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Article PROVINCIAL ← Page 16 of 31 →
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Provincial
hands . There are many men now capable of great works , but I do not know any one among us who could build Lincoln cathedral , or any one whom I could recommend to put a new roof to your house if you wanted it , especially in such a season as we have had ( laughter ) . Nothing remains to us but the forms and skeleton of an institution , venerable from its antiquity , and for the great works which it has performed . We keep up these forms because we hereby prove that we are the representatives
of the great upholders of science in the brightest ages of architecture . Our succession is direct , unbroken , and undisputed . No one ever heard of any second institution or revival of Freemasonry ; and every lodge which has ever existed , has been instituted by the authority of a Grand Lodge , which has been always in existence . Our power is gone : but we preserve the frame of our society as a chest which once contained the precious jewels of science ; and we show with pride the key that once
held under lock the insignia of an empire which has left behind it such glorious monuments of its power . You cannot wonder , ladies , that we reverence this chest , though I confess to you that it is empty . Some of you may , perhaps , possess an old highly-carved wardrobe in which your great grandmothers used to put away their ruffs antl hoops , and Josephs and farthingales ; and in which now repose the silks and satins
of these degenerate days . Of course you reverence this wardrobe , and sometimes call to mind the treasures which it once contained , and in one respect you have as much reason to respect it , as we have to regard our chest . The insignia of your power still remains in safe custody ; the emblems of a government which has lost none of its power , I mean petticoat government . ( Laughter . ) From the petticoat on the throne to those which I now see hefore me , the petticoat commands respect and submission . ( Renewed laughter . ) That on the throne can make its
_ rustle heard through the wide extent of the Queendom ; and we have seen with delight how the Queen shook from it the dust of rebellion as you ladies shake from your petticoats the dust of the road . ( Cheers . ) The daughter of one Grand Master of our Order , and the niece of another , we have reason to believe that she bears good will to our Order ; and on our part we acknowledge that we owe her a double duty of allegiance , and are willing to pay the debt as subjectsand if need beas soldiers .
, , ( Loud cheers ) . And you , ladies , though your queendoms are less wide , and may not extend beyond your own front doors , within that barrier I trust that petticoat government is firmly established . ( Laughter and cheers ) . Freemasons are the last to rebel against your authority ; and we would protect the petticoat by all the means in our power ; but we are not sylphs , nor is this hammer Ariel ' s wand . In Pope ' s time Ariel thus gave his commands , which I have no doubt were duly obeyed : —
* To . fifty chosensylphs of special note , We trust the important charge , the petticoat ; Form a strong iine about the solar bound , And guard the wide circumference around . ' ( Laughter ) Alas , ladies , we have no supernatural agencies to offer you , but we give you our best wishes ; and with tbe sincere and genuine impulse of Freemasonry , we drink to your health and happiness in your own homesand when come forth into the world to it with
, you grace your presence . '' ( Loud cheers ) . Bro . ROSCORLA then said— " I have been requested , ladies , to return thanks on your behalf for the very complimentary speech of the P . G . M .. Sir Charles Lemon . But before I do so 1 should lell you , in the presence VOL . VI . T T
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial
hands . There are many men now capable of great works , but I do not know any one among us who could build Lincoln cathedral , or any one whom I could recommend to put a new roof to your house if you wanted it , especially in such a season as we have had ( laughter ) . Nothing remains to us but the forms and skeleton of an institution , venerable from its antiquity , and for the great works which it has performed . We keep up these forms because we hereby prove that we are the representatives
of the great upholders of science in the brightest ages of architecture . Our succession is direct , unbroken , and undisputed . No one ever heard of any second institution or revival of Freemasonry ; and every lodge which has ever existed , has been instituted by the authority of a Grand Lodge , which has been always in existence . Our power is gone : but we preserve the frame of our society as a chest which once contained the precious jewels of science ; and we show with pride the key that once
held under lock the insignia of an empire which has left behind it such glorious monuments of its power . You cannot wonder , ladies , that we reverence this chest , though I confess to you that it is empty . Some of you may , perhaps , possess an old highly-carved wardrobe in which your great grandmothers used to put away their ruffs antl hoops , and Josephs and farthingales ; and in which now repose the silks and satins
of these degenerate days . Of course you reverence this wardrobe , and sometimes call to mind the treasures which it once contained , and in one respect you have as much reason to respect it , as we have to regard our chest . The insignia of your power still remains in safe custody ; the emblems of a government which has lost none of its power , I mean petticoat government . ( Laughter . ) From the petticoat on the throne to those which I now see hefore me , the petticoat commands respect and submission . ( Renewed laughter . ) That on the throne can make its
_ rustle heard through the wide extent of the Queendom ; and we have seen with delight how the Queen shook from it the dust of rebellion as you ladies shake from your petticoats the dust of the road . ( Cheers . ) The daughter of one Grand Master of our Order , and the niece of another , we have reason to believe that she bears good will to our Order ; and on our part we acknowledge that we owe her a double duty of allegiance , and are willing to pay the debt as subjectsand if need beas soldiers .
, , ( Loud cheers ) . And you , ladies , though your queendoms are less wide , and may not extend beyond your own front doors , within that barrier I trust that petticoat government is firmly established . ( Laughter and cheers ) . Freemasons are the last to rebel against your authority ; and we would protect the petticoat by all the means in our power ; but we are not sylphs , nor is this hammer Ariel ' s wand . In Pope ' s time Ariel thus gave his commands , which I have no doubt were duly obeyed : —
* To . fifty chosensylphs of special note , We trust the important charge , the petticoat ; Form a strong iine about the solar bound , And guard the wide circumference around . ' ( Laughter ) Alas , ladies , we have no supernatural agencies to offer you , but we give you our best wishes ; and with tbe sincere and genuine impulse of Freemasonry , we drink to your health and happiness in your own homesand when come forth into the world to it with
, you grace your presence . '' ( Loud cheers ) . Bro . ROSCORLA then said— " I have been requested , ladies , to return thanks on your behalf for the very complimentary speech of the P . G . M .. Sir Charles Lemon . But before I do so 1 should lell you , in the presence VOL . VI . T T