Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls From Its Origin To Its Centenary, 1888.
THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS FROM ITS ORIGIN TO ITS CENTENARY , 1888 .
More thau 90 years ago , a writer in the Freemasons' Magazine of that day , in describing * the purpose and character of our Institution for Girls , then designated " The Royal Cumberland Freemasons ' School , " was pleased to observe that " an Institution , so noble in itself and so honourable to the Fraternity , can never bc too well
understood or too strongly recommended . ' This is truer now , when the School is on the eve of completing the 100 th year of its existence , than it was in 1793 , when the above utterance was made . We may be sure that nothing in the way of help from the Masonic and general public came amiss to Bro . the Chevalier Ruspini and his benevolent
coadjutors in their efforts to establish on an enduring basis an Institution so calculated to confer lustre on the Masonic Fraternity , and prove serviceable to the cause of humanity generally ; nor , as we are well informed , were they allowed to pursue their noble efforts without receiving every possible encouragement from members of the Royal
Family , from the rulers and general body of the Craft , and from Society at large . The patronage of the Duchess of Cumberland , consort of our illustrious Grand Master , and the interest she personally exhibited in the conduct of the Charity were especially valuable to Bro . Ruspini and his friends , who , without her constant support ,
might not havc found their efforts so successful , or successful at so early a period . But if it was essential that the loyal co-operation of Royal and distinguished personages , of the Craft of Masonry , and the public should be forthcoming in order to place the infant Institution on a firm footing ; if it was necessary that the same loyal
cooperation should be continued in order that the Institution , as it grew in numbers and importance , should retain the position which the humanity and zeal of the founder , seconded , as lie had been , so nobly , by the patronage of Royalty and the benefactions of the Craft , had secured for it : still more necessary is it that the same
encouragement from our Royal and distinguished brethren , from the Masonic body as a whole , and from their friends outside the pale of Masonry , should be forthcoming now that the Institution has attained to such proportions and acquired such fame as to rank among the foremost educational Institutions for female children in the United Kingdom .
It was an arduous undertaking to found such a School ; it has seriously taxed thc resources of Masonry to continue , and , at thc same time , keep on enlarging it ; but the heaviest duty of all remains —to wit , the duty of preserving intact what has been so laboriously established during the past hundred years , so that the Masonic Society
in England may never be without tho means of providing effectually for the female offspring of its deceased and indigent members , and bestowing upon them the advantages of such an education as will enable them , when grown to womanhood , not only to fulfil their duties in , but likewise to adorn , whatever station of life it may please the
Great Architect of all things to assign to them . It is m the hope that the story of the Royal Masonic Institntion for Girls , its foundation , and progress , may be of some slight service in encouraging thc
brethren to carry still further the labours begun so auspiciously by Bro . Ruspini , and continued so vigorously by his successors , that this slight memorial of thc Centenary of our oldest Institution lias been compiled .
It is satisfactory to find that the records of the School , from the very beginning , have been religiously preserved , and that it is possible to write a complete history based on the minute books and other official archives of the Institution from its foundation till the present time : this was not fche caso with the Boys' School ,
established by the Ancient or " Athol Masons , the records of which for the first fourteen years of its existence appear to have shared the fate of so many other important Masonic records , and been mislaid or lost . Equally satisfactory is it to know that the leading facts of its establishment , the purpose for which it was founded and by
whom , have never been in dispute as with the sister Institution for Boys , and that the original plans of thc founder have been scrupulously followed , subject , of course , to such immaterial changes and modifications as time and opportunity , and thc influx of additional funds may have permitted or justified . Thc Institution
has beeu enlarged to a degree that would havc been considered impossible by its founder and first patrons ; and as additional experience was gained by thc presiding authorities in satisfying the evergrowing requirements of female education , the system of training and the interior arrangements of tlie household havc been improved
and made more perfect , so that , as Ave have already hinted , it will be difficult to find a better organised , better managed girls ' chool anywhere throughout the United Kingdom . Yet " the purpose of tlie Institution" remains , as it was described in the article already referred to , in the Freemasons' Magazine of 1793 ,
" to preserve the female offspring of indigent Freemasons from the dangers and misfortunes to which a distressed situation might expose them . " Tlie majority of the children now annually received into the School are the daughters of deceased Freemasons , but those of indigent brethren arc likewise eligible . Wc imagine also that we
have advanced somewhat further as regards the ulterior object of the School , which the writer in thc Freemasons' Magazine refers" to as " to qualify a number of girls to occupy an useful , though not a menial station in life , to furnish respectable families with servants
whose talents and virtuous dispositions may entitle them to that confidence which can rarely be bestowed with safety on those whose birth and education have been among the lowest orders of society . " But one great reason , perhaps , why we have thus advanced beyond this
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls From Its Origin To Its Centenary, 1888.
