Skip to main content
Museum of Freemasonry

Masonic Periodicals Online

  • Explore
  • Advanced Search
  • Home
  • Explore
  • The Freemason's Chronicle
  • April 24, 1897
  • Page 4
Current:

The Freemason's Chronicle, April 24, 1897: Page 4

  • Back to The Freemason's Chronicle, April 24, 1897
  • Print image
  • Articles/Ads
    Article STONE LAYING IN LANCASHIRE. Page 1 of 1
    Article DIANA VAUGHAN A MYTH. Page 1 of 2 →
Page 4

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Stone Laying In Lancashire.

STONE LAYING IN LANCASHIRE .

THE laying of the memorial stone of St . Matthew ' s Parochial Hall , Bootle , took place on Tuesday , 20 th inst ., with full Masonic ceremonial , the function being performed by the Eight Hon . the Earl of Lathom , G . C . B ., M . W . Pro Grand Master Prov . G . M . West Lancashire . The work in the parish of St . Matthew has for some years been very much hindered owing

to the want of a building for Sunday School purposes , and for all the various organisations that are necessary to meet the requirements of a working class parish . In 1893 the congregation held a bazaar in order to raise funds for such a building , and cleared £ 570 . , About two . years afterwards a further sum of £ 300 was obtained , this amount representing weekly

subscriptions collected from a large number of people in the parish . Subscriptions from friends at a distance have realised about £ 250 . This year a Jubilee Fund has . been organised , and up to the present amounts to £ 400 . The total sum in hand and promised amounts to £ 1 , 520 . The contract for the first portion of the hall is for £ 1 , 900 . The building committee have ,

therefore , to meet a deficiency of £ 380 on the first portion , and there is still the second portion to be built , which will cost about £ 1 , 000 more . The plans for the new hall were originally designed by the late Mr . Charles Aldridge , and are being carried out under the superintendence of Messrs . Willink and Thicknesse , Liverpool . The contractors are Messrs . G . Wood and Son . That portion of the building at present contracted for will

provide a hall capable of accommodating about 400 people . This hall can be divided by folding doors so as to make one part available as a working men ' s club , and leave the other part available for meetings . " There will be a large room for a young men ' s club , and a fine apartment for the Young Women ' s Bible Class . The upper portion , which the committee are not in a position to undertake at present , will provide a large entertainment hall , with a gallery .

A special Provincial Grand Lodge was opened in connection with the event at the Masonic Hall , Merton Eoad , Bootle , and from there the Brethren , in Masonic clothing , marched in procession , headed by the Borough Brass Band , to the site of the new hall behind St . Matthew ' s Church , where a large gathering had assembled within the enclosure before the arrival of the procession .

The Earl of Lathom was supported by a large number of Provincial Grand Officers , Worshipful Masters , Past Masters , Wardens , and Brethren of Lodges of his Province . After the procession had entered the enclosure and the officiating Brethren had taken up their positions , the Eev . A . W . Oliver , Chairman of the Building Committee , requested the

Earl of Lathom to lay the memorial stone , at the same time presenting him with a silver trowel for this purpose . He said it was with very great pleasure he welcomed his lordship to St . Matthew ' s parish , and on behalf of his people and on his own behalf he thanked him for this second proof of his kindness .

Since his lordship laid the memorial stone of St . Matthew ' s Church six years ago the vicarage had been built , and they were now about to erect a parochial hall , which was essential to the work of the parish . They had had a long struggle to raise the £ 1 , 520 , and they still needed £ 380 to complete the first portion of the hall .

Before laying the stone the Prov . Grand Master briefly addressed the gathering . He hoped the hall would prove a great benefit and boon to the parish , that the work would be soon accomplished , and that the money required would shortly be obtained . He thanked the vicar for the presentation of the trowel , and said that the records of Masonry had been handed

down by honourable men from generation to generation , and the fact that there were so many conspicuous personages in the country associated with the Order was a striking proof of its loyalty and charitable aims . He then laid the memorial stone in accordance with the . accustomed Masonic formula . At the conclusion of the ceremony the procession returned to the Masonic Hall .

