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Article ANOTHER FENIAN OUTRAGE. : Page 1 of 1 Article ANOTHER FENIAN OUTRAGE. : Page 1 of 1 Article ANOTHER FENIAN OUTRAGE. : Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Another Fenian Outrage. :
ANOTHER FENIAN OUTRAGE . :
gu lau 01 tgc limes . ( Reprinted from , the South Durham . & Cleveland Mercury . ) BY BRO . $ & A EMRA HOLMES , 31 ° , ., ETC .,
Author of " Mabel , " " Ernest Blake , " " Hopelessly , " "The Path of Life : an Allegory , " "Waiting for Her , " ic . CHAPTER I . —CONTINUED .
THE TWO FRIENDS AND SOCIETY . Madge has almost given up smoking since hemarried but , out of good fellowship , lights his second cigar , and eyeing Frank furtively , at length says ; " Well , old fellow , dropped into a brown study ? What ' s the row ?"
" Hang' Society , say I . Look here Madge . I was staying once at a place in the north of England , where , in fact , I served my articles . My father , as I dare say you know , died when I was very young ; and I was , at . the age of sixteen , left to my own resources . Iwent to a lawyer ' s at Hartsea , and for the first two years I
never made the acquaintance Of a single lady in that hospitable place . I was always a social sort of fellow , and had every temptation to go to the dogs ; and very little , except my own high principles , as I suppose our worthy vicar would call them , to saye mefrom committing myself , as Forester seems to have done . Since I have been
here , people have treated me better , thanks to the kindness ofthe Wray tons , who themselves have only recently been admitted into the mystic circle . " " I thought you were a Mason , Ashburn , and rather a swell amongst the ancient and honourable fraternity ; and I alwavs understood that Masonry was a passport
into society . " " So it kin some places ; but more abroad than in England , I think . On the Continent , it will admit a fellow almost anywhere , I am told , if you are a Templar or a Rose Croix ; but in England it depends xery much upon circumstances . Masonry introduced me to your
uncle , Mr . Brighiun ; and I dare say I owe much to it as to anything m being so well received in Marton as I have been . " ¦ * " You don't want , I suppose , to make me think that people are everywhere the same as at Hartsea ?" " No , thank God , they are not , or else I am sorry
for any poor beggar who has nothing to recommend him but his education , his family , and his good breeding . I do know one or two houses where young men are admitted as friends of the family , it * onl y they bring a gentlemanly bearing and a decent character as their recommendations . There were some
charming people whom I once met at a party at Hartsea , who immediately gave me an invitation to go over to Strandhern , where thoy lived . Strandhern is an old town and boasts its abbey . I went . Mrs . Cokeloigh received me as if I were a son . Her daughters ( there were four or five , I forget which ) treated me almost
as if I were a brother . I never enjoyed myself so much in my life , I think , as I did the first timo I went there . I used often to go to their house , starting from Hartsea on Satruday evening and spending tho Sunday with them , and I have come heme on Monday morning a happier , and , -1 think , a bettor man . "
" I wonder you did uot fall in love with one of thc fair daughters . " " So do I , my boy . I think I should have done so , oilly I was too poor to think of anything of the kind . " " Now , look at Forester , " Frank continued , "he came here to the Marton Bank , a year ago . Neither
the manager of the bank nor anyone else , except the Wraytons , who are connexions of his , I believe , took any notice of him . Having no particular hobby to keep him out of mischief , and not being , intellectually , a very bright specimen of humanity , he feels himself very dull in his lodgings of an evening—as I have felt
before now ( and you too)—and so spends his timc ^ -i the billiard-rooms , concert-halls , the theatre , and ^ K that sort of thing . I daresay he ' s been drunk once or twice . I've seen him once myself , awfully tight ; and , because he falls in lovo with a barmaid , whom he means to marrv , I fully believe , society , which has
gvicn him no chance of falling in love with a lady , is disgusted , lie is not to be invited any more to the few houses which he was allowed to attend once a year , on the occasion of the annual dance ( when any bachelor is an acquisition—I may say , a god-send ) , and society gives him the cut direct . Forester ' s is not
an isolated case , either ; I know numbers of fellows iu our great towns , who , if taken up by decent people , would become , in time , valuable citizens ; but go to the bad simply and solely because society ignores their very existence . Tako my word for it , Madge , as I laid before , if Forester goes to the deuce , society will he to blame . "
CHAPTER II . THE MASONIC SHCKET DISCOVKllED . It has been hinted that Marmaduke Forester , otherwise known as " Miss Fanny , " waa a fool . I don ' t mean to say that he was an idiot ; but there can be but little doubt about his being not so bright ns he might be .
