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Table Of Contents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS .
PAGE THE BRETT TESTIMONIAL DINNER ... 73 and 74 ANCIENT AND M ODERN MYSTERIES ... ' ... 74 THE CRAFTMetropolitan 75 Provincial 75 and 76
Scotland ? 6 Foreign 7 6 ROYAL ARCHMetropolitan 76 and 77 Provincial '••• 77 Scotland 77 MARK MASONRY 77
CONSECRATION OF THE FINSBURY PARK LODGE ... 77 A MASONIC SONG 77 BIRTHS , MARRIAGES , AND DEATHS 78 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 78 A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ... 78 and 79 MULTUM IN PARVO 79 ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE ... So BRO . J ACOB NORTON AND THE PROVINCIAL
GRAND MASTER OF AMERICA 80 and Si PEACE 81 LEAVES FROM MY LIBRARY Si MASONIC MEETINGS FOR NEXT "WEEK 82
The Brett Testimonial Dinner.
THE BRETT TESTIMONIAL DINNER .
Every one has heard of the maxim Palmam qui meruit feral , and every Freemason will concur in the opinion that to few brethren will the saying more justly apply than to Bro . James Brett , in whose honour one hundred and thirty prominent members of the Craft , assembled
together at the Cannon-street Hotel , on Monday last . Some months ago the Masonic friends of this estimable brother felt that the time had arrived to recognise the able services which he has rendered to his brother Masons , as a preceptor in the various ceremonies of the Order .
A committee was therefore formed , of which Bro . W . R . Woodman , AT . D ., P . M . 66 , and Z . 33 , was Chairman ; and Bro . H . G . Buss , P . M . 27 , P . Z . 177 , Treasurer ; Bros . R . Wentworth Little , P . M . and P . Z . 975 , and R . ^ Tanner , P . M ., 177 , being the Hon . Secretaries , and at a
subsequent period , Bro . D . R . Still , J . D ., 1293 , was added to the secretarial staff . The result of their exertions will be found recorded below , and it is therefore unnecessary to dwell upon it here , but a few remarks as to the singularly distinguished
Masonic career of Bro . Brett , will doubtless be acceptable to our readers . Bro . James Brett , was initiated in the Domatic Lodge , No . 177 , on the nth September , 1854 , and attained the position of W . M . in 1858 . He was exalted in the Domatic Chapter on the 25 th March
in the latter year , and was installed as M . E . Z in March , 186 3 , Since that period more especially he has been a star in the Order , we may instance his exertions as the founder and first Z . of the Rose of Denmark Chapter , No . 975 , as a founder of the Victoria
Chapter , No . 1056 , and , more recently , the Prudent Brethren Chapter , No . 145 . But it is his peculiar position as a teacher and exemplar of Freemasonry that Bro . Brett ' s services have been most valuable and important . We may almost say—and few have had better
opportunities of judging—that he has inaugurated a new era in Royal Arch Masonry , as its ritual and principles are now well understood and acknowledged mainly through Comp . Brett ' s untiring exertions . By establishing the Metropolitan Lodge of Instruction for the Craft degrees—a
seminary which enjoys a reputation second only to that of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . Bro . Brett has shown his zeal for the Order in general , but in the formation and successful development of the Metropolitan
Chapter of Instruction he has evinced more than zeal ; he has brought rare ability and wondrous aptitude to the task of really making Royal Arch Masons , who were hitherto only nominal members of the Order of the H . R . A .
Last year a just tribute of respect was paid to his merits when the Grand Master appointed Bro . Brett an Officer of Grand Lodge , and doubtless this year he will be promoted to the
The Brett Testimonial Dinner.
