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  • The Freemason's Chronicle
  • Dec. 20, 1884
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  • VISITORS AND LIBERTY OF SPEECH.
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The Freemason's Chronicle, Dec. 20, 1884: Page 1

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Visitors And Liberty Of Speech.

VISITORS AND LIBERTY OF SPEECH .

JT is a very difficult matter to entertain visiting brethren , as onr Lodges delight in doing , and at the same time place a limit on what they are to say when responding to the toast proposed in their honour ; bnt unless some visiting brethren accept the signs of the times , and refrain

from inflicting on their hearers lengthy speeches on subjects far from the point , and usually of a personally explanatory character , some such restriction will be necessary . The fault , if a fault it is admitted , arises from the custom of calling on several of the guests to reply to the toast of the

visitors—a toast concerning which it is unreasonable to expect even one speaker at each Lodge to say anything new , and quite impossible for six or eight to do so . But even if it is impossible for brethren to say anything fresh in replying to the actual toast , it should be impressed

upon them they are not to take liberties during the time they are allowed to address the members in response to the call of the W . M . The Evening News this week calls attention to the subject , in speaking of the energetic canvassing which is now going on in reference to the

forthcoming election for the office of Grand Treasurer ; and'we have , on one or two recent occasions , felt the fall force of the evil to which our contemporary refers . It may be a subject of importance to brethren personally interested in the election of Grand Treasurer , brethren who either nominate or second one or other of the candidates

who seek the post , to refer to such nominations , but as a rule at least three-fourths of the listeners have no voice in the election , and a lengthy address falls very dull on them , especially when , as in the cases we have had to listen to , the use of the pronoun " I " formed the principal

point in the remarks . The toast is at all times a perplexing one to acknowledge , and our objection to its more recent phase adds but another difficulty to the many we have referred to in connection with it during the past ; While we take the opportunity of calling attention

to this strain of Masonic privilege , we acknowledge tbe difficulty of suggesting an improvement ; still we feel , for the sake of the majority who have to listen to after-dinner speeches , that some check should be put on the present objectionable course so frequently adopted .

Country Cousins In Town.

COUNTRY COUSINS IN TOWN .

BY OUR PERIPATETIC BROTHER . " / BATTLE Show Week" invariabl y brings up a host of \ J our country cousins from the provinces , and ifc is curious to note what a prodigious quantity of work they

get through in the few days which form so memorable a feature in the bucolic calendar . The Londoner , " to the manner bred , " is prone to hie away to his fireside when his day ' s work is over , to enjoy in the little world of his domestic

circle in the suburbs the relaxation and repose to which he is so justly entitled at the close of his arduous business . We do not say that , when let loose from the strings of

ordinary routine , and he flies from " populous city pent " to some rural spot or seaside resort , he does nofc go as mad as when the better portion of the " Hodge " family come up to see the sights of town . But , for all that , it is certain

Country Cousins In Town.

when our stalwart , hardy tiller of tho soil sets down London in his diary for the second week in December , his mind is by no means absolutely engrossed with the wonderful shorthorns , prime Devons , magnificent Hevefords , sheep of perfect symmetry , and " pretty little

porkers " that are there to be found concentrated in their very pink and essence in the grand hall at Islington . Nofc a bit of it . In the mind ' s eye he has ofcher pleasures in store , and which must be judiciously combined wibh

business . Are there not the friends whose hearty handshake last year in the Lodge-room and at the banquet table has tingled on his fingers from that day to this , ready to renew old acquaintanceship and revive old delights ? And as the " warm" and comfortable farmer cons over his

daily paper—he does not get it till evening time !—and tiltilates the anticipations of his " missus" and the " girls " with glowing descriptions of the glories of the metropolis , methinks he is all the while wickedly jotting down in his programme the trysting places of " ye mystic

tie , " whose members entertained him so royally last year , and who applauded him so sympathetically when he floundered through so many responses on behalf of the Visitors . There is no greater pleasure in store—let it be taken from ns , who know—to a countryman who is planning a visit to

