USA > Indiana > A history of freemasonry in Indiana from 1806 to 1898 > Part 15
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publication of a Universal Masonic Library, embracing in thirty large volumes the standard works on Masonry; the publication of a Masonic magazine; the writing of Masonic addresses, sketches, stories, and a volume of original poems; the preparation and publication of annual Masonic alma- nacs; a republication of Webb's Monitor; an elaboration systemization of the Adoptive degrees of the Eastern Star, and in the discharge of other duties in the same direction too numerous to mention.
He was tall and slender in build; full dark beard, trimmed short, sparkling gray eyes, and that he was a man of great intelligence, a clear, keen and incisive writer on every subject he attempted to handle, an indefatigable worker, and a most genial, entertaining companion and associate, all can truly testify who were so fortunate as to know him personally. During one of his lecturing tours, shortly after he entered upon that occupation, a local paper made of him the following excellent pen picture:
"Lank as a rattlesnake, and quite as swift to strike; nerv- ous as a silver poplar leaf, and almost as pale; dyspeptic to the last degree of indigestion; full of wit as an egg of meat; devoted to the science of Masonry, yet equally ready upon all subjects of science, from a star to a fossil starfish; a de- vourer of books, fluent as Niagara Falls and generous as the sea !"
Masonry was his sole occupation. Out of it he was com- pelled to secure a sufficiency to support himself and family. Some who did not understand him thoroughly, or were not conversant with his surroundings and personal environ- ments, were inclined to charge him with making use of Masonry for the money he could get out of it. Knowing him personally, and through a correspondence covering sev- eral years, the writer does not believe that he cared for money beyond what was necessary to provide a living for himself and family and meet the obligations of his publica- tion schemes. That he made no money out of his great ยท services to the Institution is evidenced from the fact that he died penniless, everything-his library, Masonic collections,
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books, copyrights and electrotype plates-having been swept away to secure money to pay debts incurred in push- ing forward his various Masonic enterprises. Money with him came easy and went easy, and so long as creditors were not pressing him, and he had enough to live on, he was as happy as a lord!
In reply to criticisms in regard to making money out of Masonry he wrote during the latter years of his life: "As a matter of history, I must declare that I did not enter the Masonic pursuit from mercenary motives, and that it has been anything but a source of profit to me. During my life as a Freemason I have published the first work ever issued on Masonic law; the first Masonic history in this country; the first work upon Masonic belles-letters in any country, and three editions of Webb's Monitor. I have composed or compiled nearly seventy works of a Masonic character; written a score of Masonic addresses; hundreds of Masonic odes and poems; visited more than two thousand lodges, and delivered lectures innumerable. In all these labors it would be strange if I had not made some mistakes. For all of my services as a Mason I have made but the poor- est and most inadequate support for myself and family. . I have necessarily neglected the education of my children and all my home interests. At my time of life, when I. ought to think of rest, I have the world to begin over, as I began it twenty-seven years ago. This is the pecuniary re- ward of my labors."
He was broken in health, without money, or apparently friends, and it is not much to be wondered at that he became pessimistic, and in one of his gloomy moods wrote the fol- lowing:
"The future of Masonry in this country is gloomy. The times indicate great changes. Masonry for this generation has passed its meridian, and it demands the best wisdom and strength of its votaries to preserve it from a serious decline. We look for the dissolution of most of those additions to Masonry (excrescences, we fear they have proved,) called.
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the 'Higher Bodies,' and shall be mistaken if some of the Grand Lodges themselves are not dissolved for want of in- terest and support."
In regard to the cryptic degrees, as he called them, he added:
"I am thoroughly convinced that their claim to antiquity is entirely unfounded. If lecturers would but cease to press the unfounded claims of the Chapter and Council de- grees, admit their want of antiquity, and give their real his- tory, they might well be perpetuated for their dramatic beauty."
He adopted "Rob" as a prefix early in his Masonic career. The immediate cause of this was, he stated, a determination not any longer to be confounded with Robert Morris, the author and poet, of Philadelphia, of whom he, for many years, complained that whenever he wrote anything in prose or verse that was good, it was credited to the Philadelphia Morris, and whenever the Philadelphia Morris wrote any- thing more than ordinarily dull and flat, he got the discredit of it! To obviate this and give each Morris his due, the change referred to was made.
