Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Scotland.
fraternal regard . I feel the more difficulty in doing so , because honours have been , by your kindness , conferred upon me for which I have never been able to make so suitable a return as I could xvish to have done : you have paid me a comp liment which I feel I cau scarcely merit ; but if any is due , my Brethren ought to have it with me , for all have been zealous for the prosperity of our Lodge . For four years I have held the office of Master in this Lodge , the txvo latter of which you have been pleased more particularly to refer to . This , then , is a
mark of confidence and trust which demands from every Brother thus elevated the faithful performance , to the best of his ability , of the duties attached to the office ; and if , during the time I have held office , I may hax-e been successful iu promoting harmony and good-feeling , or in imparting a knoxvledge of Ereemasonry amongst us , I felt a pleasure in doing so , because you have supported my efforts for this desirable object . I may have had opportunities of acquiring a knoxvledge of Ereemasomy which many of you did not possess , and if I have availed myself of those opportunitiesit was not onlfor my own informationbut
, y , also to enable me to impart it to those over xvhom I was placed , being deeply anxious that every member of this Lodge , as well as members of other Lodges who might choose to attend , should have such amount of knoxvledge of Ereemasonry as that , xvherever his lot in life might afterwards be cast , lie might be so able to acquit himself as to reflect credit on the Lodge in which he xvas first admitted a member , or xvhich afforded him instruction . Axvare of the value of knoxvledge myself , I have been solicitous that my Brethren might participate with equal advantage , if they chose to avail themselves of itand if what I have endeavoured to communicate
; be beneficial and useful to those xvho have received it , my most sanguine xvishes are realized . In this I had no other aim in viexv beyond that of conscientiously performing my duty ; your approval of my conduct at the time I should quit it being an ample reward . Never did I imagine , nor xvas I vain enough to think , that a simple act of duty on my part would have been , by the fraternal regard of my Brethren , magnified into oue of service , and the result so handsome a present as has now been tendered me at my termination of office .
To you , then , my older Brethren , —you xvho xvitnessed my first admission , and xvhose successive votes have placed me in the position I lately quitted , and whose friendly and fraternal regard—notwithstanding my many short-comings—has never for a moment abated toxvards me , and xvho noxv , as the keystone of that friendship , have contributed to this memorial—to you this debt of gratitude is due and is tendered , not xvith the formality of lip-service , but from the deepest recesses of a heart fully alive to your continued kindness . To younger members , and to those I have assisted to admit xvithin the Masonic
bond , to you also my grateful and warmest thanks are due and are given ; that you with our more limited acquaintance should , in conjunction xvith your older Brethren , have deemed me xvorthy of contributing to this token , is to me a source of sincere pleasure . I do not know the extent of obligation I owe you individually , because , till now , I have been kept in ignorance of your proceedings ; had I known in time I certainly xvould have interfered , deeming your approbation of my conduct sufficient rexvard . Think not , however , I undervalue this proof of esteem on the contraryI prize it the more hihly . No gift to ine
your ; , g could be more valuable , coming as it does from a body of men I so deeply esteem , and xvith whom I have been so long and so intimately connected ; ancl believe me , I fully appreciate the delicacy of your proceedings , xvhile it is pleasing to reflect , that to judge from its value , I have more true friends here than ever I anticipated . I have been enthusiastic in favour of Ereemasonry because I love it , and have felt its influences on my mind ; its antiquity has a claim to our respect . In no human institution is there so xvide a for the cultivation of those virtues
range that elevate the mind as in the Masonic . It xvas the birthplace of those arts and sciences that now illuminate the world . Its principles are love to Gocl , the Author of our being , and love to our fellow-man . The virtues recommended for our rule and xvalk through life , and xvhich we ought to practise , are benevolence , temperance , fortitude , prudence , justice , honour , mercy , faith , hope , and charity . Those virtues , if we act up to them , xvill tend to make us wiser and better mon , to live peaceably xvith all men , and prepare us for another and better xvorld .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Scotland.
