St. Cloud Democrat., 1862-06-26

savs God himself; the vail from tho hungry
orphan, atrtpped Of Ito protector by some cas-
ualty, breaking the stiffness Of midnieht's sol.
enn oh, unhsard and uncared for BY any save
Him who, 70 soothe its sorrows and ease its
pam, takes II to Himself, to be another record
ne hollow hesrtedness Of tho vain world in
ohieh Il breathed, suffered and died-and
that. too. perhaps, In the very shadow OF some
safely cathedral costing thousands, and where
that very day the Sermon upon the Mount had
been rehearssd, or the costly organ pealed
forth ito solemn strains in unison with the an
them
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow" "
and ask yourself if you have done your whole
dutyl 1nasmuch, then, as ye have not done
It unto the least Of these, your fellew crea-
lures, We will leave it for you to work out the
eternal salvation Of men; and in order to as
sast you al We can, We, % Free Masons, will
endsavor to pave your way by first correcting
tho morals and human feelings of Man; be-
heving, yea knowing, that it is not in our
province, as moral and benevolent organi-
sation, to tamper with that particular theme
which belongs exclusively to the individual
and his Maker-Ged.
But, again says the honost inquirer, you
have men in your society whose moral charac-
ter will not bear the slightest investigation.
With my head bowed down, 1, with the most
intense feelings Of shame, confess this, too.-
Yet will not come to poor, depraved humani-
ty with an apology but appealing to Him
who was betrayed with kisses even unto death
BY those whom He had called to be His friends
and followers, and with an earnest prayer that
70 may have fewer such Masons in future,
will only say that, bad as they seem, and re,
ally are, they are better than they would be
were they not Masons. We thought when we
extended to them the privileges of Masonry
that by imparting our symbolic lessons Of
morality they might yet be reclaimed from the
influences Of their besetting sins, and God be
honored and they benefited by a speedy ref
ormstiou. If they have proven themselves
rsereant to the instructions received at our
hands and forgotten the obligations they knew
they were under to God, their neighbors and
hoping for the best, We will throw the broad
mantle Of Masonic charity around them, still
WOO them with brothers love, and remem-
bering that none are 50 pure as to be without
faults, will continue to entreat them, both by
precept and example, to absolve themselves
from their grevious failings, and with an abb
ding faith in the power, mercy and loving
kindness Of our Heavenly Father, will patient
ly await the dswaing of that bright day, when
the efulgent beams of the Son of Righteous
ness shall dissolve and deliberate those stains
upon our Masonic charaeter,-when the glad
tidings-borne upon angel wings shall be an
nounced in the east and west and south, and
its sweet echoes be waited by the morning
winds from Lodge to Lodge-from encampment
to encampment- that the ''lost IS found''-
the erring brother is reclaimed-Glory to God
in the big ghest-on earth Peace, Good will to
msn!"
Briefly slluding to the great objects of our
fraternity, I will leave the subject for your fu-
ture consideration, fondly hoping that our at
tentiTe study OF its fundamental principles
may result in your favorable opinion, Of an Or
der that owes its existence through the bless
ings Of Heaven, to these principles, as well as
to the peculiar symbolic plan Of employing
these upon the minds of its members.
Masonry il. . science, and its objects are
morality, benevolence and promotion of the
arts. It teaches US to reverence the name of
God, 20 curb onr irregular passions and ap-
petites, and to be good and loyal subjects Of
the government but it does not profess to
change tho heart and fully prepare men for
future existence, although in its instructions,
it directs to God who can pardon sin, constant
~ reminding ne that the same eye which watch
% the Sun, Moon and: Stars, searches the in .
most recesses Of the heart and will eventually
oHeI SuVuSAtS WOAuouu az
ton. Touching the arts and sciences, Ma
sonry requires its members to be instrument
tsl in promoting both. 1t regards ignorance as
the bsns Of society, well knowing that when
hsslthful current of knowledge is permitted
to dow through every channel in society
when every hamlet is permitted, and made
temple Of oflearning-wksn the high, the low, the
rich and the poor, can read and think for them
selves-no tyrsnt can rob them Of their inali-
enable rights, or oppress them by unwhole-
some laws, for it Is . principle inculcated and
taught by our order, ''that an enlightened and
vutuovs people can never be enslaued." What
our institution has accomplished in the past is
well known. Its productions as an operative
society, are no mean monuments of its glory.
TO the disciples of Freemasonry our fellow
countrymen are indebted for most of those
splendid and majestic structures which, even
ct the present day, point their aspiring domes
toward the heaven Of heavens, and beneath
which man brsathes his prayer Of peace and
.gladness; and to their predecessors in the
craft msnkind are indebted for those stupen-
dous monumets Of human skill-the pyramids
Of Egypt, which though many thousand years
have passed away, still exist-the temples of
Memphis, Heliopolis and Thebes, whose colos-
sal ruins are to this day the wonder and admi-
ration Of the trsveler-Percepolis with its
splendid palatial edi6ces, of Cedar Babylon
with her hanging gardsns-Ninevah, with her
mighty walls-Balbec and Palmyra, still ma
jestio even in their ruins-the labyrinths of
Egypt Crete and Lemnos-and the marble
glories of Greece
'-Whose beauties bright shadow cast,
And shed : halo round tho past"
Such monuments, moulder and decay, and
beneath the hand Of centuries crumble into
dust; but the monuments reared by specula-
tive mssonry-the bright and brilliant deeds
Of charity and brotherly love which emblazon
the pages, of ito history-these live, and grow
ing brighter with each centennial cycle, will
shine with undimmed lusture, when all mater
ial objects NOW on the face Of the globe, shall