Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Poems And Songs Of The Late Bro. Francis Love, Of Lodge No. 169. (S.C.)
THE POEMS AND SONGS OF THE LATE BRO . FRANCIS LOVE , OF LODGE No . 169 . ( S . C . )
( Krom our Scottish Correspondent ) We have within the last few days received a written circular announcing that the publication of Bro . Love ' s poetical effusions will he forthwith proceeded with , provided as many copies be subscribed for as will , besides liquidating the expenses connected with the issuing of the volumecontribute something towards the support
, of his aged widow , who is at present in rather depressed circumstances . This announcement , then , while answering all the purposes of a prospectus , strikes a deep-toned chord in the breast of every Master Mason . It is , as it were , the G . H . S . O . D ., coming from the grave of one whose heart , while journeying here below , ever beat responsive to the call of Masonic benevolence , and whose
long and consistent career on the Mosaic pavement of the Lodge Stevenston Thistle and Rose has been marked by the erection of such a tangible memorial of the gratitude of his brethren in the bonds of the Graft , as may well make the son proud of his descent from such a sire . But what the brethren have already done out of respect to the of Bro . F . Loveinstead of
justifymemory , ing their neglect of his widow , ought rather to stimulate their zeal in the illustration of that grand principle of the Order which , when in active operation , sends the smoke of its incense to heaven , and assimilates Freemasonry with pure and undefiled religion . Relief , as one of the three
principal tenets of Masonry , is inculcated in our lectures , and impressed by our ceremonial ; and the measure in which it ought to be bestowed should , we are taught , bear some proportion to the necessity of the applicant and the ability of the giver . Let , then , those to whom the appeal on behalf of old Mrs . Love is made give such heed to her ' ¦ ' depressed circumstances , " as that the neutral world ,
seeing our good works , may be led to consider Freemasonry to be what it professes—one of the most benevolent institutions on earth . In the words of an eminent teacher of the Craft , " While Truth may be said to be the column of wisdom , and enlighten the inmost recesses of the lodge , brotherly love ; the column of strength , which binds us as one family in the indissoluble bond of
fraternal affection ; relief is the column of beauty , whose ornaments , more precious than the lilies and the pomegranates that adorned the pillars of the porch , are the widow's tear , of joy and the orphan ' s prayer of gratitude . " We have had considerable pleasure in noticing from time to time , through these pages , the various festive gatherings of the Craft in the western provinces of Scotland
, and now hope to be afforded the opportunity of adding , in the case of Mrs . Love ' s appeal , another to the already numerous instances crowding the annals of Masonry , in which Masonic relief was afforded , where the sole claim to sympathy or assistance was the possession of the name of a worthy brother .
" The widow ' s tear , the orphan's cry , All wants our ready hands supply , As far as power is given : The naked clothe , the captive free , These are thy works , sweet CIIAKITI \"
The volume of her late husband ' s poems and songs , in which Mrs . Love is to have a pecuniary interest , is proposed to be published at the very moderate price of one shilling per copy . We shall be happy to receive the names of subscribers , and meantime beg to suggest to those who are taking an active part in the production of the volume the propriety of making arrangements for such
a revision of the MS . before being put into the hands of the printer , as will secure the correct render-lug of the technicalities of the Craft , with which the Masonic pieces of our deceased brother may be supposed to abound .
Masonic Notes And Queries.
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .
MILTON ' S SEAI . The question has been put , but still remains unanswered , " was Milton a Freemason ? " Pending some decision on this point let me call attention to a very curious seal which once belonged to him , and of which the
following account is given . It is a matter of surprise to find on it so prominently depicted a doubleheaded eagle , but the inference that he belonged to the high grades , on account of using such a device , cannot be sustained , as
the "Ne Plus Ultra" degree was not taken under Frederick the Great till a century or more after the poet's death . Still it opens up another question : —Is this bird the exclusive bearing of Prussiaor did the early members
, ofthe ancient Scottish rite use it , before Frederick re-arranged the series ? Bro . Hyde Clarke , who , I believe , claims Milton as one of his ancestors , by the maternal side , will perhaps kindly give us
his opinion on this matter , and if any high grade Mason would tell us when the old " Ne Plus Ultra , " or 30 ° , first adopted the " split crow , " as it is irreverently termed , it * would oblige—Ex . Ex . " It is surprising hoiv very few relies of OUT great men have survived the destroying and obliterating influence of time . As regards Shakspeare , with the exception of the house in which he in his
was born and two or three signatures handwriting , we have nothing left ivhich is personally associated with our great poet , except his works , which are indeed destined to exist for all time while , as to Milton , most ofthe tangible memoirials of his life have long since passed away . Of the various London houses in which he resided only one is now in existence—namely , the ancient tenement in PettPranceWestminsterwhere he lived when
y , , he filled the post of Foreign Secretary to Oliver Cromwell . In common , too , with Shakspeare and most of our other great men ; Milton was the last of his family in the male line , his only surviving descendants , through his youngest haughter , Deborah , being a family of the name of Clarke , living , in humble circumstances , somewhere at the east end of London .
