Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Grand Orient.
The Grand Orient .
IN the April number of the Xiiicleeulh Century , Mr . G . A . Raper discourses on the subject of French Freemasonry . He assigns 1721 as the date of the introduction of the Order into France , but the truth is that it was introduced secretly , and at least half-a-dozen dates are variousl y given . Thory , whose " Histoire du Grand Orient de Paris" is
considered authentic , says that Lord Derwentwater and other English noblemen established a lodge in Paris at Hurre ' s Tavern , in 1725 . This lodge held under the Grand Lodge of England , and during the next ten years other lodges were formed , patronised chiefly by the nobility . In 173 6 there were four lodges , and they chose Lord Harnouester as the first Grand Master .
There was coincidentlv an increase and an extension of membership , and the Craft came under official notice ; and , in 1737 , Louis XV . published the first of many edicts of prohibition , and Freemasons were prohibited from appearing at court . This gave the Order a valuable advertisement , for there were enormous additions , and , in 173 8 , a Grand
Festival was publicly held . Then the ecclesiastical powers turned their attention to the Craft , and a bull was issued bv Pope Clement XII ., in which all Freemasons were threatened with excommunication .
For ten years after this the Order fell into great confusion . Many spurious " higher " degrees were formed , and one Ramsay , a Scotchman , introduced the most serious innovations . That blessed word " Kilwinning , " seemed to smooth all obstacles which better minded brethren might have interposed . Warrants were bought and sold , and orders
of every kind sprang up . One of these warrants is still in existence , and bears the date 1500 ! Ramsay was an enthusiastic adherent of the Stuart cause , and the connection of French Freemasonry with politics may be said to date from his interference with it .
After the battle of Culloden and the consequent decline in the popularity of Prince Charles Edward , the Order recovered somewhat , under the Grand Mastership of the Duke of Chartres , and a Book of Constitutions was issued . Most of the conflicting claims of various pretenders to authority were settled by the formation , in 1773 , of the Grande Loge Nationale , afterwards the Grand Orient . In
1775 , there were 132 lodges warranted . The high degrees left behind b y Ramsay still maintained . a fitful sort of existence . They were repudiated by the Grand Orient as well as by the very bodies they professed to belong to . They began to be dominated by Theosophists and professors of second sight , and eventuall y found
themselves under the feet of one of the most unscrupulous . adventurers who ever gulled humanity . An interesting account of Balsamo ( or Cagliostro ) will be found in Dumas ' " Memoirs of a Physician . " He was initiated in London in 1770 , and in course of time founded the " Egyptian Rite . "
Under his superintendence a good deal of the machinery of the revolution was manufactured by the Egyptian " Riters , " and the whole Craft has had to share the odium . In order to protect the Craft and to get some control over the " high graders , " the Grand Orient at last consented to recognise
some of them , and a selection was made , the four chosen being Knight of the Elect , Knight of the East , Scottish Knight , and the Rose Croix .
During the Reign of Terror , the Order naturally suffered . The Grand Master fell under the axe of the executioner , and it was not till 1 799 that there was a revival . The Order reached its zenith in France when Napoleon I . patronised it , and nominated his brother Joseph as Grand Master in 1805 . Good relations with the powers that be continued to be
maintained for some considerable time , and the next notable event was the election of Mural , nephew of Napoleon III ., as Grand Master in 18 52 . This turned out disastrously . The lodges decreased from 500 to 26 9 , and the Grand Orient became bankrupt . Mr . Raper lakes up the history from this point . The Emperor interfered and himself nominated a new Grand
Master , Marshal Magnan . This was b y way of punishment , but the new Grand Master who had been expected to curse remained to bless , and was subsequently elected by the brethren themselves . Mr . Paper's remarks on the present condition of the Craft in France are most instructive . The lodges , he says ,
have become debating societies in which political , religious , judicial , and scientific questions are discussed . They seem to think , with Terence , that no human interest is too remote to engage their sympathy , and so even concentration camps and the conduct of the war have in turn occupied their attention .
It is a mistake to sav they are anti-religious . The position has been forced upon them because they are anti-monarchical . The present Grand Master is a retired pastor of the reformed Church .
