Eulogy On Freemasonry.

bodily , mental and moral powers and faculties . The manifold duties of this three-fold relation of the Mason , —are they not the same as those enjoined upon the member of the Christian Church ? The Scrip tures enjoin supreme love to God and universal benevolence to mankind ; Freemasonry impresses these lessons on the heart as the Mason ' s first duties . The Scriptures urge

the exercise of Brotherly love and due regard to the welfare of our neighbour ; Freemasonry considers the whole human family as Brethren , and enjoins mutual friendship and affection . The Scriptures emphasise the religious observance of the Sabbath as a day of Holy rest ; Freemasonry is equally emphatic in its teachings to keep that day holy . The Scriptures enjoin

submission and obedience to the temporal powers ; Freemasonry enforces the same lesson upon its members . The Scriptures teach the duty of charity ; Freemasonry obligates its members to Christian charity and benevolence . The Scriptures and Freemasonry alike forbid indulgence in anger , intemperance , hatred , slander , and every vice which corrupts virtue and disturbs society ; they alike enjoin a strict observance of the moral law .

With such principles in common , let no one believe the evil report that Freemasonry is the enemy of the Church or even its rival . If it holds the same principles and inculcates the same lessons , it is because it is trying to make men good and true in all their relations in life , to satisfy the deepest needs of their soul and to help them to attain their loftiest aspirations ; it is

because it is trying to have men know the truths which are the common heritage of all , and in the practice of those truths to live a noble and useful life . Freemasonry is thus the handmaid of the Church ; it is helping her to fulfill the purposes of the Divine Master in the establishment of the Kingdom of Righteousness . ¦

Friends , we lay to-day the cornerstone of a building which is destined for a noble use . A temple will be raised upon this site which will be dedicated to the worship of God . But a more enduring temple will also be erected here , —the temple of character , in the life of each boy and girl , of each man and woman who shall come here to worship . We are all engaged in the

erection of such a temple . Lot us remember that all true character must be built upon Jesus Christ , who is Himself the " Chief Corner-Stone " ; "in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple . " Faithfulness in our daily duties , fidelity to our trusts , uprightness in our dealings , generosity in our feelings , charity to our less favoured

Brothersthese , and such as these , are stones in the superstructure of character that will abide all tests ; and "if any man ' s work adide , . . . he shall receive a reward . " Let us so live that when we shall have finished our labours on

earth , when we have been tested by prosperity and by adversity , by joys and by sorrows , we may pass the examination of the Supreme Master Builder , and by Him bo judged as living stones fitted " for that house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens . "— " Freemasons Repository . "

Masonic Clothing.

MASONIC CLOTHING .

WHENEVER one looks at the exquisite work of nature , the fact is shown that the foliage , the flowers , the grain , the growths , are marked by a clothing individual to each . The oak , the elm , the fir , the willow , are distinguished by their clothing . The lilies of the field were arrayed in greater picturesque beauty than Solomon in all his glory . No one can mistake the rose—its individuality is manifest . The little tiny weed flower that is born ,

and lives its life , and dies , in the fastness of the mountain , has its own assured place in the vocabulary of the flora . Its clothing is not like the rose , but it is ordained by the divine creative power . It obeys its law . These reflections are in harmony with the Masonic teaching , of the mandate , that Masonic clothing is a landmark of the Craft . The Officers

and Past Masters of Lodges are required to obey the decrees as to the special Masonic clothing in which they are to appear on occasions which require them to be properly clothed . A Worshipful Master cannot take his station unless he his clothed as the station requires . So , too , every Brother that enters his Lodge must be obedient to the regulation .

The distinctive Masonic clothing is well known . No Master Mason can have any doubt on this subject , therefore ho is expected to obey the regulations . Whatever is alien to the insignia of a Mason , is not permitted to bo exhibited in a Lodge when opened and at work . Nothing but what belongs directly to the clothing Masonry demands of all its members , has any place in a Masonic

Lodge . If the taste or whim or caprice of a Mason as to his notion of the propriety of his appearance in a Lodge meeting with other than the regulation clothing is to prevail , then it would destroy the landmark and present a motley , if not a disregard of the use that rejects whatever is not Masonic

clothing . The law of nature to which attention has been called permits no such anomaly . A rose in the clothing of a tulip is an absurdity , an impossible violation of a decree . Each has its appropriate clothing that nature designed , and allows no violation ot its inviolable law .

Freemasonry is founded on unalterable laws . To violate any one is destructive of the great Masonic principle of Masonic obedience . Whatever belongs to profane societies , or of some secret existing profane associations to designate membership in them , is out of place in a Masonic Lodge . The regalia , jewels and essential insignia which belong exclusively to Freemasonry

are imperatively required to be the Masonic clothing , only to be worn by its members at Lodge meetings and on such other occasions when Masonic clothing is permitted . So strict was this regulation that within fifty years it was the duty of the Worshipful Master , when the name of a member of a Lod ge was announced , or a Visitor duly accredited , to ask if he was " properly clothed . "

Masonic Clothing.

