Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Scotland.
hold ; but on such an occasion , none would be denied , and another room was intended for the overflow . 'Fr ^ m , ° ' clook till four , the Grand Lodge met for the election of the Office-bearers previously nominated , when all present were dul y inducted into their hi gh and responsible situations . After the business was over , the M . W . M . adjourned to the Waterloo Hotel with a number of the members , and partook of a hasty dinner , his Lordship appearing determined to be at his
post on the first mustering and marshaMng of the Lodges m the Court of the Royal Exchange . Never perhaps was there witnessed such an assemblage at night in this city , as that which studded the streets and windows , the whole way from the 'Waterloo Hotel to the Royal Exchange . The torches were already blazing when we left the dinner , and the long expecting crowds were getting impatient for the approach of the Masonic promenade . Under the admirable directions of the Masters and Marshals , all was
ready by half past seven o ' clock , and the word " march" being given , and repeated along the whole line , the grand battalion of the Brethren of Ieace moved forward as one body , preceded by the band of the Queen s Royal Lancers . Thus issuing from the portals of the Royal Exchange , the head of the column was greeted with a loud huzza from the assembled multitude , which , as the rest advanced , gave place to a solemn and admiring silence . This attentive and decorous conduct on the of the
part spectators was flattering to the Craft , and is a proof of the great moral impression which the character of our glorious institution universall y creates , whatever a few prejudiced and unfortunate individuals may say or think . Respect to the Ancient Free and Accepted Fraternity of Masons was the sentiment expressed on this occasion , and no other than a moral force certainly could , in the absence of the military , have kept the crowd in such extraordinary order
. The police employed undoubtedly did good service , particularly in repeilmg the tendency to pressure at the several turnings . But only look what a sight the Hi gh-street presents during the procession ! Whoever has beheld Edina , with her " cloud-cant towers " and loftv
mansions rising from eight to ten stories in height—each individual stage of this Babel of buildings inhabited by whole hosts of families , of every kind and calling—may imagine the sublime effect of a multitude of torches , reflected with reddening glare upon the mi ghty sides of the spacious street which long has formed the pride of " Auld Reekie . " Ihousands of visages were visible from every tier of windows on either flank , from the lowest to the topmost habitable spot . It was a stud y for the lover of the of
picturesque—a scene strange grandeur , not unworthy of the magic pencil of a Martin . We have witnessed the religious processions m the capitals of Catholicism , but we will aver that this transcended them all , even as a spectacle . On passing the front of the 1 heatre Royal , Brother Murray , the manager , testified his fraternal attention b y the exhibition of a brilliantly-illuminated star over the portico of the house . Blue lihts and rockets discharged from the
g were Calton Hill as the procession advanced up the Regent ' s Bridge , till at last , arriving at the Waterloo Hotel , the music divided right and left , and the grand Masonic cortege marched into the great hall , which had been decorated and prepared for their reception . And here , it must be confessed , we thought it would require nothing short of a miracle to accommodate and to feed such a multitude . The magic rods of the Grand Stewards , however , performed even this
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Scotland.
hold ; but on such an occasion , none would be denied , and another room was intended for the overflow . 'Fr ^ m , ° ' clook till four , the Grand Lodge met for the election of the Office-bearers previously nominated , when all present were dul y inducted into their hi gh and responsible situations . After the business was over , the M . W . M . adjourned to the Waterloo Hotel with a number of the members , and partook of a hasty dinner , his Lordship appearing determined to be at his
post on the first mustering and marshaMng of the Lodges m the Court of the Royal Exchange . Never perhaps was there witnessed such an assemblage at night in this city , as that which studded the streets and windows , the whole way from the 'Waterloo Hotel to the Royal Exchange . The torches were already blazing when we left the dinner , and the long expecting crowds were getting impatient for the approach of the Masonic promenade . Under the admirable directions of the Masters and Marshals , all was
ready by half past seven o ' clock , and the word " march" being given , and repeated along the whole line , the grand battalion of the Brethren of Ieace moved forward as one body , preceded by the band of the Queen s Royal Lancers . Thus issuing from the portals of the Royal Exchange , the head of the column was greeted with a loud huzza from the assembled multitude , which , as the rest advanced , gave place to a solemn and admiring silence . This attentive and decorous conduct on the of the
part spectators was flattering to the Craft , and is a proof of the great moral impression which the character of our glorious institution universall y creates , whatever a few prejudiced and unfortunate individuals may say or think . Respect to the Ancient Free and Accepted Fraternity of Masons was the sentiment expressed on this occasion , and no other than a moral force certainly could , in the absence of the military , have kept the crowd in such extraordinary order
. The police employed undoubtedly did good service , particularly in repeilmg the tendency to pressure at the several turnings . But only look what a sight the Hi gh-street presents during the procession ! Whoever has beheld Edina , with her " cloud-cant towers " and loftv
mansions rising from eight to ten stories in height—each individual stage of this Babel of buildings inhabited by whole hosts of families , of every kind and calling—may imagine the sublime effect of a multitude of torches , reflected with reddening glare upon the mi ghty sides of the spacious street which long has formed the pride of " Auld Reekie . " Ihousands of visages were visible from every tier of windows on either flank , from the lowest to the topmost habitable spot . It was a stud y for the lover of the of
picturesque—a scene strange grandeur , not unworthy of the magic pencil of a Martin . We have witnessed the religious processions m the capitals of Catholicism , but we will aver that this transcended them all , even as a spectacle . On passing the front of the 1 heatre Royal , Brother Murray , the manager , testified his fraternal attention b y the exhibition of a brilliantly-illuminated star over the portico of the house . Blue lihts and rockets discharged from the
g were Calton Hill as the procession advanced up the Regent ' s Bridge , till at last , arriving at the Waterloo Hotel , the music divided right and left , and the grand Masonic cortege marched into the great hall , which had been decorated and prepared for their reception . And here , it must be confessed , we thought it would require nothing short of a miracle to accommodate and to feed such a multitude . The magic rods of the Grand Stewards , however , performed even this