Masonic Pedlars.

MASONIC PEDLARS .

THERE have been pedlars from tbe beginning of time , and probably there will be to the end . In the profane world they sometimes serve a good purpose . Toting their small commodities on their backs from house to house , in the outskirts of civilization , among people who know little .

and care less , for the choice things of life , they are useful and convenient , if not ornamental . Indeed , a pedlar wi h a pile of glistening tins on his shoulders , against a background of greenery in the landscape , composes a

picturesque scene . Then his language is so sententious and pointed— " Buy , buy , " his sole purpose being to sell his wares , and you . All of us have been amused by this character , although we may not have patronized him . We

have acquitted his patrons of everything except innocence and ignorance . What would you think of a citizen of Philadelphia , Pittsburgh or Boston , who has every facility for getting the best of everything , purchasing from a

pedlar r Who are they ? Men of no known character or credit . Of what quality are their wares ? Absolutel y the poorest . Their prices may be good , but . their wares

are always poor . Now , citizens know this , and hence citizens always say , " Good bye , " instead of " How d ' ye do , " to a pedlar .

Are there Masonic pedlars ? Of course there are . Wherever there is a good thing there will be a poor thing , imitating it . So the very existence of counterfeit money implies the existence of good money . The fact that there

are legitimate Masonic degrees leads one to infer that they will be imitated . It is the experience of mankind that some per-ous prefer tbe imitation to the original , and others , after they have received the original , are curious to

possess the imitation also . There is no accounting for tastes , in certain cases , in matters Masonic as well as in other relations . It does seem strange , though , to a Freemason of culture and experience that so many Masons

are madly eager to acquire a host of degrees . What is there in them , at the best ? And what at the worst ? The fabricators of new degrees know that the fools are not all dead , and that they and their monev are soon parted , so

they offcr ostensibl y a first-class article for a fourth-class price . This is an old pedling dodge . The purchaser is taken in every time . There is no first-class article which may be had at a fourth-class price . It cannot be . It is

one of the glories of Ancient Freemasonry that it costs something—something considerable . It is not for the poor . It is not a necessary of life , and hence it is not offered at a sum that is within the means of all .

Freemasonry is a luxury , and it should always remain so . If you wish to have a good thing underestimated , cheapen it . Ordinarily a good price warrants a good article , and a cheap price a poor one ; and yet we all of us have seen

Brethren taking additional degrees because they cost but little . They were little degrees . Although they cost little , that little was one-hundred fold more than they were worth . Brethren , whenever any one offers you a so-called

Masonic degree , look first at the price , for it may save you tbe trouble of looking further . Is it offered for " a song , " with the warranty that it is just as good as the best ? Can

you rely upon such a warrant y ? Cheap imitations are worth , say one one-hundredth part of what you pay for them , which may be set down in a round number at just nothing at all .

Of course it is disgraceful to the Craft that there should be Maponic pedlars . Masons thus sinning , are responsible for their conduct differently from other men . They are cultivated men . They should have acquired some

appreciable portion of the wisdom of Solomon . They know that there is no imposition in Masonry , pure and simple , and that they prove themselves degenerate sons of worth y sires in Masonry when they assume to malce Masonry , and

to make some kind of Masons . We have a good deal to answer for in that p hrase , " advancement in Masonry . " There comes a time , and that very soon in the Freemason ' s experience , when so-called advancement is the verv

reverse of the name . Additional degrees are like too much ballast on a ship ; it may sink it . How many Brethren have sunk their Masonry by overloading themselves with degrees . Nor may they be received with perfect Masonic

impunity . No degree-monger has a right to bnild his superstructure of cards upon the eternal foundations of Freemasonry , and label it " Masonic . " If it purports to be Masonic , it must answer Masonry , and obey its behests .

Masonic Pedlars.

The power to support includes the power to withdraw such support . Fabricators sometimes forget this , and reckon without their host . The pedlar must not forget 'lis place . He is , at best , an employe ; never the employer .

When men frame societies that do not purport to be u Masonic " they may follow their own p leasure—it is only when they use our name , that they render themselves amenable to discipline .

The rise and fall of nations is often written of heroically , but the rise and fall of societies has not found a chronicler .

How many of them have fallen . At first , numbers flock to them—how often men are like sheep . Their conductors ' giddy heads , after seeing such a throng , imagined that throngs would perennially continue to follow in their

footsteps . Vain thought . Probably tbe whole society had its conception in a pedlar ' s head , and although it may have flourished without example for a time , it had the final end of pedlars' wares , it—went to tbe dogs .

Masonic pedlars ! There is dishonour in the name . But Masonry cannot in any just sense be charged with their existence . True , individually they may be Masons in name , but they have lost their first estate , and now—are

mere speculators , money-makers , vendors of so-called and mis-called Masonic degrees . They either peddle a spurious imitation of a good article , or an entire novelty which they wish to foist upon Masons . They must ultimately fail of success in either endeavour . —Keystone .

Freemasonry And Free Masonic Thought.

FREEMASONRY AND FREE MASONIC THOUGHT .

THE sacred writings of every nationality and l-eligion fire on the altars of Masonry . They are the beacon lights that lead us up to God , the Ever Living Father , the Grand Architect of the Universe , and point the way to Heaven .

The morality taught therein , the grand truths in them revealed , are self-evident propositions , and , like tbe " axioms of Euclid " or the multiplication table , require

no argument . The sacred writings are "fixed lights . No Mason disagrees with another upon the main truths revealed , though widely differing in forms , ceremonies , beliefs and the thousand different creeds into which

mankind is led by a net-work of circumstances , education , surroundings , & c . As there are no two blades of grass alike , and no two men alike , it is perfectly consistent that there can be a

multitude of differences in the construction placed upon the sacred writings of every nation . But when we look upon it from a broad plane of thought , the conclusion is irresistible that they are but the outgrowth of the human

heart , with its wants , yearnings and aspirations to something hi gher , purer and holier ; something affecting us in the hereafter beyond the tomb . An old sayiug , " all roads lead to Rome , " illustrates the proposition that back of all

and underlying every different shade of religious opinion is the hope of immortality , and the desire to find the celestial road that leads to the higher and better life , and there it is far better to leave the subject .

Masonry has existed through all the ages by the innate force of its precepts and principles . It seeks no aid , asks for no recognition from tbe rich , the powerful , or great , nor does it seek for converts or proselytes , but steadily

perseveres in its mission of " Brotherly love , relief and truth , " uniting in a universal Brotherhood " good and true , " among all nations , sects and climes ; suffering

persecution in silence from arbitrary priestcraft and kingly rule in all the ages , and even in this nineteenth century actively and secretly opposed by some of the leading denominations of the thousand sects and creeds of

Christian and other religions , who from ignorance ridicule it / ' or because rich and powerful , seek to use it and compel its members to believe in their peculiar creeds . It pursues the even tenour of its way , and by its very silence has for the greater part compelled respect .

Its grandest victories have been those of peace , unity and harmony . It never has in the past , nor should it now , or ever , attack any one . Let the priests and preachers wage a war of creeds

against each other , tear clown and demolish the different beliefs that others entertain ; persecute and denounce the sacred writings and beliefs of other nationalities , proclaim themselves only right , holy and pure to their hearts'