The Mystic Order.

diversity of creeds , all cannot , of course , strictly be called Christians , although many Christians are among its supporters . Freemasonry is to be regarded as an institution of human devising—whose principal design

is to conserve the bodily Avell-being of men ; while Christianity—of divine origin—has to do Avith their spiritual welfare . They can never , of course , become identical ; all that needs be desired , perhaps , is that they

come not into antagonistic conflict . Claiming , as it does , to be established upon the immutable principles of virtue , truth , and charity , it need not surprise us that under the gis of these good genii , its historic

annals should be replete with glorious memories , and Avhile these guardian angels keep watch and Avard over its Avorks and ways , the world can scarcely afford to dispense vrith its philanthropic

service . Man being essentially a gregarious aud social being , there have ever existed in all civilized communities , associations of men , for the purpose of mutual profit and

protection . Each department of human industry has , consequently , had its appropriate representatives among the various societies and guilds of science , literature , and in the arts of life . Hence , among other

benevolent institutions , that of Ereeniasonry took its rise ; and Avider in the range and sphere of its benefactions than most others , it has lived through centuries , to bless mankind . Where the foot of the

adventurous traveller may stray—from the thrilling regions of thick ribbed ice to the savannas of the sunny south , in the far-ofi east or remotest Avest—there the friendl y greeting and aid of a Mason may , by a

mystic sign , be secured by any brother in need . Franklin thus speaks of Freemasonry : * ' It has secrets peculiar to itself , but of what do these principally consist 1 They

consist of signs and tokens which seiTe as testimonials of character and qualification , Avhich are conferred after due instruction and examination . These are of no small value ; they speak a universal language ,

and are a passport to the support and attention of the world . They cannot be lost so long as memory retains her power . Let the possessors of them be expatriated , shipwrecked or imprisoned ; let them bestripped of everything they have in the Avorld , still

The Mystic Order.

their credentials remain , and are available for use , as circumstances may require . The good effects which they have produced are established by the incontestable facts of

history . They have stayed the uplifted hand of the destroyer , they have subdued the rancour of malevolence , and broken doAvn the barriers of political animosity and

sectarian alienation . " Many traditions are held as to the ori gin of the institution , but they are generally regarded as merely mythical and legendary .

According to some writers , it took its rise from a band of Craftsmen in Tyre , who went to Jerusalem to assist in the erection of Solomon ' s Temple ; hence the great

prominence given in the ritual and symbols of the Order to that memorable edifice . By others it has been traced to the ancient

Egypt , and again to the times of the Crusades , and the Masons of Strasburg , in 1275 . Some bard has thus put the legend in verse : " They ' re traced on lines in the Parthenon , Inscribed by the subtile Greek , And Roman legions have carved them on

Walls , roads , and arches antique . Long ere the Goth , with a vandal hand , Gave scope to his envy dark , The honoured Craft in many a land , Had graven its Mason-mark .

" The obelisks old , and the pyramids , Around which mystery clings—The hieroglyphs on the coffin-lids Of Aveird Egyptian kings .

Carthage , Syria , Pompeii-Buried and streAvn and stark , HaA-e marble records that will not die—Their primitive Mason-mark .

" Those Craftsmen old had a genial whim , That nothing could ere destroy ; With a love of their art that naught could dim .

They toiled with a chronic joy , From Tiber to Danube , from Rhine to Seine ,

They need no ' Letters of marque ; Their art was their passport in France and Spain , And in Britain , their Mason-mark . " Baldwin ' s Monthly .