How And When I Became A Mason.

HOW AND WHEN I BECAME A MASON .

It was my fortune to be appointed to a regiment which had , for a great many years , a Freemasons' lodge warrant , bearing date 1756 , and during my early years of a subaltern ' s service , it was always a mystery to see certain brother officers wending their ways towards a building which stood at the back of my garden . ( The regiment was in India , and the majority of the officers were house-proprietors ; my house and garden was my own . ) The building in question vvas "The Serjeants' Mess House , " and under its roof " the lodge" was held periodically .

I had a great wish to become a Freemason , but the idea would constantly take possession . of me to wait until I got back to England , and then probably obtain the privilege of membership in a more genuine way than by becoming a Mason in India—so far away from " home . "

Much sooner than I could then have looked forward to , my return to England came about . I need not here enter into all the details of that return further than lo say I had been transferred to another regiment , before joining vvhich I had the honour of being returned in dispatches as having been " very severely wounded , " this latter being mainly the cause of my returning to England .

After some little period of idleness I received an appointment which necessitated my moving to the good old town of Leicester , where I soon made the acquaintance of some members of a Freemasons' lodge , then not long constituted , and I had then the long hoped for opportunity of becoming a member of the Craft under the best auspices .

I gladly embraced this , and in the month of July , 1847 , I first " saw the light . " The W . M . at whose hands I received this privilege is still living , and is beloved and respected , not only in his own town and province , over vvhich he eventuall y ruled as Provincial Grand Master , but universally hailed as a father in Masonry in all parts of the Masonic world .

On returning to India in the year 1 849 , I eventually arrived at the same station in the upper provinces where I had left my regiment nearly four years before , and , shortl y after re-joining , the local Freemasons gave a ball , to which I had an invitation . 1 put on my apron vvith much pride to show I was one of the brotherhood , and this led to my being asked to join a lodge in that station . This I was very glad to do , and became in time its J . W . The Freemasons' lodge in India is called by the natives Tadu Ghur ( magician ' s house ) .

The time , however , came round when my regiment was ordered to another station , where was a Freemasons' lodge in great want of a W . M . Having served my time as a J . W . I vvas considered eligible , and a deputation having made the proposal , I accepted the responsible post thus so opportunely vacant . I could not , however , be installed , owing to the want of seniors to form " a Board . "

I therefore " ruled" during the stay of the regiment at that station without being a regularly installed W . M . ; such cases are not uncommon in these far away possessions of ours . And what would be considered quite irregular in a home lodge is a necessity away from home . One of my successors in that station lodge was murdered by his own men during the Sepoy Mutiny , leaving another gap in the continuity of the chair until some months afterwards .

On being ordered away from this station with a wing of my regiment to Fort William , en route to Burmah , as at first supposed , during the 1852 war in that country , but eventually to Maulmain in the Tenasserin Provinces , vve vvere for a time detained in Fort William . This gave me the opportunity of being Installed , although I had left the station and lodge a W . M ., and with the installation I was presented vvith a very handsome gold Past Master ' s jewel by request of the lodge I had ruled .

On arrival subsequentl y at Maulmain , no sooner had the steamer come to anchor than a letter vvas received from the local lodge , " Philanthropy , " requesting the Freemasons of the regiment to attend a lodge at the Masonic Hall ( our good report as a regiment of many Masons having gone before us ) . A very small party accepted the invitation , and a most hospitable greeting awaited us . Flambeaux being at the lodge entrance and of course a banquet afterwards . Here

another surprise awaited me . I vvas duly elected to the vacant chair of this lodge , and during the stay of the regiment I vvas the installed W . M . of that lodge , and , after having received the gratifying announcement of being unanimousl y appointed " P . M . for life " of that lodge , vvith a very handsome silver service , voted for what the brethren vvere pleased to consider my useful services , I vvas , in addition , appointed P . D . G . Deacon of the District Grand Lodge of Bengal .

M y love for the Craft and its grand and ruling principles thus being fostered and encouraged , not onl y by the fraternal kindness of the many Masons met vvith , but as regards a military Mason , more especially vvas Masonic zeal stored up . My commanding officer , himself a Mason , had approved of the revival of a lodge

long dormant vvhich vvas attached to the regiment , and allowed his name to appear as the first W . M . of the revived lodge , my name as S . W ., and another as J . W . The new warrant was in time received , and , as the original warrant had never been surrendered , it was so frail and dilapidated , that a new one vvas necessary , but the old number was retained . The lodge dated 1759 .

