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Article THE SATURDAY REVIEW ON THE INSTALLATION. Page 1 of 2 Article THE SATURDAY REVIEW ON THE INSTALLATION. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Saturday Review On The Installation.
THE SATURDAY REVIEW ON THE INSTALLATION .
EIDICULE lias been somewhat illogically described as the test of truth . If it were so , Freemasonry ought to have perished long since . Some of the great masters of satire have exhausted the resources of their art upon it : it has been laughed at for its mysteries , for its symbolism , and for the uniform in which the brethren , it is supposed .
love to deck themselves . Carlyle has sneered at its " pasteboard temples , and its tinsel paraphernalia , " and the giants of the press have often gone out of their way to give the Order a sly dig . Yet , in spite of ridicule , Freemasonry flourishes , and nobody seems a bit the worse for
all the funny sayings or harsh things which have been flung at the Craft . Masons are not proverbial for being thin skinned , and if a professional jester chooses to laugh , like a yokel through a horse collar , at what he does not understand , they arc quite willing- to permit him to
grin to his heart ' s " content . Oar contemporary , the Saturday Review , in pursuance of its usual policy , has been making very merry over the Installation Ceremony , which has come like a godsend to a journal that has had little or nothing to laugh at since the Conservatives came
into office . The Saturday Review , of course , is nothing if it is not funny , incisive and bitter . Its writers are the literary Octopi of the journalistic world , and few things of any value escape the grasp of their envenomed tentacles . Experts accustomed to its style arc probably well aware
that the invective of tho Saturday is to be regarded as praise . It rarely attacks anything which is not worth attacking , and its vigorous abuse of a work of fiction , for example , is regarded by the publishing world as so much commendation . "Whenever it abuses a new book the
volume is sure to sell , and in America its adverse criticisms are regularly looked for by the publishing houses , which immediately reproduce any English work that is so fortunate as to draw the fire of this wonderful gall-squirt of literature . Nothing is so fatal as its praise . If it had condescended to
speak in terms of high commendation of Masonry , we , for our own parb , should seriously have considered the propriety of retiring from active Masonic duty . But since it has nothing but abuse to bestow upon us we are assured , if we ever needed any assurance of the kind , that Masonry is a
noble institution , and well worthy of the countenance and support of all right thinking men . It has the effrontery to tell its readers that Masons are silly persons , who are much addicted to the wearing of collars , emblems and aprons , and it adds that they are afraid to display these gorgeous
decorations in public lest the little boys should laugh at them . In justice to the Saturday Review we may perhaps remark that in this groundless assertion the skilled reader will find abundant proof of its loyalty to the reigning house . If it had called us wise , we might fairly have
inferred , on the principle of contraries , that it held us to be the fools it affects to believe us to be . But , bearing- in mind its peculiar idiosyncrasies , we may venture to proclaim that it does not really mean to insult His Royal Highness the Grand Master , and that it entertains tho most
profound and servile respect for his august brothers , who , in common with himself , have not disdained to enter the ranks of the so-called silly people who wear aprons and
collars in the strict seclusion of the Lodge . The Saturday , in fact , knows very well that some of the wisest and most august persons in the realm are members of the Fraternity . It is painfully conscious that its praise is regarded by all
The Saturday Review On The Installation.
honest men as libellous ; and with a forbearance which does it infinite honour , it restrains its first impulse , and in generous recognition of true worth it opens the stores of its vocabulary of abuse and liberally sprinkles the best men in this country with a proper allowance of vinegar aud gall . If it had
condescended to patronise , we honestly believe that no conspicuous Mason could have survived tho shame of the thing ; but since it is only venomous , the humblest brother may
take courage and breathe freely . We are spared the lasfc and greatest humiliation that could befall the Order , and may yet look forward to many years of honourable usefulness .
