and clear out upon the stillness, and as the Mystic band waited, to catch the dying echoes, the Bum bote’s Benison fell upon them, and they vanished. So Mote it be.”

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And one of the last initiations of the W reath includes this interesting colloquy: 2. And they journeyed far to the South, and sojourning in the extreme southern W ing of the Temple, when, lo, there were Seven sounds from without. And the Pontiff answered with Seven from within, and said: “ W hat do you w an t?” And then, came answer, saying, “To make this man a brother.” And then said the Pontiff, “ Do you know him to be good and tru e ? ” And it was responded, “ 0 , M ighty Sovereign, I do.” William Ham ilton Nelson, in A Burning Torch and a Flaming Fire (Nashville, 1931), records that as early as 1859, the Centenary College trustees had had a minute on the Mystics. In that year, the historian of the college asserts, “There was a word of w arning that if these two societies (Mystics and the Palladians) did not give up their bitter strug gle for supremacy, they would be abolished.” No action apparently followed and the Mystics, the Palladians, Chi Phi, Delta K appa Epsilon and Phi K appa Sigma all suffered the fortunes of war in 1861. M any kinsmen and friends of members of the Temple of the W reath have manifest interest in the circle. From these and other sources the temple roll has been filled, so that the record of this temple is accurate. All members of the Temple of the W reath are carried in the Beta cat alogue with the notation that they were members of the Mystic Seven.

TEMPLE OF THE SCROLL AND PEN This temple was authorized by the Mystical Seven of Wesleyan Uni versity, and was established at Genesee College, Lima, New York, in 1853. The Scroll and Pen was the only branch authorized by the parent tem ple, the W and. Again, the Scroll and Pen did not receive any author ity to extend the society, yet this group did grant two charters, one of which was issued for the Hands and Torch at the University of Virginia.

SYRACUSE CHAPTER HOUSE

The Genesee temple was founded as a four-year social society and so continued for a num ber of years, until the college closed and its succes sor, Syracuse University, opened its doors at Syracuse, New York, in 1870. Then the members of the Scroll and Pen decided to petition a Greek-letter fraternity and on December 17, 1871, became the charter members of Phi Gamma Chapter of Delta K appa Epsilon. Thus the Dekes became the pioneers at Syracuse. There had been several petitions to Beta Theta Pi from students at 62

TEM PLE OF THE SCROLL AND PEN

Syracuse and these prelim inary requests convinced leaders of the fra ternity that the college was a suitable place for a chapter. Under a dis pensation certain students were initiated at Cornell and Beta Epsilon was form ed February 28, 1889. Mervale Dalton Makepeace, Cornell ’78, then was chief of D istrict II and under his direction a petition was p re pared. This paper was endorsed by the chapters of the district and was placed before the chapters of the fraternity for a m ail vote. All ballots were in the affirmative, and the petition was legalized when the sem i centennial Beta convention of 1889 issued the charter. The petitioners had been initiated and thus received encouragement and help for their year’s work. Following the procedure at M iddletown, a charter was issued to a Temple of the Scroll and Pen by the Hands and Torch of the Mystic Seven at the U niversity of V irginia. On the basis of this action, form er members of the Temple of the Scroll and Pen of the M ystical Seven were invited into Beta Theta Pi, and some of them availed themselves of the privilege. Robert W. Wilde, Syracuse ’91, was active in organizing the Beta peti tioners at Syracuse and recalls the initiations held at a hotel in town. Brother W ilde now lives in Los Angeles, California, and also is a member of our M ichigan chapter and attended the U niversity of Wisconsin. He was the first corresponding secretary of the Syracuse chapter and recalls as early members George W. Church, ’89; Frank M. Rooney, ’90; H iram L. Church, ’90; H arry J. H am lin, ’92; Edm und L. Dow, ’92; M arcus L. Glazer, ’92; George F. Cole, ’92; A lbert D. B arnhart, ’91; W alter B. Hancock, ’91; and Francis F. Brewerm ’92.

TEMPLE OF THE STAR George Christian Heidelberg, A.B., University of Mississippi, 1861. Private, CSA. Killed at Second Battle of Bull Run, August 30, 1862. Quitm an, Mississippi. George Christian Heidelberg, Mississippi ’61, is the first name on the roll of this tem ple which was established at the University of Mis sissippi probably in 1859. The genesis of this temple is not known, but

GEORGE C. HEIDELBERG M ississippi ’61

it is assumed that it was organized under the direction of the Temple of the Sword at Em ory since “ Ole Miss” had been cited as a possible place for a chapter. H eidelberg is shown here in a contem porary photograph wearing his Mystic star. This picture is lent by Mr. H. B. Heidelberg, of Clarksdale, M ississippi, who adds that his kinsman left the halls of the university 64

