-
Articles/Ads
Article THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN. ← Page 2 of 2 Article A MYSTERY OF LOVE. Page 1 of 2 Article A MYSTERY OF LOVE. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Prodigal's Return.
members are regarded with such feelings as cause actual alarm to the more peaceable section among
them , and arouses a desire on their part to adopt measures which will show them in their true light , and divest them of the scorn which is drawn down upon the name of Freemasonry by their turbulent companions . The need for reform in this direction
is most pressing , and no operation should be regarded as too risky which seems likely to have a successful issue . "Under such circumstances is it too much to ask the English Brotherhood to look upon the failings of their French neighbours with feelings somewhat akin to those which prevail in the outer world at the present moment , when peace and goodwill towards all mankind is , or should bo , the aim of every one ?
It may be many years before the disease which has attacked Freemasonry in France is wholly eradicated , but let us hope the time is not far distant when energetic steps will be taken to get at the root of thc evil , and restore tho name of France to the roll of the Masonic family . There are thousands of true Masons in all parts of thc globe who would delight
m welcoming Dacii tne prodigals to tne loid ; tnoy would even go far to fetch them , and would willingly make sacrifices if they would bo any good ; but the first step must be taken by the prodigals themselves . For tlio moment the whole question must rest , as it has long done , in tho hands of tho loyal minority of French Freemasons , to whom we havo much pleasure
m tendering our good wishes , with the sincere hope that ere the year closes on which we are about to start , something like a return to old friendship may have been secured , and a blot on the banner of Freemasonry thereby removed .
A Mystery Of Love.
A MYSTERY OF LOVE .
Being thc Story and the Vision of James Jasper . I AM an old man , now , and it all happened more than fifty years ago . I am an old man , with an old man's faith , waiting for the new man's knowledge that I shall find beyond tho end of this transitory life , one of these swiftly coming days . Soon , I shall see Paul Parker again ,
and shall know from his living lips , in a world into which death has never entered and into which ifc never can , the last , lesson of tho mystery of the divine love of which his earthly life and his untimely end have been , to me , the strongest of reminders for more that half a century .
Paul Parker was my earliest friend , and in all my long and honourable and honoured life I have never found a
hotter nor a truer one , nor shall I ever , nor can you . I was a nameless waif , a child of tho streets , a boy with no memory of father or mother , when Paul Parker found me . That I breathe God ' s free air , that men call me Honourable James Jasper , that I have so served humanity as to be
ignorant of what it would be to fear to die , is because Paul Parker was wise and good ; and had faith to see farther into the future than any other of all those who knew me could or dared . I recognise , as any sane man must , fche warfare in the human soul between the good and the evil .
I havo known boys whose lives began better than did mine to find theft better than hunger , physical strength better than law , and crime as a profession and a glory better than anything else that life had to offer . Ifc is hard for any man to say of himself , aud I shudder as
I write the words , but I know this to be true : I know that the potentiality of evil in my nature was not less than in tho cases of many who have gone utterly wrong . It is becanse Paul Parker lived—once—and because I knew him and loved him , that I did nofc go ruin ' s reckless way .
Without him , I fear I would have been among the mighty throng of wrongdoers for whom stone walls have been raised and iron-barred barriers built , unless , indeed , I had gone down to the most shameful of deaths , and been forgotten long ago .
Judge James Jasper , grateful for all this , might well and fittingly keep the record of it locked away in his own heart , were it true that he alone could say it . But there are others—many others . Some still live in this world
A Mystery Of Love.
md some have gone into a higher life , there , I doubt not , to thank the man whose virtues I commemorate for the !< ood he did them in their days of need . To save the fallen , serve the needy , confirm the resolutions of the doubting and hesitating , seemed the highest desire of this great and good man .
Paul Parker was a young man—hardly more than one and twenty years of age—when he risked more in his friendship for me , and his faith for me , than most older men would have dared . In one sense , perhaps , it was little , for bettor clothes , cleanliness , a chance to earn something
for one s self by regular hours of labour , cost little more than his firm and unwavering will that it should be so . But to me—and to the world in whioh I have counted for something—it meant all the difference between what has been , and what might have been .
Paul Parker was a Mason whose preparation actually began in his heart . He was a Mason on ' whose mind and conscience the first point he found in his search for the mysteries of the Order made a lasting impression . He had limitles and childlike trust in God . Modestly , but staunchly , he
had faith in humanity and human possibilities , and in himself and his own power as a servant and follower of God . Wealthy , in a large degree , it had not been many months
since he had been as poor and penniless as I , and I think he remembered it when he took my dirty hand into his and said to mo that he could show me safety and honour in a way through the world . >
In those old days I was a lad of fourteen , and I was a young man of but little more than twenty-two when I was called upon to mourn this best of friends . He , so good , so great , so talented , lived among men so short a time—so very short a time .
