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Article OUR ARCHITECTURAL CHAPTER. ← Page 5 of 5 Article TIDINGS FROM THE CRAFT IN THE UNITED STATES. Page 1 of 2 →
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Our Architectural Chapter.
result . " The peculiarities of the naturalistic school receive sundry similar comments from Mr . Dusky ' s pen . The Great Exhibition for 1861 is to be pushed on by the new council of the Society of Arts . The question of the site is still open , and the claims of Battersea Park are being urged . There will , unless a job be perpetrated , be a chance for a great competition for the new Crystal Palace .
Tidings From The Craft In The United States.
TIDINGS PROM THE € RAFT IN THE UNITED STATES .
[ Prepared for the Freemasons'Magazine ^ by the R . W . Bro . Bob . Mobris ; of Lodgeton Kentucky .
Mtlwcatkie ^ Wisconsin ^ Jtthe 15 , 18 oS » The geographical extent of the United States is well illustrated by a single fact . Your correspondeiit v oii the 28 th January last , plucked a figleaf from a grove in a garden at Tallahasses , Florida—the same which he now incloses to you . Since that period he has visited most of the States up to this point , which is near by Lake Superior , and the vegetation here to-day is in the same stage of advancement , and not more forward than it was in Florida more than four months ago ! It is pleasant to be allowed to add that , the state of the seasons , Masonically considered , is the same , whether in the icy or the flowery land . The step of the Craft is identical in northern heather or in southern roses . The birch of Lake Superior equally with the live oak of the Mexican Gulf , forms a gavel whose sound demands absolute and instantaneous attention . Signs , tokens , words , and points of entrance , are uniform ia the 4500 Lodges that make and govern the American Fraternity .
One of the most interesting proofs of the improved state of popular feeling in this country in relation to freemasonry , is the decadence of the various secret affiliations which , borrowing their plumes and much of their machinery from Masomy , have thriven mostly at its expense . A few years since , no enterprise of a philanthropic character , Avhether religious , moral , or political , could be set about except in a secret way . liemote chambers were engaged , sentinels posted ,, bibles ransacked for passwords , the precious metals tortured into emblematic shapes , and lo ! a new society was born ! All this , however , is passing away . The outgoes of philanthropy are again performed above hoard , and popular curiosity is no longer whetted with pseudo-affiliations , harmless enough in themselyes , but fathering upon Freemasonry any lapses or overpluses of which they may be
guilty . The failure of these leaves the field to the old and legitimate occupant who will not fail , we hope , to cultivate it properly . The establishment of Relief Lodges and Boards of Benevolence is beginning to excite the interest of the Craft . The practice heretofore has been to make every Lodge its own almoner . This , although well enough in small places , and in Lodges where applications for charity are not numerous or the burden onerous , Avorks tery unequally in the larger towns . There , in a hard season , tlie ante-chambers of Lodges known to possess a balance o 1 means in their treasury , are crowded with indigent Brethren , their widows and orphans pleading by every argument for relief- in the sad season ^
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Our Architectural Chapter.
result . " The peculiarities of the naturalistic school receive sundry similar comments from Mr . Dusky ' s pen . The Great Exhibition for 1861 is to be pushed on by the new council of the Society of Arts . The question of the site is still open , and the claims of Battersea Park are being urged . There will , unless a job be perpetrated , be a chance for a great competition for the new Crystal Palace .
Tidings From The Craft In The United States.
TIDINGS PROM THE € RAFT IN THE UNITED STATES .
[ Prepared for the Freemasons'Magazine ^ by the R . W . Bro . Bob . Mobris ; of Lodgeton Kentucky .
Mtlwcatkie ^ Wisconsin ^ Jtthe 15 , 18 oS » The geographical extent of the United States is well illustrated by a single fact . Your correspondeiit v oii the 28 th January last , plucked a figleaf from a grove in a garden at Tallahasses , Florida—the same which he now incloses to you . Since that period he has visited most of the States up to this point , which is near by Lake Superior , and the vegetation here to-day is in the same stage of advancement , and not more forward than it was in Florida more than four months ago ! It is pleasant to be allowed to add that , the state of the seasons , Masonically considered , is the same , whether in the icy or the flowery land . The step of the Craft is identical in northern heather or in southern roses . The birch of Lake Superior equally with the live oak of the Mexican Gulf , forms a gavel whose sound demands absolute and instantaneous attention . Signs , tokens , words , and points of entrance , are uniform ia the 4500 Lodges that make and govern the American Fraternity .
One of the most interesting proofs of the improved state of popular feeling in this country in relation to freemasonry , is the decadence of the various secret affiliations which , borrowing their plumes and much of their machinery from Masomy , have thriven mostly at its expense . A few years since , no enterprise of a philanthropic character , Avhether religious , moral , or political , could be set about except in a secret way . liemote chambers were engaged , sentinels posted ,, bibles ransacked for passwords , the precious metals tortured into emblematic shapes , and lo ! a new society was born ! All this , however , is passing away . The outgoes of philanthropy are again performed above hoard , and popular curiosity is no longer whetted with pseudo-affiliations , harmless enough in themselyes , but fathering upon Freemasonry any lapses or overpluses of which they may be
guilty . The failure of these leaves the field to the old and legitimate occupant who will not fail , we hope , to cultivate it properly . The establishment of Relief Lodges and Boards of Benevolence is beginning to excite the interest of the Craft . The practice heretofore has been to make every Lodge its own almoner . This , although well enough in small places , and in Lodges where applications for charity are not numerous or the burden onerous , Avorks tery unequally in the larger towns . There , in a hard season , tlie ante-chambers of Lodges known to possess a balance o 1 means in their treasury , are crowded with indigent Brethren , their widows and orphans pleading by every argument for relief- in the sad season ^