When Father Rode The Goat
The house is full of arnica,
And mystery profound;
We do not dare to run about
Or make the slightest sound;
We leave the big piano shut
And do not strike a note;
The doctor’s been here seven times
Since father rode the goat.
He joined the Lodge a week ago -
Got in at four A. M.,
And sixteen brethren brought him home,
Though he says he brought them.
His wrist was sprained and one big rip
Had rent his Sunday coat -
There must have been a lively time
When father rode the goat.
He’s resting on the couch to-day
And practicing his signs -
The hailing sign, working grip,
And other monkey shines,
He mutters passwords ‘neath his breath,
And other things he’ll quote -
They surely had an evening’s work
When father rode the goat.
He has a gorgeous uniform,
All gold and red and blue;
A bat with plunges and yellow braid,
And golden badges too.
But, somehow, when we mention it,
He wears a look so grim
We wonder if he rode the goat
Or if the goat rode him.
(Anonymous,
Contributed by:
Kevin Allen)
Literary references to riding the goat—in poem, song, prose and drama—abound in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The anonymous poem, When Father Rode The Goat, is clearly intended as a jocular burlesque and not as an exposure of actual lodge practice.
The Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon has further information on where - or when - the expression "Riding the Goat" originated. |
|
A Masonic Christmas Card
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year From Lodge #1, North Pole
Twas the Night before Christmas,
And down at the lodge
Not a gavel was stirring,
And in the hodge podge
|
|
|
Written by Kevin Allen
|
How the Red Apron came about
A sort of just-so-story produced on the occasion of the Installation of R.W. Bro. The Hon. EL Ballieu, A.G.M., by the R.W.Bro. G.L.O. Colenso-Jones, P.J.G.W., in the Grand Stewards Lodge, 18th January 1978.
When the Temple at Jerusalem had been completed, King Solomon ordered that a great Feast should be held, so that the brethren in all classes of workmen might have the opportunity to rejoice together at the successful culmination of their labours.
Accordingly, a stated day having been fixed for the Feast, preparations began to be made. It soon became obvious that they could not all sit down together, for the only dining-hall available was the House of the Forest of Lebanon which King Solomon had built between the Temple and the Palace, and this would only hold three hundred and thirty three.
As you are aware, a vast number of masons had been employed in the building, and so the following arrangements were made:
- the E.A.s were issued with a double ration of corn, wine and oil, and told to enjoy themselves as best they could.
- the F.C.s were summoned to the Middle Chamber and given double wages, and told to buy themselves a good dinner.
- the Menatschin or prefects were given a stand-up buffet lunch in marquees erected in the Palace garden.
|
|
|
|
|
|
