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Article THE FREEMASON. No. II. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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The Freemason. No. Ii.
mediately—indeed Tom Tattle could never keep his own secrcfs : the consequences of . such imprudence have fiequeutly been fatal . Pie once lost a place by too freely and unguardedly communicating liis intention and the source of his interest , by which means he was supplanted . Another time he lost a mistress by expatiating upon lier charms , and discovering that sfce had a fortune . Such attractions induced one of tha many to whom he imparted this secretto become
, acquainted with the lady , and poor Tom was again supplanted I This imprudent confidence has likewise subjected him to much ridicule ; his disappointments being always the more mortifying , as they were consequently known to his friends , who , according to custom , forbore not to deride the man who could not be silent till he had an occasion to speak . Misfortunes are rendered double by becoming
public ; thus it is with Tom Tattle : he goes to every one to let them jknow that he intends to wait upon my lord to-morrow to ask such a favour—to-morrow comes , and he is obliged to confess his lordshi p refused him . Whenever any one , according to the usual phrase , and as a prelude to some discovery , says , Can you be secret ? the question ¦ hurts his pride , and he promises to be as silent as the grave ; 'but hij
tongue , hke the tomb-stone , tells every passer-by what the contents . are . This has brought poor Tom' into many scrapes—he has been obliged to fi ght several duels , but , till shot through the head , he will never be able to keep a secret . ¦ ¦ ' Not so with Jack Wary : he is so exceedingly cautions and reserved , that all his actions are to himself only . — -No one knows how much he owes , or how much is due to him ; yet Jack can be
communicative at times ; it is not , however , to Tom Tattle that he would impart any of his secrets , but to one of his own stamp , who can be equally prudent and reserved . Such is the character of Jack , that his friendshi p is universa / . y courted . He is never involved in any quarrel—he never offendshe never breaks his word—and , as he troubles no one with his own
affairs , of course he escapes all the sarcastic rubs of his nei ghbours . Notwithstanding , Jack can be on some occasions inquisitive—he will be curious when he means to be of service , and officious when anxious to perform the task of friendship . In this instance curiosity is laudable , though for the most part reprehensible . I shall , however , forbear -any further remarks upon curiosity ( as I mean it to be tlie subject of my next number ) , anil shall confine myself to the theme in question .
1 hese two characters were proposed to a Lodge for admission ; Tom , as it may be naturally concluded , was rejected ; while Jack , on account of his well-known prudence and integr ity , was immediately admitted : he soon arrived to the honour of becoming master , and met with the warm approbation of his Brethren . As secresy is little known among the ladies , it is , of course , chiefly condemned by them—they think there should be mo such thing ' ; yet the Miss who is on the point of galloping away for Gretna G . cen , would think it very-hard if' by the untimely ionuacitv" of hereon-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemason. No. Ii.
mediately—indeed Tom Tattle could never keep his own secrcfs : the consequences of . such imprudence have fiequeutly been fatal . Pie once lost a place by too freely and unguardedly communicating liis intention and the source of his interest , by which means he was supplanted . Another time he lost a mistress by expatiating upon lier charms , and discovering that sfce had a fortune . Such attractions induced one of tha many to whom he imparted this secretto become
, acquainted with the lady , and poor Tom was again supplanted I This imprudent confidence has likewise subjected him to much ridicule ; his disappointments being always the more mortifying , as they were consequently known to his friends , who , according to custom , forbore not to deride the man who could not be silent till he had an occasion to speak . Misfortunes are rendered double by becoming
public ; thus it is with Tom Tattle : he goes to every one to let them jknow that he intends to wait upon my lord to-morrow to ask such a favour—to-morrow comes , and he is obliged to confess his lordshi p refused him . Whenever any one , according to the usual phrase , and as a prelude to some discovery , says , Can you be secret ? the question ¦ hurts his pride , and he promises to be as silent as the grave ; 'but hij
tongue , hke the tomb-stone , tells every passer-by what the contents . are . This has brought poor Tom' into many scrapes—he has been obliged to fi ght several duels , but , till shot through the head , he will never be able to keep a secret . ¦ ¦ ' Not so with Jack Wary : he is so exceedingly cautions and reserved , that all his actions are to himself only . — -No one knows how much he owes , or how much is due to him ; yet Jack can be
communicative at times ; it is not , however , to Tom Tattle that he would impart any of his secrets , but to one of his own stamp , who can be equally prudent and reserved . Such is the character of Jack , that his friendshi p is universa / . y courted . He is never involved in any quarrel—he never offendshe never breaks his word—and , as he troubles no one with his own
affairs , of course he escapes all the sarcastic rubs of his nei ghbours . Notwithstanding , Jack can be on some occasions inquisitive—he will be curious when he means to be of service , and officious when anxious to perform the task of friendship . In this instance curiosity is laudable , though for the most part reprehensible . I shall , however , forbear -any further remarks upon curiosity ( as I mean it to be tlie subject of my next number ) , anil shall confine myself to the theme in question .
1 hese two characters were proposed to a Lodge for admission ; Tom , as it may be naturally concluded , was rejected ; while Jack , on account of his well-known prudence and integr ity , was immediately admitted : he soon arrived to the honour of becoming master , and met with the warm approbation of his Brethren . As secresy is little known among the ladies , it is , of course , chiefly condemned by them—they think there should be mo such thing ' ; yet the Miss who is on the point of galloping away for Gretna G . cen , would think it very-hard if' by the untimely ionuacitv" of hereon-