Page 105 - An account of the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235. 1777 to 2012UGLE

Lodge of the Nine Muses 105

The Entered Apprentice’s Song, which some Brother can always be found
prepared to give, is invariably sung with full honours when an Initiate first dines
with the Lodge. 34
On 12 December 1839, the Treasurer “agreed with Messrs Cuff and Bacon,
for the dinner defsert and tea and all expences including Waiters at the Banquet
at half a Guinea per head”. Tea we have not heard of before.
The price may have been cut too fine for on 27 April 1840, a discordant note
is sounded: “The Secretary was desired to addrefs a letter to Mefs . s . Cuff & Bacon
r
to state that the Sherry Wine supplied to the Lodge was so objectionable that
unlefs it was altered the Lodge would be compelled to remove to another tavern.”
The letter, a copy of which follows in the minutes, apparently had the desired
effect for the time being, as the Lodge continued to meet at the Freemasons’
Tavern, where the inferior sherry had been served, for another fifteen years. But
in February 1865, as was mentioned in Chapter Four, the Lodge moved to the
Clarendon Hotel, in quest of better dinners.
On 11 November 1868 it was “resolved that if any member of the Lodge
should invite more than two guests to a Banquet he shall pay the whole expense
of those exceeding that number”.
This reads as if it had been the custom to pay for visitors’ dinners in whole
or part out of the Lodge funds; as about this time the visitors, frequently
outnumbered the members present this must have been a strain on the funds,
for the membership was very small; in this particular year the average number of
members present at the meetings was nearer three than four, and of the visitors
a trifle under five.
On 9 February 1869 the Lodge went a step further and it was “resolved that
each brother having a visitor do pay the actual cost at the banquet of such visitor”.
Such the rule has remained.
The next reference seems to be on 13 March 1877 when “The motion
respecting the reduction in the number of toasts at the ordinary banquets of
which Bro. Hewett gave notice was withdrawn, the Brethren considering that
the W.M. for the time being should use his discretion in the matter.” The proposal
was that the number of toasts after the ordinary banquets, that of installation night

34 Certainly sung in 1963 by P.J.D. but seldom since.