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Article WHY SPRIGGINS DID NOT BECOME A FREEMASON. Page 1 of 1 Article WHY SPRIGGINS DID NOT BECOME A FREEMASON. Page 1 of 1 Article WORTHY AND WELL QUALIFIED. Page 1 of 3 →
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Why Spriggins Did Not Become A Freemason.
WHY SPRIGGINS DID NOT BECOME A FREEMASON .
SnowiNG now WE PRESERVED * rnE IXTECIRITV OF OUR EMINENTLY SELECT AND R ESPECTABLE LITTLE LODGE . Bv BRO . F . JL-LIAN CROCEK . Preface . Ever man in our Lodge was known to every other ;
Each one was tried and true , and each to each a Brother . When in Lodge assembled wo profitably employ'd ourselves , And , working most harmonionsly together , we always fully enjoy'd ourselves .
For , studying tbe virtues and practising true charity , Wo seldom split—dissension was a rarity . We never gave ntteratice to observations vituperative—In fact , to minds diseased an evening at onr Lodge was quite recuperative !
Argument . Thero lived within the precincts of onr parish A cad of a fellow , whose mode of life was garish—That is to say , this egotistic fellow Had bnt one object : to make his own life mellow !
It matter'd not to him that others' lives wero bitter , Ids life must bo a round of flashy show and glitter ! He spent his cash , ne ' er heeding others' sorrow , Ne'er let a beggar beg , nor poor man borrow ;
He never did a charitable action , because it could not give him satisfaction ! Enough for him to spend his yellow money In making his own mean life seem bright and sunny !
Now , being a neighbour , and mixing with ns on many an ordinary occasion , We soon discovor'd that his mind was assuming a very objectionable persuasion ; He began to think he would like to become a Brother ,
Because , as he said , he noticed that we all helped one another j And , " when a fellow was trying to get on in the world , he thought it was an advisable movement , To crawl round the affections of the Masons , as it aided his worldly improvement !
In short , he regarded the idea from a selfish and narrow-minded distance , Never dreaming that probably some one else might claim his
assistance ! And it ended in his abruptly asking us , if we'd propose him as a candidate , As our Lodgo was going to meet at a handy date .
No matter what cad a man may be , if Providence dotb send him , One hardly likes to hastily offend him ; And as this fellow , moreover , held a local official
position—Tho prestige which we know it would injure if we openly snub'd his ambition—We felt a great delicacy in striking the blow , and saying immediately a plain •*No !"
Therefore , somehow we consented ; bnt , soon as ifc was done we heartily repented ; And being in this instance particularly— " birds of a feather , " That is , of ono mind , we flocked together To cogitate what plan we could adopt so that his candidature might
be stop'd . We thought one whose morals were so vitiated Into oar Craft ought not to be initiated .
The question was , How to prevent ifc ? Wo anxiously consulted , And onr little Privy Council soon resnlted In the hatchment of a plot , whose artful aid We soon besought to make him feel afraid .
The Plot . Our Lodgo met on Saturday . On the previous Monday night One of ns paid him a visit ; This Brother ' s face being as solemn and long as a kite , Spriggins anxionsly ask'd , " What is ifc ?"
" Ob , nothing , old man ! " " But something ' s np ! " " Well , yes—I was thinking "" Well ? " " I was thinking of noxt Saturday" — " Go on ! " " But , no ! I
Should make you feel nervous ! —you must keep your nerves from sinking ! "Keep up your spirits , old boy ' . —keep up your spirits ! " Thi 3 he said , And went , while Spriggins scratched his puzzled head !
On Tuesday , another went—a man most mournful , Who of hilarity was ever scornful ; He moan'd and groan'd , like a worn-out minister , And talk'd of dismal things in accents sinister ; He made poor Spriggins miserable , slowly goading
His mind into a state of aim foreboding ! Ho steadily continued to aggravate him , And spoke of serious ordeals that would await him , And wound np by saying , "I'm pleased wo shall enlist you ,
It gives mo pleasure to be thus able to assist you . And , as you know that gentleness to me is virtue , I'll take good care the Brethren do not hurt you I " Then went way , unruffled and salubrious , Whilo Spriggins wondcr'd , lost in thoughts lugubrious
Why Spriggins Did Not Become A Freemason.