TEM PLE OF TH E STAR

to serve with a M ississippi infantry regiment and lost his life in the Second Battle of Bull Run. The story of the revival of this temple and of its fortunes is told in a letter written by Edwin Hamilton Dial, ’76, to M orrison H. Caldwell, of the Hands and Torch, M arch 28, 1883. Caldwell was one of the several V irginia Mystics who were seeking data concerning the society. Mystic Dial replied to the inquiry in a style not uncommon in the era The rare pleasure was mine a day or two ago to receive your favor. . . . It awakened in me thoughts of Auld Lang Syne and sent the Mystic blood coursing m ore rapidly. . . . Edward A. Smith, of Oxford, Miss., who joined the M ystical Seven Fraternity in 1859, set about to reestablish it. On the nineteenth day— or night— of October, 1866, he initiated Beverly Carradine, of Yazoo City, M iss.; W iley P. H arris, of Jackson, M iss.; F rank Howell, of Oxford, and Wm. P. Cassidy, of Summit, Miss. On the 26th day of October, 1866, W. H. Bailey, of Canton, Miss., and G. B. Priestly, same town, were initiated. Immediately after the recording of the acquisition on the latter date, Chapter First closes, as follows “Then was the seven completed. Then arose these Seven, and with force and power pitched again the Mystic Tent in the midst of the great encampment, and dedicated it to W uotan, the Mystic God.” M ississippi Mystics favored a spot in a neighboring wood for a m eet ing and m idnight was the mystic hour. Dial describes the rise of the Mystic star at Oxford, and explains that the tem ple was closed for want of m aterial in 1878. In addition to the possible p art that the Temple of the Sword had in the organization of this temple, consider that Dial writes of the Mystical Seven. When a member of the Mississippi temple founded the Hands and Torch at V irginia, he received a charter through M ississippi, from the Scroll and Pen, at Genesee. Again, Augustus B. Longstreet, believed to have been an honorary member of the Sword and recognized as such by the W reath, was president of the University of M ississippi, 1849-56, and lived on the campus with his son-in-law, Dr. H enry R. Branham , Wesleyan ’42, Emory ’42, the founder of the Temple of the Sword. P er haps these gentlemen helped stir the boiling kettle amid the columns of the University of M ississippi? The university is a land grant institution and received its charter in 1844, and was opened in 1848 with a staff of four professors and fifty

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

students. As only four young men* appeared in the fall of 1861, the university closed its doors and was not reopened until the fall of 1865. The historian of the Temple of the Star closed his letter with a flourish in keeping with the salutation H oping that your Hands may continue to hold the Torch of Mysticism high up until the light finds its way back into the old places, and into

M ISSISSIPPI CHAPTER HOUSE

m any new ones where it has never been known before; and wishing th at prosperity may attend your Temple and its members, I am, with a M ystic’s hand and a M ystic’s heart. . . . The Beta Beta Chapter of Beta Theta Pi was organized at the univer sity June 5, 1879. John W atson Yerkes, Centre ’73, M ichigan ’77, or ganized the group from the last living chapter of the Alpha Kappa Phi fraternity. Thus the roll of Beta Beta includes some members of Alpha K appa Phi and all the form er members, eighty-five, of the Temple of the Star. The oldest surviving Mystic in 1934 was Eber Elam Bigger, a member of the Class of 1875, who lived in Clearwater, Florida. The Rev. Mr. Bigger, a Presbyterian clergyman, wrote that he recalled many of the

TEM PLE OF TH E STAR

Mystics of the temple, and m arveled at the changes “ that have taken place since 1 left, sixtv-nine years ago.” A dditional recollections of the Mystics are supplied by Dr. Fayette C. Ewing, M ississippi ’85. of A lexandria, Louisiana. Dr. Ewing was present when Beta Beta was revived in 1928 and has been an interested Beta for m any years. In discussing the “ Ole Miss” of his undergraduate days, Dr. Ewing recalls that the Mystic Seven died “within a vear after my older brother, Presley K. Ewing, '81, and I went there. The Mystics had one rem aining member, David Smith Powell, who solicited us to join. ’ There are m any actual connections between the Mystics and Beta Theta Pi, and at M ississippi there is the case of a grandfather and a grandson: William P robv Cassedv. a charter member of the Temple of the Star, is the grandfather of illiam Probv Cassedv. M ississippi ’36, who has been interested in the search for data concerning form er members of the Mystic ring in Oxford. O

TEMPLE OF THE HANDS AND TORCH Charles Carroll M iller, University of Mississippi, 1869; University of V irginia, 1867-8, 1870. Lawyer. Died 1908, M eridian, Mississippi. W hile the Mystical Seven at Wesleyan had been literary in character, the H ands and Torch of the Mystic Seven at V irginia was above all, a circle of friendship. This group, the Hands and Torch, built the Mystic

CHARLES C. MILLER Mississippi ’69, Virginia ’70

Seven Society, the group with which Beta Theta Pi formed a union in 1890. Charles Carroll Miller, of Brandon, Mississippi, organized the Hands and Torch, September 24, 1868. That date is given on the Mystic charter issued by the Scroll and Pen of the Mystical Seven, at Lima, New York. M iller had been made a Mystic by the Temple of the Star, January 12, 1867, “in the wToods,” and was a student at V irginia for the sessions, 68