Another Fenian Outrage. :
A few days after the colloquy related in the last chapter had taken place , relative to his conduct generally , the hero—if there be one in this storywas found sitting in Frank Ashburn's rooms , asking that gentleman , for the thirtieth time , if he didn't think he could get him into a Freemasons' lodge . Frank was a good-natured fellow , and permitted Mr . Forester , who was a much younger man than himself ,
and not at all the sort of companion he cared for , to come to his rooms occasionally , just to keep him out of mischief elsewhere . " I say , Frank—I mean Mr . Ashbum—you might propose me . " " You needn't Mister me , my dear fellow ; call me Ashburn . " Frank never permitted any but his very intimate friends to use . his Christian name .
" Well , then , Ashburn , I wish you'd propose me I want to be a Freemason . " " Can't do it , my dear fellow . " "Why not ?" " Because—well , because you are too young . "
" I am twenty-two . " " Well , then , you can't afford it ; it will cost you five guineas , and more , at the first start . " "I had £ 100 left me the other day , and I don ' t know what to do with it . "
" Put it m the savings' bank , " said Frank , tersely ; but added , " I'll think about it , but you know I can't guarantee your being accepted . " " No , of course not . " " Where are you going to-night ?" " Well , I am going to the billiard-room at the Vulture . "
" Take my advice , and drop that business , Forester . Good ni ght ; I havo an engagement ; very sorry ; glad to see you another evening ; " so saying , Frank Ashburn dismissed his eccentric guest . An hour afterwards Frank . is walking leisurel y down to the Raymonds , who have a nice little house just out of thc town , on the Bishop-road , when he stumbles against
young Forester , who is going for a walk with Miss Robertson , the barmaid of the Vulture . The Raymonds were just going to have tea , and cordially invited Frank to join them . "By the way , Mr . Ashburn , how is your protege getting on 1 " Mrs . Raymond asks . "Mudge has told mo how you stand up for Mr . Forester , who certainly
seems in need of a supporter just now . " " Well , to tell you tho truth , Mrs . Raymond , I hardly know what to make of him . Thanks ; another cup of tea if you please . " " Do you think he is irreclaimable ? You take sugar , I believe ? " "Thanks ; well , I really don't know what to say . He ' s been bothering me to-night about Freemasonry ,
Madge . " "Ah , I am glad my husband is not a Mason . " " Why , Mrs . Raymond ? Don ' t you know that Masons aro , of all men , the most loyal to the ladies ? Have you never heard the Freemasons' song—supposed to have been written by Swift — where they say—No mortal can more The ladies adore
Than a free and an accepted Mason . " "Well , I never heard it , " laughingly replied charming May Raymond , " and I daresay my chief objection to it is a very foolish one , but , I must confess , I should not like my husband to have any secrets from mc . ' "But will you make Forester a Mason ? "Madge asks .
" Not exactly . " "Why not ? " enquires Mrs . Raymond . "Because I have too great a regard for the principles of Masonry to think of introducing a man who would , do us no credit . " "Then there must be something in it , or you would not bo so particular . "
' My dear Airs . Raymond , there is a great deal in it ; but I am sorry to say many Freemasons'lodges are not half particular enough in the selection of candidates , ami Freemasonry suffers iu consequence . " " I say , Frank , " Madge says presently , " I've a good idea . Do you remember the description in ' Verdant Green , ' how he was made a Mason ? "
" Yes . " " Very well , then , I remember in ' Punch ' s Almanack , ' for ' 04 , there was a list of absurd questions to be asked of a candidate of Freemasonry . Let ' s work up some questions like those ; you compose a ceremony of a terrific character ; wc will get some fellows to help us , and we'll make him a Freemason in
our way . " I don't sec the fun of it . " " Well , I do . Yon say he ' s always bothering you about being made a Freemason . There may bo some of the brethren not so scrupulous as you ; and , if you can choke him oil ' , as tlio saying is , by a lark of this
kind , you will do no one any harm , and relieve yourself to a great extent of an unenviable encumbrance . " " Well , I will think of it . " About a week had elapsed . Frank had thought the matter over in his own mind , had spoken to a few friends , had enlisted Mrs . Raymond ' s sympathies and needle in the good cause , and finally informed Mr .
