Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-07-06

Z
in others the world would he better Tor
us and our own goodwill would be much
enforced and improved. All men are
masked. and often II is, but the masks
which meet. Odd Fellowship does not ask
"was YOU looking for the mask ?" 1t you
should ask a brother this he would tear
off the mask and reply For YoU. tor
NV brother man." aud who Is not my
brother who is true TO me and always de-
clarcs that the arrows are beyond me,
who never defends ME in the wrong. but
who. when | am attacked, secs that
am not pierced by poisoned arrows from
the bows of robbers.
Mental growth is much accelerated bv
contraction, Iso say nientalp philosophers
and il this is so how much more power
full is il upon the socitl and moral attri-
butcs OF our being. As plainly as men
are warmed by hrc and chilled by frost
are they warmed By healthy contact and
chilled BY ISOLATION. BY frequent and
commoncommunicati men are moulded
into nobler forms of character and some
times into n common sentiment winch
is always desirable If it is not clannish.
Sentiment, purpose and will are the giant
powers in the world. 1t is the sentiment
and the trumpet that sings OF fame
that moves men to do, to dare, to die.
kindly act is most proximatcly the re-
suit of a cultivated sentiment Of benevo-
lencc 4 good decd is so closely n corol-
larry of noble will and purpose i'll man
that it is difficult to distinguish winch
contributes most to actual accomplish
mCnt. And can any one he so dull as to
of good sentiments, will and purposes is
an idle enterprise; or that the refinement
of good and charitable sentiments re-
specting each other by romantic and
mystic symbols does not elevate men in
to a broader clearer and more intellect
ual atmosphere
| Why does it exclude the world from
common benefits? 1t does not. II a man
! increases his store of bcnevulence i'll such
/ school do you imagine that he is going
out into the world to use one rule of con
duct III his intercourse with one man and
a different rule i'll respect to another
that he is going to carry dark lantern
and turn the light OF his good nature tor
the cultivation ofit) only on brother
OF the order: Is n man ever good man
and only a portion OF his community
! know il, or are benefited by his qualities?
! Can the education Of any one man be
anything but a common benefit? No.
my brothers. II man has good dis
position it will shine on all. II he is an
iceberg he will chill the whole group. He
cannot make special application Ot his
| qualities. Every person radiatcS either
warn or cold; but every one within the
radius OF his influence feels the one or the
other Jus: alike. The idea that there can
! he monopoly or restriction of the bcnc
, f,s and virtues of the order, or that they
can be created or cultivated for sp 'cial
application is wildly erroneous. Wat
ever sentiments of Friendship, Love,
! Truth, OF Hope, Pleasure or Pity are en-
| gcndcred in the lodge they at once go
singing, laughing or signing into the
common ear and heart and ming'c with
the universal harmony that envclops
| the great soft rolling world. Thank God,
there are some things that cannot he con.
trollcd or restricted by monopoly or hu-
man ariStoCracv. The king in all his
royal robes mary look up into the sky
on bright unc morning $50 clear.
so blue. SO purely beautiful that
God alone is to be seen in Heaven" but
he cannot prevent the poorest and the
! humhlcst individual from sharing equally
with him the highest ideals of divinity
/ which the Heavens shower on all alike.
Just so 1t is with the princi pies o. he
or,lcr. They are boundless as the skies
and as free and universal as the air
Every human being, wherever he NAV
be situated on the face of the earth, has
claim on our kind offices and will feel
their genial warmth on which ever side
the wicket he may he.
lmbucd with these sentiments nv
brethren, and believing that their cult
walton and regulation was desirable and
that motives and purposes are as essen
tlal as material movements or actions
themselves, we started with our brethren
who now lie j. ~lch eloquent silence
They then thougnt ms we think they
knew as We now know that they must die ;
but they felt rs we now feel that death
as applied to them individually was not
a reality and that they each was i'm
mortal while vet mortal; and so being a
part of them and moving along with
them we should not dread death, but
+, rather revere it rs great natural cvolu-
ton. We started with them having an
army of common hopes, purposes, Joys,
ambitions and consultations, which in
strength and volume was as n mighty
army with banners is to one man, and
continued cultivating such confidence rs
would unmask each heart and best bring
to light and development the impulses OF
grand and true humanity making such
frequent typical journeys down from Jeri-
cho as would keep each ready to show mer-
cy and compassion to any fellow sufferer
without stopping to inquire as to his
nationality, religion, politics or color.
Young, ardent, vigorous, and moving
with the muse Of our lives, the dav has
been pleasant and the journey safe for us
We have passed with our sleeping broth
ers many and many n hillside on which
the pines cluster, and followed with them
the row ot green trees that mark the
river of life until now we have halted n
moment at the places where they laid
down to sleep. The hour is still. Sounds
are suhdued, and we only feel the sad and
subducd harmony OF their lives, a queer
sad melody from which all hearts are so
reluctant to be divorced. We have no
{ need Of any emblem of our mortalitvnow
for mortality itself is here, and it is fitting
tina. we examine our objects and purpo-
SEES i'll coming here. Time permits us to
recite but single lesson and it is this:
Reason has sent us here to call up our
: brothers one by one, lin memory now
You are calling them by their namesl and
to settle our accounts with our consci-
: ences for every wrong we did them while
, living. Can we make rcparation to them
now? We are not accounting to them
but to ourselves. and for our own good
Standing beneath the pine trees shade
| and running the eye along the river Of
our lives and down into the narrow de
file Of death do we see n single trace of
envy, malice, resentment or revenge in
respect TO them now? Yet we did exer-