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  • Feb. 23, 1861
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  • VISIT TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON AND ITS VICINAGE.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Feb. 23, 1861: Page 2

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Memoirs Of The Freemasons Of Naples.

Freemasons . Peyrol engaged this man , by the oiler of partaking the profits with him , to deceive the Pole by the imposture of a false lodge . In this they sought to dupe each other , and they themselves were both deceived . Sad example of the depravity of human nature ! They purchased together the apparatus of a lodge

, after which Peyrol invited many of his friends , under the pretext of a treat which a Polish gentleman intended to give . He had chosen for the place of meeting a country house at Capo de Monte , a hill famous for the beauty of its prospect , where there is a royal house , and a great number of delightful villas .

Visit To Stratford-On-Avon And Its Vicinage.

VISIT TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON AND ITS VICINAGE .

Br Bito . GEOP . GE MABKHAM TwEnnEM ,, Author of " Sliali'spere : Ms Times and Contemporaries , " § -c . ( Continuedfrom page 45 . ) As I left the church which contains the ashes of the greatest genius which tlie human race has yet produced , I endeavoured to realise the many evenings when he

, like the Page in the third scene of the fifth act of his own Romeo and Juliet , lias said to himself in his boyhood— "I am almost afraid to stand alone here in the churchyard ; yet I ivill adventure . " For I doubt not in this very graveyard he first learned the instructions which he has put into the mouth of " Mercutio's kinsman

, noble County Paris : "" Under yon yew-tree lay tbee all along" , Holding" thine ear closo to tho hollow ground ; So shall no foot upon the churchyard tread ( Being- loose , unfirra / with digging up of graves ) , But tliou shalt hear it . " -

Old Kemp had shown rae the new font before we left the church , which reminded me that Charles Kni ght had published a wood-cut of the ancient font , at which "William Shakspere , and many of his kith and kin , may reasonably enough be supposed to have been baptized . "Kenrp , " said I , " my good fellow , you have shown me your new font ; but I fear yon will not have

another Shakspere to baptize in your day or mine . " " Maybe not , sir . I hear say he was a clever fellow . " "He knew a thing or two , that's flat , Kemp . But can you tell me what got the old font ? " "I should think as how I can , sir . "What it stood for years at our back-door under th' spout , to catch

rainwater . Just come through th' passage , sir , " for by this time we had arrived opposite Kemp ' s humble cottage , " and I'll let ye see where 't stood , sir . " " Thank ye , Kemp . It ' s very interesting to see where it stood . And your parson and churchwardens , Kemp , deserved to have had their 'brains taken out , ancl

buttered , and given to a dog , ' as Shakspere makes old Falstaff say , for ever allowing it to stand in such a spot . It had no right to be removed from the church , Kemp ; that was the proper place to keep it . What got it at last , Kemp ? Did you break it up for sand ? " "Bless your life , no , sir ! It ' s in Stratford now , sir ;

and I think I can maybe show you it . " " I'll stand another ' stoup " of liquor' if yon will , Kemp . But tell me how it came to pass " from its accustomed duty of standing to catch rain-water under the spout at your back-door , Kemp ? " Tlie old man stated that a gentleman * ( whose name he mentioned ) "fancied it ; " so he , Kemp , made him a present ot it : ; that tbe gentleman was dead now , and

the font was standing in the garden of a master builder * close Try . Presently we were at the door , and the bell was answered b y a very civil maid-servant , who at once allowed us to inspect this fine old font , which stands on a sort of terrace at the end of the garden . It is very massiveformed of one piece of stoneand of

, , good workmanship ; but a portion of the cup or basin has been broken off . Now that it has been torn from the church , this fine old font ought to be preserved in the house where Shakspere was born , as one of the few Shaksperian relics which are now come-at-able ; for , if the bard was not baptized at this fontI make no

, doubt that he was at least christened at it ; and that he has stood and knelt by it when his own children were " signed with the sign of the cross , in token that hereafter they would not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified , and manfully to fight under His banner against sin , the world , and the devil , and to continue

Christ ' s faithful soldiers and servants unto their lives ' end : " a covenant which they appear to have kept . My next visit was to the birthplace of Shakspere , in Henley-street , Kemp volunteering to show the way ; but on arriving there we found the place shut up , it being past the hours for showing it . I therefore bade

poor old Kemp good-bye ; and as I piarted with him , I could not help thinking that ( with one exception ) he was the best representative of one of the gravediggers in Hamlet of any which I had met with on the stage of real life .