Another Fenian Outrage. :
Marmaduke Forester that , having seriously weighed , his claims in the balance , lie had resolved to admit him to the ancient and-honourable fraternity of Freemasons , but . he warned him he would have frightful trials to go through , but that , if he persevered and showed true courage , hewOuld be received as * ' a brother of the mystic tie . " ' . " : " . ' .. Mr . Forester had been informed that previous to his
admission he must answer the following questions : — ¦ 1 . How old are you ? ¦ ' < 2 . Where were you born ? 3 . "Why were you born there ? 4 . How many children have you got , and if not why not ? 5 . Have you ever been in love , and if so how often ? G . What was the colour of your paternal grandmother ' s back hair ? "' , .
7 . How many godfathers and godmothers have you had since your christening , and how many before ? 8 . How is your poor feet ? 9 . Describe the points of similitude between Jonadab tha son of Keebab , and Julius C-esar ? 10 . If the material hemisphere , preponderating influences , geometrical progression , and balance weights of a clock are
very much behind time , how is it that people eat tripe on a Friday ? ¦ ¦ * 11 . Charcoal ? 12 . What is a stern reminder ? 13 . Are you prepared to give up eating and drinking-, particularly both ? 14 . Are you a ?
Mr . Frank Forester was given the above questions on the 12 th of March , and was informed that if he returned them , carefully answered , to the Supreme Grand Pontiff Secretary , on or before the 17 th of that month , care of the Post-office , he would be allowed to : proceed with his initiation at the meeting of the Lodge , ; held at midnight , at the hall of Egyptian
Mysteriessituated at the back of the Chainway . The hall afpf-fti said was nothing more nor less than an old warehouse , or rather mill , said to be haunted , which had been tenantless for years , and which stood at the back , of Messrs . Wray ton and Ashburn ' s oflice , at thc outskirts , of the town . A ; -. j- ; The paper containing the questions had been oriia-,
mented with double triangles , a serpent with its tail ; in its mouth , some unknown hioroglypics , and the square and compasses . Mr , Forester carefully examined the list , and came to the conclusion that though some of the queries seemed to bo of a queer cbar-icler ( no pun intended ) , no doubt if they could be solved they would bo found to contain tho germs ;
of some mighty mysteries ; so he set himself resolutely ; to work to answer them . . . , .. To No . 1 , he answered twenty-three next birthday . ' At No . 3 , ho came to the conclusion that ho did not know , but would ask his mother . No . 4 elicited a reply to the effect that he supposed he hadn't any children because lie wasn't a mother ; ho was very
sorry , but he . couldn't help it . No 5 drew from him the fact , that he had loved often and well , but that now one star was predominant , which would sliino through the darkness for ever . He had a notion that stars had something to do with Freemasonry ; and he thought the last idea might prove his eligibility . He couldn ' t toll tho colour of hu " "xandmother ' s back
hair ; rather fancied he had two godfathers and three godmothers , or three godfathers and two godmothers , but when they became so hadn't the remotest idea . His poor feet were better , thank you . Gave up No . 9 us a bad job . No . 10 , ditto . Didn ' t eat . trino on a Friday , but added , on consideration that it might be a dish peculiar to Masonry , that it was good for
those who liked it , no doubt . No . 11 fairly puzzled , him , but thinking it meant something he should not agree to , ho boldl y wrote "No" after it . Rather ; thought that he should be able to answer No . 12 better ; after he had been made a Mason than before , so gave , ; it up for tho present . He puzzled himself very much over No . 11 , but finally thought that tho reiteration
ofthe query might have a good ell ' cct , so rejoined , "Are you ? " " _ _ . ,, Mr . Forester was informed , on thc evening of tho 17 th of March , 18 GC , that the eventful night had come . He had answered thc Neophyte questions so well that it was determined to initiate him into tho secrets and mysteries of Ancient Masonry , and he was
to repair at the hour of low twelve to the subterranean caverns beneath the citadel , meaning the old mill in the Draycot-road . Accordingly our hero made his appearance in perfect good faith , but yet , it must bo admitted , in some little fear and trembling , near mid . . . night on St . Patrick ' s Day , and waited patiently for some minutes outside the mill—a low irregular building , which stood by the side of what had onco been a
good null pond , but was now little more than a stream . The dam had long gone the way of all flesh , and nothing was left to remind one of the purposes to which the place had been put but part of the great mill wheel , and a huge iron tube—largo enough to udiiijt a person ou all fours—which was lying on tho bank . ( To be continued . )
ERRATUM * . —In our report of the Gresham Lodge , 860 , last week , the name of Bro . Uomparti , S , W ., was erroneously printed " Gomperby . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Another Fenian Outrage. :
ANOTHER FENIAN OUTRAGE . :
gu lau 01 tgc limes . ( Reprinted from , the South Durham . & Cleveland Mercury . ) BY BRO . $ & A EMRA HOLMES , 31 ° , ., ETC .,
Author of " Mabel , " " Ernest Blake , " " Hopelessly , " "The Path of Life : an Allegory , " "Waiting for Her , " ic . CHAPTER I . —CONTINUED .