" Most relics have only a doubtful pedigree to fall back upon ; but that the signet-ring ivhich we have engraved , really belonged , belonged to the poet Milton , we have something like conclusive evidence . It is at present the property of Mr . Disney , who , it seems , inherited it from his father . The late Mr . Disney obtained it , in 1804 , from the collection of Mr . Thomas Brand Hollis , who also inherited it from his father , Mr . Thomas Hollis , in 1774 This latter gentleman purchased the ring in question
. , in the year 1761 , from Mr . John Payne , who obtained possession of it on the death of Thomas Forster , who , it will be remembered , married Elizabeth Clarke , Milton ' s granddaughter , and daughter of his youngest daughter , Deborah , whose husband was one Abraham Clarke , a weaver of Spitalfields . ' ¦ The impress on the seal is a coat-of-arms , a double-headed le displayedthe shield surmounted ba helm and crest
eag , y , which appears to be a lion ' s gaub grasping the neck and head of an eagle , the neck erased . In connection with this relic , and in proof of its authenticity , it may be observed that the armorial bearing is certainly the same as that adopted by Milton , whose father , as everybody knows ; was a scrivener in-Bread-street , in the parish of Allhallows , at the sign of the Spread Eagle . It was in this house that the poet was born , on the 9 th of
December , 1608 ; and the registry of his baptism is still preserved in the adjoining church of Allhallows . Bread-street , one of the most ancient of city streets , was so called , according to Stowe , from bakers selling bread there ; for , in the old times , bread was not allowed to be sold in the shops , hut only in the public market . The whole of Bread-street was destroyed by the great fire of London ; hut it is more probable that the house in ivhich Milton was born was destroyed by a terrible fire which broke out in this street some time previous to that event . The
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Poems And Songs Of The Late Bro. Francis Love, Of Lodge No. 169. (S.C.)
THE POEMS AND SONGS OF THE LATE BRO . FRANCIS LOVE , OF LODGE No . 169 . ( S . C . )
( Krom our Scottish Correspondent ) We have within the last few days received a written circular announcing that the publication of Bro . Love ' s poetical effusions will he forthwith proceeded with , provided as many copies be subscribed for as will , besides liquidating the expenses connected with the issuing of the volumecontribute something towards the support
, of his aged widow , who is at present in rather depressed circumstances . This announcement , then , while answering all the purposes of a prospectus , strikes a deep-toned chord in the breast of every Master Mason . It is , as it were , the G . H . S . O . D ., coming from the grave of one whose heart , while journeying here below , ever beat responsive to the call of Masonic benevolence , and whose
long and consistent career on the Mosaic pavement of the Lodge Stevenston Thistle and Rose has been marked by the erection of such a tangible memorial of the gratitude of his brethren in the bonds of the Graft , as may well make the son proud of his descent from such a sire . But what the brethren have already done out of respect to the of Bro . F . Loveinstead of
justifymemory , ing their neglect of his widow , ought rather to stimulate their zeal in the illustration of that grand principle of the Order which , when in active operation , sends the smoke of its incense to heaven , and assimilates Freemasonry with pure and undefiled religion . Relief , as one of the three
principal tenets of Masonry , is inculcated in our lectures , and impressed by our ceremonial ; and the measure in which it ought to be bestowed should , we are taught , bear some proportion to the necessity of the applicant and the ability of the giver . Let , then , those to whom the appeal on behalf of old Mrs . Love is made give such heed to her ' ¦ ' depressed circumstances , " as that the neutral world ,
seeing our good works , may be led to consider Freemasonry to be what it professes—one of the most benevolent institutions on earth . In the words of an eminent teacher of the Craft , " While Truth may be said to be the column of wisdom , and enlighten the inmost recesses of the lodge , brotherly love ; the column of strength , which binds us as one family in the indissoluble bond of
fraternal affection ; relief is the column of beauty , whose ornaments , more precious than the lilies and the pomegranates that adorned the pillars of the porch , are the widow's tear , of joy and the orphan ' s prayer of gratitude . " We have had considerable pleasure in noticing from time to time , through these pages , the various festive gatherings of the Craft in the western provinces of Scotland
, and now hope to be afforded the opportunity of adding , in the case of Mrs . Love ' s appeal , another to the already numerous instances crowding the annals of Masonry , in which Masonic relief was afforded , where the sole claim to sympathy or assistance was the possession of the name of a worthy brother .
