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Article LATE HOURS IN FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article LATE HOURS IN FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Late Hours In Freemasonry.
LATE HOURS IN FREEMASONRY .
WITHIN a few days many brethren who are now enjoying the rest which is associated with the summer vacation so general among English Lodges will be making arrangements for the opening of their regular
Masonic season , and no doubt there are some among them who will , at the same time , form good resolutions as to the part they will play in the work which will have to be performed . There is plenty of room for improvement , on almost every side , and while it is our present intention to leave individual brethren to discover for themselves
those matters which effect them personally , there are others of a more general character the ventilation of which in our columns may prove beneficial . Among the
latter we may mention an evil—the cause of great inconvenience to a large number of brethren—which appears to grow year by year , and which often robs Masonic gatherings of much of the enjoyment which forms so important a feature in connection with the actual labour of
Freemasonry . We allude to the late hours to which meetings are prolonged , and the indifference with which the members of some Lodges appear to regard the comfort of their guests or others who may have to make a journey
before reaching home . In many quarters where all that is possible is done to " welcome the coming guest , " but little is done to " speed the parting " one , and the result is that those who have not taken the precaution to ascertain full
particulars in regard to the local train service not unfrequently find themselves , after thorough enjoyment at a Lodge meeting , in a difficulty as to how to get home , with the result that they not only lose all remembrance of their
enjoyment , but come to look upon their outing as resulting in inconvenience rather than pleasure . Improvement of this state of affairs can only come from one source—those
who arrange the programme for a Masonic meeting must make all necessary allowances . Otherwise reform is impossible .
In order to suggest a method of removing the evil we must first trace its origin , and in doing so we find that various causes are at work which tend to delay the close
of Masonic gatherings , but principal amongst these are the desire to accomplish too much in a given time , and the lack of punctuality on the part of officers and candidates .
whose absence at an appointed time causes delay in the regular carrying out of the programme . To these may be added the charge of forgetfulness on the part of those who live but a short distance from the place of meeting that there are others who may have a long journey before
them . The most frequent cause of late hours is , undoubtedly , the desire to crowd too much work into the short space of time which can be devoted to a meeting , and this is
particularly the case on Installation nights , when , in addition to the ceremony inseparable from the regular change of officers , it is not unusual to work each of the three decrees . When this is attempted without due allowance being made
for the many exceptional delays which may arise on such occasions , it results in the Lodge being kept at work an hour or more beyond the time arranged for . Then more time is lost over the banquet , which is seldom completed
within the period reckoned upon , so that by the time the Worshipful Master starts upon the toast list he finds himself face to face with the difficulty of having to compress
Late Hours In Freemasonry.
two or three hours' work into one , or else delay the time for closing far beyond that originally intended . The result of all this is , as most of us are aware , to rob the after proceedings of much of that enjoyment they are usually expected to afford , whilst it places many of the guests in
the unfortunate predicament of having to leave the meeting immediately after the banquet , or give up all idea of reaching home until the next day . We do not suggest that the ceremonial work on such occasions should be
limited to that of Installation , but we would urge that unless it is absolutely certain everything can be completed by a given time , the work of initiation should be the only
other degree attempted . There can be no sufficient reason to urge in opposition to our proposal that the advancement of candidates for the second or third degrees should be postponed on such occasions , if arrangements cannot be made to work the ceremonies without interfering with the comfort of the general body of members ; while , on the
contrary , there is much to recommend such a course , foremost among the arguments being , the desire to secure for a Lodge the reputation of finishing at a time which suits the convenience of both its visitors and its members . It
is not unusual for officials to pride themselves on the amount of work they bad before them on the day of installation , and although it may be customary to refer to
a full agenda in terms of approval , we very much question if , on reflection , the inconvenience which frequently results does not more than counterbalance any feeling of satisfaction entertained at the time . We think it natural that
a newly installed Worshipful Master should desire to initiate any candidates who may come forward on the day of his installation , more especially as it frequently happens they are personal friends , whom he may desire to have around him on the first occasion of his presiding in
the Lodge , but the same arguments seldom apply in the case of candidates for advancement . Doubtless they are anxious to get through a 3 speedily as possible , but there
are very few cases in which a month ' s delay is of serious moment , and of course it is always possible to make an exception on behalf of such candidates when occasion requires .
So much has been said in regard to punctuality , both of officers and candidates , that there is little room for further comment , but as the lack of punctuality forms so
can but devote a few lines to it . Custom has ordained in many cases that a call for six o'clock means half-past , and as this system of half-an-hour ' s grace is beginning to be adopted in Masonic matters , we would suggest that
allowimportant a factor in the subject under consideration , we
ance be made for it in future . If a Master desires to open his Lodge at four o ' clock , it would seem to be necessary to call it at half-past three for four , but a moment ' s reflection will show how absurd this would appear on an agenda
embracing perhaps three degrees and the installation , each of which would have to be doubly timed . Even this would , however , be better than having to wait for a candidate , an event which has become far too frequent of late , and is
an annoyance mainly due to the introducer , who should impress on his friend that in Masonry punctuality is an essential qualification . In calculating the time during which a Lodge will be open , too little attention is paid to the fact
that frequent interruptions cannot be prevented , more especially when there are several visitors attending the meeting , and although these interruptions are
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Late Hours In Freemasonry.
