Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1857-11-20
FREE J MASONRY.

N's Below. we give an eloquent extract Of
.''An address delivered at Masonic Hall.
IN the City Of .Lynchburg. on the Ami
Fersary ofSt. John the Baptist. June 24Lh,
a. D. 1857. ca. L. 1857, by Robt. E.
.W1TAERs, H. 'C.''s'7'' ....' .1a
To'pnt'a stop to charges against us is
MOTTO be expected. Masonry has ever
had enemeis to combat. and has resisted
them successfully for thousands of years.
During this length of time it has withstood
all the physical and intellectual strength
'Ofmin. Pretended friends have endea~
1vored to corrupt and betray it; kings and
princes preservingly sought to bsni.h it
nom the world; the civil and military
powers Of great empires have been len.
gued for its tS'destruction; the 6res Of perse>
eutfon have been lighted to consume il
and its friends together, and often death,
In its most horrid forms. has been the
penalty Of its votaries. Though it has
been ridiculed more unsparingly. misrep,
resented more grossly. opposed more ran
eoTously and denounced more bitterly
than any institution that ever existed it is
10 far from sinking under the efforts Of its
enemies that this day it bids fair 10 sur
ViVe ''till time itself shall be no more"
1t still remains unhurt by the mightiest
efforts ofiguorance. superstition aud ty-
ranny. By the aid Of her enlightened
,philanthrophy she has scared aloft, and,
dipping her broad penci in the hues of
heaven" has embiazoned her principle OF
Universal beHevoIence over every egiun OF
the globe, and ''spread the cement OF
BroEherly Love and Affection" through
every realm of earth. She has scattered
the brands. extinguished the flame. and
unbound the victim. She has wiped
away the orphans tear, and comforIed
the Widows stricken heart. She has en-
tered the ranks Of hostile hosts. and. by
her benign influence, softened the asperi-
teS and mitigated the horrors Of war; has
poured balm and oil into the wounded
spirit. aud bound up the broken heart
She has ever been found a ministering
angle wherever human woes could be al
leviated and human suffering be relieved.
See yOnder city, where peStiIence spreads
her dusky pinions on the tainted air, and,
lowering like a dark cloud, decimates
her doomed inhabitants; where infection.
sudden and fatal. paralyzes the efforts of
philanthrophy and Charity herself shrinks
back appalled, before the loathsome dam
ger; when the claims of consanguinity
are dlsregarded. and the tenderest ties of
.aocialiife are sundered by the severity of
the scourge; when the rites of sepuItre
are denied the decomposing dead, aud the
'touI and fostering remnants OF mortality
blister and ,termeut beneath the lurid
glare ot'each desoIating day; when accu.
mulated horrors eDcircle, as with a Gordon
OF death some stricken community; then.
IN the hour Of their extremity. when no
eye seems to pity and no hand is stretched
forth to save. who is he who flies to the
relief Of the desolate and distressed; strug-
giles with the fell disease over its prostra-
tive victim; comforts and soolhes the dY-
ing; plants the ever blooming acacia at
the head Of the grave, which without it
would be dark and gloomy; administers
the sweet solace sympathy to the bereav
ed widow; comforts the orphaned chill
dren. aud developes in all its glorious
beauty the divine principle of " "UniVersul
BenevOle0ceS" II IS the conscientious, tie
charitable. tie jealous Mason.
Turn we TO another scene. See where
the smoke Of yon battlefield rises slowly
above the earthly pandemonium, as if to
conceal the horrors there enacted from he
gaze OF heaven. Hear the fierce shout Of
the 'rIenzIed cOmbatantS, as hand to hand
ano steel 10 steel they strive for the mas
terry. List 10 the lance's shiverinr crash
aud the broad-sword's deadly clang; and
oh! more appalling than these, hear the
Groans OF the dying. the shrieks of agon
i1ed horror wruug from tortured nature;
see the fierce victor, as in mere wanton-
ness Of cruelty lie smites to the earth the
flying and unresisting enemy. It is no
longer battle, it is q butchery, for the
demand for quarter is disregsrded. and
the suPPlicating prayer for mercy is un-
heeded. See yonder warrior is covered
with the wounds and streaming blood,
he feebly struggles. surrounded by host
OF enemies; he falters; he falls; a dozen
weapons are pointed at his heart;a dozen
voices cry "kill! KILL" But with feeble
voice word is spoken; a sign is made by
hands almost palsied with the horrors OF
impending death. and 10 what change
De"n iahs the weapons of deadly strife
hushed is. the hoarse voice of crneI mas
sion; and softly and tenderly. as though
he were an infant. that PROSTATE form is
raised. that fearful heart is reassured. tina.
doomed warrior is hailed as a brother
and friend. and one ray of heavenly
Ight illumes the dark DISSOLUTION of the
battlefield
Again the scene shifts TO those dreary
realms where. 1.-The ice king reigns SUI
Preme. with storm. and darkness as his
sttendant ministers. I. see before nv
mind s5e'tht shsdow3 form Of him who,