posztioti of Grand Pursuivant . It was in honour of this kind and good Mason that the brethren met together on Monday , and a more felicitous gathering it was never our good fortune to attend . The chair was occupied by Bro . W . Carpenter , P . M . and P . Z . 177 , who was supported on his
right by the guest of the evening , Bro . Brett , and on his left by Bro . R . Wentworth Little , Prov . G . Sec , Middlesex ; R . Tanner , P . M . 177 ; G . Kenning , S . W . 192 and 1293 ; D . R . Still , Hon . Sec . ; A . A . Pendlebury , 1056 ; & c , & c . After grace had been said , the chairman proposed ,
in succession , " The Queen and the Craft , " " The Earl of Zetland , Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons , " " Tlie Prince of Wales , Past Grand Master of Masons , and the rest of the Royal Family , " and "The Earl de Grey and Ripon , Deputy Grand Master , and the rest of the Grand
Officers , " all of which were most cordially responded to by the brethren . The Honorary Secretary , Bro . ROBERT WENTWORTH LITTLE , then read several communications received from absent brethren , assigning the cause of their absence , and expressingtheirheartyapproval
of the object of the gathering . The CHAIRMAN then again rose , and said : As ingenuousness is one of the Masonic virtues , I shall not conceal from you the fact , that although I feel what may , I hope , be deemed a pardonable degree of pride and gratification in having been named to
preside on this occasion , I am not guilty of any affectation in saying that I would gladly have forgone this feeling to have escaped from a position which I feel myself totally unable to occupy as it should bc occupied . ( No , no ) . I am here , however , and leaving those who have placed me here to bear the
responsibility of so doing , I must do the best I can , trusting to your forbearance and indulgence , and your acceptance of the will for the deed . ( Hear , hear ) . It has been said by our great poet , that some are born great , some achieve greatness , and some have greatness thrust upon them . I know in
which of these three categories I would choose to be found , supposing that I could get a place in either . But if it is not permitted to one to achieve greatness , the gratification next to that which must result from such an achievement , is the gratification of being permitted to take part in doing honour to
one who has . ( Hear , hear ) . It is this secondary gratification that is mine this evening . We have met together to do honour to one who has achieved greatness , not in the field , not in the senate , not inthe regions of abstract , mental , or physical science ; but
if his achievements have been unattended by the dangers of the field , unaccompanied by the applause of the senate , and unconnected with the profound investigations and experiments ofthe philosopherif they will not ensure a place for his name on that scroll of fame which is exhibited in the face of all
men , and in all times—they have been effected in a circle so wide that its members are spread over the four quarters ofthe globe , and which has its records and journals so widely circulated and read , that one need not hesitate to say , there is hardly a spot in the civilised world where the name of James
Brett is not known , respected , and admired . ( Applause ) . I have placed our Bro . Brett amongst men who have achieved greatness , and I am sure that none here will object to that , whatever the outside world , which knows not Masonry , might do . ( Hear , hear . ) What is greatness ? Is it confined to the
exclusive circles of arms , of statecraft , of the fine arts , or of science , or of literature ? No . Are none great but those who walk in the sunshine of royal or of popular favour , or whose names are written , or are to be written on the page of history ? Oh , yes , greatness is pre-eminence in anything
( Hear , hear ) . 'I here are great rogues —( laughter , )—and great fools , and great bores—I hope I may not be found one to-night —( Laughter , and " No , no ) , " as there is great honesty , great wisdom , and great intelligence , I place our liro . Brett amongst the great men who arc also the good and the
useful ; amongst those who have achieved an estimable greatness ,- and you will not object to that —( cheers ) for on what account is it that wc honour him ? Not for his genial temper , his social amiability , nor his good looks —( laughter)—although these arc all good qualities , and arc duly appreciated by us . Nor
do wc honour him for his acquirements in Masonry , great as they arc . We know that a man may have all knowledge , but that without charity he is nothing . By charity , I do not mean almsgiving , though that may be included . I mean that quality which is kind , gentle , easy to be entreated ; not puffed up or rendered arrogant by the possession of knowledge ,
butwhilc assiduous in acquiring it , equally assiduous in imparting it to others —( cheers)—that is true charity . The man who acquires anything , however largely , and keeps it himself , is not a great man , but a selfish and so far a contemptible one . We do not admire and honour the miser brooding over his gold . ( Cheers . ) Well , then , I say it is not for his acquirements , his large knowledge of Masonry , that
The Brett Testimonial Dinner.
