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Article GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD WILL TOWARDS MAN. ← Page 2 of 2 Article ROUGH NOTES ON CHRISTMAS. Page 1 of 1 Article ROUGH NOTES ON CHRISTMAS. Page 1 of 1 Article THEN AND NOW AND THEN. Page 1 of 2 Article THEN AND NOW AND THEN. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Glory To God In The Highest, Peace On Earth, Good Will Towards Man.
with the petty attractions of needless mystery , and inocuous organisation . But Freemasonry , differing in this from all other similar associations that we know of , has outlived the . " ravages 6 f time , " the decay of nations , the revolutions of empires , and the vicissitudes of the world , and
still preserves , often to the marvel of the profane , the striking conditions of vigour , popularity , and great material prosperity It has been denounced but still it flourishes , it has been excommunicated , but still it is to the fore ,- it has been ridiculed , but it laughs at its satirists ; it has been
persecuted , but here it is , more genial than ever . Seeming paradox ! and yet the explanation of its vitality as well as of its success , its historical existence , and its actual value is to be found , probably , in this , that it has incorporated and does incorporate in its earthly organization the
Divine chant and glorious truth proclaimed b y the angels at Bethlehem . For Freemasonry , let us remember , is in itself purely un controversial and peace making . It ignores the controversies and conflicts of men , it denounces all tendencies to intolerance and persecution , it separates its
members for a time from the din of contending parties , or the war cries of excited combatants , and it unfurls over us al ! its famous banner , on which are inscribed in talismanic letters of gold , " Glory to God , and Peace to man . " If indeed , in its progress it has sometimes to confront the
violent outbreaks of unreasoning fanaticism , its declaration at once is " Defence not defiance ¦ " it does not seek to prolong argument of any kind from a love of disputation , or a desire to say hard words of any one , but simply because , in its opinion , it is bound to bear witness for the
truth , it is incumbent upon it to uphold the sacred rig hts of relig ious liberty , aud the undying privilege of conscientious conviction . It inculcates hostility , or anger , or bitter feelings , for hone , neither its open adversaries , nor its secret
calumniators . Its message and mission are a message and mission of love to man , and as the world goes on its way , it repeats from year to year , in gentle voice and pleasant presence , " Glory to God in the highest , and on earth peace , good will towards men . "
Rough Notes On Christmas.
ROUGH NOTES ON CHRISTMAS .
A MONDAY CHRISTMAS . —Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year . It fell on a Monday also in 186 . *; , and on that occasion the following was unearthed from , it was stated , the Harleian MSS ., No . __ - ;_ , folio it ; .-4 : —
If Christmas Day on Monday be , A great winter that year you'll see , And full of winds both loud and shrill ; But in summer , truth to tell , High winds shall there be , and strong-, Full of tempests lasting long- ;
While battles they shall multiply , And great plenty of beasts shall die . They that be born that day , I ween , They shall be strong each one and keen ; He shall be found that stealeth aught ; Tho' thou be sick , thou dieth not .
The year 1866 was the year ofthe Austro-Prussian war , a year of disastrous gales , and a year of cattle plague . Again in 1871 Christmas Day fell on a Monday . The twelvemonth following that day saw us with cattle plague in the north
and some great storms ; but as to " battles , we must go back a few months in 1871 for the capitulation of Paris and the conflict with the Commune . We have now a Monday Christmas for the third time within a dozen years . What is to come next ?
In " Poor Robin ' s Almanac , " for thc year 16 95 , occurs the following lines : — Now ihricc welcome , Christmas , which brings us good cheer , Minced pics and plum . porridge , good ale and strong beer , With pig , goose , and capon , the best that mav be ,
So well doth the weather and our stomachs agree . Observe how thc chimneys do smoke all about , r _ e cooks are providing for dinners , no doubt , But those on whose tables no victuals appear , Oh , may they keep Lent all thc rest of thc year I
With holly and ivy so green and so gay , Wc deck up our houses as fresh as the day ; With bays and rosemary , and laurel complete , And everyone now is a king in conceit . But as for curmudgeons , who will not be free , I ** -ish they may die on the three-legged tree .
Rough Notes On Christmas.