A . pleasant ramble about the streets and outskirts of Stratford , and some quiet contemplations by the Avon , brought on the time when "The dragon wing of night o ' ersproads the earth ;" I therefore retired , like Falstaff , to " take mine ease in mine inn ; " and by the time that my pipe was finished ,

' * ' The iron tongue of Midnight had told twelve . " I was presently in bed ancl asleep , but awoke when " Tho grey-eyed Morn smiles on the frowning ni ght , Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light ; And flecked Darkness like a drunkard reels , From forth Day ' s pathway , made by Titan ' s wheels . " —Romeo and Juliet , act . ii ., so . 3 .

The notes of the cuckoo were as loud and distinct as though she were over my head , and continued for some minutes , when the town ' s clock struck three , and then for a few seconds the joyful notes were silent ; and when I again heard them , they came from a distance . I have always loved the simple notes of the cuckoo , and though

they are said to be " displeasing to the married ear , " I am happy to say they are as clear to me now that I am the father of a family as they were in those halcyon hours when I gathered daisies , and buttercups , and primroses in the fields and lanes of Cleveland , in the days of my childhood ; ancl I must confess I like the manner in

which this " messenger of spring " flutters in the verses of Loganf and of "Wordsworth , better than the banter of which Shakspere has made it the subject . After breakfast , I was about to visit ' the birthplace of the bard , but finding that an omnibus was about to start from tlie Eed Lion next door for Leamington , ancl that "

it would pass the stile or small gate ofthe footpath leading to Charlcotc Parle ( a place which I had put down to visit , if possible ) , I at once secured a seat beside the driver , and a- pleasant drive soon brought us to the spot . Descending from the vehicle , and walking across a single field , I found myself at tlie entrance to Charlcote Park ,

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1861-02-23, Page 2” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 11 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_23021861/page/2/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
MEMOIRS OF THE FREEMASONS OF NAPLES. Article 1
VISIT TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON AND ITS VICINAGE. Article 2
THE GRAVE S OF BROS. JACKSON AND POLK. Article 4
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 5
Literature. Article 6
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 9
Poetry. Article 10
I'M GROWING OLD. Article 10
A LAMENT. Article 10
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 10
THE HIGHER DEGREES. Article 11
THE ROYAL ARCH DEGREE. Article 11
THE WEST LANCASHIRE BALL. Article 11
NOTES ON MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. Article 11
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 12
METROPOLITAN. Article 12
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
MARK MASONRY. Article 16
ROYAL ARCH. Article 16
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 17
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE. Article 17
WEST INDIES Article 17
MASONIC FESTIVITIES. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 19
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Memoirs Of The Freemasons Of Naples.

Freemasons . Peyrol engaged this man , by the oiler of partaking the profits with him , to deceive the Pole by the imposture of a false lodge . In this they sought to dupe each other , and they themselves were both deceived . Sad example of the depravity of human nature ! They purchased together the apparatus of a lodge

, after which Peyrol invited many of his friends , under the pretext of a treat which a Polish gentleman intended to give . He had chosen for the place of meeting a country house at Capo de Monte , a hill famous for the beauty of its prospect , where there is a royal house , and a great number of delightful villas .

Visit To Stratford-On-Avon And Its Vicinage.

VISIT TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON AND ITS VICINAGE .

Br Bito . GEOP . GE MABKHAM TwEnnEM ,, Author of " Sliali'spere : Ms Times and Contemporaries , " § -c . ( Continuedfrom page 45 . ) As I left the church which contains the ashes of the greatest genius which tlie human race has yet produced , I endeavoured to realise the many evenings when he

, like the Page in the third scene of the fifth act of his own Romeo and Juliet , lias said to himself in his boyhood— "I am almost afraid to stand alone here in the churchyard ; yet I ivill adventure . " For I doubt not in this very graveyard he first learned the instructions which he has put into the mouth of " Mercutio's kinsman

, noble County Paris : "" Under yon yew-tree lay tbee all along" , Holding" thine ear closo to tho hollow ground ; So shall no foot upon the churchyard tread ( Being- loose , unfirra / with digging up of graves ) , But tliou shalt hear it . " -

