Reminiscences And Experiences Of Freemasonry.

the mountains in scales , and the hills m a balance . This mighty God is ours , our father and our friend , our redeemer , the Lord of Hosts is his name for ever and for ever . Iu conclusion , my dear Masonic brethren , permit

me to say , in a very short time our sun will go down , and the place that now knows us will know us no more for ever ; age and weakness of body ivill steal upon us imperceptibly ; our earthly tabernacle will soon break down and return to its

original dust ; then our spirits will be free from every encumbrance , and wing its flight to the celestial Grand Lodge above ! When we knock at the heavenly door may we be admitted and receive the welcome salutation , " Come ye blessed ,

• enter the kingdom prepared for you ; " there ive will see our dear Masonic brethren who have gone before us , and are now singing hallelujah to the Lamb for ever and for ever .

Our American Correspondence.

OUR AMERICAN CORRESPONDENCE .

Monthly Series from EOBERI MORRIS , LL . D ., of La Grange , Kentitclcy , U . S ., Past Grand Master , and Writer upon Masonic History , Sfc ( Continued from page 38-i- ) The subject of Masonic journalism in thc United States suggests somo thoughts that may bo acceptable

• to the readers of tbe Freemasons' Magazine . The readiness with ivhich the American people " start a newspaper " is proverbial . Should there be a rivalry between two sewing machine companies , one of them incontinently " starts a paper , " sells at a nominal price , but in reality made a subject of gratuitous distribution . Does

some zealous brother , having thc control of a printing office , covet Grand Lodge honours , the " royal road " that opens upon his perspective is through a " Masonic journal , '' iveeklj-, semi-monthly , monthl } -, & c , as tho caso may be . It is this facility of going into print that has

so greatly multiplied Masonic papers here , until I can scarcely call the roll of their names , or even toll you their number . Three of the Grand Secretaries of prominent American Grand Lodges publish each his " Masonic paper . " These are in Missouri , Illinois , and Massachusetts .

There are two published in Oliicago , Illinois ; one in Baltimore , Maryland ; one in Cincinnati , Ohio ; two in Boston , Massachusetts ; three in the city of iscw York , and one at Warsaw , New York . There is , or lately was , a Masonic journal at Ealeigh , North Carolina ; ano . her at Macon , Georgia ; and one at Mobile , Alabama . A

Masonic monthly , entitled "Tho Evergreen , " will bo commenced before this letter reaches you at Dubuque , Iowa ; and it is in the bounds of rea- _ c . ii that several moro may see the li ght- with the opening of the coming year . The curious reader will naturally inquire , Is there a demand among American Masons for so many periodi-

Our American Correspondence.

cals ? Are the old ones so well sustained that so many new ones can live ? Truth to tell , there is not this demand , nor are the old ones well sustained . The entire circulation of these twelve Masonic journals does not probably aggregate 25 , 000 ; while by the vicious system , of credits common to this class of enterprises , one-third

of this circulation is doubtless gratuitous . So it follows that Masonic journalism here is conducted for the most part at a loss . Some of their conductors make up pecuniary deficiencies by the sale of Masonic books , clothing jewels , and paraphernalia . Others unite various departments of industry ( printing , advertising , & c . ) to the

more legitimate profession of Masonic supplies , and so by one method and another they contrive to maintain their establishments through the first year . One year is the term of existence of two-thirds of our "Masonic papers . '' After that they are merged into tho older establishments , or closed up altogether . One would naturally inquire , Has the American Craft

such a plethora of literary talent as to sustain such a large number of journals ? The answer is decidedly not Turn over the pile of Masonic journals now heaped up before me , and ses the same articles carriedTor the most part from one to the other throughout the mass . There are but three or four paragraphists in the American

Craft-There is one decided evidence of originality , however , amongst our writers that is seen in their ability to get up a quarrel . We have a spice of bitterness that is pungent if not fragrant . Brethren who might rack their brains until doomsday before they would yield an essay ,

a sketch , or a poem , can originate subjects of debate about as amicable as a Kilkenny ' - ' argument . " Aud , again , there is a department of " Masonic law , " so called , iu each of our " Masonic periodiaals " that would require a Biackstoue to expound . Barring these two little frailties , however , our writers are rather gooduatured

than otherwise . My next will reach you from Syrian shores . La Grange , Kentucky , Dec . 31 , 1867 . ( To be continued . )

Jirsio . —This is certainly the finest and most ancient of all the Fine Arts . We associate its origin with Eden when it would he sweet without melancholy , happy without pain . Curiously enough the more sad and tender the theme , the sweeter the music . " Auld Robin Gray " is tlie very " II Penseroso " of distress and woe , yet who that ever heard Piatti play it did not feel his nature almost changed , and for the time possessed of such thoughts as neither hreath nor pen could well give

utterance to ? Or to wander back further than the creation—hack into the dim past eternity—we cm fancy music in heaven , hut not painting or sculpture . It well endure for ever too—it alone , of all tlie arts , will survive the general doom of all things . Holy Writ says so . Human sympathy with imaginary grief is ; i singular phenomenon , and can only he partially explained : that it is the attribute of art , especially of the Art of Music , to clothe all it touches with an ideal beauty . Music is universal too . You

cannot withdraw yourself from its influence . The music of the ocean , and the all-powerful voice of thunder , have charms for the ear that the grand organ never had—the echoes of tlie dell to some are richer than the tunes of any instrument , and tlie winds sighing among the trees—the gentle ripple of water oil the pebbled shore in the twilight—the howling of the storm amid the darkness—the chime of village bells , even the very silence of night , are musical to some ears .