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Article MASONIC ANECDOTE ← Page 2 of 2
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Masonic Anecdote
his father had conceived so unconquerable an aversion to Freemasons , that he would not have hesitated to have put any one to death whom lie should discover to have been instittmental in initiating the Prince Royal into the mysteries of the craft ; and such was the temper of the king , that he very probably would have been so enraged against his eldest son for entering into a society which he abhorred , that he would have disinherited him . Howeverboth the Prince and the
, Baron de Bielfeldt resolved to run all risques , and it was determined by the latter , who was one of his royal hi g hness ' s gentlemen of the bed-chamber , aind some other officers of his houshold , that at all events they would make him a Mason . They thought the fair of Brunswick would afford a favourable opportunity for putting their scheme . into execution , as there were always a great concourse of people in that
town during the fair , and that a Lodge might , therefore , be easily held there without giving people any reason to suspect the nature of the meeting . . The . baron and his friends accordingly provided themselves with all the apparatus necessary for holding a lodge ; and , having put them up in trunks , placed them in a waggon , which they attended in disguise . But an unlucky affair had like to have brought
on a discovery from which all the parties concerned might have apprehended the most fatal consequences . The officers of the customs , placed at the gates of Brunswick , examined the waggon as it was passing into the town , and finding a number of large candlesticks , and other things used in the Lodges of Freemasons , could not conceive for
what purpose they were intended , and were going to seize them and the drivers , when one of the latter , with some presence of mind , said they were poor harmless jugglers , who were going to exhibit numberless cyrious tricks at the fair , and that the contents of the trunks in the waggon were the ornaments of their little stage , and the implements necessary , for displaying their dexterity . This tale had the desired effect , the pretended jugglers were suffered to passand the Prince
, Royal arriving soon after incog , was admitted in one night , speciali Gratia , to all the . degrees of Masonry . The secret was very well kept by all the parties during the life of the prince ' ., father ; for his highness had the chance of a crown to lose , and the other persons had lives to forfeit by the disclosure . They were , therefore , all deeply interested in observing a scrupulous silence on the subject . The
Freemasons of the dominions of Prussia felt the benefit of having a brother in the person of a prince who , ivhen he came to the crown , declared himself their protector ; and ever after continued his . favour to them during the whole course of his reign , while their brethren were persecuted by the King of Naples and the Elector Palatine ; the former of whom imprisoned them , ¦ while the latter forbad them to hold Lodges
under the most severe penalties ; and ordered all his officers , civil and military , who were Freemasons , under pain of being dismissed or cashiered , to deliver up to persons appointed to receive'them , the certificate of their admission into that Society , and to give security that they would never attend any Lodge in future .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Anecdote
his father had conceived so unconquerable an aversion to Freemasons , that he would not have hesitated to have put any one to death whom lie should discover to have been instittmental in initiating the Prince Royal into the mysteries of the craft ; and such was the temper of the king , that he very probably would have been so enraged against his eldest son for entering into a society which he abhorred , that he would have disinherited him . Howeverboth the Prince and the
, Baron de Bielfeldt resolved to run all risques , and it was determined by the latter , who was one of his royal hi g hness ' s gentlemen of the bed-chamber , aind some other officers of his houshold , that at all events they would make him a Mason . They thought the fair of Brunswick would afford a favourable opportunity for putting their scheme . into execution , as there were always a great concourse of people in that
town during the fair , and that a Lodge might , therefore , be easily held there without giving people any reason to suspect the nature of the meeting . . The . baron and his friends accordingly provided themselves with all the apparatus necessary for holding a lodge ; and , having put them up in trunks , placed them in a waggon , which they attended in disguise . But an unlucky affair had like to have brought
on a discovery from which all the parties concerned might have apprehended the most fatal consequences . The officers of the customs , placed at the gates of Brunswick , examined the waggon as it was passing into the town , and finding a number of large candlesticks , and other things used in the Lodges of Freemasons , could not conceive for
what purpose they were intended , and were going to seize them and the drivers , when one of the latter , with some presence of mind , said they were poor harmless jugglers , who were going to exhibit numberless cyrious tricks at the fair , and that the contents of the trunks in the waggon were the ornaments of their little stage , and the implements necessary , for displaying their dexterity . This tale had the desired effect , the pretended jugglers were suffered to passand the Prince
, Royal arriving soon after incog , was admitted in one night , speciali Gratia , to all the . degrees of Masonry . The secret was very well kept by all the parties during the life of the prince ' ., father ; for his highness had the chance of a crown to lose , and the other persons had lives to forfeit by the disclosure . They were , therefore , all deeply interested in observing a scrupulous silence on the subject . The
Freemasons of the dominions of Prussia felt the benefit of having a brother in the person of a prince who , ivhen he came to the crown , declared himself their protector ; and ever after continued his . favour to them during the whole course of his reign , while their brethren were persecuted by the King of Naples and the Elector Palatine ; the former of whom imprisoned them , ¦ while the latter forbad them to hold Lodges
under the most severe penalties ; and ordered all his officers , civil and military , who were Freemasons , under pain of being dismissed or cashiered , to deliver up to persons appointed to receive'them , the certificate of their admission into that Society , and to give security that they would never attend any Lodge in future .