Lodge Histories.

Tho letter of this brother acknowledging the presentation is given , and in it Bro . Broadfoot promises to pay such attention to future visitors as they may require—a promise he subsequently fulfilled mosfc satisfactorily . This brother

also repeatedly communicated with the Lodge and numerous queries were from timo to time addressed to him . His replies to these are still in the possession of the Lodge ,

and are described as particularly interesting ; while they show that the ritual has been well preserved to the present lime . Naturally the letters cannot be published .

In June 1815 ifc was agreed an Inner Guard should be made , to assist tho Tyler , who was unable to fulfil the arduous duties of the Lodge . He was to have half the fees of initiation , the Tyler receiving tho other half ; also 6 d

for liquor each Lodge night . This resolution would seem to imply that the office of Inner Guard afc tho time was very different to * what it is now . Perhaps there are many among us who regret it was ever altered .

In concluding this chapter of the History Bro . Crossley refers to the great events which occurred afc the period , and claims for the Probity Lodgo a share in the good work of

the time , it having " effectually brought the sister Lodges of the district into closer communion with each other , thus promoting Brotherly Love and Peace . " ( To be continued ) .

Masonry's Beneficence.

MASONRY'S BENEFICENCE .

An Address by Bro . Edward S . Taylor , at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of Evans Lodge , No . & 2 Jf , F . and A . M ., at Evanston , Illinois , 2 nd July 1 SS 9 .

\]\/ E are not met here at high noon , in this open display , TT to catch tho public ear or to awaken a public interest in our Order . We are not here to laud some grand achievement of warrior or sage , nor to celebrate the anniversary of somo great event , but , as brethren of one

faith , we have come together to witness a ceremony consecrated by ancient usage ; to participate in placing the headstone of the corner , whereon shall be reared a temple

to be dedicated as our home , wherein , in the fullness of time , the members of this Order may find a sanctuary , an asylum , and a shrine .

Bound together in a common brotherhood by the mystic ties of a Masonic obligation ; imbued with the spirit of brotherly love and charity and truth , wo look forward to and shall gladly hail that day , promised by the ceremony

of this hour , when , the temple being completed , its willing porta l s shall open obedient to the magic of our touch , and there before the lighted altar the members of the Order may rejoice together and " worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness . "

The ancient origin of this Order is obscured in the mists of ages—a veil so impenetrable thafc certainty gives way to conjecture . Far beyond recorded history tradition unfolds to the believer the organisation of a brotherhood

with its mystic rites and symbols in the long ago , when the Jews , aided by their brethren from Tyre , erected beneath tho shadow of Zion the grand Temple which has had no rival in the beauty of its architecture , and scarce au equal

in the sanctity of- its shrines . Neither Greek , Mahomedan , nor Christian , in the ages which have elapsed , have in their feeble imitations approached the antique magnificence and

grandeur of that palaco of Jehovah , which for four centuries glitteringly towered above the heights of Moriah and was the great glory of Jerusalem and the region thereabouts .

Turn back the hand on the dial of time ten centuries before Mount Moriah was crowned wifch its monument of glory , and behold the obelisks of Egypt , the colossal reminders of ancient kings , the placing of which in

position required a skill and genius scarcely developed by fche races which have peopled the earth in the intervening four thousand years . Ifc is stated that when , hut a few years ago , one of these ancient tokens was removed from its

foundation to be transported to this country , there was found secreted there the implements and symbols of a Master Mason . Empires and dynasties have come and gone , kings havo passed away—their names no longer

remembered ; languages have been forgotten ; yonder are the rocks in their solitude , laved by tho waters which bore the commerce of mighty Tyre ; to-day Tyre and its trade are bufc a reminiscence , yet iho simple faith which binds

Masonry's Beneficence.

this brotherhood may be traced back far beyond forgotten history .