In consequence of the commanding officer ' s absence , he requested me to be the W . M . in his room , and made over to me the lodge chest , " firing glasses , " and old aprons , & c , vvhich on seeing the li ght of day after years of seclusion weretogether vvith the Volume of Sacred Law—found to be eaten vvith insects , white

ants , and others . The cover of the Sacred Law alone remained . This was carefully kept by me for years . AH the other remnants vvere made up into a parcel , and respectfull y buried in the river Ganges , whose sacred waters closed over the same in presence of three Master Masons , of whom I alone survive to tell the tale .

Not much opportunity vvas given for the meeting of the regimental lodge , and as the Constitutions of Masonry are very strict in forbidding the initiation of civilians when a civil lodge already exists by the members of a military lodge , it vvas not until some time after the regiment arrived in British Burmah that our regimental lodge really became " alive . "

I he whole regiment having been united , the Maulmain wing re-joining headquarters at a frontier station , the business of opening our own lodge was undertaken b y me and other equally zealous Craftsmen . Everything had to be made , even to pedestals , carpets , V . S . L . purchased , & c , and to be so constituted as to be easily packed up for marching times . This necessitated the pedestals being made

telescopic , i . e ., J . W . ' s pedestal fitted into that of S . W ., and the two Wardens' pedestals then put into the W . M . ' s pedestal . Cloth covers , with emblems , covered these pedestals . The carpet , with blue and white squares , was made by the wom ^ n of the regiment , and when all was laid out a very imposing lodge room vvas the result .

There being no civil lodge at our station vve worked well and independently , but under the full sanction and approbation of the District Grand Lodge of Bengal , then having Masonic sway in British Burmah . We soon had many members , not onl y of our own regiment , but from the

How And When I Became A Mason.

other regiments ( native and European ) of the station . We also had visitors from the Naval Brigade , then in the Irravvaddi River . So much had we to do that the District Grand Lodge advanced my honorary rank from P . D . G . Deacon to P . D . J . G . W ., and a very voluminous correspondence was carried on with the

indefatigable Bro . Hoff , then the ruling genius of the District Grand Lodge , first as District Grand Secretary and Deputy Grand Master N . W . Provinces , a man dearly beloved as a Mason in Bengal , but long since gone to the Grand Lodge above . His correspondence , however , is still with me , to be read again , perhaps , by younger eyes hereafter .

So successful were we in our working at this frontier station that it was proposed to found a civil lodge at the station , so that on the departure of the regiment the good work should not disappear . This met the hearty approval of the District Grand Lodge of Bengal , and before the regiment left we bad the great satisfaction and fraternal pride of planting an English lodge— " Astrcea " —out of our regimental lodge ( one under the Irish Constitution ) . Lodge Astraa , 1 imagine , became afterwards dormant , and again revived , as it is still on the List of Lodges , but of a much later date than when first planted by us .

Of course our position as a lodge on the establishment of Lodge Astoea became once again purely military , and for our own people only . Most beneficial to a regiment is a Masonic lodge . The good tone such a teaching inculcates is very marked , and the good feeling which Masonry instills never dwindles down to familiarity , which would breed contempt ; but , on the contrary , inspires even greater respect from the lower ranks , if " degree of respect" can be considered as a possibility .

The old regimental lodge , during its 100 years of existence , held its meetings in all parts of the world , and had many eminent Masons within its walls , either as members or visiting brethren . I had the pleasure of giving extracts from its records , published in the first series of a Masonic magazine called " The Indian Freemasons' Friend , " but with the exception of a copy of that magazine left by me in the lodsre chest when last it passed out of my hands , I have never seen a

copy since . On the regiment leaving India , the lodge of necessity became again dormant for some time , but eventually revived again and again , and I trust is still carrying on its good work where its destiny now finds it . Since my retirement as a military Mason , my civil connection with the Craft has only revived vvith increased heat .

