Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-04-27

( birth Of man, but its parentsge as an
Orgdnized institution we are unable
definitely 10 ascertain or conjecture.
From the earliest authentic annals Of
the order however, we first find il
/ planted on English soil, in the early
/ psrs Of the last century, where it grew
and fiourished with the hardy BritOnsJ
/ whence it was transplanted and Tecast
in the mould Of American civilization.
/ lie great antiquity, therefore, we cam
not. boast: vet skilled and curious anti
] quarians, searching mid the relics OF
Nburied centuries, deciphering their
! Ma,NaIyphics and investigating their
/ IaRGSESS;ehrr manners and their Gus
/ tlnlA. have located its origin in the twl-
! light of centuries. In their "lOve for
/ le mysterious end their blind venera-
/ rion for antiquity" they have sought to
I gild the glory OF its present achieve
ments with the solemn sanction OF ages.
/ ,Our, great &ogenitor, Adam, is by one
! lhad8tiA AshuAi to be the founder and
! patron oFShySSEder. Tradition places
! its origin among the Jewish priest
! hood by Moses and Aaron; another
( in the Roman camps, while aDotheT
! traces it from the GOths, the Huns, the
! MOUrs, through Spain, Portugal aud
| France, thence to England, where we
/ find it in the eighteenth century. Such
/ traditions, my brethren, are simply the
| wild vagaIies Of speculative iancies.
! Odd Fellowship needs neither the aris-
tocratic sanction Of age, the smiles OF
royal favor, nor pTiestly mystery to en-
noble and dignity its origin, or to gid
/ the record it has achieved. She needs
not the aid of sdventitiOus circum-
! stances, or power to elaborate her name,
for to-day she stands amid the civiliza-
ton which surrounds her, the grandest
moral achievement Of the century which
/ gave her birth. Its origin, we have said,
! is involved in ObscuriLy and doubt. We
| cannot affirm, in point of time, when it
did or did not exist. We only know
| that in the early part OF the last century
/ the rays of its feeble light were first seen
struggling through the gloom which
| surrounded it. 1t was in Old England
! "Merrie England" yet conservative
! England, whence we sprang as people,
/ and derived our laws, our language, and
our customs; that grand old empire,
! whose classic soil is rich with the
monuments Of her greatness; upon
whose generous bosom We were nuTtur-
/ ed in the principles of liberty, but who
| subsequently ruined our digestion in
examining our loyalty with "stamp
acts;n amid her free institutions and
| among her hardy sons the order OF
! ODD-FELLOwsHIP WAS FIRST KNOWN
To EXIST.
/ In 1745 the annals OF the time men,
/ ton the Odd-FellOws lodge as a place
"for comfortable and recreative even
| ings." Later, in l7S6, the poet Mont
gomeTy throws the halo of his genius
| around the three golden links" Of
| Friendship, Love and Truth, and there
! by gives us another landmark in the die
rection Of its origin. But beyond the
| eighteenth century we cannot trace the
lineage of this giant offspring, whose
'shadow was to fill the land" Be that
| as it may, the time when this prodigy
| of the last, and, l may add, the wonder
| of the present century, may have been
! born IS not factor in the estimation or
measurement of her grand proportions,
! for her record has made her immortal.
| It is curious and interesting TO observe,
viewing the order IS it exists to-day, in
! its government, its ritual and its prin-
! ciples, exciting our pride and
| commanding the admiration Of
! the world, that the earlier lodges were
as much addicted to convivisl as to do
mestic practices. "The beeT-mug, the
pipe and the tOas- circulated freely"
| song aud jest made mirth as the cup
went round, while the sublime princi-
! pes OF the order were eclipsed by nights
| Of csrOusing bachinals and the sensual
| qualification Of the hour. Pardon me if
| ! give you rOlickiug lodge song of the
! times, IS indicating the features Of lis
early history. 1t is this:
LET us be social, be generous, be kind,
Let each take his glass and be mellow;
| Then Wen join heart and hand, leave alS-
And each prove a hearty ODD Fellow"
But these cOnviVial features found
their license in the customs of the time,
and were less unseenly to the civiliza-
ti0n Of that age than to tbe present.
| All social ana moral societies, and many
church meetings, possessed such con-
! Viviai features, and even the clergy were
"stimuIated freely with Intoxicating
drink and the fumes of tobacco" This
was at time, my brothers, when 1.-The
| rude forefatheTs Of the hamlet" MAIN
tanned the "anCient customs of the
reaim.n The wonder is, that the order
whose proud record we celebrate to-day
had not gone down in one long night
Of gloom and oblivion, never to have
been resurected, even, in the land OF
its birth, or re-enthTOned upon AmeTi-
can soil. But new era dawned upon
! Odd-FeliOWship. 10 1909 the leading
thinking men of the order, disgusted
with its cOnvivial features, attempted a
reform, but without satisfactory results.
In 1913 another aud more successful at.
tempt at reform was made at MaDChes-
Ter, in England, when number Of the
lodges seeded from the Omitted Order
of Odd-FellOws," and instituted the
present independent Order" under
which proud name we exist as an order
to-day. RevelTy and feasts, the beer
mug, The cup and the toast were elImi-
mated from its liturgy, interdicted aud
condemned, when the "lndependeni
Order" under 1.-THE moral influence Oi
sober practices, rapidly grew in mum
bers and influence, OVershadOWing tht
rival whence it sprung" In 1925 new
impulse was impaired to its growth by
a change in its general government,
when the order in England sprung
forward to new career OF in
fiusnce, prosperity, and useful
ness. Such, my brothers, is an epit'
ONE OF the origin and history of the
order, from lis earliest annuals to the
time when it was tTansplanted in the
| new WOIlu anu grew anu HuuilSu6(
under the benign influence Of American
institutions. It's history is remarkable
able and
INSTRUCTIVE,
and thatit exists to-day is attributable t
, the Inherent force and vital energy Oft
/ divine principles. Alarmed at its secrecy
and its rapid growth, the "power o
Rome" was hurled against its existence
: but without effect. 1t was brought for
+ time under the espionage Of the hOus
, Of Brunswick, and its progress impedeC
for q while, but like the smOthereC
3 fame, it gained new energy by its im
, prisOnment, when bursting forth, it
iurid light dissolved the superstition
I that would queuch its h4mts. and re
q lumei the embeTs it would extinguish
! It's power and influence ebbed and flow
. si with the tides Of tie sea-noW al
I vancing, now recediug, yet whether Il
: Tevelry or song, the jOcund feast Or th
q mellon hours, benevOlence, charity
. br0therly love and mutual relief, wer
q written iu unfading letters upon il
. altars. But il Odd-Fellowship drOOpe
q under the influence of such banetu
= practices in tue land whic
r gave it birth, it was reinvigOrate
+ and re-enthroBed upon American sol
n "The scepter which had departed frOr
TudabU was restored fO GN jldeV -