Middletown transcript., 1884-02-08
AN ANCIENT MASONIC HALL.

:. DfObn6T JOndbDdn1 = 1TunUdIi w dI
- Office" +" on Lebanon's historical green,
|. so famous in. revolutionary times
: The building is about six miles from
: Norwich, and just off the main road
J leading from Goshen to Bozrahyille.
" The date of its erection precedes 1740,
= = and its split cedar shingled sides are
J rotten with ancient yellow wood moss.
It is built in the clumsy but strong
!. style of architecture of ante-revolu-
: tionary times, isa long, two-story struct-
ure, and the upper floor juts out several
> feet on either side, beyond the main
posts in the building, after the most
approved ancient pattern. A pro-
: nounced "gambrel roof'' forms the
sides to the upper story, terminating in
gracefully sloping caves, which have
sheltered rising families of barn swal-
lows for host Of years. The wide
9 single door to the house is studded with
big brass-headed nails. A heavy cast
. iron knocker, in the shape Of Britain
! MAS coat of arms, confronts the visitor
The door is reached over a worn-out
milestone turned bottom upwards and
laid fiat on the ground in front of it.
The milestone is small and but four
: inches thick. Its finish is exceedingly
! primitive. 1t was the stone that
ground the first of Lebanon's corn
down on the Little Cheesebrook river,
which fumes all along in the rear of
the Masonic hall, under its deep fringes
of alder.
The Masonic hall is curious, weird
place to visit. One Joseph Metcalf
reared it with his own hands and good
broad axe. He lived in the lower part,
and his zeal for the Order of Masonry
led him to fit the upper story for a
lodge room, in which the brethren in
the then sparsely settled country might
meet. For many years it was the single
cradle of Masonry in the eastern part
of the colony. Now it is tenanted by
bats, and the old residents about the
place think very appropriately, too.-
The decorations in the temple chamber,
though somewhat faded now, are still
startling enough to profane eyes, and
show great amount of painstaking
work and loving labor on the part of ,
the early artists. The walls are painted .
with curious birds of an extremely
variegated and rather painfully gaudy
plumage, sitting in a wilderness of +
vines which nearly cover the once f
white background. Then there are h
scenes which, it is to be presumed,
were intended to be purely scriptural,
although modern Masons do not pre- =
tend to understand them; and, by the 4
by, there are many other curious de- =
signs in the apartment which they can " :,
not fathom. \
One sketch is supposed TO belong TO n
the Royal Arch degree, and it's signif- :,
canoe, of course, is known only to the 1e
initiated There are curtains, tents &c
and banners in gorgeous colors, but the n
sists of wooden tablet, three by four -
feet, framed into the wall over the
mantel piece, on which are painted
many symbols. The jewels of the n.
offices form the border, and within are nj
the pillars, the " "All-seeing Eye, the "
square and compasses, the drawn "
sword, pick-axe, trowel, skull and in
bones, sun, moon and stars, Mosaic ~
pavement and shepherds crook, and 4,
pot of incense. The coffin and bee f.
hive, which are supposed to be of such
comfort to the Masonic heart, are pic II
tured faithfully, and, in short, all the h;
work is well executed, except from the m
glare from the bright colors used. The ii
paint is wonderfully well-preserved.- r
Other features of the tablet are a globe IN
in the upper right hand corner, still re- bl
tanned in modern use, but the winged NJ
spurs are unknown to all who have II
been shown the picture, and also the II
serpent with the palm leaves In the hi
lower left hand corner is the most Gu n,
rious of all the decorations, mans
head with an arm sticking out of his Of
mouth. The old hall has for years Fl
been the object of numerous visits on ot
the part of the Masonic fraternity. ii
Recently J. E. Goldsworthy purchased W
the tablet for removal to Providence, NJ
R. l., and the matter, at the time, Gre VI
ated considerable comment, and it was al
suggested that the proper place for it
would be in the grand lodge of the ii;
State of Connecticut. al
Joseph Metcalf's daughter Charlotte slt
is now living, an old woman, in Boston. th
Her mother was strongly opposed to of
her husbands's infatuation for the al 40
most incessant lodge meetings that ia.
we're held up stairs. One night an i'm lik
1ortant meeting was being held, and fol
Miss Charlotte, burning with a desire
o see what the brethren were doing, flo
climbed the old Bailey Sweeting apple bIa
rec, which still stands behind the hall, floi
o peep into the upper windows. What me
he saw she never would relate, though at
t did not terrify her. But when she we
lid down from her point of observa-
ion the noise attracted her father, who bes
ushed down stairs and appeared before to
is family in the kitchen and demanded tina
0 know if any one had been out of the cou
ouse. Receiving no reply, he reiter- T
ted his demand. Charlotte's heart the
egan to sink, but her mother was late
quail to the emergency. Rising in her kicl
ghteous wrath, she confronted her hin
usband and sarcastically asked 9th
g What Can't you make your in per-
srnal deviltry work tonight ?'' of
That settled it. The old man left diet
le room without another word. It is Pre-
lid that Charlotte's portrait, as she T