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Article "CHARITY FAINTETH NOT!" Page 1 of 2 Article "CHARITY FAINTETH NOT!" Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
"Charity Fainteth Not!"
" CHARITY FAINTETH NOT !"
IT is an interesting spectacle , albeit there is imparted to it an admixture both of sadness and pleasure , to witness gatherings which take place regularly and at intervals within the walls of our Masonic headquartets in Great Queen-streat for the election of candidates to one or
other of those Institutions which stand forth as amongst the provident landmarks of the Craft . The pleasure arises from the conviction which is then perhaps more than at any other time forced upon the minds of the brethren , of the vast amount of disinterested and self-denying
energy put forth to establish the fact already known that Charity is the one greafc characteristic of the Freemason ' s heart . We say the fact is already known , because the very existence of our magnificent palaces of benevolence
and of solicitude for the wants and sufferings of our lessfavoured fellow creatures proclaim to the world the depths to which the hearts of the brethren are stirred , and the unquenchable sympathy with suffering humanity which , is promulgated by the tenets of our Order . Whatever the
curious or cynical may say of the " doings " of Masons , and however they may cavil in inquisitive ignorance over the " secrets" and amenities , which are the absolute possessions of the initiated , the outer world is bound to confess , as it gazes on the splendid institutions we have raised for
the shelter of the aged and decayed , the maintenance and education of our youth of both sexes , that although the ways of the Craft are to them inscrutable and past finding out , yet there is in it , at all events , a substratum of almost boundless charity which must excite the admiration and
emulation of all right-thinking men , and prove to even the most sceptical that brotherly love , relief and truth exists m reality and not merely in name . The world in general sees tbe results of exertions put forth in this respect by the munificent sums that are subscribed thrice a year at
our Festivals , testifying to a generosity and spirit of practical philanthrophy equalled by no other institution on the face of the globe . But great sums on paper ,
testifying though they do to the immense liberality and selfsacrifice of the Craffc , generally do nofc represent in any degree the personal and heroic actions by which such results are attained .
Of this the world can know but little , if anything ; their province is to look on , passive admirers of the great and glorious work which is achieved year after year by an Order they so often affect to hold up to ridicule . To us
who are initiated to " look within and out , " the realisation of this grand work is all the more glorious and sublime . It denotes to us that not only has money flowed in by thousands upon thousands , through the various channels , of the hi ghest type of human benevolence , but we see in the
person of every Steward who comes up to our Festivals the embodiment of collective and individual sympathy with the bereave d and needy , and a determination to assist in every possible way in assuaging the aggregate of the poverty and distress that surround us on every side . We see not
Merel y the quiet contented home of the aged and infirm , where " age and want sit smiling at the gate , " cared for in their declining years by tender and loving hands ; but our thoughts are carried back to the days when these recipients o £ the bounty of the Craft were in better position , if not in enjoyment of comparative opulence . We
"Charity Fainteth Not!"
hear the voices of gratitude that have resounded through ' those walls , like sacred music , recalling the forms and features of many who have passed away to the Grand Lodge above , where the worn ancl weary are at rest , and there is no want to need the exercise of human
compassion . The grateful acknowledgments of . those who are still with us are best , and echo similar strains thafc fell upon our ears in " the long ago , " and inspire us to persevere in the task so dear to the Masonic creed of " going about doing good . " Let there be no contemptuous curl of
the lip at the utterance of such sentiments as these . We are not sermonising , but placing before those who are most intimate with facts , the real state of the case . Turn , again , to the ruddy-cheeked lads and modest maidens , many hundreds of whom are being clothed and fed and
educated in our Schools , and say whether in fitting those little ones for the stern realities they must face in after life there is not a grand and beneficent scheme which must be placed to the credit of our oftentimes maligned Order ?
We say this in no apologetic strain , or boastful humour ; tbe chariot wheels of Masonic benevolence roll noiselessly , yet invincibly , over the rough roads of life , carrying with them help and healing to the distressed and needy , and expecting no reward or praise from any human lip .
These thoughts , we say , give pleasure to the sensitive mind who visits the Hall and portals where so much real charity is periodically dispensed . But , on the other hand , there is a tinge of sadness in the thought , that , however open-handed the brethren have been , the demands are far
in excess of the relief it is possible to afford . Anxious friends will buttonhole you upon the staircase , and plead for the gift or exchange of votes in aid of some deserving case , and as you pass along , utterly unable to comply with all ( if any ) of such requests , the feelings are saddened by the
knowledge that so much real necessity exists . Inside the Hall are brethren who have come up from the Provinces , and sometimes , after travelling long distances , flushed with the hope of succeeding in behalf of poor deserving widow or child in whom they have taken a deep personal
interest in the localities from which they hail . To watch fluctuating expressions of hope , anxiety , and disappointment which mark the countenances of those most deeply interested in the Election , is a sight to be seen , not described ; and , at length , when the poll is declared and the
results made known , the proud consciousness of duty well performed illumines the faces of those who have striven successfully on behalf of the objects of their compassion ;
whilst less fortunate are compelled to accept , with quiet and sorrowful resignation , the failure of cherished hopes , only to be revived when the next election time comes round , when fickle fortune might be in a better humour .
A lesson taught by snch a scene as this is , that although a spirit of widespread and munificent sympathy pervades the Craft , ancl although the amounts of money subscribed year by year increase in a very satisfactory ratio , there is , nevertheless , a vast sum of unavoidable distress , which it is
impossible to relieve , much as the brethren may be desirous of coping with the many exigencies that arise . It is grievous to see out of the lists of approved candidates which are submitted at each successive election , so many who are
sent away empty , and unsatisfied through sheer inability to meet all the deserving claims upon the bounty of our Institutions ; but ifc is only the same here as in all other schemes of a similar kind , whose object Is to relieve disfcresi
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
"Charity Fainteth Not!"
