Weekly North Carolina standard., 1858-07-14

Now Tom |! you march and find Miss Kate,
And never look so blue;
Speak out, and ask her like man
| would if l were you.
ADDRESS BY ROBERT P. DICK, ESQ.,,
Delirered ON the 26tA of June, 1858, at tile laying
Of the Corner Stone Of Guiltord Court House:
BRErHREN-LAD1Es-MY CoUNTRYMEN:
Nearly thirty centuries ago, King Solomon stood
on Mount Moriah to lay the foundation of that mag
nificent Temple which he bad prepared to build unto
the God of Israel. Around him were Master Build.
ers and expert Craftsmen we'll skilled in all kinds OF
cunning and curious work, who had come from the
tribes Of Israel, and from Tyre and Sidon by the
sea. Before him were collected the olive-wood fir
trees and cedars of Lebanon, stones we'll polished
and precious from the distant quarries, and his co
ers were overAowing with the jewels of the East,
and the gold of Ophir. Deep and strong were the
foundation stones laid, and slowly and silently the
grand structure rose beneath the eye Of the Master
Builder, and the hand of the cunning Craftsman
For seven years they abored, and no sound of axe,
hammer, or any tool of iron heard, neither did
any jarring dscord disturb the peace and harmony
of that fraternal band; for though they were of
different tribes and nations, there secret mys.
terious influence which made them dwell together in
unity
When the Temple was completed, Solomon came
with numerous offerings and costly and precious in
cense to consecrate it unto the Lord What grand
and wonderful spectacle was there presented! From
Dan to Beersheba; from the mountains of Gilead to
the sea, the Tribes of Israel had come up to the
conservation. What patriotic pride and rapture
must have filled every Hebrews heart when he be-
held the Holy Temple overlooking the sacred City
of his Fathers
There il rose magniiciently beautiful, like noun
tain of polished marble, covered with the living
golden sunlight, cleaning like the smile of God
Well now might Jerusalem be called The City Of
God" and Zion "The mountain of His holiness, p
hoon fifu1f Sifpo fho uOft parfh
Well now might every Hebrew excaim, If forget
thee, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her
cunning. If 90 not remember thee, let my tongue
ceave to the roof of my mouth If 1 prefer not
Jerusalem above my chief JOY"
But the Hebrews soon forgot the God of their
Fathers-Israel was severed in twain-the Egyptian
spoiler came, and the glory of the Temple was desc
Grated. Still they would not hearken unto the voice
Of the Lord, and He gave them over into the hands
Of their enemies. Then she ruthless Chadean came
and the Temple was overthrown. The Ark of the
Covenant was carried away with unhalowed hands,
the Shekinah no longer dwelt between the Cherubim
above the mercy seattle voice of the Urim and
Thummim was hushed-no longer did the altar
smoke with the acceptable sacrifice and holy in
cense-the captive children of Abraham left the
sacred homes and graves of their fathers, and in
sadness and sorrow sat down by the dark waters of
Babel and hung their tuneless harps upon the will
lows, and they wept when they remembered Zion"
The building of Solomon's Temple is an event of
peculiar interest to every Mason. Then organ
lied that institution which he so fondly cAerishes
and which has conferred so many blessings upon the
human race. Many of its mysteries existed before
that period but Solomon, the wisest of men, first
reduced them to system of order harmony and
beauty. More than hundred thousand Craftsmen
were then bound together in holy brotherhood by
links more precious than the gold of Ophr and they
have pro, ed to be indestructibe BY Time
After the completion of the Temple, our Ancient
Brethren became dispersed in every land and Cline
and carried with them the sacred mysteries and the
sublime and beautiful truths which have been hand
ed down to ds. Amid the gross moral darkness
which for ages covered the EARTH they preserved the
great and sublime TRUTH that there is but God,
and the soul OF man is immortal. Faint indeed was
the holy light that shone upon their pathway
With anxious eyes they watched the little star the
thick Darkness and with longing hearts they desired
more light but they were unable to attain unto the
excellence of perfect knowledge. And there came
the voice Of one crying in the wilderness prepare
ye the way Of the Lord, make his paths straight"-
and then the morning star of Bethlehem ushered in
the Glorious Sun of Righteousness and the good
tidngs OF great JOY were proclaimed unto all men.
Far be it from me to compare Masonry with Chris.
tianity The one is asinferior to the other as the
works OF man are to the works of God-the one may
assist in teaching US the second great commandment
Thou shalt love thy neghbor as thyself"-the
other alone can teach us the first great command
ment, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind" Christianity is the great living light which
covers the earth wherever it falls with glory and
beauty. Masonry is of the lesser lights CASTING
the reflected rays of brotherly love, virtue and
charity into many a human heart: it soothes the
widows wounded heart and stops the orphans tear
No good Mason can disbeleve the truths of tn.
Christian religion.
1t is not my purpose to enter upon the history ant
benefits of Masonry. Ny information would no
permit, even were it appropriate to this OCCASION
Suffice it to say, that the institution has existed 70
nearly thirty centuries, survived the wreck of EN-
pires, passed through the fiery furnace of persecu
ton, and Increased in WISDOM strength and beauty
seems to have the vitality of truth, and the difu
siveness of light Nearly every where you can fin
Masons whose hearts will kindle with brothery Low
at the mystic signs and tokens of our Order The
dwell in the majestic forests, where the Coumbi
and Willamette are aowing-among the Rock
Mountains where the homeless trapper and golc
hunter are roving-amd the ruined palaces of th
Montezuma's, and in the golden land of the Inca
in the sunny isles of the sea-" where aromati
odors from spicy shores" are breathing, where th
Acasia is smiling and the Arbutus is ever in bloom
You will find them in China and Japan and the
followed Havelock in his glorious march, and the
heard along the blazing lines of Cawnpore and Luck
now. They still dwell by the Euphrates and in tn
holy land-beside the majestic tombs of the Phar,
obs, and along those classic shores where Atber
Is moulderng, and the Eternal City" sits in DO,
dage and weeps over desecrated altras and Ii
graves of her glory.
know that it is a matter of surprise to man
persons, that Masons should be selected to Law II
corner stones Of buildings - Until comparative
recent period, all Masons were operative orkrne
They erected the most magnificent structures tn
ever rose upon the earth. They were the promote
Of all the arts and sciences, and were very famili
with those beautiful styles of architecture whit
have SO long claimed the admiration of the worl
In the middle ages they selected to Law Il
foundations and build the cathedras and sacred ef
fees, for they were the most expert and scientil
workmen, and generally lead virtuous lives, a,