Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Two Imperial Craftsmen.
Two Imperial Craftsmen .
WE learn from Speth ' s " Royal Freemasons " that since the reign of Frederick the Great ( 1740-1786 ) , who firmly established the Craft in his dominions , the kingdom of Prussia has been a veritable stronghold of Freemasonry . Berlin alone can boast of three Grand Lodges , all working in amity , and each having a goodly list of
subordinate Lodges under its jurisdiction , but whether this is advantageous is problematical . They are , however , the Grand National mother-Lodge of the Prussian States , known as the Grand Lodge of " The Three Globes , " " The National Grand Lodge of Germany at Berlin , " and " The Grand
Lodge , Royal York of Friendship at Berlin . " The last named derived its regal title from having initiated in 1765 , when it was a private Lodge , called " The Lodge of Friendship , " H . R . H . Edward Augustus , Duke of York , brother of King George III . of England . In 179 8 H . R . H . Augustus
Frederick , Duke of Sussex , subsequently Grand Master of England , was received into Masonry and membership of the Craft under the auspices of this Grand Lodge . His Imperial Majesty William I ., King of Prussia , afterwards German Emperor , was initiated in 18 40 , shortly before
his father ' s death , in a Special Lodge at Berlin , ruled over by the three Grand Masters of the three Berlin Grand Lodges , in compliance with his father ' s stipulation that he should not join any one Lodge or system , but belong to every Lodge in the kingdom and assume the protectorate of them all , under the title of Protector of Prussian Freemasons , a title which he held for the remainder of his life .
His Imperial Majesty Frederick III ., German Einperor ancl King of Prussia , succeeded his father as Protector of the Freemasons of Prussia . He was initiated in 1853 by his father , then Crown Prince of Prussia , in a Special Lodge convened in the Royal Palace at Berlin , and composed of the representatives of the three
Prussian Grand Lodges . In i 860 he was elected Grand Master of the National Grand Lodge , the second of the three before-mentioned bodies , and when his father succeeded to the throne of Prussia in 1861 , he relinquished all active participation in the affairs of the Craft and appointed the Crown Prince his Deputy .
Amongst many autograph letters from eminent Masons carefully preserved In a glass case in the Library of the Grand Lodge of England are the two following which may not be without interest in this connection . The first is a copy of a letter written by the Earl of Zetland , Grand Master , to H . R . H . Prince Frederick William during his brief visit to
England in 1856 : — " Freemasons' Hall , London , 21 st , Nov ., 18 56 . " Illustrious Prince—Dear Brother , " I deeply regret not having been enabled to offer my personal respects to your Royal Highness on the occasion of your present visit to this country , as I was most anxious of
making known to you the respectful sentiments of duty and fraternal esteem entertained b y myself and the Body of the tree Masons of England towards so illustrious and distinguished a Member of the Craft , and also to convey to your Royal Highness , the high gratification it would afford me if
on the occasion of a future visit your Royal Highness would honour the Grand Lodge with your presence and thereby afford the Brethren constituting that assembly the opportunity ° f testif ying the deep sentiments of attachment towards a Member of the Order so elevated in position and so zealous
m advancing its interests , and whose August Father has so l ° ng thrown the shield of his protection over the Masonic Bod y throughout the Prussian Dominions .
With every assurance of Fraternal Esteem and personal Respect , I subscribe myself Your Royal Highness ' s Faithfully and attached " Zetland , Grand Master of England . " r ° His Royal Highness Prince Frederick William of Prussia .
To this fraternal communication the Prince replied b y an autograph letter , in English , as follows : — Breslau , April 18 th , 18 57 . Right Worshipful Sir and Brother , Your kind letter giving me so hearty a welcome to your country afforded me , I assure you , the deepest
satisfaction . The great esteem I hold towards all members of our venerable Order , the in ( eres ( I take in all matters pertaining to the advancement of its cause , together with the sentiments of fraternity I entertain towards your Lordship's person , as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England , have long
aroused in me the desire of holding a closer intercourse with the Order in your country . Unfortunately , circumstances have , up to this period , prevented me from putting my long-cherished wish into execution ; but it is my hope and trust that , upon a future
visit to England , I may afford myself the gratification of becoming acquainted with your Lordship ' s person and a Grand Lodge , which , for so long a period , has laid a firm hold on the fundamental principles of the Craft , and by these means been so very instrumental in the dissemination of all good and happiness in the whole human family .
