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Article MASONIC REMINISCENCES. Page 1 of 8 →
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Masonic Reminiscences.
MASONIC REMINISCENCES .
By < bb > To < j > L \ os , P . M ., L . 50 , Dublin . CHAPTER I . —OUR E ARLY IMPRESSIONS OF MASONRY—A CYNIC ' OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED . How well do we remember the awful and mysterious feeling with which ,
in our sunny daj r s of boyhood , ive looked upon the man who was in possession of the secrets of Freemasonry ; and still the wonder grew upon us whether the day would ever arrive when we ourselves should don the apron and make one of the chosen few . Our immediate paternal ancestor was a Mason , high in the Order , but he seldom spoke of itunless when drawn out by a vigorous sally from Ms
, beloved better half , or one of her fair visitors . To do . them justice , Lowever , then - arguments seldom extended beyond those stale jokes which have been current against the Craft for ages . His Masonic sensibilities were more seriously , affected , and' his indignant defence more frequently called forth , by the ingenious libels of a neighbouring relative , who , having in bis clays of youthful gallantly committed some grievous
escapade , was black-balled in the County Lodge , and thus , was generated in him a feeling of enmity against the Order , which , upon every occasion , be poured forth with all the power of a scholar and all the bitterness of a cynic . Yet he seemed to gain but feiv adherents , ancl these amongst the ' gentler sex—bless them ! they generally side with the weak—while the eulogiums be dmv forth in defence of Freemasonry , sunk deep into the minds of the listeners , and upon ours left an impression which time cannot elface .
On many occasions we ourselves have been made the starting point of attack , when our cynical kinsman , placing his hand upon our head , would indulge somewhat after this fashion -. — " My dear boy , I hope you will have too much sense ever to have anything to do with this torn-foolery called Freemasonry ; it is a mere apology for eating and drinking , an excuse for the dissipation of the young , and , for the deserted fire-sides of
the old . They have no secrets , no mysteries worth knowing , and any . they profess to be possessed of have their origin in evil . " They date their foundation from the building of Solomon ' s Temple " and seem proud of the antiquity of their () rder . '
" I would allow them to go further back—aye , to the days cf Cain when the sons of the " fugitive and the vagabond " banded together in an unholy brotherhood to corrupt the earth , ancl thus brought upon it the curse of the Deluge . " If the Origin of Masonry could be traced to its source , we have very little doubt it would be discovered that one of the descendants of him whom set the mark of sinhad eluded
upon was , the vigilance of Noah and having somehow leaked through the Ark , contrived to re-establish « i remnant of tlat anfedtluvian diablerie practised b y the old mao-i-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Reminiscences.
MASONIC REMINISCENCES .
By < bb > To < j > L \ os , P . M ., L . 50 , Dublin . CHAPTER I . —OUR E ARLY IMPRESSIONS OF MASONRY—A CYNIC ' OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED . How well do we remember the awful and mysterious feeling with which ,
in our sunny daj r s of boyhood , ive looked upon the man who was in possession of the secrets of Freemasonry ; and still the wonder grew upon us whether the day would ever arrive when we ourselves should don the apron and make one of the chosen few . Our immediate paternal ancestor was a Mason , high in the Order , but he seldom spoke of itunless when drawn out by a vigorous sally from Ms
, beloved better half , or one of her fair visitors . To do . them justice , Lowever , then - arguments seldom extended beyond those stale jokes which have been current against the Craft for ages . His Masonic sensibilities were more seriously , affected , and' his indignant defence more frequently called forth , by the ingenious libels of a neighbouring relative , who , having in bis clays of youthful gallantly committed some grievous
escapade , was black-balled in the County Lodge , and thus , was generated in him a feeling of enmity against the Order , which , upon every occasion , be poured forth with all the power of a scholar and all the bitterness of a cynic . Yet he seemed to gain but feiv adherents , ancl these amongst the ' gentler sex—bless them ! they generally side with the weak—while the eulogiums be dmv forth in defence of Freemasonry , sunk deep into the minds of the listeners , and upon ours left an impression which time cannot elface .
On many occasions we ourselves have been made the starting point of attack , when our cynical kinsman , placing his hand upon our head , would indulge somewhat after this fashion -. — " My dear boy , I hope you will have too much sense ever to have anything to do with this torn-foolery called Freemasonry ; it is a mere apology for eating and drinking , an excuse for the dissipation of the young , and , for the deserted fire-sides of
the old . They have no secrets , no mysteries worth knowing , and any . they profess to be possessed of have their origin in evil . " They date their foundation from the building of Solomon ' s Temple " and seem proud of the antiquity of their () rder . '
" I would allow them to go further back—aye , to the days cf Cain when the sons of the " fugitive and the vagabond " banded together in an unholy brotherhood to corrupt the earth , ancl thus brought upon it the curse of the Deluge . " If the Origin of Masonry could be traced to its source , we have very little doubt it would be discovered that one of the descendants of him whom set the mark of sinhad eluded
upon was , the vigilance of Noah and having somehow leaked through the Ark , contrived to re-establish « i remnant of tlat anfedtluvian diablerie practised b y the old mao-i-