Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essex.
ESSEX .
THE members of this important Masonic Province have lately been holding high festival , and we think we may say the event of last Saturday—when a number of Brethren and Ladies visited Warwick Castle , at the invitation of the Provincial chief the Earl of Warwick and the Countess—will
for many years be regarded as a red letter day in the Masonic annals of the county ; while the annual meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge , which preceded it by a few days , and was held at Loughton , may be included among the successful gatherings of the Craft in this division of England .
The visit of the Brethren of Essex and their Ladies to the Earl and Countess of Warwick , at Warwick Castle , was an event which had been looked forward to with pleasurable anticipation for a long period , and the most sanguine expectations were fully realised , if we may exclude the one drawback that a heavy downpour of rain early in the day not
only tended to dampen the spirits of the company , but considerably upset the arrangements that had been made for their entertainment at Warwick Castle . However , the rain ceased at Warwick about noon , and by the time the guests arrived there was little to show of the deluee that had been experienced during the night and early morning .
1 he company—whicn numbered upwards of four hundred Ladies and Brethren—left Paddington by a Great Western special saloon train , and made a splendid run , to Warwick , without a stop , in just under two hours . They were met at the station by a number of members of the Shakespeare
Lodge , No . 284 , headed by Bro . Col . Cooke , J . R , and conducted to Warwick Castle , where they were welcomed on the lawn b y the Earl and Countess of Warwick , their daughter Lady Marjorie Greville , and the Countess of Rosslyn , ( Lady Warwick ' s mother ) . Lord Warwick at once expressed his
regret that the inclement weather had necessitated a change in the programme , for whereas it had been arranged to have the luncheon in a marquee in the Castle grounds the downpour of rain had compelled them in the early morn to seek
other accommodation , which he was pleased to say had been found in the Shire Hall , kindly lent for the occasion by the municipal authorities . Only those who have had to arrange for a party of close upon five hundred can appreciate the amount of labour this alteration entailed , but under the
personal supervision of the Earl of Warwick , who we are assured worked most zealously , as the " fine old English gentleman " he is , all was successfully accomplished , and few of the guests experienced any inconvenience from the change
, the only matter of regret in this connection being the necessity of dividing the pa . rty , the large Hall being hardly commodious enough to allow of the whole company being seated in the one room .
The luncheon was splendidly served , and was thoroughly enjoyed by the many guests , whose appetites had been wetted actuall y as well as figuratively—by the morning ' s travel . 1 he Earl of Warwick rose at the conclusion of the repast , and was most heartily received by the company . He said it
was not proposed to have toasts , as he knew their time was very valuable , but they could not separate on such an occasion as that without drinking the health of His Majesty the King , freemasons were no politicians , but they were loyal subjects . Lhey all knew what a source of strength to the Order his
Majesty hid been during the time he had ruled over them . We telt it was needless to assure the ladies present that the freemasons were all loyal subjects ; they knew the Brethren were ; and he felt the ladies were also ; and therefore he Knew all would join with him when he asked them , with all Humility , to drink the toast of His Majesty the King .
Essex.
The toast was received with enthusiasm , the band playing " God save the King , " and the company singing it most heartily . Bro . Richard Clowes P . G . Standard Bearer , and one of the most active members of the Province of Essex , then rose .
