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Article EPISODES IN THE LIFE OF A FREEMASON. ← Page 2 of 17 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Episodes In The Life Of A Freemason.
to this country . The custom of having military " messes " docs not exist in any foreign service , I belieA e , and certainly not in that of Austria ; so that the officers of the different corps dine as they please , at the tables-d'Mte or restaurants of thc various toivns , as will have been often remarked by those of my readers
who are Avell versed in the scenes of foreign travel . On one occasion , Avhilst W Avas yet a military cadet , he had dined with some friends , and as they were discussing their coffee , the conversation happened to turn on England . Our form of government , social economy , and military system Avere freely canvassed , and some remarks were at length advanced highly
derogatory to the dignity of the latter , which W , as an Englishman , could- not allow to pass unnoticed . Each party warmed ivith their subject , and soon the ivhole English nation was denounced by the Austrian patriot in terms of unmeasured insolence and contempt . The result , as might ha \ -e been expectedivas an appeal to armsancl my friend carried to his
, , grave , among many honourable scars Avon on the field of battle , the marks of his first sword-wound gained in the defence of his OAvn country ' s cause . After the duel ivas over , his antagonist ivas fain to acknowledge that he had formed an erroneous idea of an Englishman ' s military prowess .
Every one will remember the political agitation which ushered in the commencement of the year of grace 1848 , and how each successive post Avas wont to bring fresh tidings of some UCAV revolution commenced , some throne tottering , or some royal house consigned to be the propitiatory victim of the rapacious goddess of liberty . The outbreak of the 24 th February in Paris Avas
the signal for a general convulsion , and Europe has scarcely yet recovered from the effects of that universal excitement . It does not come within the province of these pages to discuss the merits of the great questions ivhich then arose between the people and the governments of the great continental states , and I shall only remark en passantthat the great cause of
, failure on the part of those who embraced the liberal side may be fairly attributed to their own folly , ancl eagerness to grasp more than ivas consistent with either justice or prudence . The events of those two memorable years , 1848 and 1849 , may serve as a useful lesson to all ivho would plunge then- country into anarchy and confusion without first sitting clown to count
the cost , and consider ivhether they are not running the risk of losing all the privileges they possess , by a rash attempt to gain , under the name of liberty , ivhat too frequently ends in a degenerate license . There is , perhaps , no country in Europe more alive to the attacks of revolutionary impulse than Italy ; the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Episodes In The Life Of A Freemason.
to this country . The custom of having military " messes " docs not exist in any foreign service , I belieA e , and certainly not in that of Austria ; so that the officers of the different corps dine as they please , at the tables-d'Mte or restaurants of thc various toivns , as will have been often remarked by those of my readers
who are Avell versed in the scenes of foreign travel . On one occasion , Avhilst W Avas yet a military cadet , he had dined with some friends , and as they were discussing their coffee , the conversation happened to turn on England . Our form of government , social economy , and military system Avere freely canvassed , and some remarks were at length advanced highly
derogatory to the dignity of the latter , which W , as an Englishman , could- not allow to pass unnoticed . Each party warmed ivith their subject , and soon the ivhole English nation was denounced by the Austrian patriot in terms of unmeasured insolence and contempt . The result , as might ha \ -e been expectedivas an appeal to armsancl my friend carried to his
, , grave , among many honourable scars Avon on the field of battle , the marks of his first sword-wound gained in the defence of his OAvn country ' s cause . After the duel ivas over , his antagonist ivas fain to acknowledge that he had formed an erroneous idea of an Englishman ' s military prowess .
Every one will remember the political agitation which ushered in the commencement of the year of grace 1848 , and how each successive post Avas wont to bring fresh tidings of some UCAV revolution commenced , some throne tottering , or some royal house consigned to be the propitiatory victim of the rapacious goddess of liberty . The outbreak of the 24 th February in Paris Avas
the signal for a general convulsion , and Europe has scarcely yet recovered from the effects of that universal excitement . It does not come within the province of these pages to discuss the merits of the great questions ivhich then arose between the people and the governments of the great continental states , and I shall only remark en passantthat the great cause of
, failure on the part of those who embraced the liberal side may be fairly attributed to their own folly , ancl eagerness to grasp more than ivas consistent with either justice or prudence . The events of those two memorable years , 1848 and 1849 , may serve as a useful lesson to all ivho would plunge then- country into anarchy and confusion without first sitting clown to count
the cost , and consider ivhether they are not running the risk of losing all the privileges they possess , by a rash attempt to gain , under the name of liberty , ivhat too frequently ends in a degenerate license . There is , perhaps , no country in Europe more alive to the attacks of revolutionary impulse than Italy ; the