The Washington times., 1902-03-02
MASONIC.

lElNCb VI IIuSsld anu his AUGUST
brother. the Prussian King and German
Emperor. are both affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity. In fact. the members
of the royal family of Hohenzollern have
long been patrons of the order. Individual
Masons doubtless existed in Prussia at
an early date, but the introduction and
recognition of the fraternity in the State
was directly due 10 the grandest character
in Prussian history. Frederick the Great
During the lifetime of his father. who
had conceived an aversion to the craft
10 oren assemblage of Masons could
possibly take place. In July. 1888. the
King OF Prussia and Frederick, then
crown prince. being on a visit to the
Prince of Orange. at Lee the conversation
Mt table took a Masonic turn. The King
attacked the order violently. but Count
Albert Wolfgang Lippe- Buckeburg took
its part so successfully as TO awake in
the crown prince a desire to Join the
craft. Great secrecy was naturally es
sential in the carrying out OF such
project Count Albert undertook the ar
rGrEemcnts, and as the King had an
nounced his intention of visiting Bruins
vic during the annual fete. it was re-
solved that the ceremony of initiation
should be performed in that city. The
duty was confined to Won Oberg. master
of The then anonymous lodge in Ham
burS. who. with the secretary Bielfeld
and Baron Won Lowen, travelled to
Brunswick, and. on August II. met by
arrangement the Count of Kielmansegge
and f. c. Alhedyll, from Hanover. and
also Count Albert. Count Wartensleben
iAf Cd h -, A.,
During the night August 10, 1885, the
prince and his friezH came to the hotel
where the Hambr-. ( brethren were stay
ing, and afte- midnight the two candi-
dates were received in due form no diff
ference being made in the initiation as
regarded the prince, in compliance with
his own special request The brethren
then ser arated and returned home as
quickly as possible, because, as Bielfeld
wrote, There is here one crowned head
too many. who. if he discovered that We
had initiated the prince his son, might
in his ill-humor fail in the respect due
to the most worshipful masters" Which
was very correct estimate of what would
happen if that terribly severe monarch
had known that his son was to be init
Rted against his VIII. For that King had
+ pleasant habit of beating all those
who opposed him, not excepting his
daughters or his afterward justly famous
son and heir.
lodge was afterward erected at the
castle of the crown prince at Rhe.nsberg,
over which Won Oberg presided.
When Won Oberg left for Hamburg in
1873, Frederick himself assumed the chair
as master. At his fathers death, May
81, 1740, King Frederick openly acknowl-
edged himself as a Mason, and, June 20,
1740, presided over a lodge in the royal
palace of Charlottenburg, with Bielfeld
and Jordan as his wardens. On that occa-
sion the following candidates were initi
ated by the King in person: His two
brothers August William and Henry Will |
lam, his b-9ther-in-law Karl, margrave
OF Bradenb7rg Onolzbach, and the Duke
of Holstein-3eck AT a subsequent date |
Frederick Initiated the margrave of Bran |
denburg- Bareuth. This lodge was called /
the Royal Lodge" but ceased to work
i5out 1744 when the outbreak of war di-
eerted the soldier-Kings attention to
} ler matters.
Immediately after his accession Fred
lex the Great empowered Jordan, the
tec-etary Of his lodge, to erect lodge
in Berlin for the convenience of the nu-
merous Masons there resident. Its first
meeting was held September 10, 174O. and
d took the name of THE Three Globes.
This lodge, which is now the celebrated
grand lodge CT the same name, was, there !
fore. founded simply on the Kings au- ,
thority who. from the very first. assumed 1
al the privileges of a grand master In /
his own dorninions. Until the day OF his
death he was always considered as such, /
although his active participation in the /
Affairs of the craft terminated in 114i. /
The names of the afiliates and initiates .
Of the lodge during its first year OF eX- /
fstence are of interest in the history OF /
Freemasonry in Germany. Among them /
were Baron Schmettau. Bielfeld. secretary
of the Prussian Embassy at London; the
Marquis de Gentils, Prince William, the
Duke of Holstein. the Margrave OF Bran
denburg, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick
Reyern, and Duke Karl Frederick, OF
-Meiningen. In 1744 this lodge as
sumed the imposing title of Grand Royal
Mother Lodge of the Three Globes. 1t
did not cease however, on that account
70 continue working a. private lodge
Frederick the Great was nominally grand
master, and in September, 1Til, the Duke
of Holstein- Beck. Governor of Berlin, was
elected vice or deputy grand master, and
subsequently had actual charge Of the
craft.
The Emperor Frederick, father of the
present Emperor and Prince Henry, was
initiated November 5, 1853, in the palace
of his father, William Chen occupying the
same station as Henry does now, teins
Prince Of Prussia), who was afterward
the great Emperor william. the ranquish-
er Of Denmark. Austria. and France. Will
lam presided in person, in the presence
of the grand officers of the three Prus-
sian Grand Lodges, and in the name OF
the National Grand Lodge, of which be
became a member. The masters gavel
used on this occasion was that formerly
belonging to Frederick the Great. Exact
" two years afterward a new lodge vas
named in the princes honor, Frederick
William OF the Dawn" In 1850 Prince
Frederick William prince Henry's grand
father accepted the Office Of master of
the order. Ten years later the Grand
Lodge celebrated its centenary, with the
rrince IN the chair. On this occasion
bomhsheIl fell among the brethren. The
grand master made long and able speech
en- this occasion. "Unser Fritz" con-
tinued grand master until 1874 when he
resigned In 1883 he assembled the Prus-
sian and German thrones for his brief
reign of three months as the Emperor
Frederick.