Page 29 - An account of the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235. 1777 to 2012UGLE

CHAPTER THREE

THE MINUTES

s has already been mentioned, the minutes of the Lodge begin with those
of the meeting held on 28 January 1814, the first after the formation
Aof the United Grand Lodge of England in the previous month; the
coincidence in date can hardly be fortuitous.
From that day to this they have been kept without a break, and for the most
part conscientiously and fully, though there are occasional lapses; the minutes
in the early thirties of the last century for instance are scanty, and consist only
of a few lines after the list of members present; this is never wanting.
Fortunately for research, with hardly an exception the successive Secretaries
wrote good legible hands – Bro. Carlyon-Simmons, Secretary from 1872 to
1874, a notably fine one. Most are of the round well-opened style taught
before the typewriter had destroyed the art; but Bro. Crew, Secretary from
1836 to 1862, affected the pointed Italian hand which older members will
connect with their mothers and aunts. Another peculiarity of his was an
inability to make up his mind between “Visittor”, “Visitor”, and “Visiter”;
this is odd, for otherwise his spelling is no worse than most people’s.
The minutes are contained in four books, the first covering. the period
from 28 January 1814 to 13 December 1836; the second from 14 February
1837 to 8 December 1874; the third from 9 February 1875 to 13 December
1910; the last begins with the meeting on 14 February 1911 and is still in use.
Of these books the first is undoubtedly the most generally interesting,
for it must be regretfully admitted that as the Grand Lodge progressively
established its beneficent control the minutes tend pari passu towards a
conventional formality.
What modern Secretary would deem it decorous to refer to a “happy
event” in a Brother’s household, entering the infant’s birthday in the margin,
or describe a dance to which the members had been invited en bloc; expatiate
on the excellence or otherwise of the banquets, or list the number of bottles