Masonic Tidbits.

MASONIC TIDBITS .

FROM THK VOICE OF MASONRY . Continued fron page 203 . LAZY MASONS . —The next little tidbit picked up in my path , i a reference to lazy Masous , by some observing Grand Master . His hit at lazy Masons is so piquant aud pointed , and so well deserved , that I cannot resist the temptation to place it before the readers

of the Voice of Masonry , for every Mason should read it , and see if his portrait is properly reflected from it . The Grand Master says : My experience is , that a lazy Mason will soon become so lazy that he will not attend his Lodge if it were within fifty steps of his door , while the zealous liveMasonwillgo . no matter if he should have to ride ten miles . Lazy Masons are just about of as much use to the

Lodge as lazy Christians are to the church . They help to swell the count of membership , are always ready to avail themselves of its benefits , but don't like to shoulder any of its bnrdens . " This is concentrated truth . Every Mason should look in the mirror , and see if he can discover tho original of the picture . I beg pardon , if need be , for the liberty I have taken in furnishing the mirror .

UNDER AGE . —In a copy of a Report to some Grand Lodge , I find several references to the act of the Grand Master of Pennsylvania , in giving permission to a constituent Lodge to initiate a man under age . I am not a special advocate of some of the usages of Masonry as practised in that State , but every accused person should be heard before he is condemned , and I beg to offer some suggestions

that may at least modify the terrible violation of Masonio law and usage , with which the Grand Master in question is charged . Is there no excuse for this venial sin—this seeming transgression ? We should not hastily condemn age , and the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is the oldest in America . Aged persons generally have a good excuse for their peculiar opinions and idiosyncraoies ,

and so have old Grand Lodges—especially the one referred to . Lot ns examine this question before we condemn . " Under age . " Under what age—eighteen , twenty-one or twenty , live ? The Grand Lod ge of Pennsylvania was born of other parentage than more modern Grand Lodges . More than a century and a half ago there waa a schism in the Grand Lodge of Englandand a

, new Grand Lodge was organised . The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania owes its nativity to that Grand Lodge , and Dermott ' s Ahiman Eezon was adopted as the elementary statutes for that jurisdiction , and is retained as such to the present time . I have not a copy of that work at hand , bat I think it says the candidate mnst be of " " mature and discreet age . " Anderson ' s Constitutions of 1723 fixes the

standard as " mature and discreet age , " and that work is accepted as the elementary law in most , if not all modern Grand Lodges to the present day . The Grand Lodge of England , the oldest and largest in the world , and "the mother of us all , " still retains as the standard , " mature and discreet age , and in many oases the Lodges io that jurisdiction initiates candidates at eighteen years of age .

Why don t our rigid constructionists complain of the Grand Lodge of England , as well as that of Pennsylvania ? Now what is meant by " age" under those old laws ? To-day in most American Grand Lodges it means twenty-one years , —a kind of procrustean standard from which no departure is permitted , but it was not always so , nor is it now in the old organisations .

Many young men are as " mature aud discreet at eighteen" as others are at twenty-live . Do our critics remember that General Washington was made a Mason while yet under twenty-one years of age ? Twenty-five was at one time the standard , then eighteen and twenty-one , but " mature and discreet" is a safe rule in emergencies , though I am in favour of twenty-one years as a general

standard . Did any one ever consider the initiation of Washington , while yet under twenty-one years of age , as a violation of Masonic law ? He was of " mature and discreet age . " At sixteen he had completed his education in mathematics , and soon after executed important trusts under Lord Fairfax . At seventeen he was commissioned as a public surveyor , an ofiice at the time of high responsibility .

At nineteen he was in command of one of the military districts as Adjutant-General , with the rank of Major , and was about to depart by authority of the Governor to communicate with the French commander on the Ohio on matters of great national importance . He was not twenty-one , but he was regarded as of " mature and

discreet age , " and was initiated before he left on his perilous journey . He was already a man , with all the elements of a fully developed manhood , and the morning star of thafc glorious era which gave Freedom to a continent and secured rational Liberty to uncounted millions of our race .

There is another case of similar kind . General Warren who became Grand Master , and afterwards fell on Bunker Hill as tbe proto-martyr of the Revolution , was less than twenty-one years of % 'e when he was initiated . He became as distinguished for his ' . eal and labours for Masonry as for his devotion to his country's welfare . Though so young , he was of " mature and discreet age , "

as much so as some other men at thirty . And yet another instance of " under age" just now occurs to my memory . At the commencement of the late rebellion , a young man in Michigan moved by love of country , entered the army as a private soldier . His activity and bravery won him friends , and he fought his way up to a Lieutenantcy . He then came homo on a furlough , and greatly desired to become a Freemason before he

rejoined his regiment at the front . But he was yet " under age and was informed he conld not be initiated until he had attained hia legal majority . An aged brother by the name of Moore was then Grand Master of Michigan , and on application to him , with a statement of the facts , ho issued a dispensation to the Lodge authorising tht > initiation of the young man , if found worthy otherwise ; and he was admitted . The Grand Master reported his action to the Grand Lod ge , and gave as a reason for it that the young man already held

a commission as an officer in the array of his country , whioh he had won on many a bloody fiell , and that he therefore merited tha privilege of being made a Mason a few months " under age . " If ha was old enough to stand iu the front a commissioned officer , and breast the storar of war to save his country , ho was old enough to become a Freemason , especially under the old and fundamental

rule of " mature and discreet age , " aud his Grand Lodge approved the act . I am not a special defender of tho Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , but I fail to see tho necessity for thia procrustean standard . There are many other things done in other jurisdictions which , to me , are more objectionable than making a Maaon of a young man who lacks a few mouths of being twenty-one years of