It is these little infractions of the usages and regulations of Masonry that become , if not arrested , either a ground for other infractions of Masonic law , or an invitation to overlook more important matters . Sands make the mountain , and if the smallest disregard of an established usage and regulation is allowed to pass without notice , by and by greater violations may be justified

because the lesser were not prevented . The insidious influence of permitting what is prohibited cannot be traced till the results are patent and demand attention . Obedience is so identified with the relation of every Mason to the decrees of the established rules for their government that it is of the

highest importance to maintain unimpaired the letter and spirit of the fundamental law of the Fraternity . Safety is thus secured , and the disregard of law is made the duty of every Freemason to prevent . — " Masonic Journal . "

Masonry's Mission.

MASONRY'S MISSION .

WHAT is the mission of Masonry—of what benefit has it been to the world ? Has it not outgrown its usefulness , and ought it not to be relegated with the things of the past ? are queries which sometimes arise in the minds of the uninitiated , the mere casual observers who look only upon the surface , and upon such observations base their deductions . Thoughts like these are not confined to the uninitiated . There are some , no doubt ,

among those who have passed through our ceremonies and are enrolled with us whose views are equally superficial . From the careless and unworkmanlike manner in which the degrees are conferred at the time of their admission , or it may be from the fact that they were incapable of looking beyond the mere ceremonial , they failed to appreciate their true spirit and intent ; the lessons

each was intended to convey were lost upon them . To such the steady growth and prosperity of the Institution is a source of surprise , nor can they account for the fact that in all ages it has numbered among its most devoted members , and is still adding to its ranks , those who stand foremost in all the relations of life . To the true Mason , he that has looked beyond the mere

material and grasps the spirit and interior meaning of our symbols , that is but a natural sequence . To such it is no surprise or source of wonderment . Masonry appeals not alone to the moral sentiment and faculties of mankind , but equally to the intellectual . The mind pictures , presented in the form of symbols , are a constant source of study and reflection , developing

new beauties and adding to the lessons ot life new and clearer ideas of duty the more they are investigated . To the student of Masonry no such queries as we have alluded to are ever suggested . Its mission and the good that has heretofore resulted therefrom is to him no mystery , nor is he faithless as to its future . The same causes which gave it being , still to a certain extent exist .

Although humanity has been in a constant state of progression and cultivation , still the instincts and dispositions yet remain inherent within them . Selfishness , with its train of attendant evils , though modified in form and manifestation , still exists . And so long as it does , Masonry has a work

and a mission . Human Brotherhood being its starting point , its every precept tends to cultivate within us a spirit of equality and good will , the very reverse of selfishness . It would unite all in relations the most fraternal . It breaks down the barriers of caste and extends this Brotherhood sentiment

among men of divergent views , pursuits and races ; it enlarges human sympathy and strives to mitigate the wants and the woes of suffering humanity ; it would pour the balm of consolation into the heart of the sorrowful , dry the tear of the orphan and hush the widow ' s wail . By following the teachings of Masonry character is enobled . It introduces man into a

wider society than his native selfishness would prompt him to seek , associating him with the good and true of all sects and races in the most fraternal relations ; those whose every effort is to upbuild character in this life , and whose every aim is to promote a spirit of benevolence , kindness , and toleration among its votaries . Masonry will never be numbered among the

Institutions of the past . It still has its work to do . Its mission , though daily being more and better understood and appreciated , has not been accomplished . Nor will it be until mankind shall have arrived at that state of perfection which we may vainly hope for in this earthly existence and can only anticipate in the long vistas of the hereafter .

Of Masonry the poet truly says : It is like the ladder of Jacob ' s dream , Its foot on earth , its height above the skies , Diffused in its virtues , boundless in its power ; ' Tis public health and universal care .

Of heavenly manna , ' tis a second feast , A nation ' s food , and all to every taste . It is the sweet sympathy , The silver link , the silken tie That heart to heart , and mind to mind , In body and in soul can bind .

Such views of Masonry show the estimation in which it is held by the more learned and intellectual of mankind , and should be an incentive to us all to more and more study the true spirit of our symbols , and serve to enlarge our own conceptions of their beauties . Give us broader views of its

mission , and of its capabilities for good , and thereby stimulate to look beyond the more social in its character , and so live that when called to leave the earthly Lodge there can in truth be inscribed upon our tomb the words of one who said : Be this alone my epitaph

When life has closed its span , Beneath this stone a Brother sleeps Who loved his fellow man . — " Masonic Advocate . "