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Article AN INCIDENT OF THE ST. LEGER FAMILY. Page 1 of 2 →
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An Incident Of The St. Leger Family.
AN INCIDENT OF THE ST . LEGER FAMILY .
i The family of St . Leger , whose representative was raised to the Peerage in 1785 by the title of Lord Doneraile , is of very ancient origin . The ancestor and founder of the family in this country , Sir Bobert de St . Leger , accompanied William the Conqueror into England , and was even then in such high repute , that his was the hand selected by that prince to support him when he first landed on the coast of Sussex , An incident in the history of this noble family
is worthy of record , and the singular and somewhat romantic circumstances under which it occurred will be interesting , from the fact that they led to the initiation of the only female who was ever admitted into the ancient and honourable Order of Lreemasonry . The attachment of Lord Doneraile to the principles of Masonry approached to enthusiasm ; indeed , his zeal was such , that he obtained a charter from the Grand Lodge of Ireland constituting the Lodge ] STo . 150 , which was held in Doneraile House , his lordship ' s
seat in the county of Cork . He might , without impropriety , be called the centre of a circle of devoted Freemasons , most of whom were also united by the bonds of private friendship , and who , along with his sons , assisted in the duties of the Lodge—duties , it is said which were never more strictly performed , or with more regard to the true spirit of the Order , than by the Brethren at Doneraile House . It appears that during the admission of a candidate , wdiose initiation took place within the family mansion , the room generally used as the Lodge-room was undergoing some alterations , and a portion of the party-wall was in an imperfect state , having been reduced for
the purpose of forming a saloon . Previous to the ceremony of opening the Lodge , the Hon . Elizabeth St . Leger , one of his lordship ' s daughters , then a young girl , happened to be in an apartment adjoining this room . It is not quite clear whether she was there by design or accident ; but it is certain that while there her attention was attracted by the sound of voices , which she recognised to be those of her father ' s Masonic friends , and her curiosity became excited to discover a mystery so long and completely veiled from the
public . It was a matter much more trying to the courage than the physical strength of the young lady to remove a loose brick from the partition-wall , which she did with the aid of her scissors , and thus witnessed the first two steps of 'the mysterious ceremony . Her curiosity being now partially gratified , terror at once seized possession of her mind , and it will not require much effort of imagination .
on the . part of those to whom such scenes arc familiar ,. to suppose how the strongest man must feel if he acquired a knowledge of this secret by surreptitious means—and how much more unenviable the feelings of a young and inexperienced girl under circumstances so extraordinary ! She felt her position to be perilous , and to remain in her hiding-place would have boon certain discovery . Her first im-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Incident Of The St. Leger Family.
AN INCIDENT OF THE ST . LEGER FAMILY .
i The family of St . Leger , whose representative was raised to the Peerage in 1785 by the title of Lord Doneraile , is of very ancient origin . The ancestor and founder of the family in this country , Sir Bobert de St . Leger , accompanied William the Conqueror into England , and was even then in such high repute , that his was the hand selected by that prince to support him when he first landed on the coast of Sussex , An incident in the history of this noble family
is worthy of record , and the singular and somewhat romantic circumstances under which it occurred will be interesting , from the fact that they led to the initiation of the only female who was ever admitted into the ancient and honourable Order of Lreemasonry . The attachment of Lord Doneraile to the principles of Masonry approached to enthusiasm ; indeed , his zeal was such , that he obtained a charter from the Grand Lodge of Ireland constituting the Lodge ] STo . 150 , which was held in Doneraile House , his lordship ' s
seat in the county of Cork . He might , without impropriety , be called the centre of a circle of devoted Freemasons , most of whom were also united by the bonds of private friendship , and who , along with his sons , assisted in the duties of the Lodge—duties , it is said which were never more strictly performed , or with more regard to the true spirit of the Order , than by the Brethren at Doneraile House . It appears that during the admission of a candidate , wdiose initiation took place within the family mansion , the room generally used as the Lodge-room was undergoing some alterations , and a portion of the party-wall was in an imperfect state , having been reduced for
the purpose of forming a saloon . Previous to the ceremony of opening the Lodge , the Hon . Elizabeth St . Leger , one of his lordship ' s daughters , then a young girl , happened to be in an apartment adjoining this room . It is not quite clear whether she was there by design or accident ; but it is certain that while there her attention was attracted by the sound of voices , which she recognised to be those of her father ' s Masonic friends , and her curiosity became excited to discover a mystery so long and completely veiled from the
public . It was a matter much more trying to the courage than the physical strength of the young lady to remove a loose brick from the partition-wall , which she did with the aid of her scissors , and thus witnessed the first two steps of 'the mysterious ceremony . Her curiosity being now partially gratified , terror at once seized possession of her mind , and it will not require much effort of imagination .
on the . part of those to whom such scenes arc familiar ,. to suppose how the strongest man must feel if he acquired a knowledge of this secret by surreptitious means—and how much more unenviable the feelings of a young and inexperienced girl under circumstances so extraordinary ! She felt her position to be perilous , and to remain in her hiding-place would have boon certain discovery . Her first im-