With the best wishes for the furtherance of all your undertakings , as a body , and with every assurance of fraternal esteem , I salute your Lordship by the sacred numbers . FREDERICK WILLIAM . PRINCE OE PRUSSIA .
To the Right Honourable The Earl of Zetland , Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England . His Royal Highness honoured the Grand Lodge by paying
his promised visit at the Quarterly Communication on the 2 nd of December , 1857 , when he was most enthusiastically received by a very large assembly of Brethren , the auspicious incident being thus briefly recorded in the printed report of the proceedings .
The Grand Lodge was opened in ample Form and with solemn Prayer . The M . W . Grand Master then said , they were that evening honoured by the presence of H . R . H . Prince Frederick William of Prussia , and he was sure the Grand Lodge would
be glad of the opportunity to express the gratification they felt at the presence of so illustrious a Brother amongst them . They were aware of the friendly communication which existed between the Grand Lodge of Prussia and this Grand Lodge . His Royal Highness had been pleased to express
the pleasure it would afford him to witness the proceedings of the Grand Lodge , and had accepted the invitation sent to him . The Grand Director of Ceremonies then proclaimed His Roval Highness who was saluted in the usual Masonic form .
His Royal Highness then rose and said : I thank you , my Brothers , for the kind feeling you have shewn to me on this the first occasion that I have the happiness of being amongst you . I can assure you that I have the most cordial feeling towards you , and that it has been , from the first day 1 had the honor and the happiness of becoming a Freemason ,
my great desire to meet you . The Prince remained during the greater portion of a somewhat contentious and protracted sitting , it being past eleven o'clock when the Grand Lodge was closed . Before his departure , the Grand Master , in the name of
the Grand Lodge , asked his acceptance of a copy of the Book of Constitutions . His Royal Highness then rose and thanked the Grand Lodge for their present and expressed the great pleasure he had felt in visiting the Grand Lodge and his hopes that it would not be the last time .
An escort of Grand Officers was then formed and His Royal Highness quitted the Grand Lodge amidst the most enthusiastic applause .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Two Imperial Craftsmen.
Two Imperial Craftsmen .
WE learn from Speth ' s " Royal Freemasons " that since the reign of Frederick the Great ( 1740-1786 ) , who firmly established the Craft in his dominions , the kingdom of Prussia has been a veritable stronghold of Freemasonry . Berlin alone can boast of three Grand Lodges , all working in amity , and each having a goodly list of
subordinate Lodges under its jurisdiction , but whether this is advantageous is problematical . They are , however , the Grand National mother-Lodge of the Prussian States , known as the Grand Lodge of " The Three Globes , " " The National Grand Lodge of Germany at Berlin , " and " The Grand
Lodge , Royal York of Friendship at Berlin . " The last named derived its regal title from having initiated in 1765 , when it was a private Lodge , called " The Lodge of Friendship , " H . R . H . Edward Augustus , Duke of York , brother of King George III . of England . In 179 8 H . R . H . Augustus
Frederick , Duke of Sussex , subsequently Grand Master of England , was received into Masonry and membership of the Craft under the auspices of this Grand Lodge . His Imperial Majesty William I ., King of Prussia , afterwards German Emperor , was initiated in 18 40 , shortly before
his father ' s death , in a Special Lodge at Berlin , ruled over by the three Grand Masters of the three Berlin Grand Lodges , in compliance with his father ' s stipulation that he should not join any one Lodge or system , but belong to every Lodge in the kingdom and assume the protectorate of them all , under the title of Protector of Prussian Freemasons , a title which he held for the remainder of his life .
His Imperial Majesty Frederick III ., German Einperor ancl King of Prussia , succeeded his father as Protector of the Freemasons of Prussia . He was initiated in 1853 by his father , then Crown Prince of Prussia , in a Special Lodge convened in the Royal Palace at Berlin , and composed of the representatives of the three
Prussian Grand Lodges . In i 860 he was elected Grand Master of the National Grand Lodge , the second of the three before-mentioned bodies , and when his father succeeded to the throne of Prussia in 1861 , he relinquished all active participation in the affairs of the Craft and appointed the Crown Prince his Deputy .