object is that , while at the time the School was founded , the opportunities for employing young women were limited , the employments now open to them are many and various and , in thc case of some very remunerative . The children are accordingly trained to undertake the more responsible duties for which young women are now
eligible , and it is greatly to the credit of the educational staff of the School and to the girls themselves , that , so far as it has been possible to trace them in their after career , they have fulfilled with signal success the duties to which they have been appointed . In short , your
Girls' Institution effectually discharges the two-fold object of its founder . " It preserves the female offspring of indigent Freemasons from the clangers and misfortunes to which " a distressed situation might expose them , " and it "' qualifies' them to occupy an useful , though not a menial station in life . "
Having described the purposes of the Institution and pointed out how closely they have been folloAved by its governing powers , it may be as well if , before entering upon the narrative of its progress , we furnish some brief particulars of the career of Bro . the Chevalier Ruspini , the benevolent founder of this our senior Charity . A
counterfeit presentment of the distinguished brother has been happily handed down to us , and visitors to the School at Battersea Rise , therefore , are able to judge what manner of man he was outwardly to whom the Craft is so deeply indebted . But Freemasons , as a rule , are not over-curious about the achievements of their past worthies ' .
Had the Chevalier Ruspini been a lady Freemason , there would have been—at all events , till quite recently—a dozen inquiries annually as to his career , the circumstances of his initiation , and the regalia that hc wore . But he happens to have been only the humane founder of one of the grandest Institutions of modern times , and as a portrait
of him has been preserved , the Craft generally has not concerned itself over-much about his doings , either professional or Masonic , And yet , to judge from the memoir published of him in 1793 , hc seems to have been remarkable above the average of men both in thc branch of the healing art to which he chiefly devoted himself
and as a member of the Masonic Fraternity . According to this account , Bro . Bartholomew Ruspini , who was descended of an ancient and honourable family , was born at Romacoto , near Bergamo , in Italy , about the year 1730 . In earl y life he studied surgery at thc
great hospital in Bergamo , and in the diploma granted to him on passing his examination in 1748 , very honourable mention was made of his attention , abilities , and knowledge . The youthful Ruspini , however , was ambitious as well as capable , and , considering that fame and fortune would be more easily attainable if hc directed his
energies to one branch only of his profession , hc resolved on devoting himself entirely to the art of dentistry , and indeed was the first who gave respectability to the occupation of a dentist . With this object in view , he went to Paris , and there placed himself under the tuition of the celebrated M . Capran ,
who at the time was dentist to thc King of France . Having perfected himself to the utmost of his ability under that eminent professor , Mr . Ruspini betook himself to England about the year 1750 , practising vvith great success , and occasionally visiting Scotland and Ireland , whither his fame had preceded him . In 1766 he fixed
his residence in London , under the patronage of the Princess Dowager of Wales—mother of George III . —and several of the most distinguished personages in the country ; arid in a very short time , by ' his skill as . a dentist and by his general knowledge of surgery , as shown by his invention of a famous " balsamic styptic " for arresting both
internal and external hemorrhage , he won the respect of his brother professionals and the support of the public . Nor does he appear to have been wholly indebted for his success in life to his professional ability . His naturally humane disposition brought him hosts of friends . His
many acts of benevolence confirmed him in the good opinion of' thc world , while his especial attention and hospitality to foreigners at length attracted the notice of the Pope , who , without solicitation from any quarter , conferred on him the Order of the Golden Spur , with the title of Chevalier .
