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Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Corespondents . We cannot -undertake to return rejected communications . AU Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , not ¦ nciesswrily for publication , batt as n guarantee of good faith .
" OLD AND NEW LONDON . " To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —The above-named highly-interesting work , especially interesting to those who know something of the ins and outs of London , contains some references to Masons and Masonic subjects , some of which are entirely new to me , and as the author
gives no information Avhatever whence he derived his statements con - cerning these topics , I deem it my duty to call attention thereto , hoping that either yourself , or some other brother , will make enquiries of the author of " Old and New London " concerning the sources of his Masonic information . On page 272 , Vol . I ., I find tho following paragraph : —
" Dnring the building of St . Paul's , Wren was the zealous Master of St . Paul ' s Freemasons' Lodge , which assembled at the Goose and Gridiron ; one of the most ancient Lodges in London . He presided regularly at its meetings for upwards of eighteen years , he presented the Lodge with three beautifully-carved mahogany candlesticks , and the trowel and mallet which he used in laying the first stone of the
great Cathedral in 1 G 75 . In 1688 Wren was elected Grand Master of the Order , and he nominated his old fellow-workers at St . Paul ' s , Gibber the sculptor , and Strong the Master Mason , Grand Wardens . In Queen Anne's reign there were 129 Lodges—eighty-six in London , thirty-six in provincial cities , and seven abroad . Many of the oldest Lodges in London are in the neighbourhood of St . Paul's . "
The above paragraph is mainly taken from Preston ' s work , except the part which I italicise , viz .: — " In Queen Anne ' s reign , " & o . These 129 Lodges , and their division , are new to me ; if you cannot throw light upon the subject , nor any of your correspondents , Mr . Walter Thornbury , the author of " Old and New London , " should be questioned abont it .
On pago 28 of the same Vol . we havo the narrative of Christopher Sayer , a very foolish lawyer , a Jacobite , who was hanged for treason 1722 , and whose head was , in accordance with the then fashion , placed at the top of Temple Bar . In 1753 a storm threw down the rebel's skull ; Mr . Pierce , another foolish Jacobite lawyer ( though not quite as foolish as tho original owner of the i-kull ) , picked it up and carried it home . Dr . Richard Rawhuson , who , I regret to say , was
a more foolish Jacobite than lawyer Pierce , bought of Pierce tho skull for a good sum , and requested in his will to have tlio sai . l skull placed in his right hand when he was in his coffin , aud that he should be so buried . The general belief was that poor Rawlinson Avas cheated by Pierce , that the skull buried with him was not Sayer ' s skull at all . But , be thia as ifc may , our author adds -. — " Rawlinson was bantered by Addison in one of the Tatters for his pedantry , and ivas praised by Dr . Johnson for his learning . "
Had the name of Dr . Richard Rawlinson been unknown to me , I might have passed it over without any notice ; for it is not very uncommon to find learning and pedantry combined in the same individual ; such instances may even be found among Masonic writers . Bnt I happened to recollect that Dr . Rawlinson waa a very zealous Mason , who was a member of several Lodges , who left a number of
Masonic curiosities which are preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford , one of whose MSS . was published by Bro . Hughan in his " Old Charges . " A List of the English Lodges , compiled by Bro . Rawlinson in 1733 , furnished me additional and very important evidence , that tho then No . 79 on the English Lodge List did not belong to a Lodge located at Philadelphia ; and , however foolish I deemed
Bro . Rawlinson to have been on account of Jacobitish proclivity , and however much I may indulge now and then to expose the follies of Masonio brethren , yet , somehow or other , I feel a kind of nettled when an ontsider attacks a Mason . So 1 rushed to the Tatler , but I conld not find the name of Rawlinson therein . I knew , however , that the writers in the Tatler used to disguise names , and therefore did
not give up hope of ultimately finding out Avhat I wished to do . But I found another obstacle to the statement in " Old and New London- " our Masonic Cycloptodists date the birth of Rawlinson " 1690 . " The Tatler Avas written in 1709 j consequently , Rawlinson must have been then only nineteen years old . I could not , therefore , understand how tho great Addison , in his prime , could stoop to insult
in tho Tatler a boy of nineteen , To be brief , I subsequently found in Chalmers' Biographical Dictionary , Vol . XXVI ., Rawlinson ' s biography , as well as those of his father and of his elder brother , both of whom were named Thomas , and that in No . 158 in the Tatler Addison pitched unmercifully into "Tom Folio ; " which I must say ,
with good reason , is supposed to refer to Thomas Rawlinson , the brother of our brother Richard Rawlinson . The author of " Old and New Loudon " evidently made a mistake here . About three years ago I found the following letter in the Gentle , mau ' s Magazine of tho last century ; I forget the precise year , bnt I think it was after 1780 : —
"Mr . U . iKAN , —I oeg tho favour of some of your intelligent correspondents , to poin <; out a descriptive account of that most ridiculous procession of tho ' , ! cald Iliserablo Masons' in 1744 [ onght to be 17- - - ] , an 3 ngravin £ of which I remember to have seen . The projector of t at procos ion , ]' . have been told , was the late Paul Whitehead , who , to g atify son . picue against the Freemasons , Avho till then used to ha re a gran 1 annuid Masonic procession , set ifc on foot , and so contrived it that the two processions met each other , I believe whero
Correspondence.