It has of late years come to be generally understood that he was the originator and author of the Order of the East- ern Star. Albert G. Mackey, in his excellent "Lexicon of Freemasonry," falls into this error. Under the head of Eastern Star he says: "An American adoptive rite called the Order of the Eastern Star, invented by Rob Morris." Brother Morris never claimed to be the author of that beau- tiful order. In his "Sixteen Years a Freemason," pub- lished in the "Voice of Masonry" in 1862, he set the author- ship at rest, so far as he was concerned, by making this statement: "At Colliersville I conferred the degree of Eastern Star and Good Samaritan. Both of these I had re- ceived some years before. The restrictions under which the Eastern Star were communicated to me were that it should only be given to Master Masons, their wives, widows. sisters and daughters, and only when five or more ladies were present. These rules I have always adhered to, and testify that from the many thousands of the fair sex to
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whom I have communicated this ingenious, chaste and ele- gant system, but one opinion has emanated: that it is emi- nently worthy of their study and practice."
In 1850 he published a manual, which was greatly re- vised and improved by the publication of the "Rosary of the Eastern Star" in 1865, in which was given full instruc- tions in regard to the degrees, how to confer them, etc., and concluded by giving a brief sketch of the history of adop- tive Masonry, in which he said: "Since the author (Rob Morris) published his first system of lectures upon the East- ern Star in 1850, its manual has passed through three suc- cessive editions. By this means an immense dissemination of the degree has been secured, and the Craft from high to low have been made acquainted with its objects. It may be safely asserted that 50,000 ladies are in the knowledge of its secrets. The history of adoptive Masonry is like the history of Masonry itself-uncertain and obscure. Books are published upon the subject, both in the German and French languages, prior to 1750, and the system received an immense development, particularly in France some thirty years later, the first noblemen and ladies of the king- dom participating in it. In the United States we find much reference to it in Masonic writings of 1816 to 1826, when such degrees as the Heroines of Jericho, etc., were popular among those entitled to receive them."
At what period and by whom the Eastern Star was in- vented history fails to record. Robert McCoy, who signed himself National Grand Secretary, says it was introduced into this country in 1778, but he gives no further informa- tion concerning it. But enough is known to warrant the statement that it was in existence long before Rob Morris knew anything about Masonry. However, when he re- ceived it, it was undoubtedly the merest skeleton of what it now is. He saw that it could be made a useful and beau- tiful system, and at once set about filling up the skeleton with biblical references, lectures, historical sketches of the five illustrious female characters of Bible times that make up the degree, and added additional signs, pass-words, col- ors, and generally systematized the rite, so that it com-
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mended itself to Masons in general, and to the females who were entitled to receive it especially. It is now a recog- nized order, and is as firmly established in this country as any of the other attachments to Ancient Craft Masonry, for which Brother Morris should be given credit to that extent.
He was a poet of more than ordinary ability, having com- posed and published a volume of two hundred pages, em- bracing a collection of Masonic odes and poems, some of which will live long after his name is forgotten. He had a happy faculty of utilizing the everyday happenings of life as subjects for poetic thought, applying the moral to some point in Masonry. His little poem, "Leaning Towards Each Other," is an illustration in point. These amusing lines, he said, were composed on the cars while traveling through North Carolina in 1858. The tenacity with which a newly married couple, fresh from the uplands, clung to each other amongst the exciting jolts suggested an analogy to Masonic attachments which ought to be more carefully observed as the circumstances of life become more distressing. Here is a verse:
The jolts of life are many as we dash Along the track;
The ways are rough and rugged and Our bones they sorely rack. We're tossed about, we're in and out, We make a mighty pother; For less would be our pains if we Would lean towards each other.
Turning his eyes to the newly married couple referred to, he wove the thought their leaning towards each other sug- gested into the following:
Behold that loving couple, just wedded For their life; What care they for the joltings, that happy Man and wife? The cars may jump, their heads may bump And jostle one another; They only smile and try the while To lean towards each other!
