Insanity And Freemasonry.

INSANITY AND FREEMASONRY .

. BII , STJTHEBLA 5 D , . DID it ever strike tbe reader what an extraordinary thing it is that the secrets o £ Freemasonry bave neA'er been revealed ? ¦ ' Still more remarkable is the fact that Avhen the mind , temporarily , as in drunkennessor permanentlyas in insanityis diseasedeA * en then the unfortunate patient

, , , , will refuse to divulge those mysteries he has promised to preserve inviolate . 'The writer-has on-more than one occasion seen an attempt made to extort-the signs , tokens , and Avords of onr . order by the uninitiated from one under tbe influence of drink .- He has seen such-a one , so to speak , pull himself together , and say , "No , I may tell you anything you like to ask , but I cannot tell you that . " He has seen such an attempt act like a charm upon the person questioned , ancl produce a temporary state

of complete sobriety , certainly , succeeded subsequently by a return to an-inebriated condition . But in all stages of the malady , the result , as regards extortion of Masonic secrets , was tbe same . Either an obstinate , sullen refusal to reveal what was demanded , or a relapse later on into complete silence . This is a disagreeable subject to touch upon . In such cases tbe mental aberration , temporary as it beis produced bthe fault of the suffererIn cases of insanit

may , y . y the condition of things is often totally different . - There , the patient frequently succumbs to the over-strain of mental work , to misfortunes resulting from pecuniary difficulties , to hereditary influences , slowly though surely Avorking their fatal design , and to causes too numerous to mention , all beyond the control of the individual , but nevertheless producmg as dire results as if he had purposely planned his life to his own destruction .

The writer Avas once m charge of a large hospital for lunatics . A man , aged about sixty , was admitted , in a state of what is technically called Dementia . That is to say , his mind , for the time being , was a complete blank ; he AA'as , as tbe attendants' say " lost . " He was dressed , undressed , fed , and cared for by others . This state of things continued for some Aveeks . The physician constantly made a practice of shaking hands with , the man every morning , as he went his rounds , ancl attempted , if possible , to rekindle spark of intellect that miht still be latent in the old man ' s brainAt

any g . last one morning , to tbe surprise of the medical attendant , the patient gave him a decided Masonic grip , Avhich he cautiously returned . For the first time for two months the man spoke ; "I'm so glad to haA'e found a brother , " he said ; " I thought yon were a Mason by the Avay you shook hands Avith me . " The grip was then repeated by the patient more openly . The physician advised caution about this , and the patient himself suggested that the left hand should always be laced over the rihtas the griwas

p g , p given , " to prevent the attendants seeing , " as he said . Next day , this first return to speech led to a discussion of degrees . ¦ The old man was a Master-Mason , and although at that - time he could only remember the grip of an entered apprentice , yet before he left the asylum he Avent very fairly through the secrets of the three degrees in a Private room with . the writer . ¦ .

Insanity resulting from a man's own-fault is generally incurable , and ' eA'en fatal . Especially so , if the faidt discovered has extended over a series of years . Happily , this was not the ease with our lunatic Blaster-Mason . Although old and infirm , he bad succumbed only to domestic anxieties , and bad always led a steady and industrious life , six months after bis admission he returned to ' his family , and although he never again could do the work he did before the attackyet he Avas enabledeven thento contribute

, , , ' Something by bis own exertions towards their maintenance . , _ A second curious case Avas once presented to the Avriter by another Masonic physician . The patient had been a contributor for many years to a popular illustrated ttawspaper . He had been sent abroad to foreign parts to sketch the manners and