Somerset House then stood , and at which place tho drawing represents them . " Bro . Walter Spencer in 1869 kindly presented me with a reprint of a picture corresponding with the above description , at the bottom of which tho following is printed : —
"SOUTH FRONT OF OLD SOMERSET HOUSE IN 1712 . " Copied from the view of the grand procession of the Scald Miserable Masons . " The said mock procession Avas doubtless a source of disgust to tho brethren in 17-42 ; no Masonic procession has been seen in London sinco then , and even in the country Masonic processions are restricted .
AVilliam Preston got into trouble for merely crossing tho street from his Lodge-room to a chnrch Avith his apron on ; the author of "Old and New London , " as I shall presently show , still cherishes an indignant feeling towards Whitehead , for his insult to the Grand Lodgo of England . But , nevertheless , I venture to assert / that we ought to be thankful to Whitehead for what ho did in 1712 . Onr Irish
American fellow citizens , Avho like the Masons on St . John ' s days , used to turn out here on St . Patrick ' s Day in public procession , with bands of music , banners , & c . Some of them even imitated our socalled Knights Templar , by wearing cocked hats , collars , sashes , and brandishing swords , & c . But last year , the moro sensible Irish citizens persuaded the others to discontinue that mediaeval
tornfoolery , and no St . Patrick ' s procession took place in Boston this year . Our Masons , however , who must stick to ancient landmarks , no matter how ridiculous they are , still continue to make fools of themselves on St . John ' s Day , and npon other occasions , by their public displays , to the disgust of our more enlightened brethren . In the last century the Masonic processions provoked a writer Avho
ridiculed the Masons in two satirical poems : and several articles condemning those processions appeared within a few years in our magazines , but all to no purpose . Thanks , therefore , to Mr . Paul Whitehead for having cured the English Masons of the folly of public processions , and he richly deserves a monument to bo placed in Freemasons' HaU for the good services he rendered to the Craft in 1742 .
Old and New London gives another version of a mock Masonic procession . The author says : — "It was this Whitehead , with Carey , the surgeon to tho Prince of Wales , who got up the mock procession in ridicule of the Freenwsons ' annual cavalcade from Brook-street to Haberdashers' Hall . The ribald procession consisted of shoeblacks and chimney sweeps , in
carts drawn by asses , followed by a mourning coach , with six horses , each of a different colour . The city authorities very properly refused to let them pass through Temple Bar , but they waited there , and saluted tbe Mason . * . Hogarth published a print of the " Scald misorables , " which is 'lull , and evjn coarse . The Prince of W > le » , with more good son ^ c tliun usual , dismissed Carey for hi- * buffoonery . " ( Vol . 1 , p 99 ) .
The description .-linn- jj-iven corresponds with a plate I saw at Bro . Spencer ' s i-stnblishment , a copv of which may be seen in " Hone's Every Day Hook , " Vol . II . p 523 . At the bottom of the picture is printed
"THE SOLEMN AND STATELY PROCESSION " Of the Scald Miserable Masons , " As it Avas martiall'd on Thursday , the 18 of this instant April . " It is evident that tho two mock processions were got up by tho same party , but as the one I last described does not mention the year , there is some doubt as to which of the two is the older . Mr .