Some of us may recall the old verse , — A merry Christmas and a happy new year , Your pockets full of money and your cellars full of beer . The Mistletoe , that great Institution of the
Christmas festivity , was the sacred Plant of the Druids , and the " meeting of the lips" is said by a very ancient chronicler to be even then of " verie earlie datt . " Curious consistency of human nature , as a poet laureate has well said , — .
For those kiss now who never kissed before , And those who kissed of old now kiss the more . An ill-natured young man in our office says , " This refers to old maids and ladies of a certain age , " which we do not believe , and emphatically deny . We prefer the more joyous refrain ofthe young poet , who some think is the " coming
Rosy lips are meeting , And hearts are filled with bliss ; Such joys of life are fleeting , But far too sweet to miss . But we are too old to take part in such follies ourselves , which we must leave to the young men
and can only say we wish our readers , old and younj * -, male and female , pretty and plain , thin and stout , short and tall , fare ye well , a merry Christmas for their , all . Bright eyes and sunny faces surround your mistletoe , and young men , though you are rather slow , take care to improve the occasion . CCELEBS .
Then And Now And Then.
THEN AND NOW AND THEN .
CHRISTMAS—How the very sound of its name used to set our young hearts bounding in our bosom ; even the thought of that joyous season BY BRO . REV . W . TEBBS .
would cause our pulses to quicken at the anticipation of the joys it had in store for us ; but now—alas ! how changed it all is . Why , when we were boys we can remember being awakened on St . Thomas' Eve by the merry measures of
the Waits , whose [ very breath we knew was pretty-well freezing to their instruments whilst we , snugly tucked up in our warm and cosy beds , were almost ready to jump out of our skins with delight , or at least out of our beds , and with youthful glee extemporise a triumphal dance at
the prospect o : the " good time coming . " And on Christmas Eve how welcome were the strains of " Adeste Fideles" and "Christmas day in the Morning . " And , when as the old church clock struck the hour of midnight out burst the merry peal from the belfry tower , ushering in
"The joyful morn , "When Christ was born . " And then—But now , how changed are all these things , we growl at the Waits for a band
of half-tipsy revellers deserving of the stocks , had they not passed away with many another most excellent institution , and commend the ringers to Bedlam , for breaking in upon our hard-earned rest , and dispelling
that "kindly sleep" which visits but too seldom our aching toil-worn heads . How wofull y changed all these must be ; how altered to what they were in our youthful days , that they should produce feelings in us this night so different to
the feelings inspired by them in the night in that long-ago . Day dawns after the night of broken sleep , and we call to mind the joyous awakening in those days that are passed away , and our
successful search in the shoe placed , over night in anticipation of the visit of " Father Christmas ; " but this morning , as we hear the door softl y open overhead , followed by the gleeful shout of the children as they unpack their Christmas
gifts , so carefully placed by the loving mother in the dead of night to gladden the young ones ' hearts on this " morn of morns , " we cannot understand this noisy mirth evoked by these now " unconsidered trifles , " and we mournfully ejacu .
late "how changed these things must be . " But stay awhile , are we sure that these things are changed ? have we not elsewhere to seek for these altered feelings ? Yes , indeed , and this elsewhere is not far off , for it is in ourselves . Little things pleased us then , for wa had not
Then And Now And Then.
