American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1846-09-22
OR n
ELLVERED BY THE REV. JAS. D. McCABE
AT THE
ODD FELLOWS CELEBRATION,
PHILADELPHIA.
concluded


PHILADELPHIA.
(Concluded.l
Each Lodge is a family circle which finds its
aren't head in the state Jurisdictions, and these
h turn, bow with fillal love to the alma mater
Ef the entire Order. 1t has all the extension of
bur country, all its diversity of locaty-all
is variety of nation and of tongue. Its temple
ONE reflects the glitter of the stars wherever
They shine on this continent, and the area OF
Its domain is alone circumscribed by the limits
Sof civilization. Its shadow is reflected by the
Knows of Canada, and its portals are shrouded by
&he palmetto and the pine. The hoarse scream
! Of the eagle on the summit ofthe rocky noun
ain, as he utters his vesper song to the purpIed
\ payilions of the West, are reechoed along the
Tast dome of our Temple, until they mngle
ST. with the prisons Of the sea-brd, as he hymns
his gratitude to the opening day-while all
beneath that expansive covering, the tear of
distress is wiped away, and the houseless wan
Iderer finds a home and friend.
This vast Temple is the family mansion
leach Lodge assembly is a small collection OF
/ the children; and each building, like theon we
set apart to-day, is a room fitted up in the
mansion for the accommodation of these chill
dren; all claim birthright in the domain, and
all dwell under the shelter Of that one paternal
roof at the base of which breaks, in eternal
music, the pealing anthem surges of two NIGH
ty oceans.
The one faith protested and taught through
out this one household, is benevolence and cha
rity, co-extensive with the bounds of its power
and the limits of it's jurisdiction. The brother
is TO be aided-the sick nourshed-the dead
buried-the widow protected-the orphan
educated-the stranger succored-the afflicted
relieved, and every form of human distress
as far as possible alleviated.
The tendencies of such an institution, must
exert the most salutary influence upon the
moral and political state of the country, by
elevating and refining the social Affections and
superadding to the duties of patriotism, the ndis-
soluble ties of common brotherhood. AS an
institution of practical benevolence, it brings
the bene(actor and the beneficiary into imme-
date contact, and unites them by tie of direct
sympathy, the effect of which is not only to
identify with the interests of tie suffering, but
also to impress upon the heart, those solemn
and interesting lessons which can be alone
learned in the house Of mourning and beside
the couch of sufferng-and which, while they
teach that we are mortal, arouse the affections
of the heart to obey that golden rue-"Wh
soever you would have others do unto you, dc
We also unto them" Public charities, as they
are generally conducted, do not possess this
feature of excelence-nor can it in the very
nature Of things be possessed, where third
person is made the channel of relief. There
must be personal contact-there must be direct
sympathy established between the giver and
the receiver, whenever that "twice blessed
moral influence" is developed, which blesses
''him who gives and him who takes" The
tendency of our Order is to bring its votaries
into systematic contact with every form OF sui
fering and want, the sick, the widow-the wi
dow and orphan they are taught to guard with
tender consideration, and the vigilance of an
slumbering devotion to their interests-ane
these duties are to be performed upon the
broad platform of an admitted and cultivated
humag brotherhood-an acknowledgment OIL
that postulate of nature, affirmed by the 5a
vour of the world, when he declared all mer
N.eere nsigkbors, all broihers-and for the cult
vation Of which, he left that impressive injunc
ton, "Go thou and do likewise" The effec
ofth;s teaching-of this practice, will be, to re
buke seliishness-to enlarge the circle of tht
social affectons-to bind man to man in thu
intimate relation of Brothers, and to dffus,
through all sensitive creation, the blessed in
huence Of Moral Order, Peace and Good viii
lam aware that very powerful objection
exists in The minds Of many good and piou