Page 19 - The Early History of The Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235. UGLE

TIES WITH THE LODGE OF ANTIQUITY, No. 1

FTER 1779, when the Lodge of Antiquity, No. 1, split into two, the Lodge
of the Nine Muses had a great opportunity to become No. 1, thus copying
Athe unpopular examples of Lodges No. 2 and No. 3. The more active part,
under the famous William Preston, broke away to become the Grand Lodge South of
the River Trent, whilst the ‘Old Timers’ under Noorthouck nearly collapsed. Ruspini,
who was a member, left the Lodge without paying his dues, presumably because he
did not wish to become involved. Two other members of the Lodge of the Nine
Muses were then helping Noorthouck with the illustrations to his 1784 Edition of
the Book of Constitutions. Whatever the temptation, the Lodge of the Nine Muses
20
ignored this opportunity and was eventually able to effect a reunion of the two halves,
with the help of their friends, in the following manner.
In 1787, Thomas Harper, by then Senior Grand Warden of the ‘Antients’ and a
friend of Ruspini’s, had joined the Globe Lodge (now No. 23) under the ‘Moderns’
and several of his ‘Antients’ colleagues subsequently joined him there. The following
year, Ruspini joined the Grand Master’s Lodge, No. 1 of the ‘Antients’, which was
Thomas Harper’s own Lodge. Ruspini is the only senior member of the ‘Moderns’
ever to have done this, and, what is more, he was not disciplined by the Premier Grand
Lodge for doing so. It could be said that by so doing he might obtain subscriptions
for his Girls’ School.
The ‘Antients’ Grand Lodge, led by Harper, made at least two fraternal visits to
Preston’s Grand Lodge, and Harper joined Preston’s “Grand Chapter of Harodim,”
a Lodge of Instruction in which Preston taught his Lectures. Meanwhile Ruspini is
21
known to have visited the ‘Rump’ of the Lodge of Antiquity at least once and in
the literature of ‘The Rite of Seven Degrees’ which worked through Preston’s Grand
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Lodge he was greatly honoured and respected.
One of the last acts of the Earl of Effingham, as Acting Grand Master, was to
approve the return of William Preston to the ‘Moderns.’ This was followed by Ruspini
with a deputation from the Lodge of the Nine Muses visiting the Somerset House
Lodge, No. 2, the most influential Lodge of the day, and at its very next meeting
William Preston himself visited it. Ruspini then organised a meeting of the two halves

20 History of the Lodge of Antiquity Vol. 2—Capt. C. W. Firebrace.
21 With Count Cagliostro. See A.Q.C. 40. “Cagliostro in Eastern Europe.”— B. Ivanoff.
22 AQC. 39. “The Rite of Seven Degrees in London.”— W. Wonnacott.