The Saturday Review grins heartily over its assumption that a Society pledged to secrecy should have taken the trouble to invite all the world , through the medium of the newspapers , to be present at the Installation . It assumes that after all the secret of Masonry is no secret , and that the' awful veil which has hitherto enshrouded the
Order has been lifted in the face of an eager and disappointed world , and the world has learned nothing . This is indeed partly true . Just so much of the proceedings of last week have been reported as could with propriety be reported to the public , and the Saturday knows as well
as anybody that the mystic portions of the ceremonial were not touched upon by the Masonic Members of tho Press who were present . If we could possibly suspect it of a sordid desire to obtain an insight into these mysteries without due initiation , we might fairly condole with it
upon its disappointment . Wo cannot however suspect it of anything which would so ill become the cultured prigs of its staff , and we aro therefore constrained to say that its rather trite reflections upon the secrets of the Order are only
laboured efforts at fun . We may have our own opinion as to the quality and flavour of the jests it has fired off , bub its good intentions are too patent to be misunderstood , and if we venture upon a word of serious reply we do so merely in consideration of the weakness of such of our readers as
may not be fully acquainted with this brilliant specimen of English journalism . It has been our sad lot to study its pages for some years past , and we bear willing testimony to the trying efforts it has made from week to week to keep up its very questionable reputation . When everything
that is good and noble in this world has been roundly abused , our old friend will have fulfilled its mission , and will then perchance sink peacefully into a benevolent old age . We trust this dreadful event is still distant . The Saturday Review in the character of a kindly and impartial
mentor would be too terrible an infliction for any sane man to endure . It must however look out for its laurels , brilliant young rivals are already in the field , and we fancy that its mixture of vinegar and gall has lost much of its old pungency .
Some of our brethren who imagine a reviewer ' s words have the usual current value , may possibly be annoyed at the assertion that we are fond of childish parade , and that there is nothing solid or valuable in Masonry . We ourselves take this statement as a compliment , and , for the benefit of weak
brethren only , we remind our critic that an Order which disburses upwards of £ 30 , 000 annually in Masonic Charity really devotes some of its leisure to serious work . We may further add that if it were worth while to wear the insignia of the Order in public , or to indulge in any parade
of our principles , the brethren would by no means be afraid of exciting the laughter of fools . Tho leaders of Masonry , however , wisely leave displays of this kind to the Friendly Societies , and aro too seriously intent upon the solid business of the Craft to care for the public show of finery .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Saturday Review On The Installation.
THE SATURDAY REVIEW ON THE INSTALLATION .
EIDICULE lias been somewhat illogically described as the test of truth . If it were so , Freemasonry ought to have perished long since . Some of the great masters of satire have exhausted the resources of their art upon it : it has been laughed at for its mysteries , for its symbolism , and for the uniform in which the brethren , it is supposed .
love to deck themselves . Carlyle has sneered at its " pasteboard temples , and its tinsel paraphernalia , " and the giants of the press have often gone out of their way to give the Order a sly dig . Yet , in spite of ridicule , Freemasonry flourishes , and nobody seems a bit the worse for
all the funny sayings or harsh things which have been flung at the Craft . Masons are not proverbial for being thin skinned , and if a professional jester chooses to laugh , like a yokel through a horse collar , at what he does not understand , they arc quite willing- to permit him to
grin to his heart ' s " content . Oar contemporary , the Saturday Review , in pursuance of its usual policy , has been making very merry over the Installation Ceremony , which has come like a godsend to a journal that has had little or nothing to laugh at since the Conservatives came
into office . The Saturday Review , of course , is nothing if it is not funny , incisive and bitter . Its writers are the literary Octopi of the journalistic world , and few things of any value escape the grasp of their envenomed tentacles . Experts accustomed to its style arc probably well aware
that the invective of tho Saturday is to be regarded as praise . It rarely attacks anything which is not worth attacking , and its vigorous abuse of a work of fiction , for example , is regarded by the publishing world as so much commendation . "Whenever it abuses a new book the
volume is sure to sell , and in America its adverse criticisms are regularly looked for by the publishing houses , which immediately reproduce any English work that is so fortunate as to draw the fire of this wonderful gall-squirt of literature . Nothing is so fatal as its praise . If it had condescended to
speak in terms of high commendation of Masonry , we , for our own parb , should seriously have considered the propriety of retiring from active Masonic duty . But since it has nothing but abuse to bestow upon us we are assured , if we ever needed any assurance of the kind , that Masonry is a
noble institution , and well worthy of the countenance and support of all right thinking men . It has the effrontery to tell its readers that Masons are silly persons , who are much addicted to the wearing of collars , emblems and aprons , and it adds that they are afraid to display these gorgeous
decorations in public lest the little boys should laugh at them . In justice to the Saturday Review we may perhaps remark that in this groundless assertion the skilled reader will find abundant proof of its loyalty to the reigning house . If it had called us wise , we might fairly have
inferred , on the principle of contraries , that it held us to be the fools it affects to believe us to be . But , bearing- in mind its peculiar idiosyncrasies , we may venture to proclaim that it does not really mean to insult His Royal Highness the Grand Master , and that it entertains tho most
profound and servile respect for his august brothers , who , in common with himself , have not disdained to enter the ranks of the so-called silly people who wear aprons and
collars in the strict seclusion of the Lodge . The Saturday , in fact , knows very well that some of the wisest and most august persons in the realm are members of the Fraternity . It is painfully conscious that its praise is regarded by all
The Saturday Review On The Installation.