Amongst many autograph letters from eminent Masons carefully preserved In a glass case in the Library of the Grand Lodge of England are the two following which may not be without interest in this connection . The first is a copy of a letter written by the Earl of Zetland , Grand Master , to H . R . H . Prince Frederick William during his brief visit to
England in 1856 : — " Freemasons' Hall , London , 21 st , Nov ., 18 56 . " Illustrious Prince—Dear Brother , " I deeply regret not having been enabled to offer my personal respects to your Royal Highness on the occasion of your present visit to this country , as I was most anxious of
making known to you the respectful sentiments of duty and fraternal esteem entertained b y myself and the Body of the tree Masons of England towards so illustrious and distinguished a Member of the Craft , and also to convey to your Royal Highness , the high gratification it would afford me if
on the occasion of a future visit your Royal Highness would honour the Grand Lodge with your presence and thereby afford the Brethren constituting that assembly the opportunity ° f testif ying the deep sentiments of attachment towards a Member of the Order so elevated in position and so zealous
m advancing its interests , and whose August Father has so l ° ng thrown the shield of his protection over the Masonic Bod y throughout the Prussian Dominions .
With every assurance of Fraternal Esteem and personal Respect , I subscribe myself Your Royal Highness ' s Faithfully and attached " Zetland , Grand Master of England . " r ° His Royal Highness Prince Frederick William of Prussia .
To this fraternal communication the Prince replied b y an autograph letter , in English , as follows : — Breslau , April 18 th , 18 57 . Right Worshipful Sir and Brother , Your kind letter giving me so hearty a welcome to your country afforded me , I assure you , the deepest
satisfaction . The great esteem I hold towards all members of our venerable Order , the in ( eres ( I take in all matters pertaining to the advancement of its cause , together with the sentiments of fraternity I entertain towards your Lordship's person , as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England , have long
aroused in me the desire of holding a closer intercourse with the Order in your country . Unfortunately , circumstances have , up to this period , prevented me from putting my long-cherished wish into execution ; but it is my hope and trust that , upon a future
visit to England , I may afford myself the gratification of becoming acquainted with your Lordship ' s person and a Grand Lodge , which , for so long a period , has laid a firm hold on the fundamental principles of the Craft , and by these means been so very instrumental in the dissemination of all good and happiness in the whole human family .
With the best wishes for the furtherance of all your undertakings , as a body , and with every assurance of fraternal esteem , I salute your Lordship by the sacred numbers . FREDERICK WILLIAM . PRINCE OE PRUSSIA .
To the Right Honourable The Earl of Zetland , Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England . His Royal Highness honoured the Grand Lodge by paying
his promised visit at the Quarterly Communication on the 2 nd of December , 1857 , when he was most enthusiastically received by a very large assembly of Brethren , the auspicious incident being thus briefly recorded in the printed report of the proceedings .
The Grand Lodge was opened in ample Form and with solemn Prayer . The M . W . Grand Master then said , they were that evening honoured by the presence of H . R . H . Prince Frederick William of Prussia , and he was sure the Grand Lodge would
be glad of the opportunity to express the gratification they felt at the presence of so illustrious a Brother amongst them . They were aware of the friendly communication which existed between the Grand Lodge of Prussia and this Grand Lodge . His Royal Highness had been pleased to express
the pleasure it would afford him to witness the proceedings of the Grand Lodge , and had accepted the invitation sent to him . The Grand Director of Ceremonies then proclaimed His Roval Highness who was saluted in the usual Masonic form .
His Royal Highness then rose and said : I thank you , my Brothers , for the kind feeling you have shewn to me on this the first occasion that I have the happiness of being amongst you . I can assure you that I have the most cordial feeling towards you , and that it has been , from the first day 1 had the honor and the happiness of becoming a Freemason ,
my great desire to meet you . The Prince remained during the greater portion of a somewhat contentious and protracted sitting , it being past eleven o'clock when the Grand Lodge was closed . Before his departure , the Grand Master , in the name of
the Grand Lodge , asked his acceptance of a copy of the Book of Constitutions . His Royal Highness then rose and thanked the Grand Lodge for their present and expressed the great pleasure he had felt in visiting the Grand Lodge and his hopes that it would not be the last time .
An escort of Grand Officers was then formed and His Royal Highness quitted the Grand Lodge amidst the most enthusiastic applause .