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worthy of your contemplation , to be enlarged upon , I hope , at a future period , viz .: —What is Masonry ? What is the Lodge ? Ancl the connection of both with Religion . " You no doubt say Alasoury is a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symools ; but go deeper into the meaning of these words , ancl we will 8-iid that Masonry is nothing more or less than the lication of our knowledge to

app a practical and beneficial end ; applied in our own special language ancl symbols , which none but Afasons cau comprehend , and which even cannot fully enjoy till this partial light , this fair luminous mist , is removed from our eyes , and we stand amazed before that great glorious bright Morning Star in the Grand Lodge above , where shall be bestowed upon us perfect wisdomand eternal happinessprovided we have worked

dili-, , gently with our Masonic tools . No doubt our system is closely connected relief ; 'and this has often been confounded , and that , too , by . many Masons , with charity , sinking our Order , if it were so , to the level of a mere benefit society . One of our greatest Masonic minds describing it , says it is a brotherly love , uniting the fraternity in a chain of indissoluble affection , extending its example beyond the limits of a lodge-room ,

enfolding all in the embrace of universal love , a holy feeling uniting earth and heaven ; with this love our devotion will be the true devotion of the sold in all its native simplicity and sincerity . This heavenly flame of divine and seraphic love which alone can unite the Creator with the creature , aud thus alone can be formed and completed that true felicity of the human soul , the union to its divine original . Masonic charity is a principle dear

to tbe heart of every Mason , it is the inculcation of every virtue , tbe improvement of our species , tbe cultivation of brotherly love amongst us . Hatred stirreth up strife ; but love covereth all sins , says the preacher . ( Prov . x ., 12 . ) And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves , for charity shall -cover a multitude of sins . ( 1 st Peter , iv ., 8 , ) Relief will cease with this life . Charitas Masonry teaches itis eternal .

y , , Faith and Hope will cease in a slate of absolute bliss . Charity never faileth ; prophecies , tongues , aud knosvledge shall cease ancl vanish away , but charity will still exist and ever reign supreme , having but one thought , one desire , the adoration of the Great Architect of the Universe . Look again , brethren , at

tbe other grand truths Masonry teaches , especially in our first degree , showing us that we are men , made once perfect , but now , alas ! a wonderful , yet confused , system of contradiction , with a body perfect , beautiful , but within it a mind , a soul , at one time powerful and lofty in its aspirations , at another feeble , even brutal ; at one time grasping the heavens in its hands , at another revelling in the mire as a beast ; at one time tho repository of truth add virtueat another the bold upholder of

false-, hood and vice ; and thus it is that the worthy Mason looking at such solemn truths , works with tbe square to eradicate the evil he feels and sees . The revered Oliver on this subject says , to become a true Mason , to see it , a man ' s heart must be in his work , or he will never succeed ; if it is not he will neither understand its objects nor participate in its advantages ; with the mere name of Mason ho will remain ignorant of its secrets , and

incapable of estimating their value . " Secondly , a lodge of Masons , we are told , consists of a certain number of lirethren met together , with the Holy Bible expanded , the square and compasses , the book of Constitutions , and the AVarrant empowering them to act ; surrounded with emblems pointing out the way and preparing the soul , if these are properl liedto an entrance into the eternal Grand Lodge

y app , above ; and thus it is we say that the ground on which a lodge stands is Holy , dedicated as it is and always should be to tho Glory of tbe Great Architect of the Universe ; and is this theme itself not a study worth our serious reflection , while at our work ; to lead us to frame our every action in accordance with that Volume of the Sacred Law , so that we as Masons should not only shine as lights to each otherbut in our own individual way

, tend to light the paths of the inquiring out world ? and as to the solemn rites ancl ceremonies practised within these walls , is there not sufficient in them to fill our hearts with thankfulness to the Author of our existence , and to kindle that holy fire within so as to overflow With true Masonic love , more particularly to our own , directing tho mind to tbatludid object which forms I trust , the central point of every Mason ' s hope ?