fraternal regard . I feel the more difficulty in doing so , because honours have been , by your kindness , conferred upon me for which I have never been able to make so suitable a return as I could xvish to have done : you have paid me a comp liment which I feel I cau scarcely merit ; but if any is due , my Brethren ought to have it with me , for all have been zealous for the prosperity of our Lodge . For four years I have held the office of Master in this Lodge , the txvo latter of which you have been pleased more particularly to refer to . This , then , is a
mark of confidence and trust which demands from every Brother thus elevated the faithful performance , to the best of his ability , of the duties attached to the office ; and if , during the time I have held office , I may hax-e been successful iu promoting harmony and good-feeling , or in imparting a knoxvledge of Ereemasonry amongst us , I felt a pleasure in doing so , because you have supported my efforts for this desirable object . I may have had opportunities of acquiring a knoxvledge of Ereemasomy which many of you did not possess , and if I have availed myself of those opportunitiesit was not onlfor my own informationbut
, y , also to enable me to impart it to those over xvhom I was placed , being deeply anxious that every member of this Lodge , as well as members of other Lodges who might choose to attend , should have such amount of knoxvledge of Ereemasonry as that , xvherever his lot in life might afterwards be cast , lie might be so able to acquit himself as to reflect credit on the Lodge in which he xvas first admitted a member , or xvhich afforded him instruction . Axvare of the value of knoxvledge myself , I have been solicitous that my Brethren might participate with equal advantage , if they chose to avail themselves of itand if what I have endeavoured to communicate
; be beneficial and useful to those xvho have received it , my most sanguine xvishes are realized . In this I had no other aim in viexv beyond that of conscientiously performing my duty ; your approval of my conduct at the time I should quit it being an ample reward . Never did I imagine , nor xvas I vain enough to think , that a simple act of duty on my part would have been , by the fraternal regard of my Brethren , magnified into oue of service , and the result so handsome a present as has now been tendered me at my termination of office .
To you , then , my older Brethren , —you xvho xvitnessed my first admission , and xvhose successive votes have placed me in the position I lately quitted , and whose friendly and fraternal regard—notwithstanding my many short-comings—has never for a moment abated toxvards me , and xvho noxv , as the keystone of that friendship , have contributed to this memorial—to you this debt of gratitude is due and is tendered , not xvith the formality of lip-service , but from the deepest recesses of a heart fully alive to your continued kindness . To younger members , and to those I have assisted to admit xvithin the Masonic
bond , to you also my grateful and warmest thanks are due and are given ; that you with our more limited acquaintance should , in conjunction xvith your older Brethren , have deemed me xvorthy of contributing to this token , is to me a source of sincere pleasure . I do not know the extent of obligation I owe you individually , because , till now , I have been kept in ignorance of your proceedings ; had I known in time I certainly xvould have interfered , deeming your approbation of my conduct sufficient rexvard . Think not , however , I undervalue this proof of esteem on the contraryI prize it the more hihly . No gift to ine
your ; , g could be more valuable , coming as it does from a body of men I so deeply esteem , and xvith whom I have been so long and so intimately connected ; ancl believe me , I fully appreciate the delicacy of your proceedings , xvhile it is pleasing to reflect , that to judge from its value , I have more true friends here than ever I anticipated . I have been enthusiastic in favour of Ereemasonry because I love it , and have felt its influences on my mind ; its antiquity has a claim to our respect . In no human institution is there so xvide a for the cultivation of those virtues
range that elevate the mind as in the Masonic . It xvas the birthplace of those arts and sciences that now illuminate the world . Its principles are love to Gocl , the Author of our being , and love to our fellow-man . The virtues recommended for our rule and xvalk through life , and xvhich we ought to practise , are benevolence , temperance , fortitude , prudence , justice , honour , mercy , faith , hope , and charity . Those virtues , if we act up to them , xvill tend to make us wiser and better mon , to live peaceably xvith all men , and prepare us for another and better xvorld .