London than that of being invited to one of our Lodges . Excellent Masons though they be—onr true and trusty brethren who reside in the scattered rural districts—they have not , of course , the same opportunities as are enjoyed by those in populous centres , of meeting frequently in each

other ' s society or of exchanging visits in which the amenities of the Brotherhood are seen at their very best . In many places their Lodge meetings are—like the

tidesgoverned by the moon , and the notification on their diary that the next regular Lodge will be held on such a day " first after new moon , " signifies that they have either to ride or drive a considerable distance to attend to their

Masonic duties ; and , as there are no gas lamps along the country lanes , they have to rely entirely for their comfort and safety on the homeward journey upon the light supplied by the " parish lantern . " It can hardly be expected , therefore , that the working ^ of Lodges held under such

disadvantages will be up to the standard of those in the metropolis , which have the benefit of the most skilled and able Preceptors , and , better than all , the opportunities of very frequent meetings and visits . This contrast is not lost upon the mind of our country brother , who , whilst

" reclining in his high-backed chair , " which is supposed to be a traditional belonging to every farmhouse and homestead , dreams over again the scenes whieh so vividly impressed themselves upon his mind last year when he " went np to see the Show . " Has ifc nofc been a source

of endless talk ever since , how that , amidst the gold and burnish of the furniture , the grandeur of the regalia , and the solemn pealing of the organ , the rites of the Craffc were first seen in their perfection by onr honest friend , who goes back to his obscure Lodge , where there are no such

accessories , ancl where the simple ritual is taught amidst a little company in a plain and homely apartment , dimly lighted with candles , or at least an oil lamp or two ? To those who have not much experience in village life the

analogy may not be so clear ; but as one worthy brother remarked in our hearing the ofcher night , " It is jnst as if one who had hi ... . . ' . z ihe habit of attending regularly a Primitive Methodist chapel in a barn , and where the singing was to a wheezy harmonium accompaniment , were

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1884-12-20, Page 1” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 16 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_20121884/page/1/.
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Title Category Page
VISITORS AND LIBERTY OF SPEECH. Article 1
COUNTRY COUSINS IN TOWN. Article 1
BEHOLD THIS LIGHT! Article 2
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 5
CHRISTMAS IS COMING. Article 7
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Untitled Ad 9
Untitled Article 9
INSTALLATION MEETINGS, &c. Article 9
THE GOOD OLD TIMES OF MASONRY. Article 11
REVIEWS. Article 11
DEATH OF AN OLD FREEMASON. Article 11
Untitled Ad 11
Untitled Ad 11
DIARY FOR THE WEEK. Article 12
NOTICES OF MEETINGS. Article 12
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Visitors And Liberty Of Speech.

VISITORS AND LIBERTY OF SPEECH .

JT is a very difficult matter to entertain visiting brethren , as onr Lodges delight in doing , and at the same time place a limit on what they are to say when responding to the toast proposed in their honour ; bnt unless some visiting brethren accept the signs of the times , and refrain

from inflicting on their hearers lengthy speeches on subjects far from the point , and usually of a personally explanatory character , some such restriction will be necessary . The fault , if a fault it is admitted , arises from the custom of calling on several of the guests to reply to the toast of the

visitors—a toast concerning which it is unreasonable to expect even one speaker at each Lodge to say anything new , and quite impossible for six or eight to do so . But even if it is impossible for brethren to say anything fresh in replying to the actual toast , it should be impressed

upon them they are not to take liberties during the time they are allowed to address the members in response to the call of the W . M . The Evening News this week calls attention to the subject , in speaking of the energetic canvassing which is now going on in reference to the

forthcoming election for the office of Grand Treasurer ; and'we have , on one or two recent occasions , felt the fall force of the evil to which our contemporary refers . It may be a subject of importance to brethren personally interested in the election of Grand Treasurer , brethren who either nominate or second one or other of the candidates

who seek the post , to refer to such nominations , but as a rule at least three-fourths of the listeners have no voice in the election , and a lengthy address falls very dull on them , especially when , as in the cases we have had to listen to , the use of the pronoun " I " formed the principal

point in the remarks . The toast is at all times a perplexing one to acknowledge , and our objection to its more recent phase adds but another difficulty to the many we have referred to in connection with it during the past ; While we take the opportunity of calling attention

to this strain of Masonic privilege , we acknowledge tbe difficulty of suggesting an improvement ; still we feel , for the sake of the majority who have to listen to after-dinner speeches , that some check should be put on the present objectionable course so frequently adopted .