We have a letter from Bro . Frank James , whose long association with the St . Matthew Lodge , No . 539 , Walsall , we recently referred to , in which he tells us that the report of his installation was hardly correct as it reached us . Bro . James

was not one of the founders of his . Lodge , in 1847 , but was initiated in the Lodge in March 1848 , so that his jubilee of membership will occur during his present year of office as W . M . We cordially express the hope that he may continue to enjoy good health until March next , in order to then celebrate the

almost unique . event in regard to Masonic membership . Brother James was the first Worshipful Master of the Lodge who was initiated in it , so that he has a very good racord , and one that comparatively few Brethren are able to equal .

Diana Vaughan A Myth.

DIANA VAUGHAN A MYTH .

NO one acquainted with the methods of Parisian " mystificateurs , " or hoaxers , ever believed in the supernatural influence of Miss Diana Vaughan , any more than in the genuine conversion of M . Leo Taxil to Catholicism . The latter has now made a general confession before the public , and unblushingly proclaimed that he has been for years hoaxing Pope , Cardinals ,

priests , and . people . Brief telegraphic repprts of the Taxil meeting may have reached London , but the affair is worthy of full details , owing to the extraordinary nature of the imposture carried out by the supposed convert from Atheism and French Freemasonry . M . Leo Taxil , alias Gabriel Jogand , wrote some years ago a series of anti-religious novels and pamphlets . He

pretended to reveal the mysteries of the Vatican , and to make backstairs revelations about distinguished eccjesiastics . Then he suddenly repented , retracted all his evil allegations , and went to confession to a Jesuit priest ; and it was believed by hundreds of simple-minded persons , unversed in the guile of the world , that M . Taxil was a sound , practical , and intelligent convert ,

who was an undoubted acquisition to Catholicism , Three years ago the supposed convert was identified with the publication of a book called " The Devil in the Nineteenth Century , " The author was supposed to be a Doctor Bataille , an ex-aurgeon in the merchant service , who recounted as a witness events in the extraordinary career of a young person named Diana Vaughan . This

damsel was said to be born of Protestant parents away down in Kentucky , and to have been made Palladian Grand Mistress of the Supreme and Mysterious Lodge of Universal Freemasonry . In this capacity Diana was alleged to have married the Devil , Asmodeus , who was commander-in-chief of seventy legions of Satanic spirits . After these monstrosities had been launched ,

other publications entitled " Memoirs of an ex-Palladist " and " The Eucharistic Novena " announced that Diana Vaughan had been converted to Catholicism . She was patronised , although she had never been seen , by Cardinal Parocchi , and even by the Pope himself . M . Leo Taxil published her fame far and wide in religious newspapers and periodicals , but in spite of all this some

Catholics began to have strong suspicions , and at an anti-Masonic Congress held last year in Trent her existence was denied . This was supposed by the believers in Diana to be a bold step , for one man who had doubted suddenly found his head twisted around one night , and he remained for three weeks with his face where

his poll ought to have been , and vice versa , until Miss Vaughan condescended to come from America in order to readjust him . In the meantime the sceptics and unbelievers who refused to regard Diana as aught but a mythical personage , persistently called on . M . Taxil to produce her in the flesh , and to let heir be seen and heard .

This the supposed convert promised to do , and he accordingly convoked a meeting , which took place in the Geographical Society ' s hall on tbe Boulevard Saint-Germain , and was attended by many persons , including numerous priests . It was promised that Diana would make statements about Palladism , the full truths of which were not to be revealed until 1912 . There were

also to be luminous projections showing a Palladist as one of the Magi ; and the pact which he had made with the serpent cut in three ; the treaty between Thomas Vaughan and Lucifer , son of the Morning ; photographs of Albert Pike , Miss Liliana Pike , John Vaughan , and the damsel herself , who was supposed to have contracted a diabolical marriage . It was also expected

that a book was to be seen which had been written by the devil ; and much was heard about a picture of Miss Vaughan receiving a steel crown , made in the caverns of Gibraltar , from the hands of Asmodeus , her satanic husband . All this imposture was frankly and audaciously unveiled by its organiser amid scenes of protestation and uproar ; Before he spoke ,

