Washington As A Mason.

This latter date has long since ceased to be observed 3 but your commemoration continues , and the records of yonr Lodge present a long succession of Brethren who by their earnest ; words have kept alive the memory of this true man , faithful Craftsman , brave soldier unselfish patriot , incorruptible magistrate , and devout worshipper of

God . Worshipfnl Master and Brethren , —I have thus given an outlinefor this is all that I have done— of the Masonic life of Washington . It may be that I have only told over again a familiar story , or followed the line of thought of those who have preceded me in this timehonoured and honourable service ; a service which , from its history and associations , anv Craftsman might be proud to render . So be it ;

snch a history cannot suffer by rehearsal , nor can such lines of thought be overworn by repeated use . Such a life brings ns face to face with the foundation princip les of our Brotherhood ; it makes life more worth living ; it reveals something of that Divine power by which the truth is endued with might , and through which man becomes complete and god-like .

Washington stands forth , not simply as a signal example of rounded , developed , completed manhood , but also as a trne exponent of the living principles of our Brotherhood . And a great Brotherhood it is , when its laws are obeyed and its tenets are transformed to living practice . A Society whose watchword is love ; whose aim ia peace ; whose mission is to improve the minds , elevate the moral

sense , and adorn the lives of its members , must possess—whatever be its defects—elements of vitality , of growth , and of expansion . In its normal condition , such an institution , containing such elements of life as wo have been contemplating , obeys the laws of trne physical , social , and intellectual being . It grows and strengthens ¦ with its growth . Like the Banian of the Indies , it sends forth , from

its branches , shoots that may in turn become trees , and yet all be still united together . At once conservative and progressive—Constantia Mdbilis , to use the expressive terseness of Bacon ; preserving independence of action , conserving community of interests . ABrotherhood whose real work is CHARITY , in the highest sense of that word ; not simply almsgiving—relief to the needy j but Love—kindness to

the erring , sympathy with the suffering , protection to the widow and the fatherless . Of such an Institution any of ns might say , with Washington , "I shall always be happy to advance the interests of the Society ; " and it would be well if each member of it desired , with him , " to be considered a deserving brother . " Worshipfnl Master andBrethren , —To be members of such a

Fraternity as ours , is to make a high Moral profession , and to assume great personal responsibilities . Men whom tho world has delighted to honour , and men , who , in the Church , in the State , or in other walks of life , have been public and private benefactors , have upheld our Standard of Brotherly Love , Relief , and Truth , as alike consonant with patriotism and Christianity . The man whose memory we

honour to-night was bnt one of many in the great company of those who have trod cur tesselated floor and bowed at our sacred altar . Shall not the great principles which they prized be ever valued by ns ? Shall not their lives , charged with thoughts that live ancl with deeds that have left their impress upon the centuries , be to us as an inspiration , leading to nobler and higher longings after truest

manhood ? Here , sacred memories and historic associations gather together . Your gavel has been sounded by strong , right hands that lifted the victor ' s sword on the battle-fields of the Revolution ; the voice of authority has been uttered in yonr Lodge by lips that have moved men ' s minds and hearts in the court-room or in the Senate Chamber ,

with cogent reasoning or forensic eloquence ; and some holding high place in civil authority have here held office . Beside your altar , on the 25 th July , the noble Lafayette revived the associations of a third of a centnry before , when , with your furniture and jewels , amid the camp fires of the Revolution he was made a Mason . * Into your Lodge room , on the evening of 21 st April 1852 , in the presence of more than five hundred brethren , came the great Magyar and brother Mason ,

the Brethren the death of our deceased Brother General GEORGE WASHINGTON , in the following address , to wit : I announce to you , Brethren , that it hath pleased the Divine Creator , on the 14 th of December 5799 , to remove our great and good Brother , George Washington , in the 68 th year of his age , from the cares and troubles of this transitory existence TO A STATE OF ETERNAL DURATION . May

his death remind us of onr approaching fate , and incline ns to be more strongly cemented in the ties of union and friendship , that by regulating onr condnct here agreeably to the dictates of truth , wisdom and discretion , we may prosecute our journey , without dread or apprehension , to that far distant conntry from whose bourne no traveller returns—and that we may enjoy in our last moments that

serene tranquillity of mind which overflows from a good conscience void of offence towards God and man . ' " Brother John N . Gumming [ Past Grand Master and Past Master of St . John ' s Lodge ] , proposed the following motion : that any of the Lodges under the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge may make such funeral processions in hononr of the late deceased Brother General Washington as to them may seem proper , they preserving established

rules ; and that the day of the first procession be on the 22 d of February next , and ever after on the 14 th of December , and that the several Lodges be hnng in black ' and the members wear mourning for onr deceased Brother until the Festival of next St . John ' s Day , which being seconded and the question being taken , whether the Lodge agree thereto , it was carried unanimously in the affirmative . "Hough ' s Reprint , pages 84-86 .

