Page 38 - Amo Amass A-muse is some of the fruit of a lifetimes love of Freemasonry - the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235

ThE DOvE OF PEACE AND ThE OlivE BRANCh

N THE MASONIC RECORD of January 1971, there appeared an article
entitled `The Office of Deacon’ by W.Bro. G. Applegarth of New Zealand which
I included a summary of the Jewels worn in that office.
It is something of a mystery why, at the Union of 1813, the United Grand Lodge
of England decided that the Deacon’s Jewel should be similar to that worn in Ireland,
rather than to continue to use that worn by lodges working under the Grand Lodge
of the Antients. The Premier Grand Lodge had recom-mended, in only 1809, that the
work in lodge of a Steward should be taken over by Deacons and it does not appear
that they had decided upon any new Jewel for that office. In earlier days the Stewards
had often worn the Compasses as an emblem of their office.
I suggest that the decision to adopt the Dove and the Olive branch was taken in
memory of Chevalier Bartholomew Ruspini, Grand Sword Bearer of the Premier
Grand Lodge. His sudden death just a few weeks before the Union celebrations was
a great shock to H.R.H. The Duke of Sussex, the Grand Master designate and to
Thomas Harper, the deputy Grand Master of the Antient Grand Lodge in particular,
as well as to many eminent masons of both sides at the Union.
Right from the beginning of his influence upon London masonry in about 1772,
he had been in the lead to bridge the differences between the rival Grand Lodges.
He was the only senior member of the Premier Grand Lodge who is known to have
joined a lodge working under the Antient Grand Lodge whilst remaining loyal to
his own, although there are many examples of those who crossed the line in the
opposite direction. We remember him as the Founder of our first great charity, The
Royal Masonic Institution for Girls, but he also founded two Lodges dedicated
to peace between the two Grand Lodges and then a lodge in which H.R.H. the
1
Prince Regent and H.R.H. The Duke of Sussex became leading members. 2
The Crest on the Coat of Arms of the Chevalier was a dove bearing an olive
branch. What could be more appropriate at the Union than to decide to adopt this
emblem in memory of a brother who had steadfastly worked for Union and was loved
and respected by Antients and Moderns alike.

1 The Lodge of Nine Muses now No. 235, and the Lodge of Rural Friendship which was
amalgamated with the former in 1796.
2 Thye Prince of Wales’s Lodge now No. 259.
P.J.D. April 1971