M . Taxil allowed a Turkish newspaper correspondent to win a type-writing machine , that prize being offered by the hoaxer to suit his own purpose . Then the creator of Diana Vaughan calmly announced that he was born a perpetrator of jokes at the expense of credulous humanity . Ftunistcrie was the foundation of his character as a Marseilles man , and at the age of nineteen

he had terrified his fellow-townsmen by announcing that the port of the southern city was invaded by sharks of the most terrible species . He also announced that there was a lost city under the Lake of Geneva ; and some people believed that they saw cafes-chantants , houses , and gardens deep down in the recesses of Blue Lake Leinan . A Polish archjeologist even went so far as to write a treatise on the matter , in which he said that

he had perceived something like an equestrian statue at the bottom of the inland sea immortalised by Gibbon , Rosseau , Byron , and Madame de Stael . Then Taxil started the Diana Vaughan hoax . He was prayed for by fervent monks and nuns , who almost regarded him as a father of the church and a candidate for canonisation , since he unmasked the Freemasons and brought over to Catholicity women wedded to devils . At Rome he was received with open arms , and had an audience at

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1897-04-24, Page 4” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 7 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_24041897/page/4/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE GIRLS SCHOOL FESTIVAL. Article 1
A VINDICATION OF MASONRY. Article 1
THE GRAND MASTER'S HOSPITAL FUND. Article 1
UNITED GRAND LODGE. Article 1
CHURCH SERVICES. Article 1
RECOGNITION OF NEW ZEALAND. Article 2
"A SPRIG OF ACACIA." Article 2
MASONIC LOTTERIES. Article 3
DEVONSHIRE. Article 3
WEST LANCASHIRE. Article 3
LABOUR AND REFRESHMENT. Article 3
STONE LAYING IN LANCASHIRE. Article 4
DIANA VAUGHAN A MYTH. Article 4
Untitled Ad 5
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Article 7
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 7
RITUALISTIC WORK NOT ENOUGH. Article 7
LODGE MEETINGS NEXT WEEK. Article 8
DUE EXAMINATION. Article 8
MASONIC LAW. Article 8
REPORTS OF MEETINGS. Article 9
Untitled Ad 10
WORKING MEN MASONS. Article 11
Untitled Ad 11
Untitled Ad 11
Untitled Ad 11
The Theatres, &c. Article 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Page 1

Page 1

6 Articles
Page 2

Page 2

3 Articles
Page 3

Page 3

5 Articles
Page 4

Page 4

2 Articles
Page 5

Page 5

3 Articles
Page 6

Page 6

12 Articles
Page 7

Page 7

5 Articles
Page 8

Page 8

4 Articles
Page 9

Page 9

2 Articles
Page 10

Page 10

3 Articles
Page 11

Page 11

5 Articles
Page 12

Page 12

7 Articles
Page 4

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Stone Laying In Lancashire.

STONE LAYING IN LANCASHIRE .

THE laying of the memorial stone of St . Matthew ' s Parochial Hall , Bootle , took place on Tuesday , 20 th inst ., with full Masonic ceremonial , the function being performed by the Eight Hon . the Earl of Lathom , G . C . B ., M . W . Pro Grand Master Prov . G . M . West Lancashire . The work in the parish of St . Matthew has for some years been very much hindered owing

to the want of a building for Sunday School purposes , and for all the various organisations that are necessary to meet the requirements of a working class parish . In 1893 the congregation held a bazaar in order to raise funds for such a building , and cleared £ 570 . , About two . years afterwards a further sum of £ 300 was obtained , this amount representing weekly

subscriptions collected from a large number of people in the parish . Subscriptions from friends at a distance have realised about £ 250 . This year a Jubilee Fund has . been organised , and up to the present amounts to £ 400 . The total sum in hand and promised amounts to £ 1 , 520 . The contract for the first portion of the hall is for £ 1 , 900 . The building committee have ,