To the brotherhood , conjecture , tradition , aud record , sufficiently indicate fche trackway through the ages of tho ancient faith , upon which the altars of our Order rests , to justify the claim of an early origin , and that the secrets and

the symbols of Masonry passed from the land of the Jew to tho land of the Gentile , and thence , in the advancing tread of civilisation , have penetrated the remotest portions of earth , dissolving darkness by erecting the altars and lighting the lights of this Order .

Bo the origin of Masonry ancient or otherwise , true it is that its grand purpose , its invincible progress throughout the world needs not the factitious aid of an ancient orisrin

to either magnify its purpose or give irapulso to its progress . Tho design of Masonry is to ennoble , elevate and bless mankind , seeking to attain that object by inculcating virtue , temperance , brotherly love and charity among its

members . Launched upon the tide of time with a purpose so holy , guided by a star , a symbol of that star in the east which in the olden day guided the wise men . until , resting over Bethlehem , it flashed its finger of light upon the manger

wherein the Infant Redeemer lay ; so animated under such a guidance , why should Masonry falter in its conquering * course ? Indeed , why shonld opposition be arrayed againsfc us ; why tho voice of venom assail ? Yet organised

opposition seeks our destruction . Though ignorance and prejudice revile , we are unmindful of such persecution , for inspiration has written , " Clouds they are without water , carried about of winds . " Tho Order recognises God , our

country , and the rights of man , and requires obedience to its precepts aud obligations alike regardless of rank , riches , or reputation ; its blessings are conferred , its benefactions extended , equally in the abode of the humble or the palace of tho exalted .

The teachings and tenets of Masonry ever direct us to at least measurably emulate that purity , devotion and lovingkindness of which John the Baptist was an anointed exemplar , and which has endeared him to the Order as its patron

saint . Masonry has a life beyond , tho ceremonial which meets the public eye . In that inner life is found tho exercise of all the virtues , the exemplification of tho spiritual iu man ' s nature , the cultivation and development

of tho nobler powers of humanity , and it tends to the exaltation and betterment of mankind . The potency of the teachings of Masonry is the history of the centuries in the exercise of its pity , ever the invincible opponent of error ,

the faithful friend of fche oppressed . In fche display of its power Masonry is over firm , for the maintenance of social order , ever the upholder of fche honour and majesty of constitutional law . Uniform in its teaching , its spread is

universal . Representatives of nations unlike in language and laws , between which no intercourse has existed , havo met and at once recognised each other as bound by tho same mystic tie aud believers in a kindred faith ; and true

it is that a Mason , however destitute , if worthy , may find in every clime a brother , in every land a home . Tho Tartar in his wandering course has borne wifch him tho secrets of the Order ; the proud Castilian , defying the

imperial edict afc peril of life , has with a faithful few sought refuge midst ; the solitude of a mountain pass , and there , in a guarded hour , opened Lodge and been comforted in the enjoyment of a chosen faifcb . The arbitrary power

of the " autocrat of all the Russias " has proved powerless to quench the flame of the faith in tho heart of the exile , midst the frozen snows of Siberia ; wherever civilisation exists , it matters not what tongue is spoken , the universal

language of Masonry is understood ; in feature , form and faith identical , the force and lustre of tbe ancient faith neither added to nor abated during the long procession of the centuries .

Of our history one has written : " the hardy spirits who founded your Order and lighted up the sacrad asylum in Palestine were fired with zeal that no human effort could resist . They had visited that land consecrated by the

advent of the Messiah . They stood upon tbe shores of the Jordan that had seen the descent of the baptismal dove . They sat down and sorrowed upon those hills of Judea that had trembled afc fche miracles of God . They saw fcho

pious pilgrim murdered by the ruthless Turk . They saw the mosque and minaret tower ¦ in impious grandeur over the tomb of Christ , and the chosen habitation of Israel

seemed to them cursed on account of the infidel possessor . The burning sun and the barren fig tree of Holy Writ were still there ; dried up rivers , scorched nnd barren fields ,