The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-05-24
Maysnfe IiicIdents.

Massnfo Iiicldents.
At feast given by the Grand Lodge
Of Massachusetts,, Rev. Bro. Young, the
Grand Chaplain, related the following
fnnidents, and made the following excai.
lent comments thereon:
The other evening, on certain occa-
sion, I alluded 70 the influence Of Mason.
ry during the rebellion. Since then
heard O. story from one who was in the
war, which beautifully illustrated the
influence Of Masonry in the direction of
love and fraternity. In one of the bat
ties Of Virginia, Gen. Woodsworth-I
think tbst 10 the name--of Vermont, fell,
and WAS within the encmy's lines. yIis
friends wished to obtain It, aud Federal
officer, who was Mason, said to the sen.
tinel, who was also O Mason, "you 20
down TO the shore Of the stream, and If
you see man on the other side, make
some 6iBaai to him of Masonic charac.
ter" He went down to tho shore, and
by and by he saw person on the oppo.
aite side. He gavo the signal, but no
answer was returned. Tbs nsxt morn.
Ing when he vent down he repeated the
practice with the same result; no snswer
Was given. Finally the officer went down
and made some signals, and he soon
found them answered Oh the opposite
side. In the course of the day commu.
nication was had, the body was given into
the hands Of its friends, and carried
homo for intermeHt. The Confederate
officer, in his communication with the
Federal officer, said that the sentinel on
the other side did not know what those
signals meant.
Now, 1t is just that brethren. The
world laughs at our signs, and calls them
nonsense. But their object is to touch
the secret springs through which we are
brought into close and intimate connec-
ton with others, and are enabled. as in
the case illustrated to close bloody
chasm, and bring enemies into the reln-
ton of friends.
And 30 in the secret character of our
organization. Why, ali the grand forces
of nature are secret. God Himself is a
great secret; q .reat mystery; tho eve
does not look upon him, the ear does not
hear him, tho hand cannot touch him.
and yet we believe in his boundess love
and wisdom, and power, and we Worship
| that Great Unseen and Invisible One.
Life is secret and invisible. The surgeon,
the dissector, can cut the body and laF
open its parts; but he cannot lay his
knife upon the secret life and expose it
to the eye. The mir is Invisible. We
| only feel it on our cheeks; we hear its
| music In the forests. Electricity Is in.
visible. AL the secret powers and forces
that move the world aud hold systems
| together are unseen and secr,', eluding
the eye and hand. So it is in this grand
institution Of ours, which believe we
cannot too much praise and too much
love, brethren, nor too much honor in
our owl manly characters, in our own
upright lives. and in our loving disposi.
sions. 1t is that very characteristic of
Masonry which gives it the power that is
to-day, in hundred thousand ways that
we don't see, moving the world onward,
and hitting 1t up nearer TO the skies, aud
preaching that love and brotherly Kind
ness which shall make the earth we live
on like heaven to aspire to.
! On the Same occasion Bro. Swain, the
3. q. Warden of Massachusetts, related
the following Incidents. Although tinged
with party o: sectional feeling, and some
what overdrawn we publieh them:
In the Sevon Days Fight it was my
misfortune to fall into the hands ofStoue-
wall jackson at Savage Station. wns
cent to Richmond aud placed In Iibhv
prison. Our men were suffering terribly.
We found men whose limbs had been
amputated, and had gone without dress.
Ing for ten or fifteen days. They were
dying as much for the want of pronar
nouriahment as for wan: of proper care.
Strict orders had been given that no
Union persons ahould be allowed TO con.
tribute anything to the hospitals, no mat
ter what the circumstances might be. I
was not Mason at the time, but nv
steward was, and he raid to me, 81 have
q power about me which think will
supply this hospital with fooa. shall
try it, If get put in Castle Thunder"
Tho result was that he soon had an
under current working that supplied the
hospital with aelieaoies and otter things
which eTery other hospital failed 10 ae-
ceive. And chat is what made ma Ma
son. had thought many times before
that Il must be o good organization, but
was busy and RETAINED making appli-
cation. But said then, "If. there Is a
power In Masonry that makes men broth
srs Dse this, it Is something worth hav-
Ing" That is one reason why became
Mason; xnS thank God did.
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