An Oration Fifty Years Ago.

death , or shed such a lustre around the patriot ' s career , shall Ave not often find them cruel , bloody , and unchristian ? Alas ! what is the hero ' s fame but the wreck of

human existence ? Or , on what so frequently as the ruins of other nations , does the patriot erect the proud fabric of his own ? Ear different are the achievements

which we are this day met to celebrate . The path of virtue is that of obscurity , and quietness , and peace . The li ght Avhich shines along its rugged steep , unlike the meteor glories of the Avorld , Avhich dazzle

to mislead us , and shine the brightest on the eve of their extinction , is steady and eternal . It enters the soul , and expands and elevates it to a region Avhere the voice of human vanity is mute , and human splendours are but darkness .

This is the natal day of St . John the Evangelist . We are met to commemorate the birth and usefulness of one of the greatest benefactors of our species ; one of the chosen messengers of heaven ; the

tenderest friend of the Saviour ; the favourite disciple of our Lord . What more shall Ave say of him 1 FOIIOAV him through all the vicissitudes of his fortune ; mark the depth of his self-devotion ; the simplicity

and dignity of his character ; the sublimity of his conceptions ; follow him through the splendours of his apocalyptic vision ; then vieAv him reposing on the bosom of his Master , and recehdng at the cross the

tenderest legacy the heart has to bequeath , and at every incident of his long life does not the heart leap Avith a prouder throb Avhen Ave hail him as a brother and patron of our Order ?

What has been said of this great contemporary may , with equal truth , be said of St . John . His powerful and diversified character seems to have combined the

separate excellencies of all other sacred Avriters ; the loftiness of Isaiah ; the devotion of David ; the pathos of Jeremiah ; the vehemence of Ezekiel ; the didactive gravity of Moses ; the elevated morality and

practical sense of St . James ; the noble energies and burning zeal of St . Peter , added to the strong argnmentive poAvers , depth of thought , and intensity of feeling , which so peculiarly distinguished the great Apostle of the Gentiles . Never was there

< man more eminentl y fitted to combat the difficulties with which he was surrounded , and to fill up the glorious destiny Avhich waited him .

An Oration Fifty Years Ago.

He who delineates the character of our existing and splendid institution is placed in the same situation with him who writes the biography of a living individual . Distinctive qualities cannot , indeed , be invented ,

nor the current of actions diverted from its channel ; but every virtue may be made to shine Avith a lustre not its OAVU ; every excellence may be magnified ; every imperfection veiled , and the unpretending

rill , Avhich wandered in silence through the mead , may become , if Ave accept the enthusiastic testimony of the admirer AVIIO traced its course , a majestic river , on whose

broad bosom the Avealth of nations floats . If , on the contrary , Ave vieAv the picture as draAvn by an . enemy , Ave scarce recognize in the gloomy colouring and distorted countenance the least resemblance to those

features which affection has engraven on our hearts . Prejudice has discontinued , or passion extinguished , the spring-blossom of their beauty ; and though a faint likeness may be perceived , all the loveliness Avhich

endeared them to us is gone . It is one of the merciful effects of decay , that it scatters a benevolence of recollection . around the objects which are subjected to its remorseless influence . It not only melts clown prejudices , and extinguishes

animosities , but it gives to affection itself a deeper tone of tenderness . It sheds a moon-light glory over its dominions , pale and pure , more serene and lovely than the flood of splendour poured from the meridian sun of life . That Avhich is illuminated

appears softer than Avhen viewed in a stronger ray ,-while whatever Avas obscure or unsightly , sinks into masses of shadow , which the eye cannot penetrate , and Avhich , while they conceal the deformity ,

give a character , a deeper solemnity to the Avhole scenery , and afford a pleasing contrast to the mild light , Avhich sleeps upon it . Such are the more obvious difficulties Avhich present themselves in the

investigation before us . We profess not to be entirely free from their influence . The science of Masonry consists of three departments , each in its nature distinct from the rest , yet all most intimately and

beautifully connected . These departments are its symbols , its mysteries , and its principles . This is a distinction Avhich , though not ahvays made by Masons themselves , is not only intelligible , but absolutely necessary to the correct understand-