VOL. I.

The Sphinx.

No. 4.

OCTOBER, 1899.

In Memoriam.

A GREAT man passed away in New York City, on September 22, at 4.15 A.M. a man, the like of whom we shall not see again. I speak of the late Dr. Luke D. Broughton, the father of American astrologers and the foremost champion of astrology in America.

No primrose path through life was his.

Born in Leeds, England, on April 20, 1828, at 10 A.M., of a family which believed devoutly in planetary influence, he began to study astrology at an early age, and he continued to study it until his death. He came to this country while still young, and ever since he has been practising as a physician and an astrologer. A firm believer in his chosen art, he labored unceasingly to convince others of its truth. On the platform, through books and in personal intercourse he proclaimed aloud the great value of astrology.

No light task was this. The American public, represented by their newspapers and their legislators, knew less about astrology some years ago than they know now, and the consequence was that Doctor Broughton's good work was at first greatly hampered. He was calumniated in public; he was deafened when he strove to speak from a platform; he was treated, in fact, as though he were a criminal. In the history of persecution in America there is no more shameful chapter than this.

If Doctor Broughton had been a weak man, he would have abandoned the fight, but fortunately he was endowed with a bulldog tenacity, which enabled him to maintain a bold front against all his opponents. Never once did he dream of crying

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"Peccavi"; never once did he refuse to enter the arena as long as there was an assailant in it. And the end was that he was allowed to practice astrology in peace, and that through him a splendid victory was thus won for all those who believe in liberty of thought and action. As a star-reader Doctor Broughton is entitled to very high rank. He had excellent judgment and he knew the works of the old masters thoroughly. His predictions on mundane as on private affairs were sane, logical and in accordance with the rules of his art. Doubtless he made mistakes, but who does not? The mere fact that he had among his friends and clients some of the best-known men and women of the day, proves that his blunders must have been few and his brilliant predictions many.

His personal character was to me very charming. Only a few weeks ago the kindly, lovable old man called on me at my New York office, and when I asked him about his health, he said that an evil influence, which he greatly dreaded, would soon begin to operate on him. We chatted pleasantly for halfan-hour and well do I remember his last words. They related to the next national election. What he said I shall not repeat, but the prediction which he made would prove mighty unpleasant reading for a certain illustrious personage, who is at present sedulously nursing a presidential bee in his bonnet.

Doctor Broughton's method of working out astrological problems was very clear and concise, and his estimate of the value of astrology as a factor in modern life was very high. Some of the younger school may differ from him on a few points of art, but there is not one among them who would venture, nay, there is not one who desires to wrest a laurel from the brow of him who was reading the future while many of them were still in their cradles. Aye, and not only reading the future, but also fighting for the right to read it. This, after all, is his crowning merit, and with the utmost fitness might he have said in the words of the poet Heine, to those who sorrowed by his bedside during his last hour: "Lay not on my coffin a wreath, but place thereon a sword, for I was a brave soldier in the war for the liberation of humanity."

GABRIEL.

Sphinx Religion.

[James Bonwick, F. R. G. S. Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought." London, 1878.]

THE rows of sphinxes leading the worshiper up to the temple were well calculated to impress him with awe, and prepare him for the solemnities of worship. This union of two creatures, man and lion, has been an enigma for ages; to this day, a sphinx means a puzzle. Plutarch affirmed that in his belief the Egyptians did not know the meaning of it, unless to contain the secrets of wisdom under enigmatical forms. Clemens Alexandrinus, the Christian father who lived amid these symbols, tells us that their intention was "to declare that the doctrine concerning God is enigmatical." But to expect reliable information from Greeks is in vain, and to trust to their explanation of the religious customs of others is equally vain.

For a while one old story of the Greeks was received, that the sphinx or sesheps was designed to typify the attractiveness of vice in the smiling female face, and, in the presentation of lion's claws, fierce vengeance following its pursuit. But the facts were too much for the theory. The Great Sphinx by the Pyramid, long esteemed for its feminine character, was at last detected to be masculine. When the sand which had encumbered it was removed, portions of the fallen beard from the stony monster were recovered.

But fuller particulars of the Sphinx are given in the author's "Pyramid Facts and Fancies." As sphinxes are usually in pairs, one naturally asks where the fellow of this is? The Egyptian for sphinx is neb, Lord. Only one female sphinx is known, supposed to represent the female Horus.

The religious bearing of the Great Sphinx cannot be gathered from explorers finding a miniature temple between its paws, and sundry tablets, referable to gods, about it below. All these were of comparatively modern date, only some three thousand years ago. But the Sphinx itself is of far greater