I call him great ; but for his readiness to communicate all he has acquired to others . It is as one who has acquired knowledge largely , and who freely communicates it to others , striving tc make them as learned as himself , that we honour him as one who has achieved greatness . ( Cheers . ) Does not a man ' s labour in this field of usefulness entitle
him to be esteemed great ? "What is Freemasonry ? A system of morality . What are its distinguishing characteristics ? " Brotherly love , relief , and truth . " And is not the teacher and promulgator of such principles and practices , teaching and inculcating
them indefatigably and without fee or reward , to be honoured as a great man ? And such a man is Bro . Brett . ( Cheers ) . Most of you—probably all of youknow him , and you can , many of you , better estimate the extent and value of his labours than I can . For
my own part , I look upon what I may call the high vocation of Bro . Brett—that is , ofanunfeed preceptor in Masonry—as one of the most honourable vocations to which a man can devote the time he may find after discharging , his ordinary duties ; duties which he owes to himself , to his family , and to society at large . ( Cheers . ) To be of any utility ,
Masonry must be studied , and its principles be understood and cherished , and acted upon . ( Hear , hear ) . The Mason who is satisfied with passing through the several degrees , which he may do without any mental labour , or is satisfied with acquiring as much knowledge as will carry him through the respective offices of his lodge , doing nothing
for others but in a course of routine , is no Mason , in the proper sense of the word . ( Hear , hear ) . He is a mere cumberer of the ground . He fails to fulfil the requirements of his obligations , unless , indeed , he has good cause to show for his abstentation . He must do good and communicatehe must achieve something for others as well as
for himself , or he is no true Mason . In the school of Pythagoras , it was a point of discipline , that if , among the akoustikoi , or practitioners , there were any who grew weary of studying to be useful , and returned to an idle life , they were to regard them as dead , and upon their departing they were to perform their obsequies , and raise them tombs ,
with inscriptions to warn others of the like mortality , and quicken them to lift their souls above that wretched state . I fear we should have many such monuments in Masonry if each of us had what wc really merit . ( Hear ) . But it is not for me to deliver a homily on the duties and obligations of Masonry , though I may bc permitted to suggest
to my younger brethren , that Masonry opens to them a career of usefulness—one in which , if they make a good start and persevere to the end , they may not only do great good to others , but reap similar honours to those we have this evening met
to confer , if they do not always take the same form . ( Cheers ) . Brethren , if we look abroad into the world , especially into some parts of the worldand not far from our own homes—there are moments in which we feel wearied similarly to the amiable Cowper , when he wrote that touching
passage—Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness , Some boundless contiguity of shade , W'here rumour of oppression and deceit Might never reach me more !
Nevertheless , that is not the part of a wise man , whose feelings are held under the control of his judgment . A life of seclusion and inaction is not for us . We arc sent into this world to work—if not to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow , at least to cat our bread in the sweat of our brow . Our destiny is to work , not for ourselves only , but
for others . And what a world would this become if wc helped and served each other as we should do ; if "brotherly love , relief and truth , " universally prevailed ! The desert and the waste would be glad , and the wilderness rejoice and flourish , like the rose it would bloom abundantly ; and exult with joy and rejoicing . ( Hear , hear ) . Let us do each
his part towards effecting so glorious a transformation , by following those who , like our Brother Brett , liot only exemplify in their conduct the true principles of Masonry , but labour heartily and effectively to impress this duty on the minds of others , by leading them into the arcana of the Craft , and developing and instructing their symbolic significance . ( Cheers ) .
" Lives of great men all remind us Wc may make our lives sublime , And departing , leave behind us , Footprints in the sands of time . " Footprints which perhaps another , Sailing o ' er life ' s troubled main , Some forlorn and shipwrecked brother , Seeing , shall take heart again .
" Art is long , and time is fleeting , And our hearts though strong and brave , Still , like mufllcd drums , arc beating Funeral marches to the grave . " Let us , then , be up and doing , With a heart for any fate ; Still achieving , still pursuing , Learn to labour , and to-wait . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Table Of Contents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS .
