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Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. ← Page 2 of 2 Article Literature. Page 1 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
of tho book . It , hoivever , has one value , viz ., to show the excitement occasioned by the Morgan case in America , ivhich ivas so great that numbers of American Masons seceded from Masonry , and published all they knew of its mysteries , but a reaction at length set in , and those who were duped by the revelations of the soccders at length asked themselves this question : If men have sworn such
oaths never to reveal these things , they must bo perjurers , and no dependence can be placed upon the oaths they now swear that these are the secrets of Masonry . ' To such a pitch did the secession arrive at one time , that there was scarcely an American Lodge which did not have somo of its members enrolled amongst the false brethren , and they loried in acknowledging their infamy . Well may the
g Masons of Europe look with suspicion on all American Masons and Masonry . " Such were our words , and wc adhere to them , despite the assertion of the quotation , which says , "this is simply false , " for it is honestly true . We are not about to shift . our ground , but we cannot forbear to ask a question—one that has never been answered by the American Masons . What did become
of Morgan ? Ho was last seen in the company of certain Masons , and no man ever saw him afterwards . What then is the inference ? We draw ours from thc reports of the trials at the timo , and fully believe , he ivas made away with by some of the rash party who had him in their poiver . And
now * to return to tho matter in hand , and shew that ive do know something of the subject upon which we write . At the time of the Morgan affair , aud shortly after , there wero no less than thirty-six newspapers , magazines , and reviews , which ive have seen , how * many more " there were , wo cannot pretend to know , in which Anti-Masonry was the leading principle . In many of those , there were the fullest
and most minute disclosures , which ought never to have been published . Rituals and guides-books swarmed from the press , and one of them especially , au American Brother pointed out to us as being a text book in Lodges at the present hour . Will the writer of the above challenge us to point out to him ten printed rituals of American Masonry ? If so , we will oblige him and stake our credit on their being
essentially the same as thc text book alluded to in the last sentence . Our opponent is certainly pleading a very curious case . He states " the European Masons do not now entertain those susjricions ; " from ivhich we infer that they did then mistrust . We have no desire to introduce airy mischief , great or smait ; our business is with facts , those stubborn things which cannot bo explained away , however much it miht suit
g the writer of thc extract to gloss the matter over , and we can scarcely suppress a suspicion that much of the virtuous indignation expressed owes its influence to a question hinging on the almighty dollar : viz ., the propriety of so much publication as our American brethren indulge in . ]
1 US 0 NIC GRAVE STONE . Can any of our Brethren in Cheltenham favour me , through your MAGAZINE , with a copy of thc superscription in cypher at the top of the Stone in St . Mary ' s Churchyard , which covers the remains of Bro . Wm . Quantril , a poor actor , who died thero . Tho Stone is there , but thc superscription has been washed off by the pitiless storm , years ago . —It . E . X .
GOOD-FELLOWSHIP IN THE IUSKS . — " The first might be a peer , the second a working man , the third a shopkeeper , the fourth a yeoman , the fifth a captain in the Guards , and so on . There they stood , shoulder to shoulder , intent on the same object , to test their skill in a generous rivalry ; and the Volunteer uniform showed no difference . You will see the Times , in giving the names does the same . It was the old public school custom over again , and is a sure sign of healthy feeling . Men stood upon their merits alonetheir
, personal merits , in the use of the rifle . Besides , the intermixture of classes did more ; it showed us to each other , and we found the mind ofthe gentleman was common to all . It was 'Pair play and old England ; ' each man did his best , without striving after any small advantages . We stood upon honour with each other , and it was not long before there was great clan-ship amongst us—just like the old feeling of sides at cricket and footballandin ite of our
, , sp individual rivalry , we cheered a successful shot as reflecting credit on the squad . ' " XVell clone Johnson , ' ' Well done Bud-shorn , ' when they got centres . And so high did did this run , that , at the close of the day , we wished to challenge any of the squads and had there been time , no doubt plenty of matches 11 o ild have come off . "
Literature.
Literature .
