-
Articles/Ads
Article EPISODES IN THE LIFE OF A FREEMASON. ← Page 8 of 17 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Episodes In The Life Of A Freemason.
are those various engines of police which constitute so important a feature in the administration of most of the continental governments , and how much overrated is their vaunted excellence in the detection of offences against the law . True it is , indeed , that the sun never sets on Masonry ; and the good seed ivill always flourish , no matter what the soil may be , in spite of the denunciations ancl proscriptions of ignorant statesmen and bigoted lawgivers .
During the memorable campaigns of the years 1848 ancl 1849 , Avhen the last struggle for Italian liberty ivas again doomed to end in binding still firmer the shackles of Austrian domination round the neck of that devoted country , my friend W was engaged in several battles , and on more than one occasion signalized himself in the field not only by many feats of personal
prowess , but also by the display of so much tact and judgment that he soon gained the favourable notice of his superior officers , ancl earned the well-merited reward of a rapid promotion . It were to be wished , perhaps , that his exertions had been devoted to a better cause ; but this must be understood , that his own sympathies were wholly enlisted on the side for which he
fought ; his political principles ivere ahvays of a high Tory cast , and many a good-humoured discussion have I held with him on the subject , —the only one , I believe , on which we did not think alike . However , it is some consolation to knoiv that this difference of opinion never for one moment interrupted the harmony of a friendship Avhich I must ever look back upon as one of the
few bright pages of life , that Avritten , as it Avere , in characters of gold , shed a halo of happy recollections round the past , aud soften doAvn the rude asperities of a cold and heartless world . It is not my intention to assume the part of a chronicler , or to inflict upon the readers of this Magazine a detailed account of the marchings ancl counter-marchings of Field Marshal
Radetsky and his Sardinian adversary ; but as I think one or two little incidents which happened to my friend during the war may not be uninteresting , I shall record them for the benefit of those Avho , having gone so far into his history , may like to learn something more of his military career . W ¦ Avas never backAvard in incurring clangerif there was
; anything like a "forlorn hope" to be led , or any service required which called for a more than ordinary share of courage and energy , he was always among the first to volunteer for it . Tlie day after the battle of , which had resulted , as usual , in a complete victory on the part of the Austrians , W was sent with a few men to reconnoitre the movements of thc enemy
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Episodes In The Life Of A Freemason.
are those various engines of police which constitute so important a feature in the administration of most of the continental governments , and how much overrated is their vaunted excellence in the detection of offences against the law . True it is , indeed , that the sun never sets on Masonry ; and the good seed ivill always flourish , no matter what the soil may be , in spite of the denunciations ancl proscriptions of ignorant statesmen and bigoted lawgivers .
During the memorable campaigns of the years 1848 ancl 1849 , Avhen the last struggle for Italian liberty ivas again doomed to end in binding still firmer the shackles of Austrian domination round the neck of that devoted country , my friend W was engaged in several battles , and on more than one occasion signalized himself in the field not only by many feats of personal
prowess , but also by the display of so much tact and judgment that he soon gained the favourable notice of his superior officers , ancl earned the well-merited reward of a rapid promotion . It were to be wished , perhaps , that his exertions had been devoted to a better cause ; but this must be understood , that his own sympathies were wholly enlisted on the side for which he
fought ; his political principles ivere ahvays of a high Tory cast , and many a good-humoured discussion have I held with him on the subject , —the only one , I believe , on which we did not think alike . However , it is some consolation to knoiv that this difference of opinion never for one moment interrupted the harmony of a friendship Avhich I must ever look back upon as one of the
few bright pages of life , that Avritten , as it Avere , in characters of gold , shed a halo of happy recollections round the past , aud soften doAvn the rude asperities of a cold and heartless world . It is not my intention to assume the part of a chronicler , or to inflict upon the readers of this Magazine a detailed account of the marchings ancl counter-marchings of Field Marshal
Radetsky and his Sardinian adversary ; but as I think one or two little incidents which happened to my friend during the war may not be uninteresting , I shall record them for the benefit of those Avho , having gone so far into his history , may like to learn something more of his military career . W ¦ Avas never backAvard in incurring clangerif there was
; anything like a "forlorn hope" to be led , or any service required which called for a more than ordinary share of courage and energy , he was always among the first to volunteer for it . Tlie day after the battle of , which had resulted , as usual , in a complete victory on the part of the Austrians , W was sent with a few men to reconnoitre the movements of thc enemy