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Article EARLY HAUNTS OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 7 →
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Early Haunts Of Freemasonry.
EARLY HAUNTS OF FREEMASONRY .
FLEET STREET ( Continued fro n page 291 ) . TN our last article we had reached the Mitre Tavern , and had
- " - betaken ourselves thither for the veiy natural purpose of refreshment after our peregrination . The original Mitre , be it remarked , was of Shakespeare ' s time . In fact , among some MS . poems of Richard Jackson , a contemporary of the great poet , are some verses beginning , " From the rich Lavinian shoi'e , " which are inscribed as
" Shakespeare ' s rime , which he made at ye Mitre in Fleet Street . " During the last century its chief association was with Dr . Johnson . Here it was that his biograjDher Boswell made the acquaintance of the great lexicographer . Here they frequently dined together with Goldsmith and other of their distinguished contemporaries . Here
was planned and laid out the celebrated " Tour ' to the Hebrides ; " and here it was that Johnson urged on Boswell to publish his " Travels in Corsica . " Here , likewise , the Royal Society Club dined ,
from 1743 to 1 / 50 ; and here for many years the Society of Antiquaries held their meetings . Masonically , too , though in a roundabout way , it has its interest , as it was at the Mitre that the famous Thomas Topham rolled up a pewter dish with his fingers . This Topham , it should be remembered , attracted , by his wonderful physical powers ,
the notice of Bro . Dr . Desaguliers , by whom he is said to have been initiated into the Craft . Certain it is that the present Strong Man Lodge No . 45 , has for its cognizance a figure of Topham pulling against a horse—a feat which it is on record he undertook for a wager and accomjnished in Moorfields . In 1788 it ceased to be a tavern , and
became first Macklin ' s Poet's Gallery , and then Saunders ' s Auction Rooms . It was taken down to enlarge Hoare ' s Bank . The present house has nothing more in common with the old Mitre than its name . At No . 56 , William Hone , publisher of the "Table Book" and "Every-day Book , " commenced business about the year 1812 . His trial for blasphemy is among the most memorable home events of the early part of this century .
Hare Court—originally Ram Alley—was noted for its cooksbops and publichouses . As a precinct of Whitefriars , it enjoyed the privileges of a sanctuary for every class of rascal , traitors alone
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Early Haunts Of Freemasonry.
EARLY HAUNTS OF FREEMASONRY .
FLEET STREET ( Continued fro n page 291 ) . TN our last article we had reached the Mitre Tavern , and had
- " - betaken ourselves thither for the veiy natural purpose of refreshment after our peregrination . The original Mitre , be it remarked , was of Shakespeare ' s time . In fact , among some MS . poems of Richard Jackson , a contemporary of the great poet , are some verses beginning , " From the rich Lavinian shoi'e , " which are inscribed as
" Shakespeare ' s rime , which he made at ye Mitre in Fleet Street . " During the last century its chief association was with Dr . Johnson . Here it was that his biograjDher Boswell made the acquaintance of the great lexicographer . Here they frequently dined together with Goldsmith and other of their distinguished contemporaries . Here
was planned and laid out the celebrated " Tour ' to the Hebrides ; " and here it was that Johnson urged on Boswell to publish his " Travels in Corsica . " Here , likewise , the Royal Society Club dined ,
from 1743 to 1 / 50 ; and here for many years the Society of Antiquaries held their meetings . Masonically , too , though in a roundabout way , it has its interest , as it was at the Mitre that the famous Thomas Topham rolled up a pewter dish with his fingers . This Topham , it should be remembered , attracted , by his wonderful physical powers ,
the notice of Bro . Dr . Desaguliers , by whom he is said to have been initiated into the Craft . Certain it is that the present Strong Man Lodge No . 45 , has for its cognizance a figure of Topham pulling against a horse—a feat which it is on record he undertook for a wager and accomjnished in Moorfields . In 1788 it ceased to be a tavern , and
became first Macklin ' s Poet's Gallery , and then Saunders ' s Auction Rooms . It was taken down to enlarge Hoare ' s Bank . The present house has nothing more in common with the old Mitre than its name . At No . 56 , William Hone , publisher of the "Table Book" and "Every-day Book , " commenced business about the year 1812 . His trial for blasphemy is among the most memorable home events of the early part of this century .
Hare Court—originally Ram Alley—was noted for its cooksbops and publichouses . As a precinct of Whitefriars , it enjoyed the privileges of a sanctuary for every class of rascal , traitors alone