LATE HOURS IN FREEMASONRY .
WITHIN a few days many brethren who are now enjoying the rest which is associated with the summer vacation so general among English Lodges will be making arrangements for the opening of their regular
Masonic season , and no doubt there are some among them who will , at the same time , form good resolutions as to the part they will play in the work which will have to be performed . There is plenty of room for improvement , on almost every side , and while it is our present intention to leave individual brethren to discover for themselves
those matters which effect them personally , there are others of a more general character the ventilation of which in our columns may prove beneficial . Among the
latter we may mention an evil—the cause of great inconvenience to a large number of brethren—which appears to grow year by year , and which often robs Masonic gatherings of much of the enjoyment which forms so important a feature in connection with the actual labour of
Freemasonry . We allude to the late hours to which meetings are prolonged , and the indifference with which the members of some Lodges appear to regard the comfort of their guests or others who may have to make a journey
before reaching home . In many quarters where all that is possible is done to " welcome the coming guest , " but little is done to " speed the parting " one , and the result is that those who have not taken the precaution to ascertain full
particulars in regard to the local train service not unfrequently find themselves , after thorough enjoyment at a Lodge meeting , in a difficulty as to how to get home , with the result that they not only lose all remembrance of their
enjoyment , but come to look upon their outing as resulting in inconvenience rather than pleasure . Improvement of this state of affairs can only come from one source—those
who arrange the programme for a Masonic meeting must make all necessary allowances . Otherwise reform is impossible .
In order to suggest a method of removing the evil we must first trace its origin , and in doing so we find that various causes are at work which tend to delay the close
of Masonic gatherings , but principal amongst these are the desire to accomplish too much in a given time , and the lack of punctuality on the part of officers and candidates .
whose absence at an appointed time causes delay in the regular carrying out of the programme . To these may be added the charge of forgetfulness on the part of those who live but a short distance from the place of meeting that there are others who may have a long journey before
them . The most frequent cause of late hours is , undoubtedly , the desire to crowd too much work into the short space of time which can be devoted to a meeting , and this is
particularly the case on Installation nights , when , in addition to the ceremony inseparable from the regular change of officers , it is not unusual to work each of the three decrees . When this is attempted without due allowance being made
for the many exceptional delays which may arise on such occasions , it results in the Lodge being kept at work an hour or more beyond the time arranged for . Then more time is lost over the banquet , which is seldom completed
within the period reckoned upon , so that by the time the Worshipful Master starts upon the toast list he finds himself face to face with the difficulty of having to compress
Late Hours In Freemasonry.
two or three hours' work into one , or else delay the time for closing far beyond that originally intended . The result of all this is , as most of us are aware , to rob the after proceedings of much of that enjoyment they are usually expected to afford , whilst it places many of the guests in
the unfortunate predicament of having to leave the meeting immediately after the banquet , or give up all idea of reaching home until the next day . We do not suggest that the ceremonial work on such occasions should be
limited to that of Installation , but we would urge that unless it is absolutely certain everything can be completed by a given time , the work of initiation should be the only
other degree attempted . There can be no sufficient reason to urge in opposition to our proposal that the advancement of candidates for the second or third degrees should be postponed on such occasions , if arrangements cannot be made to work the ceremonies without interfering with the comfort of the general body of members ; while , on the
contrary , there is much to recommend such a course , foremost among the arguments being , the desire to secure for a Lodge the reputation of finishing at a time which suits the convenience of both its visitors and its members . It
is not unusual for officials to pride themselves on the amount of work they bad before them on the day of installation , and although it may be customary to refer to
a full agenda in terms of approval , we very much question if , on reflection , the inconvenience which frequently results does not more than counterbalance any feeling of satisfaction entertained at the time . We think it natural that
a newly installed Worshipful Master should desire to initiate any candidates who may come forward on the day of his installation , more especially as it frequently happens they are personal friends , whom he may desire to have around him on the first occasion of his presiding in
the Lodge , but the same arguments seldom apply in the case of candidates for advancement . Doubtless they are anxious to get through a 3 speedily as possible , but there
are very few cases in which a month ' s delay is of serious moment , and of course it is always possible to make an exception on behalf of such candidates when occasion requires .
So much has been said in regard to punctuality , both of officers and candidates , that there is little room for further comment , but as the lack of punctuality forms so
can but devote a few lines to it . Custom has ordained in many cases that a call for six o'clock means half-past , and as this system of half-an-hour ' s grace is beginning to be adopted in Masonic matters , we would suggest that
allowimportant a factor in the subject under consideration , we
ance be made for it in future . If a Master desires to open his Lodge at four o ' clock , it would seem to be necessary to call it at half-past three for four , but a moment ' s reflection will show how absurd this would appear on an agenda
embracing perhaps three degrees and the installation , each of which would have to be doubly timed . Even this would , however , be better than having to wait for a candidate , an event which has become far too frequent of late , and is
an annoyance mainly due to the introducer , who should impress on his friend that in Masonry punctuality is an essential qualification . In calculating the time during which a Lodge will be open , too little attention is paid to the fact
that frequent interruptions cannot be prevented , more especially when there are several visitors attending the meeting , and although these interruptions are