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Provincial
The toast having been drunk with enthusiasm , Bro . Roberts res ^ onctedV in the following terms :- ~ rr After dinner speeches in the autumn are generally very dull affairs . I have not been to Cherbourg , I am not gifted in the weighing of animals , in the inspection of their fat , or ; in the examination of the grain of beasts fed on turnip or grass . But I feel that in this town and in this assembly I should be the dullest of all mortals if I could not find some
theme to expatiate upon . I shall choose one—an old one it is true—but which has awakened in nay bosom , in your bosom , and in the bosoms of many , since the flood to the present time , feelings of delight , enjoyment , peace , and harmony—I mean Freemasonry . I can never feel myself dissociated from Monmouthshire , although removed from it locally . Like one of the Queens of England who said that at her death Calais " would be found engraven on her heart ; so " Monmouthshir ' e " . will always be engraved on mine till the latest moment of my life . I feel how deeply I am indebted to it for many bright days , and those the brightest days
Which I have spent in connexion with Masonry . It is a long time to look back upon since my removal—grey hairs come upon me , I see young enthusiastic spirits rising around me , I hear new voices ,. I see new faces , but old associations still fill my heart . The principles of Masonry , in all generations , whatever vicissitudes and dangers may happen to the world s we may believe from the past will remain unshaken . The Masonic feeling will still be embraced as in past generations . I can recall to memory one very cold day when a few individuals from the old town of Monmouth stood to inaugurate the first docks at Newport . We thought
we were conferring honour upon you— -that we were imparting instruction in Masonry , and showing you how the thing ought to be done . <( Let these people see / ' we said > " what Masonry really isy and let us see if we cannot stir them up to something likeemulation of us , the great people of Monmouth . * I am speaking of eighteen years ago , and how many Brethren since that time have gone to the great Lodge above . We came down on that day with all the jewels and Masonic costume we could possibly contrive by ingenuity and purse to possess . ourselves of , and as we stood and shivered by what was at first considered an immense harbour ,
we said , " here is a little Liverpool rising up in this small town by the side of the Usk . What a change will take place in the next quarter of a century . " Well , that has elapsed , and the old town of Monmouth , in Masonic honours * is obliged to veil herself before you . Let us confess , however , that the spark she kindled has lit up into a large flame , and rejoice that she has been the mother of many children . The most ardent , the most enthusiastic , could not have anticipated the changes which eighteen years have produced . Not only have you the Silurian Lodge exulting in her strength and influence—but by the side of the river Usk , too , is growing a little slim elegant plant , an independent tree , the Isca Lodge , taking
its name from that river which runs into the Severn , and deriving , like it , its power from the hills of your principality . Everything about Newport appears new , aggrandizing , ambitious , and powerful . May we not cast our thoughts forward a few years , and ask what changes the next quarter of a century may produce ? Men of intelligence and wealth have made it rise up by the side of the Usk from a mere village to a large town . In twenty-five years again one of the great out ports of this kingdom may be established on the banks of your river . Perhaps there may be not one , two , or three merely , but four Lodges here , for wherever wealth , intelligence , and intercommunication arc found , Masonry will flourish . Like that wonderful electrical cable , it is the means of communication over
mountains , over plains , through rivers—wherever the foot or the hand of man has been the highly electrical bond of Freemasonry is deeply felt . I am afraid I am wearying you , but I cannot help thus adverting to the value of the chain which binds us together , when I throw back a glance on the time I have spent in Monmouthshire . I preach in church and sermonize—and perhaps the sermonizer is not always the most welcome guest—and you not only listen to what I say , but I do believe yoii practise it also ; yet I should feel ashamed of going up to that pulpit and enunciating what I believe to be the true principles of Masonry , if I thought that any of the Brethren , through neglect , through carelessness , or any other cause , threw a blemish on the principles I hold up to the world as worthy its acceptance , or
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial
The toast having been drunk with enthusiasm , Bro . Roberts res ^ onctedV in the following terms :- ~ rr After dinner speeches in the autumn are generally very dull affairs . I have not been to Cherbourg , I am not gifted in the weighing of animals , in the inspection of their fat , or ; in the examination of the grain of beasts fed on turnip or grass . But I feel that in this town and in this assembly I should be the dullest of all mortals if I could not find some
theme to expatiate upon . I shall choose one—an old one it is true—but which has awakened in nay bosom , in your bosom , and in the bosoms of many , since the flood to the present time , feelings of delight , enjoyment , peace , and harmony—I mean Freemasonry . I can never feel myself dissociated from Monmouthshire , although removed from it locally . Like one of the Queens of England who said that at her death Calais " would be found engraven on her heart ; so " Monmouthshir ' e " . will always be engraved on mine till the latest moment of my life . I feel how deeply I am indebted to it for many bright days , and those the brightest days
Which I have spent in connexion with Masonry . It is a long time to look back upon since my removal—grey hairs come upon me , I see young enthusiastic spirits rising around me , I hear new voices ,. I see new faces , but old associations still fill my heart . The principles of Masonry , in all generations , whatever vicissitudes and dangers may happen to the world s we may believe from the past will remain unshaken . The Masonic feeling will still be embraced as in past generations . I can recall to memory one very cold day when a few individuals from the old town of Monmouth stood to inaugurate the first docks at Newport . We thought
we were conferring honour upon you— -that we were imparting instruction in Masonry , and showing you how the thing ought to be done . <( Let these people see / ' we said > " what Masonry really isy and let us see if we cannot stir them up to something likeemulation of us , the great people of Monmouth . * I am speaking of eighteen years ago , and how many Brethren since that time have gone to the great Lodge above . We came down on that day with all the jewels and Masonic costume we could possibly contrive by ingenuity and purse to possess . ourselves of , and as we stood and shivered by what was at first considered an immense harbour ,
we said , " here is a little Liverpool rising up in this small town by the side of the Usk . What a change will take place in the next quarter of a century . " Well , that has elapsed , and the old town of Monmouth , in Masonic honours * is obliged to veil herself before you . Let us confess , however , that the spark she kindled has lit up into a large flame , and rejoice that she has been the mother of many children . The most ardent , the most enthusiastic , could not have anticipated the changes which eighteen years have produced . Not only have you the Silurian Lodge exulting in her strength and influence—but by the side of the river Usk , too , is growing a little slim elegant plant , an independent tree , the Isca Lodge , taking
its name from that river which runs into the Severn , and deriving , like it , its power from the hills of your principality . Everything about Newport appears new , aggrandizing , ambitious , and powerful . May we not cast our thoughts forward a few years , and ask what changes the next quarter of a century may produce ? Men of intelligence and wealth have made it rise up by the side of the Usk from a mere village to a large town . In twenty-five years again one of the great out ports of this kingdom may be established on the banks of your river . Perhaps there may be not one , two , or three merely , but four Lodges here , for wherever wealth , intelligence , and intercommunication arc found , Masonry will flourish . Like that wonderful electrical cable , it is the means of communication over
mountains , over plains , through rivers—wherever the foot or the hand of man has been the highly electrical bond of Freemasonry is deeply felt . I am afraid I am wearying you , but I cannot help thus adverting to the value of the chain which binds us together , when I throw back a glance on the time I have spent in Monmouthshire . I preach in church and sermonize—and perhaps the sermonizer is not always the most welcome guest—and you not only listen to what I say , but I do believe yoii practise it also ; yet I should feel ashamed of going up to that pulpit and enunciating what I believe to be the true principles of Masonry , if I thought that any of the Brethren , through neglect , through carelessness , or any other cause , threw a blemish on the principles I hold up to the world as worthy its acceptance , or