" CHARITY FAINTETH NOT !"
IT is an interesting spectacle , albeit there is imparted to it an admixture both of sadness and pleasure , to witness gatherings which take place regularly and at intervals within the walls of our Masonic headquartets in Great Queen-streat for the election of candidates to one or
other of those Institutions which stand forth as amongst the provident landmarks of the Craft . The pleasure arises from the conviction which is then perhaps more than at any other time forced upon the minds of the brethren , of the vast amount of disinterested and self-denying
energy put forth to establish the fact already known that Charity is the one greafc characteristic of the Freemason ' s heart . We say the fact is already known , because the very existence of our magnificent palaces of benevolence
and of solicitude for the wants and sufferings of our lessfavoured fellow creatures proclaim to the world the depths to which the hearts of the brethren are stirred , and the unquenchable sympathy with suffering humanity which , is promulgated by the tenets of our Order . Whatever the
curious or cynical may say of the " doings " of Masons , and however they may cavil in inquisitive ignorance over the " secrets" and amenities , which are the absolute possessions of the initiated , the outer world is bound to confess , as it gazes on the splendid institutions we have raised for
the shelter of the aged and decayed , the maintenance and education of our youth of both sexes , that although the ways of the Craft are to them inscrutable and past finding out , yet there is in it , at all events , a substratum of almost boundless charity which must excite the admiration and
emulation of all right-thinking men , and prove to even the most sceptical that brotherly love , relief and truth exists m reality and not merely in name . The world in general sees tbe results of exertions put forth in this respect by the munificent sums that are subscribed thrice a year at
our Festivals , testifying to a generosity and spirit of practical philanthrophy equalled by no other institution on the face of the globe . But great sums on paper ,
testifying though they do to the immense liberality and selfsacrifice of the Craffc , generally do nofc represent in any degree the personal and heroic actions by which such results are attained .
Of this the world can know but little , if anything ; their province is to look on , passive admirers of the great and glorious work which is achieved year after year by an Order they so often affect to hold up to ridicule . To us
who are initiated to " look within and out , " the realisation of this grand work is all the more glorious and sublime . It denotes to us that not only has money flowed in by thousands upon thousands , through the various channels , of the hi ghest type of human benevolence , but we see in the
person of every Steward who comes up to our Festivals the embodiment of collective and individual sympathy with the bereave d and needy , and a determination to assist in every possible way in assuaging the aggregate of the poverty and distress that surround us on every side . We see not
Merel y the quiet contented home of the aged and infirm , where " age and want sit smiling at the gate , " cared for in their declining years by tender and loving hands ; but our thoughts are carried back to the days when these recipients o £ the bounty of the Craft were in better position , if not in enjoyment of comparative opulence . We
"Charity Fainteth Not!"
hear the voices of gratitude that have resounded through ' those walls , like sacred music , recalling the forms and features of many who have passed away to the Grand Lodge above , where the worn ancl weary are at rest , and there is no want to need the exercise of human
compassion . The grateful acknowledgments of . those who are still with us are best , and echo similar strains thafc fell upon our ears in " the long ago , " and inspire us to persevere in the task so dear to the Masonic creed of " going about doing good . " Let there be no contemptuous curl of
the lip at the utterance of such sentiments as these . We are not sermonising , but placing before those who are most intimate with facts , the real state of the case . Turn , again , to the ruddy-cheeked lads and modest maidens , many hundreds of whom are being clothed and fed and
educated in our Schools , and say whether in fitting those little ones for the stern realities they must face in after life there is not a grand and beneficent scheme which must be placed to the credit of our oftentimes maligned Order ?
We say this in no apologetic strain , or boastful humour ; tbe chariot wheels of Masonic benevolence roll noiselessly , yet invincibly , over the rough roads of life , carrying with them help and healing to the distressed and needy , and expecting no reward or praise from any human lip .
These thoughts , we say , give pleasure to the sensitive mind who visits the Hall and portals where so much real charity is periodically dispensed . But , on the other hand , there is a tinge of sadness in the thought , that , however open-handed the brethren have been , the demands are far
in excess of the relief it is possible to afford . Anxious friends will buttonhole you upon the staircase , and plead for the gift or exchange of votes in aid of some deserving case , and as you pass along , utterly unable to comply with all ( if any ) of such requests , the feelings are saddened by the
knowledge that so much real necessity exists . Inside the Hall are brethren who have come up from the Provinces , and sometimes , after travelling long distances , flushed with the hope of succeeding in behalf of poor deserving widow or child in whom they have taken a deep personal
interest in the localities from which they hail . To watch fluctuating expressions of hope , anxiety , and disappointment which mark the countenances of those most deeply interested in the Election , is a sight to be seen , not described ; and , at length , when the poll is declared and the
results made known , the proud consciousness of duty well performed illumines the faces of those who have striven successfully on behalf of the objects of their compassion ;
whilst less fortunate are compelled to accept , with quiet and sorrowful resignation , the failure of cherished hopes , only to be revived when the next election time comes round , when fickle fortune might be in a better humour .
A lesson taught by snch a scene as this is , that although a spirit of widespread and munificent sympathy pervades the Craft , ancl although the amounts of money subscribed year by year increase in a very satisfactory ratio , there is , nevertheless , a vast sum of unavoidable distress , which it is
impossible to relieve , much as the brethren may be desirous of coping with the many exigencies that arise . It is grievous to see out of the lists of approved candidates which are submitted at each successive election , so many who are
sent away empty , and unsatisfied through sheer inability to meet all the deserving claims upon the bounty of our Institutions ; but ifc is only the same here as in all other schemes of a similar kind , whose object Is to relieve disfcresi