As a Mason Bro . Ruspini was equally successful in making * , his mark . He served as a Grand Steward in 1772 , was W . M . of the Royal Lodge in 1778 , was a founder aud early Master of the Lodge of the Nine Muses—now No . 235—and Master and member of several other lodges . He was also a Royal Arch Mason , having served'the
principal offices in that Degree , and in 1792 , at thc installation of George Prince of Wales as G . Master in succession to the Duke of Cumberland , Bro . Ruspini was appointed and invested as Grand Sword Bearer . To this last office hc was annually re-appointed till the year after thc Union , when tlic weight of years compelled him to
decline a position which , by thc express command of the Princo of Wales , had been assigned to hint so long as he was willing to accept it . A few years later the Chevalier died full of years and honours , and enjoying to the very last the love and respect of his brother
Masons , by many of whom , as well as by the inmates of the School he had founded , his remains were sorrowfully attended to their last resting place . But of this event wc shall speak at greater length iu its proper place in this history .
Bro . Ruspini married , about the time of his settling in London , the eldest daughter of Mr . Thomas Orde , of Langridge Hall , near Berwick-upon-Tweed . By her he had a numerous family of children , many of whom survived him ; and it is worthy of mention , as showing
tho advantages of our Girls' Institution , that two of Bro . Ruspini * s grandchildren—daughters of Bro . James Bladen Ruspini , whose nain ' c so often figures side by side with that of the Chevalier in the . early annals of the School—were subsequently admitted as recipients of "ife benefits . ( To be contmutd ) . ¦; .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls From Its Origin To Its Centenary, 1888.
THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS FROM ITS ORIGIN TO ITS CENTENARY , 1888 .
More thau 90 years ago , a writer in the Freemasons' Magazine of that day , in describing * the purpose and character of our Institution for Girls , then designated " The Royal Cumberland Freemasons ' School , " was pleased to observe that " an Institution , so noble in itself and so honourable to the Fraternity , can never bc too well
understood or too strongly recommended . ' This is truer now , when the School is on the eve of completing the 100 th year of its existence , than it was in 1793 , when the above utterance was made . We may be sure that nothing in the way of help from the Masonic and general public came amiss to Bro . the Chevalier Ruspini and his benevolent
coadjutors in their efforts to establish on an enduring basis an Institution so calculated to confer lustre on the Masonic Fraternity , and prove serviceable to the cause of humanity generally ; nor , as we are well informed , were they allowed to pursue their noble efforts without receiving every possible encouragement from members of the Royal
Family , from the rulers and general body of the Craft , and from Society at large . The patronage of the Duchess of Cumberland , consort of our illustrious Grand Master , and the interest she personally exhibited in the conduct of the Charity were especially valuable to Bro . Ruspini and his friends , who , without her constant support ,
might not havc found their efforts so successful , or successful at so early a period . But if it was essential that the loyal co-operation of Royal and distinguished personages , of the Craft of Masonry , and the public should be forthcoming in order to place the infant Institution on a firm footing ; if it was necessary that the same loyal
cooperation should be continued in order that the Institution , as it grew in numbers and importance , should retain the position which the humanity and zeal of the founder , seconded , as lie had been , so nobly , by the patronage of Royalty and the benefactions of the Craft , had secured for it : still more necessary is it that the same
encouragement from our Royal and distinguished brethren , from the Masonic body as a whole , and from their friends outside the pale of Masonry , should be forthcoming now that the Institution has attained to such proportions and acquired such fame as to rank among the foremost educational Institutions for female children in the United Kingdom .
