THE ANTIQUITY OF ODDFELLOWSHIP.
■ -A recent number ■of the Staffordshire - J AHmrtiier- furnishes an article on tho anti- . miUV of Oddfellowship. . The late Mr J. . . H. Marriott, whoso death - was recently chronioled, was wont to ask "Who wns .thrfffil'st.Oddtellow?". And when liis '. audience failed to solve the query would reply, with a chuckle, "Adam." It will. , l)e.Beeii ; that Mr Marriott's first Oddfellow . wft^of'tt'inore antiquated <lato than as sli pyin iii the following from the Staffonl■ahjre'p'apers,:—•-,.,.., , ." ... ' . Oddfeuowahip ! The words are curious, and : the'en(iuiru]g-mind is desirous, of ■knowing why such an appellation was . given, and' who they are that glory in a tjtle vwhich at a first sight may appear strange, if not absurd. 'We will therefore 'proceed at once ; to' give a brief account of Oddfellowship, and first of. all will say, something (ihout the traditions relating - to the subject. The reader will probably be startledat tho, antiquity of pur, initial refererico.'f/In. the soc'ond Gdmara,' com- , piled by thd'Rabb Asa, in Babylon, about a {JontiirV'ttfter tho death of Jolianan, who ■wrote thatportion of the ancient traditions of the ' Jewish' nation" ..known as the! Gei))ara, v iefcrohce is made' to an order established; among the Israelites who were ■ ■ captiyes' v 'iu- Babylon, to 'enable, them to • ' cijnimuriicat'e with one another without exciting.iho suspicion of' thoiv oppressors who had. deprived them of the means of ' carrying ontlie..woreliip of God according' to the.law of Moses; they recognised etich ' other by signs and passwords, ami various degrees, to which those were admitted who ■-,' " were considered worthy on account of their praderice "and'zeal; • After the seige ,pf . Jenisalem by Titus, and the destruction' or the Temple, the Jewish prisqnera.cameQ . • tlieir.'own traditions with them, arid were ; still 'Jews' in, the midst of the Romans ;■ • ari(lit',is said! that- .in .the yearA.D. _ 79 v they >yere formed into a military legion, atidjhdving repeatedly proved their fidelity . '' to the Emperor, were named Fellow Citi- ' zens'arid Odd Fellows— the latter because . , they -knew each ■ other by' day or night. The ;Enipei:or likewise presented - them 'with -a dispensation engraved oh a go.lden . plaW;" which granted those who were re--ceive'dintofellowship certain privileges j_ • and it is a singular fact that severalof the' ' emblems on the dispensation are in use. a'nibn'ggt Odd Fellows now, with here andthere alterations! , .''',.
' Poverty and Suffering.— "l was dragged ■ down with debt, poverty, and suffering for ■ ye'a't^/ caused by a sick family and largo -IJiIL?," for doctoring, which did them no no. hood. ' I was completely discouraged ,- until oiio year*ago, by the advice of iriy pastor, I procured Hop Bitters and commenced their use, and in one month wo were all well, and none of us have seen a • sick day since, and I .want to say to all poor "n\en;. you can keep your families Svoll.'a.year with American Co.'s Hop Bitters for less than one doctor's visit 1 will 1 cost. /I know it."—A Working Man. Road "■• , . ;, ' 139 ■ A reporter wrote:— "Dr Jones and his •wife were present, dressed in white tnllo." • ' < ltatticr a peculiar costume for a doctor. . / , .-flow to Get Sick;— Expose yourself day and night, sit too much without exercise, WQrkitoq hard without rest, doctor all the time, talce all the vile nostrums and imitations advertised, and then you will want to know ' . How to Get Well.— Which . is answered in three words— Tako American Co.'s Hop ..-- Bitters 1, Read . . . 140 "■ A ' French translator is said to have , ,trani?lafcd the poet's, exclamation, '.'Hail 'horrors! hail!" into "How do you do, , ;hsrrdta ? how do you do ? " -. -"'Post' Card Proof— Salisbury, Tenp., April 4, lßß3— Gents— I was afflicted with serious Kidney and Urinary trouble for 'twelve years. After trying all the doctors land patent medicines I could hear of, I .> .used' two bottles of Hop Bitters and am perfectly cured— B. F. Boom Washington^ D;C., April 3, 1883— To the Hop •Bitters Co.— Sirs— l write this as a token trf the great appreciation I have for your ■ ' .Bitters., "I. was afflicted with Inilam- . Minatory Rheumatism. seven years, and no •medicine seemed to do me any good until 4 F tried three bottles of your Hop Bitters, • •and'tb"iii"y ■surprise I am as well to-day as ■ cvorl was. I hope you niay have great •successin thisgreatandvaluablemedicino. Anyone wishing to know more about my cure, .can.learn by addressing mo, E. M. Williams, 110316 th St. Prosecute the -Swindlers— lf when yon call for American {.•Hop Bitters (nee green twig of Hops on the " xohttc laid and JOr SouVs name bloivn in the bottle J, the vendor hands out any thins but American Hop Bitters, 'refuse it and . . - shun that vendor as you would a viper ; -. and if he lias taken your money for anyKilling else indict him for the fraud and^sue ■ • him for damages for the swindle, and we ' ' ■will pay you liberally for the conviction. — ' [ADVT.] 141 ' ■ , '.'.Six feet in his boots ! " exclaimed Mrs •' 'Beeswaxi I "What will the impudence of ' this world come to, I wonder,? Why, .. they miuhtas well tell me that the man had six Heads in his hat." . • : .' v Holl(nYay'B Ointment and 'Pills.— Old .. W^ounds, Sores, and. Ulcers — Daily ex-^ 'perienco confirms, the fact which has' triumphed over opposition for more than ,-forty ycare— viz., that; no means are _ ■ 'fknown equal to Holloway's remedies, for curing bad legs, sores, wounds, diseases 'of the skin, erysipelas, abscessas, burns, scalds, and, in truth, all cases where the -skin is broken. _ To cure these iulirmitics .-■quickly is of, primary importance, as the compulsory confinement indoors the' general health. ' The ready means of " care are found in Holloway's Ointment •and Pills,-, which heal the sores and expel t thoiivcause, ' In the very worst cases the ■Ointment has succeeded in effecting a perfect cure, after every other means has /failed of giving any relief. Desperate " cascs'hest display its virtues. [Advt.l .■.'•.. , , 142
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBH18860923.2.24
Bibliographic details
Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7548, 23 September 1886, Page 4
Word Count
964THE ANTIQUITY OF ODDFELLOWSHIP. Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7548, 23 September 1886, Page 4
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