[22] Elisha C. Dick's petition was presented in Lodge No. 2, September 14, 1779, approved and entered by virtue of a dispensation from the Grand Master, September 15; passed and raised, September 23. "Freemasonry in Pennsylvania," Vol. I, pp. 352, 353.
[23] Cf. "The Lodge of Washington," by F. L. Brocket, Alexandria, Va., 1876.
III
Correspondence with Alexandria Lodge, No. 39, Virginia, June, 1784.
The next Washington letter of Masonic import in chronological order is his reply to an invitation to join the brethren of Alexandria Lodge, No. 39, in the celebration of St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1784, to which Washington sent the following reply, accepting the fraternal invitation.
"Mount Vernon, June 19, 1784.[24]
"Dear Sir: With pleasure, I received the invitation of the master and members of Lodge No. 39, to dine with them on the approaching anniversary of St. John the Baptist. If nothing unforeseen at present interferes, I will have the honor of doing it. For the polite and flattering terms in which you have expressed their wishes, you will please accept my thanks."