Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-09-16

Wilmington, struck gutter in New O ,sile
wreeking his mschine and cropping bin
In the mud IN sitting position. A bevy
Of girls assembled on d porch close by
began to utter, but the seli-possessed
bicyclist calmly tipped his hal and sad
Ladies', no applause ia necessary
The scene at the battery, the whdive
and on Delaware street, AZ the visitors
were disembarking was lively and anima-
ted. The blowing of Whistles ringing of
engine bells, gathering aIi0nment and
eountermarching OF lodges and command
erios, the hurrying aud busting of spec
tators, fragments of dozen different
tunes from M many different bands, the
commands Of narshals aud aids, The con.
fused jabberings of hundreds OF voices
all conduced to an effect straug4 aud uovsi
in the streets of New Castle.
The Clytle brought 1900 people from
Philadelphia, among them about 400 Odd
Fellows in regatta belonging to Justice,
Franklin, Good Samaritan and DeKalb
lodges
The Mary No,gan brought down about
100 persons from Chester
| The J0hB A Warner bruuyl down
about 300 from Philadelphia, among thu ~
30 members of Star of Bethlehem and 10
members OF Liberty lodges; ais about ~
members Of Chester lndge,
The MajOr ReHb3M brought from phili-
| dolphin the mambers OF Chnseii Friends
lodge aud Others and then prpeetd,d
down to Salem for another load
The Susie A. McCtM came over from
Pennsgrove with about 30 members of
Mural lodge, L. o. o +.
THE MASONIC PARADE.
The Masons had made but little effort
to attract visitors from other cities ~ d
their parade was composed largely of Del
awareans. The line formed on the battery
at l.3O a. NJ. aud marched in the follow
order over a short route, reaching the hall
at noon
Narshals.
Aids.
Citizens Band.
DUPONT Lodge, 80 members.
Newark Band.
Harmony Lodge, of Newark 80 members.
Eureka Lodge, of Wilmington, 3S members.
Washington Grays Band of Philadelphia.
Lafayette Lodge, 7Omembers.
Weccacoe Legion Band, of Philadelphia.
st. Johns Lodge,of New Castle, 10 members
| Lodge No. 236, of Philadelphia, 50 members.
Ringgod band, of Reading.
| st. Johns Commandery of Wilmington, 10
members.
Reading Commandery, 90 MEMBERS
Mary Commandery, of Philadelphia As mem
beers.
Grand Lodge, % members
AT noon the dedication of the Masonic
lodge room took place. The ceremonies
lasted 80 minutes, and were witnessed by
sweating crowd Of men, women and
children packed tightly in the rear of the
room. The usual ritual provided for such
| occasions WAS gone through with, M. W.
G. M. John Taylor presiding. The most
noticeable features of the ceremony, TO an
outsider, were the sprinkling of the
emblem with corn, wine and oil, the CIV
ing of the public grand honors, and the
Grand Masters high hat which was worn
almost constantly throughout the services
The dedicatory ceremonies closed with
the proclamation THAT the hall in which
we are now assembled. has been dedicated
to the purposes Of Freemasonry In due
and ancient forni."
DIR. oALDwELL's GRAFTON.
The Nelson's and spectators then repaired
to the auditorium, where tho members of
the Grand Lodge took seats on the stage
aud Thomas NJ. Ogle introduced Rev. j.
H. Caldwell, d. D., as the orator of the
day. DIR. Caldwell said
Most Worthy Grand Master, Members of
Hu Grdm Lodge and Brother l[dsOns
To those who have not been initiated into
the secret mysteries of Free Masonry there
doubtless are some things in these forms
which are hard to be understood but among
those who are familiar with the internal his
tory of these ancient rites, everything is ILL.,
structiye and many parts of the ritual and
Its peculiar phraseology have deep signiti-
cance
Freemasonry, however, sets up no peculiar
claims to such things, for all similar institu-
tlons. both ancient and modern, have what
may be called their rites, ceremonies and Gus
toms which convey certain moral lessons to
their members. Nearly all societies, not OK
ccpting the various religions of the world. do,
to n certain extent and in ways that are
peculiar to themselves, cover a portion of their
proceedings, if not wholly from the public
eye, ut least with u veil of mystery. Az
regards some forms Of religion, the mystical
parts were doubtless cOntrived on purpose to
hide their meaning from the vulgar and
thus invest them with an air of sacrednGss.
Ii is not so with Freemasunry as il now exists
in the enlightened communities of the world.
| 1t is too late in the history of time for par
ticnlar dress, even if worn by n priest for
mystical forms of speech by whomsoever
they may be uttered or muttered, or for sym
boical rites, however imposing they may be,
to miSlead the intelligent or dupc the ignOr-
ant. Therefore, you who are unnitiated are
not to construe anything that may transpire
| or that may be spoken in these obseryances
to design on the Part of the actors in these
scenes to impose upon ignorant credulty. A
fan nobler purpose actuates the brethren
who are employed i'll the observances of this
day.
From the earliest ages Of history it has been
and still continues to he the case, that opera
tons of the human mind and tho sentiments
of the human heart have their outward
expression i'll visible symbols. Such symbols
are the types of truths abstract or concrete
US the ease may be- which are designed thus
to bc more deeply imposed upon the memory
or fixed i'll the heart. Like the picture prin-
crs which we place in the hands of our
children, these sensible objects either simplify
moral truths and sentiments or render them
more agreeable by their associations with
appropriate signs and tokens
The ritual ceremonies connected with ded-
cations are among the most ancient that are
| yet found eXtant upon the earth, and the
lessons which they impart are the most i'll
Htrnctiye and purifying. They relate to the
dedication or conservation to God, or to some
| high and sacred use, of buildings places,
| persons and things. Their significance de-
| ponds no little upon the nature of the service
| to which their objects are devoted.
| Doubtless in the earliest forms of worship
| not only among the postdiluvan patrarchs of
sacred history, but among the autedeluvans
| ns well, there Were solemn forms of dedicn-
! ton. Their affairs were erected. their sacri-
| fetal offerings were presented and their devo-
! tons We're conducted amid rites and obsery
| ances which impressed not only tile actors
themselves, but likewise their spectators, with
| solemn reverence and, perhaps il was owing
| to impressions THUS received that the symbol
ism Of all the earlier religions i'll Egypt, Assyria
| and other countries took its rise. They all
| discover 80 far rs they are known to Ills after
| the lapse of so many years, many traces of
their religious rites and cmblems of which we
have some notices in the Bible. But the first
| important description of such cercmonials we
find i'll the dedication of the ancient taber-
| naclG by Moses 1881 years before Christ. The
| next was the dedication of SulomOns temple
| b. g.. l0O3. The same building was recor-
secrated by Hezckah Il. G. 726 in order to
| purify it from the denominations which his
father Ahaz introduced into it. The next
dedication services were over 300 years later
when the new temple erected by the returned
captives under Xerubbabel was cOnsecrated.
Judas Maccabus rededicated the altar in this
temple after it had been polluted by
| AntiOchus Epiphanes H. C. l64. The Syrians
| were driven out by this patriotic jew and he
erected his country into an independent state
once more after a vassalagc of more than 400
years. Herod the Great, % years before
Christ enlarged, beautified and adorned this
temple and rededicated it, according to
Josephus, with pomp and magniticence
surprising even the splendors of Solomon's
dedication but with far less OF the true spirit
of religious devotion. Indeed, with HerOd it
was more from political than religious con-
sidaratious that he eXnpntle6 So mich labor