It was his privilege to have the honour of proposing a toast which he knew needed no words of his , because it was the toast of one whom they all delighted to honour . When he looked around that room and regarded the large company which had assembled at the kind invitation of the Earl and
Countess of Warwick he almost imagined he was in . Essexreally the whole of the Province seemed to be there on that occasion . The Earl and Countess had kindly invited the Essex Freemasons and their lady friends to spend the day at Warwick Castle , and he was sure they were delighted to
see that they had responded to the call of duty in such large numbers . He had no doubt that all present felt how fortunate they were in having such a Provincial Grand Master as their distinguished host , and it was also very kind of the Countess
to allow the Masons of Estex to come there , and to welcome them so graciously , after keeping her husband away from her on so many occasions as they had done . It proved the Countess had the good of Masonry at heart , and extended the hand of sisterhood to these who came from Essex . He
proposed the health of their Host and Hostess , the Earl and Countess of Warwick . The toast was heartily drunk , and accorded full musical honours . The Earl of Warwick , who received another ovation on rising to respond , said their time was very brief , and so his
speech should be very brief also . That visit had been a long looked for pleasure on the part of Lady Warwick and himself , and they had anticipated the enjoyment of receiving the Essex Brethren—with whom he had been so pleasantly associated—and their wives and children . It had been his wish
to meet the Essex Brethren in Warwickshire , where they had some interesting old places and historic relics to see , similarly as they had in Essex . 1 he visit to Warwick must , he was sure , have been a great tax on their energies . He especially thanked the ladies for attending in such numbers , and was
glad they were not frightened at the terrible weather . They had hoped to entertain the party in the gardens of Warwick Castle , but that had been prevented . Thanks to the kindness of ths Warwickshire County Council they were able to accommodate them in the Shire Hall that afternoon . He said it
was now proposed to go for a few minutes to the church , but not to stop long . Naturally he was very proud of his old home , and he wanted for it the lion ' s share of their attention . On arriving at the grounds the usual and inevitable photograph wou . d be taken . Pie hated the photographer , but they
had among them a photographer from Essex , Brother F . Spalding who was excepted . Afterwards they would inspect the Castle , and walk about the grounds , while at fifteen minutes past six those of the party who were returning to town would have to be at the railway station , as the train
would leave punctually , and it might not be so pleasant for any who were left behind to be forced to stay as it would be for them to put them up if they had the accommodation .
They owed a deep debt of pratitude to their old friend Bro . Railing for the excellent arrangements he had made , and if any breakdown had occurred , it was no fault of his , but due to the weather . For the information of those who were
staying over Sunday , the Earl stated that it was intended to drive to Kenilworth in the afternoon , returning by Stoneleigh Abbey , Guy ' s Cliff , & c , and by the kindness of Lord Leigh they would be able to inspect his park at Stoneleigh Abbey . This was always closed on Sundays , but his lordship , being a . zealous Freemason and the oldest of the Provincial Grand
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essex.
ESSEX .
THE members of this important Masonic Province have lately been holding high festival , and we think we may say the event of last Saturday—when a number of Brethren and Ladies visited Warwick Castle , at the invitation of the Provincial chief the Earl of Warwick and the Countess—will
for many years be regarded as a red letter day in the Masonic annals of the county ; while the annual meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge , which preceded it by a few days , and was held at Loughton , may be included among the successful gatherings of the Craft in this division of England .
The visit of the Brethren of Essex and their Ladies to the Earl and Countess of Warwick , at Warwick Castle , was an event which had been looked forward to with pleasurable anticipation for a long period , and the most sanguine expectations were fully realised , if we may exclude the one drawback that a heavy downpour of rain early in the day not
only tended to dampen the spirits of the company , but considerably upset the arrangements that had been made for their entertainment at Warwick Castle . However , the rain ceased at Warwick about noon , and by the time the guests arrived there was little to show of the deluee that had been experienced during the night and early morning .
1 he company—whicn numbered upwards of four hundred Ladies and Brethren—left Paddington by a Great Western special saloon train , and made a splendid run , to Warwick , without a stop , in just under two hours . They were met at the station by a number of members of the Shakespeare
Lodge , No . 284 , headed by Bro . Col . Cooke , J . R , and conducted to Warwick Castle , where they were welcomed on the lawn b y the Earl and Countess of Warwick , their daughter Lady Marjorie Greville , and the Countess of Rosslyn , ( Lady Warwick ' s mother ) . Lord Warwick at once expressed his
regret that the inclement weather had necessitated a change in the programme , for whereas it had been arranged to have the luncheon in a marquee in the Castle grounds the downpour of rain had compelled them in the early morn to seek
other accommodation , which he was pleased to say had been found in the Shire Hall , kindly lent for the occasion by the municipal authorities . Only those who have had to arrange for a party of close upon five hundred can appreciate the amount of labour this alteration entailed , but under the
personal supervision of the Earl of Warwick , who we are assured worked most zealously , as the " fine old English gentleman " he is , all was successfully accomplished , and few of the guests experienced any inconvenience from the change
, the only matter of regret in this connection being the necessity of dividing the pa . rty , the large Hall being hardly commodious enough to allow of the whole company being seated in the one room .
