Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-01-08
GRAND LODGE OF SORROW.

Imposing Masonic M0mOrlAA SeFViCcS -
New York-A Ceremonial to be Remem-
bered ny All who Participated or Were
Permitted to Witness-Scenes of Oriental
Ceremonial Re-Enacted.
NEW YORK, December go
The Grand Lodge of Sorrow, Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Ma
sorry, was held in the Academy OF Music
Sunday evening. The auditorium was
filed, nearly every prominent Mason in
the city being present. The lodge held
funeral services in memory of members
ranging from the fourteenth to the thirty
third degree of Masonry, who have died
4 within the last six years. The ceremony
may not appropriately be termed q
grand Masonic requiem mass for the
repose of the souls of SidneyP. Nichols,
II. Gardner, Charles Blackie, George w.
| Roome, James M. Martin, Gustavus A.
Fuller and sixty-two other lamented citi-
| zens who have died rich in Masonic honors.
The services opened with full lodge
in session on the stage. Its members
wore rich regalia. In set Masonic terms,
the Lodge of Sorrow was opened, the
venerable Master saying that they had
met to honor the dead and sympathize
with friends and relatives in their aff1ic-
I ton. A candlestick, with seven burning
candles, stood near the Prompter's box.
1t was fanked by tall candelabra and Ma
sonic bannerets and gonfalons. These
emblems remained in the foreground dur
| ing the entire ceremony, and even wher
| the curtain was lowered.
The second part of the pageant was de-
| voted to the funeral services in honor Of
| the dead. A catafalque, surmounted by
bier and coffin, all covered with a
black pail, stood in the center of the
stage. A pedestal, topped with blazing
pan OF fire, stood in each corner of the
funeral pile. The stage was set to a
scene from "Aida," which gave the rite
an Egyptian coloring. The scenery rep
resented the interior of temple on the
Nile. The solemn strains of Men,
delsshon's
''sONG WITHOUT wORDS''
arose from the orchestra as an army OF
ncophytes in black gowns with triangular
aprons of a violet hue, and cabalistic
caps issued from the wings of the stage.
They marched and countermarched around
the catafalque, and were finally ranged in
solid columns on the right and on the
left. A chorus of forty voices, with an
organ accompaniment, then intoned the
INTEGER WIFE
and nineteen tiny girls dressed in white
with silvered Sashes and bearing baskets
of flowers, moved around the bier scat
tering roses at its base. A fiaxen-haired
little one, as beautiful as an angel, took
her place in front of the catafalque, while
her sisters ranged themselves at it's side.
When the baskets were emptied, the little
ones melted within the wings, and the
orchestra played Bethoven's funeral
march. A file of acolytes, clothed in
hooded white gowns, entered from the
left of the stage, and another file, arrayed
in hooded black gowns, came in from the
right. Both files wore triangular aprons,
red in color. Their brows were crowned
with tillets of silver. They marched and
contaminated around the catafaIque,
keeping step to the mournful strains of a
dirge, and drew up in front of the neo-
phytes, the white gowns on the left and
black ones on the right.
Then General j. IL. Hobart Ward, re-
splendant in the robes of Jewish high
priest. descended from a platform at the
back of the stage. Walter M. Fleming
and John f. Collins, the assistant priests,
accompanied him. FIeming's arms were
bare. Both he and Collins wore rich
robes, and might have been easily mis-
taken, in view of their surroundings, for
priests of Isis and Osiris.
The three priests mounted dais over
looking the catafalque. Seven men clad
in black gowns with white surplices,
bearing broad red crosses on the breast
and back, then stepped to the front and
halted near the seven-cornered candle
stick. The first uttered an aphorism on
life and death, and said in solemn tone
of voice:
"To the memory of Chas. S. Arthur,
Charles Blackie, Gustavus A. Fuller,
Gregory Satterlee, Sidney p. Nichols,
Hugh Gardner, Isaac II. Brown, aud
Lewis E. Hoppel."
He then stepped to the brazen candle |
stick, and turned out one of the seven
lights. Then one of his companions ut
tered another aphorism, named seven |
more of the dead, and turned out another |
of the seven lights.
This was continued until similar honor |
had been paid to all of the dead, and the |
lights of the brazen seven armed candle |
sticks had been totally extinguished. The |
Seven Knights of the Cross then retired |
to the back of the stage, and Miss Jennie
Fish, Frederick Harvey and Carl Bergs
passed around the catafalque and sang
Rossini's
PRAYER FROM "MosEs.''
The high priest then delivered short
invocation, and the acolytes raised their
torches and again marched round the |
funeral pile. After another chorus the
marching and counter-marching was re-
sumed. black-robed figure alternated I
with a white-robed figure, and in this
order the file stood on the right and left
of the catafalque. Miss Christine Ross
wog sang the solo:
ST WILL ExToL THEE"
in pure tone of voice; after which
Priest Collins, Priest Fleming and High.
Priest Ward delivered short funeral ORA
ti0ns.
The pans of fire at the corners of the
burned out during the funeral |
addresses.
OF the three speeches, Mr.. Fleming's
was much the best. In the language of
an intelligent Mason, Fleming twas
THE MARC ANTONY OF THE OCCASION"
After the addresses and appropriate
music, the curtain fell.
In the third part of the funeral cere-
monies the scenery had been changed. 1t
apparently represented a crypt under
some old Egyptian temple. The stage
was darkened, and the black and white
figures reappeared with dimmed torches,
which threw lured light ON their silver
falets. They marched and counter
forming triangles, squares and
crosses, and various other Masonic em-
olems.
When the sombre, draped figures were
.oain ranged on each wing of the STAGE