THE TWO FRIENDS AND SOCIETY . Madge has almost given up smoking since hemarried but , out of good fellowship , lights his second cigar , and eyeing Frank furtively , at length says ; " Well , old fellow , dropped into a brown study ? What ' s the row ?"
" Hang' Society , say I . Look here Madge . I was staying once at a place in the north of England , where , in fact , I served my articles . My father , as I dare say you know , died when I was very young ; and I was , at . the age of sixteen , left to my own resources . Iwent to a lawyer ' s at Hartsea , and for the first two years I
never made the acquaintance Of a single lady in that hospitable place . I was always a social sort of fellow , and had every temptation to go to the dogs ; and very little , except my own high principles , as I suppose our worthy vicar would call them , to saye mefrom committing myself , as Forester seems to have done . Since I have been
here , people have treated me better , thanks to the kindness ofthe Wray tons , who themselves have only recently been admitted into the mystic circle . " " I thought you were a Mason , Ashburn , and rather a swell amongst the ancient and honourable fraternity ; and I alwavs understood that Masonry was a passport
into society . " " So it kin some places ; but more abroad than in England , I think . On the Continent , it will admit a fellow almost anywhere , I am told , if you are a Templar or a Rose Croix ; but in England it depends xery much upon circumstances . Masonry introduced me to your
uncle , Mr . Brighiun ; and I dare say I owe much to it as to anything m being so well received in Marton as I have been . " ¦ * " You don't want , I suppose , to make me think that people are everywhere the same as at Hartsea ?" " No , thank God , they are not , or else I am sorry
for any poor beggar who has nothing to recommend him but his education , his family , and his good breeding . I do know one or two houses where young men are admitted as friends of the family , it * onl y they bring a gentlemanly bearing and a decent character as their recommendations . There were some
charming people whom I once met at a party at Hartsea , who immediately gave me an invitation to go over to Strandhern , where thoy lived . Strandhern is an old town and boasts its abbey . I went . Mrs . Cokeloigh received me as if I were a son . Her daughters ( there were four or five , I forget which ) treated me almost
as if I were a brother . I never enjoyed myself so much in my life , I think , as I did the first timo I went there . I used often to go to their house , starting from Hartsea on Satruday evening and spending tho Sunday with them , and I have come heme on Monday morning a happier , and , -1 think , a bettor man . "
" I wonder you did uot fall in love with one of thc fair daughters . " " So do I , my boy . I think I should have done so , oilly I was too poor to think of anything of the kind . " " Now , look at Forester , " Frank continued , "he came here to the Marton Bank , a year ago . Neither
the manager of the bank nor anyone else , except the Wraytons , who are connexions of his , I believe , took any notice of him . Having no particular hobby to keep him out of mischief , and not being , intellectually , a very bright specimen of humanity , he feels himself very dull in his lodgings of an evening—as I have felt
before now ( and you too)—and so spends his timc ^ -i the billiard-rooms , concert-halls , the theatre , and ^ K that sort of thing . I daresay he ' s been drunk once or twice . I've seen him once myself , awfully tight ; and , because he falls in lovo with a barmaid , whom he means to marrv , I fully believe , society , which has
gvicn him no chance of falling in love with a lady , is disgusted , lie is not to be invited any more to the few houses which he was allowed to attend once a year , on the occasion of the annual dance ( when any bachelor is an acquisition—I may say , a god-send ) , and society gives him the cut direct . Forester ' s is not
an isolated case , either ; I know numbers of fellows iu our great towns , who , if taken up by decent people , would become , in time , valuable citizens ; but go to the bad simply and solely because society ignores their very existence . Tako my word for it , Madge , as I laid before , if Forester goes to the deuce , society will he to blame . "
CHAPTER II . THE MASONIC SHCKET DISCOVKllED . It has been hinted that Marmaduke Forester , otherwise known as " Miss Fanny , " waa a fool . I don ' t mean to say that he was an idiot ; but there can be but little doubt about his being not so bright ns he might be .