I became W . M . in the town in the West of England which was my place of residence for many years . A second time I was elected , and through the hearty co-operation of my brethren I obtained provincial rank . Was first Z , of a chapter created , and eventually a member of the provincial chapter . An honorary member of a London lodge through my Indian connection , and although getting well up in years still rejoice most sincerely in my long and happy life as a MASON .

Social Pleasures Of Freemasonry.

SOCIAL PLEASURES OF FREEMASONRY .

Among the manifold enjoyments vvhich are incident to a connection vvith the Masonic Fraternity , there is none vvhich is more apparent , or pleasurable , than that which flows out of the fraternal intercourse of Craftsmen , both in and out of the lodge . When vve meet a Freemason we meet a brother , in all that the name implies . In him vve may repose confidence , vvith him we may journey safely , from him we may expect sympathy in our grief , congratulation in our joy , and aid in our

distress . He is our other self . Wherever we . may be , in the lodge or in the world , we find in him a friend that sticketh as close as a brother in blood . This princip le of kinship constitutes the strength of the mystic tie which binds members of the Craft together into one family . There is no other famil y in the world , social or religious , which is so wide-spread , or so closel y knit together , as the Masonic family , and hence the peculiarity ot the social tie which unites its members .

Every time a brother enters his own lodge , he realises the pleasure of socially meeting his fellow-members " on the level . " There is a heartiness , a sincerity in Masonic greetings which is rarel y matched elsewhere . The place contributes to this . We are within the tyled lodge . We are for the time being separated from the world , and from all anxiety concerning its strifes and disappointments . We are under two eyes vvhich watch over our welfare , the All-seeing Eye of the Grand

Architect of the Universe , and the eye of the Master of the lodge . We are in the house of our friends . There is nothing to make us afraid , and everything to assure us . No hand is withheld from us , no eye is averted , and no heart refuses us a welcome . Where else can you find such perfect sympathy , or minds and hearts more perfectly attuned to your oivn ? There is genuineness in every word spoken . We

are glad to meet and be met by every brother . Always vve are " happy to meet , sorry to part , happy to meet again . " We appreciate mutually witnessing or sharing in the performance of Masonic work . We enjoy the sociability which precedes and follows the labours of the evening . And then when the lodge is closed , and actual refreshment follows labour , who can measure the enjoyment which is connected with the fraternal board ?—Keystone .

Planting The Sprig Of Acacia.

PLANTING THE SPRIG OF ACACIA .

The lesson taught in the planting of the sprig of acacia lasts with the life of a thoughtful Craftsman , and its moral imprint is associated with every act of his eventful life . The revelations and the beauties of Freemasonry are gifts to man from his Creator , and the green sprig typifies the existence of an immortal soul . In this view , Free and Accepted Masons greet the sprig as a constant reminder , so to speak , of man ' s grave responsibilities to the Author of his being , whose watchful ,

All-seeing Eye is never closed . To follow this line of thought is but to be led by the hand of divine mercy toward the treasures that are to be found in the little symbol vve are wont to call a green sprig . To the human eye it is bright in colour , and of trifling value , save to answer the purposes of sorrow—then its plaintive story is told in a melody that inclines our hearts to the great unknown hereafter . From time immemorial this sprig has associated vvith the labours of Masons , and , when

following the remains of a departed brother to the silent grave , we display it on our bodies , and to the dust we consign it with an exclamation of sorrow . The profane world can , if so inclined , witness the performance of this sad duty , but of the hallowed associations clinging to that ceremony they are ignorant ; and so , too , are other men ignorant who have learned of the lesson taught by the little green sprig , but refuse lo make a timely application of its teachings to their perverse hearts .

By the act ot depositing the sprig in the grave of a deceased brother , the living Mason bears witness to his faith in the immortality of the human soul , the power of the Creator , and man ' s dependency upon His divine will . So , too , does this little green sprig guide the Mason into a re-birth . It takes him from the darkness of ignorance into the light of a pure life , and when mortal cares beset our

path it whispers sweet consolation to us , and tells us of the glories of another world . Yes , the green sprig from a Masonic standpoint is very precious . It never leaves us . In joy or sorrow , it is at our side and in our hearts . It sings songs oi pleasure in the haunts of grief , and when man has served his stewardship on earth , it returns with him to the dust , to share in the joys that are onl y found at the home of our Creator . Liberal Freemason .