Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-03-17
dAsoNIC INTELLIGENCE
MAsONIC DEAD.

The following passages are from
Julogy on deceased MasOns Of Missis-
,ippi, pronounced before the Grand
lodge by III. Bro. GILES NJ. HILLYER,
Sd. They are very beautiful:
.-HR DEAD ARE SILENT WITNESSES
THEIR EXAMPLES AND ACTIONS LIVE
FOREVER.
Death, the pitiless reaper, has been
Nusy in the Masonic field of 1864, 1865
I'D 1865. To his shaGOwy domain he
as invited noble and cherished spirits
I'D at his call they hsve passed from
rth no longer subject TO its duties,
lent 70 its calls, and only known in the
memory Of those who loved them, Of
heir associates and friends, and Of their
1rethren Of the Graft.
1t is said that the great poet OF the
human heart has made il almost a con-
yiction that evil that men dOlives after
chem, that the good is often inferred
with their bones :" and the idea at once
springs up that we remember but evil,
and forget good. 1t is not so. The en-
anation from Deity which exists in every
mans heart yeGrns for what is true, and
lovely, and bright and grand. Il covers
With the veil Of regret, and the wiutry
sheet Of silence, the imperfectiOns Of
pRst humanity. Who is the perfect
msn7 Not one. The race after perfec-
ton extends through eternity, and the
first click Of its great clock has yet TO be
heard even when past, present and
future, to mans comprehension, are
.7ritten upon the scroll and placed among
he archives Of the Most High.
II such are mems foibles, weaknesses,
ollies and sins, why, in paying eulOgies
81, ID, NJ Aauli~a a m the
..qknow Judgement that the dead were
,neh, and that frsilty is written upon
ne brow Of every created being The
arth il one Of the vast libraries OF God
and His great Bye flashes over its pages,
nd knows every mara that either sullles
rr fllumines and We bow with reverent
.doration that there Is one and only
me who can justly read that great
I,oos of life-whO knows mans weak
ness. mans temptations, mans trials
and his struggles, feeble and difficult as
hey may hRge been, to grasp the truth,
md do the right. The child holds out
IL hand to catch the moon. II does the
same to some isolated star; and yet, both
bright. are separated by infinite distances,
die moon the brighter, because the
nearer. 20 the world engr0sses US all.
Its clouds and shadows, its glitter and
Heaven and eternity, because they are
so far removed that the object Is but &
point, and their daily influence ls not
feI.. The moon cnd the sun are the bodies
that cause the great tides Of the ocean, ana
vet they are far less in size and grandeur
than the illimitable worlds that blaze
fn the heavens with their silvery arch OF
light Could the silent Pleiades speak,
or the bands Of Orion be unlOosed, or the
rnoruing stars once more sing, they
would tell US Of tidal influence 20 which
that Of the luminaries that give light 10
the earth Is but as a glOw-wOTm' spark.
80 earth. its cares, business ana sorroWs
cause the tides Of human action. They
rise and faH 0bedient 10 direction some
times under quick Influences, engulphing
and carrying away the feelings some
times leaving bare the misery OF man
and vet as water returns to Its level,
humanity returns 10 her continual work (;
and we plod on a. If the waters OF feeling
we're never 10 rise higher, or sink lower
than the mark We have placed upon the
sand.
The euloCy sad the memorial, the
praise and the tribute Of SURVIVORS,
The storied urn and monutnsntal bust,
.fF.ct not the dead. The silence Of the
crave can never be disturbed. The voice
- IRE living neither penetrates the sod,
nor stirs .hat awful repOse. But still II
h s,or,I to mourn, aud good to give ex
rrsssion 70 grief Whether they whom
We will never see again until our eyes
like theirs are closed, but who have de-
served al our hsuds a tribute Of remem-
brance, viii know it not in the great
blessedness Of Hereafter-let US, for our
own sake, show that our affections are
N.aH 20 q frHH Lea. 81
not written on the Masonic page. We
honor the memory Of the virtuOus and
Fooa. TO such death can have no teTrors,
because their indgsnces survive them.
Death only can Ue terrible where the
grave swallows Up everything, and
where no good word or work survives 20
remind us that such a man had lived.
All these brethren were sincere Chris
tiaus, and exemplilied their professions
IN lie sincerity, earnestness, consist
ency, are Jewels Of Masonic character ;
and those who kneel around Masonic
altars, be they Jew or Gentle, Hebrew
Christian, or the brothers from the far
east aud the islands Of the sea-sl &C
knowledge these great claims 70 regard
The brethren We have sllndeq to, all fell
asleep, believing that the Great Master
arm would raise them from the dead :
when called they were ready and like
him who wrapped the dIapery Of hi;
chOuch around him, they laid down tC
pleasant dreams.
let Us profit by their bright example
let Us pay this feeble tribute 70 theil
memory, and then gird ourselves anew
for the struggles Of life and the duties U
the hour; that our end may be calm anl
nsacsfll as theirs, and that we may b,
femem bered a. they are, as " good mel
% trIg.u May peace and concord eve
6aeli With Us as it did where their infu
eoce extended Nay sn afdent devoti0l
20 country. to Masonry and to inenkiud
ever actuate Us as It did them aud ma
we all meet in that great day when til
Eusreme Architect OF the Universe an
ne Great Master Of soul and body shs
summon Us to his Presen5s.