Freemasonry in every place had different "initiation rituals," but one thing was universal: the guide would blindfold the newcomer, only removing it once they reached the destination.
It was really the same routine as kidnapping someone—the purpose was to conceal the lodge's location. Later, though, it came to represent darkness and light. Freemasonry's symbol was an eye.
Georgiana knew that the opera The Magic Flute contained many Masonic elements, yet when the overture ended and the curtain rose, she was still startled. A great snake stood onstage. It was not alive, of course, but a prop, probably about as thick as a Basilisk, with a pair of amber eyes as well.
Padma was startled too and instinctively covered her eyes. Her dance partner, Charles, immediately laughed and comforted her.
Georgiana merely pretended to be calm and lightly waved the folding fan in her hand. She had "bought" it at the exhibition today. It was made of shell, carved in openwork with a depiction of the Garden of Eden. The shell shifted into colored light as the light changed.
Then the "great snake" moved aside, revealing the "prince"...
Tenors usually had big bellies, so they would have enough lung capacity to produce a penetrating voice. But this Belgian tenor's belly was so large that even his deliberately loose robe could not conceal it.
Just then, the great snake suddenly fell to the ground with a THUD, and everyone in the opera house laughed. Then three witches appeared—or, more accurately, the Queen of the Night's attendants. After defeating the great snake pursuing the Egyptian prince, they gathered around him and, against their consciences, declared that the prince lying on the ground was truly handsome.
Georgiana did not know what Charles said to Padma, but she stopped watching the opera entirely and stared