Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-10-08

Wa Hh--<HuuEesS Dy heN. "a - halrd,
DID.
The spacious Masonic Hall was last
night filled with one of the largest and
most appreeiative audiences which ever as
sembled in this city. The address of DR..
Baird was so replete with great truths,
clothed in such resplendent garb, that
to attempt synopsis, with hope of giving
a correct idea ofits merits, would be as vain
as to expect the petal of rose to give
perfect idea of the aroma distilled from
wilderness of flowers. A single stray leaf
huttering in the autumn breeze, would give
bat poor idea of the gorgeous magnif-
cence of an October forest. The little
shell, singing its soft lullaby, though beau
tihul, is but single note in the grand
shell symphony of ocean. As we cannot
present the temple in its finished out
lines, We propose to give a few of its
polished stones, to shadow forth its colossal
beauty. In the exordium the Doctor said
1t is dreary and melancholy past-time to
stroll among the ruins of old and see where
time and mortality have marked the strug-
Cling energies of man to see
The fallen towns of Babylon, the eternal py-
ramids,
Memphis and Thebes and whatever of strange
Soul ptured on slabaster obelsk
On jasper tomb, or mutilated sphyrx
Dark Ethiopia on her desert hills concsals"
To wander among the silent arches of pris
mordial race that once dwelt on these
shores of ours, and see
The ruined temples there,
Stupendous columns and wild images
Of more than man, where marble demons watch
The zodiac brazen mystery, and dead men
Hang their mute thoughts on mute walls
around"
The brown mummy that sits leaning
against the broken column, is as destitute
of respect as the shaft that props him from
the dust. But it is cheerful and hopeful
thought that the same principles which
govern us now, and the same bonds which
unite su, once held their full sway over that
silent, posthumous man. That dark and
bony hand once held the potent gavel of
the Masters chair, and beneath that bronzed
breast there was heart that loved and
trusted, and was in return trusted and loved.
This truth with its labors survives the
grave with its moth, rust and corruption.
Time has snatched the casket and num-
bered it among its ruins but the good deeds
and charities of that man are felt and en-.
joyed by the generations of to-day. 1t is
delightful to contemplate what has been
done by human power in the last sixty
centuries. The little naked biped stood at
the guarded gate of his forfeited home,
helpless, ignorant and accused, but with the
high order upon him, to take charge of the
earth and subdue it. Axes and hoes did
not grow upon the trees, nor augers sprout
from the soil. The plains bristled with
thorns and thistles, and the sullen, covetous
hills hid their undiscovered ores. All is to
originate. Art, science and philosophy are
unknown and undeveloped products of the
brain. This ordained conqueror, this absolute
monarch of planet, apparently so inade-
quate is equipped with an invincible crown
and sceptre, surely indicated by the stu
penduous command. do not know but
that the observing angels wondered, per-
haps doubted, how such creature with
such appointments could perform such
task. He has invented his own impl(-
ments, pryed into the secrets of philosophy,
unbarred the doors of the everlasting hills
and developed their treasures. He has
broken the seal and read the rocky volume
of the pre-adamite period bored down into
them pour out for him rivers Of oil. He
has, upon ladder of his own construction,
climbed up to the stars and marshaled them
before him for review. He has weighed
ard messued their bodies, surveyed their
vast orbits and mapped ont the plan of
their glorious stations, Wonderful pro-
gress! and not less sublime has been his
achievements in the moral world. His fierce
conflicts with his own stormy passions and
stubborn selfshness, opened new channels
for human sympathy and founded institu-
tons for the meek devotioDs of charity and
religion 1t is delightful to rest one hour
in life's heatedrace, and look back at what
has been done. But the noble achieve
ments of our sires admonish US of our in
creased responsibility and bid Us arise
and press on, leaving the past with the
historian sud the Antiquarian to enbalm its
testimonies and happy memories, and con-
template the mighty future with its solemn
claims and unattainable glory. Let the
grandeur Of the past be garlanded with
honors, but let it not begloom the impor~
lance of the present, nor cast its shadows
upon the brightness of the future. With
tie momentum bequsathed US by our fathers
we shall accomplish in ssingle month what
cost them years Of patient toll. They
fought with giants, aests of EPhesus,"
and held their assemblies on the hill tops
and in the caves and dens Of the earth.
We, unmolested, build our temples in the
very centre of light and influence, and our
lodges are considered ornaments IN every
village, town and city. Others have sown
and We indeed enter upon their labors. We
have receiveda glorious inheritance. What
shall we leave to our successors?
Venerable Brethren Well may you, as
sinful men, stand before this altar with IN