How Freemasonry Saved my Life.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 87, 31 January 1885, Page 5

How Freemasonry Saved my Life.

I became a Mason before I obtained my majority in the — regiment of foot, I had joined a celebrated lodge in the Metropolis and although at first I took but languid interest in the business, I soon became interested, and endeavoured to make myself familiar with the teachings of the order. My regiment was at this time stationed at Chatham, but I always contrived to run up to town to attend lodge, and I usually found the Masonic banquets much more enjoyable than the mess dinners. I had taken two or three degrees in the order, and was looking forward in due time to filling some honourable office in the lodge, when war broke out between England and Russia, We had been oxpecting hostilities, and immediately upon the publication of the Quoen's proclamation my regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness for active service. I had at once to give up all my dreams of Masonic advance, and preparo myself for tho stern duties of the field. Many readers will doubtless remember the stirring incidents of the period of which I am writing, and I need not dwell upon tho details connected with our departure for the Crimea. We were among the first to embark, and with our luggage we were crowded into one of those uncomfortable troopships of the Urgent typo, which wore tho best means of transport our Admiralty thon possessed. . . . Some of tho regiments were embarked on board hired transports, and other: 3 were accommodated en board tho line-of- battle ships, which formed a portion of the fleet which was to attack tho forts of Scbastopol. The voyage was an unpleasant one, but wo did not mind that. Our fellows were delighted at the thought of active sorvice in the field, and no one dreamed of the hardship and suffering which we woro fated to endure. Our lnndingatEupatoria,anWtho victory of tho Alma, avo facts of history, too well known to need any reference here. . . . Some of us were sanguine onough to believe that this victory had decided the fate of tho Russians, but we soon discovered that our task was only beginning. When the trenches wero opened wo were among tho troops ordered to tho front, and from first to last we got more than our t-haro of the lighting. Wo should not, however, have minded that if wo had been properly cared for. Wo were a fortnight without tents, and when wo got them they wero a poor defence against the weather— more rags, in fact, which admitted every breath of wind. I and two or three of the officers messed and slept together in a small tent, to tho right of our position, and we soon found that the mess w as a mere fiction. Hard bread and salt junk, with green coffee, were indeed served out to us, but we had no comforts, and our private stores, upon which we had based our hopes, were on board our ship in Balaclava harbour, and wo had no chance of getting them. Often have I, after spending a night on the damp ground, with no other shelter than our flimey tent and a blanket, risen to breakfast oft' biscuits and cold water. The men, of course, were no better oft" than ourselves, and as winter approached a groat many of them were obliged to cut off their knapsacks into leggings, to defend their limbs from the wet and mud of the trenches. What awful nights those were which we spent on duty at the front ' . . Salt junk, or salt horse, as the sailors call it, was beginning to tell upon us, and our mess at least was suffering from that indescribable longing for fresh meat which must bo felt to be understood. Tho rcgimont which was quartered near us was French, and the men possessed a brute of a dog, which somehow or other managed to keep a little flesh on its bones. We longed to shoot and dine off the rascal, \\ hich was continually prowling about our tout, but honour forbade us to attempt &uch an outrage. Gaston was known to be a great thiet, and we strongly suspected that he made free with our scanty rations ; but we could never catch him in tho act, until, one memorable night, the rogue, forgetting his usual caution, slipped into our tent, and snatched a piece of pork boforo our very eyes. O'Jb'lannigan of ours had been cleaning his revolver, and as the brute rushed past with the meat, he struck him a tremendous blow on the head with the butt end of the weapon. Poor Gaston rolled over, with a cry which was a crops between a howl and a shriek, dropped the meat, turned up the whiles of his eyes, and gave up the ghost. Wo wero not long in disposing of tho body, and I must confess that roast dog is an excellent dish. We had to pay for Craston through the nose. His comrades in the regiment soon cleared up the mystery of his disappearance, and O'Flannigan and I had to exchange shots with a couple of firecaters "\\ ho folt bound in honour to burn powder over the affair. But this little incident keeps me from the pith of my story. I have to tell how Freemasonry saved my life, and I hasten at once to the denouement. Our lines had been steadily pushed forward towards the Russian batteries, and we were almost every day expecting a sortie, when, one evening, as I was looking over the oaithen parapet in the direction of the battery, which had been playing upon us all day, I thought I saw a dark and moving mass advancing upon our left. I hinted my suspicions to Major L., and we both watched carefully. Presently we saw the glitter of eteol. " That was the sword of an officer," said L. " The fool has been using the flat of it upon the back of a laggard. lam satisfied now that a largo force isadvancinguponus." Afewminutessufliced to make our few preparations to receive the enemy, and we awaited the attack in sullen silence. The moment the head of the attacking column was plainly visiblo, we commenced playing upon it with grape and canister. The Russians rushed forward with a loud shout, and we replied with a volley of musketry. The enemy was truly in great force, and had soon reached the parapet of our works, when a desperate attack on our part with the bayonet drove them back in great confusion. We rushed out of the trenches, and a hand-to-hand conflict took place in the darkness, tho like of which I have never seen since, and hope I shall never see again. The Russians were ably supported by reinforcements from the rear, and we were assisted by a brigade of French Infantry, which came up as soon as the firing was heard. We had driven the enemy to the counter-scarp of his own works, when he rallied I and made a desperate charge, under which our men reeled and retreated for a moment. In tho struggle I received a bayonet wound in the side, and fell. A fresh column of Russians had come out to relieve their comrades, and these fellows covered the retreat in a most masterly style. 1 expected every moment to receive the coup de grace, for the retreating Russians cruelly bayoneted our wounded as they lay helpless on the ground. A brute of a fellow had, indeed, brought his bayonet to the charge, with the intention of finishing me, when, with a sudden inspiration, I sprang to my feet, seized the hand of an officer who stood near and gave him the sign. Fortunately he was a Mason. • He, of course,

instantly returned it, while, with his sabre, he thrust back the deadly point which was levelled at my breast. My brotherly foe immediately gave an order for my removal, and I was carried into shelter of the battery by the very men who, but for my happy thought, would have given me a happy despatch to the other world. My wound was instantly attended to, and the next morning I received a visit from my preserver, who brought with him a surgeon, who soon made me as comfortable as circumstances would admit. The story of nay miraculous escape soon spread through the division, and I received many kind visits from Masons, who proved themselves to be brothers in word and deed. Many little comforts were contributed by these gocd fellows, with the view of making my captivity as pleasant as possible. I was, of course, hors de combat for the remainder of the campaign. I was taken into the interior as soon as I could be moved, but my story went with me, and I everywhere received the kindest treatment from the Russian officers. My captivity was not of long duration, and I need not dwell upon the subsequent events of the war. The death of the Czar hastened the peace, and I was among the first of the prisoners who \ returned to England. I need scarcely j add that I have ever since been a zealous Mason, and shall cherish the principles ! of the order as long as I live. When 1 hear people railing against Masonry, or when captious critics demand to know what practical good the order has achieved, I usually tellmy story, andl am tempted to relate it once again in the onduring form of letterpress, in the hope that the moral of the incident may compel conviction in the mind of thoso who are too ready to believe that Masonry is merely humbug in disguise.—"Prize Tit-Bit."