The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1872-07-18

and the freer they are 10 HOW anu eDD, the
surer they are TO become rightly united.
Now, my friends, as Odd Fellowship
comes under the head of secret societies, |
propose here to examine the question I:
Does q necessity exist for such an associa-
ton /? And as advance TO this important
duty, do so not only as member of the
INDEPENDENT Order of Odd Fellows ; not
only as member of that venerable frater-
nifty which we delight to call mother. /
need not name her, she is known and hon
ored BIZ most of you do 50 not only as
a member of the. Order ofDruids; as mem
Der OF the Order of Rechabites | do so,
moreover, as an Orangeman, one who on
more than one occasion has come so near
losing his life in defence of the religion of
Christ, as to have the bullet from the as
sassin pass through the rim Of his hat in
close proximity to his head | do so more
over, as one who, in war, has seen the ad-
vantages of these fratcrnal signs and rec
ognitions /; | do so as one who for twenty
three months visited daily the bed of the
sick, the dying and the wounded heroes,
some two hundred out OF nine hundred of
whom sealed their devotion to the cause
which they espoused by the sacrifice of
| their lives, and whose bodies l committed
to the dust Notwithstanding their con-
nection with these monstrous, these secret
societies, with good hope of glorious
resurrection. Iapproach the threshold OF
| .is.a- Investigation moreover as an aInBass
sador OF the meek anu ly-JeAIss and
therefore may reasonably be expe0ted to
be impartial in the investigation. This,
nv dear friends, is the acme OF my ambl-
| ton. shall do so fear less OF the frowns,
or without counting the smiles OF any be.
lieving fully that truth is mighty and will
prevail.
Unjust be admitted by every rejecting
mind, that this world in which we live,
move and have our being, has been made
and fitted up by mans creator, in the most
splendid style, for our convenience and
comfort No man, in the possession OF his
reasoning faculties, can look abroad on
this fair earth, and deny that God has made
everything beautiful for the enjoyment OF
His sentient creatures The universe and
all its fullness are everlasting monuments
of the inexhaustible goodness and benevo-
lence of the Most High yet with all the
glory and beauty that sparkle In the azure
armament, and all the splendor and grand
eur of the earth, freshly painted by the
pencil Of heaven Notwithstanding all this,
we are often surrounded by clouds and
darkness, by trials and troubles, and sore
temptations and although health and
yigor of life, and busy activity continually
surround US, yet sickness and despair stalk
abroad in the earth hurrying on their VIC
| tins to the vale of graves. Moreover,
this world is one of constant change and
lgyicisstude.
The brightest and fondest hopes of man
are suddenly blasted by the inroad of cold
adversely, bleak poverty and worldly
cares The rude hand of misfortune fire
ouently lays It's palsied spell upon the
most gifted sons of this world.
The man of untold wealth of to day who
| has servants to come and go at his bidding,
may 20 morrow be & beggar. The bright
est sun of worldly grandness that ever shed
| its mild and cheering beams on mans
abode, may in brief hour be shrouded in
dark clouds, wild attempts and horrid tenn
| nests. The man who depends on his
| brawny arm and stout heart, to gain an
honest support for himself and family, may
| when least expected be robbed OF his &C
| customed health and strength, and thus be
| derived from earning the necessaries OF
| life, The young man, just stepping for
| ward on the great and ever changing stage
| of human Iife-his hopes bright with warm
| and glowing ant cipations of the unknown
future-his vivid imagination pointing
| him onward to the dizzy summit OF human
| greatness and glory, he little thinks his sun
| will ever be clouded he does not realize
| that his wild dreams of future greatness
| his complete success in all his undertak
inps, NAV at any time be frustrated thai
his arm, nerved with giants strength
his eve, flashing with the beam OF intellect
| and genius, may at any time become pow
| erless and sightless. And death, too, is in
the world. He cuts down the young anC
I the old, the weak ana the strong, the evi
and the good, and lays the most favored
and gifted sons of earth, with all their Clio
ry and requirements, I'm the cold bed o
dust He who To day wears the crown
upou his head, at the sway Of hose rega
scepter millions tremble In dlsmay, hia.
Tomorrow 90 down, unlamented' 10 un m
| mansions vi uC'td And 90 we are all
the mother and the child, the thoughtles
youth and the gray headed sire-al, ALL
are hurried onward by the noiseless foot o
time, to the mystic vaults of Hades.
Thus we wander amid the dim land o
graves, lamenting the downfall of the good
and the great, the innocent, and earth
loyllest flowers, and reflect with sadness
upon the vast desolation, the king of ter
| rors has been and is still making in tn,
world.
Man is SO constituted that he shrink
with inward dread, at the bare idea of dy
ing, even under the most favorable cir
cumstances 1t is very serious thing, Il
most persons, to die at home, even when
surrounded by kind friends, to smooth the
rugged path across the gloomy valley
But how much more are mans last mo
ments embttered, aud made dark, will
fearful forebodings, if called upon by his
Maker, when away from home, to biz
farewell to this earth and its attachments
OH how dreary must such an hour be
without one dear friend TO wipe the brow
on which the dews of death are gathering
And there is much GOODNESS and bitterness
ia the world. Truly the great sin of thu
world is its selfishness Attimes all SEEM
to be bound up in poor self. Man too of
ten looks on and sees, with self compla
cency, the widow wronged, the orphan in
jured, the needy and the friendless desert
ed. Hate, base and loathsome drags dowl
honest merit to its own degraded lesel
/ SANDER hurls its poisoned dart at the pure
and spotless, while envy and malice nerv
the murderer's arm. Yea, the toilsom
Journey of life, at best, is but little less thai
one of turmoil, fatigue and disappoint
ment. 1t is hard for man to battle alone
single handed, against the numerous evil
that beset him on every side. ALI object
of public good, as we'll as all evil, are NOR
easily accomplished and overcome by tn
united efforts of men. than by the individ
ual in his separate capacity. Indeed, ey
ery noble and praiseworthy reform has al
ways been accomplished by the power an
influence OF association.
Odd Fellowship is an association, of in
diyiduals formed for the noble purpose G
relieving the distressed, visiting the sich
burying the dead, and educating the OF
nhan. Every member belonging to it
pledged to help and support his worth
brother in distress, to be ever ready to e,
tend the willing hand of Friendship, Low
and Truth, and all those gentle acts whic
flow out of this triple link aud which ar
SO acceptable in this cold and selfisA wosl,
Yes, my friends, who belong not to ou
Order, let me say to you, thai
, | Never the balm in wise Friendships lair hand
| Is withheld from the sufferer here:
Never the faith in the true hearts ofLove,
Shall grow dina on .ni nS nesher spheIe; ,
Nor the soul seeking i1u1n' "ahuer iohg IN u
Fcs Goa e angels are ever near.
No one cOnversant with the working
ard principles of Odd Fellowship, can fG
a moment doubt that it has done much
, alleviate the pains and trials of life tn,
il is doing much to dispense the dark cloul
lowering over mans pathway, and causin
the bright rays of friendship to warm b
, heart, with their gentle and yivifying il
!, fiuences of fraternal love. SO
Such being in brief the mission of OF
honorable institution, we are forced TO az
: nit that a necessity does exist for an ass
7 citation of the kind.
Ina word: This feeling of .brotherl
3 love. benevolence and charity, seems
have been designed by an allwise Create
as the Pole Star of mans life, the touci
stone of his happiness, without whic
earth would be dreary waste, and life
blank. And this eternal principle of Low
8 is the main pillar on which Odd Fellow
shin is reared, by which it is nourished an
0 sustained. Hence the grand object of th