Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Provincial Brother's Appeal In Favour Of The Aged Masons' Asylum.
the orphan offspring of Masons may be instructed in the varied duties of the several situations to which they have been destined by Divine Providence—and by which they may be rendered , through His blessing , patriotic citizens and exemplary Christians , —is a reflection replete with delight to the heart capable of feeling , and to the head capable of appreciating , in their extended sense , those great cardinal virtues , Faith , Hopeand Charity . WhereI would askis the with " soul
^ , , man , so dead , " who can legard with heart unmoved and eye unmoistened , the glowing spectacle witnessed at our anniversaries , when hundreds of untainted innocents are presented to our view , to whom the invaluable benefits of such institutions have been widely and . liberally extended . And if by the " uninitiated or popular world "—to whom all the rich mysteries of the Fraternity are " a seated book ;"—it by themI saythe success of those societies has been regarded another
, , as link in the adamantine chain of philanthropy and real patriotism , how can he , " who has spent a life amidst the bounties of those mysteries , " watch , with mere cool and calculating eye , the progress of opinions , which demonstrate to all mankind the practical excellence of Masonry ? Having provided for the wants to which infancy and childhood are subjected , it is , in my opinion , somewhat presumptuous to limit that divine
princi ple , and to say that there the progress of Charity shall be arrested . The friendless child , whose parent , in his hour of prosperity and comfort , was the benefactor of those labouring under the many ills " which flesh is heir to , " may , through the efforts of the Girls' and Boys' Schools , be placed in the road to worldly prosperity or domestic bliss ; but , I would ask , —and let every corner of this proud isle of freedom and benevolencere-echo the question " Shall the Aged
, ;—Mason die unmourned or unremembered ? Shall the stream of Charity lave , with its reviving waters , the hel pless and innocent babe , and be stayed when its current approaches the author of his being , who , from the vicissitudes of life , may have hecome the destitute , but still remains the worthy Aged Mason ; and that at a time too , probably , when , in the language of an Holy Man of Antiquity— ' they shall be afraid of
that which is high , and fears shall be in the way /— ' when the grasshopper shall be a burden , and desire shall fail ;'— ' when the silver cord shall be loosed , or the golden bowl be broken , or the pitcher broken at the fountain , or the wheel broken at the cistern , '—preparatory to that great change when the dust shall return to the earth as it was ; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it ? ' Shall he , I would emphatically repeatdie in sickness and in povertywith illow which
, , no p on to rest his care-worn head ; whilst the hand of kindness guides in the path of virtue and faith , the infant child of sorrow ? " Let these questions find their response in the proud assurance " that the Grand Lodge recommend the contemplated Asylum for the worthy Aged and Decayed Freemason to the favourable consideration of the Craft .
With such a recommendation before us , —a " note of confidence" that has found its way into , and been appreciated by our Brethren in , distant climes —is it not extraordinary that any distrust should exist not only as to the practicabl y , but the policy , of carrying this grand design into full effect ? Where is the Angel Spirit of Charity ? Has she winged her flight from the Masonic world , and left behind her no traces of the attributes of her heavenly nature ?
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Provincial Brother's Appeal In Favour Of The Aged Masons' Asylum.
the orphan offspring of Masons may be instructed in the varied duties of the several situations to which they have been destined by Divine Providence—and by which they may be rendered , through His blessing , patriotic citizens and exemplary Christians , —is a reflection replete with delight to the heart capable of feeling , and to the head capable of appreciating , in their extended sense , those great cardinal virtues , Faith , Hopeand Charity . WhereI would askis the with " soul
^ , , man , so dead , " who can legard with heart unmoved and eye unmoistened , the glowing spectacle witnessed at our anniversaries , when hundreds of untainted innocents are presented to our view , to whom the invaluable benefits of such institutions have been widely and . liberally extended . And if by the " uninitiated or popular world "—to whom all the rich mysteries of the Fraternity are " a seated book ;"—it by themI saythe success of those societies has been regarded another
, , as link in the adamantine chain of philanthropy and real patriotism , how can he , " who has spent a life amidst the bounties of those mysteries , " watch , with mere cool and calculating eye , the progress of opinions , which demonstrate to all mankind the practical excellence of Masonry ? Having provided for the wants to which infancy and childhood are subjected , it is , in my opinion , somewhat presumptuous to limit that divine
princi ple , and to say that there the progress of Charity shall be arrested . The friendless child , whose parent , in his hour of prosperity and comfort , was the benefactor of those labouring under the many ills " which flesh is heir to , " may , through the efforts of the Girls' and Boys' Schools , be placed in the road to worldly prosperity or domestic bliss ; but , I would ask , —and let every corner of this proud isle of freedom and benevolencere-echo the question " Shall the Aged
, ;—Mason die unmourned or unremembered ? Shall the stream of Charity lave , with its reviving waters , the hel pless and innocent babe , and be stayed when its current approaches the author of his being , who , from the vicissitudes of life , may have hecome the destitute , but still remains the worthy Aged Mason ; and that at a time too , probably , when , in the language of an Holy Man of Antiquity— ' they shall be afraid of
that which is high , and fears shall be in the way /— ' when the grasshopper shall be a burden , and desire shall fail ;'— ' when the silver cord shall be loosed , or the golden bowl be broken , or the pitcher broken at the fountain , or the wheel broken at the cistern , '—preparatory to that great change when the dust shall return to the earth as it was ; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it ? ' Shall he , I would emphatically repeatdie in sickness and in povertywith illow which
, , no p on to rest his care-worn head ; whilst the hand of kindness guides in the path of virtue and faith , the infant child of sorrow ? " Let these questions find their response in the proud assurance " that the Grand Lodge recommend the contemplated Asylum for the worthy Aged and Decayed Freemason to the favourable consideration of the Craft .
With such a recommendation before us , —a " note of confidence" that has found its way into , and been appreciated by our Brethren in , distant climes —is it not extraordinary that any distrust should exist not only as to the practicabl y , but the policy , of carrying this grand design into full effect ? Where is the Angel Spirit of Charity ? Has she winged her flight from the Masonic world , and left behind her no traces of the attributes of her heavenly nature ?