Refreshment After Labour.

would be with all the emblems of the Craft spread upon the table , and the closing charge of the Past Master deferred until the actual parting . Strictly speaking , however , there is a doubt whether the members of a Lodge are bound by the same rules at

a social meeting after a Lodge is closed as would be in force were they to call off , and assemble under the direction of the Officer of the South , and as we once had the misfortune to hear the question argued in anvthin < r but a Masonic spirit we feel

a brief consideration of the matter may not be out of place on this occasion . We have already said it is generally recognised that the refreshment which follows labour is Masonic , whether the Lodge has been closed or not , and such

a view could be enforced by the laws ol Freemasonry , should it unfortunately happen that a decision were necessary , on the ground that the gathering was a recognised portion of the Lodge proceedings , sanctioned if not hv thfi actual edict of the Grand Master .

at least by the established customs and usages of the Craft . Under such circumstances , then , it behoves every brother to bear in mind the dictum of the Worshipful Master is as much law at the festive board as

it is within the Lodge , and his ruling should be as respected in the one place as in the other . Even if we set aside the recognised laws of civilised society , which give a certain amount of authority to an elected Chairman , it would be absurd to argue

that a Worshipful Master has no power over a banquet or refreshment table , simply because the Lodge had been previously closed , while to argue that any brother present has a perfect right to do just as

he pleases would be equally inconsistent with the teachings of the Craft , or the common dictates of decencv . Hanpilv the instances are rare where anv

difficulties arise on this point , but where such unfortunately occur it may be well to consider the question from the point of view herein set out .

True Men Wanted.

TRUE MEN WANTED .

AN ORATION BY COMP . LUCIEN C . BLANCHARD , AT A PUBLTC INSTALLATION OF THE OFFICERS OF THE GRAND CHAPTER OF EOYAL ARCH MASONS OF IOWA , AT OSKALOOSA , 5 TH OCTOBER 1887 .

MASONRY is a plant of slow and steady growth . Its origin lies behind many centuries . But in tho brief remarks of the eveniner no attenmt will bo made fcn r ™™

, its origin and history . The researches of the antiquarian have thrown much light upon these questions , and the mysteries which still envelop them will remain , perhaps for ever .

The grand old Order is here , with its perfections and its imperfections . The paths it has travelled , the vicissitudes it has encountered on its stately journey hither , concern tis

less at the present time than the questions of its aims , purposes and condition . Mindful of the lesson that our zeal for the Order should never lead us into heated

arguments in its defence , we heed the injunction the more cheerfully because none is required . Nevertheless here is an institution recognised by the public laws of the State , its votaries are found in almost every community , yet its

meetings are held with closed doors ; its membership is confined to one sex , and a large majority of even these are turned away without admission . Argument , therefore , would seem unnecessary to show that society , the

community which shelters and protects ns in our civil rights of persons and property , has a right to know , if these are in ttoubt , at least the general purposes of the Order . Is it —what some sedate , superstitious people imagine — an

organisation of secret plotters , of midnight conspirators , bound somel ow by terrible oaths to secrecy and the defence of each other in wrongful deeds ? If so its charters may -well be surrendered , and quickly , and its doors closed for

ever . Nay , more , we are ready to concede that if it is productive of more of evil than of good , if its tendency is not to make its votaries wiser or better , it ought to perish from the earth .

True Men Wanted.

More than four hundred years ago that profound thinker , Machiavelli , laid it down as an axiom , that human nature is the same throughout the ages , if this be true , we may

understand the impulses , motives , and desires of our ancient brethren , when , centuries ago , they laid the foundations of the Order which we venerate to-day by an observance of the injunction , " study to know thyself . ' For it is doubtless true that the motives which actuate the

sincere and enlightened Mason of to-day were as firmly implanted in the benevolent hearts of the Faithful workmen who built King Solomon's temple . Let us for a brief

moment calmly survey this mysterious temple from within and without , with such fairness as may be reasonably expected from one who readily concedes that his zeal for an Order from which he believes he has derived muoh of benefit may carry him beyond that judicial impartiality which would be required of those who have never

approached its sacred altars , and especially by those zealous reformers whose especial mission on earth is to expose aud destroy secret societies . An inside view of this lofty temple for nearly a quarter of a century will , perhaps , enable us to dispel some popular illusions , as well as to offer a few

suggestions to those who have entered its sacred portals . From those who have viewed the Institution from afar , and know nothing of its inside structure , we may expect harsh , and often unjust criticisms . Individuals are prone

to criticise what they cannot understand . The uneducated can see no necessity for education , and the non-classical scholar is quite sure there is no virtue in Greek and Latin . So those who have knocked at the outer doors of the

temple and failed to gain admission sometimes pass gloomily away , murmuring : " There was a door to which I found no key . There was a vail through which I could not see . "

And nursing despair , and often revenge , express vigorous opinions not quite in harmony with those contained in their petition for admission .

It is quite true that hospitality to strangers is a conspicuous merit of the Order , while it is equally true that arrogance and bigotry are sometimes born of seclusion . While I attempt no defence of secret societies , I here take

the liberty , at the risk of being disciplined , to divulge a secret—an important one—that Masonry is not , in a proper sense , a secret society . Its general aims and purposes are as well known as are' those of the orthodox churches .

True , its methods are its own , but these are merely aids to accomplish well-known results—to make its votaries wiser , better , and consequently happier . The picket guarding the outposts of the army has a secret , a countersign , and he

who attempts to pass the lines without this secret does so at the peril of his life . Is an army a secret society because secret methods are used ? To accomplish objects which all must concede are praiseworthy , secret methods are

justifiable , and only justifiable because more efficient . These produce harmony , union and strength . An organised army is more efficient than a mob . Individual efforts accomplish little , from lack of opportunity , system and

power . The suspicion born of ignorance , envy born of malice , may conjure up all conceivable forms of iniquity and charge them to the doors of Masonry , still it falters not in its

noble work . We know that it often lifts the poor from the hardships with which an inconstant fortune has burdened them ; that it softens the rigours of adversity ;

ministers daily to the sick and dying , and not unfrequently feeds the hungry and clothes the naked . Often , too , yet not so frequently , I fear , as its obligations require , it cares for the widow and the fatherless .

That bad men sometimes gain admission must be conceded , while many good men are not Masons . Bnt even those who are not always true to their vows are often restrained and reformed by other influences than the fear of law . As

the rough ashlar is transformed by the skilful hand of labour from a shapeless mass of granite to the polished stone which becomes the head of the corner , so many a rough

ashlar who has found his way into the temple has been chiselled and moulded by the implements of Speculative Masonry until a wayward career has been checked and turned into habits of industry and usefulness .

When we study the character of many of those who have made war on Masonry , we are almost ready to say that we love Masonry for the enemies it has made . These

zealous reformers have even organised a secret society whose purpose it is to destroy secret societies . Some have even abandoned useful callings to carry on a crusade against the Order ; but the sun and moon have kept their courses ,