MASONIC BIOGRAPHIES FAMOUS FREEMASONS

William Hogarth’s Night William Hogarth’s Night,1 the fourth and last of a series entitled "Times of the Day" is of especial interest to freemasons, for "...if the whole intention is burlesque or satire, the tavern may be identified as the Rummer and Grapes, Channel Row, Westminster, the meeting place of Lodge No. 4 from 1717 to 1723."2 George W. Speth suggests that the picture is of Hartshorn Lane, Charing Cross, the principal figure, wearing a collar with square, is Sir Thomas de Veil, a member of Hogarth’s first Lodge, meeting at the Vine in 1729 and the supporting figure, in Tyler’s regalia with sword, key and lamp, is Bro. Montgomerie, the Grand Tyler. Note the figure on the right holding a mop, a possible allusion to the practice of drawing symbols on the lodge room floor and washing them off when the lodge was closed.3 1. Reproduced from The Works of William Hogarth, by the Rev. John Trusler. London : Jones and Co., 1833. plate facing p. 73. Engraving by W. Radclyffe. 2. Freemason’s Guide and Compendium. Bernard E. Jones. 1952, plate X, following p. 176. "engraved by Charles Spooner." (1979 : p. 192) 3. Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol. ii. pp. 116-17, 146-55 . A plate facing page 90 AQC vol. ii, reproduces an original print in the British Museum "Invented, Painted Engraved & Published by Wm. Hogarth March 25, 1738"

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