been sated with the garish and delusive pleasures of the world . Pleasures indeed . ' Oh what a mine of trouble , and sorrow , and anguish , and regret , does not their bare memory recall , and we look back to the happy past and our " old
song ever haunts us "— "Oh ! would I were again a child . " Patience , sad heart , yet a little while , and even this shall be . Turn we now to the world around us , and everywhere and on everything is stamped this mark of change . Well may we
ask—* ' 0 why was England , ' merrie ' call'd , I pray you tell me why ? Because Old England merry was , In merry times gone by ' . She knew no dearth of honest mirth To cheer both son and sire , But keep it up o ' er wassail cup Around the Christmas fire . "
And what ? we would know , is this " honest mirth" which our poet treats as the essence of his answer . We need hardly ask , if we onl y look back to the picture presented by a Christmas then . The old Manor Hall is li ghted up with immense Christmas candles , and the company
is gathered round the large fire burning on the hearth ; apples are being roasted on strings and allowed to fall , as done , into huge bowls of spiced ale which , will in due time be passed round as " wassail , " or the Christmas loving-cup . Presently with great ceremony is hauled in the
huge yule log , which is banded at intervals with nine iron bonds . As each band is burnt off a wassail-bowl goes round . At last comes the supper , in which furmity forms the principal dish . Meanwhile , in many parts , the orchards have been duly "wassailed " in order
that a good store of fruit may be harvested in the year to come . The morning breaks , and after early matins , the " fine old English gentle man , " standing at ihis gates , superintends the distribution of the Christmas dole to his poorer neighbours . During the morning all the tenants
and retainers are welcomed to what is really "open-house . " At the dinner the raised boar ' s head is served up with much ceremony , followed by brawn and chine . goose and capon , and then on the board smokes the pudding of theyear . Space
will not suffice to tell of the maskers and mummers , liege-servants , one and all , of the Lord of Misrule ; of the spirit and games j of the frolic and the revelry but this we know that ' good will was at its height , for
" England was merry England , when Old Christmas brought his sports again . 'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale , 'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale ; A Christmas gambol oft could cheer The poor man ' s heart through half the year . "
And now—True the Manor has its revels yet ; still is there feasting (!) for the lowl y too ; bu 6 , how obtained ? Let us here draw a veil over the picture , so oft repeated , of the goose club for the poor go at once to the reason in the pride met by independence (!); in short , in the severance
of class from class , as if at least on this night of the year all could not meet to share in the joys of an English Christmastide . Let us , however , not despair ; England shall be " merrie England " yet again ; ours be it meanwhile to aid in bringing about this glorious consummation of
brotherly love by pouring oil upon the waters of class and party strife , and by disseminating the principles of that " peace on earth , " which is the harbinger of " good will ' mongst men . " Truly no happier day will dawn in England than when these class prejudices shall have been for ever
cast aside , when master and man shall again recognise that their interests are mutual , whether it be for hard work in the week , for worship on God ' s day , or for festive mirth when one and all shall together welcome in the well-earned , wellenjoyed festivities of a good old-fashioned English Christmastide .
And we too , gentle reader , may truly and well rejoice in the glorious prospect , for by the time that that happy day shall have dawned o ! er the land of our birth , we shall be , as we Have often longed , " children once again "—children , maybe , for the second time , in the eventide of life , when this rude world ' s buffets , shall be welj nigh
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Glory To God In The Highest, Peace On Earth, Good Will Towards Man.
with the petty attractions of needless mystery , and inocuous organisation . But Freemasonry , differing in this from all other similar associations that we know of , has outlived the . " ravages 6 f time , " the decay of nations , the revolutions of empires , and the vicissitudes of the world , and
still preserves , often to the marvel of the profane , the striking conditions of vigour , popularity , and great material prosperity It has been denounced but still it flourishes , it has been excommunicated , but still it is to the fore ,- it has been ridiculed , but it laughs at its satirists ; it has been
persecuted , but here it is , more genial than ever . Seeming paradox ! and yet the explanation of its vitality as well as of its success , its historical existence , and its actual value is to be found , probably , in this , that it has incorporated and does incorporate in its earthly organization the
Divine chant and glorious truth proclaimed b y the angels at Bethlehem . For Freemasonry , let us remember , is in itself purely un controversial and peace making . It ignores the controversies and conflicts of men , it denounces all tendencies to intolerance and persecution , it separates its
members for a time from the din of contending parties , or the war cries of excited combatants , and it unfurls over us al ! its famous banner , on which are inscribed in talismanic letters of gold , " Glory to God , and Peace to man . " If indeed , in its progress it has sometimes to confront the
violent outbreaks of unreasoning fanaticism , its declaration at once is " Defence not defiance ¦ " it does not seek to prolong argument of any kind from a love of disputation , or a desire to say hard words of any one , but simply because , in its opinion , it is bound to bear witness for the
truth , it is incumbent upon it to uphold the sacred rig hts of relig ious liberty , aud the undying privilege of conscientious conviction . It inculcates hostility , or anger , or bitter feelings , for hone , neither its open adversaries , nor its secret
calumniators . Its message and mission are a message and mission of love to man , and as the world goes on its way , it repeats from year to year , in gentle voice and pleasant presence , " Glory to God in the highest , and on earth peace , good will towards men . "
Rough Notes On Christmas.
