Two Priceless Pictures.

TWO PRICELESS PICTURES .

An Extract from an Oration by Bro . Chauncey M . Depew , at the Thirteenth Anniversary of Kane Lodge , No . J ^ . 54 , F . and A . M ., New York , Ifth April , 1888 . " Gajttain Kane saw , in the Northern sky , the Masonic sign of distress . " LODGES of Masonry select their names from characters in Sacred Writ ; from distinguished Masons of the

present or of the past , or from localities ; but the most difficult thing in this world for a great ship , a Lodge , or a girl , is to give the proper name ; one which not only

describes and separates the object or the person from all other things of the kind , but which shall in itself be a poem , a history , and a description . The other Lodges have designations of a character which are cold and expressionless beside the warm , heroic , and perpetual immortality which is symbolized in the name of Kane . We as a people are young , have little of ancestry , and nothing of antiquities ; we are too apt fco think thafc the present is everything and the past is nothing ; we believe in the philosophy expressed so beautifully by the Poet Laureate , when he said :

"Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay . " But what he meant was a comparison of the dead civilizations of the East with the living , growing , develop , ing life of Europe and America . And yet , as yon go over the ^ Old World , the shrines which attract visitors are those which are hallowed by the ages and by the memory of great events and mighty deeds . There would be little of inspiration and instruction in America , except for the glorious recollections of the Revolution and its heroes ;

ot the great men who brought about the independence of the country , who formulated the Constitution which has stood the test of all trials , and who , under all conditions , in the Senate , on the field and on the wave , have upheld the ^ honour of the American name , protected American nationality , and given us precepts and examples equal to the best traditions of antiquity . But while we have , as a nation , little that is old , there is in this country one organisation whose vigour has outlived all nationalities and dynasties , which here is architecturally

and distinctively American , and yet is as old as anything in the world ; an institution whose greatness is due not only to the merits which recommend ifc to its members , but to that glorious life running back to the dawn of time ,

which , coming down along the cenfcuries , has accumulated in each one of them a grand body of treasure , in virtue , genius , patriotism , love and friendship—in all that makes life worth the living ; I mean the Masonry of America . Ifc is an extraordinary tribute to American Masonry , that fifty-two of the signers of the Declaration of Independence

out of the fifty . five , could have formed a Lodge ; and all

of the Major-Generals in the Army of the Revolution were bound by the ^ mystic tie . One was expelled from the Order , but his infamy and its punishment have given more brilliant and permanent fame to the virtues of the resfc .

The unknown grave , and the execrated memory of Benedict Arnold serve by contrast to exalt to nobler and grander heights the pure Masonic patriotism of George Washington .

It appears from the records of King Solomon ' s Lodge , of Ploughkeepsie , that from 1771 Benedict Arnold was a frequent visitor . In 1781 is found this remarkable entry : " Ordered , thafc fche name of Benedict Arnold be considered

as obliterated from the minutes of this Lodge , a traitor . " There is no more interesting relic in the archives of our Order than this mutilated record . There have been many famous assemblages which have

formed tbe theme for the orator and the inspiration of the artist . Upon their deliberations have depended the fate of nations and" the welfare of peoples . Many of the moat interesting pages oP history recount the story of these

parliaments , conventions , and popular assemblies . But none of them have left such lasting and vital forces at "work throngh all succeeding centuries as the unrecorded and unheralded meeting of tbe Architects and Master

Workmen of King Solomon ' s Temple , who founded Masonry . What a picturesque gathering , and how infinitel y better than they knew did they build ! The Iv-t constructive talent of fche age had been secured for this sacred work . They represented all the creeds and faiths

of the time . The followers of the Assyrian Baal , of the T yrian Aphrodite , of the Chaldean Moloch , and of tho

Two Priceless Pictures.

Grecian Jupiter , had come to join their Hebrew craftsmen

in building a Temple to the ever-living God . Mutual interests naturally led them to organize a guild , and in their grips , signs , and pass-words , these men of many tongues found a common language . As they better knew

the great work in which they were engaged , they became of one faith , and their souls were in harmony with the spirit of the place . They separated to carry back to their homes the Order they had formed , and the religion to

which they had been converted . They prepared the soil in Gentile lands for the New Dispensation . When Paul the Apostle , who was close to Masonry , if not one of the Graft , spoke to the philosophers of Athens , he nofc only astonished them with a learning and subtlety equal to their own , but finding there an altar erected to the unknown God , possibly by fche builders of fche Temple on the Acropolis as a silent protest , he revealed its significance and irraditated the schools of Socrates and Plato with their first knowledge of the truth . ( To be continued . )

Mock Mnemonics.