Another Fenian Outrage. :
A few days after the colloquy related in the last chapter had taken place , relative to his conduct generally , the hero—if there be one in this storywas found sitting in Frank Ashburn's rooms , asking that gentleman , for the thirtieth time , if he didn't think he could get him into a Freemasons' lodge . Frank was a good-natured fellow , and permitted Mr . Forester , who was a much younger man than himself ,
and not at all the sort of companion he cared for , to come to his rooms occasionally , just to keep him out of mischief elsewhere . " I say , Frank—I mean Mr . Ashbum—you might propose me . " " You needn't Mister me , my dear fellow ; call me Ashburn . " Frank never permitted any but his very intimate friends to use . his Christian name .
" Well , then , Ashburn , I wish you'd propose me I want to be a Freemason . " " Can't do it , my dear fellow . " "Why not ?" " Because—well , because you are too young . "
" I am twenty-two . " " Well , then , you can't afford it ; it will cost you five guineas , and more , at the first start . " "I had £ 100 left me the other day , and I don ' t know what to do with it . "
" Put it m the savings' bank , " said Frank , tersely ; but added , " I'll think about it , but you know I can't guarantee your being accepted . " " No , of course not . " " Where are you going to-night ?" " Well , I am going to the billiard-room at the Vulture . "
" Take my advice , and drop that business , Forester . Good ni ght ; I havo an engagement ; very sorry ; glad to see you another evening ; " so saying , Frank Ashburn dismissed his eccentric guest . An hour afterwards Frank . is walking leisurel y down to the Raymonds , who have a nice little house just out of thc town , on the Bishop-road , when he stumbles against
young Forester , who is going for a walk with Miss Robertson , the barmaid of the Vulture . The Raymonds were just going to have tea , and cordially invited Frank to join them . "By the way , Mr . Ashburn , how is your protege getting on 1 " Mrs . Raymond asks . "Mudge has told mo how you stand up for Mr . Forester , who certainly
seems in need of a supporter just now . " " Well , to tell you tho truth , Mrs . Raymond , I hardly know what to make of him . Thanks ; another cup of tea if you please . " " Do you think he is irreclaimable ? You take sugar , I believe ? " "Thanks ; well , I really don't know what to say . He ' s been bothering me to-night about Freemasonry ,
Madge . " "Ah , I am glad my husband is not a Mason . " " Why , Mrs . Raymond ? Don ' t you know that Masons aro , of all men , the most loyal to the ladies ? Have you never heard the Freemasons' song—supposed to have been written by Swift — where they say—No mortal can more The ladies adore
Than a free and an accepted Mason . " "Well , I never heard it , " laughingly replied charming May Raymond , " and I daresay my chief objection to it is a very foolish one , but , I must confess , I should not like my husband to have any secrets from mc . ' "But will you make Forester a Mason ? "Madge asks .
" Not exactly . " "Why not ? " enquires Mrs . Raymond . "Because I have too great a regard for the principles of Masonry to think of introducing a man who would , do us no credit . " "Then there must be something in it , or you would not bo so particular . "
' My dear Airs . Raymond , there is a great deal in it ; but I am sorry to say many Freemasons'lodges are not half particular enough in the selection of candidates , ami Freemasonry suffers iu consequence . " " I say , Frank , " Madge says presently , " I've a good idea . Do you remember the description in ' Verdant Green , ' how he was made a Mason ? "
" Yes . " " Very well , then , I remember in ' Punch ' s Almanack , ' for ' 04 , there was a list of absurd questions to be asked of a candidate of Freemasonry . Let ' s work up some questions like those ; you compose a ceremony of a terrific character ; wc will get some fellows to help us , and we'll make him a Freemason in
our way . " I don't sec the fun of it . " " Well , I do . Yon say he ' s always bothering you about being made a Freemason . There may bo some of the brethren not so scrupulous as you ; and , if you can choke him oil ' , as tlio saying is , by a lark of this
kind , you will do no one any harm , and relieve yourself to a great extent of an unenviable encumbrance . " " Well , I will think of it . " About a week had elapsed . Frank had thought the matter over in his own mind , had spoken to a few friends , had enlisted Mrs . Raymond ' s sympathies and needle in the good cause , and finally informed Mr .
