The Arkansas banner., 1849-07-31

bedside of an afflicted brother and. the cold band of death Is Ial upoa him, follow hin to the silent resting place of the deaisee that he is decently inferred. aad take care that his wtaow and his orphans are not redaced to peauTy sId wanil The whole assembly would respond, with one voice and one heart: Yea, verify, a these things should men do and perform, and in no wise omit
 Dat, suppose the Mason to be lath curious, and to ask further. But tell me, reverend fathers, does God exist in . Trinity' or :. Units''' What are the eterRaI deerscs ' of Heaven, and how far do they affect the individual dcstinies ef meri In the kingdom of satan, tho lost really punished by
 material fire, LFmsfsae and molten iesl, or dees the dark pail of guilty conscience torment them In their dreary and hopeless abOdel Is there Bar- Satory' To whOm did Peter bequeah the bys of the celestial kingdom, on his demise-ihrough what saceessioE have they been trsHssRiaed and who has them nOw1 Did Phillip signse the treasurer of the Ethiopian Queen head and ears iRle he water, or dip up the emblcmaiical element in a ran horn and pear il on his head, Of spTiAkLe the sprkng spray in his face. and thereby the raiLsr of mmor- tai hope to arch his browl Tell me of Heaven. l Where is u2 How many angels are tlere1 When and of what were they msdel Do they at and drink or merely live upOn the air of Heayell Were all the souls of men made al one, or al different times Are they sparks from the divine essen, or of what were they formed These questions would fall like so many 6re-brands into the grave assembly; a nar of pords would ensae among conteniing doctors; the conference would adjourn sae Gie in confusion and each man would betake himself ts his peculiar organization, and cling closely to his own fsifA 1 Think not that l design by this illustration to disparage chrstiautythe purest and best of all in stitutions Far from i,. If these divisions of men ] ia reference to matters of speculative faith are wrong; if they were not designed by Providence for wise and useful purposes, then the fault is in man, and not ia christianity. Prompted by an ovcrreaching curiosity Pecular to our nature, we are not content to believe and follow that which is clearly revealed 10 us, but prone to auncL out upon unknown sea. and attempt 10 fathom un- revealed mysteries which the mind of man can never comprehend until the clouds of mortality lifted from is TisoR and the soul makes approach b the Illuminating foGntaia of divine wiSdon. Irepea,, therefore, that Masonry the preser- . Of practical virtues and ao, of abstra or specula ' tive faith.
 But i. is by no means to he inferred that Masonry Is destitute of faith She believes ia sRbtrs Lodge abscx, where the SspFeHat -9TeAtect q iAe taUerse presides, and where all good Masons hope to arrive at last, by the aid of the theological ladder which Jacob, in his vision, ascending from earth 10 { ba~e nF kset. fiA k0ps and ehGriy-thai is ,o say. faitA in Cop, Aope iH ssuOrtalsy, and eAaray toward all mankind. And in this faith line fraternity, Of every people and religion, barmoniously agree Masonry Is not de- signed, however to stand the place of christianity, but merely 10 serve as handmaiden 10 her.
 i Again: Masonry is institution of degrees rsiag one above another. and leading the initiated from point point height to height, mystery to mystery, and subimity to sublimity, until he reaches the grand climax, from whence he surveys and eompre- hends, with pleasing emotions, all the scenes of moral beauty through which he has passed in his upward journey. To the unintiated Masonry is shrcsded in darkness; and in vain have the curious attempted to Tiff her veil and expose he- myste nous features to the public gaze. How infinitely far be- low the genius of Masonry is the vulgar conception of her eercmones-ilai the a0yiiiats, his first introduction into her temple, is clad in rcd packet, and carried through the la4icroas farce of riding gsai and climbing sIlek toL' This, no doubs, would be a ceremony peculiarly suited to the taste of those whose conceptions are not more exalted. i When the almighty mind upheasel the earth from the kingdem of chsos, and the sable wing sf old NIGHT sIil hung the evolving planet, God said .' Let iAers be Li5f' and instantly dark ness fed away, and the brightness of day smiled upon the face of infant MATURE! From this scene of surpa<s- ing grandeur Masonry has humbiy and reyerentially borrowed the beautiful ceremony of introducing the candidate from the blindness of tle world into the light of her sublime mysteries.
 The first object thst arrests the eye of the young apprentice, on passing the threshold of lodge, is the Mosaic paveueat-the appropriate emblem CT human life, which is ehequered with eeod and evil; but in the eeatre of thIs pavement, (iike Hope ia Pandora's box he beholds bGssia9 &asT--the type of tha, beau,ifa gem of night tha, sparkled in the eye of the oriental astrOlogcr and led his footsteps to the birthplace of The iasR Of the tr.e of JsaA - the AePe of mans redemption from all essl! Next he Is shown the good old family altar of Masonry, where solomon, Hiram. John the Baptist. Washing ton, Jackson, Clay Polk, and mulsiplied thouSaRds of the greatest aud best of men, have nsekly bowed and offered up their dsyotions to the true and ever living God, and be is taught 10 follow their good example. Upon that altar lies open before him the Holy Bible, which, he is told, Is the lamp to guide his feel into The path of virtae that leads 10 ue ssAlims Lodge adore,
 Nov sa experienced mentor takes the apprentice y the hand, and points hun to flight of winding 'fs'r' Testing upon the Mosaic pavement. and as- eenoing through ihe vsrioas apartments to the ksy Of the great sraA that supports the asme of the Masonic Temple. Up this flight of stairs lies his Masonic journey. The various apartments through which hts devious sseeat leads him brilliantly illuminated by the iiSses of Masonry, and the walls are eIhbe'iisaed with paintings and hisrogiiphical characters which 10 the instructed eve are enIh@e-