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Article PROVINCIAL. ← Page 9 of 19 →
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Provincial.
men were FREEMASONS , that applause was renewed in a manner most creditable to their better judgment . The lecturer alone was dissatisfied , but it was with himself . The individual alluded to had occasionally by a word or two noticed his absurdities , but the last remark was fatal to the false prophet . At length , after about three hours tedious reading of notes apparently not very intelligible , even to himself , and pretty foreign to the subject , the lecturer concluded his wonderful-effort .
A short pause ensued , when a young man , short in stature and of humble appearance , presented himself . One in authority demanded his name , which he mildly stated . The audience , probably somewhat disappointed in their expectations , inadvertently , let us hope not intentionally , ridiculed him ; but nothing daunted , the young man ascended the platform , and gave the lecturer and his more especial party the
coup de grace in very nearly the following terms : — " Mr . Piper , I am not a Freemason ; would I were such , for then I should follow my dear father ' s example , who for forty years professed , and I have no doubt practised , the tenets of the Craft . When I was very young , my father , owing to losses , removed to Yorkshire , where , however , greater difficultes attended him—he became insolvent and
died . Who , sir , were the first to succour the widow and her helpless orphans?—Two ministers of God ' s holy order—F REEMASONS were they—two of the blessed number of men whom you have so bitterly reviled ; they came and poured the word of comfort in the widow ' s ear , and placed the bread of charity in her lap . —Did they stop here ? No ; they wrote to the Grand Lodge in London—their letter was
addressed to FREEMASONS , and the sum of TWENTY POUNDS was returned , with such expressions of condolence as made my widowed mother weep with gratitude . Young as 1 was at the time , I felt the noble act , and cannot now forget it—Would you wish me to do so ? That , sir , is all I know against Freemasonry . " How beautiful a conclusion .
On leaving the room , it was whispered that Cambridge was to be the next scene of the lecturer ' s exploits . Should he precede this statement of his Colchester pranks , he may gather a few sixpences ; that is , if the Vice-chancellor shall allow the imposition : should , liowever , his walk thitherward be delayed , this account of himself may save him the bootless experiment .
LOUTH . —A Provincial Grand Lodge was holden in the town of Louth on the 23 rd of October last , by the Right Honourable Charles Tennyson , 31 . P ., Provincial Grand Master for Lincolnshire , which
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial.
men were FREEMASONS , that applause was renewed in a manner most creditable to their better judgment . The lecturer alone was dissatisfied , but it was with himself . The individual alluded to had occasionally by a word or two noticed his absurdities , but the last remark was fatal to the false prophet . At length , after about three hours tedious reading of notes apparently not very intelligible , even to himself , and pretty foreign to the subject , the lecturer concluded his wonderful-effort .
A short pause ensued , when a young man , short in stature and of humble appearance , presented himself . One in authority demanded his name , which he mildly stated . The audience , probably somewhat disappointed in their expectations , inadvertently , let us hope not intentionally , ridiculed him ; but nothing daunted , the young man ascended the platform , and gave the lecturer and his more especial party the
coup de grace in very nearly the following terms : — " Mr . Piper , I am not a Freemason ; would I were such , for then I should follow my dear father ' s example , who for forty years professed , and I have no doubt practised , the tenets of the Craft . When I was very young , my father , owing to losses , removed to Yorkshire , where , however , greater difficultes attended him—he became insolvent and
died . Who , sir , were the first to succour the widow and her helpless orphans?—Two ministers of God ' s holy order—F REEMASONS were they—two of the blessed number of men whom you have so bitterly reviled ; they came and poured the word of comfort in the widow ' s ear , and placed the bread of charity in her lap . —Did they stop here ? No ; they wrote to the Grand Lodge in London—their letter was
addressed to FREEMASONS , and the sum of TWENTY POUNDS was returned , with such expressions of condolence as made my widowed mother weep with gratitude . Young as 1 was at the time , I felt the noble act , and cannot now forget it—Would you wish me to do so ? That , sir , is all I know against Freemasonry . " How beautiful a conclusion .
On leaving the room , it was whispered that Cambridge was to be the next scene of the lecturer ' s exploits . Should he precede this statement of his Colchester pranks , he may gather a few sixpences ; that is , if the Vice-chancellor shall allow the imposition : should , liowever , his walk thitherward be delayed , this account of himself may save him the bootless experiment .
LOUTH . —A Provincial Grand Lodge was holden in the town of Louth on the 23 rd of October last , by the Right Honourable Charles Tennyson , 31 . P ., Provincial Grand Master for Lincolnshire , which