therefore , to meet a deficiency of £ 380 on the first portion , and there is still the second portion to be built , which will cost about £ 1 , 000 more . The plans for the new hall were originally designed by the late Mr . Charles Aldridge , and are being carried out under the superintendence of Messrs . Willink and Thicknesse , Liverpool . The contractors are Messrs . G . Wood and Son . That portion of the building at present contracted for will

provide a hall capable of accommodating about 400 people . This hall can be divided by folding doors so as to make one part available as a working men ' s club , and leave the other part available for meetings . " There will be a large room for a young men ' s club , and a fine apartment for the Young Women ' s Bible Class . The upper portion , which the committee are not in a position to undertake at present , will provide a large entertainment hall , with a gallery .

A special Provincial Grand Lodge was opened in connection with the event at the Masonic Hall , Merton Eoad , Bootle , and from there the Brethren , in Masonic clothing , marched in procession , headed by the Borough Brass Band , to the site of the new hall behind St . Matthew ' s Church , where a large gathering had assembled within the enclosure before the arrival of the procession .

The Earl of Lathom was supported by a large number of Provincial Grand Officers , Worshipful Masters , Past Masters , Wardens , and Brethren of Lodges of his Province . After the procession had entered the enclosure and the officiating Brethren had taken up their positions , the Eev . A . W . Oliver , Chairman of the Building Committee , requested the

Earl of Lathom to lay the memorial stone , at the same time presenting him with a silver trowel for this purpose . He said it was with very great pleasure he welcomed his lordship to St . Matthew ' s parish , and on behalf of his people and on his own behalf he thanked him for this second proof of his kindness .

Since his lordship laid the memorial stone of St . Matthew ' s Church six years ago the vicarage had been built , and they were now about to erect a parochial hall , which was essential to the work of the parish . They had had a long struggle to raise the £ 1 , 520 , and they still needed £ 380 to complete the first portion of the hall .

Before laying the stone the Prov . Grand Master briefly addressed the gathering . He hoped the hall would prove a great benefit and boon to the parish , that the work would be soon accomplished , and that the money required would shortly be obtained . He thanked the vicar for the presentation of the trowel , and said that the records of Masonry had been handed

down by honourable men from generation to generation , and the fact that there were so many conspicuous personages in the country associated with the Order was a striking proof of its loyalty and charitable aims . He then laid the memorial stone in accordance with the . accustomed Masonic formula . At the conclusion of the ceremony the procession returned to the Masonic Hall .

We have a letter from Bro . Frank James , whose long association with the St . Matthew Lodge , No . 539 , Walsall , we recently referred to , in which he tells us that the report of his installation was hardly correct as it reached us . Bro . James

was not one of the founders of his . Lodge , in 1847 , but was initiated in the Lodge in March 1848 , so that his jubilee of membership will occur during his present year of office as W . M . We cordially express the hope that he may continue to enjoy good health until March next , in order to then celebrate the

almost unique . event in regard to Masonic membership . Brother James was the first Worshipful Master of the Lodge who was initiated in it , so that he has a very good racord , and one that comparatively few Brethren are able to equal .

Diana Vaughan A Myth.

DIANA VAUGHAN A MYTH .

NO one acquainted with the methods of Parisian " mystificateurs , " or hoaxers , ever believed in the supernatural influence of Miss Diana Vaughan , any more than in the genuine conversion of M . Leo Taxil to Catholicism . The latter has now made a general confession before the public , and unblushingly proclaimed that he has been for years hoaxing Pope , Cardinals ,

priests , and . people . Brief telegraphic repprts of the Taxil meeting may have reached London , but the affair is worthy of full details , owing to the extraordinary nature of the imposture carried out by the supposed convert from Atheism and French Freemasonry . M . Leo Taxil , alias Gabriel Jogand , wrote some years ago a series of anti-religious novels and pamphlets . He