TEM PLE OF THE HANDS AND TORCH

1867-68, and in 1870. He was born in 1849, so when this photograph was made about 1884, the V irginia founder was in his thirties. The pic ture is supplied by Mr. C. C. Miller, of M eridian, M ississippi, a son. A detailed history of the Hands and Torch was published in the pages of the M ystic Messenger, a publication which was organized at the uni versity. The charter members at V irginia were: Thomas T. Singleton, of Can ton, M ississippi; John Emmett Ellis, of Columbus, M ississippi; W illiam A rchibald Bradfield, of Uniontown, Alabam a; James 0 . Fitts, of Uniontown, A labam a; W ashington P. Smith, of Selma, A labam a; Scott Field, of Canton, M ississippi, and M iller. They were seven. The V irginia minutes or chronicles refer to the society as a “ club” and at the end of each session, duly noted that an “elegant club-supper was had.” Meetings were held in a rented hall and the temple also furnished it and in flush times had a caretaker. There is no mention of communication with other Mystic groups in the seventies at V irginia. Franklin and Centenary had not been revived; M ississippi’s star was flickering and the Serpent, at Cumberland, did not exist more than four years. The Scroll and Pen had become a social fraternity chapter and the Owl and W and, the Wesleyan senior society, did not recognize V irginia. In fact, the action of the Scroll and Pen in granting the V irginia charter had, says the historian of the Mystical Seven, cooled Wesleyan toward Syracuse. The V irginia Mystics then arose and organized their own society as they desired. On January 11, 1880, a committee was appointed to change the form of badge. On February 7 the committee reported, and a m ono graph was selected of the Greek letters Mu and Epsilon for Mystika Hepta. Their reasoning was based on the prem ise that the tem ple had been handicapped in selecting new men. They set down the belief that a non-Greek name was not as appealing as those of their friendly rivals on The Lawn. But they continued their interest in the other Mystic groups. Letters were written, alum ni were questioned and certain documents were obtained, as will be shown. In 1881, five members returned in October and the tem ple history records the initiation of Patterson W ardlaw, of Abbeville, South Caro lina; W. C. Churchill, Louisville, K entucky; and W. J. Roddey, of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Two of these gentlemen are with us in spirit as we

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

m ark this anniversary. Professor W ardlaw is emeritus professor of edu cation of the University of South C arolina and lives in Columbia. He has supplied the interesting photograph of the temple. W illiam Joseph Roddey, com m ander of the Equitable Veteran Legion of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, lives in Rock H ill, and is the father of two Davidson Betas, W illiam J. Roddey, Jr., ’14, and Benjamin D. Rod dey, ’17. He writes It is a beautiful thing to celebrate this winter the union of the David son and V irginia chapters of the Beta Theta Pi college fraternity. I left college fifty-seven years ago, but my memories of my dear friends of the Mystic Seven Society of the University of V irginia linger with me still. M ay I express the hope that the celebration of this 50th anniversary may prove not only a most notable occasion in the history of Beta Theta Pi, but that it will be an altogether happy one. I will be present with you in spirit. These are not the oldest Mystics. Daniel Aylesbury Finlayson recalls in a letter from M onticello, Florida, that he was initiated in April, 1874, sixteen years before the union of 1890! Back in ’73 the Mystic Seven was said to be the oldest of all college fraternities then in existence, even antedating the use of Greek-letter names of college fraternities. Back in those days do I recall the very high standing of the chapter of the Beta Theta Pi at Virginia. Some of my warmest friends were num bered among its members. Again, ex tend my warmest greeting to the baby Betas. The year 1883-84 m arked the beginning of the rise of the Mystic Seven society. Cooper D. Schmitt, Charles M. Bradbury and M orrison H. H. Caldwell returned to college. “Than these three men no truer, m ore energetic Mystics were ever initiated into our order, and to no men does the Mystic Seven fraternity owe more, for at this time the H ands and Torch was the only chapter in existence and hence to these three untiring workers the fraternity owes in a great measure its present position.” This is the tribute of contemporaries. At the beginning of the session, expansion had been suggested to Davidson, the U niversity of N orth Carolina and several other colleges. None of these plans m aterialized. On his way home from Poughkeepsie, New York, Roddey visited the V irginia Mystics. This was the night of December 14, 1883, fifty-seven years ago. From that night, after Roddey had counselled the V irginia Mystics to pursue a course of expansion,

TEM PLE OF THE HANDS AND TORCH

the society was successful. Inspiration is necessary to obtain hard work. In this century it sometimes is referred to as psychology. The V irginia Mystics were capable of h ard work. The first action was the w riting of sixty-five letters to old Mystics, set ting forth the aims and needs of the Temple of the Hands and Torch. The next was to procure an engraving of a coat of arms adopted by the temple. This was made by W right, of Philadelphia, and a Dreka plate of a later date, incorporating the same design is reproduced here. The

Coat of arms, revised by the Mystic Seven, at Virginia ca. 1885.

first plate cost $20. Copies were struck off and thus the society received a valuable advertisement. Again, a smaller engraving was made and each member bought stationery bearing this device, so soon the Mystic cross was known all over the country. Professors Bear and Balm er Kelly, of Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, V irginia, suggest that the Hebrew on this revised seal or badge and coat of arm s of the Mystic Seven may be “Secret Seven,” or “ Seven Secrets.” Professor Kelly asserts the first three characters, be ginning at “two o’clock” — as if the face of the badge were a clock— form the Hebrew word for “seven,”— Sheva— and he avers that the engravers of this plate have not been perfect in their translation of the original drawing, hence it is impossible to supply a translation.