REVIEW . Memorials of Thomas Hood . By ins Sox AJ * D DATTGHTEI ! . 2 Vols . Edivaad Moxon , London . These volumes are the warm heart-gushing tribute of two devoted children to a parent , who must have been such a father as it falls to
the lot of few of human kind to possess . The name of Thomas Hood is enough to conjure up all that is ideal in large-hearted liberality . He was a poet , whose poetry was the offspring of the heart , and whose feelings were those of a man loving and beloved . It has been often said that near relatives are not the best biographers , but , in the books before us , we prefer the loving , tender ,
ancl respectful treatment of a good man's offspring , to the most eloquent life that could have been written by the ablest word-painter n the world . In these Memorials we have the filial love of a son and daughter , not seeking to heighten a parent's feme , p . irdonable though the attempt might be , by any of the arts of writing , but by a simple , and touching narrative of a pure , holy , and blameless
life doing more to perpetuate the name , and virtues , of a man whose sympathies were always enlisted on the side of poor humanity , than any other biographer could hope to achieve . Thomas Hood is here presented to us as he lived . The Memorials are those which chiefly fell from his own hand when fighting day by clay with sickness and adversity ; }* et long-suffering , loving ,
laughing , hopeful , and happy , with a mind over-burthened with care , and a body which seemed to be the inheritance of some lifelong disease ; in whose nature was engrafted the principle
to"Suffer anil be strong . " Hood ' s connection with literature was his earliest and only occupation , and although be experienced some treatment which was discouraging , ancl bad to combat with misfortunes — which his daughter hints were the fault of others—still he clung to the pursuit . And the public did recognise his abilities , but bis literary labours , owing to the causes before mentioned , were not
proportionably rewarded to his merits . As if this was not trial enough for such a philosopher , ho underwent a life of weakness and suffering j and there is scarcely a page of these Memorials which does not tell us such a tale of physical prostration , tlmt it is wonderful how he could have borne up through it . He was eminently domestic in his tastes , indeed , his bodily
health would allow no other course , and his gentle and affectionate nature rendered it the most agreeable solace to his mind , for what other panacea could bo found for one that declared . " I'm sick of gruel , ancl the dietetics ; " I'm sick of pills , and sicker of emetics ; " I'm sick of pulses' tardiness or quickness ; " I'm sick of blood , its thinness or its thickness ;—"In short , within a word I'm sick of sickness . "
13 ut ho had the good fortune to be watched over , and understood by a loving wife , and nobly does he express to her the treasure that she proved to him . In one of his letters he bears witness to her unappreciable worth in these words : — " I never was anything , dearest , till I knew * you—and I have been a better , happier , and more prosperous man ever since . Lay
by that truth in lavender , sweetest , and remind me of it when I fail . I am writing warmly and fondly ; but not without good cause . First , your own affectionate letter , lately received—next the remembrance of our dear children , pledges—what darling Ones ! —of our old familiar love , —then a delicious impulse to pour out tlio overflowings of my heart into yours ; and last , not least , the knowledge that your dear eyes will react what my hand is now writing . Perhaps there is an after-thought thatwhatever may
, bef . il me , the wife of my bosom will have this acknowledgement of her tenderness—worth—excellence—all that is wifely or womanly , from my pen . " From the above it is evident that what Hood wrote , so was his life . His pathos is never more intense than wiien he is ^ writing of tlie charms of home and the joys and sorrows of the claims of domestic
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
of tho book . It , hoivever , has one value , viz ., to show the excitement occasioned by the Morgan case in America , ivhich ivas so great that numbers of American Masons seceded from Masonry , and published all they knew of its mysteries , but a reaction at length set in , and those who were duped by the revelations of the soccders at length asked themselves this question : If men have sworn such
oaths never to reveal these things , they must bo perjurers , and no dependence can be placed upon the oaths they now swear that these are the secrets of Masonry . ' To such a pitch did the secession arrive at one time , that there was scarcely an American Lodge which did not have somo of its members enrolled amongst the false brethren , and they loried in acknowledging their infamy . Well may the
g Masons of Europe look with suspicion on all American Masons and Masonry . " Such were our words , and wc adhere to them , despite the assertion of the quotation , which says , "this is simply false , " for it is honestly true . We are not about to shift . our ground , but we cannot forbear to ask a question—one that has never been answered by the American Masons . What did become
of Morgan ? Ho was last seen in the company of certain Masons , and no man ever saw him afterwards . What then is the inference ? We draw ours from thc reports of the trials at the timo , and fully believe , he ivas made away with by some of the rash party who had him in their poiver . And
now * to return to tho matter in hand , and shew that ive do know something of the subject upon which we write . At the time of the Morgan affair , aud shortly after , there wero no less than thirty-six newspapers , magazines , and reviews , which ive have seen , how * many more " there were , wo cannot pretend to know , in which Anti-Masonry was the leading principle . In many of those , there were the fullest
and most minute disclosures , which ought never to have been published . Rituals and guides-books swarmed from the press , and one of them especially , au American Brother pointed out to us as being a text book in Lodges at the present hour . Will the writer of the above challenge us to point out to him ten printed rituals of American Masonry ? If so , we will oblige him and stake our credit on their being
essentially the same as thc text book alluded to in the last sentence . Our opponent is certainly pleading a very curious case . He states " the European Masons do not now entertain those susjricions ; " from ivhich we infer that they did then mistrust . We have no desire to introduce airy mischief , great or smait ; our business is with facts , those stubborn things which cannot bo explained away , however much it miht suit
g the writer of thc extract to gloss the matter over , and we can scarcely suppress a suspicion that much of the virtuous indignation expressed owes its influence to a question hinging on the almighty dollar : viz ., the propriety of so much publication as our American brethren indulge in . ]
1 US 0 NIC GRAVE STONE . Can any of our Brethren in Cheltenham favour me , through your MAGAZINE , with a copy of thc superscription in cypher at the top of the Stone in St . Mary ' s Churchyard , which covers the remains of Bro . Wm . Quantril , a poor actor , who died thero . Tho Stone is there , but thc superscription has been washed off by the pitiless storm , years ago . —It . E . X .