pretended to reveal the mysteries of the Vatican , and to make backstairs revelations about distinguished eccjesiastics . Then he suddenly repented , retracted all his evil allegations , and went to confession to a Jesuit priest ; and it was believed by hundreds of simple-minded persons , unversed in the guile of the world , that M . Taxil was a sound , practical , and intelligent convert ,

who was an undoubted acquisition to Catholicism , Three years ago the supposed convert was identified with the publication of a book called " The Devil in the Nineteenth Century , " The author was supposed to be a Doctor Bataille , an ex-aurgeon in the merchant service , who recounted as a witness events in the extraordinary career of a young person named Diana Vaughan . This

damsel was said to be born of Protestant parents away down in Kentucky , and to have been made Palladian Grand Mistress of the Supreme and Mysterious Lodge of Universal Freemasonry . In this capacity Diana was alleged to have married the Devil , Asmodeus , who was commander-in-chief of seventy legions of Satanic spirits . After these monstrosities had been launched ,

other publications entitled " Memoirs of an ex-Palladist " and " The Eucharistic Novena " announced that Diana Vaughan had been converted to Catholicism . She was patronised , although she had never been seen , by Cardinal Parocchi , and even by the Pope himself . M . Leo Taxil published her fame far and wide in religious newspapers and periodicals , but in spite of all this some

Catholics began to have strong suspicions , and at an anti-Masonic Congress held last year in Trent her existence was denied . This was supposed by the believers in Diana to be a bold step , for one man who had doubted suddenly found his head twisted around one night , and he remained for three weeks with his face where

his poll ought to have been , and vice versa , until Miss Vaughan condescended to come from America in order to readjust him . In the meantime the sceptics and unbelievers who refused to regard Diana as aught but a mythical personage , persistently called on . M . Taxil to produce her in the flesh , and to let heir be seen and heard .

This the supposed convert promised to do , and he accordingly convoked a meeting , which took place in the Geographical Society ' s hall on tbe Boulevard Saint-Germain , and was attended by many persons , including numerous priests . It was promised that Diana would make statements about Palladism , the full truths of which were not to be revealed until 1912 . There were

also to be luminous projections showing a Palladist as one of the Magi ; and the pact which he had made with the serpent cut in three ; the treaty between Thomas Vaughan and Lucifer , son of the Morning ; photographs of Albert Pike , Miss Liliana Pike , John Vaughan , and the damsel herself , who was supposed to have contracted a diabolical marriage . It was also expected

that a book was to be seen which had been written by the devil ; and much was heard about a picture of Miss Vaughan receiving a steel crown , made in the caverns of Gibraltar , from the hands of Asmodeus , her satanic husband . All this imposture was frankly and audaciously unveiled by its organiser amid scenes of protestation and uproar ; Before he spoke ,

M . Taxil allowed a Turkish newspaper correspondent to win a type-writing machine , that prize being offered by the hoaxer to suit his own purpose . Then the creator of Diana Vaughan calmly announced that he was born a perpetrator of jokes at the expense of credulous humanity . Ftunistcrie was the foundation of his character as a Marseilles man , and at the age of nineteen

he had terrified his fellow-townsmen by announcing that the port of the southern city was invaded by sharks of the most terrible species . He also announced that there was a lost city under the Lake of Geneva ; and some people believed that they saw cafes-chantants , houses , and gardens deep down in the recesses of Blue Lake Leinan . A Polish archjeologist even went so far as to write a treatise on the matter , in which he said that

he had perceived something like an equestrian statue at the bottom of the inland sea immortalised by Gibbon , Rosseau , Byron , and Madame de Stael . Then Taxil started the Diana Vaughan hoax . He was prayed for by fervent monks and nuns , who almost regarded him as a father of the church and a candidate for canonisation , since he unmasked the Freemasons and brought over to Catholicity women wedded to devils . At Rome he was received with open arms , and had an audience at

  • Prev page
  • 1
  • 3
  • You're on page4
  • 5
  • 12
  • Next page
  • Accredited Museum Designated Outstanding Collection
  • LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1058497 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025

  • Accessibility statement

  • Designed, developed, and maintained by King's Digital Lab

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & cookie policy