Paul Parker was a great artist . It is a strong thing to say , but I say it unhesitatingly . Not very widely known , perhaps , for he was only jnsfc started up fame ' s hill towards the heights of renown when God called him to rest beneath the acacia of faith in the lowlands of
forgetfulness , not a man who had won deathless fame , I admit , for men say little of him—and ho walked and worked among them less than half a century ago . But he had an artist ' s soul . In his heart burned the fire of true artistic excellence and worth . Architect , the buildings he planned
have a charm that cold stone and insensate timbers never gave . Sculptor , the marble seemed ready to take on the mystery of life when his chisel had touched it . Painter , he interpreted nature truly . Poet—philosopher—but ho died too young , and too long ago . Had he lived , t fancy
the world would have learned to class him with the great They might have named him with the celebrated one who was lost in the temple in the days when Masonry was young and art new . I so name him and place him , and if age and experience have not yet opened my eyes to wisdom ,
when will they ? I have a picture or two that Paul Parker painted , bought years after his hand wns dust and his heart ashes , and placed in positions of honour among the works of men more noted by far than is he . They do not shame their places . Indeed , the bolder and more
appreciative critics begin to praise my far-seeing wisdom as an investor . They forget the heart I put in my purchases . Bufc they no longer say thafc " Old Judge Jasper can afford to pay -well to gratify any whim . " My friend was a great artist , and , some time the world will agree .
Paul Parker made me a Mason . If more men , such as he , chose and cherished Masonry , we should never need complain of few candidates and little work . You might as well ask the birds to forget to sing in the glory of the dawning of a new day , or the tinkling stream to fail to
leap down the dizzy ledges in its way , as to ask men to delay coming to a Fraternity in which he gave light . I have loved Masonry all my life long , and better than most men do , because his lips spoke the first lessons I had in it . Almost perfect as a ritualist , the words he repeated seemed
none the less his own . Lessons from wisdom—directions and demands from self-centred and self-conscious strength —the graces and adornments of our noble system from the beauty of his own grand soul—it was thus the words ho uttered , the thoughts he spoke , seemed to the waiting
novitiate to come . For him , the way to the middle chamber was the pathway to all knowledge ; for him the desolated temple and the sprig of faith's eternal green
seemed mighty and impressive verities ; for him , the way of life ' s low twelve was the loneliest road that mortal man ever travelled , to come back again unblesfc wifch the gift of change to immortality . I find it easy to believe—
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Prodigal's Return.
members are regarded with such feelings as cause actual alarm to the more peaceable section among
them , and arouses a desire on their part to adopt measures which will show them in their true light , and divest them of the scorn which is drawn down upon the name of Freemasonry by their turbulent companions . The need for reform in this direction
is most pressing , and no operation should be regarded as too risky which seems likely to have a successful issue . "Under such circumstances is it too much to ask the English Brotherhood to look upon the failings of their French neighbours with feelings somewhat akin to those which prevail in the outer world at the present moment , when peace and goodwill towards all mankind is , or should bo , the aim of every one ?
It may be many years before the disease which has attacked Freemasonry in France is wholly eradicated , but let us hope the time is not far distant when energetic steps will be taken to get at the root of thc evil , and restore tho name of France to the roll of the Masonic family . There are thousands of true Masons in all parts of thc globe who would delight
m welcoming Dacii tne prodigals to tne loid ; tnoy would even go far to fetch them , and would willingly make sacrifices if they would bo any good ; but the first step must be taken by the prodigals themselves . For tlio moment the whole question must rest , as it has long done , in tho hands of tho loyal minority of French Freemasons , to whom we havo much pleasure
m tendering our good wishes , with the sincere hope that ere the year closes on which we are about to start , something like a return to old friendship may have been secured , and a blot on the banner of Freemasonry thereby removed .
A Mystery Of Love.
A MYSTERY OF LOVE .
Being thc Story and the Vision of James Jasper . I AM an old man , now , and it all happened more than fifty years ago . I am an old man , with an old man's faith , waiting for the new man's knowledge that I shall find beyond tho end of this transitory life , one of these swiftly coming days . Soon , I shall see Paul Parker again ,
and shall know from his living lips , in a world into which death has never entered and into which ifc never can , the last , lesson of tho mystery of the divine love of which his earthly life and his untimely end have been , to me , the strongest of reminders for more that half a century .
Paul Parker was my earliest friend , and in all my long and honourable and honoured life I have never found a
hotter nor a truer one , nor shall I ever , nor can you . I was a nameless waif , a child of tho streets , a boy with no memory of father or mother , when Paul Parker found me . That I breathe God ' s free air , that men call me Honourable James Jasper , that I have so served humanity as to be
ignorant of what it would be to fear to die , is because Paul Parker was wise and good ; and had faith to see farther into the future than any other of all those who knew me could or dared . I recognise , as any sane man must , fche warfare in the human soul between the good and the evil .