ROUGH NOTES ON CHRISTMAS .
A MONDAY CHRISTMAS . —Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year . It fell on a Monday also in 186 . *; , and on that occasion the following was unearthed from , it was stated , the Harleian MSS ., No . __ - ;_ , folio it ; .-4 : —
If Christmas Day on Monday be , A great winter that year you'll see , And full of winds both loud and shrill ; But in summer , truth to tell , High winds shall there be , and strong-, Full of tempests lasting long- ;
While battles they shall multiply , And great plenty of beasts shall die . They that be born that day , I ween , They shall be strong each one and keen ; He shall be found that stealeth aught ; Tho' thou be sick , thou dieth not .
The year 1866 was the year ofthe Austro-Prussian war , a year of disastrous gales , and a year of cattle plague . Again in 1871 Christmas Day fell on a Monday . The twelvemonth following that day saw us with cattle plague in the north
and some great storms ; but as to " battles , we must go back a few months in 1871 for the capitulation of Paris and the conflict with the Commune . We have now a Monday Christmas for the third time within a dozen years . What is to come next ?
In " Poor Robin ' s Almanac , " for thc year 16 95 , occurs the following lines : — Now ihricc welcome , Christmas , which brings us good cheer , Minced pics and plum . porridge , good ale and strong beer , With pig , goose , and capon , the best that mav be ,
So well doth the weather and our stomachs agree . Observe how thc chimneys do smoke all about , r _ e cooks are providing for dinners , no doubt , But those on whose tables no victuals appear , Oh , may they keep Lent all thc rest of thc year I
With holly and ivy so green and so gay , Wc deck up our houses as fresh as the day ; With bays and rosemary , and laurel complete , And everyone now is a king in conceit . But as for curmudgeons , who will not be free , I ** -ish they may die on the three-legged tree .
Rough Notes On Christmas.
Some of us may recall the old verse , — A merry Christmas and a happy new year , Your pockets full of money and your cellars full of beer . The Mistletoe , that great Institution of the
Christmas festivity , was the sacred Plant of the Druids , and the " meeting of the lips" is said by a very ancient chronicler to be even then of " verie earlie datt . " Curious consistency of human nature , as a poet laureate has well said , — .
For those kiss now who never kissed before , And those who kissed of old now kiss the more . An ill-natured young man in our office says , " This refers to old maids and ladies of a certain age , " which we do not believe , and emphatically deny . We prefer the more joyous refrain ofthe young poet , who some think is the " coming
Rosy lips are meeting , And hearts are filled with bliss ; Such joys of life are fleeting , But far too sweet to miss . But we are too old to take part in such follies ourselves , which we must leave to the young men
and can only say we wish our readers , old and younj * -, male and female , pretty and plain , thin and stout , short and tall , fare ye well , a merry Christmas for their , all . Bright eyes and sunny faces surround your mistletoe , and young men , though you are rather slow , take care to improve the occasion . CCELEBS .
Then And Now And Then.
THEN AND NOW AND THEN .
CHRISTMAS—How the very sound of its name used to set our young hearts bounding in our bosom ; even the thought of that joyous season BY BRO . REV . W . TEBBS .
would cause our pulses to quicken at the anticipation of the joys it had in store for us ; but now—alas ! how changed it all is . Why , when we were boys we can remember being awakened on St . Thomas' Eve by the merry measures of
the Waits , whose [ very breath we knew was pretty-well freezing to their instruments whilst we , snugly tucked up in our warm and cosy beds , were almost ready to jump out of our skins with delight , or at least out of our beds , and with youthful glee extemporise a triumphal dance at
the prospect o : the " good time coming . " And on Christmas Eve how welcome were the strains of " Adeste Fideles" and "Christmas day in the Morning . " And , when as the old church clock struck the hour of midnight out burst the merry peal from the belfry tower , ushering in
"The joyful morn , "When Christ was born . " And then—But now , how changed are all these things , we growl at the Waits for a band
of half-tipsy revellers deserving of the stocks , had they not passed away with many another most excellent institution , and commend the ringers to Bedlam , for breaking in upon our hard-earned rest , and dispelling
that "kindly sleep" which visits but too seldom our aching toil-worn heads . How wofull y changed all these must be ; how altered to what they were in our youthful days , that they should produce feelings in us this night so different to
the feelings inspired by them in the night in that long-ago . Day dawns after the night of broken sleep , and we call to mind the joyous awakening in those days that are passed away , and our
successful search in the shoe placed , over night in anticipation of the visit of " Father Christmas ; " but this morning , as we hear the door softl y open overhead , followed by the gleeful shout of the children as they unpack their Christmas
gifts , so carefully placed by the loving mother in the dead of night to gladden the young ones ' hearts on this " morn of morns , " we cannot understand this noisy mirth evoked by these now " unconsidered trifles , " and we mournfully ejacu .