PAGE THE BRETT TESTIMONIAL DINNER ... 73 and 74 ANCIENT AND M ODERN MYSTERIES ... ' ... 74 THE CRAFTMetropolitan 75 Provincial 75 and 76
Scotland ? 6 Foreign 7 6 ROYAL ARCHMetropolitan 76 and 77 Provincial '••• 77 Scotland 77 MARK MASONRY 77
CONSECRATION OF THE FINSBURY PARK LODGE ... 77 A MASONIC SONG 77 BIRTHS , MARRIAGES , AND DEATHS 78 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 78 A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ... 78 and 79 MULTUM IN PARVO 79 ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE ... So BRO . J ACOB NORTON AND THE PROVINCIAL
GRAND MASTER OF AMERICA 80 and Si PEACE 81 LEAVES FROM MY LIBRARY Si MASONIC MEETINGS FOR NEXT "WEEK 82
The Brett Testimonial Dinner.
THE BRETT TESTIMONIAL DINNER .
Every one has heard of the maxim Palmam qui meruit feral , and every Freemason will concur in the opinion that to few brethren will the saying more justly apply than to Bro . James Brett , in whose honour one hundred and thirty prominent members of the Craft , assembled
together at the Cannon-street Hotel , on Monday last . Some months ago the Masonic friends of this estimable brother felt that the time had arrived to recognise the able services which he has rendered to his brother Masons , as a preceptor in the various ceremonies of the Order .
A committee was therefore formed , of which Bro . W . R . Woodman , AT . D ., P . M . 66 , and Z . 33 , was Chairman ; and Bro . H . G . Buss , P . M . 27 , P . Z . 177 , Treasurer ; Bros . R . Wentworth Little , P . M . and P . Z . 975 , and R . ^ Tanner , P . M ., 177 , being the Hon . Secretaries , and at a
subsequent period , Bro . D . R . Still , J . D ., 1293 , was added to the secretarial staff . The result of their exertions will be found recorded below , and it is therefore unnecessary to dwell upon it here , but a few remarks as to the singularly distinguished
Masonic career of Bro . Brett , will doubtless be acceptable to our readers . Bro . James Brett , was initiated in the Domatic Lodge , No . 177 , on the nth September , 1854 , and attained the position of W . M . in 1858 . He was exalted in the Domatic Chapter on the 25 th March
in the latter year , and was installed as M . E . Z in March , 186 3 , Since that period more especially he has been a star in the Order , we may instance his exertions as the founder and first Z . of the Rose of Denmark Chapter , No . 975 , as a founder of the Victoria
Chapter , No . 1056 , and , more recently , the Prudent Brethren Chapter , No . 145 . But it is his peculiar position as a teacher and exemplar of Freemasonry that Bro . Brett ' s services have been most valuable and important . We may almost say—and few have had better
opportunities of judging—that he has inaugurated a new era in Royal Arch Masonry , as its ritual and principles are now well understood and acknowledged mainly through Comp . Brett ' s untiring exertions . By establishing the Metropolitan Lodge of Instruction for the Craft degrees—a
seminary which enjoys a reputation second only to that of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . Bro . Brett has shown his zeal for the Order in general , but in the formation and successful development of the Metropolitan
Chapter of Instruction he has evinced more than zeal ; he has brought rare ability and wondrous aptitude to the task of really making Royal Arch Masons , who were hitherto only nominal members of the Order of the H . R . A .
Last year a just tribute of respect was paid to his merits when the Grand Master appointed Bro . Brett an Officer of Grand Lodge , and doubtless this year he will be promoted to the
The Brett Testimonial Dinner.