The luncheon was splendidly served , and was thoroughly enjoyed by the many guests , whose appetites had been wetted actuall y as well as figuratively—by the morning ' s travel . 1 he Earl of Warwick rose at the conclusion of the repast , and was most heartily received by the company . He said it
was not proposed to have toasts , as he knew their time was very valuable , but they could not separate on such an occasion as that without drinking the health of His Majesty the King , freemasons were no politicians , but they were loyal subjects . Lhey all knew what a source of strength to the Order his
Majesty hid been during the time he had ruled over them . We telt it was needless to assure the ladies present that the freemasons were all loyal subjects ; they knew the Brethren were ; and he felt the ladies were also ; and therefore he Knew all would join with him when he asked them , with all Humility , to drink the toast of His Majesty the King .
Essex.
The toast was received with enthusiasm , the band playing " God save the King , " and the company singing it most heartily . Bro . Richard Clowes P . G . Standard Bearer , and one of the most active members of the Province of Essex , then rose .
It was his privilege to have the honour of proposing a toast which he knew needed no words of his , because it was the toast of one whom they all delighted to honour . When he looked around that room and regarded the large company which had assembled at the kind invitation of the Earl and
Countess of Warwick he almost imagined he was in . Essexreally the whole of the Province seemed to be there on that occasion . The Earl and Countess had kindly invited the Essex Freemasons and their lady friends to spend the day at Warwick Castle , and he was sure they were delighted to
see that they had responded to the call of duty in such large numbers . He had no doubt that all present felt how fortunate they were in having such a Provincial Grand Master as their distinguished host , and it was also very kind of the Countess
to allow the Masons of Estex to come there , and to welcome them so graciously , after keeping her husband away from her on so many occasions as they had done . It proved the Countess had the good of Masonry at heart , and extended the hand of sisterhood to these who came from Essex . He
proposed the health of their Host and Hostess , the Earl and Countess of Warwick . The toast was heartily drunk , and accorded full musical honours . The Earl of Warwick , who received another ovation on rising to respond , said their time was very brief , and so his
speech should be very brief also . That visit had been a long looked for pleasure on the part of Lady Warwick and himself , and they had anticipated the enjoyment of receiving the Essex Brethren—with whom he had been so pleasantly associated—and their wives and children . It had been his wish
to meet the Essex Brethren in Warwickshire , where they had some interesting old places and historic relics to see , similarly as they had in Essex . 1 he visit to Warwick must , he was sure , have been a great tax on their energies . He especially thanked the ladies for attending in such numbers , and was
glad they were not frightened at the terrible weather . They had hoped to entertain the party in the gardens of Warwick Castle , but that had been prevented . Thanks to the kindness of ths Warwickshire County Council they were able to accommodate them in the Shire Hall that afternoon . He said it
was now proposed to go for a few minutes to the church , but not to stop long . Naturally he was very proud of his old home , and he wanted for it the lion ' s share of their attention . On arriving at the grounds the usual and inevitable photograph wou . d be taken . Pie hated the photographer , but they
had among them a photographer from Essex , Brother F . Spalding who was excepted . Afterwards they would inspect the Castle , and walk about the grounds , while at fifteen minutes past six those of the party who were returning to town would have to be at the railway station , as the train
would leave punctually , and it might not be so pleasant for any who were left behind to be forced to stay as it would be for them to put them up if they had the accommodation .
They owed a deep debt of pratitude to their old friend Bro . Railing for the excellent arrangements he had made , and if any breakdown had occurred , it was no fault of his , but due to the weather . For the information of those who were
staying over Sunday , the Earl stated that it was intended to drive to Kenilworth in the afternoon , returning by Stoneleigh Abbey , Guy ' s Cliff , & c , and by the kindness of Lord Leigh they would be able to inspect his park at Stoneleigh Abbey . This was always closed on Sundays , but his lordship , being a . zealous Freemason and the oldest of the Provincial Grand