Old Kemp had shown rae the new font before we left the church , which reminded me that Charles Kni ght had published a wood-cut of the ancient font , at which "William Shakspere , and many of his kith and kin , may reasonably enough be supposed to have been baptized . "Kenrp , " said I , " my good fellow , you have shown me your new font ; but I fear yon will not have

another Shakspere to baptize in your day or mine . " " Maybe not , sir . I hear say he was a clever fellow . " "He knew a thing or two , that's flat , Kemp . But can you tell me what got the old font ? " "I should think as how I can , sir . "What it stood for years at our back-door under th' spout , to catch

rainwater . Just come through th' passage , sir , " for by this time we had arrived opposite Kemp ' s humble cottage , " and I'll let ye see where 't stood , sir . " " Thank ye , Kemp . It ' s very interesting to see where it stood . And your parson and churchwardens , Kemp , deserved to have had their 'brains taken out , ancl

buttered , and given to a dog , ' as Shakspere makes old Falstaff say , for ever allowing it to stand in such a spot . It had no right to be removed from the church , Kemp ; that was the proper place to keep it . What got it at last , Kemp ? Did you break it up for sand ? " "Bless your life , no , sir ! It ' s in Stratford now , sir ;

and I think I can maybe show you it . " " I'll stand another ' stoup " of liquor' if yon will , Kemp . But tell me how it came to pass " from its accustomed duty of standing to catch rain-water under the spout at your back-door , Kemp ? " Tlie old man stated that a gentleman * ( whose name he mentioned ) "fancied it ; " so he , Kemp , made him a present ot it : ; that tbe gentleman was dead now , and

the font was standing in the garden of a master builder * close Try . Presently we were at the door , and the bell was answered b y a very civil maid-servant , who at once allowed us to inspect this fine old font , which stands on a sort of terrace at the end of the garden . It is very massiveformed of one piece of stoneand of

, , good workmanship ; but a portion of the cup or basin has been broken off . Now that it has been torn from the church , this fine old font ought to be preserved in the house where Shakspere was born , as one of the few Shaksperian relics which are now come-at-able ; for , if the bard was not baptized at this fontI make no

, doubt that he was at least christened at it ; and that he has stood and knelt by it when his own children were " signed with the sign of the cross , in token that hereafter they would not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified , and manfully to fight under His banner against sin , the world , and the devil , and to continue

Christ ' s faithful soldiers and servants unto their lives ' end : " a covenant which they appear to have kept . My next visit was to the birthplace of Shakspere , in Henley-street , Kemp volunteering to show the way ; but on arriving there we found the place shut up , it being past the hours for showing it . I therefore bade

poor old Kemp good-bye ; and as I piarted with him , I could not help thinking that ( with one exception ) he was the best representative of one of the gravediggers in Hamlet of any which I had met with on the stage of real life .

A . pleasant ramble about the streets and outskirts of Stratford , and some quiet contemplations by the Avon , brought on the time when "The dragon wing of night o ' ersproads the earth ;" I therefore retired , like Falstaff , to " take mine ease in mine inn ; " and by the time that my pipe was finished ,

' * ' The iron tongue of Midnight had told twelve . " I was presently in bed ancl asleep , but awoke when " Tho grey-eyed Morn smiles on the frowning ni ght , Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light ; And flecked Darkness like a drunkard reels , From forth Day ' s pathway , made by Titan ' s wheels . " —Romeo and Juliet , act . ii ., so . 3 .

The notes of the cuckoo were as loud and distinct as though she were over my head , and continued for some minutes , when the town ' s clock struck three , and then for a few seconds the joyful notes were silent ; and when I again heard them , they came from a distance . I have always loved the simple notes of the cuckoo , and though

they are said to be " displeasing to the married ear , " I am happy to say they are as clear to me now that I am the father of a family as they were in those halcyon hours when I gathered daisies , and buttercups , and primroses in the fields and lanes of Cleveland , in the days of my childhood ; ancl I must confess I like the manner in

which this " messenger of spring " flutters in the verses of Loganf and of "Wordsworth , better than the banter of which Shakspere has made it the subject . After breakfast , I was about to visit ' the birthplace of the bard , but finding that an omnibus was about to start from tlie Eed Lion next door for Leamington , ancl that "

it would pass the stile or small gate ofthe footpath leading to Charlcotc Parle ( a place which I had put down to visit , if possible ) , I at once secured a seat beside the driver , and a- pleasant drive soon brought us to the spot . Descending from the vehicle , and walking across a single field , I found myself at tlie entrance to Charlcote Park ,

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