Hone thought that his picture and description of the procession took place before 1742 . We have , however , one clue to discover the year , viz ., the year Avhon the 18 th of April was on Thursday , and if my authority is right , the 18 th April was on Thursday in 1745 . Bro , S . D . Nickerson , in the " New England Freemason , " Vol . I . p 529 ,
states , upon the authority of Dr . Oliver , that the procession described by Hone took place some time after 1742 . So far , Dr . Oliver may be right , but not so in the following quotation-. — "Anderson , " says Oliver ( as qnoted by Bro . Nickerson ) " thus notices the circumstance " : —
" Some unfaithful brethren , disappointed in their expectations of the high offices and honours of the Society , had joined a number of buffoons of the day in a scheme to exhibit a mockery of the public procession to the grand feast . This , as may well be supposed , furnished mirth to the gaping crowd , and disgust to the Fraternity , who , wisely recollecting themselves , determined in future to confiuo their operations within the limits of their own assembly . "
Bro . Nickerson probably copied the above from Oliver ' s " Revelations of a Square , " bub as I could not find the above in Anderson ' s own writings , we may put it down to Oliver ' s invention ; for if , as Oliver says , the procession , with mourning coach and carts drawn by asses , took place after 1742 , Anderson could not have objected to either of the processions , because Anderson icas deoA and buried
gears before either of ihe said processions toolv place . It is probable that Mr . Thornbury belongs to the Craft ; bub whether he does or not , ho ought to be intervieAVed by some intelligent Mason . Wo ought to learn from whence he derived the statement about the 129 Lodges in Queen Anno ' s time ; as well as h s information about Whitehead . Carey , and the Prince of Wales . Ona so extensively read in antiquarian fore may be in possession of other
sources of information that Avould e interesting to Masons . I hope , therefore , that some brother will f--el interested enough to take my hint , and I shall only add that ' Old and New London" is published by Messrs . Cassell , Petter , ; id Galpiu , where I have no doubt Mr . Thornbury ' s address could be -. scertained . Frat rnally yours , JACOB NORTON . Boston , 25 th April 1879 . P . S , —Since the above was wr . ttcn , I ascertained that the 18 th
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Corespondents . We cannot -undertake to return rejected communications . AU Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , not ¦ nciesswrily for publication , batt as n guarantee of good faith .
" OLD AND NEW LONDON . " To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —The above-named highly-interesting work , especially interesting to those who know something of the ins and outs of London , contains some references to Masons and Masonic subjects , some of which are entirely new to me , and as the author
gives no information Avhatever whence he derived his statements con - cerning these topics , I deem it my duty to call attention thereto , hoping that either yourself , or some other brother , will make enquiries of the author of " Old and New London " concerning the sources of his Masonic information . On page 272 , Vol . I ., I find tho following paragraph : —
" Dnring the building of St . Paul's , Wren was the zealous Master of St . Paul ' s Freemasons' Lodge , which assembled at the Goose and Gridiron ; one of the most ancient Lodges in London . He presided regularly at its meetings for upwards of eighteen years , he presented the Lodge with three beautifully-carved mahogany candlesticks , and the trowel and mallet which he used in laying the first stone of the
great Cathedral in 1 G 75 . In 1688 Wren was elected Grand Master of the Order , and he nominated his old fellow-workers at St . Paul ' s , Gibber the sculptor , and Strong the Master Mason , Grand Wardens . In Queen Anne's reign there were 129 Lodges—eighty-six in London , thirty-six in provincial cities , and seven abroad . Many of the oldest Lodges in London are in the neighbourhood of St . Paul's . "
The above paragraph is mainly taken from Preston ' s work , except the part which I italicise , viz .: — " In Queen Anne ' s reign , " & o . These 129 Lodges , and their division , are new to me ; if you cannot throw light upon the subject , nor any of your correspondents , Mr . Walter Thornbury , the author of " Old and New London , " should be questioned abont it .