But the very best of his numerous poetic productions is "The Level and the Square." From the first it was re-
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ceived with great favor, and has attained a widespread no- toriety not equalled by any other Masonic poem of ancient or modern times. It has been set to a dozen different melo- dies, is sung and recited at labor and refreshment, at the grave-side, at the festival, in the domestic circle, and has been translated into all languages over the world wherever Masonry exists.
It was written in the summer of 1854, and was an inspira- tion. The circumstances under which it was written, as re- lated by himself, were as follows: The common expres- sion, he said, "We meet upon the level and we part upon the square," had been running through his head for several days, when, happening to couple it with the pretty air of "Jeannette and Jeanot," he sat down upon a fallen tree one hot summer's day, as he was walking to a neighbor's house, and composed the entire ode in a few minutes. He after- wards, however, made several changes in the lines, especially in the first verse, but the meaning remained about the same. The second line of the third stanza, as originally written, was-
We mingle with the multitude, a cold, unfriendly crew. IIe soon changed the last four words, making the line read: a faithful band and true!
Which gave an entirely different shading from the original draft.
In 1858 he attended the annual session of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, and, as it was about to be closed, he re- peated this poem, prefacing it with these affecting remarks:
"It is in the power of this Grand Lodge to say we shall part, but it is not in the power of any man or body of men to say we shall meet again! This hall, which has resounded through all the week with the voices of brethren, earnest in the defense of Masonic truths, will soon be vacated, and which of us will return? These groups of Master Builders will soon be dissolving. We shall disperse to the north and to the south. to the east and to the west, but which of us will ever come back ? Under the solemnizing influences of those thoughts, let us take comfort in our departure by the
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reflection that there is another and a better lodge, whose starry pavements shall be trodden by our feet, and whose joys are eternal."
We meet upon the level and we part upon the square-
What words of precious meaning those words Masonic are! Come, let us contemplate them, they are worthy of a thought;
. With the highest, and the lowest. and the rarest they are fraught!
We meet upon the level, though from every station come, The rich man from his palace and the poor man from his home.
For the one must leave his wealth and state outside the Mason's door,
While the other finds his true respect upon the checkered floor.
We part upon the square, for the world must have its due; We mingle with the multitude, a faithful band and true; But the influence of our gatherings in memory is green,
And we long upon the level to renew the happy scene.
There's a world where all are equal-we are hurrying towards it fast:
We shall meet upon the level there-when the gates of death are past;
We shall stand before the Orient, and our Master will be there, To try the blocks we offer by His own unerring square!
We shall meet upon the level there, but never thence depart; There's a mansion-'tis all ready for each faithful, trusting heart- There's a mansion, and a welcome, and a multitude is there, Who have met upon the level and been tried upon the square.
Let us meet upon the level, then, while laboring patient here; Let us meet and let us labor, though the labor be severe; Already in the western sky the signs bid us prepare
To gather up our working tools and part upon the square.
Hands round, ye faithful Masons-form the bright fraternal chain; We part upon the square below to meet in heaven again: Oh, what words of precious meaning those words Masonic are: "We meet upon the level and we part upon the square."
He had, undoubtedly, his faults, as all of us have, but it is safe to say that no other man during the past half cen- tury did so much for Masonry, with so little credit and recompense, as this same Rob Morris. He had, notwith- standing, many admirers and faithful friends, who knew him personally and appreciated him for the great services he had rendered the Fraternity, among whom was our late distinguished and much esteemed brother, Dr. E. W. H.
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Ellis, of Goshen, who expressed the general sentiment of the Craft in the following charming verses:
Ah, Rob, my lad, we ken ve well. Frae head to feet a brither, And when ye'er gane, nae tongue can tell When we shall meet anither. Sae genial, blithesome, full o' heart, Sae genuine to nature, Wi' tongue sae glib yet free frae smart, Wi' kindness on each feature.
