The Secretary (Mr. Feldmann) afterwards announced the receipt of donations (including £105 from the Prince of Wales, £200 from the Emperor of Germany, and £100 from the Emperor of Austria) to the amount of over £5000, being £1200 in excess of any previous collection. Other toasts, including "The health of Baron von Diergadt, of Bonn," followed. During dinner, Mr. Marriott's band played a selection of operatic music, and afterward, at intervals, a choir, under the direction of Sir Julius Benedict and Herr Ganz (all of whom gave their services gratuitously), sang some German songs by Schubert, Schumann, Seidl, and other composers.
INSTALLATION AS GRAND MASTER OF ENGLISH FREEMASONS.
April 28th, 1875.
In the history of Freemasonry there has never occurred an event more memorable, or a scene more imposing than the Installation of the Prince of Wales as Grand Master of English Freemasons, at the Royal Albert Hall, on the 28th of April, 1875. The vast Hall was filled with nearly ten thousand members of the craft, of all ranks and degrees, and in costume proper to their masonic conditions. An open space, in front of the organ, had been reserved for the Grand Officers, and for distinguished visitors, including deputations from various foreign lodges.
The Earl of Carnarvon, the Pro-Grand Master, having taken his seat on the throne, performed the ceremonies necessary for to convert the assemblage into a meeting of the Grand Lodge, and the Minute of the Prince's election as Grand Master having been read and confirmed, Garter King-at-Arms formed and headed a procession to meet His Royal Highness. The Duke of Connaught had already seated himself near the Pro-Grand Master, and had been warmly received; but when the Prince entered the Hall, the vast assemblage rose as one man, and, regardless for the moment alike of Masonic order and of the ceremonies of the craft, greeted him with such applause as even his experience at public assemblages could seldom have heard equalled. The Prince was conducted up the arena to a chair on the left of the Pro-Grand Master, and before seating himself he bowed repeatedly in response to the plaudits of the brethren. He then went through the forms prescribed by the Masonic ritual, and was duly inducted into his throne, the enthusiasm of the assembled Freemasons once again outstripping the proper order of the ceremonial, and finding vent in cheers with which the building rang again.
Garter King-at-Arms, who holds also the high Masonic office of Grand Director of Ceremonies, then proclaimed His Royal Highness in due form, and called upon the brethren to salute him in Masonic fashion. This being done, the Earl of Carnarvon rose from the seat to which he had retired, and, according to ancient custom, addressed the new Grand Master on the duties of his office. He thus concluded his address:—
"Your Royal Highness is not the first by many of your illustrious family who have sat in that chair. It is, no doubt, by the lustre of your great name and position you will reflect honour on the craft to-day; but it is also something to be at the head of such a body as is represented here. I may truly say that never in the whole history of Freemasonry has such a Grand Lodge been convened as that on which my eye rests at this moment, and there is further an inner view to be taken, that so far as my eyes can carry me over these serried ranks of white and blue, the gold and purple, I recognise in them men who have solemnly taken obligations of worth and morality—men who have undertaken the duties of citizens and the loyalty of subjects. I am expressing but very feebly the feelings and aspirations of this great assemblage when I say that I trust the connexion of your Royal Highness with the craft may be lasting, and that you may never have occasion for one moment's regret or anxiety when you look back upon the events of to-day."
The Prince, who was again greeted with loud and prolonged cheering, replied in the following terms:—
"Brethren, I am deeply grateful to the Most Worshipful the Pro-Grand Master for the excessively kind words he has just spoken to you, and for the cordial reception which you have given me. It has been your unanimous wish that I should occupy this chair as your Grand Master, and you have this day installed me. It is difficult for me to find words adequate to express my deep thanks for the honour which has already been bestowed upon me—an honour which has, as history bears testimony, been bestowed upon several members of my family, my predecessors; and, brethren, it will always be my most ardent and sincere wish to walk in the footsteps of good men who have preceded me, and, with God's help, to fulfil the duties which I have been called upon to occupy to-day.
"The Pro-Grand Master has told you, brethren, and I feel convinced, that such an assemblage as this has never been known; and when I look round me on this vast and spacious Hall, and see those who have come from the north and south, from the east and the west, it is, I trust, an omen which will prove on this auspicious occasion an omen of good. The various duties which I have to perform will frequently, I am afraid, not permit me to attend so much to the duties of the craft as I should desire; but you may be assured that when I have the time I shall do the utmost to maintain this high position, and do my duty by the craft, and by you on every possible occasion. Brethren, it would be useless for me to recapitulate everything which has been told you by the Pro-Grand Master relative to Freemasonry. Every Englishman knows that the two great watchwords of the craft are Loyalty and Charity. These are their watchwords, and as long as Freemasons do not, as Freemasons, mix themselves up in politics so long I am sure this high and noble order will flourish, and will maintain the integrity of our great Empire.
"I thank you once more, brethren, for your cordial reception of me to-day, and I thank you for having come such immense distances to welcome me on this occasion. I assure you I shall never forget to-day—never!"