" Iu the lodgo we met on the level , man to man , before the Great Architect of thc Universe ; to consider our situation as free , yet responsible agents ; to aid and assist each other iu building a temple , of which , I trust , the corner-stone has been

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squarely aud truly laid in us individually : and I say emphatically that a Mason who enters his lodge and leaves it no better , is building on the sands , and will surely fail ; that corner-stone is a man ' s own heart , out of which everything else will grow either for good or evil , and it behoves , more , it is the bounden duty , of every Mason to apply to each act and word the square of the Sacred Law which has been alluded to as tbe spiritual tracing board of the Grand Architect of the Universe : it alone .

is the groundwork of our Order on which the Masonic Ladder is fixed , as a sure and sale foundation which cannot be moved ; that law the Craft love and prize , and on it we have sworn to regulate our lives by its divine plans and moral designs . Tho R . W . and Rev . Bro . Norval , describing a lodge , says , a Mason ' s lodge is a school of piety . The principal emblems are the teachers . The All-seeing eye teaches the omnipresence of the

Deity . Its lessons are delightful aud awful ; delightful while we remember we are under its guardian care , awful when we forget that to it darkness is as the noonday . It is tbe school of the noblest virtues that adorn tbe human race . It is a school of brotherly love . The Holy Volume expanded invites us to peruse its sacred pages , because in them , and them only , are the words of eternal life . It is high as heaven , what canst thou do ? deeper than hell , what canst thou know ? The measure thereof is longer than the earth , ancl broader than the sea . ( Job . xi .,

8-9 . ) " Lastly , the connection between Freemasonry and Religion : —I shal f not now go deeper into this matter , but it is a subject which a Mason can and ought to establish in his mind , ancl the more you entertain it , the more you will perceive a simple but real and striking harmony between the two ; this applies to male more than the Christian Mason , looking into it before the advent as a symboland after as a handmaiden promulgating tho

, doctrines , aud recording the types which heralded the Prince of Peace ; throwing light even in the dark places of the earth ; ancl when in the future faith is lost to si ght , and perfect knowledge exists , the tendency of the two towards each other will be revealed . In fact Masonic faith has always acknowledged tbe Holy Volume to be God ' s own word , that it was written by men divinely inspiredand that it reveals the whole duty of man

, . Our charges ancient as you must admit they are , refer us to it as our lamp , and tells ns that by a faithful study of it we gradually increase in intellectual stature , breathing a purer and more genial air , teaching us to forget that self-love within us , seeing less of the imperfections of others , more of their virtues , and enjoying a feeling of blissful charity and universal benevolence in gentleness and humility , knowing tbe empty and

unsatisfying appetite of all things earthly , so fully expressed by St . Paul . If iu this life only we hope , wo are of all men most miserable ( 1 Cor ., xv ., 14 ); and if we can thus foster our Masonic researches with the warmth of religion , a light will shine upon us , so powerful , so penetrating , that our sympathies ancl charity towards one another will daily increase as the object , meaningand the origin of our mysteries are gradually opened

, to view , and thus prepare us to await that final catastrope of life , holding fast the confidence , and the rejoicing of our Hope firm unto the end . ( lleb . iii ., G . ) "Let us trust to make this our end , that the sprig of acacia , that emblem of innocence plucked to decorate the tomb of a departed brother , be extended to us all .

"' From the dust acacias bloom , High they shoot and flourish free , Glory's temple is the tomb , Death is immortalit y . '" At the conclusion of the charge the by-laws were read , and a vote of thanks with the honorary membership of the lodge unanimously passed to Bros . Saunders and Mason .

Bro . Alason replied in a pointed speech , and expressed his p leasure at his age of 71 years at again meeting the Craft , his missionary labours having kept him away from such opportunities for the last 30 years . Bro . Saunders returned thanks iu a thrilling manner , congratulating the lodge on its flourishing condition , and pointing out the duty of every lod hi assisting the great Alasonic

ge charities . Bro . Saunders' address was listened to with great attention by the members . The lodge was the n duly closed with solemn prayer at 1 p . m ., and the brethren adjourned to a Tiffin , where the usual loyal and Alasonic toasts were proposed ancl the day ' s interesting proceedings brought to a close at 3 p . m .