posztioti of Grand Pursuivant . It was in honour of this kind and good Mason that the brethren met together on Monday , and a more felicitous gathering it was never our good fortune to attend . The chair was occupied by Bro . W . Carpenter , P . M . and P . Z . 177 , who was supported on his
right by the guest of the evening , Bro . Brett , and on his left by Bro . R . Wentworth Little , Prov . G . Sec , Middlesex ; R . Tanner , P . M . 177 ; G . Kenning , S . W . 192 and 1293 ; D . R . Still , Hon . Sec . ; A . A . Pendlebury , 1056 ; & c , & c . After grace had been said , the chairman proposed ,
in succession , " The Queen and the Craft , " " The Earl of Zetland , Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons , " " Tlie Prince of Wales , Past Grand Master of Masons , and the rest of the Royal Family , " and "The Earl de Grey and Ripon , Deputy Grand Master , and the rest of the Grand
Officers , " all of which were most cordially responded to by the brethren . The Honorary Secretary , Bro . ROBERT WENTWORTH LITTLE , then read several communications received from absent brethren , assigning the cause of their absence , and expressingtheirheartyapproval
of the object of the gathering . The CHAIRMAN then again rose , and said : As ingenuousness is one of the Masonic virtues , I shall not conceal from you the fact , that although I feel what may , I hope , be deemed a pardonable degree of pride and gratification in having been named to
preside on this occasion , I am not guilty of any affectation in saying that I would gladly have forgone this feeling to have escaped from a position which I feel myself totally unable to occupy as it should bc occupied . ( No , no ) . I am here , however , and leaving those who have placed me here to bear the
responsibility of so doing , I must do the best I can , trusting to your forbearance and indulgence , and your acceptance of the will for the deed . ( Hear , hear ) . It has been said by our great poet , that some are born great , some achieve greatness , and some have greatness thrust upon them . I know in
which of these three categories I would choose to be found , supposing that I could get a place in either . But if it is not permitted to one to achieve greatness , the gratification next to that which must result from such an achievement , is the gratification of being permitted to take part in doing honour to
one who has . ( Hear , hear ) . It is this secondary gratification that is mine this evening . We have met together to do honour to one who has achieved greatness , not in the field , not in the senate , not inthe regions of abstract , mental , or physical science ; but
if his achievements have been unattended by the dangers of the field , unaccompanied by the applause of the senate , and unconnected with the profound investigations and experiments ofthe philosopherif they will not ensure a place for his name on that scroll of fame which is exhibited in the face of all
men , and in all times—they have been effected in a circle so wide that its members are spread over the four quarters ofthe globe , and which has its records and journals so widely circulated and read , that one need not hesitate to say , there is hardly a spot in the civilised world where the name of James
Brett is not known , respected , and admired . ( Applause ) . I have placed our Bro . Brett amongst men who have achieved greatness , and I am sure that none here will object to that , whatever the outside world , which knows not Masonry , might do . ( Hear , hear . ) What is greatness ? Is it confined to the
exclusive circles of arms , of statecraft , of the fine arts , or of science , or of literature ? No . Are none great but those who walk in the sunshine of royal or of popular favour , or whose names are written , or are to be written on the page of history ? Oh , yes , greatness is pre-eminence in anything
( Hear , hear ) . 'I here are great rogues —( laughter , )—and great fools , and great bores—I hope I may not be found one to-night —( Laughter , and " No , no ) , " as there is great honesty , great wisdom , and great intelligence , I place our liro . Brett amongst the great men who arc also the good and the
useful ; amongst those who have achieved an estimable greatness ,- and you will not object to that —( cheers ) for on what account is it that wc honour him ? Not for his genial temper , his social amiability , nor his good looks —( laughter)—although these arc all good qualities , and arc duly appreciated by us . Nor
do wc honour him for his acquirements in Masonry , great as they arc . We know that a man may have all knowledge , but that without charity he is nothing . By charity , I do not mean almsgiving , though that may be included . I mean that quality which is kind , gentle , easy to be entreated ; not puffed up or rendered arrogant by the possession of knowledge ,
butwhilc assiduous in acquiring it , equally assiduous in imparting it to others —( cheers)—that is true charity . The man who acquires anything , however largely , and keeps it himself , is not a great man , but a selfish and so far a contemptible one . We do not admire and honour the miser brooding over his gold . ( Cheers . ) Well , then , I say it is not for his acquirements , his large knowledge of Masonry , that
The Brett Testimonial Dinner.