On pago 28 of the same Vol . we havo the narrative of Christopher Sayer , a very foolish lawyer , a Jacobite , who was hanged for treason 1722 , and whose head was , in accordance with the then fashion , placed at the top of Temple Bar . In 1753 a storm threw down the rebel's skull ; Mr . Pierce , another foolish Jacobite lawyer ( though not quite as foolish as tho original owner of the i-kull ) , picked it up and carried it home . Dr . Richard Rawhuson , who , I regret to say , was
a more foolish Jacobite than lawyer Pierce , bought of Pierce tho skull for a good sum , and requested in his will to have tlio sai . l skull placed in his right hand when he was in his coffin , aud that he should be so buried . The general belief was that poor Rawlinson Avas cheated by Pierce , that the skull buried with him was not Sayer ' s skull at all . But , be thia as ifc may , our author adds -. — " Rawlinson was bantered by Addison in one of the Tatters for his pedantry , and ivas praised by Dr . Johnson for his learning . "
Had the name of Dr . Richard Rawlinson been unknown to me , I might have passed it over without any notice ; for it is not very uncommon to find learning and pedantry combined in the same individual ; such instances may even be found among Masonic writers . Bnt I happened to recollect that Dr . Rawlinson waa a very zealous Mason , who was a member of several Lodges , who left a number of
Masonic curiosities which are preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford , one of whose MSS . was published by Bro . Hughan in his " Old Charges . " A List of the English Lodges , compiled by Bro . Rawlinson in 1733 , furnished me additional and very important evidence , that tho then No . 79 on the English Lodge List did not belong to a Lodge located at Philadelphia ; and , however foolish I deemed
Bro . Rawlinson to have been on account of Jacobitish proclivity , and however much I may indulge now and then to expose the follies of Masonio brethren , yet , somehow or other , I feel a kind of nettled when an ontsider attacks a Mason . So 1 rushed to the Tatler , but I conld not find the name of Rawlinson therein . I knew , however , that the writers in the Tatler used to disguise names , and therefore did
not give up hope of ultimately finding out Avhat I wished to do . But I found another obstacle to the statement in " Old and New London- " our Masonic Cycloptodists date the birth of Rawlinson " 1690 . " The Tatler Avas written in 1709 j consequently , Rawlinson must have been then only nineteen years old . I could not , therefore , understand how tho great Addison , in his prime , could stoop to insult
in tho Tatler a boy of nineteen , To be brief , I subsequently found in Chalmers' Biographical Dictionary , Vol . XXVI ., Rawlinson ' s biography , as well as those of his father and of his elder brother , both of whom were named Thomas , and that in No . 158 in the Tatler Addison pitched unmercifully into "Tom Folio ; " which I must say ,
with good reason , is supposed to refer to Thomas Rawlinson , the brother of our brother Richard Rawlinson . The author of " Old and New Loudon " evidently made a mistake here . About three years ago I found the following letter in the Gentle , mau ' s Magazine of tho last century ; I forget the precise year , bnt I think it was after 1780 : —
"Mr . U . iKAN , —I oeg tho favour of some of your intelligent correspondents , to poin <; out a descriptive account of that most ridiculous procession of tho ' , ! cald Iliserablo Masons' in 1744 [ onght to be 17- - - ] , an 3 ngravin £ of which I remember to have seen . The projector of t at procos ion , ]' . have been told , was the late Paul Whitehead , who , to g atify son . picue against the Freemasons , Avho till then used to ha re a gran 1 annuid Masonic procession , set ifc on foot , and so contrived it that the two processions met each other , I believe whero
Correspondence.
Somerset House then stood , and at which place tho drawing represents them . " Bro . Walter Spencer in 1869 kindly presented me with a reprint of a picture corresponding with the above description , at the bottom of which tho following is printed : —
"SOUTH FRONT OF OLD SOMERSET HOUSE IN 1712 . " Copied from the view of the grand procession of the Scald Miserable Masons . " The said mock procession Avas doubtless a source of disgust to tho brethren in 17-42 ; no Masonic procession has been seen in London sinco then , and even in the country Masonic processions are restricted .
