The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-10-05
in
Be in nHEaonicC

sonic fraternity meets on Jorge. council
chapter or consistory. The ineffaceablt
impress Of the man. intellectual mminarS
that he was, will ever be felt i'll the work
and the ethics and philosophy of the Scot
tish Rite:
HE has lived; the fruits OF his labor.
live after him.
When I am dead I wish my monu-
ment TO be builded only In the hearts
of my brethren of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite, and my name
to be remembered by them in every
country, no matter what language
men speak there, where the light of
the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite shall shine and the oracles OF
truth and wisdom be reverently lis
tened to-"
The following interesting and intimate
sketch of General Pike was written by
one who knew him as probably no man
living today during the last years of his
life:
Comparatively few OF the NIasons vino
will attend the Scottish Rite reunion in
birmingham this week had a personal ac-
quaintance with Gen. Albert Pike, who
died in 1891. and who had been for more
than 30 years grand commander OF tho
supreme council of the thirty-third degree
for the southern jurisdiction of the United
States 1mother supreme council of the
word); but the nanle of Pike will be al
ways a household word in Masonry, as IL
will be ever an honored name in the
world of letters.
1T was my privilege to be intimate with
General Pike during the last 10 years OF
his life, He lived In the official residence
of the Scottish Rite at Washington-styled
the holy house-and as i spent much OF
my time at the national capital / en-
braced the opportunity of cultivating him.
General Pike was man of giant frame
and, as all know from steel engraVlnSs,
he was picturesque and patriarchal lie
was a kingly man in all matters of pune
tilio, and in his authoritative manner ol
speech and writing, but in personal i1e
he was singularly democratic; was as
plain as plain could be. Although ne was
the head of the Scottish Rite and devoted
all his time to the rite during my ac-
auaintance with him, he was approachable
every moment of the day and the hum
blest person could meet him without the
formality of an introduction.
'Ee was a tireless worker and wrote
much, using up to the last quill pen
The seeretary-general of the supfeine
conucil had his office in the official resi-
dence but General Pike employed nc
stenographer or private secretary. He an
syyered all his correspondence himself
with his quill and during the course OF II
years | had stacks of letters from MN
discussing various questions upon Whici
| had drawn him out.
'My visits to the general were always
in the daytime. ] once asked MN VIVA
time he retired He replied 8 p m
"What time do you rise in the morn
ing?' l asked
"'At 8 O'clock he said.
Can you sleep 12 hours? l asked
''No, | sleep only six, but l remain
| in bed 12 hours because the next bes
| thing to sleep is rest i'll recumpent posi-
| ton
"At the age of 81 General Pike was
| a wonderfully robust looking man H'
was fastidious In his tastes. He did no
| eat much but he was fond of rar'
| dishes He drank choice old wines bu
| he was always moderate in his drink
| ing. He was not only not addicted t.
strong alcoholic stimulants. but III wa
| only occasionally that he tasted any
| thing stronger than light wine. But az
was a great smoker. His work table
was covered with all sorts OF pipes
and / was never with him as long a'
| 10 minutes at IL liillt liteAb ilO w. 49,
FIJI nm "A pipe and start to smoking.
| when General Pike was elected
| grand commander of the supreme coun-
| ell he found the rituals meagre ana, as
| he told me, without philosophy or llt-
erary merit. Had he done nothing more
| for Masonry than invest the high oe'
grees with poetry and philosophy ant
enrich them with scholarly ana elo'
ouent English, he would have leil
u, If {.
disious worker and all his Masonic
| lectures. manifestos and allocution:
were virile and convincing.
"Althoueh he was naturally kindly
disposed, General Pike was scathint
when attacked by a foe His pronounce
ments against Cerneauism' were nota
BILE specimens of his argumentatlV'
skill and his trenchant pen.
General Pike sought to raise TN
supreme council to the dignity OF tn
| leading Masonic power in the world
| 1t had a primacy of honor but M
made it felt ON both sides of the At
lantic as a distinct force. Among nj
grand Representatives near various su
preme councils were men or much dls
| tinction. His official representative II
En- gland was the late Capt. Nathanle
George Phillips, who was an oftlcer II
Queen Victoria's household. His rep
| reSenIuIlNt III e1SVtitAV $50
OF Kintore His representative IN Bel
gium was noted jurisconsult and hi
| representative in Greece was Pflhc'
Rhodicanockus
| "Gentlemen of culture who happened
| to be Scottish Rite Masons could easil.
obtain letters of introduction from Gen
eral Pike to any of his representative
abroad and such introductions We're al
WAYS highly honored. Captain Phillip
! in London and Lord Kintore in Scot
/ land were especially gracious and hos
pitable to anyone bearing letter IRON
General Pike.
Soon after General Pike took up III
residence in Washington he conferre'
the s3rd degree on King Kalakaua o
| the Hawaiian Islands. \ little later
when the dark skinned monarch mad
| a trip to Europe for the purpose o
negotiating a national loan, Genera
Pike as grand commander wrote of
| fetal letters to supreme councils on tn
other side of the water suggesting tha
as the Hawaiian king WAS an honorar.
INSPECTOR general. 33rd. degree, he b.
formally entertained by the Scottish
Rite Masons in the countries he visited
Some of the supreme councils on tn
continent gave banquets in honor o
King Kalakaua, but the supreme coun
ell of England took no action, AM
while he was presented to Queen Vic
toria, the grand commander of the su
preme council of England and Vale