Lodges Of Instruction.

appendant thereto , is all that need be considered at their gatherings . Be this as it may , we are all agreed that the Lodges of Instruction are in full vigour one day , and in a few months later on show evident signs

of decadence and decay . We fear this will always be the case ; it is an event that has occurred before , ancl as history is said to repeat itself , so we may expect the same result will follow .

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THE LOUNGER .

" fTlO err is human . " _ l We all know it , for we all err and come shorfc of onr duty . The frailties of onr weak hnman nature confront ns at every turn . The Psalmist wisely said : " there ia none that doeth good , no not one . " We have

bnt to look about us to see every day of onr lives the truth verified in our own actions . We sometimes flatter ourselves that we are a little better than our neighbour . We devoutly look up and thank God that we are not a tramp , or a vagabond , or in jail , or even like this poor man who is

struggling for a mere existence , who , with all his struggles , ekea out such misery that he fain would find surcease in death . Poor fellow , he has a hard time of it . Yes , we are thankful our lot * are cast in more pleasant places . How do we show our thankfulness ? Do we ever try to

help tho poor fellow , whose unfortunate poverty makes life a burden to him ? Do we not rather gather up our garments and cross over on to the other side of the way , so as not to be polluted by too close contact with him ? Why does the Almighty permit him to breathe the same

atmosphere we do ? Our purity of character is soiled by living in the same world with him . We ought to have a little heaven , all to ourselves , off in one corner of the "universe , where only the perfume of roses , and the bloom of lilies may surround ns . What happiness we would have if everything was congenial .

The fact is , we see things through an imperfect medium . I once looked at myself in a convex glass ; I became a monstrosity—short , stumpy , broad , features distorted ancl a freak that would make a dime museum man langh all over . I turned the glass around and I was at once

changed into an elongated giant , so thin that the wind seemed to whistle through the bones—face long , pointed , sharp featured and hideous—another freak . I said to myself , that is somebody else . That ia precisely the way we see our fellow man's character . We behold him in a

distorted shape , because we do not consider the glass of prejudice and self-righteonsness through which we look . We measure him by our imperfect standard . We dissect him and judge him by piece-meal . We pick ont his faults and hold them up apart from his good qualities . A pair

of legg , a pair of arms , a head , and a trunk laid side by side do not make a human body . They must be united , and properly so , too . It wonld hardly be a desirable

looking specimen of human anatomy if a leg was pnt where an arm ought to be , or a hand changed places with a foot , or the head was turned round to the back . But that is what is often , done ' with human character . Joined

into one body , bone to bone in its proper place , the form of man is beautiful and symmetrical , and God , when he looked npon the work of his creation approved it . I often wonder why we are not more merciful , if I may nse that word . Why is it that we see only tho badness in

one fellow ' s nature ? If we have a word of praise , we say " he ' s a jolly good fellow , but " Ob , the " buts " that damn . The praise that has a sting in every word . The next time you are in a coterie of half-a-dozen congenial

spirits , discussing anybody—I do not care who it is—observe the " but " —the " if "—the " shrug " —the " squint "the " smile " —that follows any expression of praise . Now , think of it , and do not forget . And as sure as you do you

will find that yonr own lips say "but , " or your own shoulders " shrug . " Why is it we cannot see something good in our fellow man ? It is much because of tho dissecting process . We

do not take a man ' s whole character . Raskin condemns the man who criticizes an architect ' s designs before the bnilding is completed . The keystone is neither oblong nor square , neither is it a beautiful piece of work by itself , but in the centre of the archway , it ties the whole circle

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together and we admire the beauty and symmetrical proportions of the arch . So is human character . Every man has some good qualities which if sought after and improved , will become an ornament and beautify the whole .

We talk loudly about "charity , " " brotherly love , " " forgiveness , " ancl other virtues , bufc how few of us practice what we preach . From what I hear sometimes I think charity means selfishness ; brotherly love , brotherly hatred ; and forgiveness , damnation . We preach these

tenets of our profession , and in the Lodge room tell a candidate he should not harbour malice ; bnt in the anteroom—well , that is another place . Our shorfc memory does nofc go thafc far . What we said in the Lodge was for the benefit of the candidate . Suppose the candidate should

hear you condemning , as you do sometimes , using emphatic language , too , with a "big , big , D , " what sorb of an impression , think you , would ho receive ? Will he nofc be apt to have a " short memory , " too , or to say " Behold how these brethren dwell together in . " He stops to think what . —N . Y . Dispatch .

Plain Talk.

PLAIN TALK .

MY Brother , of late you have been putting on loft y airs , and seem to forget that after all the fass and high-sounding titles , you are still only a Master Mason , and nofc entitled to any more rights and privileges than the humblest one in the Lodge . Yon like to have others

call you " Noble ; " you seem to think the honourable title of Brother , Companion and a Sir Knight , no longer comports to your swell dignity . Where in Masonic Lectures do we find such a dignitary ? What Masonic Bod y has dubbed you a Noble , a Grand Dnke , a most Puissant

Illustrious ? Now , my Brother , do not misunderstand me . If you wiih to join some social organisation , or some fraternal society , and that body sees fit to call its members Royal Bucks , Noble Princes , & c , there is no objection to thafc provided thafc yourstomach can stand it . But

what right have you to drag your Noble into Masonic papers and Lodge-rooms ? It is no longer possible to introduce you as Brother Jones , bufc we have to get up on an- imaginary step-ladder and from its dizzy height introduce you as Noble Jones . Do not ; you remember when yon visited a Blue Lodge away out in—well , you

know where—you sent in your visiting card , with all your titles attached , and the Worshipful Master inquired of the Brethren if any of them know Noble Jones , Thirtytwo ? Some of the Brethren had heard of Jones , and that the term Noble in large cities was the title of a

society of Feeders , but the surname " Thirty-two " was a new one in that region . After the committee had investigated you , they found a very common man , who claimed to be a Master Mason , and when asked " What came you here to do ? " you said " To visit the Lodge . " To the

query " Whore were you made a Mason ? " you said in Chicago ; " and when te « ting you on the grips and words on the expression , you said , " All right , I'm with you ; " and when the examiner said , " What is this ?" you , from your step-l » dder throne , said , " A pair of genuine

tiger claws . " Now , all Nobles , whatever the thing may mean , are not as destitute of Masonic knowledge as you were , but it taught you that a multiplicity of high-sounding title * does not simply mean grey matter in the brain , or to be a well-posted Mason .

As I have said , if you wish fco join a reputable social society , well and good ; no one wishes to hinder you , least of all the writer of this paragraph . But please do not bring your titles into the Masonic Fraternity ; it nauseates ; it smells bad . A Noble is all right in his place ; find out where thafc place is . —American Mason .

HOLLOTTAT ' PILIS . —When inclement weather checks fco a considerable extent the action of the skin , aa alterative is required to compensate the body by means of other channels . Holioway ' s Pills can bo confidently recommended as the easiest , surest , and safest means of attaining the desirable end without weakening the most delicate or incommoding tho most feeble . chills tho inhalation of air tho

When from frequently recurring or impure blood becomes foul and the secretions vitiated , thoso Pills present a ready and efficient means of cleansing the former and correcting the latter . By this salutary proceeding disease is arrested at its outset , its pains and inconveniences averted , and the nervous structures saved from tho depressing effects entailed upon them by an illness .