Imaginings.

And then there come to all of us , High hopes aud pensive joys , The gayer pageants of the brain , Like children ' s painted toys ;

The calm resolves , the earnest will , And loyal love and true ; Fond aspiration ' s gay mirage , The heart which trusts , the lips Avhich sue .

And o ' er our being comes a spell Of fancy ' s bright regime , Imaginings of radiant power , , Give to the things Avhich seem

The earnest of a higher sphere , Dear phantasies and fears , Which throw the glamour of their greatness O ' er the march of toiling years .

Though common things and common cares Are here the lot of all ; Though ever in this wilderness The same events befall

Us all in various measure still , Whether humble , Avhether high , There are for all imaginings , Memories Avhich never die .

Yes , mid the heartlessness of years , By the dead sea of our joys , Mid the tumults and the echoes Of this earth ' s empty noise ,

That heart alone can aye be calm , That mind contentedly abide , Which finds itsoAvn long-treasured thoughts Its pleasure and its pride .

Dream on , dream on , 0 laughing youth , Dream on , maturer life , Drown your discordant sonnets Grey hairs and aged strife ,

In all those loftier longings , Imagination ' s bliss , Which tell you now mid mortal tears , Of a truer home than this .

There shall one day dawn upon the world A bri ghter , fairer scene , The present has faded from our gaze , With the follies that have been ;

And then , biuve heart and tender trust , Fond hopes which never cease , Shall find that their imaginings , Have chang'dto knowledge and to peace . A . F . A . W .

The Mystic Order.

THE MYSTIC ORDER .

THE approaching dedication of the Grand Masonic Temple at New York , which is to take place next June , is our apology , if any be needed , for presenting a brief sketch of the rise , progress , and present condition

of this Avorld-renowned fraternity . Although the popular idea of Freemasonry is , or used to be , that of a secret conclave , having intrenched itself Avith mysterious and terrible rites and ceremonies , and

bound together by fearful oaths and fiery ordeals ; yet a better acquaintance with the genius of the institution , is said to reveal so much to commend , as to leave comparatively little against which

exception might be taken . True , it is environed with profound mystery , and this is by some urged—justly or unjustly—as an objection against it ; yet , as there is otherwise so much of interest connected with the Order ,

we will not disenchant the inquisitive reader by divulging any of its occult secrets , but glance at some of its works and results , that have become historic . Like almost every other influential

institution , Masonry has been the object alike of extravagant encomium b y its friends , and unmerited obloquy by its opponents . Without attempting to reconcile these dividing opinions , Ave shall steer betAveen them , and

thus , doubtless , arrive at a more just estimate . Viewed merely as an eleemosynary association , its generous benefactions are Avorthy of all honour ; but its aims and purposes are said to be more than these : it

not only ministers to the necessities of suffering humanity , but its system of symbolism- —a science that has ever been closel y allied with poetry and religion—is replete with significance , teaching such lessons of

morality and ethics as must win approval . Freemasonry , in its theory , regards mankind as a common brotherhood , irrespective of colour , clime , condition , creed . It does not , therefore , reject from its felloAvshi p any but the atheist , or those who are found

to be deficient m personal morality , Avhile all of an opposite character , whether JeAv , Mohammedan , or Christian , are regarded as equally admissible to its privileges . Although it professes to derive its creed and code from the Bible—Avhich is said to be ever found upon its altars—yet , since it thus liberally groups together men of such