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Bro. Rowland Gardiner Alston, P.G. W., &C.
BRO . ROWLAND GARDINER ALSTON , P . G . W ., & c .
EMINENCE and worth are not more generally co-existent in Freemasonry , than in any other society . The dispensers of the highest masonic honours appear to be quite as much influenced b y extrinsic considerations , as those who bestow personal distinctions of a more public nature . In the Craft , as well as at Court , there are many , who , observing the preference given to title , expectancy , family prestige , or adventitious
friendship , over humble yet deserving merit , can best console themselves with some such reflections as those made memorable in the outpourings of the poet Burns—the bard of nature—the minstrel of manly independence" For a' that , and a' that , Their dignities , and a' that ,
The pith o' sense , and pride o ' worth , Are higher ranks than a' that . " Yet may we find , on the dais of Grand Lodge , more than one very worshipful brother whose intrinsfc merit sheds greater honour on the position he occupies , than is yielded to him by the purple and gold with which he is personally adorned—more than one of whom it can be said ,
that the inward spirituality of Freemasonry , its moral grace , its growing faith , vastly exceed " the outward and visible sign . " And among these , '' the well and worthil y selected , " we class Bro . Rowland Gardiner Alston .
Oxford ( his alma mater ) rewarded his scholastic labours with the degree of Master of Arts ; and in Oxford he was initiated , and became a Master Mason . It is not , therefore , to be wondered at , that his father , the Prov . Grand Master for Essex , should have promoted him to the dignity of Deputy Prov . Grand Master for that province . The Senior , at the time of making that selection , representing Herts in
parliament , as well as the Grand Lodge in Essex , stood deservedly high in the estimation of the Constituency of the one , and of the Craft resident in the other ; and the reliance he naturally placed in his Son , from an intimate acquaintance with his moral worth , his attainments , and practical qualifications , was soon warmly reciprocated by the fraternity thus happily presided over : —
" Where Sage Experience was repaid By Youthful Talent's ready aid . " Indeed , the masonic regard in which both Sire and Son are held in Essex , cannot be better exemplified than by mentioning the recent consecration of a Chapter , in that province , called , in their honour , " the Alston Chapter . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Bro. Rowland Gardiner Alston, P.G. W., &C.
BRO . ROWLAND GARDINER ALSTON , P . G . W ., & c .
EMINENCE and worth are not more generally co-existent in Freemasonry , than in any other society . The dispensers of the highest masonic honours appear to be quite as much influenced b y extrinsic considerations , as those who bestow personal distinctions of a more public nature . In the Craft , as well as at Court , there are many , who , observing the preference given to title , expectancy , family prestige , or adventitious
friendship , over humble yet deserving merit , can best console themselves with some such reflections as those made memorable in the outpourings of the poet Burns—the bard of nature—the minstrel of manly independence" For a' that , and a' that , Their dignities , and a' that ,
The pith o' sense , and pride o ' worth , Are higher ranks than a' that . " Yet may we find , on the dais of Grand Lodge , more than one very worshipful brother whose intrinsfc merit sheds greater honour on the position he occupies , than is yielded to him by the purple and gold with which he is personally adorned—more than one of whom it can be said ,
that the inward spirituality of Freemasonry , its moral grace , its growing faith , vastly exceed " the outward and visible sign . " And among these , '' the well and worthil y selected , " we class Bro . Rowland Gardiner Alston .
Oxford ( his alma mater ) rewarded his scholastic labours with the degree of Master of Arts ; and in Oxford he was initiated , and became a Master Mason . It is not , therefore , to be wondered at , that his father , the Prov . Grand Master for Essex , should have promoted him to the dignity of Deputy Prov . Grand Master for that province . The Senior , at the time of making that selection , representing Herts in
parliament , as well as the Grand Lodge in Essex , stood deservedly high in the estimation of the Constituency of the one , and of the Craft resident in the other ; and the reliance he naturally placed in his Son , from an intimate acquaintance with his moral worth , his attainments , and practical qualifications , was soon warmly reciprocated by the fraternity thus happily presided over : —
" Where Sage Experience was repaid By Youthful Talent's ready aid . " Indeed , the masonic regard in which both Sire and Son are held in Essex , cannot be better exemplified than by mentioning the recent consecration of a Chapter , in that province , called , in their honour , " the Alston Chapter . "