I havo known boys whose lives began better than did mine to find theft better than hunger , physical strength better than law , and crime as a profession and a glory better than anything else that life had to offer . Ifc is hard for any man to say of himself , aud I shudder as
I write the words , but I know this to be true : I know that the potentiality of evil in my nature was not less than in tho cases of many who have gone utterly wrong . It is becanse Paul Parker lived—once—and because I knew him and loved him , that I did nofc go ruin ' s reckless way .
Without him , I fear I would have been among the mighty throng of wrongdoers for whom stone walls have been raised and iron-barred barriers built , unless , indeed , I had gone down to the most shameful of deaths , and been forgotten long ago .
Judge James Jasper , grateful for all this , might well and fittingly keep the record of it locked away in his own heart , were it true that he alone could say it . But there are others—many others . Some still live in this world
A Mystery Of Love.
md some have gone into a higher life , there , I doubt not , to thank the man whose virtues I commemorate for the !< ood he did them in their days of need . To save the fallen , serve the needy , confirm the resolutions of the doubting and hesitating , seemed the highest desire of this great and good man .
Paul Parker was a young man—hardly more than one and twenty years of age—when he risked more in his friendship for me , and his faith for me , than most older men would have dared . In one sense , perhaps , it was little , for bettor clothes , cleanliness , a chance to earn something
for one s self by regular hours of labour , cost little more than his firm and unwavering will that it should be so . But to me—and to the world in whioh I have counted for something—it meant all the difference between what has been , and what might have been .
Paul Parker was a Mason whose preparation actually began in his heart . He was a Mason on ' whose mind and conscience the first point he found in his search for the mysteries of the Order made a lasting impression . He had limitles and childlike trust in God . Modestly , but staunchly , he
had faith in humanity and human possibilities , and in himself and his own power as a servant and follower of God . Wealthy , in a large degree , it had not been many months
since he had been as poor and penniless as I , and I think he remembered it when he took my dirty hand into his and said to mo that he could show me safety and honour in a way through the world . >
In those old days I was a lad of fourteen , and I was a young man of but little more than twenty-two when I was called upon to mourn this best of friends . He , so good , so great , so talented , lived among men so short a time—so very short a time .
Paul Parker was a great artist . It is a strong thing to say , but I say it unhesitatingly . Not very widely known , perhaps , for he was only jnsfc started up fame ' s hill towards the heights of renown when God called him to rest beneath the acacia of faith in the lowlands of
forgetfulness , not a man who had won deathless fame , I admit , for men say little of him—and ho walked and worked among them less than half a century ago . But he had an artist ' s soul . In his heart burned the fire of true artistic excellence and worth . Architect , the buildings he planned
have a charm that cold stone and insensate timbers never gave . Sculptor , the marble seemed ready to take on the mystery of life when his chisel had touched it . Painter , he interpreted nature truly . Poet—philosopher—but ho died too young , and too long ago . Had he lived , t fancy
the world would have learned to class him with the great They might have named him with the celebrated one who was lost in the temple in the days when Masonry was young and art new . I so name him and place him , and if age and experience have not yet opened my eyes to wisdom ,
when will they ? I have a picture or two that Paul Parker painted , bought years after his hand wns dust and his heart ashes , and placed in positions of honour among the works of men more noted by far than is he . They do not shame their places . Indeed , the bolder and more
appreciative critics begin to praise my far-seeing wisdom as an investor . They forget the heart I put in my purchases . Bufc they no longer say thafc " Old Judge Jasper can afford to pay -well to gratify any whim . " My friend was a great artist , and , some time the world will agree .
Paul Parker made me a Mason . If more men , such as he , chose and cherished Masonry , we should never need complain of few candidates and little work . You might as well ask the birds to forget to sing in the glory of the dawning of a new day , or the tinkling stream to fail to
leap down the dizzy ledges in its way , as to ask men to delay coming to a Fraternity in which he gave light . I have loved Masonry all my life long , and better than most men do , because his lips spoke the first lessons I had in it . Almost perfect as a ritualist , the words he repeated seemed
none the less his own . Lessons from wisdom—directions and demands from self-centred and self-conscious strength —the graces and adornments of our noble system from the beauty of his own grand soul—it was thus the words ho uttered , the thoughts he spoke , seemed to the waiting
novitiate to come . For him , the way to the middle chamber was the pathway to all knowledge ; for him the desolated temple and the sprig of faith's eternal green
seemed mighty and impressive verities ; for him , the way of life ' s low twelve was the loneliest road that mortal man ever travelled , to come back again unblesfc wifch the gift of change to immortality . I find it easy to believe—