Masonic Duties.

have looked on all the works that my hands have wrought , and behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit . " If , then , the year past has only taught us this truth , that ' everything Ave do here must have its chief value for us in proportion to the

effect it will have on our happiness in a future state , it AA'iil not have gone by in vain . But is this not an interesting season ? Aye , one of deep interest . Passing over the line Avhich . diAddes one of the great divisions of time from

another , Ave naturally ask , IIOAV much , is still left us ? Ah ? Brethren , AA'ho can say Avith certainty that anything is left to him but to use this present hour—this present moment — to perform his allotted task while it is day ?

"Act—act in the living present—Heart AvitLiin , and God o'erhead . " But among the many features of interest attaching to this period of the year , there are two which , commend it more especially to the attention of

Masons . 1 . —It is a time of social intercourse , harmony , and goodwill . 2 . —It is peculiarly calculated to open the heart to the call of charity .

' 3 . —Tes ! this is the time of mutual greetings , of the interchange of good Avishes , of social gatherings , of domestic and public festivitieshappy opportunity to cultivate the kindly affections of our nature , and to bind man and man .

But if this be the tone of the world in general , IIOAV much more ought it to apply to the members of our Order ?

Therefore , brethren , as the volume of the sacred IRAV directs us , " let us be kindly affoctioned one to another in brotherly love , in honour , preferring one to another ; " "let brotherly love continue . " And if amongst us , as in every community of men ,

differences of opinion arise , let us agree to differ in a Masonic spirit , and , while claiming the best motives for our own views and acts , attribute the same to our neighbour . Let everything- approaching to censoriousness , or evil speaking , or raillery

be banished from our lodges ; and if an angry Avord should drop from some hasty brother , let the " soft answer" turn aivay his wrath . " And thus the bare mention of anything that may be disag-reeable in a debate AA'iil be carefully avoided by

a body of men united by special bonds of brotherhood , and bound together by the strictest ties of mutual forbearance . Let all excess in . word or deed be banished from

our festiA'e meetings . True pleasure disclaims all connection Avith indecency and excess . " Be temperate in all things . " This is the golden precept of the great Apostle . Not only avoiding Avhat is improper , but abstaining from even the

appearance of evil . Thus the tongue of the slanderer Avill be silenced , and malevolence disarmed of its sting .

2 . —And now , brethren , let me remind you cf the second feature I named as suggested by this time—I mean the call of charity . This , you know , is the corner-stone of our glorious fabricand that in the Avidest sense of the term ; but I

would now apply it only to those three great institutions AA'hich at once adorn the history and exemplify the usefulness of our Masonic body . 1 . Royal Freemasons' School for Boys , at Wood Green ; 2 . Royal Freemasons' School for Girls ,

at Wandsworth ; 3 . Royal Benevolent Institution , for Aged Freemasons and their Widows , at Croydon . These noble and blessed institutions I

commend to your warmest and best sympathies , as Avell as to your most bountiful consideration . They are of the very essence of Masonry . To bind up the broken-hearted , to extricate the industrious from the meshes of misfortune , to rescue the

orphan from the prospect of want and ruin , to comfort the widow in affliction ' s hour , and to afford peaceful home to the aged and deserving in the evening of their days—these are objects worthy the regard of every Mason AA'ho values the

luxury of doing good to others , the respect due to himself , and the honour of the noble Order to Avhich he belongs . Situated as these institutions are Avithin a very short distance of London , they are easy of access to every Mason in our province ;

and I do earnestly hope that the visit to the Girls ' School AA'hich I ventured to propose , and Avhich we made last year , may be folloAved up by many similar expeditions in this and future years . It is only by thus seeing some of the blessed fruits of

our Masonic benevolence that Ave can truly and practically estimate the benefits and blessings of Freemasonry .

Passing events lead me to say a- few Avords , in conclusion , about that volume of the Sacred Law on Avhich Ave Masons build , and Avhich . Ave recognise as at once the great light of our path and the divinely revealed guide to life immortal .

The knowledge of God is the grand end and purpose of true religion , and the result to which this knowledge leads is the supreme happiness of