Country Cousins In Town.

COUNTRY COUSINS IN TOWN .

BY OUR PERIPATETIC BROTHER . " / BATTLE Show Week" invariabl y brings up a host of \ J our country cousins from the provinces , and ifc is curious to note what a prodigious quantity of work they

get through in the few days which form so memorable a feature in the bucolic calendar . The Londoner , " to the manner bred , " is prone to hie away to his fireside when his day ' s work is over , to enjoy in the little world of his domestic

circle in the suburbs the relaxation and repose to which he is so justly entitled at the close of his arduous business . We do not say that , when let loose from the strings of

ordinary routine , and he flies from " populous city pent " to some rural spot or seaside resort , he does nofc go as mad as when the better portion of the " Hodge " family come up to see the sights of town . But , for all that , it is certain

Country Cousins In Town.

when our stalwart , hardy tiller of tho soil sets down London in his diary for the second week in December , his mind is by no means absolutely engrossed with the wonderful shorthorns , prime Devons , magnificent Hevefords , sheep of perfect symmetry , and " pretty little

porkers " that are there to be found concentrated in their very pink and essence in the grand hall at Islington . Nofc a bit of it . In the mind ' s eye he has ofcher pleasures in store , and which must be judiciously combined wibh

business . Are there not the friends whose hearty handshake last year in the Lodge-room and at the banquet table has tingled on his fingers from that day to this , ready to renew old acquaintanceship and revive old delights ? And as the " warm" and comfortable farmer cons over his

daily paper—he does not get it till evening time !—and tiltilates the anticipations of his " missus" and the " girls " with glowing descriptions of the glories of the metropolis , methinks he is all the while wickedly jotting down in his programme the trysting places of " ye mystic

tie , " whose members entertained him so royally last year , and who applauded him so sympathetically when he floundered through so many responses on behalf of the Visitors . There is no greater pleasure in store—let it be taken from ns , who know—to a countryman who is planning a visit to

London than that of being invited to one of our Lodges . Excellent Masons though they be—onr true and trusty brethren who reside in the scattered rural districts—they have not , of course , the same opportunities as are enjoyed by those in populous centres , of meeting frequently in each

other ' s society or of exchanging visits in which the amenities of the Brotherhood are seen at their very best . In many places their Lodge meetings are—like the

tidesgoverned by the moon , and the notification on their diary that the next regular Lodge will be held on such a day " first after new moon , " signifies that they have either to ride or drive a considerable distance to attend to their

Masonic duties ; and , as there are no gas lamps along the country lanes , they have to rely entirely for their comfort and safety on the homeward journey upon the light supplied by the " parish lantern . " It can hardly be expected , therefore , that the working ^ of Lodges held under such

disadvantages will be up to the standard of those in the metropolis , which have the benefit of the most skilled and able Preceptors , and , better than all , the opportunities of very frequent meetings and visits . This contrast is not lost upon the mind of our country brother , who , whilst

" reclining in his high-backed chair , " which is supposed to be a traditional belonging to every farmhouse and homestead , dreams over again the scenes whieh so vividly impressed themselves upon his mind last year when he " went np to see the Show . " Has ifc nofc been a source

of endless talk ever since , how that , amidst the gold and burnish of the furniture , the grandeur of the regalia , and the solemn pealing of the organ , the rites of the Craffc were first seen in their perfection by onr honest friend , who goes back to his obscure Lodge , where there are no such

accessories , ancl where the simple ritual is taught amidst a little company in a plain and homely apartment , dimly lighted with candles , or at least an oil lamp or two ? To those who have not much experience in village life the

analogy may not be so clear ; but as one worthy brother remarked in our hearing the ofcher night , " It is jnst as if one who had hi ... . . ' . z ihe habit of attending regularly a Primitive Methodist chapel in a barn , and where the singing was to a wheezy harmonium accompaniment , were

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