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Article BRO. FRANZ ANTON MESMER. ← Page 2 of 2 Article GERMAN MASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES. Page 1 of 2 →
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Bro. Franz Anton Mesmer.
stood , during the past summer , on this grave , as on the grave of a martyr to a truth of nature which he Avas the first to discover . At that time it Avas my privilege to stay in Old Meersburg , the property and residence of the noble , remarkable ,
and , though now in a A ery advanced age , freshhearted , true-to-natnre , and inexpressibly Avorthy gentleman , Herr Ton Lassberg . It is the same cemetery in Avhich the poetess , Annette Droste-H ' alshof , sister of Frau von
Lassburg-, twenty years since found her resting place . * * * * ' * * * * In front of the mortuary chapel in that cemeteiy , which Herr von Lassberg caused to be built ,
rest her mortal remains . Roses , lilies , flowers of every sort , which sisterly affection plants and carefully tends , bedeck that hillock , sacred to every one who knows her songs . Mesmer ' s gravemound , on the contrary , no longer manifests the
hand of care . There are , however , the remnants of a monument ( malevolence or superstition will have it thus violated ) which friends to his discovery and learnino- in far distant Berlin erected to his
memory in the year 1815 . A fuller description of this I shall give at the end of these pages . May I be permitted to insert here the following touching lines , on the subject of the foregoing chapter ? They are from the pen of Bro . the Rev .
C . Kegan Paul , of Eton College , and will be found in the Zoist , vol . xii ., p . 248 : — MESMEH ' S G-EAAT : AT MEEHSBUKG , IS SUABIA . We left the boat , the quaint old street To climb where frowns the eastlo hill
And drawbridge , o ' er the cotton mill , O'er noise of shuttles ' neath their feet . Though far above us , all things told Of warrior lords aud iron knocks , The torrents cried from quarried rocks , " The neAV age undermines the old . "
"Up past these towers to other halls , Dismantled home of princely priest , Where mingled tones of prayer and feast Still seem to lurk on curtained walls ; "Up , higher up , we came , Avhere vines Enclasp the rude-hewn crucifix
, And summer suns and showers mix Their golden glory into wines ; "Up , higher up , we saw tho Avave fiellect the mountain ' s rosy show , "We found a churchyard baked in glow , And there Ave stood by Mesmer's grave .
A pleasant rest ! for hira who sought To lift the veil from Nature ' s face , And bore the laugh of all his race Who dread results of honest thought .
A pleasant rest ; and we , for whom The laws he groped for dimly dawn , The breakings of a glorious morn , May learn , in standing near his tomb , To toil in patience , till the gold Of sunrise light the hills of truth ,
For science aye renews her youth , " The neAV age undermines the old . ' ( To be continued . )
German Masonry In The United States.
GERMAN MASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES .
The Germania Lodge of Boston ( Massachusets ) resumed its operations on the 29 th September last , subsequent to the annual vacation . On this occasion the ex-Grand Master , Bro . WinsloAV Lewis , presented to the lodge a new charter , the
old one having been destroyed by fire . Bro . W . Lewis , AA'ho had signed the first certificate while Grand Master , has been A'ery favourable to the Germania Lodge ever since its foundation , and promised to supply to the lodge such a charter as
no other lodge of America perhaps possessed . This important document has been executed on the finest parchment , of a very large size , in most artistic , ornamental writing , showing various welladapted Masonic emblems . The prospects of this
lodge are most hopeful . On Friday , the 14 th of October , the foundation stone of a new Masonic Temple Avas laid at Boston , Avith all Masonic ceremonies , in the place of that lately destroyed by fire . Deputations from all
lodges of the State were present . Although the building of the new Temple cannot be commenced before next spring , the Avhole of the plans and sections have been submitted to and have received the approval of the Council . The building is to be
erected in the Gothic or German style . In consequence of the large number of applications for membership , the various Boston Masonic lodges haA'e raised the amount of the reception fee to fifty dollars instead of forty , the Germania Lodge alone preserving the forty dollar fee .
