Page 11 - Centennial Sketch of the History of the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235. 1777 to 1877 UGLE

Lodge of the Nine Muses 1777-1877 11

this Lodge was constituted. He was no doubt an excessively vain man; and being
also a popular parson, and an eager place-hunter, he drifted into difficulty, and
then, hoping to save himself by the sacrifice of such remnants of honour as were
left to him, he committed the act of forgery, which in those stern days met with
its retribution on the gallows; although probably many more consummate evil-
doers have escaped unhung. This is a shadow upon the early history of our Lodge,
emblematical, let me suggest, of that darkness in Masonry which is the precursor
of superior illumination.
The Minutes of the Lodge in our possession date from January 28th, 1814, thus
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leaving a gap of some eighteen years from the date of the record in the Freemasons’
Magazine. It is to be noticed, however, that on the fly-leaf of the First Book it is
stated that the Minutes are “continued from the last meeting [of the Lodge] in the
year 1813 [for] which see page 135 of the last book.” Therefore, the missing book
contained at least 135 pages of Minutes. An examination of the two completed
volumes in our possession shows that this space almost exactly represents the
average space occupied by the Minutes of any period of from seventeen to eighteen
years during the last sixty years of our existence. This is sufficient to remove all
reasonable doubt that, from its constitution until now, our Lodge has maintained
an uninterrupted existence, and has diligently observed the regulations of the Craft.
The Records of Grand Lodge seem to confirm the presumption thus supported, as
we have received the warrant from the M.W.G.M., His Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales, K.G., a copy of which is given in the appendix, entitling us henceforward
to wear the Centennial Jewel, a distinction much prized, and not granted without
satisfactory evidence of continuous working.
From the Minutes of January, 1815, we find that there were nine Brethren
present at the meeting of the Lodge on that day. The W.M., or as he was then
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styled, the R.W.M., was sir William Rawlins, Knight. At this time, and for twenty-
three years afterwards, sir W. Rawlins appears to have been a highly popular and
beloved member of the Lodge.
Indeed, during the greater part of that long period, he was rarely absent from the
meetings, and may perhaps rightly be said to have been the presiding spirit in those
gatherings. From 1814 to 1818 he occupied each year successively the honourable

8 The first and second Minute-books
9 Brother sir William Rawlins, Kt., R.W.M.