University of Virginia Library

1. CHAPTER I.

`You are certainly not going out to night, James,' said a beautiful, darkeyed
bride, to her young husband, as he rose from the tea-table; `we have
not been married a month, and yet you must go out to pass your evenings,' and the young wife smiled and panted, and looked reproof and love in the
same glance.

`I have an important engagement, love,' he said, smiling and tapping her
cheek with his finger.

`And now your engagement to me has ended in marriage, you must consider
yourself freed from any to your wife, I suppose,' she said, laughing. `But you will not go out such a wild, blustering night. You can have no
business that calls you forth in such a storm of wind and rain! Stay in,
James! See how comfortable our little parlor looks with its closely drawn
curtains, its two nice rocking-chairs, its warm, glowing fire, and these
books and newspapers, and engravings, to say nothing of my own society!'

`It certainly must be a great temptation, or very pressing business that
takes him forth, sister,' said the bride's brother, a good looking young man
of twenty-one, who made the third of the little group about the tea-table.
`I assure him,' he added pleasingly, `I should not be so ungallant to leave
my wife to pass her evenings alone before the honey-moon was over.—
There is to be some city caucus, and I suppose James expects to be called
upon to make a speech!'

`No, I assure you,' answered James Layton, laughing, as he buttoned
his surtout to his throat; `I have a very important engagement, or I should
by no means quit you, Catherine. I will be back in two hours. Let Lewis
entertain you till I return. I know you will excuse me, wife!'

`On condition you tell me where you are going,' she said, holding him by
the arm, playfully.

`Well, it is to a meeting of my club.'

`Your club!' repeated Lewis; `what club?'

`The Odd Fellows!'

`Are you an Odd Fellow, James?' exclaimed Catherine. `If I had known
if I don't beiieve I would have married you!'

`No? Then I should have been an odd fellow all my life. But what is
there so bad in being an Odd Fellow, that you both look so surprised?'

`I am told it is a secret society: something like the exploded masonic
fraternity, and I am surprised that any sensible man should belong to it,'
answered Lewis Foster.

`And I don't like to have a husband who has any secrets from his wife,'
said the bride. `Now, James, I shan't love you half so well, that you belong
to a secret club! and such an odd club!'

`The name sounds rowdyish, and reckless,' said his brother-in-law, with
gravity.

`I don't believe any good can come of it,' pursued his wife, with a slight
cloud of disapproval upon her brow.

`I don't think it can increase your respectability in the eyes of sensible
men,' added Lewis, `and now that you are married and so have taken a
new position in society, and have just gone into partnership in business, it
would seem to me, James, speaking in all kindness and love, that you
would be wise to break off your connection with this club, which perhaps
might not have been so censurable in a young man and an apprentice, but
which must certainly now detract from your character and standing.'

The young husband glanced from one to the other of the speakers, looking
as if he was undecided whether to laugh outright, or to get seriously
angry with them both. He however suppressed the expression of both
emotions, and quietly resuming his chair at the tea-table, and with his surtout
buttoned to his chin as he was, and then said quietly and gravely,

`Catherine—Lewis—you neither of you know of what you are speaking!
So far from being what you ignorantly suppose, the fraternity of odd fellows
is a society, in which it is an honor not only to be enrolled as a member,
but it is itself an association honorable to human nature. The peculiarity
of its designation has misled you. So far from being a fraternity of
buffoons, a band of merry-makers, a society of organized folly, as you and
others who have not inquired into its character and pretensions, weakly
pretend to believe, it is an association distinguished for its dignity, solemnity
and moral majesty!'

`But what can be its object?' asked Lewis, impressed by his manner.

`To lessen the ills of mankind; to ameliorate its condition; to elevate
the soul of man and restore its moral image; to advance the happiness of
our race by drawing closer the ties of human affection, and strengthen the
bond of brotherhood between man and man.'

`You demand as much for your society as does christianity itself. It
asks no more! It takes no wider range!' said Lewis, with emphasis.

`If you had said we demanded what christianity does not, then you had
uttered what I should have denied. I do not deny that we aim to as wide
a range, for our field as well as that of christianity, is the human society!
It can cover no more; we can aim at no less. But we work for man as
mortal and immortal! for both this life and the life to come. Therefore,
we reject the comparison when made invidiously; admit it when made on
the basis I have laid down. Without christianity this order would have
been what it now is; for its principles existed thousands of years before
the era of christianity.'

`Where then did the order begin to exist?' inquired Lewis, with surprise
and incredulity.

`I will reply to you in the language of an eloquent writer who has recently
answered your question:—“When the Almighty Architect of the
Universe spake, and this sphere which we inherit, burst into light and loveliness,
every fundamental principle on which our order is based, was stamped
with the signet of Omnipotence upon her young and unstained being,
there to remain in legible and enduring characters, as constituent elements
of her perpetuity and existence. Friendship then wove her silken bonds.
Love breathed forth her strains of mutual sympathy and confiding tenderness;
while Truth, above, around, beneath, shed forth her blaze of living
light, as pure and unsullied as the rays that emanate from the throne of the
Eternal God! Upon these three pillars rests the structure of our order;
around them cluster our brightest hopes and fondest anticipations.”'