Thev are not convivial , having no money lor the purpose , and they are scarcely even a secret society . There are at present about 22 , 000 Masons in 400 lodges owning allegiance to the Grand Orient , but it is needless to say none of these could obtain admittance to an English lodge . It is now some years since the Grand Lodge of
England withdrew recognition from the Grand Orient , a course compelled by that body disowning the Y . S . L . The excommunication still holds good , and as recently as 18 91 a Grand Officer was degraded from his rank for being concerned in the formation of a lodge under the Grand Orient in New Zealand .
In 18 94 the Grand Lodge of France was formed , which is not under ( lie ban , but it is small and uninfliienfial , numbering about 8 , 000 members . In conclusion , we recommend a perusal of Mr . Paper ' s article to all thinking Masons .
Ar02101
IMPORTANT NOTICE .
In another page will be found a reproduction of the most recent Portrait of H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught , in the Masonic Regalia of the M . W . Grand Master . The original is a Photogravure from a Photograph taken by Messrs . Downey , to whom His Royal Highness gave
a special sitting a few weeks before his departure for India , and is one of the most successful of the many portraits of the Royal Family emanating from this celebrated studio . The Portrait has been taken in two positions , one as our reproduction , | = face , size , framed
in Dark Wainscot Oak , 21 J by 16 ' inches ; and the other FuII = face , seated , size , framed as above , 35 by 27 J- inches , and may be obtained from the Publishers , flessrs . Spencer & Co ., at the Office of the " riasonic Illustrated , " 15 , Great Queen Street , London , W . C . No
handsomer or more suitable Presentation could be made to a Lodge . Prices , 21-5 by 16 . 1 inches , Framed ... ... 21 / - „ „ „ „ Unframed ... ... 10 , 6 „ 35 by 271 „ Framed 63 / - „ „ ,, „ Unframed 42 / -
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Grand Orient.
The Grand Orient .
IN the April number of the Xiiicleeulh Century , Mr . G . A . Raper discourses on the subject of French Freemasonry . He assigns 1721 as the date of the introduction of the Order into France , but the truth is that it was introduced secretly , and at least half-a-dozen dates are variousl y given . Thory , whose " Histoire du Grand Orient de Paris" is
considered authentic , says that Lord Derwentwater and other English noblemen established a lodge in Paris at Hurre ' s Tavern , in 1725 . This lodge held under the Grand Lodge of England , and during the next ten years other lodges were formed , patronised chiefly by the nobility . In 173 6 there were four lodges , and they chose Lord Harnouester as the first Grand Master .
There was coincidentlv an increase and an extension of membership , and the Craft came under official notice ; and , in 1737 , Louis XV . published the first of many edicts of prohibition , and Freemasons were prohibited from appearing at court . This gave the Order a valuable advertisement , for there were enormous additions , and , in 173 8 , a Grand
Festival was publicly held . Then the ecclesiastical powers turned their attention to the Craft , and a bull was issued bv Pope Clement XII ., in which all Freemasons were threatened with excommunication .
For ten years after this the Order fell into great confusion . Many spurious " higher " degrees were formed , and one Ramsay , a Scotchman , introduced the most serious innovations . That blessed word " Kilwinning , " seemed to smooth all obstacles which better minded brethren might have interposed . Warrants were bought and sold , and orders
of every kind sprang up . One of these warrants is still in existence , and bears the date 1500 ! Ramsay was an enthusiastic adherent of the Stuart cause , and the connection of French Freemasonry with politics may be said to date from his interference with it .