GOOD-FELLOWSHIP IN THE IUSKS . — " The first might be a peer , the second a working man , the third a shopkeeper , the fourth a yeoman , the fifth a captain in the Guards , and so on . There they stood , shoulder to shoulder , intent on the same object , to test their skill in a generous rivalry ; and the Volunteer uniform showed no difference . You will see the Times , in giving the names does the same . It was the old public school custom over again , and is a sure sign of healthy feeling . Men stood upon their merits alonetheir
, personal merits , in the use of the rifle . Besides , the intermixture of classes did more ; it showed us to each other , and we found the mind ofthe gentleman was common to all . It was 'Pair play and old England ; ' each man did his best , without striving after any small advantages . We stood upon honour with each other , and it was not long before there was great clan-ship amongst us—just like the old feeling of sides at cricket and footballandin ite of our
, , sp individual rivalry , we cheered a successful shot as reflecting credit on the squad . ' " XVell clone Johnson , ' ' Well done Bud-shorn , ' when they got centres . And so high did did this run , that , at the close of the day , we wished to challenge any of the squads and had there been time , no doubt plenty of matches 11 o ild have come off . "
Literature.
Literature .
REVIEW . Memorials of Thomas Hood . By ins Sox AJ * D DATTGHTEI ! . 2 Vols . Edivaad Moxon , London . These volumes are the warm heart-gushing tribute of two devoted children to a parent , who must have been such a father as it falls to
the lot of few of human kind to possess . The name of Thomas Hood is enough to conjure up all that is ideal in large-hearted liberality . He was a poet , whose poetry was the offspring of the heart , and whose feelings were those of a man loving and beloved . It has been often said that near relatives are not the best biographers , but , in the books before us , we prefer the loving , tender ,
ancl respectful treatment of a good man's offspring , to the most eloquent life that could have been written by the ablest word-painter n the world . In these Memorials we have the filial love of a son and daughter , not seeking to heighten a parent's feme , p . irdonable though the attempt might be , by any of the arts of writing , but by a simple , and touching narrative of a pure , holy , and blameless
life doing more to perpetuate the name , and virtues , of a man whose sympathies were always enlisted on the side of poor humanity , than any other biographer could hope to achieve . Thomas Hood is here presented to us as he lived . The Memorials are those which chiefly fell from his own hand when fighting day by clay with sickness and adversity ; }* et long-suffering , loving ,
laughing , hopeful , and happy , with a mind over-burthened with care , and a body which seemed to be the inheritance of some lifelong disease ; in whose nature was engrafted the principle
to"Suffer anil be strong . " Hood ' s connection with literature was his earliest and only occupation , and although be experienced some treatment which was discouraging , ancl bad to combat with misfortunes — which his daughter hints were the fault of others—still he clung to the pursuit . And the public did recognise his abilities , but bis literary labours , owing to the causes before mentioned , were not
proportionably rewarded to his merits . As if this was not trial enough for such a philosopher , ho underwent a life of weakness and suffering j and there is scarcely a page of these Memorials which does not tell us such a tale of physical prostration , tlmt it is wonderful how he could have borne up through it . He was eminently domestic in his tastes , indeed , his bodily
health would allow no other course , and his gentle and affectionate nature rendered it the most agreeable solace to his mind , for what other panacea could bo found for one that declared . " I'm sick of gruel , ancl the dietetics ; " I'm sick of pills , and sicker of emetics ; " I'm sick of pulses' tardiness or quickness ; " I'm sick of blood , its thinness or its thickness ;—"In short , within a word I'm sick of sickness . "
13 ut ho had the good fortune to be watched over , and understood by a loving wife , and nobly does he express to her the treasure that she proved to him . In one of his letters he bears witness to her unappreciable worth in these words : — " I never was anything , dearest , till I knew * you—and I have been a better , happier , and more prosperous man ever since . Lay
by that truth in lavender , sweetest , and remind me of it when I fail . I am writing warmly and fondly ; but not without good cause . First , your own affectionate letter , lately received—next the remembrance of our dear children , pledges—what darling Ones ! —of our old familiar love , —then a delicious impulse to pour out tlio overflowings of my heart into yours ; and last , not least , the knowledge that your dear eyes will react what my hand is now writing . Perhaps there is an after-thought thatwhatever may
, bef . il me , the wife of my bosom will have this acknowledgement of her tenderness—worth—excellence—all that is wifely or womanly , from my pen . " From the above it is evident that what Hood wrote , so was his life . His pathos is never more intense than wiien he is ^ writing of tlie charms of home and the joys and sorrows of the claims of domestic