late "how changed these things must be . " But stay awhile , are we sure that these things are changed ? have we not elsewhere to seek for these altered feelings ? Yes , indeed , and this elsewhere is not far off , for it is in ourselves . Little things pleased us then , for wa had not
Then And Now And Then.
been sated with the garish and delusive pleasures of the world . Pleasures indeed . ' Oh what a mine of trouble , and sorrow , and anguish , and regret , does not their bare memory recall , and we look back to the happy past and our " old
song ever haunts us "— "Oh ! would I were again a child . " Patience , sad heart , yet a little while , and even this shall be . Turn we now to the world around us , and everywhere and on everything is stamped this mark of change . Well may we
ask—* ' 0 why was England , ' merrie ' call'd , I pray you tell me why ? Because Old England merry was , In merry times gone by ' . She knew no dearth of honest mirth To cheer both son and sire , But keep it up o ' er wassail cup Around the Christmas fire . "
And what ? we would know , is this " honest mirth" which our poet treats as the essence of his answer . We need hardly ask , if we onl y look back to the picture presented by a Christmas then . The old Manor Hall is li ghted up with immense Christmas candles , and the company
is gathered round the large fire burning on the hearth ; apples are being roasted on strings and allowed to fall , as done , into huge bowls of spiced ale which , will in due time be passed round as " wassail , " or the Christmas loving-cup . Presently with great ceremony is hauled in the
huge yule log , which is banded at intervals with nine iron bonds . As each band is burnt off a wassail-bowl goes round . At last comes the supper , in which furmity forms the principal dish . Meanwhile , in many parts , the orchards have been duly "wassailed " in order
that a good store of fruit may be harvested in the year to come . The morning breaks , and after early matins , the " fine old English gentle man , " standing at ihis gates , superintends the distribution of the Christmas dole to his poorer neighbours . During the morning all the tenants
and retainers are welcomed to what is really "open-house . " At the dinner the raised boar ' s head is served up with much ceremony , followed by brawn and chine . goose and capon , and then on the board smokes the pudding of theyear . Space
will not suffice to tell of the maskers and mummers , liege-servants , one and all , of the Lord of Misrule ; of the spirit and games j of the frolic and the revelry but this we know that ' good will was at its height , for
" England was merry England , when Old Christmas brought his sports again . 'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale , 'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale ; A Christmas gambol oft could cheer The poor man ' s heart through half the year . "
And now—True the Manor has its revels yet ; still is there feasting (!) for the lowl y too ; bu 6 , how obtained ? Let us here draw a veil over the picture , so oft repeated , of the goose club for the poor go at once to the reason in the pride met by independence (!); in short , in the severance
of class from class , as if at least on this night of the year all could not meet to share in the joys of an English Christmastide . Let us , however , not despair ; England shall be " merrie England " yet again ; ours be it meanwhile to aid in bringing about this glorious consummation of
brotherly love by pouring oil upon the waters of class and party strife , and by disseminating the principles of that " peace on earth , " which is the harbinger of " good will ' mongst men . " Truly no happier day will dawn in England than when these class prejudices shall have been for ever
cast aside , when master and man shall again recognise that their interests are mutual , whether it be for hard work in the week , for worship on God ' s day , or for festive mirth when one and all shall together welcome in the well-earned , wellenjoyed festivities of a good old-fashioned English Christmastide .
And we too , gentle reader , may truly and well rejoice in the glorious prospect , for by the time that that happy day shall have dawned o ! er the land of our birth , we shall be , as we Have often longed , " children once again "—children , maybe , for the second time , in the eventide of life , when this rude world ' s buffets , shall be welj nigh