" The widow ' s tear , the orphan's cry , All wants our ready hands supply , As far as power is given : The naked clothe , the captive free , These are thy works , sweet CIIAKITI \"
The volume of her late husband ' s poems and songs , in which Mrs . Love is to have a pecuniary interest , is proposed to be published at the very moderate price of one shilling per copy . We shall be happy to receive the names of subscribers , and meantime beg to suggest to those who are taking an active part in the production of the volume the propriety of making arrangements for such
a revision of the MS . before being put into the hands of the printer , as will secure the correct render-lug of the technicalities of the Craft , with which the Masonic pieces of our deceased brother may be supposed to abound .
Masonic Notes And Queries.
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .
MILTON ' S SEAI . The question has been put , but still remains unanswered , " was Milton a Freemason ? " Pending some decision on this point let me call attention to a very curious seal which once belonged to him , and of which the
following account is given . It is a matter of surprise to find on it so prominently depicted a doubleheaded eagle , but the inference that he belonged to the high grades , on account of using such a device , cannot be sustained , as
the "Ne Plus Ultra" degree was not taken under Frederick the Great till a century or more after the poet's death . Still it opens up another question : —Is this bird the exclusive bearing of Prussiaor did the early members
, ofthe ancient Scottish rite use it , before Frederick re-arranged the series ? Bro . Hyde Clarke , who , I believe , claims Milton as one of his ancestors , by the maternal side , will perhaps kindly give us
his opinion on this matter , and if any high grade Mason would tell us when the old " Ne Plus Ultra , " or 30 ° , first adopted the " split crow , " as it is irreverently termed , it * would oblige—Ex . Ex . " It is surprising hoiv very few relies of OUT great men have survived the destroying and obliterating influence of time . As regards Shakspeare , with the exception of the house in which he in his
was born and two or three signatures handwriting , we have nothing left ivhich is personally associated with our great poet , except his works , which are indeed destined to exist for all time while , as to Milton , most ofthe tangible memoirials of his life have long since passed away . Of the various London houses in which he resided only one is now in existence—namely , the ancient tenement in PettPranceWestminsterwhere he lived when
y , , he filled the post of Foreign Secretary to Oliver Cromwell . In common , too , with Shakspeare and most of our other great men ; Milton was the last of his family in the male line , his only surviving descendants , through his youngest haughter , Deborah , being a family of the name of Clarke , living , in humble circumstances , somewhere at the east end of London .
" Most relics have only a doubtful pedigree to fall back upon ; but that the signet-ring ivhich we have engraved , really belonged , belonged to the poet Milton , we have something like conclusive evidence . It is at present the property of Mr . Disney , who , it seems , inherited it from his father . The late Mr . Disney obtained it , in 1804 , from the collection of Mr . Thomas Brand Hollis , who also inherited it from his father , Mr . Thomas Hollis , in 1774 This latter gentleman purchased the ring in question
. , in the year 1761 , from Mr . John Payne , who obtained possession of it on the death of Thomas Forster , who , it will be remembered , married Elizabeth Clarke , Milton ' s granddaughter , and daughter of his youngest daughter , Deborah , whose husband was one Abraham Clarke , a weaver of Spitalfields . ' ¦ The impress on the seal is a coat-of-arms , a double-headed le displayedthe shield surmounted ba helm and crest
eag , y , which appears to be a lion ' s gaub grasping the neck and head of an eagle , the neck erased . In connection with this relic , and in proof of its authenticity , it may be observed that the armorial bearing is certainly the same as that adopted by Milton , whose father , as everybody knows ; was a scrivener in-Bread-street , in the parish of Allhallows , at the sign of the Spread Eagle . It was in this house that the poet was born , on the 9 th of
December , 1608 ; and the registry of his baptism is still preserved in the adjoining church of Allhallows . Bread-street , one of the most ancient of city streets , was so called , according to Stowe , from bakers selling bread there ; for , in the old times , bread was not allowed to be sold in the shops , hut only in the public market . The whole of Bread-street was destroyed by the great fire of London ; hut it is more probable that the house in ivhich Milton was born was destroyed by a terrible fire which broke out in this street some time previous to that event . The