The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-05

our Absent Brothers-zealous in their
endeavors. scrupulous in their deal
ings with their fellow men. upright in
their lives and habits, charitable in
their Judgment of their brothers.
Some of them faced terrific odds,
fought what they knew was losing
Highland yet kept the sunny side of
their nature toward the world. Upon
one of my visits home the past SUM
mer l spent half hour with one Of
them. He sat in his chair and the
sun sifted through the leaves bene-
dietion upon him. HE saw Death ap-
preaching. bur his eye sparkled with
the JOY of living and he smiled as he
told me of how he had beaten the
Graybeard and his scythe in other
fights, and that he would not surrend.
der in that one. Within the week
read that he had heard the one clear
call and answering had journeyed
down the road. the first to take his
Masters hand. and ! thought OF that
fugitive verse,
1T is easy enough TO be happy
w iAGl tiiS SeSS aioAs> VAIN 81 SohSs
But the man worth while
Is the man who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
For the test OF the heart is trouble.
And it always comes with the years.
But the smile that is worth the hon.
age of earth
Is the smile that shines through the
tears
There was a true Elk. Just as were
the others of this lodge who have left
us within the past year, They were
men worth while. not because they
were Elks, but they were Elks be-
cause they were men worth while. and
met the tragedy of life as men They
were Elks because life meant some
thing to them, because the Tilt of
laughter was music to their ears. and
to their way of thinking 1t was more
sacred and deeply religious than a
long face. Laughter and the joy of
living. and the JOY Of seeing and help
ing others to live appealed to them as
the gospel of life. That is why the
gospel of this order appealed to them.
To them there was no grace in
gloom, they did not interpret life in
terms of misery. The world, as heav-
en- made it, is wondrous fair: the days
dawn with new brightness and glory
the flowers answer back the sun in
poems of living beauty; the great
book of nature lies open and every
page is written large with light and
laughter and love: golden lie the
meadows. and golden run the streams.
Blessed are they of the open heart
and. undimmed eye who read the mes
sage and see the Hand that writes 1t.
Our lately departed brothers caught
the message and the spirit back Of it;
they went about doing good; they pos
sessed generous qualities; they help
ed smooth the journey of life and light
en- the burdens of their fellow trav-
elers by striking hands and giving the
word of cheer; the coin of friendship.
integrity and square dealing rang true
and clear upon the counters OF their
manhood; the hand OF charity did not
appeal to them in vain. When their
summons came they met death with q
smile that betokened they had caught
some deep. beautiful chord of the
choir invisible.
Herein may we and the lesson OF
our order. Somewhere before US In
the whirling procession of the hours
be it day or score of years there
is coming that moment when we. too
shall lose our grasp upon the things
that are; when In this tenement house
Of the soul the windows shall be dark.
ened, the dust Of the body shall return
to the earth as 1t was, and the spirit
shall speed its return unto God who
gave it. May we have learned, ere
that, that it Is not all Of life to live;
then shall we realize it Is not all OF
death to die, and when we cross the
bar and put out to sea it will be as q
merry traveller returning to his home
across the deep after lingering alb
sence.
If we are true Elks, true as our Alb
sent Brothers, we will thus put out to
sea. The belief taught around the al
tar in our lodge is that He who
watches over all our destinies has the
spirits of our departed brothers un-
der His watchful care and on the last
great day will again connect the chain