Man's Ideal Life.

MAN'S IDEAL LIFE .

THE living of a man ' s individual life as nobly as he can , is tho true ideal . In that endeavour he gains strength daily ; day by day he is visibly conscious of increased power , which comes from au infinitely higher source . He

knows this ; and is led , rather than governed by any specific rules ; whither it may lead him he knows not . By its guidance , however , he will be no more ashamed to enter the lowest hovel on an errand of mercy than ho is to bless God

for tho opportunities of serving him . Such a man may suffer " the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune "—the poverty that in tho present day overtakes tho rich so quickly and grinds an innocent wife and family in the same

cruel mill—nay , even the bitter experiences of that bastard love which " flies out of the window " on its approach—yet he feels , though ho knows not how or when it will come about , that the seeds sown in tho better days will surely

bloom and bear fruit , either here or in eternity . " Nevertheless I am continually with thee " is his power of strength , and the gates of hell may not prevail against it . Asking a dying man what he particularly wished for , " nothing

hero , " said he , " everything smells of earth . " There is far too much " earth " in our composition , and were it not that man has a higher principle within , ever ready to be cultivated , we should devour each other like wild beasts .

" Make money thy servant , " said an old philosopher , " or it will be thy master , " and it is one of tho best maxims for rich mon , who too often do not use , but abuse wealth Considering that no man can be absolutely certain of

possessing his wealth even ten minutes , and the good that may often be done with a very little judiciously bestowed in the immediate proximity of our own dwellings , it is surely an earthy disease of the mind that influences any man to

devoto all his thoughts and energies to the acquisition of that which when gained he does not even enjoy himself . But wo do not wish to insinuate thafc all rich men necessarily find it difficult to pass through the " needle ' s eye " of that

great responsibility attached to tho possession of wealth . There aro some who , because they aro rich , never get credited for their good deeds . They would be less admirable characters if they expected it .

Above a certain amount , no man is richer than another ; that amount varies with tho individual . If that surplus bo not worthily used , nothing is more certain than this ,

that it will bo abused ; for all the ingenuity of man will not prevent the fulfilment of that mission for which alone it was bestowed ; there is nearly as much mystery about money as life itself .

But we are wandering a little from the main point . Every man , whether he be rich or poor , gentle or simple , has it in his power to communicate happiness in some

way or other to those around him . Money as a specific for many of the ills of life is often of little use ; so that , aa occasion requires , both rich and poor may be useful if they will . Of all classes of men , Masons have the best

opportunities of doing real good . As a body they possess , if the distressed is or has been ono of themselves , a better knowledge of the justice of relief , and therefore

their heart can be in the work . Goethe said'that if any man ware to do all that he is called upon io do , he woxdd hill himself in a hvelvemonih . Perhaps that is tho reason why so many men avoid suicide

by doing so little . However , it is to be feared that some suffer a far more lingering and painful death through having wrapped themselves up in tho treacherous Macintoshes of selfishness , than will ever die of enlarged

generosity towards their suffering fellow creatures . It is beautifully expressed in an old Manx proverb , that " when one poor man helps another poor man , God himself laughs , " —and men can all attempt a deal more than they do for

their fellows , without running any risk at all . Masons are such to very little purpose , if they neglect to avail of the opportunities they have of doing good . As previously stated it can be done in many cases without money ; hence

many a man of whom it has been said " his life was a failure , " will be judged far differently hereafter . Whatever may be the mystery and purpose of our lives the man with one talent has but to make use of it to God ' s honour

and depend upon it he has as good an assurance of Heaven as ho who has ten . And as the ripples at tho very edge of a sheet of water may be caused by a stone thrown in the

centre by a child , so there is no fathoming tho depth or knowing tho extent or distance at which a good deed may penetrate away from tho centre of its commission .

Man's Ideal Life.

Tho poor artizan who carries a few fresh gathered flowers into his neighbour ' s sick room , or drops tho sympathetic tear when words fail him in some home darkened by sorrow , has surely better answered the end of his existence than he who on his death bed would bribe

tho Almighty with the thousands he then leaves for charity ! The rounding-off of " self" is undoubtedly tho only true entrance on the ideal life , and we are convinced that it is a ' one productive of the very highest enjoyment that can bo realised in this world . —Freemasons' Repository .

The Privileges Of Exclusion.

THE PRIVILEGES OF EXCLUSION .

WE are informed , upon authority that there is no reason whatever to doubt , thafc the fact of a

brother having been excluded from one Lodgo does nofc prevent him from visiting any other once ; or if he happens to be a member of two Lodges , from retaining all the privileges of visiting ad infinitum by virtue of his

connection with the Lodge of which ho still retains membership . In the latter case indeed we believe he iray with impunity visit even the Lodge which has erased him from its roll , unless the W . M . cares to exercise his prerogative , a very

unpleasant matter , and refuse him admission on the ground that want of harmony would be the result . In many Constitutions dual membership is nofc permitted , and thus tho extreme features of the case are-avoided , whilst other

jurisdictions again , ' give their non-affiliates little or no locus standi . But the English Constitution , wisely or unwisely , wo are inclined to think the latter , not only permits dual and multiple membership , but , as we have shown in a

previous article , allows the non-affiliated brother to play the Mason pretty well as he likes . We ere therefore face to face with the facts , manifest anomalies we cannot bufc call them , of men who have been purged out of a Lodgo

exercising exactly the same privileges as if they had honourably retired from it , or even setting at nought tho expressed decision of that Masonic body perhaps best acquainted with them , and filling a placo in Masonry by

virtue of membership of another Lodge . Wo speak of these facts as anomalies because the reasoning ( if any ) which expresses itself in the laws which allow them to take up their position is not on all fours with that applied to

the powers by which they were originally admitted to the Craft . Our laws enable any one Lodge , however Masonically disreputable it may be , to inflict upon tho Craft at largo any one whomsoever it lists , bnt at the

same time the individual Lodge has not the same power of having its adverse action endorsed by the Fraternity in general . Or to put it in another way ; the action of the supreme authority is needed to deprive a man of tho

privileges of Masonry , but the action of its most insignificant subordinate can admit him . Take this as you will , it involves a reductio ad abstirdum , or lands us in the totally indefensible and absolutely immoral position of making

admission as easy as possible , and purification as difficult as we know how . If the Grand or District Grand Lodgo is the only body that can say that a man shall cease to bo recognised as a Mason , then by a parity of reasoning , tho

imprimatur of the same bodies should be needed before a candidate can be admitted to tho privileges of the Craft . Broadly speaking , tho power which admits should expel , that is if our arrangements aro to be logical at all . And

assuming that tho right of tho individual Lodge to do as it " darn please , " like tho typical Yankee , is indisputable , wo cannot see why in the name of common sense , the postulate should not tell in one direction as well as another .

It may be said that if a man is excluded from an individual Lodge , does lose the right of doing anything bufc visiting nny other Lodge once . We have , however , pretty clearly demonstrated that this means very little indeed in practice .

What we want is something more definite . The distinction between expulsion and exclusion shonld not exist . If the same authority which lifted A . B . into Masonry decides to put him out of it , and that decision is not upset

by fcho supremo authority , ifc should be effective as to severing his connection with the whole Craft . The appeal to Grand Lodge would always be a safeguard against injustice . It is true that exclusion from a Lodge might be

the result of a failure to pay dues , bufc even if so , we contend that a man who , whether wilfully or from misfortune , cannot pay his dues , should , for the time being , cease to enjoy the benefits of the institution which depends