The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-05-23

Leasing, Heroer, Fichte and Goethe
himself.
Can we forget the uncrowned King
OF Poesy, Robert Burns? He was
initiated at Irvine in 1871 and Master
of the lodge at Mauchlin. 1t is in his
farewell to the brethren of st. James
Lodge, Tarbolton, that these lines oc-
cur:
"Adieu, a heart warm, fond adieu,
Dear brothers of the mystic tie,
Ye favored, we enlightened few,
Companions Of my social joy!
Oft have I met your social band,
And spent the cheerful festive night;
Oft honor'd with supreme command,
Presided Ger the sons Of light.
And by that hieroglyphic bright,
Which none but craftsmen ever saw,
Strong memory on my heart shall
write
Those happy scene fs- ava"
But it is not the history of Masonry,
whether authentic of legendary, nor
even the contemplation of the line Of
great and gifted, who nave worn the
lamb-skin, that is important to the true
craftsman, or TO the world. All mat
ters Of historic continuity II personal
annals are Of little ~onsequenc in the
presence of the spirit of Masonry, that
everlasting fear of God and love OF
4AiH~A' CcHibiDCdy 4 q ICdppCdISu
in all ages, walking the earth with the
arch angels of power and love.
Well has it been said: of the three
tenets of a Mason's profession, Truth
is the column of wisdom, whose rays
penetrate and enlighten the inmost re-
cesses Of our lodge; Brotherly Love-,
the column Of strength which binds US
as one family in the indissoluble bon
of raternal Affection; and Relief, the
column OF beauty, whose ornaments
are more precious than the lilies, II
pomegranates that adorned the pillars
OF the porch are the widows tear of
JOY, and the orphans prayer of graft
tude."
To the honor of human nature, there
has perl Fps never been a period with
in record when some deed inspired by
nobility of soul did not shine forth in
the deepest moral gloom, some act of
self-sacrifice, thrill a peo-
pie with admiration.
But it was preserved for this age to
exhibit the s%plendors of the Masonic
Trinity, in the spread of the Truth, the
extension of Brotherly Love, and the
application of Relief, to a degree un-
paralleled in the annals of mankind.
Witness the efforts in every civilized
world to relieve the suffering, to help
the widow, to train the orphan, to be
eyes to the blind, speech to the mute,
feet to the lame. Hospitals are or
AAASC oiAo NNSly III oSlCAIG
drawn upon, to save the waif and wan
derer of the streets. Vast educational
systems are devised and maintained
for the education of the ignorant. No
form of human infirmity, no class Of
the q or dependent may be found
without some organization to aid it.
The unhappy insane, perhaps the
most sorely stricken Of all Gods Gre
atures, who were left to live as the
beasts, or chained and beaten in the
ignorant. tOrtue that would thus eX-
ercise the evil spirit less than a CEN
fury ago, are now tenderly cared for,
and often led gently back to the family
circle, clothed and in their right mind.
While the spirit of charity Chat
beautiful word charitaS, which in it's
essence is love- no longer contents il
self with dealing out the dole bread at
the convent gate, but rather seeks to
build Industrial works, and supply the
means for self help, thus to sustain the
body and likewise uplift the manhood
within.
The suffering people of the southern
states, in a single generation, have giv-
en- half a billion of dollars to the CON-
mon school education of the young,
and more than a hundred millions of
that for the elevation OF an alien race,
strangers to their blood and color,
thrown upon them for protection in the
inscrutiable Providence of God. And
1890 AiAAo VI >A"$ &NASA'
To look farther away, Peabody, Slater,
Stanford and many more rave given
Of their millions, like Pratt and Smith
son and Girard, to extend knowledge,
comfort, the liberal arts and natural
sciences. Libraries are multiplied, Gel
leges endowed, orphanages establish
ed. Nearly one hundre reform schools
in this country alone are rescuing the
young from the grasp of vice and
crime, s%natching thousands from the
prison cells and setting their feet in
the pathway Of honorable citizenship.
But beyond all institutions and de-
vices for the relief of individuals, how
ever needy or numerous, is the sp.rit
in mems hearts that is anxious to dr.
!, what may be properly done by 1sso'
ciated action, in every necessity of So
cial and political life, for the good q
; the masses-as the somewhat discour-
teous expression goes-for the lasting
!, welfare of the people everywhere.
!, i am not unmindful that there is an.
: other side to this; that there are War.
> vet upon the earth. and rumors q
wars; that many things are out D
) joint with the rogress and happiness
+ of men; that the unrest of nations, tn
q oppression OF great interests, the eXer
else of arbitrary and almost unre
strained will for selfish ends, exists il
the world. This is not the time ant
, place to discuss the momentous issue;
- IAdI TOOIIl Iii tANC Will " Jill
> ing century.
But 1 look beyond he clouds; I se'
, the rainboW of mans future as it /
: painted by the spectrum of Brotherl.
! Love.
In the words of Masillon-"God onl.
Is great" In his good time 1 believ,
i. He is bringing His creatures to the full
I recognition of His own Fatherhood
} n to the full working out of tn
: brotherhood of man This temple will
rise to attest the eternity of thes
truths.
Nor do / venture to claim for Mason
~ more than her own. The church a
Q presenting the claim. of God pom MAJ
is supreme, and we acknowledge 1t
bur Masonry is her faithful handmai
den and ally.
To the fortunate who have advance
v through mystic degrees to the posses
f sion of the ineffable word, l have blu
to say that it seemed meet to stand a
common worshippers of the grea
o truths that form the heritage Of a