Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1907-10-24

mitted to lose sight of the first princlpi
round in the ladder which Jacob in hi
vision saw, that OF faith, which admon
ishes him to have faith in God.
"Have faith in God and trust His might
That he will conquer as you fight,
And give the triumph TO the right;
Have faith, have faith in God.
Have faith in God; press near His side,
Thy troubled soul trust Him to guide;
In life, in death whate'er beti1e.
Have faith, have fa In God"
Now | contend that all true lovers o.
religion owe at least sincere gratitude tc
the institution of Masonry for its labor:
( in conserving and promoting faith among
mankind. Masonry is indeed powerful
ally at this present time among the forces
that emphasize the spiritual and i'm
mortal part of mans nature. 1t is such
a force as is needed in this age when the
questioning spirit is abroad moving upon
the face OF the waters, seeking rest and
finding none.
For generations. the votaries of Ma
sonry have been conducted through the
middle chamner where, ropres nting
manhood in quest Of knowledge, the
wonderful things in nature and the great
achievement, Of men are observed. TIE
yotary is. however, constantly impressed
with the fact that the planets in their or
bits, the return Of the seasons and the
achievements Of man are all due TO the
power, wisdom and goodness Of the
Grand Artifcer of the universe before
whom all should revereutly and most
humrIy bow, from the youngest entered
apprentice to the most hOu0red OF the
craft. II is at this time Of life when
drifting has begun, that faith as al an
Choir 10 the soul is most needed. il is at
tins very time of life that "A man makes
progress in Masonry. His faith in God
now takes a deeper and more rational!
hold that will not permit OF being shaken
of. He begins TO realize as never before
that this is tine fundamental tenet, for
without thi, the entire fabric is doomed 20
destruction. Re sees that faith in God Is
the source of all the virtues. OF all that a.
good and noble and therefore OF faith in
mankind.
For without faith in God who can have
faith in his fellowman, and without faith
in ones fellows, existence becomes
curse. Surely the man who contends
that Masonry is antagonistic to religion
Is grossly ignorant or malicious.
There are other criticisms OF our insti-
tuition aside from being secret and hos
tile to religion that | would enjoy paying
compared with these we have considered
and / wish to call your attention briefly
to some unique features Of our institu-
ton.
1t is unique in point Of age. All other
orders are creatures of yesterday a. com
pared with Freemasonry. 4 hundred
years ago Masonry was fourishing in
Vermont. Rising sun lodge was not
then No. : but No. IS. Twenty-seven
lodges saw the light in the sparse and
scattered population Of the Green Noun
tain state before the brethren OF Royalton
were granted a charter. Was there any
other OF the many fraternal organizations
of today eXtant at that time on the soil OF
America? II so. do not know it.
We are taught in one Of our charges
that our institution has 'subsisted from
time immemorial." That is. it reaches
back beyond memory or record. And
this is true Of Freemasonry. No histori-
an has been able to name the date on
which Masonry was born. To be sure,
we know that in the year 1917 speculative
Masonry took a great step forward in the
forming OF four lodges into Grand
Lodge for England, but when did these
lodges begin or how many centuries did
operative Masonry exist before such
thing as speculative Masonry was
thought Of?
On this point scholars have been at sea
for nearly two hundred years and doubt
less will continue in ignorance for many
years to come. Its history loses itself in
the dim and yoiceless past. Modern fra
ternal and benefit societies are each
founded upon one of the manifold but
simple tenets Of this grand institution.
a. rTrrl 10. -.
of an incident. Once there
came great vessel from the East Indies
up the Boston harbor. She came along
with full head of sail, then reetei her
sails and paused for the tide. And as she
lay there, there came little boat that
sailed under her stern, and the skipper
dropped the sal! for moment or two and
began to overhaul the big ship. What
ship. ahOy?" he called. The Twin
Brothers, And where are you from?''
Il am from India" How long have
you been out?" lone hundred and thir-
,y days. And what have YOU on
bnard?' And the man answered back .
and told him about tine spices and all the .
other precious things. But the man on
the big ship was a little fatigued. and SO
he leaned over the side and said ..Ship F.
ihOy! Where do you sail from?'' .
. From Gloucester" How long have you
been out?" about all night" IAN .
night! And what have you on board?''
And the man answered, Nothing but
myself"
And sometimes. when this great. old
bark of ours, having stormed
through many seas, getting near TO port.
'yerhauled by some little body OF people
ust come into existence, who are verv
anxious to make out something terrible
md dangerous about Us, it is not unna-
ural if we shall lean over the taffrail of
'ur ship just a little mite wearied and
ay, ''Who are your well, we have
ust come from a little town" .How
ong have you been out?' "A short
ime." And what have you on board?"
Nothing but myself"
Not only is Masonry unique as com
JARED with other orders in that its origin
5 lost in the dim past, it is also unique
hfarV