We love ye, Rob, and when ye go Each brither's heart's upon ye; And aye thro' life, in weal or woe, Our blessings, too, light on ye! And tho' on earth we meet nae more, When life's sweet ties are riven, We'll hope to meet. these labors o'er, Around the throne in heaven!
1
Rob Marinosee.
MILITARY MASONIC LODGES.
M ILITARY Masonic Lodges are of an early date, hav- ing long existed in the British army. In this coun- try the first of which we have any record was one the war- rant for which was granted by the Grand Lodge of Massa- chusetts in 1738 to Abraham Savage, to be used in the expedition against Canada. A similar one was granted by the same authority in 1756 to Richard Gridley for'the ex- pedition against Crown Point. In both of these cases the warrants were of a general character, and might rather be considered as deputations, as they authorized Savage and Gridley to congregate Masons into one or more lodges. In 1779 the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania granted a warrant to open a military lodge, which, in the warrant, was called a "moveable lodge."
In England the system of military lodges is regulated by special provisions of the Grand Lodge Constitution. They are strictly limited to the purposes for which the warrants are granted, and no new lodge can be established in a regi- ment without the concurrence of the commanding officer. They cannot make Masons of any but military men who have attained some rank in the army above that of private soldiers, although the latter may, by dispensation, be ad- mitted as "serving brethren;" and they are strictly enjoined not to interfere with the Masonic jurisdiction of any coun- try in which they may be stationed.
It is quite probable that the thought that led to the issu- ing of dispensations to military lodges in Indiana was incu- bated by Grand Master Elizur Deming in his address to the Grand Lodge in 1849. He said: "Two traveling lodges have been organized in this State for California-one com- posed of brethren from Lafayette and its vicinity, named
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At a subsequent session the Grand Lodge recommended that the dispensations be continued until revoked by the Grand Master, and that the brethren of said military lodges be requested to keep a true and faithful record of the pre- ceedings of their respective lodges, giving in detail the posi tion of each member, the part taken in every battle, and. should any be killed or die in the service of his country, the location of his interment, and return said record to the Grand Secretary, to be retained by him for future refer. ence.
At the same meeting Brother Lattimore, Senior Warden of Perseverance Military Lodge, was present, and out of re- spect to him the Grand Lodge invited him to take a seat in the Grand Lodge, with full privilege to participate in the deliberations during the session. It was also resolved that any other brothers who had been engaged in the service of the Federal Government in a military capacity, and as a token of respect and approval, be invited to take seats in the Grand Lodge and participate in the deliberations during that Grand Communication.
The Master of Vigilant Military Lodge made a report of its organization in the field, near Corinth. IIe also re- ported the conferring of the three degrees on three candi- dates whose applications were made cases of emergency. "At the new station," he said, "on the 26th of April, on the Shiloh battlefield, near the graves of the brave and noble men of our regiment, and of the army who fell in the bat- tles of the 6th and 7th, and on a spot to be ever memorable hereafter in the history of our country, we set up our Ma- sonic tabernacle, and on the same evening we passed Brother John M. Elwood to the degree of Fellow Craft."
But very few of these military lodges made any report. Regimental Lodge of the 31st Regiment made a final report when it disbanded, from which it appears that it was organ- ized at Terre Haute, September 13, 1861. During its ex- istence it initiated, passed and raised twenty-six candidates. The receipts were $455. No charges or collections for dues were made. At the close of the war each member was fur- nished with a certificate or diploma of non-indebtedness.
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The net amount, less expenses, $226, was appropriated to ereet a monument to the deceased Master, R. M. Water- man, whose death was caused by exposure.
The general workings of the military lodges was any- thing but satisfactory or creditable to the Ancient Craft. Grand Master William Hacker, in his annual address, 1865, said: "Had I my two years as Grand Master to live over, and knowing what I now do, I do not think I would issue any dispensation whatever to organize lodges connected with the army. But few of those we have organized have been of any credit to us, and I doubt if we ever have a re- port from any of them."
