Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1841-10-26
GEORGETOWN o. TUESDAY, OCTOBER &C. l841 SERI

, OF green-the carpeting for a giant
Tread, or a tairy's foot-is thrown. il
beautiful order, bespangIed with flower
OF strange ioveliness and fragrance.
Above the tall trees of the forest wave
and higher still, the mountain thrones ar,
pitched, on which the kings of tbunde
take their seats, when the alarum of III,
storm is bcaied, and the thick clouds are
mustertd for the black tempest. Above
these still. dome ofblue, a wonderou.
beau'y-6rst gazed on by infant eyes
last seen by eyes swimming in death;-
an elastic canopy that seems to settle
low over the valleys, or round up like an
arch over the tallest hills, into which as
the @rOnaut penetrates, he sees it rise
higher and higher still-tbe unapproach.
able barrier that bounds the visiOn-best
image Of the heavenly eternity, that hath
no beginning, nor yet an end! TO this
wide canopy the stars are but the gems,
and the ten thousand meteors of night but
the spangles that are thrown like fire.
flies, in be-witching profusion on the
robe of night.
THIS Is THE MASONRY OF GOD!
The earth, which was once under the
Creators eye "without form and void"
is still dreary waste before the surface
is improved by the hand of man. 1t is
his proud task to hew the rocks from the
mountain quarries and mould them into
proportion, and then throw thsm into
piles of surprising grandeur and sublm-
ity. Where once was spread dull and
uniRvlting expanse Of sand, now rises
city TO be The abode of millions, the home
Of the arts, and the throne of CONNER.
cial and political power for a continent.
How much enjoyment, and comfort, and
luxury, are implied in the erection of
dwelling for mana home for his chill
dren-a nucleus round which his affec.
tions may grow in unwastng fondness;
to whic his weary foot may turn at even
tide, as the sun of nature goes down, but
as the richer orb of his domestic bliss is
just rising! What hath built this home
OF peace--s sublunary heaven, that re-
comedies man to his lot, and woman 10
her sorrows2
PHYSICAL MASONRY.
While communities lived in a rowing
state, following their herds by day, and
pitching their tents by night, but few of
the triumphs Of civilization could be
achieved. The pilgrims of a day were
too much the pilgrims ofa life; they fol-
lowed their hocks from one basis TO anoth-
er until Death, a mightier shepherd, her.
ded the keepers of the focks, and count
ed the gains for himself No mausoleum
rose TO point out their place of sepulchre,
unless, perChance, the dead were buried
as were those of Abraham's family, in the
cave of Macpelah. Generations of men
after generations might thus live and
leave no more trace behind them on the
face of the earth than the sea-bird, who
walks for moment over tho shift ing
sands Of the shore. But Physical Ma
sonry came TO the rescue, and burdened !
and beauliGed The plains of Shnar and
the vale Of the Nile, with the slnpendous
structures that breathed the air of i'm.
harding down from age TO age
tho mighty thoughts that swayed the bo-
SONS of the builders--the masons Of Bah
ylon and NineveR, and of the palaces of
The Pharoahs.
The masonic erections Of the east are
lhe chronicles Of the past. They prove
in theil eloquent ruins III, historical
truths of JOsephus, Herodotus, and of
Zenophon and Livy. They not only tes.
.lfy to the ruth Of ancient history, but
they are the lone and awful fragments Of
national power, and speak Of the genius
Jf The ilIustrious past. No tongue can
80 speak as do tAe desert sands, signing
through The lone colonades that once
guarded the Temple oflhe Sun-the Hell
opoIis ofEgypt. What sublmity Of
10 have built a temple whose
entrance Of marble pillars, of magnifi-
cent size, proportions, and decorations
extended more than mile! What must
ave been the thoughts of the early Gre
Ian pilgrims, WHO wandered TO Egypt
rom their savage homes in the Hellenic
10 learn the arts aud The i'm
Jrovements OF life, when they saw the
sublime avenues fsuch temples as these.
displayed to the eye in mountain masses
If granite aud pophyry, and jasper and