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Article NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. ← Page 3 of 3
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Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.
It is not improbable that George Holmes might have read the Sentimental Journey , for he was a man well versed in literature as ivell as in science and art . " At this period of universal information , " he writes , " while the historic and descriptive pages of the most distant climes are unfolded to our view , are we not naturall y to suppose those parts nearest the heart of the empire , through which a great portion of its life blood flows , should be intimately known ? Yet , strange to say , Ireland , which , for a space of six hundred years and morehas been politically connected withand continues to be
, , a powerful ancl valuable gem , in the crown of Great Britain , is less known to the people of England , in general , than the most remote regions . " And he might have quoted , as a proof of his assertion , the keen and careful observer , Laurence Sterne , travelling to France to find an illustration of what his native country was equally capable of supplying , as the interesting extract I have given abundantly proves . M y truly poetic friend , the late Charles Swain , has sweetly sung : —
" AVe oft destroy the present joy For future hopes—and praise them ; Whilst flowers as sweet bloom at our feet , If we 'd but stoop to raise them ! For things afar still sweetest are When youth's bright spell hath bound us ; But soon we ' re taught that earth has naught Like Home and Friends around us !''
And so it is : we traverse the globe for ivhat could more easily be found at home ; ive seek for pleasures beyond our reach , instead of enjoying those at our command ; we sigh for great opportunities to do good , instead of attending to the urgent calls for aid all around us ; and live and die like fools , rather than true philosophers , whose souls are constantly permeated ivith the Masonic feeling of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man , whatever his country , colour , or caste .
I hai'e received the fifty-fifth Annual Report of the Whitb y Literary and Philosophical Society , from ivhich I am glad to learn that their reall y interesting museum has been patronised by a greater number of visitors than before ; the sum taken for admission being £ 25 , ivhich , at sixpence each , represents one thousand visitors ; but , as servants and children are admitted for half-price , may probably hai'e been paid by a greiter number . Visitors to the sea-side too few of them have intellects sufficientl y developed
to appreciate a museum like that at Whitby , or it would be a disgrace to them to have visited that romantic watering-place for a few days without having seen its valuable collection of fossils , shells , stuffed birds , and other curiosities , such as perhaps no other town of its size in England can equal . From the number of learned ancl gifted men AVIIO have formerly belonged to , as well as those who now are members of this excellent institution , the nobility , clergy , and gentry of North Yorkshire should all be proud
to belong to it ; for no man is entitled to honour from his social position who does not prove by his actions that his tastes are much higher than those of the vulgar herd , and that he is ivilling to aid any good effort for cultivating a love of literature , science , and art . I notice the title page contains a vignette of the ancient Egyptian obelisk known as Cleopatra ' s Needle , recently brought to this country by the liberality of Bro , Erasmus Wilson and the skill of Bro . Dixon , I hope , ivhen fixed upondts proper basis ,
it Avill be Avelcomed to England by such a Masonic gathering as has never before been ivitnessed in the streets of London ; for that will certainly be a most opportune occasion to shoiv to the uninitiated , as ivell as to our Brothers of the Craft , that the Speculative Masons of the Present have not qiute cut all connection ivith their Operative Brethren of the Past . Rose Cottage , Stokesley .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes On Literature, Science, And Art.
It is not improbable that George Holmes might have read the Sentimental Journey , for he was a man well versed in literature as ivell as in science and art . " At this period of universal information , " he writes , " while the historic and descriptive pages of the most distant climes are unfolded to our view , are we not naturall y to suppose those parts nearest the heart of the empire , through which a great portion of its life blood flows , should be intimately known ? Yet , strange to say , Ireland , which , for a space of six hundred years and morehas been politically connected withand continues to be
, , a powerful ancl valuable gem , in the crown of Great Britain , is less known to the people of England , in general , than the most remote regions . " And he might have quoted , as a proof of his assertion , the keen and careful observer , Laurence Sterne , travelling to France to find an illustration of what his native country was equally capable of supplying , as the interesting extract I have given abundantly proves . M y truly poetic friend , the late Charles Swain , has sweetly sung : —
" AVe oft destroy the present joy For future hopes—and praise them ; Whilst flowers as sweet bloom at our feet , If we 'd but stoop to raise them ! For things afar still sweetest are When youth's bright spell hath bound us ; But soon we ' re taught that earth has naught Like Home and Friends around us !''
And so it is : we traverse the globe for ivhat could more easily be found at home ; ive seek for pleasures beyond our reach , instead of enjoying those at our command ; we sigh for great opportunities to do good , instead of attending to the urgent calls for aid all around us ; and live and die like fools , rather than true philosophers , whose souls are constantly permeated ivith the Masonic feeling of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man , whatever his country , colour , or caste .
I hai'e received the fifty-fifth Annual Report of the Whitb y Literary and Philosophical Society , from ivhich I am glad to learn that their reall y interesting museum has been patronised by a greater number of visitors than before ; the sum taken for admission being £ 25 , ivhich , at sixpence each , represents one thousand visitors ; but , as servants and children are admitted for half-price , may probably hai'e been paid by a greiter number . Visitors to the sea-side too few of them have intellects sufficientl y developed
to appreciate a museum like that at Whitby , or it would be a disgrace to them to have visited that romantic watering-place for a few days without having seen its valuable collection of fossils , shells , stuffed birds , and other curiosities , such as perhaps no other town of its size in England can equal . From the number of learned ancl gifted men AVIIO have formerly belonged to , as well as those who now are members of this excellent institution , the nobility , clergy , and gentry of North Yorkshire should all be proud
to belong to it ; for no man is entitled to honour from his social position who does not prove by his actions that his tastes are much higher than those of the vulgar herd , and that he is ivilling to aid any good effort for cultivating a love of literature , science , and art . I notice the title page contains a vignette of the ancient Egyptian obelisk known as Cleopatra ' s Needle , recently brought to this country by the liberality of Bro , Erasmus Wilson and the skill of Bro . Dixon , I hope , ivhen fixed upondts proper basis ,
it Avill be Avelcomed to England by such a Masonic gathering as has never before been ivitnessed in the streets of London ; for that will certainly be a most opportune occasion to shoiv to the uninitiated , as ivell as to our Brothers of the Craft , that the Speculative Masons of the Present have not qiute cut all connection ivith their Operative Brethren of the Past . Rose Cottage , Stokesley .