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Article TO THE EDITOR. ← Page 2 of 2 Article TO THE EDITOR. Page 1 of 2 →
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To The Editor.
Some few years since , when the new temple was in course of erection , the Grand Lodge borrowed of the late Grantl Treasurer several thousand pounds ; which sum was repaid , and all the expenses of the new building defrayed , from the fund of General Purposes , amounting , probably , to ten or eleven thousand pounds . This fund is amply sufficient for our wants , and , after defraying all current expensesshows an annual excess of nearly one thousand pounds !
, and at present its assets are nearly six thousand pounds . It therefore can well bear to part with the sum required , and for such a purpose . My object at present is merely to state tacts , and prevent the Brethren from being misdirected . You may hear from me again . FIDUS .
To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
A FEW WORDS ON REFRESHMENT . SIR , —After the working of the Lodge , it is usual to call the Brethren from labour to refreshment . Far be it from me to wish to arrest the social effusions of the heart , or curtail the amount of that innocent enjoyment for which the soul yearns . I am fully sensible of the exceeding good which results from friendly intercourseand have seen the happiest
, effects from the communion of those choice spirits whose viands are seasoned by the refinement of wit , and the manly and enlightened tone of converse which characterises the mind embued with the hidden mysteries of nature and science . I readily admit this , and am proud fo say that , with but few exceptions , such is the feast which awaits the Mason on retiring from labour to refreshment . Yet still I affirm , in the face of all this acknowledged good , that "it is a custom which
would be more honour'd in the breach than in the observance . " I will endeavour to show sufficient reason for making these observations , and found my opinion upon two points . The first is , the inducement it holds out to protract the hour of separation until a late and
unseasonable time , i his fact requires but very little elucidation ; it is too selfevident—it forces itself too strongly upon us , to admit of any doubt . The fascination of such society as composes a Freemasons' Lodge is of too resistless a nature to allow one to nerve himself entirely against its allurements . To fly from such a festive scene , such a reciprocity of feeling and enjoyment , requires a heart callous to those acute emotions whose exercise elevates and refines the heart , as the sun ' s diffusive beams ive to the crude face of nature its beauty and perfume . It is
g this sense of enjoyment which tempts us to overstep the limits ivhich reason pencils out , and encroach upon that season ivhich ought to be devoted to our families . The wife , disposed to think well of Masonry , revolts at that which keeps the spouse of her bosom from his home during the protracted hours of night ; and the parent , knowing the wiles which are ever spread to entrap the unwary steps of youth , shudders as the hours pass , and the child of his hope returns not . The help-meet
whom God has given us is against the system ; the authors of our being are against it ; we are taught to reverence both . M y next objection is upon the score of charity . Strange that Masons , to whom no one can deny the attribute of charity , should so far overlook that fundamental
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To The Editor.
Some few years since , when the new temple was in course of erection , the Grand Lodge borrowed of the late Grantl Treasurer several thousand pounds ; which sum was repaid , and all the expenses of the new building defrayed , from the fund of General Purposes , amounting , probably , to ten or eleven thousand pounds . This fund is amply sufficient for our wants , and , after defraying all current expensesshows an annual excess of nearly one thousand pounds !
, and at present its assets are nearly six thousand pounds . It therefore can well bear to part with the sum required , and for such a purpose . My object at present is merely to state tacts , and prevent the Brethren from being misdirected . You may hear from me again . FIDUS .
To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
A FEW WORDS ON REFRESHMENT . SIR , —After the working of the Lodge , it is usual to call the Brethren from labour to refreshment . Far be it from me to wish to arrest the social effusions of the heart , or curtail the amount of that innocent enjoyment for which the soul yearns . I am fully sensible of the exceeding good which results from friendly intercourseand have seen the happiest
, effects from the communion of those choice spirits whose viands are seasoned by the refinement of wit , and the manly and enlightened tone of converse which characterises the mind embued with the hidden mysteries of nature and science . I readily admit this , and am proud fo say that , with but few exceptions , such is the feast which awaits the Mason on retiring from labour to refreshment . Yet still I affirm , in the face of all this acknowledged good , that "it is a custom which
would be more honour'd in the breach than in the observance . " I will endeavour to show sufficient reason for making these observations , and found my opinion upon two points . The first is , the inducement it holds out to protract the hour of separation until a late and
unseasonable time , i his fact requires but very little elucidation ; it is too selfevident—it forces itself too strongly upon us , to admit of any doubt . The fascination of such society as composes a Freemasons' Lodge is of too resistless a nature to allow one to nerve himself entirely against its allurements . To fly from such a festive scene , such a reciprocity of feeling and enjoyment , requires a heart callous to those acute emotions whose exercise elevates and refines the heart , as the sun ' s diffusive beams ive to the crude face of nature its beauty and perfume . It is
g this sense of enjoyment which tempts us to overstep the limits ivhich reason pencils out , and encroach upon that season ivhich ought to be devoted to our families . The wife , disposed to think well of Masonry , revolts at that which keeps the spouse of her bosom from his home during the protracted hours of night ; and the parent , knowing the wiles which are ever spread to entrap the unwary steps of youth , shudders as the hours pass , and the child of his hope returns not . The help-meet
whom God has given us is against the system ; the authors of our being are against it ; we are taught to reverence both . M y next objection is upon the score of charity . Strange that Masons , to whom no one can deny the attribute of charity , should so far overlook that fundamental