Masonry Religious And Patriotic.

During an age when science wandered not forth into the world ' s general darkness ; when virtue was a word seldom used , save in the absurd refinements of the schoolmen , it was in these Lodgr-s that the votaries of learning , truth and virfae trimmed tleir lone lamps in secrecy and sileiic .

During the reign of Henry the Sixth the Bishop of Winchester made a Hew , and for a time , a successful attack upon the Fraternity . But that monarch , for the purpose of ascertaining its real character , was himself initiated into tho mysteries , atd so highly gratified was he

with the puro morality nnd elevated principles inculcated , that he drew up iu hia own handwriting a series of questions and answers respecting the nature and tendency of Freemasonry , and vindicating the Order from all the charges of its enemies . This manuscript was obtained

from the Bodleian library by Locke , who transmitted it to the Earl of Pembroke , with explanatory notes . Such was the character of those questions and answers that _ Locke , after their inspection , determined to join the Order ; he afterwards did so , and became one of its most distinguished members .

Were it not that it would exhaust my own strength and your patience , it would p ' oase me to trace the history of Masonry minutely through those ages in modern Europe , where , ever and anon , the spirit of the arch fiend seems to have been unchained and let loose , fitted for destruction :

times when intestine and foreign war made all Europo one great battlefield . Suffice it , however , that above the turbid waves of that chaos of government , of law , of religion , of all things , the ark of Masonry rode tranquil , like tbe ark of old that floated into safety upon tho surface of the

stormy waters that swept the teaming earth with desolation . And , as of old , the dove returned to that ark bearing the olive leaf , and telling of a curse removed and of a land at rf » st , so , amid the struggles and corruptions of the old world , came the messenger to our temples bearing the

olive-leaf , and telling of a far-off land beyond the swelling waters—a land upon which the God of heaven had lavished His blessings—a virgin land unshackled by the prejudices of "damned custom "—a land in which virtue mi ght replume her wingp , and intellect assume her empire . And

toward that land of promise floated the ark of tho Mason ' s hope—thero in the temples of freedom erected her altars ; and over all that fair land , and here ! hero ! in this broad and fertile valley—here , where but yesterday tbe untaught son of the forest bent his knee toward the burning West ,

and , as the glowing sun veiled itself behind the gold and purple drapery of evening , worshipped in his fitting emblem the great spirit of tbe universe ; even here , hath she erected an altar ! Brethren , see ye that the offerings be pure—that the altar fires burn brightly .

I would that I might pause here—would that the records of our country did not tell of that strange and extraordinary popular excitement which , lashing itself into a political tempest , seemed to shake the walls of the Masonic edifice . But that tempest has now subsided , and it is vain to excuse

the past . It may , indeed , have been a visitation wisely sent , and as the tempest serves to purify the atmosphere , it may have served to pnrify our temple . Masons are but men , and aa too much prosperity nuiy corrupt religion and

debase morality , so it may taint the virtue of our Order , and induce us to forget those pure and sacred lessons which it is the object of Masonry to teach , and the duty of Masons to practise .

The storm has passed over us , but the poison of its breath yet lingers in our moral atmosphere . Why is it ? It is ( with regret I say it ) because Masons have not sustained , and , not sustaining , have not vindicated , the

purity of their principles . And hero let me sketch some of the lessons and duties inculcated by Masonry . And first : no atheist can be a Mason . It is the duty of all not only to recognise , but to reverenc <> , the Great Architect of the Universe—to worship that Almi ghty Power ,

"At whose nod , from discoid and from night Sprang beauty and yon Bparkling woi Ida of light . " He who can look forth npin the mysteries of creation , the teeming earth , which in that creation is but an atom ; the infinity of worlds , which in their appointed orbits move

on "through mazes eccentric , intervolvcd , yet regular , " discoursing in their united harmonies the music of tbe spheres , as his soul aches intoxicated with infinity , sees no being mightier than himself , who dosigned the stupendous whole , and by his power sus ^ ins its vast complexities—

Masonry Religious And Patriotic.

has shut his eyes npon a truth stamped upon the face of the universe . The Mason , whatever land or whatever faith calls him her own , is taught to behold the finger of Deity in all the beautiful and " mysterious designs of his creations . To him

The voiceless lips of flowers are living prcaohera—Each oop a pnlpit—every leaf a book ; Supplying to his fnnoy numerous teacher ? , From loneliest nook .

Midst cloistered boughs , each floral bell that swingetb , And tolls its perfume to tbe passing air , Makes Sabbath in the fields , aud ever ringcth A call to prayer .

Not to the domes , where crumbling nrib aud column Attest the feebleness of mortal hand ; But to that fame , most catholic and solemn , Which God bath planned . To that Cathedral , boundless as onr wonder ,

Whose quenchless lamps the sun aod moon supply ; Its choir the winds and waves , its organ thnnder , Its dome the iky . To the laws under which a Mason lives he is bound to yield obedience . To tho government he is bound to render

his support . It is his duty , as a Mason , to be a good and faithful citizen . Towards his fellow men he is taught to exercise those virtues so . beautifully comprehended within the golden rnle , " Do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you . "

Masons recognise all mankind as brethren , children of common parents ; creatures of the will as one common God . They alone , from time beyond which the memory of man furnishes no record , have recognised that great moral as well as political truth , " that all mankind are

born free and equal . " Towards all they are taught to extend a willing and kindly hand ; to protect the oppressed ; to relieve the needy ; to support ths weak ; to comfort and defend the widow and the orphan . They are taught to practise all the virtues—but , above all , Charity .

The mystic tie that binds a Mason to a brother is one that has its seat in the noblest , the purest , and the deepest feelings of our nature ; while its obligations are subservient

to those which he owes to his God , his country , and himself , they are of such power as to make all true Masons brethren—brethren in the truest and deepest meaning of that sacred word—brethren such as were David and

Jonathan of old—bound together by the ties of a mutual confidence reposed and mutual benefits received—bound together in the pursuit and practice of those virtues which palliate the ills and smooth the rugged paths of life . Strange ! strange it is , that an institution thus calculated

to warm the breast of the patriot and the philanthropist with generous emulation , should have become the object of a spirit of persecution that has had no parallel in the history of our country—a spirit that drank in tho very

gall of bitterness ; which clothed itself in the very garments of destruction—a spirit such as rankled in the bosom of Saul when , on his way to Damascus , be breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord .

In all other countries Masonry has flourished when nations prospered and where mind was free . In every land where learning aud virtue have arisen superior to intolerance and fanaticism , it has been supported by the wise and patronised by the great . Why then , I ask , this

fierce attack which has made its mark upon the history of the last half century ? I will not speak of the demon of ambition that lurked beneath the priestly cloak of political

anti-Masonry . I will not say that those fierce partizans " stole the livery of heaven to serve the devil in . " I will suppose they did it in their ignorance , and meant it not for evil .

But let us examine , for a moment , the points at which they attempted to assail the institution . " The Masonio Fraternity is a secret association , " said they , " and all secret associations are necessarily corrupting . " Now , what is a secret association ? Is it a body of men in

possession of certain secrets which cannot be divulged ? If so , then the Masonic Fraternity is no secret association . It has no mystery so sacred but that every honest and upright man may become tho possessor of it . The doors

of the Masonic Lodge are now , and ' ever have been , open to all the good and the virtuous who now seek , or who have sought , to be initiated into the Masonic mysteries . To the base , the profligate and tho vicious only uw they closed . Millions have entered , and I hope that millions