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Article THE ANNALIST ← Page 4 of 6 →
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The Annalist
express himself with point and felicity , even when taken by surprise , in any company ; his original genius supplied all oratory . In the month of May , 17 S 7 , Burns made a tour of some of the border counties , accompanied by the late Robert Ainslie , Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh , a gentleman of worth and originality of character . On their arrival at the little sea-port town of Eyemouth , in Berwickshire , Burns and his fellow-traveller became Royal Arch Masons . The
circumstance was honourable to the Brethren of St . Abb ' s Lodge . In acknowledged compliment to the merits and genius of the bard , a Special Chapter—or Encampment , as it seems to have been then termed , perhaps from the R . A . degree being deemed the preliminary step to that of Knight Templar—was convened , the proceedings of which are officially set forth in the following extract from the minutes of the meeting : —
" Eyemouth , 19 tfi May , 1787 . ' •' At a General Encampment held this day , the following Brethren were made Royal Arch Masons , viz . ; Robert Burns , from the Lodge of St . James , Tarbolton , Ayrshire , and Robert Ainslie , from the Lodge of St . Luke , Edinburgh , —by James Carmiehael , William Grieve , Daniel Dow , John Clay , Robert Grieve , & c . & c . Robert Anslie paid one guinea admission dues ; but on account of R . Bnms ' s remarkable ' poetical genius , the Encampment unanimously agreed to admit him gratis , and considered themselves honoured by having a man of such shining abilities for one of their companions . '
Thanks unto thee , 01 excellent scribe , E ., whoe ' er thou art , or rather alas ! wert , in that thou didst indite so satisfactory a memorial of him , the much-to-be-remembered among men and among Masons . ' And honoured—thrice-honoured—be your memory , most excellent Companions , Carmiehael , Grieve , & c-, in that ye hailed and received with one voice , and heart , and hand , the advent among you of the Ayrshire ploughman , and conferred upon himunhesitatinglythe hihest honours
, , g ye could bestow ; even as the Brethren of later times did hail and receive into their Masonic mysteries thy worthy follower in the poetic path , and successor in the Bardship of the Cannongate Kilwinning Lodge , the shepherd of Ettrick ! Both now have been initiated into " the grand secret 1 " peace be with their ashes !
Blessings be with them , and eternal praise , The poets who on earth have made us heirs Of truth , and pure delight , by heavenly lays . Burns was assumed as a member of the Lodge , Canongate Kilwinning , on the 1 st of February , 1787 , he being present in the Lodge at the time . The proposal to admit him was made from the chair , and , of course , unanimously carried . He is styled in the minutes " a great poetic
writer , and well known from a late publication of his works , which have been universally commended . " Previously to this , Burns had received gratifying general notice and attention from the Craft in Edinburgh . In a letter of the date 14 th January , 1787 , he thus writes to a friend : — " I went to a Mason-lodge yesternight , where the most Worshipful Grand Master , Charters , and the Grand Lodge of Scotland visited . The meeting was numerous and
elegant ; all the different Lodges about town were present , in all their pomp . The Grand Master , who presided with great solemnity and honour to himself , as a gentleman and Mason , among other general toasts , gave ' Caledonia , and Caledonia ' s Bard—Brother Burns , ' which
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Annalist
express himself with point and felicity , even when taken by surprise , in any company ; his original genius supplied all oratory . In the month of May , 17 S 7 , Burns made a tour of some of the border counties , accompanied by the late Robert Ainslie , Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh , a gentleman of worth and originality of character . On their arrival at the little sea-port town of Eyemouth , in Berwickshire , Burns and his fellow-traveller became Royal Arch Masons . The
circumstance was honourable to the Brethren of St . Abb ' s Lodge . In acknowledged compliment to the merits and genius of the bard , a Special Chapter—or Encampment , as it seems to have been then termed , perhaps from the R . A . degree being deemed the preliminary step to that of Knight Templar—was convened , the proceedings of which are officially set forth in the following extract from the minutes of the meeting : —
" Eyemouth , 19 tfi May , 1787 . ' •' At a General Encampment held this day , the following Brethren were made Royal Arch Masons , viz . ; Robert Burns , from the Lodge of St . James , Tarbolton , Ayrshire , and Robert Ainslie , from the Lodge of St . Luke , Edinburgh , —by James Carmiehael , William Grieve , Daniel Dow , John Clay , Robert Grieve , & c . & c . Robert Anslie paid one guinea admission dues ; but on account of R . Bnms ' s remarkable ' poetical genius , the Encampment unanimously agreed to admit him gratis , and considered themselves honoured by having a man of such shining abilities for one of their companions . '
Thanks unto thee , 01 excellent scribe , E ., whoe ' er thou art , or rather alas ! wert , in that thou didst indite so satisfactory a memorial of him , the much-to-be-remembered among men and among Masons . ' And honoured—thrice-honoured—be your memory , most excellent Companions , Carmiehael , Grieve , & c-, in that ye hailed and received with one voice , and heart , and hand , the advent among you of the Ayrshire ploughman , and conferred upon himunhesitatinglythe hihest honours
, , g ye could bestow ; even as the Brethren of later times did hail and receive into their Masonic mysteries thy worthy follower in the poetic path , and successor in the Bardship of the Cannongate Kilwinning Lodge , the shepherd of Ettrick ! Both now have been initiated into " the grand secret 1 " peace be with their ashes !
Blessings be with them , and eternal praise , The poets who on earth have made us heirs Of truth , and pure delight , by heavenly lays . Burns was assumed as a member of the Lodge , Canongate Kilwinning , on the 1 st of February , 1787 , he being present in the Lodge at the time . The proposal to admit him was made from the chair , and , of course , unanimously carried . He is styled in the minutes " a great poetic
writer , and well known from a late publication of his works , which have been universally commended . " Previously to this , Burns had received gratifying general notice and attention from the Craft in Edinburgh . In a letter of the date 14 th January , 1787 , he thus writes to a friend : — " I went to a Mason-lodge yesternight , where the most Worshipful Grand Master , Charters , and the Grand Lodge of Scotland visited . The meeting was numerous and
elegant ; all the different Lodges about town were present , in all their pomp . The Grand Master , who presided with great solemnity and honour to himself , as a gentleman and Mason , among other general toasts , gave ' Caledonia , and Caledonia ' s Bard—Brother Burns , ' which