St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-01-03
Masonic Celebration.
ST. JOHNS DAY.

The members OF st. Charles LouSc
No. al of A. +. and A. NJ, and in
vited guests, celebrated st. Johns Day
the 9th of December) at their Hall
in this place on Thursday evening last.
The arrangements seemed to be per-
feet, and the whole affair passed off
to the edification and delight of all
present. The exercises were as fol-
lows:
l. Prayer-by Rev. I. w. Thurston.
2. Sacred Music.
8. Address-By Rev. j. G. Wittcd.
A. Song.
5. slipper.
6. Toasts and Responses.
I. Song.
8. Bcncdiction.
The address of MrsWitted was in
tercsting and instructive, and was de-
livered in that gcntleman's best style
Of oratory. We give synopsis OF
his remarks. After the exordium,
which was humorous and brief,
Mr.. Wittcd said:
The occasion of this festival, is the
celebration of St. John the Divines
day. Christians havetheir Christmas
ard Masons have their festal days
They have many such days, but among
them two prominent ones the first
in June, in commcmoration of st. John
the Baptist, the harbinger of the Mes,
siah the second in December, in
memory of John the Divine, the Rev
elator, the Evangelist, the Disciple
whom Jesus loved. In works on Ma
sonry he is styled St. John of Jerusa'
lem not Because Jerusalem was the
place of his birth, for he was born il
Bethany. a little village near the Lake
of Galilee but he was styled st
John of Jerusalem, probably, after hi
call to the apostleship, because his Ia
bors were chiefly in that city. Thu
feast is held in honor Of this apostle
whose memory We as Masons arr
Taught to revere, and whose virtues
we are exhorted to initiate. In ordc
to do this we must become acquaintc'
with his biography. written in tina
Sacred Volume, Book which ough
not to be read simply, but studied b.
every member Of our Order. For thi
is the greatest of the three grea
Lights in Masonry.
We are called body Of infdcls b
our enemies but how can this b
possible, since this Sacred Volume
the Magma Charta of our Order? ThI
is our covenant, our bond of uni OF
No man can ever enter this mysti
circle until he receives the Sacre
Scriptures as the rule and guide of h
life. No, friends, although our Masoni
ship may he thrown out upon the bi
lows of the deep, she will not b
wrecked so long as she is guided b
the compass and chart of our Order
While was a boy it was said tia
Masons had dealings with the dcvi
That they made circle around hi'
and raised him and kept him there ii
through with him, then laid him wit
rap Of the gavel. DR.. Culver, IL
great writer on Masonry, tells us TIN
he initiated a gentleman who told hi
l canddly that he really expected to
s introduced to his satanic males
: when he entered the Lodge.
But to return to the apostle who
IS birth we celebrate to-day whose v
d tues we are exhorted to initiate.
h would not speak of his purity at IL
zine, but of bis fftT ;s fEorti, ndc'v W
a manifested on various occasion
e There is a great contrast between hi
r and Peter in this respect. Pet
t through fear, or want Of courage, Z
!. MED his Master. Nay, when the Sa
It ior was led forth to Golgotha, to sufl
+ there, all fursook him and fed. 10
must be excepted, for in the last no,
1t Of our Savior's agony we find h
IN near the cross, 80 near as to hear
ID last words of the beloved Master.
1. was not called to suffer martyrdo
ne but lived to fill up the measure of
ar days, and died, at good old age,
,e natural death. Let US, my brothc
ID strive to initiate his virtues in
,g things.
% l believe it was DR.. Franklin W
to said that a man is known by the CO
pany he keeps. Well, what are {
anteccdents in this particular 7? Ha
VIC any cause for the cheek to blan
or the countenance to fall, on accol
w. of our company? No, my brctr
nc We arc intimately associated w
n Emperors, Kings, and Potentates
O. the Old World, and in our own hap
C. land we have Franklin, Jefferson,
ne Adamscs, and, above all others,
ne the guiding star of our Order, our
ne loved Washington. The Father
at his Country stands prominently
n the sun among the lesser lights
of Masonry in this our beloved lal
s. Being thus associated shall we fe
re brothers Of the St. Charles Lodg
I'd No, rather let US 60 on striving to
r. itate their virtues.
- After the conclusion Of the addr'
Al and song, the w. NJ. said:
a As the traveller. pursuing a dista
IN journey, pauscs by the way-toil-wt
lie and weary-to look back upon
st landscape, and gather strength for
n renewal of his etforts-to contempla
y the rugged paths he has trayers
d the pleasures he has enjoyed, a
d the dangers he has escaped--so do ,
c this evening assemble, and now c.
p from labor to refreshments.
y The audience then proceeded to t
IA dining room where tables for an o,
" ter supper, accompanied by all the ,
rious luxurics of the season, we
spread out before them. The tab
! were tastefully arranged a. faithf
&c ~ served.
of After due attention to the pl,ysi
&c wants, then came the intellectual
O. past. The toasts and responses w
n.x