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

This coat of arm s with the star above it shows the emblems of the Mystic Seven, M E, the name, the altar, the scroll and pen, the ser pent, the cauldron, the wand and the urn. To the lower right perched in the tree may be seen M inerva’s owl and the Greek letters “Phi Theta A lpha” are displayed in the center of the seven-pointed star. B radbury and Schm itt opened a correspondence with a view of estab lishing temples at Randolph-M acon, Roanoke and Franklin and Marshall, but were unsuccessful. It was at this period that members of the Mystical Seven at Wesleyan again considered whether a union would be possible with this Mystic Seven society. George Stone, of cipher fame, served as a mem ber of this committee. The fact that he was a member of a social fraternity was not pertinent since at this period there were many dual m em berships among the Greek-letter societies. Stone had been corre sponding with Bradbury concerning some Mystic records and had sup plied records of the Scroll and Pen to the Virginia temple of the Mystic Seven. He had been a teacher at the Genesee seminary,7 1869-72. A nother committee revised the constitution, by-laws and adopted a seal and B radbury found that the tem ple had in the early days used the color, Green, for its own. In Septem ber, 1884, the Hands and Torch made out a charter for a Temple of the Sword and Shield at Davidson College, and thus we m ark the return to the Old N orth State. Davidson was assigned the color, Vio let, and the organizer was Neal Larkin Anderson as will be seen in the chronicles of that temple of the society. Cooper D. Schm itt was teaching nearby at Pantops Academy during the session, 1884-85, but frequently met with the V irginia Mystics. P an tops was a popular p rep aratory academy with young men in the Old Dominion and many Betas became members of the fraternity through friendships forged on Latin translations. This same session Henderson McCamie Dixon was authorized to organize a Temple of the Star of the South at the University of N orth Carolina. These three, Virginia, Davidson and N orth Carolina, in num ber resembled the witches of M acbeth whose incantations filled the mysteries of the Temple of the J

Hands and Torch. The first Mystic convention was held at V irginia, June 27, 1885, also the date of the initiation of H erbert Barry, of W arrenton, Virginia. The meeting was an “ elegant” aifair. In June, 1886, the first issue of the

TEM PLE OF THE HANDS AND TORCH

M ystic Messenger came from the press and recorded this assemblage and the work accomplished. This convention adopted a constitution for the society and ratified the form of initiation. Three copies were made, and a page from the Davidson College record is reproduced, together with the seal used by the Temple of the Sword and Shield. Cooper D. Schmitt edited the first volume of the Messenger which opened publication from Charlottesville, V irginia, as Num ber 1, as a large octavo of twenty-eight pages. The January, 1887, issue, styled

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Charlottesville, Va. — W j U G fltitk -B B f e y ALUMNUS EDITOE: M: H . H . CAI-DWELL,

H ands a n d Torch, F rank M ullkr , University o f Va. Swor d and Shield, R o o t. G. S p a rro w , Davidson College, N . C. s ta r o f the South, M. W. E g e rto n , Chapel //ill, N . C.

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MYSTIC SEVEN F R A T E R N IT Y . V o l. II.

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Facsimile of a page from the M ystic Messenger

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

Volume II, Num ber 2, included a breezy letter from William Francis Stevenson, Davidson ’85, concerning the first Mystic convention. The Davidson delegation arrived at the junction depot of the Chesapeake & Ohio at 5:30 a . m ., after an all-night trip on the V irginia Midland. At this point they debated the proper procedure, but at length started to walk for the University, as he said, “ a mile and a half.” And he added that the “streets were slippery, the rain drizzling, and daylight was struggling to get a m astery over Erebus.” A fter a h ard day’s work at the convention, there was an ice cream sup per at 10 P .M . The next day, Sunday, was devoted to chapel and then— as other thousands of visitors have done— there was a trip to Monticello. The Davidson delegates were impressed with two things at the U ni versity of V irginia— the superb hacks of Charlottesville, and the “ lovely girls playing lawn-tennis.” Professor Schm itt was editor of the Messenger and Regent (“national president” ) of the Mystic Seven until 1888, when H erbert Barry suc ceeded him. Schm itt’s staff on the Messenger included M orrison H arris Caldwell, V irginia ’84, alumnus editor, and the chapter editors: Frank M uller, V irginia; R obert G. Sparrow, Davidson; and Montraville W. Egerton, N orth Carolina. W hen Barry became editor his aides were M inton W. Talbot, V irginia; W illiam F. Hollingsworth, Davidson; and Charles A. W ebb, N orth Carolina. Caldwell continued to represent the alum ni. The first Mystic convention was so successful that a second was planned to be held at Davidson. This meeting was incorrectly termed the semi centennial convention of the Mystic Seven. It was the second such gather ing held, but none of the three chapters could m ark a half century. The visiting Mystics were well received. The assembly was set for 3 P .M . , June 16, 1887. “The m arble altar, fine chandeliers and elegant curtains,” made a singular impression on the University of Virginia delegates. The Hands and Torch temple proposed at this meeting that the name “Mystic Seven” be changed to “ Phi Theta A lpha.” This was in line with V irginia’s form er action in choosing a monogram badge instead of the seven-pointed star. When the vote was called, V irginia voted aye, David son, nay, and the University of N orth C arolina delegation was divided. The Regent, proceeding under the regular rules of order, then declared

