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Article ARE YOU A MASTER MASON ? Page 1 of 5 →
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Are You A Master Mason ?
ARE YOU A MASTER MASON ?
BY . BRO M . EOUNSEVILLE . "From the Masonic Advocate . " A FEIEND gives the following history of the incidents which occurred during a journey - * - * - taken many years agowhen Troy-built stage-coaches had not been driven out of
, use and fashion by the more pretentious rail-car , and Masonry was less fashionable and influential than it has since proved itself to be . It should be stated that our travelling friend was a modest , unpretending man , who usually attended to his own business solely , and , when , he had done that to his own satisfaction , thought his duty was well performed . But he was a devoted Freemason , and a strong believer in the apostolic doctrine that Charity is greater than either Faith or Hope , and I am not certain but the
former would have outweighed both of the others if the decision had been arrived at by the manipulation of his balances . Economical and saving he certainly was , and thereby had accumulated a handsome property , but he never allowed the hungry ' soul to go unfed from his door , nor did he say " to the naked , be ye clothed , " without furnishing him the means to enable him to obey the injunction . There were several families in the village in which he resided who , for years , were clothed in a decent and comfortable manner through his kindness .
Business compelled him to travel through two or three ot the North-western States , the method of locomotion being the cozy stage-coach of which our recollection of the days of boyhood gives us clear and pleasant pictures . It was in the gray of an autumnal morning that our friend took his seat in the well-upholstered coach , to which was attached four stout horses , and inside he found two passengers who had already appropriated the back seat , leaving him his choice of the middle or forward seats . He took the latter and soon found himself in that state of blissfuldreamy slumberwhich his early
, , rising and present surroundings were calculated to invite . The murmur of the voices of his fellow-travellers assisted to quiet his nerves and render him oblivious to mundane things , and it is probable that he woidd soon have passed into a sound sleep had he not heard one of his companions propound , in a much louder and more earnest tone than had been used in the conversation theretofore , the question , " Are you a Master Mason ?"
This was a congenial subject with our friend , and it thoroughly aroused him from his somnolent condition . He could not but be surprised at hearing such a question asked and such a subject discussed in a stage-coach , but determined to extract what good he could from the conversation . This he felt justified in doing , as neither of those engaged in it seemed to court privacy . On the contrary , the propounder of the question seemed to wish to be heard , as he cast an expressive glance toward the listener . The
person to whom the inquiry was addressed merely gave his answer in the negative , saying , " I am not—never had that honour conferred on me . " " You ought to be . You should have applied long before arriving at your present age . Forty , I should think . " " Forty-five , sir . " " Indeed ! That is worse and worse ! You can scarcely appreciate your damages
TO living all these years without being a Master Mason . " " Yes , I have got along very well all my life without becoming a member of that institution . " " But just think how much better you would have succeeded had you been backed by such a powerful association . " " Greater success would have been problematic , no doubt . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Are You A Master Mason ?
ARE YOU A MASTER MASON ?
BY . BRO M . EOUNSEVILLE . "From the Masonic Advocate . " A FEIEND gives the following history of the incidents which occurred during a journey - * - * - taken many years agowhen Troy-built stage-coaches had not been driven out of
, use and fashion by the more pretentious rail-car , and Masonry was less fashionable and influential than it has since proved itself to be . It should be stated that our travelling friend was a modest , unpretending man , who usually attended to his own business solely , and , when , he had done that to his own satisfaction , thought his duty was well performed . But he was a devoted Freemason , and a strong believer in the apostolic doctrine that Charity is greater than either Faith or Hope , and I am not certain but the
former would have outweighed both of the others if the decision had been arrived at by the manipulation of his balances . Economical and saving he certainly was , and thereby had accumulated a handsome property , but he never allowed the hungry ' soul to go unfed from his door , nor did he say " to the naked , be ye clothed , " without furnishing him the means to enable him to obey the injunction . There were several families in the village in which he resided who , for years , were clothed in a decent and comfortable manner through his kindness .
Business compelled him to travel through two or three ot the North-western States , the method of locomotion being the cozy stage-coach of which our recollection of the days of boyhood gives us clear and pleasant pictures . It was in the gray of an autumnal morning that our friend took his seat in the well-upholstered coach , to which was attached four stout horses , and inside he found two passengers who had already appropriated the back seat , leaving him his choice of the middle or forward seats . He took the latter and soon found himself in that state of blissfuldreamy slumberwhich his early
, , rising and present surroundings were calculated to invite . The murmur of the voices of his fellow-travellers assisted to quiet his nerves and render him oblivious to mundane things , and it is probable that he woidd soon have passed into a sound sleep had he not heard one of his companions propound , in a much louder and more earnest tone than had been used in the conversation theretofore , the question , " Are you a Master Mason ?"
This was a congenial subject with our friend , and it thoroughly aroused him from his somnolent condition . He could not but be surprised at hearing such a question asked and such a subject discussed in a stage-coach , but determined to extract what good he could from the conversation . This he felt justified in doing , as neither of those engaged in it seemed to court privacy . On the contrary , the propounder of the question seemed to wish to be heard , as he cast an expressive glance toward the listener . The
person to whom the inquiry was addressed merely gave his answer in the negative , saying , " I am not—never had that honour conferred on me . " " You ought to be . You should have applied long before arriving at your present age . Forty , I should think . " " Forty-five , sir . " " Indeed ! That is worse and worse ! You can scarcely appreciate your damages
TO living all these years without being a Master Mason . " " Yes , I have got along very well all my life without becoming a member of that institution . " " But just think how much better you would have succeeded had you been backed by such a powerful association . " " Greater success would have been problematic , no doubt . "