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Article TO THE EDITOR. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
DEAR BROTHER . —I have long been an admirer of Freemasonry , and have read much on the subject , but regret to add that I have failed to discover the secret , although the penetration of female curiosity has been elevated into a proverb . My curiosity is sufficiently keen , but it has not been gratified ; and you , my good sir , must have experienced what the bitterness of disappointment is . Your Quarterl y Review has not escaped my notice ; but although it contains some very curious mattersit has not enli
, ghtened me in the slightest degree . The great secret of Masonry is what I am anxious to know , in common with , thousands of my sex , and I cannot but think it unkind that you do not strain every nerve to induce the fraternity to comply with our wishes . Cannot we keep the secret ? O fie ! Do not believe it . Why should not our minds be as firm as yours , although vou do ( I know not why ) arrogate to yourselves the proud title of lord ' s of the creation ? Your
periodical , however , has advanced the inquiry one step—a very small one—it informs me that females are not denied this privilege on the Continent : and , therefore , I must say , it is extremely selfish in you to withhold it from us . Can you give any substantial reason why an Englishwoman , free equally by birth , and by the institutions of her country , is denied a participation in those intellectual enjoyments which are liberall y conceded to the sex in other countries ? and under the
most exalted patronage too ? I find that the late celebrated Duchess of Bourbon was the Grand Patroness of the female Lodges in France ; and that the Empress Josephine , the Princess de Carignan , and many other females , were initiated into the Order of Adoptive Masonry . Is it because an English woman is less capable of estimating the civilities and courtesies of life than a forei gner ? Or is it because the influence of the latter over the other sex is greater than our own ? 1 flatter myself that neither
of these is the cause of our exclusion . How then can it be accounted for ? We are anxious to participate in the mysteries of Masonry;—we have minds ( I should hope ) to estimate its beauties ; and the day is past when a selfish policy can be tolerated in this enlightened country . Let the fraternity ponder on these few brief observations , and weigh them well . A female this great and powerful nationand she
governs ; is too amiable—too feelingly alive to the dignity and privileges of her sex , to look quietly on an exclusion , which reflects discourtesy , if not disgrace , on a large portion of her dutiful subjects , whom the laws of gallantry entitle to favour and protection . In the hope of receiving an assurance from you that the invidious distinction is likely to be withdrawn ,
I beg to subscribe myself , With anticipations of the title being duly legitimatized , Your faithful Servant , A SISTER . June 13 , 1844 . [ Our Sister ' s letter will doubtless receive more answers than one ; ive regret that the lateness of its arrival limits us to the grateful acknowled gement of its receipt . —En . ]
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
DEAR BROTHER . —I have long been an admirer of Freemasonry , and have read much on the subject , but regret to add that I have failed to discover the secret , although the penetration of female curiosity has been elevated into a proverb . My curiosity is sufficiently keen , but it has not been gratified ; and you , my good sir , must have experienced what the bitterness of disappointment is . Your Quarterl y Review has not escaped my notice ; but although it contains some very curious mattersit has not enli
, ghtened me in the slightest degree . The great secret of Masonry is what I am anxious to know , in common with , thousands of my sex , and I cannot but think it unkind that you do not strain every nerve to induce the fraternity to comply with our wishes . Cannot we keep the secret ? O fie ! Do not believe it . Why should not our minds be as firm as yours , although vou do ( I know not why ) arrogate to yourselves the proud title of lord ' s of the creation ? Your
periodical , however , has advanced the inquiry one step—a very small one—it informs me that females are not denied this privilege on the Continent : and , therefore , I must say , it is extremely selfish in you to withhold it from us . Can you give any substantial reason why an Englishwoman , free equally by birth , and by the institutions of her country , is denied a participation in those intellectual enjoyments which are liberall y conceded to the sex in other countries ? and under the
most exalted patronage too ? I find that the late celebrated Duchess of Bourbon was the Grand Patroness of the female Lodges in France ; and that the Empress Josephine , the Princess de Carignan , and many other females , were initiated into the Order of Adoptive Masonry . Is it because an English woman is less capable of estimating the civilities and courtesies of life than a forei gner ? Or is it because the influence of the latter over the other sex is greater than our own ? 1 flatter myself that neither
of these is the cause of our exclusion . How then can it be accounted for ? We are anxious to participate in the mysteries of Masonry;—we have minds ( I should hope ) to estimate its beauties ; and the day is past when a selfish policy can be tolerated in this enlightened country . Let the fraternity ponder on these few brief observations , and weigh them well . A female this great and powerful nationand she
governs ; is too amiable—too feelingly alive to the dignity and privileges of her sex , to look quietly on an exclusion , which reflects discourtesy , if not disgrace , on a large portion of her dutiful subjects , whom the laws of gallantry entitle to favour and protection . In the hope of receiving an assurance from you that the invidious distinction is likely to be withdrawn ,
I beg to subscribe myself , With anticipations of the title being duly legitimatized , Your faithful Servant , A SISTER . June 13 , 1844 . [ Our Sister ' s letter will doubtless receive more answers than one ; ive regret that the lateness of its arrival limits us to the grateful acknowled gement of its receipt . —En . ]