Another Fenian Outrage. :
Marmaduke Forester that , having seriously weighed , his claims in the balance , lie had resolved to admit him to the ancient and-honourable fraternity of Freemasons , but . he warned him he would have frightful trials to go through , but that , if he persevered and showed true courage , hewOuld be received as * ' a brother of the mystic tie . " ' . " : " . ' .. Mr . Forester had been informed that previous to his
admission he must answer the following questions : — ¦ 1 . How old are you ? ¦ ' < 2 . Where were you born ? 3 . "Why were you born there ? 4 . How many children have you got , and if not why not ? 5 . Have you ever been in love , and if so how often ? G . What was the colour of your paternal grandmother ' s back hair ? "' , .
7 . How many godfathers and godmothers have you had since your christening , and how many before ? 8 . How is your poor feet ? 9 . Describe the points of similitude between Jonadab tha son of Keebab , and Julius C-esar ? 10 . If the material hemisphere , preponderating influences , geometrical progression , and balance weights of a clock are
very much behind time , how is it that people eat tripe on a Friday ? ¦ ¦ * 11 . Charcoal ? 12 . What is a stern reminder ? 13 . Are you prepared to give up eating and drinking-, particularly both ? 14 . Are you a ?
Mr . Frank Forester was given the above questions on the 12 th of March , and was informed that if he returned them , carefully answered , to the Supreme Grand Pontiff Secretary , on or before the 17 th of that month , care of the Post-office , he would be allowed to : proceed with his initiation at the meeting of the Lodge , ; held at midnight , at the hall of Egyptian
Mysteriessituated at the back of the Chainway . The hall afpf-fti said was nothing more nor less than an old warehouse , or rather mill , said to be haunted , which had been tenantless for years , and which stood at the back , of Messrs . Wray ton and Ashburn ' s oflice , at thc outskirts , of the town . A ; -. j- ; The paper containing the questions had been oriia-,
mented with double triangles , a serpent with its tail ; in its mouth , some unknown hioroglypics , and the square and compasses . Mr , Forester carefully examined the list , and came to the conclusion that though some of the queries seemed to bo of a queer cbar-icler ( no pun intended ) , no doubt if they could be solved they would bo found to contain tho germs ;
of some mighty mysteries ; so he set himself resolutely ; to work to answer them . . . , .. To No . 1 , he answered twenty-three next birthday . ' At No . 3 , ho came to the conclusion that ho did not know , but would ask his mother . No . 4 elicited a reply to the effect that he supposed he hadn't any children because lie wasn't a mother ; ho was very
sorry , but he . couldn't help it . No 5 drew from him the fact , that he had loved often and well , but that now one star was predominant , which would sliino through the darkness for ever . He had a notion that stars had something to do with Freemasonry ; and he thought the last idea might prove his eligibility . He couldn ' t toll tho colour of hu " "xandmother ' s back
hair ; rather fancied he had two godfathers and three godmothers , or three godfathers and two godmothers , but when they became so hadn't the remotest idea . His poor feet were better , thank you . Gave up No . 9 us a bad job . No . 10 , ditto . Didn ' t eat . trino on a Friday , but added , on consideration that it might be a dish peculiar to Masonry , that it was good for
those who liked it , no doubt . No . 11 fairly puzzled , him , but thinking it meant something he should not agree to , ho boldl y wrote "No" after it . Rather ; thought that he should be able to answer No . 12 better ; after he had been made a Mason than before , so gave , ; it up for tho present . He puzzled himself very much over No . 11 , but finally thought that tho reiteration
ofthe query might have a good ell ' cct , so rejoined , "Are you ? " " _ _ . ,, Mr . Forester was informed , on thc evening of tho 17 th of March , 18 GC , that the eventful night had come . He had answered thc Neophyte questions so well that it was determined to initiate him into tho secrets and mysteries of Ancient Masonry , and he was
to repair at the hour of low twelve to the subterranean caverns beneath the citadel , meaning the old mill in the Draycot-road . Accordingly our hero made his appearance in perfect good faith , but yet , it must bo admitted , in some little fear and trembling , near mid . . . night on St . Patrick ' s Day , and waited patiently for some minutes outside the mill—a low irregular building , which stood by the side of what had onco been a
good null pond , but was now little more than a stream . The dam had long gone the way of all flesh , and nothing was left to remind one of the purposes to which the place had been put but part of the great mill wheel , and a huge iron tube—largo enough to udiiijt a person ou all fours—which was lying on tho bank . ( To be continued . )
ERRATUM * . —In our report of the Gresham Lodge , 860 , last week , the name of Bro . Uomparti , S , W ., was erroneously printed " Gomperby . "