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Article MASONIC REMINISCENCES. ← Page 5 of 7 →
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Masonic Reminiscences.
malignity itself could propagate , set to work to add as much acerbity as possible to their natural infirmity of temper , by encouraging and urging them to bark at all strangers , and at the slightest noise , so that when the Colonel arrived , they were in a state of perfect training for any contemplated purpose of wickedness . The Colonel approached Elysium as he would a fortress in an enemy ' s
country , looking out for ambuscades , and guarding against surprises . On reaching his destination , the door was opened by an . ill-visaged , and sinister-looking janitor , Avho answered the Colonel ' s enquiries by informing him that his master had just gone on a fishing excursion with Lord B , AA'I IO had unexpectedly arrived that morning , and that he thought it might be late before he returned , but if he would Avalk up to the drawing-room , he would announce his arrival to Miss Lavinia , AVIIO was in the music-room .
The invitation to the drawing-room was much more easily made than complied with ; the Colonel , however , thinking it a good opportunity for a tete-a-tete with that young lady , most carefully , and adroitly managed to wind his cautious way through spreading evergreens , and plaister of Paris busts , his head now and again receiving a stronger hint than was pleasant , of the very close proximity of thehuge antlers of a stagor the
. , long bill of a pelican , while the red glassy eyes of lions and tigers glared hideously upon him , from every nook and . corner Avhere one could possibly be placed or mis-placed . After some difficulty , he gained the grand entrance , the door of which was pompously thrown open by the nimble janitor , AVIIO found some more facile aud speedy mode of approach than the grand staircase afforded the Colonel .
On looking in , he hesitated to enter the apartment , wliich seemed in the darkness , ( produced by all the blinds being close drawn ) , to be fifty per cent , more crowded and complicated than the hall ancl staircase he hacl just laboured through . He remained for some time viewing and reviewing , in the " dim obscure , " the strange and motley objects around , as they sloAvly broke upon his perplexed vision ; the sombre stillness of the scene ,
beingonly broken by the raucous sounds of the crazy piano , which Miss Lavinia Avas excruciating with such torture in a contiguous apartment as to draw forth tones of agony so natural , that one might , Avithout any great stretch of fancy , believe it imbued AA'ith animal sensibility , and , calculated as the Colonel said , to produce responsive sensations of pain in any doomed listeneras it did in him .
, He attempted to steer his body through , in the hope of finding some corner of refuge , but after a few efforts , ancl displacing , if not damaging , several of the curiosities , he gave up the task in despair , and cspjing a chair , he drew it forth , determined to await the appearance of Miss Johnson , who might , he hoped , extricate him from the disagreeable fix in Avhich he found himself involved .
Weary and vexed , he allowed himself to drop rather heavily upon the chair , but in his descent , his head diverged a little too much from the centre of gravity , and he merely came in contact with the fronl ; of it ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Reminiscences.
malignity itself could propagate , set to work to add as much acerbity as possible to their natural infirmity of temper , by encouraging and urging them to bark at all strangers , and at the slightest noise , so that when the Colonel arrived , they were in a state of perfect training for any contemplated purpose of wickedness . The Colonel approached Elysium as he would a fortress in an enemy ' s
country , looking out for ambuscades , and guarding against surprises . On reaching his destination , the door was opened by an . ill-visaged , and sinister-looking janitor , Avho answered the Colonel ' s enquiries by informing him that his master had just gone on a fishing excursion with Lord B , AA'I IO had unexpectedly arrived that morning , and that he thought it might be late before he returned , but if he would Avalk up to the drawing-room , he would announce his arrival to Miss Lavinia , AVIIO was in the music-room .
The invitation to the drawing-room was much more easily made than complied with ; the Colonel , however , thinking it a good opportunity for a tete-a-tete with that young lady , most carefully , and adroitly managed to wind his cautious way through spreading evergreens , and plaister of Paris busts , his head now and again receiving a stronger hint than was pleasant , of the very close proximity of thehuge antlers of a stagor the
. , long bill of a pelican , while the red glassy eyes of lions and tigers glared hideously upon him , from every nook and . corner Avhere one could possibly be placed or mis-placed . After some difficulty , he gained the grand entrance , the door of which was pompously thrown open by the nimble janitor , AVIIO found some more facile aud speedy mode of approach than the grand staircase afforded the Colonel .
On looking in , he hesitated to enter the apartment , wliich seemed in the darkness , ( produced by all the blinds being close drawn ) , to be fifty per cent , more crowded and complicated than the hall ancl staircase he hacl just laboured through . He remained for some time viewing and reviewing , in the " dim obscure , " the strange and motley objects around , as they sloAvly broke upon his perplexed vision ; the sombre stillness of the scene ,
beingonly broken by the raucous sounds of the crazy piano , which Miss Lavinia Avas excruciating with such torture in a contiguous apartment as to draw forth tones of agony so natural , that one might , Avithout any great stretch of fancy , believe it imbued AA'ith animal sensibility , and , calculated as the Colonel said , to produce responsive sensations of pain in any doomed listeneras it did in him .
, He attempted to steer his body through , in the hope of finding some corner of refuge , but after a few efforts , ancl displacing , if not damaging , several of the curiosities , he gave up the task in despair , and cspjing a chair , he drew it forth , determined to await the appearance of Miss Johnson , who might , he hoped , extricate him from the disagreeable fix in Avhich he found himself involved .
Weary and vexed , he allowed himself to drop rather heavily upon the chair , but in his descent , his head diverged a little too much from the centre of gravity , and he merely came in contact with the fronl ; of it ,