`This is all very pretty, but it seems to me visionary enough,' said Lewis.
`Pray what legitimate good, what tangible benefit has it ever done, or can
it do? It is very fine to talk about ameliorating the condition of manking,
enhancing human happiness, and advancing the human intellect; this is
all very fine. But lay your finger upon a single good your order has done.'

`Go with me to-morrow, Lewis, and examine the records of our doings
only for the past year, and the inspection will be a sufficient reply. There
you will find widows assisted, orphans protected and nurtured, the sick
visited, the prisoner liberated, and the afflicted comforted and made happy.
The principles of our society are those of humanity and religion. It not
only prompts the common cause of philanthropy, but insures to its members
in the hour of adversity, a source of safety and comfort that nothing
can destroy. The affection of parents may change; the friendship of the
world may turn to hatred, and even love may be transformed to loathing

and disgust. But the ties that bind us together are never sundered; our
claims of brotherhood are only dissolved by death! no, not death can destroy
them! they descend to the widow and the orphan.'

`You have led me to think very differently of your order, James,' said
Lewis; `still it seems to me that christianity, without this, would do all
you pretend.'

`All men, unfortunately, are not christians. The holy principles of the
Gospel have an influence upon only a portion of what is called a christian
community. A society then, that while it gives a new zeal to the christian
who is a member of it, bends down to the observance of christianity, and
a healthy morality to him who is not a christian, is positively a good and
useful institution, and certainly does not militate against christianity. As
I before said, our society is for Earth, christianity for Heaven.'

`I am satisfied. Still I do not see in the daily events of life that you are
better or I am worse for being an `Odd Fellow.' If I could see that it
made you more charitable than you otherwise might be, or that it aided a
human being who otherwise would not be aided, I should be half-disposed
to become an Odd-Fellow.'

`Many is the penniless and friendless wanderer of our order who can attest
to its holy charity!' said James, with feeling. `Its hand reaches the
wide world over. Its language breathes its eloquent tones in the ear of the
wanderer in a foreign land, and his necessities are relieved. If sickness
lays its paralyzing hand upon him among strangers, a brother of the `mystic
tie' administers to his wants, soothes his distresses, furnishes him with
money; if he recovers, to go on his way, or follows him with honorable
burial to the tomb. The sick amongst our own brethren are not left to the
cold hand of public charity. They are visited by the members and their
wants ascertained and provided for by funds, they themselves, in health and
prosperity, had contributed to raise, and which, in times of need, to repeat
the language of another, they can honorably claim, without the humiliation
of suing for parochial relief.'

`But what moral influence does your Order exert over its members? A
fraternity of Charity is not of necessity a school of morals. How are Odd
Fellows in their intercourse with the world better than other men?' inquired
Lewis, apparently interested in the conversation, while the wife of the
eloquent husband sat gazing upon him with the most pleased and absorbed
attention.

`We must know the character of him who applies to be admitted a member
of our Order. It is our sacred duty to keep a watch upon the conduct
of our brethren, even in the common intercourse of life, and in all their
transactions with men, and particularly with one another; to remonstrate
with those who wander from rectitude or trespass upon the rules of morality.
In all ages and in all countries our Order has stood forth the champion
of liberty and religion. Wherever she has erected an altar for her
worshippers she has also dedicated a temple for science and refinement.'

`I am delighted that what Lewis and I have said has led to this conversation,'
said the bride with a face beaming with pleasure. `I am glad, James,
that you are an Odd Fellow, and I shall always think well of all your Order.
You may go to-night. But,' she added, looking mischievously, `I
have one thing to object to in it.'

`What is that?' he asked smiling and half guessing.

`That there is a secret in it. As a woman I must protest against that.'

`That is my objection, too,' said Lewis, `I dislike secret societies. Their
history shows that they have in all ages been productive of great mischief:
been tools of depotism; aiding the cause of bigotry and the designs of the
powerful and bad! If your deeds are so open and honorable why should
your meetings be held in secret and your proceedings in session be veiled
in mystery? Truth fears not the light.'

`It has been said, in opposition to it, that ours is a secret Order by those
who think secrecy is incompatible with innocence. True it is, we are, in
part, a secret society, but is secrecy a crime?'

`Most undoubtedly,' said Mrs. Layton with an arch look. `What woman
would deny it?'

Her husband smiled and then continued, `Secrecy is rather an attribute
of the good. The world itself, the universe, the God of eternal truth, are
surrounded with an impenetrable veil that mortal eye hath never pierced!
Shall their existence be denied because their arcana are not revealed at our
bidding? Shall we pronounce them evil because their operations are hidden
from our view and above our comprehension?'

