Lady Masonry, Or Masonry Of Adoption. *

as also in the works of philanthropy which so eminently characterise our Order : these are the motives that have served as bases for the foundation of lodges of adoption . The Worshipful Master of the Lodge La

Jerusalem des Vallees Egyptiennes , M . J . S . Boubee , and who may be called tho father of French Masonry , places the origin of Masonry of adoption in the seventeenth century , aud names as its author the widow of Charles I . of England ,

daughter of Henry IV ., and sister of Louis XIII . of France . This princess returned to France after the tragical death of her husband ; and one of her greatest pleasures was to recount to the King of France the heroic efforts made in England by the " children of the widow" ( Freemasons ) to

re-establish her son upon the throne . The Queen made known to the ladies of the court the words and signs which formed their bond of union , and thus she instructed them in some of the mysteries of the Institution , of which she had been proclaimed

the lorotectress after the death of Charles I . i . It has been said that Russia was the cradle of Masonry of adoption , and that it originated with Catherine ; for we observe in 1712 the Czarina , after having saved , almost miraculously , Peter the

Great , who was surrounded by the Turkish army in the Pruth , and when his defeat seemed inevitable , obtaiued from Peter , in commemoration of her devotion , ability , and valor , the permission to found the Order of St . Catherine , an Order of knighthood instituted for females only , of which she was proclaimed Grand Mistress .

Some time afterwards , and in the eighteenth century , we again see four Grand Mistresses belonging to the Order of St . John of Jerusalem , which Order , as is well known , was avi emanation of primitive Masonry . In Italy it was the Princess

of Rochelle ; in France the Countess of Maile and the Princess of Latour ; in Germany the Duchess of Wissembourg . In the " Uiiivers Macomiique" of Moreau / he assures us that Masonry of adoption is of French

origin . " What other people / ' he observes , with rather more gallantry than truth , " could have raised this beautiful monument of national gallantry to a sex who in the east ' are subjected to the most humiliating dependence ; who in Spain are

guarded in living sepulchres , namely , the convents ; while in Italy this admirable half of humanity is in the same position , and in Russia the husband receives from the father-in-law , with

Ins wife , the right of flogging her at his pleasure ? The French , adds Moreau , know too well how to appreciate the numberless merits of this charming sex to allow themselves to be influenced by any other nation in the happiness of proving to women

that they are at all times their idols , from youth to age . " We will , however , retrace the history of Masonry of adoption from 1775 , which appears to be the real epoch of its establishment in France .

"Then , " says Boubee , in his "Etudes Maconniques , " the French ladies , not wishing to remain indifferent to the good done by Freemasons , wished to form lodges of adoption , so as more efficaciously to exercise charity and goodness . "

The Grand Orient of France , it appears , did not sympathise at first in the formation of lodges of adoption . It resisted for a long time giving its sanction , but at last consented to take under its care this important institution , on the express

condition that these assemblies should be presided over by a Worshipful Master of a regular Masonic lodge . Permission having thus been obtained , several ladies of distinction strove , by an active and efficient concurrence , to give to this new

institution a happy and powerful commencement . Amonarst them were the Duchesses of Cha-rtres and Bourbon , the Princess of Lamballe , the Countesses of Polignac and Choiseul-Gouflier , the Marchioness of Courtebonne , and others .

Ladies' Masonry is composed of five degrees ; the doctrine for the first degree regards the creation of man and the temptation of Eve ; and for the four other degrees the book of Genesis and the Bible . These assemblies were not exactly

secret ; but they had little in common with Freemasonry , excepting being held in a regular lodge , and hj the performance of acts of charity , esteem , and affection . A lodge of adoption was composed of a Grand Mistress , a Sister Inspectress , a Sister

Depositress , a Sister Oratress , a Sister Secretary , a- Sister Introductress , and a Sister Mistress of Ceremonies . They all wore a bine watered ribbon over the shoulder , with a golden trowel as a jewel . The three first had their mallets . All

the sisters and brothers who composed the lodge wore white aprons and white gloves . The Duchess of Bourbon was the first to receive the title of Grand Mistress : her installation took place in May , 1775 , with great pomp , in the Lodge of Saint Antoine , in Paris . The Duke of