age . Still , let each ono havo hia own opinion , but avoid harsh language and provoking denunciations of others for doing what they deem ia right , and at best is but a slight departure from general nsage , especially when they follow the example and practice of the Grand Lodge of England—the oldest—the mother Grand Lodge of the world . I believe in the general standard of twenty-one

years —the age recognised as legal by the laws of the country , but think there m . y be occasions when a departure from the rule ia justifiable , as in the case of Washington , and Warren , and the young patriot in Michigan . We should not forget that tbe old rale , and which is still recognised as of binding force , is yet regarded as law in almost every Grand Jurisdiction , and only requires " mature and discreet age , " whether thafc was reached afc eighteen ,

twentyone , or twenty-five years . It is not pleasant for me to differ , even in opinion from eminent brethren , but in some Masonio labours we can all agree . HANSELMANN COMMANDERY . —I was reading the other day about the proceedings of Hanselmann Commandery , Knights Templars , of Cincinnati , Ohio , and I cannot help referring to them . It was good work , square work , and just such work as GOD and men will

approve . There is in that musical city an Institution known as the Children - ' Home . Little homeless orphans are gathered into ifc and cared for by kind ladies . It lives on the benevolence of good men and women . Ifc is the practice of some Masonio bodies in thafc city to make an annual donation to that and kindred Institutions , aud

Hanselmann Commandery does its part nobly . The members of that Body , moved by the impulses of their great Masonio hearts , decided to make a call at the Home ou the first day of the present year . They made all the needed preparations , and then , in a body , " made a pilgrimage " to the Home . They were warmly welcomed by the kind ladies in charge , and by the gentlemanly President as

well , and by none more so than by the little orphans . About the time the welcomes and greetings , together with the songs and recitations of the children were over , two wagons drove to the door , loaded with a substantial New Year ' s gift from the Commandery , —clothing , dry goods , shoes and stockings , groceries and general ' provisions . These were unloaded and were carried in by fche

Knightly visitors . The whole formed a huge pile , and cost over three hundred dollars . The children were in high glee when they saw the grand New Year ' s gift . Their eyes sparkled " like stars in the sky , " and there little faces were wreathed in gladness and gratitude . The children were happy , the kind ladies were happy , and the knightly donors were the happiest of all .

How grandly this act of Hanselmann Commandery looms up in the current Masonic history of the times , and the record will grow brighter as the years pass on ! How much better , and how much more in harmony with the spirit of Masonry than the usual fashionable New Year ' s calls , or the dancing parties , expensive reception * , with big suppers and gorgeous displays ! My heart says , God bless Hanselmann Commandery ! I wish every

other Masonic organization would imitate tho example of the Templars referred to ; then there would be more and better exemplications of the genuine old Masonic work , without the need of Grand Lecturers . How happy would be the widows and the orphans , as well as the poor , the aged and the infirm ! " Inasmuch as ye have done ib unto one of the least of these , ye have done it unto me . " A heavenly commendation that would be a fitting motto to be inscribed upon the banners of Masonry everywhere !

We have received the Second Volume of Bro . R . F < Gould ' s " History of Freemasonry , " and congratulate both author and publisher on the appearance of the work .

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FREEMAN'S CHLORODYNE . The OrigliiHl and only true . ~ i ~ . STij .- x TJUNDREDS of Medical Practitioners testify to : , ' -,. . ? Vb-J $ ;_ % -Ll its marvellous efficacy in immediately relieving and ! b . ' - - { , '_ . ^ fefe rapidly curing Coughs , Golds , Asthma , Bronchitis , Neural' :. b ' " ^ ' * i # fef t _ i R- » Spasms , Colic , Whooping Cough , and all Nerve Pains . ' *«• ; ., ' &| { yb ** It acts like a charm in Diarrhoea , and is the only specific in . ' * _ b ?'_?^^ 6 S » * Cholera and Dysentery . It rapidly relieves pain , from what-- ' fl . D £ MAR ^ over cause ' soothes and strengthens the system under exhausting diseases , and gives quiet and refreshing sleep . Lord Chancellor Selborne , Lord Justice . Tames . Lord Justice Mellish decided ia favour of FREEMAN'S ORIGINAL ClILORODYNK , and against Brown and Davenport , compelling them to pay all costs in the suits . See Times of July 2 _ tb , 1873 . Bottles ls 1 . ( 1 , 2 s 9 d , Is 6 d , lis , and 20 s . SoU by all Chemists . T- ST-JIO - IA-S . —Head Quarter Staff , Cabul , May 31 st , 1880 . Mr . B . Freeman , Dear Sir , —It is with nuuh pleasure I am able to state that your Chlorodyne has been of special service to mo in alleviating the wearisome spasms of Asthma , which is here existent in an aggravated form . Many of my patients now come and bog me to give them that medicine which always relieves them , and which I need hardly say is your Chlorodyne . Yonrs faithfully , CHARLES XV . OWBK , L . R . C . P . Lon ' ., M . R . C . S . Bug ., the Divisional Head Quarter Staff and Civil Surgeon , Cabul . The Times , August 13 bh , 1877 . From our own Correspondent with the Russia - . Army . Okoam , July 25 th , 1877 . Tno want of sanitary arrangements in the Russian Camp was dreadful , and had we remained there a few wecks-l onger , dysentery and typhoid fever would havo played more havoc in our ranks than the bombs of the Turks . I myself acquired an unenviable reputation as a , doctor , owing to my being provided with a small bottle of DHL OHODYNE , with which I effected miraculous cures .