C. W. Towle

Stories for the American Freemason's Fireside C. W. Towle

This is a collection of stories intended to be morality tales for Masons and their admirers. Numerous nineteenth century writers saw a market for fiction whose intention was to inculcate the values of a popular, redefined Freemasonry. The result was a folklore that has been likened to a Disney version of the Craft. While there are a variety of themes presented, Victorian values of family and chivalry appear in contrast with previous Masonic imagery that drew on the Enlightenment. The invoking of nature is seen in pieces like ?Blue Hyacinth?, ?The Countryside?, ?An Autumnal Thought?, and ?The Moonlight on the Mound?. The sentimentalism was new to the fraternity and became ritualistically incorporated in auxiliaries such as the Eastern Star and Amaranth.