`Yet what security has the good man who, won by your eloquent account
of your Order, fain would join it that he may bestow and receive, if need
should be, the blessings that emanate from it, what security has he that in
entering within the mystic veil of your Temple he is not committing himself
to an Order, and uniting himself with a set of men, whose outward
charities are but the whitewash to cover all manner of wickedness within?'

`He can judge before hand. To be initiated into our Order is not as you
suppose “to take a leap in the dark.” The fundamental principles of the
Order are before the world! Its deeds are not concealed from public scrutiny.
The constitution and laws of our society are within the reach of all
who wish to examine them.'

`Yet your proceedings are kept secret. You have certain initiatory rites
that are secret! Your arrangements in your halls are mysterious and point
to mysterious ceremonies.'

`Yes, there are mysteries within the inner veil of our altars that no uninitiated
eye can ever behold. It is not the mystery of mere paraphernalia,
but a moral mystery! Solemn and sublime truths are there inculcated that
have never reached the ear of any mortal save he who has been proven
worthy. They have remained there for ages, hallowed archives in the
sanctuary of our temple; may they ever remain, unsullied and inviolate.'

`How enthusiastic, James,' said his wife with surprise. There must be
good in a society that has so warmly enlisted your feelings,' she added, paying
a deserved compliment to his virtues and worth.

`I am almost persuaded to become an `Odd Fellow,' said Lewis, seriously,
yet smiling at his own ardor. `But I must wait first to have some practical
demonstration of its usefulness upon its members. Who else are
`Odd Fellows' that I may as you say `observe their conduct among men?'

`You will find many in Boston among the venerable as well as the youthful,
among the rich and the poor, the humble and the eminent.'

`But who of my friends—?'

James was about to reply when the street door bell was rung, and the
next moment the maid came in and said a man wished to see the master
of the house.

`Ask him in?' said James.

`He says he is too wet—besides, sir, he is a poor looking man and looks
as if he wanted to beg,' akded the girl pertly.

Mr. Layton rose and went to the door, where he saw a man poorly clad,
and looking very destitute, who handed him a dirty, wet paper, and said—

`Read it if you please, sir.'

`I have no time now, my good man,' said James, whose hour to be at the
club had already come. `I suppose from your appearance and the title of
the paper, “To all good Christians,” that you are in need. There is a dol
lar for you. It will get you supper and lodging. Good night.'

`Be so kind as to open the paper, sir; perhaps you might be one of—'
the man hesitated.

His manner led him to comply; and glancing over it his eye rested upon
a mark near the bottom which at once arrested it.

`Ah, my brother, I am very glad I read the paper,' he said in a gratified
tone. `Give me your hand.'

`Thank God! now I am no longer a stranger in a strange land,' said the
man in a grateful voice. `I was in hopes some brother would see that sign
and relieve me.'

`I am glad you have come to me. Walk in, and while you are drying
yourself and takieg a warm cup of tea, I will see what you are in need of.'

This conversation had been but partially overheard in the sitting-room
and left them in mystery as to who the guest was so cheerfully invited in.
When they saw Mr. Layton usher in a young man about twenty six-years
of age, dressed in a thin jacket, though it was the month of February, a
ragged vest and sailor's trowsers and holding in his hand an old torn straw
hat from which the rain was dripping, they started with surprise. He was
truly an object of any one's compassion.

`This is my wife—this her mother! Be seated close to the fire! Catherine
pour out a cup of warm tea for him!'

`You are too kind, sir!' said the grateful stranger.

Catherine obeyed; but all the while was asking her husband with her
eyes what all this meant. Lewis was also sorely puzzled. Mr. Layton sat
down by him, handed the tea and ordered fresh toast for him. When the
poor man had warmed and refreshed himself, he looked round with more
confidence, and meeting Mr. Layton's eye, was answered by a glance of
kindness and sympathy that brought a grateful smile to his pale cheek, and
was not unnoticed by Lewis. Mrs. Layton now, by a side glance, saw that
the man though pale had an intellectual faee, and that his manners were
polite. His voice too, though at first undertoned and humble as was natural
to a person in his position, was agreeable and modulated by feeling.—
he became interested to know who he was.

`It is my duty to apologize to you and your family for my intrusion upon
you in this guise,' he said, understanding the lady's inquiring gaze. `I feel,'
he added, glancing at Mrs. Layton, `that I am among friends, and that my
narrative will be listened to not only with courtesy but with sympathy.'

`James,' said Lewis addressing him in a low tone of voice, `before he
begins, pray relieve my curiosity! is your guest an Odd Fellow?'

`Yes,' answered James with a smile.

`This then accounts for this extraordinary benevolence and unusual hospitality.

`Yes, we are bound to relieve one another whatever the condition either
may be in as brothers.'

`How very singular the coincidence of his appearance with our conversation.'

The stranger then began, as in some sort to apologize for his claim upon
Mr. Layton's hospitality, to narrate his story, to listen to which the latter
dalayed an hour his attendance upon the meeting of the society.