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Article MEMOIRS OF THE FREEMASONS AT NAPLES. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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Memoirs Of The Freemasons At Naples.
from the vengeance of Heaven on the criminal Pallante , whose torments and remorse were greatly encreased by this fatal death . Berenzer , before he expired , received the sacraments , of the church by the hands of a conscientious priest , who publicly declared that he died like a good Catholic , with much ease and tranquillity . This circumstance , joined to the compassion which the violence exercised against the Freemasons had inspired into the minds of ' the people
, contributed greatly to their more favourable opinion of them ever afterwards . While they were in their second prison the feast of St . Januarius was celebrated at Naples , famous for the pretended miracle of the liquefaction of his blood . The miracle , however , was not performed at this time , nor many others that went before , the suspension of which we are ignorant of . The old women , who on this occasion
are allowed the privilege of approaching the nearest of any to this miraculous scene , and who boast of being the descendants of the saint ' s nurse , seeing that the miracle did not take effect , employed at first good words , then menaces ; at last some among them roared out as loud as they were able , that nobody need be surprised that the miracle was not accomplishedsince Naples was defiled by the
infec-, tion of the Freemasons . " Let them be exterminated , " added they , "from the face of the earth ; let them be burnt . " This stroke of bigotry and Catholic zeal , though entirely conformable to the sentiments of the common people , had not the desired effect , for it was looked upon by some as the consequence of a particular confederacy . There appeared at that time a legal defence of the imprisoned
Freemasons , published in the daily papers , and which was attributed to an advocate of the name of Felix Lioy , a Freemason . The author of this defence , in his apology for the prisoners and the society in general , had made use of very warm , not to say severe , terms against the men in power , and consequently drew upon him the rigour of government . The writing was condemned as a scandalous and seditious libeland ordered to be
, burnt by the hands of the common hangman , and Lioy obliged to quit Naples , and in a few days after Italy . He went to Switzerland , to France , Holland , and Germany , and was every where graciously received by the Lodges , and looked upon as a martyr of the society , and maintained by the help of the National Lodge of Naples . Though Bafii was the only Freemason among the prisoners , they all equally "
obtained for their families benefits from the society , not ' only in money , but by every other means necessary to soften their situation . The most zealous among their members daily assembled in the houses of some of their principals , virtuous men , whose greatness of soul , and serenity of mind inspired the Brethren with the beneficent and . amiable virtues of charity . Several among them distinguished
themselves b y such acts of generosity as will never be forgotten by the objects of it , and will for ever remain engraved on the hearts of their Brethren . Persuaded of the king ' s benevolence and justice , thev reached the throne with the complaints of oppressed innocence , and endea-. yoiued to undeceive his majesty in regard to the conduct of Pallante , M in 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Memoirs Of The Freemasons At Naples.
from the vengeance of Heaven on the criminal Pallante , whose torments and remorse were greatly encreased by this fatal death . Berenzer , before he expired , received the sacraments , of the church by the hands of a conscientious priest , who publicly declared that he died like a good Catholic , with much ease and tranquillity . This circumstance , joined to the compassion which the violence exercised against the Freemasons had inspired into the minds of ' the people
, contributed greatly to their more favourable opinion of them ever afterwards . While they were in their second prison the feast of St . Januarius was celebrated at Naples , famous for the pretended miracle of the liquefaction of his blood . The miracle , however , was not performed at this time , nor many others that went before , the suspension of which we are ignorant of . The old women , who on this occasion
are allowed the privilege of approaching the nearest of any to this miraculous scene , and who boast of being the descendants of the saint ' s nurse , seeing that the miracle did not take effect , employed at first good words , then menaces ; at last some among them roared out as loud as they were able , that nobody need be surprised that the miracle was not accomplishedsince Naples was defiled by the
infec-, tion of the Freemasons . " Let them be exterminated , " added they , "from the face of the earth ; let them be burnt . " This stroke of bigotry and Catholic zeal , though entirely conformable to the sentiments of the common people , had not the desired effect , for it was looked upon by some as the consequence of a particular confederacy . There appeared at that time a legal defence of the imprisoned
Freemasons , published in the daily papers , and which was attributed to an advocate of the name of Felix Lioy , a Freemason . The author of this defence , in his apology for the prisoners and the society in general , had made use of very warm , not to say severe , terms against the men in power , and consequently drew upon him the rigour of government . The writing was condemned as a scandalous and seditious libeland ordered to be
, burnt by the hands of the common hangman , and Lioy obliged to quit Naples , and in a few days after Italy . He went to Switzerland , to France , Holland , and Germany , and was every where graciously received by the Lodges , and looked upon as a martyr of the society , and maintained by the help of the National Lodge of Naples . Though Bafii was the only Freemason among the prisoners , they all equally "
obtained for their families benefits from the society , not ' only in money , but by every other means necessary to soften their situation . The most zealous among their members daily assembled in the houses of some of their principals , virtuous men , whose greatness of soul , and serenity of mind inspired the Brethren with the beneficent and . amiable virtues of charity . Several among them distinguished
themselves b y such acts of generosity as will never be forgotten by the objects of it , and will for ever remain engraved on the hearts of their Brethren . Persuaded of the king ' s benevolence and justice , thev reached the throne with the complaints of oppressed innocence , and endea-. yoiued to undeceive his majesty in regard to the conduct of Pallante , M in 2