On Wednesday , wo left him to himself . The seeds we'd sown Might ranklo iu his mind if loft alone ! On Thursday night wo sent our f nnny member , With deep facetiousness , to fan the smouldering ember . He gavo him a dig in the ribs that nearly made him bellow , And chuckled , " Ha ! ha ! we'll make it hot for you , old fellow !"
" Make it hot ! " cried Spriggins ; " What d ' ye mean ?" Our funny ono put his finger to his nose and said , " That remains to bo seen . Ob ! wait , my boy ! I gness we'll make you wriggle !" And ho gave him another dig in the ribs accompanied by a demoniac
" Look here , yon know —began Spriggins ; bnt onr jocular brother Cut him short , saying " Oh ! won ' t you want to go home to yonr mother ? Lay in a good dinner before yon come , old fellow !—there ' s nothing like plenty of forage ° To give a helpless man a stock of courage ;
Ta-ta ! old fellow ! Ta-ta ! " he cried , with a chuckle most hideousl y wheezy , And left poor unfortunate Spriggins in a state of mind sadl y uneasy . Then came the last man ' s turn . He cap'd all their previons warning , For , putting on a look of the saddest and woefullest mourning ,
He sigh'd , " Ah me ! This is a serious matter !" Spriggins looked at him wistfully , and his teeth seem'd inolined to chatter . " I hardly know , " said onr brother , " whether I ' m doing right or wrong ; But , as I was near you ,
I thought I would just pop in and endeavour to cheer you . Do you manage to keep yourself pretty cheerful ? " Spriggins look'd at his feet , Mumbling " Thank you , middling , " as he fidgetted in his seat . " Ab , me ! " sighed our brother , " I'd better not stay ,
Or I shall frighten every bit of yonr courage away ! Bnt before I go I'll give you a bit of advice , Or your situation on Saturday may not be nice ! My friendship prompts me to tell you , whatever my conduct may seem , But , you'd better take some liniment and a little good cold cream !"
The Denouement . Our Lodge-night came . We duly assembled , And for our little plot each brother trembled ; If he should come , onr plot having failed to appal him , Then must we be hard-hearted and black-ball him ? This measure we were saved , however , for our noble
hero—Whose courage had evidently sunk down to zero—Sent a beautifully-worded message to say , That " important business prevented his coming , and his initiation must be put off to another day !" That day never came , as I need not remark , And our hero will , in all human probability , for ever remain in the dark !
The Moral . " Tho end doth justify the means ; " if moan onr dodge , At least we saved the honour of our Lodge ! Or fair or foul ? If you don't think tho latter , Why—there ' s an end to the matter !
Worthy And Well Qualified.
WORTHY AND WELL QUALIFIED .
FROM THE VOICE or MASONRY . AMON G tho older workmen of the Temple , as well in thoir writings as in their oral instructions , in their laws as in their rituals , thero were forms of expression , brief , sententious and comprehensive , that have " gone ont of fashion , " though they told moro in a single sentenco than much , of modern composition expresses in
an entire page . Such was the language used when the Fathers were young ; when Masonry was in its simplicity and parity ; when amid the forests and tho quarries , as well as when the ashlars perfected by the hands of Fellow Crafts wero boing laid in tbe walls of that wonderful building on Moriah—in tho Tcmplo reared to His glory and
worship . It is well for us now and then to go back to those earlier days and gather jewels from tho mine not yet exhausted , and loam simple and sublime truths from the lips of thoso who framed and enacted our laws , and lessons , and teachings , and loft us instructions for the future . They did not expect to make Freemasonry perfect from
tho beginning ; but they did give us elementary principles , and indicated tho path we were to travel in our efforts to keep np with the progress of the ages . I have snid their words were simple , but full of meaning ; as , for instance , those at the head of this article . They are pervaded by
very profound instruction—so full of it that they are rarely analyze " or even critically examined to learn the full meaning of each word , syllabic , aud letter . In this article I propose to take some of them to pieces , if possible , and bring from the treasures thus brought to light such as are rarely revealed and seldom comprehended as they should bo .
" Worthy ! Without intending ollence to any , I may express niy opinion that Freemasonry was not , and is not , designed for " tho million , " but for the select few who are eminently worthy of its honours , and can appreciate its sublime mysteries . An old French lady once said to mc , allnding to her girlhood days , when she used to attend the social gatherings of the Craft in company with her father , " the Free-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Why Spriggins Did Not Become A Freemason.
WHY SPRIGGINS DID NOT BECOME A FREEMASON .
SnowiNG now WE PRESERVED * rnE IXTECIRITV OF OUR EMINENTLY SELECT AND R ESPECTABLE LITTLE LODGE . Bv BRO . F . JL-LIAN CROCEK . Preface . Ever man in our Lodge was known to every other ;
Each one was tried and true , and each to each a Brother . When in Lodge assembled wo profitably employ'd ourselves , And , working most harmonionsly together , we always fully enjoy'd ourselves .
For , studying tbe virtues and practising true charity , Wo seldom split—dissension was a rarity . We never gave ntteratice to observations vituperative—In fact , to minds diseased an evening at onr Lodge was quite recuperative !
Argument . Thero lived within the precincts of onr parish A cad of a fellow , whose mode of life was garish—That is to say , this egotistic fellow Had bnt one object : to make his own life mellow !
It matter'd not to him that others' lives wero bitter , Ids life must bo a round of flashy show and glitter ! He spent his cash , ne ' er heeding others' sorrow , Ne'er let a beggar beg , nor poor man borrow ;
He never did a charitable action , because it could not give him satisfaction ! Enough for him to spend his yellow money In making his own mean life seem bright and sunny !
Now , being a neighbour , and mixing with ns on many an ordinary occasion , We soon discovor'd that his mind was assuming a very objectionable persuasion ; He began to think he would like to become a Brother ,
Because , as he said , he noticed that we all helped one another j And , " when a fellow was trying to get on in the world , he thought it was an advisable movement , To crawl round the affections of the Masons , as it aided his worldly improvement !
In short , he regarded the idea from a selfish and narrow-minded distance , Never dreaming that probably some one else might claim his
assistance ! And it ended in his abruptly asking us , if we'd propose him as a candidate , As our Lodgo was going to meet at a handy date .
No matter what cad a man may be , if Providence dotb send him , One hardly likes to hastily offend him ; And as this fellow , moreover , held a local official
position—Tho prestige which we know it would injure if we openly snub'd his ambition—We felt a great delicacy in striking the blow , and saying immediately a plain •*No !"
Therefore , somehow we consented ; bnt , soon as ifc was done we heartily repented ; And being in this instance particularly— " birds of a feather , " That is , of ono mind , we flocked together To cogitate what plan we could adopt so that his candidature might
be stop'd . We thought one whose morals were so vitiated Into oar Craft ought not to be initiated .
The question was , How to prevent ifc ? Wo anxiously consulted , And onr little Privy Council soon resnlted In the hatchment of a plot , whose artful aid We soon besought to make him feel afraid .
The Plot . Our Lodgo met on Saturday . On the previous Monday night One of ns paid him a visit ; This Brother ' s face being as solemn and long as a kite , Spriggins anxionsly ask'd , " What is ifc ?"
" Ob , nothing , old man ! " " But something ' s np ! " " Well , yes—I was thinking "" Well ? " " I was thinking of noxt Saturday" — " Go on ! " " But , no ! I
Should make you feel nervous ! —you must keep your nerves from sinking ! "Keep up your spirits , old boy ' . —keep up your spirits ! " Thi 3 he said , And went , while Spriggins scratched his puzzled head !
On Tuesday , another went—a man most mournful , Who of hilarity was ever scornful ; He moan'd and groan'd , like a worn-out minister , And talk'd of dismal things in accents sinister ; He made poor Spriggins miserable , slowly goading
His mind into a state of aim foreboding ! Ho steadily continued to aggravate him , And spoke of serious ordeals that would await him , And wound np by saying , "I'm pleased wo shall enlist you ,
It gives mo pleasure to be thus able to assist you . And , as you know that gentleness to me is virtue , I'll take good care the Brethren do not hurt you I " Then went way , unruffled and salubrious , Whilo Spriggins wondcr'd , lost in thoughts lugubrious
Why Spriggins Did Not Become A Freemason.
On Wednesday , wo left him to himself . The seeds we'd sown Might ranklo iu his mind if loft alone ! On Thursday night wo sent our f nnny member , With deep facetiousness , to fan the smouldering ember . He gavo him a dig in the ribs that nearly made him bellow , And chuckled , " Ha ! ha ! we'll make it hot for you , old fellow !"
" Make it hot ! " cried Spriggins ; " What d ' ye mean ?" Our funny ono put his finger to his nose and said , " That remains to bo seen . Ob ! wait , my boy ! I gness we'll make you wriggle !" And ho gave him another dig in the ribs accompanied by a demoniac
" Look here , yon know —began Spriggins ; bnt onr jocular brother Cut him short , saying " Oh ! won ' t you want to go home to yonr mother ? Lay in a good dinner before yon come , old fellow !—there ' s nothing like plenty of forage ° To give a helpless man a stock of courage ;
Ta-ta ! old fellow ! Ta-ta ! " he cried , with a chuckle most hideousl y wheezy , And left poor unfortunate Spriggins in a state of mind sadl y uneasy . Then came the last man ' s turn . He cap'd all their previons warning , For , putting on a look of the saddest and woefullest mourning ,
He sigh'd , " Ah me ! This is a serious matter !" Spriggins looked at him wistfully , and his teeth seem'd inolined to chatter . " I hardly know , " said onr brother , " whether I ' m doing right or wrong ; But , as I was near you ,
I thought I would just pop in and endeavour to cheer you . Do you manage to keep yourself pretty cheerful ? " Spriggins look'd at his feet , Mumbling " Thank you , middling , " as he fidgetted in his seat . " Ab , me ! " sighed our brother , " I'd better not stay ,
Or I shall frighten every bit of yonr courage away ! Bnt before I go I'll give you a bit of advice , Or your situation on Saturday may not be nice ! My friendship prompts me to tell you , whatever my conduct may seem , But , you'd better take some liniment and a little good cold cream !"
The Denouement . Our Lodge-night came . We duly assembled , And for our little plot each brother trembled ; If he should come , onr plot having failed to appal him , Then must we be hard-hearted and black-ball him ? This measure we were saved , however , for our noble
hero—Whose courage had evidently sunk down to zero—Sent a beautifully-worded message to say , That " important business prevented his coming , and his initiation must be put off to another day !" That day never came , as I need not remark , And our hero will , in all human probability , for ever remain in the dark !
The Moral . " Tho end doth justify the means ; " if moan onr dodge , At least we saved the honour of our Lodge ! Or fair or foul ? If you don't think tho latter , Why—there ' s an end to the matter !
Worthy And Well Qualified.
WORTHY AND WELL QUALIFIED .
FROM THE VOICE or MASONRY . AMON G tho older workmen of the Temple , as well in thoir writings as in their oral instructions , in their laws as in their rituals , thero were forms of expression , brief , sententious and comprehensive , that have " gone ont of fashion , " though they told moro in a single sentenco than much , of modern composition expresses in
an entire page . Such was the language used when the Fathers were young ; when Masonry was in its simplicity and parity ; when amid the forests and tho quarries , as well as when the ashlars perfected by the hands of Fellow Crafts wero boing laid in tbe walls of that wonderful building on Moriah—in tho Tcmplo reared to His glory and
worship . It is well for us now and then to go back to those earlier days and gather jewels from tho mine not yet exhausted , and loam simple and sublime truths from the lips of thoso who framed and enacted our laws , and lessons , and teachings , and loft us instructions for the future . They did not expect to make Freemasonry perfect from
tho beginning ; but they did give us elementary principles , and indicated tho path we were to travel in our efforts to keep np with the progress of the ages . I have snid their words were simple , but full of meaning ; as , for instance , those at the head of this article . They are pervaded by
very profound instruction—so full of it that they are rarely analyze " or even critically examined to learn the full meaning of each word , syllabic , aud letter . In this article I propose to take some of them to pieces , if possible , and bring from the treasures thus brought to light such as are rarely revealed and seldom comprehended as they should bo .
" Worthy ! Without intending ollence to any , I may express niy opinion that Freemasonry was not , and is not , designed for " tho million , " but for the select few who are eminently worthy of its honours , and can appreciate its sublime mysteries . An old French lady once said to mc , allnding to her girlhood days , when she used to attend the social gatherings of the Craft in company with her father , " the Free-