* See " Historical Sketch of Montgomery Lodge , No . 19 , at Phila . delphia , by George Griscom , Esq ., P . M ., " pages 49-52 . This was the Lodge—then a Military Lodge in the First Regiment of Pennsyl . vania Artillery , Col . Thomas Proctor , Worshipfnl Master—that borrowed the jewels of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 1 , for use at Morristown , where they were encamped , and where they conferred the degrees npon the illustrious Lafayette .

Washington As A Mason.

Kossuth , to learn from your words , sealed by a noble act of beneficence , that on tho altar of old St . John ' s Lodgo the fire of love burned so brightly as to flash its light even into the deep recesses and mountain fastnesses of Hungary . Your fathers and sons and brothers have gone forth to found other Masonio homes , and many of them to

shed lustre upoti the name of the venerable Lodge in which they first saw tho light by whioh Masons work . Voices that have been heard in song at these annual commemorations have been silenced ; lives , useful and honoured , have been ended ; hands , whose brotherly grasp wo have felt , have moulded to dust ; eyes , that flashed upon us the

light of intelligence and of love , aro closed . The Acacia of eternal being , not rootless , bnt living and growing , tells of their immortalit y . We are here to-night . The Birthday , and the closing hour—in the usage of your Lodge—linked together ; what , my brothers , shall tho life bo that lies between them ? It may have its shadows , but let ns learn that

" Darkness in the pathway of man's life Is but the shadow of God ' s Providence , By the great Sun of Wisdom oast thereon ; And what is dark below is light iu heaven . " Shall it not be a life wrought out to full completeness by the power

of HIM , the mystio symbol of whose name incites reverence and to reverential service . Earnest fellow-Craftsmen , whoever or whatever thon art , if this night one new desire or impulse toward better , higher , or holier things , has been kindled within thy soul , take the Great Light—the " Word " —in thy hand and in thy heart , and go

forward . Wasting and decay may be around thee ; failure and disappointment may seem to threaten thee ; but the materials are not wanting from which lives like that of Washington were builded , and from fields that await the tilling and the sowing , rich harvests may yet be reaped . Receive , then the lesson which this Annual Commemoration teaches :

" A charmed life old Goodness hath j The tares may perish—but the grain Is not for death . "

As the Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys will not take place for some ten daysthe exact date and place are Wednesday , the 29 th inst ., at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , nnder the presidency of the R . W . Marquess of Londonderry , K . T ., P . G . M . Durham

—there is ample time yet for a very sensible increase in the number of brethren who may be willing to serve on the Board of Stewards . Hence , those of our readers who may be desirous of placing their services at the disposal of Bro . Binckes , should do so forthwith . Under the

circumstances we have already described in these pages , there are substantial reasons wh y the approaching Festival should be a productive one . We trust the Craft generally

will not be unmindful of those reasons , and the Festival of 1881 will not be the least of the many brilliant suecesses which Bro . Binckes has achieved during the latter years of his Secretaryship .

The annual distribution of prizes and visit of the Festival Stewards will take place , as usual , at the School , Wood Green , on Tuesday the 28 th June , under the presidency of the Marquess of Londonderry , K . T ., Chairman of the Festival .

The Grand Lodge of the Province of Surrey will be held on Saturday , the 25 th inst ., under the banner of the Surrey Lodge , No . 416 , at the Public Hall , Reigate . The brethren are to assemble at one o ' clock , and the customary banquet will be supplied at 3 . 30 .

The Voice of Masonry for the current month contains * long and interesting account of the commemoration of the anniversary of the fiftieth birthday of Bro . Christopher Diehl , Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Utah . The entertainment in honour of the occasion was held in the

Masonic Hall , Salt Lake City , and there were present a large number of Masons ( among whom were Bro . John S . Scott P . G . Master , and P . H . Emmerson Grand Master ) , with their wives and daughters . Grand Master Emmerson , after an appropriate and justly complimentary speech ,

handed to Bro . Diehl a package , which , on being opened , was found to contain a handsome and massive gold watch and chain , the former bearing the inscription , " Presented

to R . W . Christopher Diehl Grand Secretary A . F . and A . M ., on his fiftieth birthday , by his Masonic Friends at Utah , March 22 , 1881 . " Bro . Diehl was deeply affected on making his acknowledgments .