AVilliam Preston got into trouble for merely crossing tho street from his Lodge-room to a chnrch Avith his apron on ; the author of "Old and New London , " as I shall presently show , still cherishes an indignant feeling towards Whitehead , for his insult to the Grand Lodgo of England . But , nevertheless , I venture to assert / that we ought to be thankful to Whitehead for what ho did in 1712 . Onr Irish
American fellow citizens , Avho like the Masons on St . John ' s days , used to turn out here on St . Patrick ' s Day in public procession , with bands of music , banners , & c . Some of them even imitated our socalled Knights Templar , by wearing cocked hats , collars , sashes , and brandishing swords , & c . But last year , the moro sensible Irish citizens persuaded the others to discontinue that mediaeval
tornfoolery , and no St . Patrick ' s procession took place in Boston this year . Our Masons , however , who must stick to ancient landmarks , no matter how ridiculous they are , still continue to make fools of themselves on St . John ' s Day , and npon other occasions , by their public displays , to the disgust of our more enlightened brethren . In the last century the Masonic processions provoked a writer Avho
ridiculed the Masons in two satirical poems : and several articles condemning those processions appeared within a few years in our magazines , but all to no purpose . Thanks , therefore , to Mr . Paul Whitehead for having cured the English Masons of the folly of public processions , and he richly deserves a monument to bo placed in Freemasons' HaU for the good services he rendered to the Craft in 1742 .
Old and New London gives another version of a mock Masonic procession . The author says : — "It was this Whitehead , with Carey , the surgeon to tho Prince of Wales , who got up the mock procession in ridicule of the Freenwsons ' annual cavalcade from Brook-street to Haberdashers' Hall . The ribald procession consisted of shoeblacks and chimney sweeps , in
carts drawn by asses , followed by a mourning coach , with six horses , each of a different colour . The city authorities very properly refused to let them pass through Temple Bar , but they waited there , and saluted tbe Mason . * . Hogarth published a print of the " Scald misorables , " which is 'lull , and evjn coarse . The Prince of W > le » , with more good son ^ c tliun usual , dismissed Carey for hi- * buffoonery . " ( Vol . 1 , p 99 ) .
The description .-linn- jj-iven corresponds with a plate I saw at Bro . Spencer ' s i-stnblishment , a copv of which may be seen in " Hone's Every Day Hook , " Vol . II . p 523 . At the bottom of the picture is printed
"THE SOLEMN AND STATELY PROCESSION " Of the Scald Miserable Masons , " As it Avas martiall'd on Thursday , the 18 of this instant April . " It is evident that tho two mock processions were got up by tho same party , but as the one I last described does not mention the year , there is some doubt as to which of the two is the older . Mr .
Hone thought that his picture and description of the procession took place before 1742 . We have , however , one clue to discover the year , viz ., the year Avhon the 18 th of April was on Thursday , and if my authority is right , the 18 th April was on Thursday in 1745 . Bro , S . D . Nickerson , in the " New England Freemason , " Vol . I . p 529 ,
states , upon the authority of Dr . Oliver , that the procession described by Hone took place some time after 1742 . So far , Dr . Oliver may be right , but not so in the following quotation-. — "Anderson , " says Oliver ( as qnoted by Bro . Nickerson ) " thus notices the circumstance " : —
" Some unfaithful brethren , disappointed in their expectations of the high offices and honours of the Society , had joined a number of buffoons of the day in a scheme to exhibit a mockery of the public procession to the grand feast . This , as may well be supposed , furnished mirth to the gaping crowd , and disgust to the Fraternity , who , wisely recollecting themselves , determined in future to confiuo their operations within the limits of their own assembly . "
Bro . Nickerson probably copied the above from Oliver ' s " Revelations of a Square , " bub as I could not find the above in Anderson ' s own writings , we may put it down to Oliver ' s invention ; for if , as Oliver says , the procession , with mourning coach and carts drawn by asses , took place after 1742 , Anderson could not have objected to either of the processions , because Anderson icas deoA and buried
gears before either of ihe said processions toolv place . It is probable that Mr . Thornbury belongs to the Craft ; bub whether he does or not , ho ought to be intervieAVed by some intelligent Mason . Wo ought to learn from whence he derived the statement about the 129 Lodges in Queen Anno ' s time ; as well as h s information about Whitehead . Carey , and the Prince of Wales . Ona so extensively read in antiquarian fore may be in possession of other
sources of information that Avould e interesting to Masons . I hope , therefore , that some brother will f--el interested enough to take my hint , and I shall only add that ' Old and New London" is published by Messrs . Cassell , Petter , ; id Galpiu , where I have no doubt Mr . Thornbury ' s address could be -. scertained . Frat rnally yours , JACOB NORTON . Boston , 25 th April 1879 . P . S , —Since the above was wr . ttcn , I ascertained that the 18 th