Toadies And Others

to the tufthunter , and patronise him freely , and often to his advantage . The man who is ready at any moment to fall down and worship any image that may bo set up by his

patron , in order to subserve his own interests , such a man may do so profitably , perhaps , but he is not ono whom we should hold up as an example for any friends of ours to follow .

Masonry has no place for the class of men we have been describing . Deference and respect must be paid to all men who are worthy , but the worship of idols is forbidden . The Craftsman who bows respectfully to authority is to be admired , but not he who does so obsequiously , without the slightest sense of self-respect .

Masonic Portraits (No. 12.) The Soldier.

MASONIC PORTRAITS ( No . 12 . ) THE SOLDIER .

" Aye , put aside thy trusty sword , old comrade , And hang thy batter'd harness on the wall j Yet , like a war horse champing his curb , Thou'lfc start at the trumpet ' s sound , and fight Thy battles o'er again . "

THE military art has , in all ages , possessed a singular fascination for mankind . The pugnacity of the human race is one of its marked characteristics , and fighting is not merely life to the man of war , but it is the breath of the nostrils of the man of peace . It is by contention and strife that the world improves in civilization and in

wisdom . Warfare , of some sort or other , is the decree of nature , and if we do not advance we die . If we do not fight against the physical evils which surround us , they overwhelm us ; nay , if man hesitates to grapple with nature , and combat foot to foot , so to speak , for dear life ,

the ' univeral mother , " will crush him without pity and without remorse . Life , then , is a battle , and we are all soldiers , fighting under various flags , for honour or for bread . It is perhaps because men instinctively feel that the fighting olement in human nature is its most general

attribute that the worship of Mars , and the veneration for military glory , is still so widely spread amongst us . The man who goes forth into the primeval wilderness , and with his axe brings the forest giant down , feels that he too , though he wears no livery , and does not march to

music , is a soldier in the truest sense of the term . The physician , fighting against grim death and disease , what is he but a gallant soldier of science , who risks his life as often , in the deadly atmosphere of a fever stricken hospital ward , as his red coated brother does in the deadly breach ?

But the red coats , somehow , have carried off the hi gher prizes of glory from their less gorgeous brothers . Possibly greater heroism has been displayed by those colonists who contributed to make the western world a new centre of civilization than by any of the heroes of ancient or modern

story . But disciplined courage has always had superior fascinations for the mass of men , and perhaps the soldierly nature is a greater favorite with the fair sex than any other . It has been said , and we believe with much truth , that a higher polish is acquired by gentlemen who have

knocked about m the army' than by any other class in the community . A soldier of middle age , who has seen society in all its varied grades , is usually remarkable not merely for ease of manners , and urbanity , but for that

exquisite politeness which , in its highest development , approaches the ideal benevolence and self sacrifice of the Christian . Dean Swift , in one poetical piece , has declared that where wit and strength of intellect are

concerned" Arms to the gown , the victory must yield . " Perhaps this may be true , but , in spite of the popularity of the church , the soldier carries the day in the public estimation . The tongue of the priest may fascinate many minds , but the scarred veteran wins , in the long run , more votaries than he .

We have said thus much of the military calling , because we desire to sketch , lightly and broadly , the lineaments of a brother who , during a portion of his life , was wedded to the career of arms . It was not his good fortune to win distinction in the field , but just as there are " mute , inglorious Miltons" in

our midst who have never had a chance of giving forth their concealed poetic fire , so there are , doubtless , in the army ample materials for the making of great reputations .

It is not every fighting-man ' s lot to march to the cannon ' s mouth , and the soldiers who so distinguish themselves are not always honoured with a line in the Gazette . The stuff out of which heroes are made is to be found in hun -

Masonic Portraits (No. 12.) The Soldier.

dreds of officers who have only drawn their swords upon the parade ground . We Englishmen are alt aware of this fact , and if our race has a special talent for strategy or tactics , it has unbounded stores of true courage of that cool sort which ere now has won the admiration of the

world . Our hero then is a soldier , whose service has been uneventful . If his own inclination had been consulted , he would gladly have taken his place in the field , but fate willed otherwise , andhehas merely to look back with just pride to a rigid performance of duty and loyal

devotion to his flag . During the stirring times of the Crimean War he was playing an important part in garrison life . Some of us can remember the

satisfaction we all felt in the conviction that while the flower of the army was in the trenches , their places at home were supplied by gallant Englishmen , on whose zeal and courage we could all rely .

It was while he was in the army that our hero first had his attention turned to Masonry , into which he threw all the energies which his military duties left at his command . In the year 1852 he was initiated in the Phcenix Lodge , and afterwards joined the Lodge of Antiquity , of which for

two years he was the Master . This somewhat exceptional honour was well merited , for from his first , connection with the Order our soldier showed a high appreciation of its grand and glorious principles . In the year 1862 , under the Grand Mastership of the Earl of Zetland , he was

made a Grand Officer , and at the present time he is Vice-Patron and Trustee of tho three Masonic Charities . When he was complimented upon his last promotion , he declared , with much truth , that " he had not been pitchforked into the position . " He has served on the Board of

General Purposes for a period of four years , and during his year as Grand Officer he presided occasionally at the Board of Benevolence . He has passed through all the offices of St . James E . A . Chapter , and now holds the part of Treasnrer . He is most assiduous in his attention to his

duties in connexion with the Chanties , and as Chairman he has displayed that urbanity and good taste for which he is remarkable . Few men have worked harder for the cause than he , and perhaps he feels a just pride in the reflection that he is not indebted to his brethren for any special

marks of their confidence and regard . Some day the man who has not received a testimonial will be pointed out as a most distinguished person . The few jewels he wears have been well and honourably earned . Our soldier is distinguished rather as a conscientious worker than as a brilliant

orator or merely ornamental Mason . He speaks occasionally , and always to the purpose , but his oratory is usually suggestive rather than persuasive in its style , and has the effect of exciting discussion , or it throws new light on difficult or complex questions .

Amongst Masons he is known as a genial and agreeable brother , who has a pleasant word or a bright smile for those with whom he is acquainted . He is , of

course , essentially a social being , what military man is not ? and enjoys the quiet and unostentatious luxury of his club with the zest of a man whose tastes and sympathies have not been blunted by time .

In the world he is known as a magistrate , and holds the sword of justice as firmly as he once held a not less awe inspiring weapon , and perhaps he feels as much satisfaction in being a terror of evil doers as ho once felt when he stood at the head of a regiment of gallant fellows . Of his

personal attributes we need scarcely speak . Our readers are too familiar with his features to need any special delineation of them . The broad forehead , from which the hair has receded , indicates intelligence , the keen eye gives promise of humour , and the lines of the mouth , and the

contour of the chin , indicate firmness and decision . We may infer that he can tell a good story , and laugh heartil y over anything witty or humorous . But his genial face is full of tender sympathy for the suffering or the oppressed . Under a firm demeanour he conceals a humane heart , and ,

like most cultivated Englishmen , he studies to hide the soft side of his nature under a mask of stoical indifference . A man of action and of decision , and of weight in Masonic counsels , valued for his high character and his simple

devotion to truth and justice , his loss—if it would not be irreparable—would leave a sensible gap in our ranks of distinguished brothers . That he may long live to follow those pursuits to which he is attached is our sincere prayer .

" Stay , good Sir ! thou canst not thither paas ; Those crdtonne folds , with sombre shadows , hide Our simple plot from prying eyes . "