Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The V. W. Bro. W. H. White, Grand Secretary.
with that confused prolixity which denotes the fatuity and inordinate self-esteem of old age ; but as to the value of the information acquired , it may be considered essentially homeopathic , —the dose being trul y infinitessimal .
A learned barrister , of the name of PARKER , once arguing before the Court of Queen ' s Bench in Dublin , so elaborated and mystified his case as to tickle the fancy of CURRAN ( the celebrated wit of the Irish bar ) who thereupon wrote the following pasquinade , — " By the powers ! For two hours
, ( The time thus taken to explore , ) Mister Parker Makes that darker Which was dark enough before . " Something like this may be said of our Grand ( Edipus : he shakes his head ( but which like Lord Burleigh ' s , has nothing in it)—looks
oracular , —and then in a mass of twaddle , spiced with irrelevant and ancient references , leaves you in Cimmerian darkness and about as wise as , — you were before .
Old age , per se , is not offensive to the feelings nor calculated to repel the sympathies of our nature : on the contrary , it enlists the generous sentiments and affections when found to be actuated by fraternal ingenuous and disinterested motives ; but in proportion to our admiration of these qualities , so must our disgust be measured at the noisomeness of senility pandering to prejudice , and the aged impotence of desire dallying with the possession of perverted power .
The duty of a Grand Secretary ought to be purely ministerial and executive : he should know no " party , " be influenced by no prejudices , actuated at all times by a lofty sense of impartiality , and determined to make his conduct the reflex of the views and opinions of the Grand Lodge .
Having recorded these general truisms more with a view to the benefit of those whom they may concern than for any novelty of doctrine , we proceed to remark that our Brother White has enjoyed the office he now holds for about forty years , during which time it may be said Masonry has not flourished with him , but in spite of him . As artists ambitious of putting before the public a portrait solely distinguished for
a frappant likeness , it would be treason to our high trust , were we knowingly , to conceal any blemish which , as faithful delineators , ought by us to be put on the canvass . We are here not to disguise , but to publish the truth ; and in the execution of the trust confided to us , we
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The V. W. Bro. W. H. White, Grand Secretary.
with that confused prolixity which denotes the fatuity and inordinate self-esteem of old age ; but as to the value of the information acquired , it may be considered essentially homeopathic , —the dose being trul y infinitessimal .
A learned barrister , of the name of PARKER , once arguing before the Court of Queen ' s Bench in Dublin , so elaborated and mystified his case as to tickle the fancy of CURRAN ( the celebrated wit of the Irish bar ) who thereupon wrote the following pasquinade , — " By the powers ! For two hours
, ( The time thus taken to explore , ) Mister Parker Makes that darker Which was dark enough before . " Something like this may be said of our Grand ( Edipus : he shakes his head ( but which like Lord Burleigh ' s , has nothing in it)—looks
oracular , —and then in a mass of twaddle , spiced with irrelevant and ancient references , leaves you in Cimmerian darkness and about as wise as , — you were before .
Old age , per se , is not offensive to the feelings nor calculated to repel the sympathies of our nature : on the contrary , it enlists the generous sentiments and affections when found to be actuated by fraternal ingenuous and disinterested motives ; but in proportion to our admiration of these qualities , so must our disgust be measured at the noisomeness of senility pandering to prejudice , and the aged impotence of desire dallying with the possession of perverted power .
The duty of a Grand Secretary ought to be purely ministerial and executive : he should know no " party , " be influenced by no prejudices , actuated at all times by a lofty sense of impartiality , and determined to make his conduct the reflex of the views and opinions of the Grand Lodge .
Having recorded these general truisms more with a view to the benefit of those whom they may concern than for any novelty of doctrine , we proceed to remark that our Brother White has enjoyed the office he now holds for about forty years , during which time it may be said Masonry has not flourished with him , but in spite of him . As artists ambitious of putting before the public a portrait solely distinguished for
a frappant likeness , it would be treason to our high trust , were we knowingly , to conceal any blemish which , as faithful delineators , ought by us to be put on the canvass . We are here not to disguise , but to publish the truth ; and in the execution of the trust confided to us , we