TEM PLE OF THE HANDS AND TORCH

that the vote was a tie and that the proposal was defeated. Following this action, W illiam Joseph M artin, Davidson ’88, moved that the words “Mystic Seven” be placed upon the badge and that “Phi Theta A lpha” occupy a secondary place, and the motion carried. Schmitt was firm in the assertion that the society should use the name of Mystic Seven instead of any other. “In the eyes of the m ajority,” he said, “ Phi Theta Alpha will not be distinguishable from Phi anything else, but Mystic Seven will always be unique and distinct and must endure as long as Colleges and Universities themselves exist.” Are we not celebrating the anniversary of this Mystic Seven, fifty years afterw ards?

TEMPLE OF THE SERPENT George Ashe Wilson, University of Mississippi, 1872; LL.B., Cumber land, 18/3. Lawyer. District attorney and member of the Mississippi senate. Died 1930, Greenwood, Mississippi. The Temple of the Serpent is the lost cauldron of the Mystics. To be certain, catalogue records give evidence that Mystics from V irginia and M ississippi were in residence at Cumberland University, but that is all that is extant except one letter. George Ashe Wilson, M ississippi 1872, wrote to Lloyd Thatcher, Mis sissippi ’10, October 9, 1928, from Greenwood, Mississippi, that he had helped organize the temple at Cumberland. Mr. Wilson added that his Cum berland diplom a bore the date June 3, 1873. The temple was not organized as early as 1868, for Leland Jordan, Cumberland ’69, in a letter to the w riter from Los Angeles, California, dated February 9, 1934, said he did not recall any such organization at Lebanon, Tennessee. Cum berland’s famous law school was known throughout the South and many Betas from T rinity University in Texas, from the University of Texas and from other colleges studied cases there. Mr. Jordan was graduated from Princeton before entering the law school. W instead P. Bone, Cumberland ’86, T rinity ’85, who wrote A His tory of Cumberland University (Lebanon, 1935), was unable to find any record of the Mystics at Lebanon. As puzzled were the Betas in college at Cum berland in 1890 when the union was announced. Chapter letters of that day mention that members of our old Mu Chapter were trying to find form er members of the Temple of the Serpent. From the rolls, it is apparent that Thomas T. Singleton, the first ini tiated Mystic at V irginia took an LL.B. at Cumberland in 1871 and Barnett Gibbs, student at V irginia, 1869-71, received a like diploma in 1873. Other members of the Temple of the Star and of the Temple of the Hands and Torch were students at Lebanon. Cum berland University was organized in 1842 at Lebanon and was nam ed in honor of the site which was a p a rt of the Cumberland coun try, a territo ry partly in Tennessee and partly in Kentucky. The college was established by the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian 76

TEM PLE OF THE SERPENT Church. The university was the home of Mu Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, a group established through the efforts of our Centre Chapter, October 20, 1854. The Beta circle was inactive during the Civil W ar, but was revived in 1865; again in M arch, 1880, and died in 1899.

TEMPLE OF THE SWORD AND SHIELD Neal Larkin Anderson, A.B., Davidson, 1885; A.M., Princeton, 1888; graduate, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1890; D.D., 1904. PresÂ byterian clergym an. Died, 1931, Montgomery, Alabama. The records of the Sword and Shield tem ple of the Mystic Seven is written in the hearts of her alum ni, in the pages of the M ystic Messenger, and in the archives of the Davidson College Chapter, the Phi Alpha of Beta Theta Pi.

NEAL LARKIN ANDERSON Davidson â&#x20AC;&#x2122;85

F irst of value to the student of the Mystic Seven is the Davidson copy of the constitution adopted at the University of V irginia conclave of 1885. This was the meeting of V irginia, Davidson and North Carolina Mystics that m arked the growth of the Mystic Seven. This record shows the transform ation of the temple into a Beta chapter. Illustrated here are 78

