Next Week's Festival.

we have no hesitation in asking our readers to do the same , ancl if wo are fortunate enough to awaken rtlie , feelings of oven one brother , and induce him to

work for the Fund which is intended to relievo the distress and misfortunes which befall those in outranks in their closing days , we shall be gratified , and

shall consider that we have boon repaid for the small amonnt of trouble imposed upon us . But is the picture wo have painted so poor a specimen

as not to create an impression on an WHO survey n , and if we have made an impression , who shall say the ultimate effects thereof ? We dare not expect too much , but , as we have said before , we know our

appeals in the past have not Jbeon in vain , and AVO therefore venture to hope that * our present one may be equally successful . It is not too late to add a name " to the Board of Stewards for next week ' s

Festival , yet ii our inends cannot see tlieir way to no anything at such short notice , then we urge them to look further afield , and make a start for 1890—the list for that year is already open and , unfortunately ,

there is little prospect or the calls being less then than is now the case . The ' needs will be as heavy , the claims as urgent ; and , above all , the means of rendering help as worthy , as thoy are at present .

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An Ovation , by Bro . William T ) . Wright , Grand Orator , before the Grand Lodge of Colorado , ISth September 1888 . I KNOW not how ifc may impress others , bufc for myself , when I first came as . a representative to , and found myself occupying a seat in this Grand Lodge of Masons , I felt that it was in itself an honour to be proud of . Even

a brief experience in Masonry had taught mo that ho who worthily fills , or worthily aspires to fill the Worshipful Master ' s station in a Masonic Lodge , ought to be not only of good moral character , but by tho imperative duties of that

high station must also bo something above tlio average in intellectual ability . And in addition to Masters and Wardens representing all Lodges in this jurisdiction , were thoso about me who in this Grand Loclare had attained fco

the very highest honours which it is in the power of our Ancient and Honourable Fraternity to bestow . And as to the exalted rank and value of these Masonic honours , I recollected and was in sympathy with the favourable manner

m which they are compared with high worldly honours in the eloquent language sometimes used in presenting to the Entered Apprentice the white apron or simple badge of a Mason , when the Master , addressing him , says : " Ifc may

be that in the coming years npon your brow shall rest the laurel leaves of victory ; from your breast may hang jewels Gt to grace the diadem of au eastern potentate ; nay , more than these , with light added to the coming light , your

ambitious feet may tread round after round of tbe ladder that leads to fame in our mystic circles , and even the purple of our Fraternity rest upon your honoured shoulders , but never again from mortal hands , never again until your enfranchised

spirit shall have passed upward aud inward through the pearly gates , shall any honour so distinguished , so emblematical of purity and all perfections be bestowed upon you , as this which I confer to-nio-ht .

It is a distinguishing feature of the Institution , that he who would find within the body of Masonry a field for the exercise and gratification of an honourable ambition , can bufc patiently ancl faithfully endeavour to prove worthy , ancl

trust himself upon his actual merits to the intelligent discrimination of the Craft . Ancl in view of its high intellectual standards and clean methods , it is not surprising , hut only in accordance with the " eternal fitness of thinp-s , "

when we look about ns and find that those whom Masonry has deemed worthy of its highest honours , are in very many instances also the recognised leaders in the affairs of the world . Just such men are here with us to-day . The

daily papers of this great city constantl y record their doing ? as aotivu participants in great business organizations , serving ( rn public committees , foremost in all good works , and with voice and pen promoting every enterprise which tends to the progress and prosperity of fche State . They are the

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very busiest men we know of , and doubtless we have often wondered bow they find time for their manifold duties . Yefc , loving the Institution of Masonry—finding here a restfulness they appreciate , and an intellectual fraternal

companionship they enjoy—we have observed that they always find timo to be the most faithful attendants upon the sessions of this body . Their lives and characters inspiringly teach us all that the mon who worthily assemble

rihonfc the snored altar of Freemasonry—who learn to love the Institution—who become thoroughly imbued with the lofty spirit of its teachings , thereby ineviably become better men—higher and nobler in thought and action—more

faithful in all the relations of lifo . It suggests , too , for the benefit and wholesome inspiration of every young man among ns , the thought that he who approaches most nearly to being the ideal Mason is very sure also to approach most nearly to the high standard of tho ideal citizen .

While we may doubt whether Masonry is as ancient as it is sometimes claimed to be , we know that ifc is the oldest of all human fraternities , and has come down to ns through many centuries . And in tbe face of the world ' s progress ,

men often wonder how this venerable Institution , more respected and more prosperous now than ever before , seems to so adapt itself to the enlightenment and progressive ideas of this wonderful age . And how ifc happens that

this class of men—the brightest and the best in Church and State—the very highest typos of the education and enlightened civilization of the nineteenth century—still humbly present themselves before its altar , and are found

most devoted to its practices , most loyal to its precepts . But Masons know tbat these are the men most capable of catching tho true spirit of Masonry—whose imaginations

are able to clothe the merely external bare skeleton and dry bones of ancient landmarks and forms and ceremonies with warmth and life and beauty , until they become radiant with inward and spiritual Masonic light .

Looking back into the past , we see how that light of Masonry , which glimmered so feebly at first in a world then darkened with universal ignorance , shines more brilliantly thau ever to-day , in a world where universal education seems about to be realised . We see that the Institution

has itself improved—for while conviviality seems to have been formerly a prominent feature of its meetings , we all know that a high order of dignity ancl intellectuality distinguishes those meetings now . We see , too , that when

Masonry first taught men to meet upon the level , the gulf between the rich and poor , the high and low—was wider and more impassable than now—aud class distinctions , and the accidents of birth and station were universally deemed

of greater importance than they are to-day . That when it first began to teach liberality and the doctrine of toleration , it is certain that by comparison with the now existing order of things , bigotry and intolerance then quite

generally prevailed . Aud so , from a brief glance at the past , we become satisfied that thus far at least Masonry has been found worthy and well qualified for its mission among men , and that the world is brighter and better because of its existence .

The tendency of the teachings of Masonry is to effect needed reforms , and to bring about beneficial results for humanity , gradually and without sudden and violent changes . " A survey of nature , and the observation of

her beautiful proportions / ' teach wise men that the parched earth is benefitted more by gentle rains and the almost imperceptible dews , than by the destructive cloud-burst and the deluge . And in accordance wifch the true spirit

of , and in humble imitation of this divine plan , it has been wisely regulated that both men and Masons should receive more light only when worthy and well qualified , and when they have made suitable proficiency to entitle them to advancement .

But in order to prove that the beneficent results of Masonic teachings are manifest even in the greatest events of modern times , the favoured people of this favoured land need not go away from home for an illustration . It is our

proud boast that we are living under the highest , freest , and best form of government ever known among men . Yet how wonderful the harmony which can be traced between the spirit of Masonry and the genius of this young Republic .

Kings and princes , and all titled rulers , and the whole world seemed startled , when only one brief century ago the Declaration of American Independence announced the doctrine that " all men are created free and equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable