Ideal Freemasonry.

Brother , take him by the hand , lift him up , lead him through life , point him to the skies , make his life better and better to the end . Act justly , love mercy , walk humbly before God , visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction , and keep thyself unspotted from the world . "

May we all listen to that voice , and when we all heed id then shall Freemasonry and Freemasons become—what I have ever thought them to be—the envy and the hope of the world . — " The American Tyler . "

The True Craftsman.

THE TRUE CRAFTSMAN .

THEEE is in the human mind an irresistible desire to adopt some kind of system , follow a custom and emulate example . So apt are we in this respect that we involuntarily become attached to that from which we receive the first impression , and wo thus learn to love and venerate old and familiar things . Who has not been moved by the pathetic song or story of " The Old

Mill , " " The Old Church" or " The Old Homestead , " around which may cluster fond memories of days long gone by ? And who , when in sweet communion with himself , has not found comfort and solace in recalling scenes enacted many , many years ago ? Hence our veneration for the intellectual images we have set up , and our reverence for the quaint , though sometimes

ungrammatical , language we use in our ceremony . In the earliest history of the human race we find a deep-seated desire to adopt forms and ceremonies intended either to please the eye , inform the mind , or teach the heart . Even among the heathen nations , as well as with the move enlightened Hebrews , ceremonies were

both elaborate and important . Freemasonry may not have been understood , or practiced , or even known , prior to our knowledge of its existence in Great Britain , and , save for the satisfaction of the historian , what of it ? But it is all important how it now is and how it should be , and how it now is practiced .

We can trace a clear , denned and unmistakable similarity , an unbroken chain , connecting the operative with the speculative Masonry . The system , the tools and implements of our ancient Brethren have been symbolise ! by the speculative Fraemasonry . Their

quamt customs and language , so dear to every Masonic student , have been adopted by the Craft , and thus , from what was the perfection of an operative system useful as it was extensive , has arisen speculative or symbolic Masonry , which is to-day without a peer , the wonder and admiration of succeeding generations .

The work of our mystic rite , if performed in sincerity and truth , will last throughout eternal ages , because we build a moral structure , whose every stone must be hewn , squared and numbered , according to the cardinal virtues which underlie the indestructable foundations of the Craft . Knit together by the strong ties which unite those of the human race who believe in a

progressive civilisation and the divine origin of mankind , we build a temple who . se foundation is truth , whose corner-stone is charity , and ou whose capstone is inscribed " Holiness to the Lord . " The name " True Craftsman " can only be applied to a Master Mason , for in the symbolic Lodge can only be found the foundation and capstone of Masonry . All other degrees are innovations , invented

and designed from time to time to suit the fancy of those desiring novelty and high-sounding titles . We might properly except the Eoyal Arch , which has been ruthlessly torn from the Master ' s degree , and which was and is and should be a part of it . The legends of Masonry , while attractive and instructive , are subordinate to the symbol . Indeed , the principal figure in the great legend of Freemasonry is itself a symbol of manhood seeking

immortality . But we have an abiding faith in this great belief , which is of infinitely more importance to the Craft , that the " Mystic Temple , " the spirit of Masonry , existed from the foundation of the world ; the sacred altar , whose living fire , sustained by an unseen power , fed by unseen hands , burnt with unfading light and shed its effulgent rays around the very birthplace of the human race .

The " True Craftsman " will commune with himself , applying the square and plummet to his own conduct . He might follow the btaten path with some degree of success , but that will not suffice ; he must do more . He must examine himself , and find not only the qualities that he should encourage and propogate , but also the evils that he should avoid .