TEM PLE OF THE SWORD AND SHIELD

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TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

two reproductions from the constitution book: the seal of the temple and a page from the Mystic ceremony. In the exemplification of the mys tery, note that the word “M ystic” has been crossed out and the word “ Beta” substituted. The procedure was taken before any changes had been announced in the initiation ceremonies. The Beta Theta P i fraternity had been interested in Davidson as a place for a chapter for some years. The Phi Chapter was installed at Davidson, January 8, 1858, through Chapel Hill Betas, but had been closed by the civil war. When the Mystic Seven union was proposed, it was pointed out that through this agreement, Beta would obtain two chapters— at Davidson and N orth Carolina— both once the center of an altar of the fraternity. Some ten years after the Sword and Shield had been organized, and six years after the new Phi A lpha gleamed from the Beta shield, W il liam Banks, Davidson ’97, was moved to ask Neal Larkin Anderson con cerning the start of the temple. Because of this historical interest on the p a rt of an undergraduate, we have today a valuable letter limning the beginnings of the tem ple. The Rev. Mr. Larkin, who was known as Emerson within the temple, wrote In the summer of ’84, I was requested to organize a chapter of the F raternity (Mystic Seven), the first to be organized outside of the U ni versity since the war. . . . I undertook the work, and was initiated by a special commissioner who came to Davidson for this purpose, the initia

Drawing of badge worn by Neal L. Anderson

tion taking place in the library of the Eumenean Society, during the last week in August. I was authorized to initiate others into the Order, pre p arato ry to receiving a charter, and in my study in the house afterwards occupied by Dr. McKinnon, during the following week, I initiated Messrs. W. J. M artin, J r., W. S. M oore and Robert G. Sparrow. Later on . . . I initiated D. F. Shepherd, this initiation took place in the woods ju st back of the cemetery, and later still, one evening, just after dusk,

TEM PLE OF THE SWORD AND SHIELD under the spreading boughs of the beautiful old oak, out in the field across from the Railroad, under the light of the new moon, with the seven stars above us, I initiated J. M. Clark. Thus typed Neal Anderson on a typew riter that included one of his inventions. An interested Beta in after life, he was initiated into the fraternity while at Princeton theological seminary. He also noted in this letter that he held a commission from Beta Theta Pi to initiate any

GROUP PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SWORD AND SHIELD MEMBERS OF 1890 Front row, left to right: Thomas S. Faucette, LeRoy G. Henderson (b elow ), Robert Southerland, Junius A. Matheson, W illiam F. Hollingsworth, Samuel H. Edmunds, Charles H. Robinson, W illiam C. Brown. Back row: Walter L. Lingle, Jules C. Dufour, Rossie A. Brown, Joseph M. Moore, Robert L. Wharton, James W. Marshall.

Mystics who crossed his path. Mystic Anderson selected the name of this tem ple and the Greek word used by the temple, ’AXr;Qsia, aletheia, truth, and its significance “T ruth is as a Shield to protect and a Sword to defend all those whose search after her diligently.” The appealing photo graph of the temple founder is lent by a daughter. A lbert S. W inn, Davidson ’42, of Greenville, South Carolina, who is a student of the history of Phi Alpha, suggests that Edwin Neil McAulay, Davidson ’60, initiated his younger brother, W illiam Calvin McAulay, ’73, and A rchibald H. Baker, ’73, in 1866 in the hope of reviving the chapter

TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI which had died when the civil war opened, but this plan was not suc cessful. Secret societies were proscribed at Davidson at this period be cause of the Ku Klux Klan. These two Betas, thus, span the time between the closing of the circle of the Phi and the opening of the ring of the Temple of the Sword and Shield.

Old Chambers, an early meeting place of the Sword and Shield

The Beta convention of 1880 officially withdrew the charter of the Phi Chapter and that nam e went to the University of Pennsylvania chap ter, organized that same year. So the “new” Davidson chapter became the Phi A lpha, F ebruary 8, 1890. Thus at Davidson, “Wisdom Flourishes.” M any have been the hands who aided in tracing the record of the Mystic temples. One of the most faithful is Robert W ilson Ramsey, Davidson ’40, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, president of Phi A lpha in the centennial year of Beta Theta Pi and in the semi-centennial year of the chapter. The photograph of Old Chambers, shown in connection with this chapter, was the hom e of the Davidson Mystics for several years. Here it was that the “semi-centennial” Mystic convention was held and the boys delighted in the arrangem ent which perm itted the use of an anteroom for the preparation of candidates. The marble altar still is used by Phi A lpha in 1940.

TEMPLE OF THE STAR OF THE SOUTH Henderson McCamie Dixon, Davidson 1888. University of N orth Caro lina 1888. Presbyterian m inister. Died, 1937, Augusta, Georgia. The Star of the South of the Mystic Seven m arks the last star of the Mystic Pleiades— for this was the last temple to be organized. These three, V irginia, Davidson and the University of N orth Carolina, formed the society that entered Beta Theta Pi in 1890.

NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER HOUSE

In December, 1884, the story goes, there were three fraternity chap ters all sub rosa at the U niversity of N orth Carolina. They were: K appa Alpha, Phi K appa Sigma and the Alpha Tau Omega. It was evident to campus gossip— and therefore true— that the trustees would grant p er mission for these groups at Chapel Hill, and in this hope, Henderson McCamie Dixon undertook to organize a new temple. Dixon had been made a Mystic at the Sword and Shield at Davidson, and obtaining a 83

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

charter from the Hands and Torch, on December 13, 1884, by lam plight he initiated Oscar Charles Odell, ’86; Rufus Beauregard Sullivan, ’88; Aulay Sylvester MacRea, ’88; John Wesleyan Kestler, ’85; and Julius (Corpening) M artin, ’88. No record is preserved of a second meeting until the initiation of Eugene W ithers, also of the Class of 1888, which was held February 7, 1885. Six days before the trustees had approved establishment of frater nities and Phi Delta Theta, Zeta Psi and Sigma A lpha Epsilon entered the university. W ith increased appropriations from the legislature, the university received better support, and 225 students were enrolled, more than had been at Chapel H ill in any one year since the university was opened in 1876. Jul ius C. M artin, one of the charter seven, has a first hand report for the Betas of 1940 who read these lines. On my way to the U niversity of North Carolina early in September, 1884, Mr. Henderson McCamie Dixon introduced himself to me on the train between University Station and Chapel Hill, and stated that he had attended Davidson College the year before and had decided to go to the University of N orth Carolina to finish his studies. A fter some conversation with him he suggested that we room together at the university, and as I had no roomm ate and had made no a r rangements, I gladly accepted his invitation. I might say that Mr. Dixon told me he was studying for the m inistry. Upon our arrival at Chapel Hill, we were assigned or secured a room on the west side of the first, floor of the old West building. We occupied that room for several months when we moved into a room on the second floor of the Old West building on the South side. The Star of the South temple was organized in the room occupied by Dixon and myself on the first floor of Old West building, in December, 1884. Mr. Dixon came from M ecklinburg county, N orth Carolina, and my residence was in Wilkes county, N orth Carolina. . . . M r. Dixon after leaving the University of N orth Carolina continued his studies for the m inistry, became a distinguished and popular preacher in the Presbyterian church, preaching in several places in North and South Carolina. . . . He was, I think, about twenty-five years of age when he went to the University of N orth Carolina. As indicated . . . Eugene Percival W ithers was our first initiate. My recollection is that he was initiated at a meeting held in Mr. Odell’s room at Mrs. Tankersley’s on M ain street. I remember meetings held at th at place and at least one meeting held in a rooming house situated about where the present Beta Theta Pi house stands at Chapel Hill. Mr. M artin who sends these lively recollections of the Star of the

TEM PLE OF THE STAR OF THE SOUTH

South at Chapel Hill, is director of the Bureau of W ar Risk Litigation in the office of the A ttorney General of the United States, and has been connected with government work since 1934. Also of interest at our celebration are certain minutes of this temple for June 1, 1889; October 15, 1889; December 7, 1889; and the record of Eta Beta, January 11, 1890. The first date covers a called meeting at commencement and includes the addresses m ade by several undergraduates and alum ni, all testifying to their high regard for the Mystic Seven. The second record includes action concerning an inquiry made by H erbert Barry. Barry, then regent of the society, asked whether the Star of the South would give its consent to the granting of Mystic charters to Wesleyan and Syracuse, and fu r ther, whether it would accept the terms of the proposed union with the Beta Theta Pi. The following reply was drawn TEM PLE

OF TH E

STAR O F

THE

SO UTH

O F T H E M Y S T IC S E V E N F R A T E R N IT Y

To the Regent of the Mystic Seven F raternity: The Chapter of the Star of the South of the Mystic Seven Fraternity hereby announces its con sent by the unanim ous vote of its members, to the union proposed by the F raternity of Beta Theta Pi, in a communication of its committee to the Mystic Seven Fraternity, dated September 27, 1889. (Signed) John W. Graham Counsellor of the Chapter of the Star of the South of the Mystic Seven Fraternity. The minutes for December 7, 1889, introduce the Beta commissioners who were there, J. Jordan Leake, Randolph-M acon ’89, Virginia ’93, and John K. Peebles, Virginia ’88, a form er Mystic. These Greek visitors to the tem ple “gave us the oath and instructed us in the mysteries of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.” The final selection from the minutes is headed “Hall of the Eta Beta Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, January 11, 1890,” and records that Charles A. Webb, ’89, and Julius C. M artin, ’88, had been initiated into Beta Theta Pi by W allace E. Rollins, ’92. In 1940, Dr. Rollins is dean of the V irginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, V irginia, and Mr. Webb is publisher of the Asheville Citizen. The name Eta Beta had been selected for the Beta chapter at Chapel Hill since the original group had been known as Eta. This chapter