The industrious and flourishing toAvn of Scrantou is partly inhabited by Germans , some of whom belong to the Craft . Up to a recent date , the latter used to join the native American lodge of that town , but of late the German brethren
became convinced of the expediency of possessing a lodge of their own . On the 15 th of June last a German lodp-e was established under the name of Schiller ( No . 345 ) , under the superintendence of Bro . Ofner , who has belonged to the Craft for
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Bro. Franz Anton Mesmer.
stood , during the past summer , on this grave , as on the grave of a martyr to a truth of nature which he Avas the first to discover . At that time it Avas my privilege to stay in Old Meersburg , the property and residence of the noble , remarkable ,
and , though now in a A ery advanced age , freshhearted , true-to-natnre , and inexpressibly Avorthy gentleman , Herr Ton Lassberg . It is the same cemetery in Avhich the poetess , Annette Droste-H ' alshof , sister of Frau von
Lassburg-, twenty years since found her resting place . * * * * ' * * * * In front of the mortuary chapel in that cemeteiy , which Herr von Lassberg caused to be built ,
rest her mortal remains . Roses , lilies , flowers of every sort , which sisterly affection plants and carefully tends , bedeck that hillock , sacred to every one who knows her songs . Mesmer ' s gravemound , on the contrary , no longer manifests the
hand of care . There are , however , the remnants of a monument ( malevolence or superstition will have it thus violated ) which friends to his discovery and learnino- in far distant Berlin erected to his
memory in the year 1815 . A fuller description of this I shall give at the end of these pages . May I be permitted to insert here the following touching lines , on the subject of the foregoing chapter ? They are from the pen of Bro . the Rev .
C . Kegan Paul , of Eton College , and will be found in the Zoist , vol . xii ., p . 248 : — MESMEH ' S G-EAAT : AT MEEHSBUKG , IS SUABIA . We left the boat , the quaint old street To climb where frowns the eastlo hill
And drawbridge , o ' er the cotton mill , O'er noise of shuttles ' neath their feet . Though far above us , all things told Of warrior lords aud iron knocks , The torrents cried from quarried rocks , " The neAV age undermines the old . "
"Up past these towers to other halls , Dismantled home of princely priest , Where mingled tones of prayer and feast Still seem to lurk on curtained walls ; "Up , higher up , we came , Avhere vines Enclasp the rude-hewn crucifix
, And summer suns and showers mix Their golden glory into wines ; "Up , higher up , we saw tho Avave fiellect the mountain ' s rosy show , "We found a churchyard baked in glow , And there Ave stood by Mesmer's grave .
A pleasant rest ! for hira who sought To lift the veil from Nature ' s face , And bore the laugh of all his race Who dread results of honest thought .
A pleasant rest ; and we , for whom The laws he groped for dimly dawn , The breakings of a glorious morn , May learn , in standing near his tomb , To toil in patience , till the gold Of sunrise light the hills of truth ,
For science aye renews her youth , " The neAV age undermines the old . ' ( To be continued . )
German Masonry In The United States.
GERMAN MASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES .
The Germania Lodge of Boston ( Massachusets ) resumed its operations on the 29 th September last , subsequent to the annual vacation . On this occasion the ex-Grand Master , Bro . WinsloAV Lewis , presented to the lodge a new charter , the
old one having been destroyed by fire . Bro . W . Lewis , AA'ho had signed the first certificate while Grand Master , has been A'ery favourable to the Germania Lodge ever since its foundation , and promised to supply to the lodge such a charter as
no other lodge of America perhaps possessed . This important document has been executed on the finest parchment , of a very large size , in most artistic , ornamental writing , showing various welladapted Masonic emblems . The prospects of this
lodge are most hopeful . On Friday , the 14 th of October , the foundation stone of a new Masonic Temple Avas laid at Boston , Avith all Masonic ceremonies , in the place of that lately destroyed by fire . Deputations from all
lodges of the State were present . Although the building of the new Temple cannot be commenced before next spring , the Avhole of the plans and sections have been submitted to and have received the approval of the Council . The building is to be
erected in the Gothic or German style . In consequence of the large number of applications for membership , the various Boston Masonic lodges haA'e raised the amount of the reception fee to fifty dollars instead of forty , the Germania Lodge alone preserving the forty dollar fee .
The industrious and flourishing toAvn of Scrantou is partly inhabited by Germans , some of whom belong to the Craft . Up to a recent date , the latter used to join the native American lodge of that town , but of late the German brethren
became convinced of the expediency of possessing a lodge of their own . On the 15 th of June last a German lodp-e was established under the name of Schiller ( No . 345 ) , under the superintendence of Bro . Ofner , who has belonged to the Craft for