After the battle of Culloden and the consequent decline in the popularity of Prince Charles Edward , the Order recovered somewhat , under the Grand Mastership of the Duke of Chartres , and a Book of Constitutions was issued . Most of the conflicting claims of various pretenders to authority were settled by the formation , in 1773 , of the Grande Loge Nationale , afterwards the Grand Orient . In
1775 , there were 132 lodges warranted . The high degrees left behind b y Ramsay still maintained . a fitful sort of existence . They were repudiated by the Grand Orient as well as by the very bodies they professed to belong to . They began to be dominated by Theosophists and professors of second sight , and eventuall y found
themselves under the feet of one of the most unscrupulous . adventurers who ever gulled humanity . An interesting account of Balsamo ( or Cagliostro ) will be found in Dumas ' " Memoirs of a Physician . " He was initiated in London in 1770 , and in course of time founded the " Egyptian Rite . "
Under his superintendence a good deal of the machinery of the revolution was manufactured by the Egyptian " Riters , " and the whole Craft has had to share the odium . In order to protect the Craft and to get some control over the " high graders , " the Grand Orient at last consented to recognise
some of them , and a selection was made , the four chosen being Knight of the Elect , Knight of the East , Scottish Knight , and the Rose Croix .
During the Reign of Terror , the Order naturally suffered . The Grand Master fell under the axe of the executioner , and it was not till 1 799 that there was a revival . The Order reached its zenith in France when Napoleon I . patronised it , and nominated his brother Joseph as Grand Master in 1805 . Good relations with the powers that be continued to be
maintained for some considerable time , and the next notable event was the election of Mural , nephew of Napoleon III ., as Grand Master in 18 52 . This turned out disastrously . The lodges decreased from 500 to 26 9 , and the Grand Orient became bankrupt . Mr . Raper lakes up the history from this point . The Emperor interfered and himself nominated a new Grand
Master , Marshal Magnan . This was b y way of punishment , but the new Grand Master who had been expected to curse remained to bless , and was subsequently elected by the brethren themselves . Mr . Paper's remarks on the present condition of the Craft in France are most instructive . The lodges , he says ,
have become debating societies in which political , religious , judicial , and scientific questions are discussed . They seem to think , with Terence , that no human interest is too remote to engage their sympathy , and so even concentration camps and the conduct of the war have in turn occupied their attention .
It is a mistake to sav they are anti-religious . The position has been forced upon them because they are anti-monarchical . The present Grand Master is a retired pastor of the reformed Church .
Thev are not convivial , having no money lor the purpose , and they are scarcely even a secret society . There are at present about 22 , 000 Masons in 400 lodges owning allegiance to the Grand Orient , but it is needless to say none of these could obtain admittance to an English lodge . It is now some years since the Grand Lodge of
England withdrew recognition from the Grand Orient , a course compelled by that body disowning the Y . S . L . The excommunication still holds good , and as recently as 18 91 a Grand Officer was degraded from his rank for being concerned in the formation of a lodge under the Grand Orient in New Zealand .
In 18 94 the Grand Lodge of France was formed , which is not under ( lie ban , but it is small and uninfliienfial , numbering about 8 , 000 members . In conclusion , we recommend a perusal of Mr . Paper ' s article to all thinking Masons .
Ar02101
IMPORTANT NOTICE .
In another page will be found a reproduction of the most recent Portrait of H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught , in the Masonic Regalia of the M . W . Grand Master . The original is a Photogravure from a Photograph taken by Messrs . Downey , to whom His Royal Highness gave
a special sitting a few weeks before his departure for India , and is one of the most successful of the many portraits of the Royal Family emanating from this celebrated studio . The Portrait has been taken in two positions , one as our reproduction , | = face , size , framed
in Dark Wainscot Oak , 21 J by 16 ' inches ; and the other FuII = face , seated , size , framed as above , 35 by 27 J- inches , and may be obtained from the Publishers , flessrs . Spencer & Co ., at the Office of the " riasonic Illustrated , " 15 , Great Queen Street , London , W . C . No
handsomer or more suitable Presentation could be made to a Lodge . Prices , 21-5 by 16 . 1 inches , Framed ... ... 21 / - „ „ „ „ Unframed ... ... 10 , 6 „ 35 by 271 „ Framed 63 / - „ „ ,, „ Unframed 42 / -
Ad02102
BeaatifallyExecutedDesigns . . NOW READY . . IconicChi^iMiugCu* Sample Set , 12 Different Sorts , PRICE 4 / 6 . * t a— ? niM - ¦ - SPENCER&CO., 15 , Great Queen Street , London , W . C .