It was an arduous undertaking to found such a School ; it has seriously taxed thc resources of Masonry to continue , and , at thc same time , keep on enlarging it ; but the heaviest duty of all remains —to wit , the duty of preserving intact what has been so laboriously established during the past hundred years , so that the Masonic Society
in England may never be without tho means of providing effectually for the female offspring of its deceased and indigent members , and bestowing upon them the advantages of such an education as will enable them , when grown to womanhood , not only to fulfil their duties in , but likewise to adorn , whatever station of life it may please the
Great Architect of all things to assign to them . It is m the hope that the story of the Royal Masonic Institntion for Girls , its foundation , and progress , may be of some slight service in encouraging thc
brethren to carry still further the labours begun so auspiciously by Bro . Ruspini , and continued so vigorously by his successors , that this slight memorial of thc Centenary of our oldest Institution lias been compiled .
It is satisfactory to find that the records of the School , from the very beginning , have been religiously preserved , and that it is possible to write a complete history based on the minute books and other official archives of the Institution from its foundation till the present time : this was not fche caso with the Boys' School ,
established by the Ancient or " Athol Masons , the records of which for the first fourteen years of its existence appear to have shared the fate of so many other important Masonic records , and been mislaid or lost . Equally satisfactory is it to know that the leading facts of its establishment , the purpose for which it was founded and by
whom , have never been in dispute as with the sister Institution for Boys , and that the original plans of thc founder have been scrupulously followed , subject , of course , to such immaterial changes and modifications as time and opportunity , and thc influx of additional funds may have permitted or justified . Thc Institution
has beeu enlarged to a degree that would havc been considered impossible by its founder and first patrons ; and as additional experience was gained by thc presiding authorities in satisfying the evergrowing requirements of female education , the system of training and the interior arrangements of tlie household havc been improved
and made more perfect , so that , as Ave have already hinted , it will be difficult to find a better organised , better managed girls ' chool anywhere throughout the United Kingdom . Yet " the purpose of tlie Institution" remains , as it was described in the article already referred to , in the Freemasons' Magazine of 1793 ,
" to preserve the female offspring of indigent Freemasons from the dangers and misfortunes to which a distressed situation might expose them . " Tlie majority of the children now annually received into the School are the daughters of deceased Freemasons , but those of indigent brethren arc likewise eligible . Wc imagine also that we
have advanced somewhat further as regards the ulterior object of the School , which the writer in thc Freemasons' Magazine refers" to as " to qualify a number of girls to occupy an useful , though not a menial station in life , to furnish respectable families with servants
whose talents and virtuous dispositions may entitle them to that confidence which can rarely be bestowed with safety on those whose birth and education have been among the lowest orders of society . " But one great reason , perhaps , why we have thus advanced beyond this
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls From Its Origin To Its Centenary, 1888.
object is that , while at the time the School was founded , the opportunities for employing young women were limited , the employments now open to them are many and various and , in thc case of some very remunerative . The children are accordingly trained to undertake the more responsible duties for which young women are now
eligible , and it is greatly to the credit of the educational staff of the School and to the girls themselves , that , so far as it has been possible to trace them in their after career , they have fulfilled with signal success the duties to which they have been appointed . In short , your
Girls' Institution effectually discharges the two-fold object of its founder . " It preserves the female offspring of indigent Freemasons from the clangers and misfortunes to which " a distressed situation might expose them , " and it "' qualifies' them to occupy an useful , though not a menial station in life . "
Having described the purposes of the Institution and pointed out how closely they have been folloAved by its governing powers , it may be as well if , before entering upon the narrative of its progress , we furnish some brief particulars of the career of Bro . the Chevalier Ruspini , the benevolent founder of this our senior Charity . A
counterfeit presentment of the distinguished brother has been happily handed down to us , and visitors to the School at Battersea Rise , therefore , are able to judge what manner of man he was outwardly to whom the Craft is so deeply indebted . But Freemasons , as a rule , are not over-curious about the achievements of their past worthies ' .
