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Article THREE CHRISTMAS EVES. ← Page 6 of 8 →
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Three Christmas Eves.
Lodge is held , for the third time I find assembled on a Christmas Eve a Lodge oi Emergency . Something tells me that it too will be an eventful one . " ' This much , my Brethren , before I resume my seat , I now wish to say : To the Master ' s keeping I give these papers ; in one of them is written in full this history of mine ; in a second a disposition of my property in case my daughter shoidd ever be discovered ; in a third , another disposition in case this discovery should not he
made , a disposition whereby , returning , for Brethren ' s love to me , poor , afflicted , sad , a Brother ' s love to others in distress , I give my all to Masons' widows and their children left bereaved . " ' And now , my tale thus done , time warns me to be short ; much longer I cannot live ; therefore , to you , my Brethren , of those who more than once befriended me the worthy representatives , I give my final charge ; beseeching yon to follow up my
quest : to find my child if possible ; to execute the trust of those my testaments and to tell her , my second Mary , that not until his latest breath was drawn did hei father cease to seek to find the lost one . " ' My task , so far as in me lies , is done ; to you , my Brethren , my failing breath reminds me that I must commit its further care '
" ' IS done !—Behold !' " Every eye followed that of the aged speaker to the door of the Lodge whence proceeded this startling interruption , ancl there , within the Lodge , stood Brother Blunderbore , whilst through the half-opened door could be seen a woman ' s form . " From the quivering of the old man ' s frame , and from his breathing , which had suddenly become hurried and distressed , it was evident that not a moment was to be lost ; so having hastily thrown their coatsor anything that was handy , over such
, parts of the Lodge furniture as were prominent , the Brethren summoned the woman within the room . She stepped forward , with a startled gaze , till her eyes , lighted upon the Traveller-Brother ' s face , when in an instant her eye flashed with a strange ancl almost supernatural fire , as she almost shrieked ,
" ' FATHER !' "At the sound , the old man started to his feet once more , and with the cry , " ' MY CHILD ! MY IVLVEY !!' he sank back into his seat , and such a change came over his features that we thought for the moment that he was gone . " Not so , however , for with the application of restoratives , he rallied again , and then Brother Blunderbore , stepping forward and taking his hand , exclaimed— :. " ' Paul ! Brother Roberts ! Paul ! Do you not know me ?' "' I do ! indeed , I do ! ' exclaimed the old man ; ' but how , William , found yon
my daughter again ? " ' The story is short , ' said Brother Blunderbore , ' simply this , — " ' Your child was playing by my door , when a passing tramp decoyed her away , a . we suppose , for her clothes . He took her many mdes that afternoon , pushing onward to a distant lodging ; night came on whilst they were still short of the distance , and tke ^ little one , footsore and weary , being able to go no further , he was obliged to beg a- ' lodging in i ' tentA flickering of light from the fire iercing an
a gpsys . ray camp-, p opening in the tent-side , fell sparkling on a little jewel still hanging round the neck oi the child ; curiosity prompted the gipsy-wife to examine it ; when , to her astonishment , ^ she beheld her own talisman , the Seal of the Royal Solomon , She forthwith awoke her husband , and the pair , taking the child under their protection , in the morning . < h ' forth the tramp , after fruitlessly examining him as to the ehdd ' s belongings . two they wandered from lace to placecalling an officer of the
"' For years p , on Lodge in every place they came to that possessed one , and in many instances making visits to isolated Brethren , with a view of restoring the child to its parents ; they knew that the little one was a Mason ' s child by the jewel , and Solomon ' s Seal was sufficien to awaken within their loyal breasts a love that might have been a Brother ' s . " 'At length they reached this place , which the child at once remembered , and sne was restored to my arms by the gipsies , who would take no recompense , save
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Three Christmas Eves.
Lodge is held , for the third time I find assembled on a Christmas Eve a Lodge oi Emergency . Something tells me that it too will be an eventful one . " ' This much , my Brethren , before I resume my seat , I now wish to say : To the Master ' s keeping I give these papers ; in one of them is written in full this history of mine ; in a second a disposition of my property in case my daughter shoidd ever be discovered ; in a third , another disposition in case this discovery should not he
made , a disposition whereby , returning , for Brethren ' s love to me , poor , afflicted , sad , a Brother ' s love to others in distress , I give my all to Masons' widows and their children left bereaved . " ' And now , my tale thus done , time warns me to be short ; much longer I cannot live ; therefore , to you , my Brethren , of those who more than once befriended me the worthy representatives , I give my final charge ; beseeching yon to follow up my
quest : to find my child if possible ; to execute the trust of those my testaments and to tell her , my second Mary , that not until his latest breath was drawn did hei father cease to seek to find the lost one . " ' My task , so far as in me lies , is done ; to you , my Brethren , my failing breath reminds me that I must commit its further care '
" ' IS done !—Behold !' " Every eye followed that of the aged speaker to the door of the Lodge whence proceeded this startling interruption , ancl there , within the Lodge , stood Brother Blunderbore , whilst through the half-opened door could be seen a woman ' s form . " From the quivering of the old man ' s frame , and from his breathing , which had suddenly become hurried and distressed , it was evident that not a moment was to be lost ; so having hastily thrown their coatsor anything that was handy , over such
, parts of the Lodge furniture as were prominent , the Brethren summoned the woman within the room . She stepped forward , with a startled gaze , till her eyes , lighted upon the Traveller-Brother ' s face , when in an instant her eye flashed with a strange ancl almost supernatural fire , as she almost shrieked ,
" ' FATHER !' "At the sound , the old man started to his feet once more , and with the cry , " ' MY CHILD ! MY IVLVEY !!' he sank back into his seat , and such a change came over his features that we thought for the moment that he was gone . " Not so , however , for with the application of restoratives , he rallied again , and then Brother Blunderbore , stepping forward and taking his hand , exclaimed— :. " ' Paul ! Brother Roberts ! Paul ! Do you not know me ?' "' I do ! indeed , I do ! ' exclaimed the old man ; ' but how , William , found yon
my daughter again ? " ' The story is short , ' said Brother Blunderbore , ' simply this , — " ' Your child was playing by my door , when a passing tramp decoyed her away , a . we suppose , for her clothes . He took her many mdes that afternoon , pushing onward to a distant lodging ; night came on whilst they were still short of the distance , and tke ^ little one , footsore and weary , being able to go no further , he was obliged to beg a- ' lodging in i ' tentA flickering of light from the fire iercing an
a gpsys . ray camp-, p opening in the tent-side , fell sparkling on a little jewel still hanging round the neck oi the child ; curiosity prompted the gipsy-wife to examine it ; when , to her astonishment , ^ she beheld her own talisman , the Seal of the Royal Solomon , She forthwith awoke her husband , and the pair , taking the child under their protection , in the morning . < h ' forth the tramp , after fruitlessly examining him as to the ehdd ' s belongings . two they wandered from lace to placecalling an officer of the
"' For years p , on Lodge in every place they came to that possessed one , and in many instances making visits to isolated Brethren , with a view of restoring the child to its parents ; they knew that the little one was a Mason ' s child by the jewel , and Solomon ' s Seal was sufficien to awaken within their loyal breasts a love that might have been a Brother ' s . " 'At length they reached this place , which the child at once remembered , and sne was restored to my arms by the gipsies , who would take no recompense , save