ets of Nature will be withheld from you. Swear therefore hate,
persecution, and eternal enmity, to the Order of the Illuminati. This I
command you in the name of the Invisible Fathers."

"We swear it! We swear hate, persecution, and eternal enmity, to the
Order of the Illuminati!"

"Every one who belongs to the order is damned and cursed; and if it were
your brother or your father, so shall you curse and damn him!"

"We swear it!"

"Then I bring you the blessing of the Invisible rulers and fathers, who
announce to you, through me, that every lost one which you gain for the
Order of the Rosicrucians, and consequently lead back to God and Nature,
is a step toward entering the holy sanctuary of revelation, where the
elixir of life and the tincture of gold awaits you. Every cursed member
of the Illuminati becomes one of the blessed when you lead him from the
path of vice in penitence and contrition, and gain him to the Order of
the Rosicrucians; and he who can prove that he has gained twelve new
members for our holy order mounts a round higher in the ladder of
knowledge, and rises to a new degree. At the sixth grade he passes from
the Inner to the Middle Temple, where all the secrets of the universe
and of Nature are disclosed. Be mindful of this, and recruit. Until
we meet again, let the watchword be, 'Curses and persecution for the
devil's offspring, the Illuminati!'"

"Curses and persecution for the devil's offspring, the Illuminati, we
swear!"

"Now depart! Pay your tribute at the door, which you owe, and receive in
return the new sign of the order, which will serve to make the brothers
known to each other. Only the directors and the members of the sixth
grade shall knock again at this door after paying tribute, and,
receiving the new word of life, the guard will let them enter. Depart! I
dismiss you in the name of the Holy Father and the Trinity!"

"Take this cloak, and cover yourself, that no one can recognize you,"
whispered a person near Wilhelmine, and threw a soft covering over her.
"Will you now depart, or seek further in the way of knowledge?"

"I will seek further," answered Wilhelmine, firmly.

"You wish to enter the sixth grade, and learn the secrets of Nature?"

"I do!"

"Then I will give you the watchword of the order. But woe unto you if
you reveal it! Swear that you will never betray it!"

"I swear it!"

"Then, listen!"

Wilhelmine felt a hot breath upon her cheek, and a voice whispered i