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Article THE MASON'S DAUGHTER. * Page 1 of 10 →
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The Mason's Daughter. *
THE MASON'S DAUGHTER . *
George St . John Manvers , the hero of this brief delineation , was a youth of good family and fortune , and besides these advantages , possessed great personal attractions , to which were added accomplishments of no mean description . His father had taken every paternal precaution which a parent ' s anxiety could dictate to cause bis heir to be educated in the strictest principles of religion , that the hope of the family might , if possible , escape the consequences of the usual probationary course
which young men in general adopt , and which is commonly called " sowing their wild oats . " George was early placed with a clergyman , whose calling seemed a guarantee for the propriety of the measure . This person professed to receive but two pupils , to whose education he undertook to devote his whole time , and on account of which he demanded and received an exorbitant sum per annum . It might be difficult to tell the cause of the failure of this lanfor
p , a failure it most decidedly was , and to explain whose fault it was that George Manvers did not turn out what his father had wished him to be —a model of virtue . The preceptor himself mi ght , probably , have been unequal to the task which had been delegated to him ; and * perhaps the mind of the pupil was not a very apt receptacle for the instructions offered . Happily this history does not require that these theories should be discussed ; and suffice it to say , that Manvers turned out , as the
phrase runs , " no better than his neighbours . " He was not remarkable for any vice nor for any virtue ; but being a perfect gentleman , in the ordinary acceptation of the term , he was the soul of honor , and he would have spurned with indignation the thought of a dishonorable action . His heart , endowed with every kindly feeling , and fall of gentleness , led him to show kindness to ' all who came near him , and caused him to be universallbeloved . With the expectationindeed
y , the certainty of a fortune , the adoption of a profession was never thought of by George , whose time was occupied in the manner customary with youth of fortune and family . He was , of course , a welcome guest in every house where there were unmarried daughters , though his heart remained untouched .
He was recalled from this profitless course of life by a request from bis father , that he would no longer waste the energies of his best days , and that he would choose some profession , the study of which might afford him respectable occupation , and perhaps credit . The law , the navy , and the army were the only legitimate lines which Manvers could follow ; the first was too laborious , the second rendered an absence from the pleasures of England absolutely necessary , while in the case of
the last , the dreaded event was only problematical ; and if his worst apprehensions , that his corps should be ordered on a foreign station , should be realised , he relied on his father ' s purse to procure an exchange . The army , then , was the profession which George Manvers preferred entering , and a commission in a regiment of lancers was purchased for him . It so happened that Manvers' father had a high regard for Freemasonry , and was , indeed , a Past P . G . M . for he Province in which he resided . He expressed a wish that his son
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Mason's Daughter. *
THE MASON'S DAUGHTER . *
George St . John Manvers , the hero of this brief delineation , was a youth of good family and fortune , and besides these advantages , possessed great personal attractions , to which were added accomplishments of no mean description . His father had taken every paternal precaution which a parent ' s anxiety could dictate to cause bis heir to be educated in the strictest principles of religion , that the hope of the family might , if possible , escape the consequences of the usual probationary course
which young men in general adopt , and which is commonly called " sowing their wild oats . " George was early placed with a clergyman , whose calling seemed a guarantee for the propriety of the measure . This person professed to receive but two pupils , to whose education he undertook to devote his whole time , and on account of which he demanded and received an exorbitant sum per annum . It might be difficult to tell the cause of the failure of this lanfor
p , a failure it most decidedly was , and to explain whose fault it was that George Manvers did not turn out what his father had wished him to be —a model of virtue . The preceptor himself mi ght , probably , have been unequal to the task which had been delegated to him ; and * perhaps the mind of the pupil was not a very apt receptacle for the instructions offered . Happily this history does not require that these theories should be discussed ; and suffice it to say , that Manvers turned out , as the
phrase runs , " no better than his neighbours . " He was not remarkable for any vice nor for any virtue ; but being a perfect gentleman , in the ordinary acceptation of the term , he was the soul of honor , and he would have spurned with indignation the thought of a dishonorable action . His heart , endowed with every kindly feeling , and fall of gentleness , led him to show kindness to ' all who came near him , and caused him to be universallbeloved . With the expectationindeed
y , the certainty of a fortune , the adoption of a profession was never thought of by George , whose time was occupied in the manner customary with youth of fortune and family . He was , of course , a welcome guest in every house where there were unmarried daughters , though his heart remained untouched .
He was recalled from this profitless course of life by a request from bis father , that he would no longer waste the energies of his best days , and that he would choose some profession , the study of which might afford him respectable occupation , and perhaps credit . The law , the navy , and the army were the only legitimate lines which Manvers could follow ; the first was too laborious , the second rendered an absence from the pleasures of England absolutely necessary , while in the case of
the last , the dreaded event was only problematical ; and if his worst apprehensions , that his corps should be ordered on a foreign station , should be realised , he relied on his father ' s purse to procure an exchange . The army , then , was the profession which George Manvers preferred entering , and a commission in a regiment of lancers was purchased for him . It so happened that Manvers' father had a high regard for Freemasonry , and was , indeed , a Past P . G . M . for he Province in which he resided . He expressed a wish that his son