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Article ADDRESS OF BROTHER JAMES BURNES, LLD. KM. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Address Of Brother James Burnes, Lld. Km.
hereditary Grand Masters , " although himself no Mason , not only at once complied with my request , but expressed his wish to enter the Craft , praying me not to depart until he had given the requisite orders to his adjutant . This officer , a gallant veteran , soon appeared , and having heard Lord llosslyn ' s orders , addressed him as follows : — ' 1 am myself a Mason , my lord , of many years' standing , and I hope a conscientious one ; this gentleman knows that the musicians cannot attend
the meeting without receiving , at least , the lowest grade of the Craft ; let me ask if he has instituted the necessary enquiries into their characters ? I protest against the admission of some of them . ' I took this just rebuke as became me , and the selection was left to the worthy adjutant ; for whom , I am glad to say also , a place was reserved , as an honoured guest at the centenary . I have even some years ago known a field officer make the humiliating confession that , much as he desired
to be a Mason , he knew he could not obtain admission into the Lodge of his own regiment from the want of a moral qualification . " The Duke of York , when he sanctioned Lodges in the army , foresaw their advantages , not only as inducing the soldier to obtain , and retain a character , but in conferring on him also a sure protection in the time of need . Every one knows that even in the fury of the late war , the charters , diplomas , and insignia of Lodges used to be returned with
courtesy after an engagement . I am old enough to recollect when my own father , the Master of a Lodge , and a magistrate , took the responsibility of removing some French prisoners from jail to his own house , because they were Brethren ; and it was only last night that Colonel
Logan , a brave officer of the Peninsula , but no Mason , mentioned to me an authentic anecdote which will interest you . A whole battalion of the 4 th foot had been taken prisoners , and the officers stript of every thing ; several of them were bemoaning their lot in a dreary abode , when , to their surprise , they saw a subaltern of their corps passing along ¦ with a gay step , in full dress . Tbe explanation was very simple : having been discovered to be a Mason , his uniform and baggage bad been
immediately restored to him ; and he was then going , by special invitation , to dine with the French field-marshal ! Some of you may have heard the revered Brother Blacquiere , whose Masonic reminiscences , communicated as they are with such perfect courtesy and taste , possess the most intense interest , mention the circumstance of a party of ladies and gentlemen having been taken prisoners in the Bay of Bengal , by the French frigate La Fortebut who were all afforded the means of escape
, on the captain ' s discovering that there was the Master of one of the Calcutta Lodges amongst them . It is useless to multiply instances , since every one knows that a Masonic token has often arrested the sword of the destroyer ; and I would but ask those who represent our Order as a musty relic of bye-gone times , altogether incompatible with the golden age in which we live , so point out any other invention of man which could so soften the miseries of warand heihten the courtesies of life
, g between individuals of contending nations . For my own part , I conceive that until the light of true religion shall pervade the universe , and the happy period arrive when the whole world shall become a Lodge , and every man a Brother , the fondest enthusiast for tbe amelioration of the human race can scarcely dream of a condition of society to which the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Address Of Brother James Burnes, Lld. Km.
hereditary Grand Masters , " although himself no Mason , not only at once complied with my request , but expressed his wish to enter the Craft , praying me not to depart until he had given the requisite orders to his adjutant . This officer , a gallant veteran , soon appeared , and having heard Lord llosslyn ' s orders , addressed him as follows : — ' 1 am myself a Mason , my lord , of many years' standing , and I hope a conscientious one ; this gentleman knows that the musicians cannot attend
the meeting without receiving , at least , the lowest grade of the Craft ; let me ask if he has instituted the necessary enquiries into their characters ? I protest against the admission of some of them . ' I took this just rebuke as became me , and the selection was left to the worthy adjutant ; for whom , I am glad to say also , a place was reserved , as an honoured guest at the centenary . I have even some years ago known a field officer make the humiliating confession that , much as he desired
to be a Mason , he knew he could not obtain admission into the Lodge of his own regiment from the want of a moral qualification . " The Duke of York , when he sanctioned Lodges in the army , foresaw their advantages , not only as inducing the soldier to obtain , and retain a character , but in conferring on him also a sure protection in the time of need . Every one knows that even in the fury of the late war , the charters , diplomas , and insignia of Lodges used to be returned with
courtesy after an engagement . I am old enough to recollect when my own father , the Master of a Lodge , and a magistrate , took the responsibility of removing some French prisoners from jail to his own house , because they were Brethren ; and it was only last night that Colonel
Logan , a brave officer of the Peninsula , but no Mason , mentioned to me an authentic anecdote which will interest you . A whole battalion of the 4 th foot had been taken prisoners , and the officers stript of every thing ; several of them were bemoaning their lot in a dreary abode , when , to their surprise , they saw a subaltern of their corps passing along ¦ with a gay step , in full dress . Tbe explanation was very simple : having been discovered to be a Mason , his uniform and baggage bad been
immediately restored to him ; and he was then going , by special invitation , to dine with the French field-marshal ! Some of you may have heard the revered Brother Blacquiere , whose Masonic reminiscences , communicated as they are with such perfect courtesy and taste , possess the most intense interest , mention the circumstance of a party of ladies and gentlemen having been taken prisoners in the Bay of Bengal , by the French frigate La Fortebut who were all afforded the means of escape
, on the captain ' s discovering that there was the Master of one of the Calcutta Lodges amongst them . It is useless to multiply instances , since every one knows that a Masonic token has often arrested the sword of the destroyer ; and I would but ask those who represent our Order as a musty relic of bye-gone times , altogether incompatible with the golden age in which we live , so point out any other invention of man which could so soften the miseries of warand heihten the courtesies of life
, g between individuals of contending nations . For my own part , I conceive that until the light of true religion shall pervade the universe , and the happy period arrive when the whole world shall become a Lodge , and every man a Brother , the fondest enthusiast for tbe amelioration of the human race can scarcely dream of a condition of society to which the