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

name had been transferred to the H arvard chapter upon its revival in 1880. The first Beta circle at N orth Carolina was established A pril 28, 1852, by W illiam F arinford Green, Jefferson ’50, who had initiated Junius Irving Scales, ’53; John Lindsay M orehead, ’53; Nathaniel Eldridge Scales, ’53; George Nicholas Thompson, ’53; and Kenneth McKenzie M urchison, ’53. As in the case of Davidson, the charter was recalled by the 1880 Beta convention although the group had been in active since 1860. Following its reestablishment in 1889, the N orth Carolina chapter continued to progress for ten years. Then at the 1889 Beta convention it was reported inactive. Junius E. Beal, M ichigan ’82, longtime inter ested Beta worker, was named a committee of one to investigate. W riting from Ann A rbor, December 18, 1939, Brother Beal gives this recollection of his trip to the Old N orth State On my way south, I stopped off at Asheville and arranged for a meet ing of the alum ni to talk over the situation of the defunct chapter. Broth er Thomas C. Smith [N orth Carolina ’94] living there, obtained the facts of a rather unusual situation. A pparently, the Betas in North Carolina had such a high opinion of the fraternity that no one was con sidered good enough to be asked to join, and they had “black-balled” every proposal. B rother Sm ith and the seven or eight others in Asheville became interested in the situation. He got in touch with a prominent man whose sons were going to college, and got the Betas “warmed up” so they were able to start the chapter again. There was mighty good m aterial there, and they have since m ade a good record. The N orth Carolina chapter was one of the first Beta chapters to own a house, buying a piece of property in the college year, 1903-04, and in 1928, the original name of the chapter, Eta, was restored. So North C arolina’s chapter motto, “A Leader,” is being fulfilled. One of her faithful, Robert H. Frazier, ’19, of Greensboro, a vice president and a trustee of Beta Theta Pi, has aided in building this account of the Mystics in his native state.

AT THE BETA ALTAR The Mystics of V irginia, Davidson and N orth C arolina in 1890 ex panded their circle of friendships and came into Beta Theta Pi. Our fra ternity gained two excellent chapters and strengthened another circle in an im portant university in the Old Dominion. And then there were mem bers of the Mystical Seven at W esleyan and at Syracuse who professed an interest in Beta Theta P i and aided in her preferment. Following the announcement of the formal union in January, 1890, there was a general awakening of Beta spirit throughout the fraternity. And when August was m arked on the calendar and Betas met again at W ooglin-on-Chautauqua, New York, the Mystics were there to help celebrate. Founder John Riley Knox was the president of this conven tion. M inton W. Talbot, a Mystic of the Hands and Torch, was a vice president and read the beautiful Mystic ritual before the convention. David J. Carlough, a W esleyan Beta, was an assistant secretary, and there was W illiam Raim ond Baird as a delegate from Columbia U niver sity. Thomas Talbot, a brother of the vice president and also a member of the H ands and Torch, represented Omicron, and Edm und LeRoy Dow and H arry J. Hamlin, represented Syracuse. Brother Talbot practices law in Norfolk, V irginia, and has presented the w riter with copies of the M ystic Messenger of Beta Theta Pi as well as identifying the inter esting group picture of the Hands and Torch taken on The Lawn of the U niversity of V irginia in 1886. And in the college year, 1890-91, the first after the consummation of the union occurred the event of the decade for Beta Theta Pi. This was a dinner tendered the Hon. John W. H arlan, Centre ’50, one of the Jus tices of the United States Supreme Court, February 6, 1891, in Wormley’s Hotel in W ashington. This was the first such dinner to be given by a college fraternity and 182 guests sat down after the initiation. The candidates for this occasion included the Hon. David J. Brewer, Wes leyan ’55, a form er member of the Mystical Seven, also a suprem e court justice; Benjamin S. M inor, Virginia ’86; Eugene P. W ithers, North Carolina ’88; Frank Andrews, V irginia ’91; George B. Johnston, V ir ginia ’72; and Professor John R. Eastman, Dartmouth ’62, then of 87

THE MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

the United States Naval Observatory who had been a member of Sigma Delta P i at Hanover, New Ham pshire. The V irginia alum ni were mem bers of the Hands and Torch. This gala occasion opened with toasts at 11

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AT THE BETA ALTAR

W ithers, the form er member of the Temple of the Star of the South, arose to speak, he m ight well have looked to the east, for it was 3 A .M . The next m onth was celebrated the first annual reunion of the “Mys tical Seven D istrict” of Beta Theta Pi held at Charlottesville, M arch 2728, and a banquet closed the sessions at W right’s Hotel. M inton W. Talbot, ever active, was the first name signed to the com mittee which organized the affair, and as will be noted from the illustra

Covington Beta flag of 1890, showing the white border adopted in honor of Mystics.

tion of the original invitation, the other managers included Alex Stark— the V irginia baseball enthusiast; Wallace E. Collins, North Carolina ’92; W illiam B. M cGarity, Richm ond ’90; W alter L. Lingle, Davidson ’92; Robert W. Patton, Randolph-M acon ’91; and Stephen T. Barnett, H am pden-Sydney ’91. This same year a fraternity flag was designed, and in deference to the Mystics, it included a square of white, the com bination of colors of the society. And when an esoteric publication was issued, “for members only,” it was called the M ystic Messenger in honor of those ancient Favourites who num bered seven and walked with W uotan and M inerva—

TH E MYSTICS AND BETA THETA PI

m any long years ago. Thus was woven into the mystic circle of Beta Theta Pi, the mystic ring of the Sevens. So mote it b e ! THE FAREWELL A Song of Mystic Seven And now, good brothers, as we give The parting hand again, 0 , Let us pledge our constant faith In one more joyous strain. For oft in merry days lang syne W ith happy hearts weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve met And far though fortune calls us hence, We never can forget. And now with warm and gushing hearts This sentiment be given Long life and ample cheer, to thee, Thou dear old Mystic Seven.

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