In returning the dispensation for a military lodge issued to the 23d Regiment, Thomas R. Austin, who was Grand Master the first year of the war, said: "I would respect- fully report that, after having seen the workings of other military lodges in the field, the Craftsmen who were mem- bers of the 23d Regiment deemed that it would be preju- dicial to the interests of Masonry to open a lodge and work as Masons in that regiment. No lodge was therefore or- ganized, and no work was done."
At the close of the war the status of these army-made Masons gave rise to a great deal of discussion. Grand Mas- ter Hazelrigg, in his address in 1867, devoted three pages to the question. Ile was always prolific, and even in dis- cussing serious subjects the vein of humor which predom- inated in his make-up was sure to show itself. His opinion on the subject was embraced in this extract:
"While some Grand Lodges hold that these army-made Masons shall all be held as clandestine, others suggest a healing process. Now, I can't subscribe to the position of either. Those made in army lodges are either Masons or they are not. If they are, they should be treated as such and need no healing: if they are not, there is nothing to heal! Old fabric manufactories used to have a kind of cloth they called 'shoot-about.' It mixed up colors and threads in such a way that it was hard to distinguish what was the predominating color or substance. It was a bastard affair, about such as I think this healing process would pro- duce."
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At a subsequent session the Grand Lodge recommended that the dispensations be continued until revoked by the Grand Master, and that the brethren of said military lodges be requested to keep a true and faithful record of the pro" ceedings of their respective lodges, giving in detail the posi tion of each member, the part taken in every battle, and. should any be killed or die in the service of his country, the location of his interment, and return said record to the Grand Secretary, to be retained by him for future refer- ence.
At the same meeting Brother Lattimore, Senior Warden of Perseverance Military Lodge, was present, and out of re- spect to him the Grand Lodge invited him to take a seat in the Grand Lodge, with full privilege to participate in the deliberations during the session. It was also resolved that any other brothers who had been engaged in the service of the Federal Government in a military capacity, and as a token of respect and approval, be invited to take seats in the Grand Lodge and participate in the deliberations during that Grand Communication.
The Master of Vigilant Military Lodge made a report of its organization in the field, near Corinth. He also re- ported the conferring of the three degrees on three candi- dates whose applications were made cases of emergency. "At the new station," he said, "on the 26th of April, on the Shiloh battlefield, near the graves of the brave and noble men of our regiment, and of the army who fell in the bat- tles of the 6th and 7th, and on a spot to be ever memorable hereafter in the history of our country, we set up our Ma- sonic tabernacle, and on the same evening we passed Brother John M. Elwood to the degree of Fellow Craft."
But very few of these military lodges made any report. Regimental Lodge of the 31st Regiment made a final report when it disbanded, from which it appears that it was organ- ized at Terre Haute, September 13, 1861. During its ex- istence it initiated, passed and raised twenty-six candidates. The receipts were $455. No charges or collections for dues were made. At the close of the war each member was fur- nished with a certificate or diploma of non-indebtedness.
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The net amount, less expenses, $226, was appropriated to erect a monument to the deceased Master, R. M. Water- man, whose death was caused by exposure.
The general workings of the military lodges was any- thing but satisfactory or creditable to the Ancient Craft. Grand Master William Hacker, in his annual address, 1865, said: "Had I my two years as Grand Master to live over, and knowing what I now do, I do not think I would issue any dispensation whatever to organize lodges connected with the army. But few of those we have organized have been of any credit to us, and I doubt if we ever have a re- port from any of them."
In returning the dispensation for a military lodge issued to the 23d Regiment, Thomas R. Austin, who was Grand Master the first year of the war, said: "I would respect- fully report that, after having seen the workings of other military lodges in the field, the Craftsmen who were mem- bers of the 23d Regiment deemed that it would be preju- dicial to the interests of Masonry to open a lodge and work as Masons in that regiment. No lodge was therefore or- ganized, and no work was done."
At the close of the war the status of these army-made Masons gave rise to a great deal of discussion. Grand Mas- ter Hazelrigg, in his address in 1867, devoted three pages to the question. IIe was always prolific, and even in dis- cussing serious subjects the vein of humor which predom- inated in his make-up was sure to show itself. His opinion on the subject was embraced in this extract:
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