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Article JOHN COUSTOS, FOR FREEMASONRY, ← Page 2 of 4 →
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John Coustos, For Freemasonry,
into another which admitted some glimmering of day-light . They appointed , at the same time , another prisoner to look after me during my sickness , which , very happily , was not of long continuance . Being recovered I was again brought before the Inquisitors , who asked me several new questions with regard to the secrets of Masonry ; " and whether , since my abode in Lisbon , I had received any Portuguese
" ¦ into the society ? " I replied " that I had not ,: that it was true , in" deed , that Don Emanuel de Sousa , Lord of Calliario , and captain of f the German guards , hearing that the person was at Lisbon who had " made the Duke de Villeroy a Freemason , by order of the French King , " Lewis the XV . Don Emanuel had desired M . de Cbavigny , at that " time Minister of France at the Portuguese courtto enquire for me
, ; " but that , upon my being told that the King oi Portugal would not " permit any of his subjects to be Freemasons , I had desired two of '' the brethren to wait on M . de Calliario above mentioned , and acquaint " him with my fears ; and to assure him , at the same time , that , in " - case he could obtain the king's leave , I was ready to receive him " into the Society ; I being resolved not to do any thing which miht
g " draw upon me the indignation of his Portuguese Majesty ; that M . " de Calliario , having a very strong desire to enter into our Society , ' " declared , that there was no foundation for what I had observed in "' ' regard to . his Majesty ' s prohibition , it being , unworthy the regal " dignity to concern itself with such trifles .. However , being certain " that what I had mentioned proceeded from very good authority , and
" knowing that M . de Calliario was a nobleman of great economy , I " found no other expedient to disengage myself from him , than by " demanding fifty , moidores for his admission ; a demand which , I " was persuaded , would soon lessen , if not entirely suppress , the violent * desire he mi ght have to enter into the Society . " To this one of the Inquisitors said , " That it was not only true
" that his PortugueseMa . jestyh . ad forbid any of his subjects . to be made " Freemasons , but that there had been fixed up , five years before , upon " the doors of all the churches in Lisbon , an order from his Holiness ' . ' strictly enjoining the Portuguese , in general not to enter into that So" ciety ; and even excommunicated all such as were then , or should ' . ' ¦ afterwardsbecome members , of it . "—Here I besought them to
, consider that , " If 1 had committed any offence in practising Masonry " at Lisbon , it was merely through ignorance , I having resided but two " years in Portugal ; that , farther , the circumstance just now men" tioned by them , entirely destroyed the charge brought against me , " viz .. of my being the person who had introduced Freemasonry in " . Portugal . " They answered , " That as I was one of the most zealous
* ' partisans of this Society , I could not but have heard , during my " abode in Lisbon , the orders issued by the Hol y Father . " I silenced them by the comparison I made between myself and a traveller ( a foreigner ) , who , going to their capital city , and spying two roads leading to it , one of which was expressl y forbid ( upon pain of the severest punishment ) to strangers , though without any indication or tokens being set-up for . this purpose ; that this stranger should thereby
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
John Coustos, For Freemasonry,
into another which admitted some glimmering of day-light . They appointed , at the same time , another prisoner to look after me during my sickness , which , very happily , was not of long continuance . Being recovered I was again brought before the Inquisitors , who asked me several new questions with regard to the secrets of Masonry ; " and whether , since my abode in Lisbon , I had received any Portuguese
" ¦ into the society ? " I replied " that I had not ,: that it was true , in" deed , that Don Emanuel de Sousa , Lord of Calliario , and captain of f the German guards , hearing that the person was at Lisbon who had " made the Duke de Villeroy a Freemason , by order of the French King , " Lewis the XV . Don Emanuel had desired M . de Cbavigny , at that " time Minister of France at the Portuguese courtto enquire for me
, ; " but that , upon my being told that the King oi Portugal would not " permit any of his subjects to be Freemasons , I had desired two of '' the brethren to wait on M . de Calliario above mentioned , and acquaint " him with my fears ; and to assure him , at the same time , that , in " - case he could obtain the king's leave , I was ready to receive him " into the Society ; I being resolved not to do any thing which miht
g " draw upon me the indignation of his Portuguese Majesty ; that M . " de Calliario , having a very strong desire to enter into our Society , ' " declared , that there was no foundation for what I had observed in "' ' regard to . his Majesty ' s prohibition , it being , unworthy the regal " dignity to concern itself with such trifles .. However , being certain " that what I had mentioned proceeded from very good authority , and
" knowing that M . de Calliario was a nobleman of great economy , I " found no other expedient to disengage myself from him , than by " demanding fifty , moidores for his admission ; a demand which , I " was persuaded , would soon lessen , if not entirely suppress , the violent * desire he mi ght have to enter into the Society . " To this one of the Inquisitors said , " That it was not only true
" that his PortugueseMa . jestyh . ad forbid any of his subjects . to be made " Freemasons , but that there had been fixed up , five years before , upon " the doors of all the churches in Lisbon , an order from his Holiness ' . ' strictly enjoining the Portuguese , in general not to enter into that So" ciety ; and even excommunicated all such as were then , or should ' . ' ¦ afterwardsbecome members , of it . "—Here I besought them to
, consider that , " If 1 had committed any offence in practising Masonry " at Lisbon , it was merely through ignorance , I having resided but two " years in Portugal ; that , farther , the circumstance just now men" tioned by them , entirely destroyed the charge brought against me , " viz .. of my being the person who had introduced Freemasonry in " . Portugal . " They answered , " That as I was one of the most zealous
* ' partisans of this Society , I could not but have heard , during my " abode in Lisbon , the orders issued by the Hol y Father . " I silenced them by the comparison I made between myself and a traveller ( a foreigner ) , who , going to their capital city , and spying two roads leading to it , one of which was expressl y forbid ( upon pain of the severest punishment ) to strangers , though without any indication or tokens being set-up for . this purpose ; that this stranger should thereby