He will weigh tbe actions of his fellows in the balance of equity , and judge from reason , rather than prejudice . He will avoid cynicism , that unmanly trait , so blasting in its influence , so subtle in its destructive work . For the cynic never finds the good ,

but is quick to discover that which may be a defect in the character of his brother . Eeligion to the cynic is hypocrisy ; honesty , a pretence ; virtue , simply Avant of opportunity ; purity , a myth . The influence of such a nature is like the biting frost on a tender plant . The " True Craftsman " will avoid him ; he will avoid the tale-beaier wholoveth and maketh a lie ; he will not lend himself

The True Craftsman.

to aught that will bring sorrow or wrong upon any member of the human race . The " True Craftsman " will be quick to promote the good of others , as he does not possess a selfish nature , but cultivates a noble generosity , expelling all bitter , envenomed thoughts , whose deadly poison , like the burnished adder , would destroy the noblest work of God . He will cultivate a liberal , broad minded

disposition . No sectarian dogma will circumscribe bis development , no shallow knowledge or rudimentary religion retard his growth . He believes in the great truths of God and nature in their purest form . May his standard advance , his temples rise , until faith , justice , truth , charity , and fraternal love encompass with their benign influence the utmost ends of the universe . — John Stewart Past Grand Master N . Y ., in the " Keystone . "

Upon The Level.

UPON THE LEVEL .

f "** pHE great Fraternity of Masons are said to meet upon the 1 level , to be bound together by chains of " indissoluble affection , " to practice charity and to be actuated in their dealings by a spirit of toleration , forbearance and Brotherly love . This is the profession . In the Lodge room it is claimed that all differences of race and opinion are forgotton . That Jew and

Gentile , Baptist and Presbyterian , Episcopalian and Methodist are lost in the common " Brother . " If this was actually the case the world would be better off , and Masonry would be as a

city set upon a hill . But such is not always the case . Unfortunately we see many things that prove the mere profession of these holy principles , and not near so much possession as there should be .

In a Lodge not long ago , a certain well-qualified Brother was elected Master . Immediately two Brothers , who had been leaders at one time , and who happened to be on the side of the minority , asked to be dropped from the roll . Meeting upon the level ? Acting with Brotherly love ? Leaving the Fraternity because they

could not have their way ? Is that the tie that binds so closely ? Theory should never be at variance with practice . He learns his lessons poorly who forgets out of the Lodge that he has obligations devolving upon him which his very living in the world demands that he fulfil . It is not enough to say to a hungry

Brother go and be fed , and yet not tell him where to go or provide a means for feeding . The theory of this " Level " business is grand beyond the power of words to express , and if practice went hand in hand with theory , as it should , then would we all be happier and better . —" New York Dispatch . "

Honours To The Dead.

HONOURS TO THE DEAD .

DID it ever strike you , Brothers , that this part of our Masonic duty is being sadly neglected ? Did it ever strike you that our funeral honours , as at present conducted , that is as regards numbers , is becoming a " hollow mockery ? " Did it ever strike you that we are fast drifting into the ways of the world , and that

the day is not far distant when only wealth , station or extreme popularity will insure enough to fill the stations in case of a funeral ? Did it ever strike you that you are doing violence to your own conscience by making all sorts of trivial excuses for your absence at the funeral obsequies of a Brother ? In short , did it

ever strike you that you are violating your duty by not paying proper respect to the memory of our dead ? Of course it has , and you never see your Lodge called for this purpose and you voluntarily absent yourself that your conscience does not upraid you for

it . There are times , we know , when it is impossible to attend to this sacred duty , but that those times should continually occur , and to ninety per cent , of the membership of a Lodge at the same time , we do not believe anything of the sort , and neither do you . — " Memphis Appeal . "

Bro . Lewis H . Jackson , of Delaware , says the brightest and most impressive worker should confer the degrees , and that he should be Master . He " has seen the incongruity of a beardless youth , scarcely over twenty-one years of age , conferring the degree on a mature man of learning and refinement in such a manner that disgust was inevitable . " Bro . Drummond , of Maine , says ,

" we were called upon to instal as Grand Chaplain a Brother of about double our age , of high standing as a man , and a minister , and the incongruity of the situation almost overcame us , and we think that it occurred to him also ; at any rate , as we invested him with his jewel , in place of the charge , added only , ' we shall look

to you to point to heaven , and lead the way , he flashed upon us a look of half surprise , followed by a smile , for an instant , and then , as if appreciating the appeal made to him , the tears came to his eyes as he whispered , in a tone audible only to us , ' God helping me . '"