MOCK MNEMONICS .

[ N the dark or middle ages men spent their lives and fortunes in vain pursuit of the philosopher's stone which would turn all baser metals into gold , or the elixir of life which would restore crabbed old age to youth . In this era of science and advancement men are prone to look npon these foolish pastimes with disdain , although they laid the foundation of our present chemistry , which .

can justly be called the mother of invention . But when we come to consider onr own case , a certain amount of doubt arises whether with all our wisdom some future generation may nofc compare many of our vain pursuits with those of the philosopher ' s stone and fche elixir of life .

The latest fad in this direction ia the memory cure . In this fast age it is necessary that a man should be possessed of an AI memory , and ifc is not strange therefore that many schemes have been devised whereby the memory may be improved . Occasionally a man can be met with who professes to be able to furnish new and

complete memories , warranted to wash and not sag at the ends , for the small sum of 5 dols ., and other people can be found who are willing to put up the scutage for the patent right ; on this new and improved article , only to find themselves duped . Recently waa arrested Professor Frederick H . Wood , a memory improver of thia

sort , at the Humber . Wood is a young married man of abont twenty-eight , well educated , and of very pleasing address . He haa visited and victimized almost every city and town in America . Last winter Ontario was his stamping ground , and he victimized a number of young ladies , colleges and other institutions with his memory

lessons . Afc Whitby he narrowly escaped being mobbed , and at Cobourg a warrant was issued for his arrest , but he skipped , and latterly has confined his operations to Detroit . He professes to be a D . D ., M . D ., and F . L . S . of Trinity College , Dublin ; also a member of the Masonio Lodge 758 , Euncorn , England . In his pocket waa found the following ? circular : —

THE MEMORY AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT . Professor Fred . H . Wood , F . L . S . ( lecturer , Trinity College , Dublin , Ireland ) , has pleasure in submitting a brief prospectus of thia system of memory culture , by the aid of which the necessity of repetition in committing any subject ; to memory is dispensed withi

Having successfully introduced his system in the colleges of Great Britain , Ireland , and the United States ; Glasgow University ; Methodist College , Manchester ; Trinity College , Dublin ; St . Arden'a Theological College , near Liverpool ; Dickenson College , Carlisle , Pa . ; McMaster College , Toronto ; Victoria University , Canada , & c . ; he

has undertaken a course of lecture lessons in this country . It ia not necessary that personal instruction be given , as the lessons can be taken by correspondence with equal facility . To collegians in divinity , medicine , or literature the system is invaluable , nor is it less valuable to senators , statisticians , lawyers ,

and all public speakers . It enables them to commit to memory the most intricate figures and data . Figures , the most difficult of all subjects to remember , cannot be forgotten after once reading . Foreign languages learned at the rate of from 80 to 100 words per hour . Lectures , sermons , & c , fixed in the mind by once reading ;

The genders of 14 , 568 French nouns learned in ten minutes . The system is applicable to all branches of business , literature , science , and language , which can be mastered with ease by the young and old without any mental strain , the complete system being learned in three lessons . Proficiency is guaranteed . No oath of secrecy

required . The system is based upon purely psychological principles , and is entirely opposed to the ancient and useless systems of mnemonics . It . is arranged in the simplest possible way to enable those h . ving only an average edocafciou to master it with ease , and reap tho great benefits of a good memory . Terms for a complete

course of three lessons , 5 dollars . Address Professor Wood , F . L . S ., 33 22 ad ot .-eet , Detroit , Mich . A special noth o on the back of the circular states thafc the memory system can be l > ad in book form for the small sum of one dollar . Wood hns bron selecting Masons as his peculiar prey , and strange to

^ ay , in his pocket was foond a letter exposing hira as a swindler and a , fraud . The letter referred to an exposure of his ways that was published in the Keystone , and contained a copy of a letter to the « me effect from Bro . G . Moss P . M . and Secretary of Lodge 758

Runcorn , England , to F . J . Bradshaw , 1120 Holland-street , Erie , Pa . In his pocket also was a recommendation signed by a number of leading members of the cra * t in Detroit asking Masons to patronize him , Toronto Mail ,