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lived in the Sue de la Rappe ; during their deliberations a commissary of police , followed by a detachment of soldiers , made a forcible entry , and ordered the meeting to separate . The Duke , who happened to be there , did not receive these minions of the law very politely ; but they , being armed with authority , shut up the house , walled up the door , and forbid all future assemblies on pain of fine and imprisonment .
But in defiance of this prohibition the Brethren again united , and met at a cafe in the Rue de Deux Ecus to celebrate a festival of their Order . The police again disturbed them—arrested every one they found there , and cast them all into prison . As nothing is more favourable to new institutions than persecution , the Lodges increased rapidly . In a few years their number had trebled , and Count de
Clairmont , a prince of the blood , was elected Grand Master , to supply the place of the Due d'Antin , who had resigned . But on the 5 th June , 1744 , an order was issued forbidding any person to allow a Lodge to be held at his house ; any one who was found courageous enough to disobey this order subjected himself to a fine of three thousand francs .
Still these rigorous methods were of no avail . The Brethren once more assembled , and in a solemn meeting the principal Lodge received the name of the Grand English Lodge . The government , however , was again on the alert . New orders were issued prohibiting the proprietors of houses to allow their meetings on pain of
heavy penalties . This arbitrary conduct so disgusted the Count that he abandoned his office , leaving as his active successor a banker , who , not being very enthusiastic in the cause , ceased to assemble the members . His conduct gave rise to great disorder—the Brethren quarrelled among themselves , and the Lodges fell into a state of anarchy .
It was at this period that men , drawn on by the corruption of the age , and being in want of a specious veil to cover their vices , borrowed that of Freemasonry . Secret societies were formed , and among others " The Aphrodite : " but it would be only waste of time to dilate on these infamous assemblies .
In 1745 , while the Brethren were holding a reception at the Hotel de Soissons , the commissary of police entered , followed by his guards , who , dispersing the assembly , and seizing the furniture and utensils , fined the landlord three thousand francs . In the meantime the inhabitants of the different provincial towns partook of the taste
of the Parisians for Masonic institutions , more particularly those Englishmen attached to the Pretender . Charles Edward Stuart being at Arras in 1747 , delivered to the Freemasons of that town a permission from the Pope to found a primitive Lodge , under the distinctive appellation of Jacobite Scots , the government of which he gave to the advocates L'Agneau , Robespierre , ^ tnd oth ers .
A short time after this the Grand Lodge declared itself the Grand Lodge of the Empire , and threw off * the yoke of the English one . It arrogated to itself the first rank over all the inferior Lodges , the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
lived in the Sue de la Rappe ; during their deliberations a commissary of police , followed by a detachment of soldiers , made a forcible entry , and ordered the meeting to separate . The Duke , who happened to be there , did not receive these minions of the law very politely ; but they , being armed with authority , shut up the house , walled up the door , and forbid all future assemblies on pain of fine and imprisonment .
But in defiance of this prohibition the Brethren again united , and met at a cafe in the Rue de Deux Ecus to celebrate a festival of their Order . The police again disturbed them—arrested every one they found there , and cast them all into prison . As nothing is more favourable to new institutions than persecution , the Lodges increased rapidly . In a few years their number had trebled , and Count de
Clairmont , a prince of the blood , was elected Grand Master , to supply the place of the Due d'Antin , who had resigned . But on the 5 th June , 1744 , an order was issued forbidding any person to allow a Lodge to be held at his house ; any one who was found courageous enough to disobey this order subjected himself to a fine of three thousand francs .
Still these rigorous methods were of no avail . The Brethren once more assembled , and in a solemn meeting the principal Lodge received the name of the Grand English Lodge . The government , however , was again on the alert . New orders were issued prohibiting the proprietors of houses to allow their meetings on pain of
heavy penalties . This arbitrary conduct so disgusted the Count that he abandoned his office , leaving as his active successor a banker , who , not being very enthusiastic in the cause , ceased to assemble the members . His conduct gave rise to great disorder—the Brethren quarrelled among themselves , and the Lodges fell into a state of anarchy .
It was at this period that men , drawn on by the corruption of the age , and being in want of a specious veil to cover their vices , borrowed that of Freemasonry . Secret societies were formed , and among others " The Aphrodite : " but it would be only waste of time to dilate on these infamous assemblies .
In 1745 , while the Brethren were holding a reception at the Hotel de Soissons , the commissary of police entered , followed by his guards , who , dispersing the assembly , and seizing the furniture and utensils , fined the landlord three thousand francs . In the meantime the inhabitants of the different provincial towns partook of the taste
of the Parisians for Masonic institutions , more particularly those Englishmen attached to the Pretender . Charles Edward Stuart being at Arras in 1747 , delivered to the Freemasons of that town a permission from the Pope to found a primitive Lodge , under the distinctive appellation of Jacobite Scots , the government of which he gave to the advocates L'Agneau , Robespierre , ^ tnd oth ers .
A short time after this the Grand Lodge declared itself the Grand Lodge of the Empire , and threw off * the yoke of the English one . It arrogated to itself the first rank over all the inferior Lodges , the