Masonic Portraits (No. 20.) A Chip From Joppa.

MASONIC PORTRAITS ( No . 20 . ) A CHIP FROM JOPPA .

" Oh , are we not Thy children , who of old Trod tho Chaldean idols in the dust , And built our altars only unto Thee ? Didst Thou not lead us unto Canaan For love of us , because we spurned the gods ?

Didst Thou not bless ns that we worshipped Thee ? And when a famine covered all tho land , And drove us into Egpyt , where the King Did persecute Thy chosen to the death , — Didst Thou not smite the swart Egyptians then ,

And guide us through the bowels of the deep That swallowed up their horsemen and their King ? For saw wo not , as in a wondrous dream , Tho up-tost javelins , the plunging steeds , The chariots sinking in the wild Red Sea ?"

A HEBREW gentleman has recently written the history of the Jews in England . It is a remarkable work , and contains a record of struggles , and sufferings , of perseverance and patience under persecution , for which the grand old stock of Abraham are so remarkable . This book has come at an opportune time , since Jewish disabilities are

now amongst the things of the past , but it is , we trust , but an introduction to a greater work ou the history of the Jews in Europe which yet remains to bo written . This latter work , if it ever emanates from the pen of the historian , will read like a romance or a great poem . The Jews , with

Christian charity , have been the first to forget their wrongs , but we cannot forget that our ancestors treated them like wild beasts ; that they were tortured by barons , plundered by kings , and rabbled by the common people . Yet this grand old race had never given its tormentors a shadow of

an excuse for the cruel laws which were enacted against it . The Jews have always been tho most peaceful of citizens ; and they have been pioneers and princes of commerce in the days when trade trembled at the uplifted lance of a feudal lord , or cities were compelled to close their gates

against the military bands which should have protected the burgesses . The Jew has always displayed , in a preeminent degree those intellectual qualities which fit a people to play a great part in the world ; and it is not alone in trade that their great gifts have been expended . Art and science

owe much to them . Some of the greatest musicians were Jews . There were profound students of science before exact knowledge had won any place or consideration in the world . They were daring thinkers at a time when free thought was under the terrible ban of the Church , and , to

this day , we are indebted to Spinoza for learned enquiries into regions of thought into which , in his time , few Christians dared to venture . Commerce is indebted to them for many of the grand doctrines of credit , which are daily put in practice by the most eminent of merchants without one

thought of the source from whence they came . In our own time they have displayed the truest loyalty and affection for the governments which have conferred upon them the rights of citizenship , and in England no section of the community has more public spirit than the Jews . They are

foremost in good works . Their charities amongst their own peuple are princely , and they do not stay their hands when the cry of distress comes from a Christian . It is characteristic of them that they get their bread by mental rather than physical labour . It is the rarest thing in the

world to meet with a Jew who lives by rough mechanical work . They are born traders , and keen as are their commercial instincts , they rarely permit their zeal to carry them beyond the boundary line of integrity . Our criminal classes receive but few recruits from the ranks of this remarkable

people , who are content to obey and abide by the laws . The Jew is a blessing to any country in which his lot is cast . If lie enriches himself he helps indirectly to enrich the community , and with our knowledge of his peaceful habits and unremitting industry we can only wonder that our

ancestors could have regarded him with suspicion or dislike . We have a high respect for the Jews , and it is based upon some knowledge of their solid worth in the every day business of the modern world , and some acquaintance with the history of their unmerited sufferings in the past .

In the history of modern Masonry this people have played a conspicuous part . They have materially helped to spread a knowledge of the principles of the Craft to remote

lands , and at home they have founded Lodges which have achieved an eminent position in the Order . Our " Chip from Joppa , " we need scarcely say , is a member of the Hebrew romm . un . ity . Proud of his race , and of his old

Masonic Portraits (No. 20.) A Chip From Joppa.

faith , he is perhaps prouder of his status as a British citizen , and still prouder of his well-earned Masonic honours . He was born at Portsmouth , where his father was in practice as a surgeon , and was educated at the High School of Edinburgh . At an early age he was apprenticed to a

dentist at Bristol , and in 1844 he came to London and practised for himself . He had the honour of studying under Sir George Villiers , who was afterwards Colonial Secretary at Sierra Leone , and no doubt learned much from this able master . Our Chip married in the year 1852 , and in the

following year he entered upon his Masonic career , and was initiated in the Joppa Lodge , and two years afterwards he was exalted in the Chapter . He studied Masonry with a view of mastering its principles , and after the usual term of probation he was elected W . M . of his Lodge and Z . of

Chapter . Ho had the honour of founding the Montefiore Lodge , and was elected P . M . The death of the W . M ., which occurred soon after the first meeting , left the chair vacant , and our Chip succeeded him , and was duly elected . A somewhat similar incident occurred ia the Joppa Chap .

ter . The week after his retirement from the principal chair the M . E . Z . died , and our brother consequently served for two years . He is Secretary of the Joppa and Montefiore Lodges . In addition to these honours and distinctions , he was elected in 1869 an honorary member of the Lodge of

Friendship , Port Lewis , Mauritius , and in the following year he was appointed Proxy Master , an office which he resigned three months since . These marks of recognition from distant brethren were conferred upon him for valuable services which he rendered to the Lodge . Some difficulty

had arisen between the members , the Master designate , and the Grand Lodge of Scotland , and the Charter for the formation of the Friendship Lodge had not been transmitted .

Our Chip , as a distinguished Mason known to some of the brethren at Port Lewis , was chosen as its British advocate , and after some negotiation he succeeded in obtaining the all-important document from the Scottish authorities .

He is honorary member of the Canongate and Leith , the oldest Lodge in Great Britain , and has been presented b y the Scottish Freemasons with a jewel and the clothing of Grand Lodge of Scotland . Finally , to complete tho record of his Masonic career , we may mention he is Assistant Grand Pursuivant of England .

In his profession , our Chip is well and widely known , and suffers the pains and joys which are so familiar to medical men who are blessed with an extensive practice . He is highly and justly respected by his professional friends , and by the world generally , and in the world of Masonry

his zeal and enthusiasm , knowing no bounds save those of prudence , have won for him the esteem of all the brethren who aro privileged to know him . Joppa Lodge regards him as one of its most illustrious sons , and if we may venture to refer to the accidents of creed and race in connection

with the fraternity , we may add that he counts many distinguished Christian brethren amongst his dearest and best friends . In society , both secular and Masonic , he is renowned for his genial qualities and for his benevolence , which is bounded by no considerations of creed . He has not ,

however , in the exercise of a wide toleration forgotten the cherished ritual or ceremonial of his people . He is a Mason in his far-reaching sympathies , a practical Christian , if he

will permit us to say so , in his daily life , aud yet , before all and above all , a Jew who does not forget that the voice that thundered from Sinai still speaks to the chosen people from the pages of Holy Writ .

Abuse Of Freemasonry.

ABUSE OF FREEMASONRY .

WE advise any of our readers who may be afflicted with extreme nervousness to abstain from reading last week ' s issue of The Weekly Examiner and Ulster Observer , a newspaper hailing from Belfast . It seems the trade of this important town has for some time past been

in a declining state , so , at least , says this journal , for we do not profess to be posted in the ups and downs of trade in this special locality . There have been several heavy failures , wages have been reduced , the credit of the

town is at a discount ; in fact , Belfast , on the authority of this native journal , is in a bad way . And what , think our readers , is the cause of this disastrous state of things ?

Freemasonry , says The Weekly Examiner and Ulster Observer , on the faith of a very long winded writer whom it is at the pains to introduce to its readers as a " valued and