I call him great ; but for his readiness to communicate all he has acquired to others . It is as one who has acquired knowledge largely , and who freely communicates it to others , striving tc make them as learned as himself , that we honour him as one who has achieved greatness . ( Cheers . ) Does not a man ' s labour in this field of usefulness entitle
him to be esteemed great ? "What is Freemasonry ? A system of morality . What are its distinguishing characteristics ? " Brotherly love , relief , and truth . " And is not the teacher and promulgator of such principles and practices , teaching and inculcating
them indefatigably and without fee or reward , to be honoured as a great man ? And such a man is Bro . Brett . ( Cheers ) . Most of you—probably all of youknow him , and you can , many of you , better estimate the extent and value of his labours than I can . For
my own part , I look upon what I may call the high vocation of Bro . Brett—that is , ofanunfeed preceptor in Masonry—as one of the most honourable vocations to which a man can devote the time he may find after discharging , his ordinary duties ; duties which he owes to himself , to his family , and to society at large . ( Cheers . ) To be of any utility ,
Masonry must be studied , and its principles be understood and cherished , and acted upon . ( Hear , hear ) . The Mason who is satisfied with passing through the several degrees , which he may do without any mental labour , or is satisfied with acquiring as much knowledge as will carry him through the respective offices of his lodge , doing nothing
for others but in a course of routine , is no Mason , in the proper sense of the word . ( Hear , hear ) . He is a mere cumberer of the ground . He fails to fulfil the requirements of his obligations , unless , indeed , he has good cause to show for his abstentation . He must do good and communicatehe must achieve something for others as well as
for himself , or he is no true Mason . In the school of Pythagoras , it was a point of discipline , that if , among the akoustikoi , or practitioners , there were any who grew weary of studying to be useful , and returned to an idle life , they were to regard them as dead , and upon their departing they were to perform their obsequies , and raise them tombs ,
with inscriptions to warn others of the like mortality , and quicken them to lift their souls above that wretched state . I fear we should have many such monuments in Masonry if each of us had what wc really merit . ( Hear ) . But it is not for me to deliver a homily on the duties and obligations of Masonry , though I may bc permitted to suggest
to my younger brethren , that Masonry opens to them a career of usefulness—one in which , if they make a good start and persevere to the end , they may not only do great good to others , but reap similar honours to those we have this evening met
to confer , if they do not always take the same form . ( Cheers ) . Brethren , if we look abroad into the world , especially into some parts of the worldand not far from our own homes—there are moments in which we feel wearied similarly to the amiable Cowper , when he wrote that touching
passage—Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness , Some boundless contiguity of shade , W'here rumour of oppression and deceit Might never reach me more !
Nevertheless , that is not the part of a wise man , whose feelings are held under the control of his judgment . A life of seclusion and inaction is not for us . We arc sent into this world to work—if not to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow , at least to cat our bread in the sweat of our brow . Our destiny is to work , not for ourselves only , but
for others . And what a world would this become if wc helped and served each other as we should do ; if "brotherly love , relief and truth , " universally prevailed ! The desert and the waste would be glad , and the wilderness rejoice and flourish , like the rose it would bloom abundantly ; and exult with joy and rejoicing . ( Hear , hear ) . Let us do each
his part towards effecting so glorious a transformation , by following those who , like our Brother Brett , liot only exemplify in their conduct the true principles of Masonry , but labour heartily and effectively to impress this duty on the minds of others , by leading them into the arcana of the Craft , and developing and instructing their symbolic significance . ( Cheers ) .
" Lives of great men all remind us Wc may make our lives sublime , And departing , leave behind us , Footprints in the sands of time . " Footprints which perhaps another , Sailing o ' er life ' s troubled main , Some forlorn and shipwrecked brother , Seeing , shall take heart again .
" Art is long , and time is fleeting , And our hearts though strong and brave , Still , like mufllcd drums , arc beating Funeral marches to the grave . " Let us , then , be up and doing , With a heart for any fate ; Still achieving , still pursuing , Learn to labour , and to-wait . "