honest men as libellous ; and with a forbearance which does it infinite honour , it restrains its first impulse , and in generous recognition of true worth it opens the stores of its vocabulary of abuse and liberally sprinkles the best men in this country with a proper allowance of vinegar aud gall . If it had
condescended to patronise , we honestly believe that no conspicuous Mason could have survived tho shame of the thing ; but since it is only venomous , the humblest brother may
take courage and breathe freely . We are spared the lasfc and greatest humiliation that could befall the Order , and may yet look forward to many years of honourable usefulness .
The Saturday Review grins heartily over its assumption that a Society pledged to secrecy should have taken the trouble to invite all the world , through the medium of the newspapers , to be present at the Installation . It assumes that after all the secret of Masonry is no secret , and that the' awful veil which has hitherto enshrouded the
Order has been lifted in the face of an eager and disappointed world , and the world has learned nothing . This is indeed partly true . Just so much of the proceedings of last week have been reported as could with propriety be reported to the public , and the Saturday knows as well
as anybody that the mystic portions of the ceremonial were not touched upon by the Masonic Members of tho Press who were present . If we could possibly suspect it of a sordid desire to obtain an insight into these mysteries without due initiation , we might fairly condole with it
upon its disappointment . Wo cannot however suspect it of anything which would so ill become the cultured prigs of its staff , and we aro therefore constrained to say that its rather trite reflections upon the secrets of the Order are only
laboured efforts at fun . We may have our own opinion as to the quality and flavour of the jests it has fired off , bub its good intentions are too patent to be misunderstood , and if we venture upon a word of serious reply we do so merely in consideration of the weakness of such of our readers as
may not be fully acquainted with this brilliant specimen of English journalism . It has been our sad lot to study its pages for some years past , and we bear willing testimony to the trying efforts it has made from week to week to keep up its very questionable reputation . When everything
that is good and noble in this world has been roundly abused , our old friend will have fulfilled its mission , and will then perchance sink peacefully into a benevolent old age . We trust this dreadful event is still distant . The Saturday Review in the character of a kindly and impartial
mentor would be too terrible an infliction for any sane man to endure . It must however look out for its laurels , brilliant young rivals are already in the field , and we fancy that its mixture of vinegar and gall has lost much of its old pungency .
Some of our brethren who imagine a reviewer ' s words have the usual current value , may possibly be annoyed at the assertion that we are fond of childish parade , and that there is nothing solid or valuable in Masonry . We ourselves take this statement as a compliment , and , for the benefit of weak
brethren only , we remind our critic that an Order which disburses upwards of £ 30 , 000 annually in Masonic Charity really devotes some of its leisure to serious work . We may further add that if it were worth while to wear the insignia of the Order in public , or to indulge in any parade
of our principles , the brethren would by no means be afraid of exciting the laughter of fools . Tho leaders of Masonry , however , wisely leave displays of this kind to the Friendly Societies , and aro too seriously intent upon the solid business of the Craft to care for the public show of finery .