Had the Chevalier Ruspini been a lady Freemason , there would have been—at all events , till quite recently—a dozen inquiries annually as to his career , the circumstances of his initiation , and the regalia that hc wore . But he happens to have been only the humane founder of one of the grandest Institutions of modern times , and as a portrait
of him has been preserved , the Craft generally has not concerned itself over-much about his doings , either professional or Masonic , And yet , to judge from the memoir published of him in 1793 , hc seems to have been remarkable above the average of men both in thc branch of the healing art to which he chiefly devoted himself
and as a member of the Masonic Fraternity . According to this account , Bro . Bartholomew Ruspini , who was descended of an ancient and honourable family , was born at Romacoto , near Bergamo , in Italy , about the year 1730 . In earl y life he studied surgery at thc
great hospital in Bergamo , and in the diploma granted to him on passing his examination in 1748 , very honourable mention was made of his attention , abilities , and knowledge . The youthful Ruspini , however , was ambitious as well as capable , and , considering that fame and fortune would be more easily attainable if hc directed his
energies to one branch only of his profession , hc resolved on devoting himself entirely to the art of dentistry , and indeed was the first who gave respectability to the occupation of a dentist . With this object in view , he went to Paris , and there placed himself under the tuition of the celebrated M . Capran ,
who at the time was dentist to thc King of France . Having perfected himself to the utmost of his ability under that eminent professor , Mr . Ruspini betook himself to England about the year 1750 , practising vvith great success , and occasionally visiting Scotland and Ireland , whither his fame had preceded him . In 1766 he fixed
his residence in London , under the patronage of the Princess Dowager of Wales—mother of George III . —and several of the most distinguished personages in the country ; arid in a very short time , by ' his skill as . a dentist and by his general knowledge of surgery , as shown by his invention of a famous " balsamic styptic " for arresting both
internal and external hemorrhage , he won the respect of his brother professionals and the support of the public . Nor does he appear to have been wholly indebted for his success in life to his professional ability . His naturally humane disposition brought him hosts of friends . His
many acts of benevolence confirmed him in the good opinion of' thc world , while his especial attention and hospitality to foreigners at length attracted the notice of the Pope , who , without solicitation from any quarter , conferred on him the Order of the Golden Spur , with the title of Chevalier .
As a Mason Bro . Ruspini was equally successful in making * , his mark . He served as a Grand Steward in 1772 , was W . M . of the Royal Lodge in 1778 , was a founder aud early Master of the Lodge of the Nine Muses—now No . 235—and Master and member of several other lodges . He was also a Royal Arch Mason , having served'the
principal offices in that Degree , and in 1792 , at thc installation of George Prince of Wales as G . Master in succession to the Duke of Cumberland , Bro . Ruspini was appointed and invested as Grand Sword Bearer . To this last office hc was annually re-appointed till the year after thc Union , when tlic weight of years compelled him to
decline a position which , by thc express command of the Princo of Wales , had been assigned to hint so long as he was willing to accept it . A few years later the Chevalier died full of years and honours , and enjoying to the very last the love and respect of his brother
Masons , by many of whom , as well as by the inmates of the School he had founded , his remains were sorrowfully attended to their last resting place . But of this event wc shall speak at greater length iu its proper place in this history .
Bro . Ruspini married , about the time of his settling in London , the eldest daughter of Mr . Thomas Orde , of Langridge Hall , near Berwick-upon-Tweed . By her he had a numerous family of children , many of whom survived him ; and it is worthy of mention , as showing
tho advantages of our Girls' Institution , that two of Bro . Ruspini * s grandchildren—daughters of Bro . James Bladen Ruspini , whose nain ' c so often figures side by side with that of the Chevalier in the . early annals of the School—were subsequently admitted as recipients of "ife benefits . ( To be contmutd ) . ¦; .