Masonic Building.

ceptibly ho acquires a correct taste , and habits of usefulness and industry . This learning is gathered easily , nnd thoro is no need to retrace the steps , because impressions thus formed aro indelible . He first comes in contact wifch material things by using them ; he learns

their names and uses because he wants to use them , and it becomes necessary for hira to know their characteristics for his own convenience . Thus from a simple beginning with material things , he advances in course of time to the hidden , abstract notions beyond the sight and

senses . Educators have but recently adopted this plan , but it is now so obviously the correct method that we all wonder why it has not always been used . This system of education has always been in voguo in Masonry . We diffuse our

knowledge on the plan of fche kindergarten , and the development of the same ideas as shown in the industrial schools . Architecture is but the expression of ideas . We learn the habits , tastes , circumstances , and religious beliefs of peoples and nations , by the structures fchey have erected .

As Entered Apprentices we enter the kindergarten of Masonry ; as Fellow Crafts we pass through tho higher grades of our Masonic schools , and learn to make some things , and the meaning of others , and to apply a part of

our knowledge to the affairs of life ; but only after death do we truly become Master Masons , and enjoy the real benefits of our training , knowledge , aud correct habits of thought and industry .

Thus has it ever been : We look backward through the past to the middle ages , and find their architecture as enduring monuments to the deep , religious , earnest feeling of the people ; not , indeed , as shown in the churches and religious houses , because in them religion is mingled

superstition , but in the old castles and edifices erected by —and embodying the ideas of—the people . We pass on through Rome and Greece and find our lessons in material monuments , showing thoir history back to the building of the temple , where we loarn that the corner-stone of our

present Masonic Institution was laid with all due ceremony , to remain and endure as long as time shall be . But tho foundation was laid long before : " And Solomon sent to Hiram , saying , Now therefore , command thou

that they how me cedar trees of Lebanon ; and my servants shall be thy servants ; and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint ; for thou knowesfc that there is not among us any that can skill to how timber like unto tho Sidonians . "

"And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram ont of Tyre . Ho was a widow ' s son , of the tribe of Naphtali , and his father was a man of Tyre , a worker in brass , and ho was filled with wisdom and understanding , and cunning to all work in brass . And he came to King

Solomon and wrought all his work . " Whence had Hiram , the widow ' s son , obtained this wisdom and skill ? Wo still go back to the days of the captivity in Egypt , and there wo find history incorporated in stupendous monuments . " The country and climate afforded the best

means of symbolising the leading idea of the Egyptian s religion in the material form of art . Life after death was that idea , and it found expression in the construction of tombs as lasting as the rocks on which they rested . " Here the children of Israel learned their alphabet by the

use of material things . As hewers of wood and drawers of water , they learned to build , nobly , grandly , and to embody ideas in lasting structures . And their great leader and master was endowed with wisdom , until he was permitted to stand face to face with God . But all the

wisdom of Moses was not trusted to the whole people ; thoy had neither tho capacity nor the endurance to understand or preserve it . Their wisdom , attained through years of trial and suffering , would have been sufficient for the building of the temple , but after their escape from Egypt ,

during the long sojourn in the wilderness , when they abandoned their true religion , worshipping idols and graven images , and plunging into superstition , neglecting their duties and their learning , their wisdom became as foolishness , and only the material things , which the masses did not afterwards understand , remained .

But Moses retained his wisdom , Joshua retained his , and a chosen few retained the secrets with which they wore entrusted ; and so , when the temple was about to be erected , a son of the tribe of Naphtali possessed tho necessary wisdom . As Moses was nofc permitted to reach thc promised land , so Hiram was nofc permitted to see his work completed .

Masonic Building.

The weakness of human nature seeking the hidden mysteries before the time of preparation had been fulfilled , a portion of his knowledge died with him , and only the monuments and material things remained , until future generations ahould learn their meaning and read them

aright . But the foundation was laid , and the corner-stone —a belief in God , nay , a knowledge of God himself—was found by Moses and transmitted through the ages to the present time . Never from the time of the captivity in Egypt has the world been without a band of faithful ones

who have preserved and handed down the wisdom there acquired ; and through all ages of idolatry and superstition , of wickedness , infidelity and injustice , the belief in God , and a broad , nnflinching , tolerant , pure religion , has been carefully transmitted from generation to generation .

And we may still go back , if we have the skill to find our way , and the wisdom to understand the lines and angles , the marks and figures , and we shall find that

before Moses was , in the ages before the pyramids wero commenced , the corner-stone was found , in the belief in Almighty God ; not then a mere belief , but an absolute , undeniable , unquestioned knowledge .

What has all this to do with the present time ? Every Masonic ceremony has a wealth of meaning , if we will take the pains to find it out . Sinco the twenty-eighth annual communication of the Grand Lodge , we have laid the corner-stone of a magnificent temple , which the Craft are erecting in Denver .

The stono was tried by our Most Worshipful Grand Master and found to be square , plumb , and level , and he pronounced it good . This done , the plans of the bnilding wero delivered to the overseer in charge of the workmen , and the completion of the structure was entrusted to him .

We went there as Entered Apprentices , and viewed the work so far as it had progressed ; we beheld the cornerstone , and the fonndation upon which it rested ; we saw it tried , and heard it pronounced good . The corner-stone is all we see in this world . The Lodge finds the foundation

well laid m twenty-one years or more of good character , habits of industry and sobriety ; the corner-stone—a belief in Almighty God—is pronounced good by the Masfcer , and tho stone is symbolically set . The plan of the building , spread out upon the altar , is shown to each Entered

Apprentice , and he is told that henceforth he will be engaged in working upon ifc . The craftsmen are furnished with proper tools , and taught how to use them ; material

is also furnished , and each is dismissed to his work . We see the corner-stone , admire its workmanship , solidity , and proportions , and that it is properly placed , and then wo leave it .

The work which each craftsman is to do is known only to himself ; he understands the design ; by his own skill and labour mast it be perfected , its proportions arranged , and its surface polished , according to thc design of tho

architect . The stone may be rough , uncut , an uncouth mass of rock , of coarser or finer grain , according to tho place it is intended to fill . It may be a plain white cube , or it may be ornamented with the most intricate designs , but finished ifc must be , by him and by him alone .

Advice he may ask from others ; fcheir skill he may learn to imitate . His design , his doubts , difficulties , troubles and failures , he may explain , but not a single blow can be given , not a rough , corner can be struck off , except , with his own mall in his own hand . Not an angle can be tried except with his own sqnare .

Perfect tools have been given him ; it behoves him to keep them bright and iu order . But ho may rest assured his work is suited to his capacity . We are working in tho quarries ; none can know what place in tho building his stone shall occupy ; and

accordingly he must see to it thafc ifc is finished with the utmost nicety , according to the design by which he is working . We cannot inspect each other ' s work ; now and then wo may catch a glimpse of an angle , a flower , or a leaf , but never of the whole at once .

Our conduct and conversation may indicate whether tho material be coarse or fine , whether we are skilful or unskilful , what material we are using and what progress we are making , but the result remains unknown . To some extent , also , we may aid our fellow craftsmen , and receive

their assistance . We may call fcheir attention to the passing hour ancl the necessity of industry . Should our companions contract vices or habits which will dim the oye or unsteady the nerves , habits of idleness , or fondness for light and trivial conversation ; doing no work , or less than