Enthusiastic Masons.

and the benefits derived are such as must be shared by every member of fche human family .

Benevolent Without Ostentation.

BENEVOLENT WITHOUT OSTENTATION .

IN the estimation of many Freemasons Masonry is nothing if not charitable . Charity is both the corner stone and capstone , the alpha and omega of the Fraternity . Its treasury exists for the sole purpose of aiding the distressed , and to use it otherwise would be to misuse it . This

is an extreme view , but its foundation is laid in truth and justice . The corner-stone of Freemasonry is charity , but its capstone is not—Charity is the foundation , but not the superstructure , of our Institution . Freemasonry is a

composite , a many-sided Society , an outgrowth of the ages . There is nothing narrow about it . First of all it is charitable , but after that it is much besides . It is supported by three colums , Wisdom , Strength , and Beauty—the Wisdom

of Truth , the Strength of Charity , the Beauty of Brotherly Love . Its Truth is God's truth , revealed truth , the truth we find in the First Great Light in Masonry . Its Charity is its own charity , dealt out not by measure , bufc with the

freeness and fulness of a Brother's love . Its beauty is likewise emphatically its own—the beauty of fraternity , of complete sympathy , of sincere friendship , of mutual and convivial enjoyment . We have to consider now , however , only its strength of charity .

Masonic charity embraces the ideas both of benevolence and beneficence—ifc wishes well to its brethren , and ifc does well for them . It suits the action to the word . It does not say to the distressed , "Be ye fed , or be ye

clothed , " but it feeds the hungry and clothes the naked . It is nothing if not practical . The beautiful sentiments which are aired by Masonic orators on St . John ' s Day , are exemplified within the tyled Lodge . No deserving brother is

"wi-h emnt y away . The charity of Masonry is personal . It never deals with masses , vut , nun w-. - Xc . i * . n Wcfiu hosts of individuals , who may have suffered from the same cause , at the same time , but ifc does for each one iu turn

on his own merits—it is a personal gift . There is nothing mechanical about it . If it errs at all it is in relying too much on the individual , and taking much that he says to be absolute verity . Freemasons are taught to trust each

other , and the brother who is well-to-do does not believe thafc his unfortunate brother has forgotten to tell the truth . We know the nature of much of the so-called charity of the world . It may be liberal , but it too often suggests the

giver . Ostentation is the chief characteristic of profane charity . Does the fashionable world wish to contribute to a benevolent object , it adopts as a means a charity ball . In other words , it enjoys itself first , and gives to the poor

afterwards . Not so Masonry . Not that it is entirely forgetful of self , but it thinks of every interest . The indigent are cared for , always ; the fortunate brother , who is

always present in Lodge , is also ministered to with Masonic offices ; so thafc the unfortuate and fortunate rejoice together . The sowing and the reaping are performed side by side .

To him who appreciates the beauty of not letting his left hand know what his right hand doeth , one of the most admirable features of Masonic charity is its unostentatiousness . It has nothing of parade about it , nothing of

selfgratulation , nothing of publicity . It is done in a corner , and is rarely brought to light . The Craffc knows it , or rather a small portion of the Craffc , bufc the outside world is entirely ignorant of ifc . Sometimes even the members of

a Lodge when they vote money , do nofc of a certainty know who its recipient is to be . The Committee on Charity sometimes merely report that an old and estimable member of the Lodge is in temporary distress , and needs fifty or a

hundred dollars . It is at once voted , withont question , without prying into any of the facts , and without lessening the self-respect of the brother who has been unexpectedly reduced toneed . This is Masonic charity , which vaunteth

not itself , is not pnffed up , endurefch long , and is kind . Where is the brother who would not accept it , if he needed it ; where the brother who would not bestow it , if he deemed it merited ?

Masonic charity once was exclusively secret , and given after a purely Masonic manner ; but in our era ifc has gone beyond the lodge room , and become in a degree objective . This , however , was of necessity , nofc of intention . Time was when Brethren in distress were few ; and their

distress short-lived , but since the Fraternity has become so

Benevolent Without Ostentation.

widely dispersed , and so numerous in membership , there are always many cases of need , and some of them con . tinning . The result has been the erection of Masonic Homes , devoted exclusively to ministering to the comfort

of aged and indigent Freemasons , who might otherwise be left to the cold charity of the world . Masonry has expanded its charities with expanding time and circumstances . The method of dispensing these charites is not a landmark ; we

may do good and distribute after any approved mannernot giving up the custom of assembling ourselves together , and in the good old way aiding brethren in distress . That ,

after all , is the least ; ostentatious and the most purely Masonic , bnfc ifc does not exclude the other , which isfarther reaching , more complete , and supplementary to the timehonoured method of dispensing charity in open Lodge . — Keystone .

The Ballot.

THE BALLOT .

npHERE is , perhaps , no one duty that a Mason is called - * " upon to perform of more importance and on which so largely depends the welfare and prosperity of his Lodge , and even the stability of the Institution , as that of casting his ballot upon the election or rejection , of candidates for

our mysteries . Certainly there is none which should be more carefully considered or more conscientiously performed . It is an old and trite saying , " that none but good men and true "

should be admitted to our ranks , and the refrain comes to us from every watchman on the tower— " Guard well the outer door ; admit none but the worthy and the well qualified . " All will admit the force and need of this

warning , still npon each individual member rests fche responsibility . Each must for himself investigate into the character and standing of every applicant , and determine in his own mind whether or no he is in possession of those

Qdoontial qnnlifinatinna nf zniiiJ and character which will render him worthy of this high honour , and who , if admitted , will add strength to the Lodge and be of benefit to the Craft . By our regulations absolute unanimity is

required in the admission of all , hence , each individual member holds within his own hands the prosperity and oftentimes the harmony of the Lodge . By this ballot he can keep out all whom he honestly considers unworthy

And by ifc , too , if used un-Masonically and without reference to his Masonic obligations , he can equally disturb its prosperity and retard its growth , and perhaps be the means of sowing within its ranks the seeds of an early dissolution .

How essentia ] , then , is it , that every Mason should thoroughly understand and appreciate the importance of this high prerogative , and how ancl with what motives it should be exercised .

The ballot is , and must be , secret aud independent . To no one is a brother responsible , and only to bis own conscience and his Maker must he render an account . As a true Mason , his first great care will be to promote

the welfare of the Lodge , and by so doing , add to the prosperity and elevation of the whole fraternity ; and to do this , he must investigate for himself , and decide whether , in his opinion , the applicant possesses those qualities of

character and mind which would render him worthy of admission among the Sons of Light . And in our opinion , the two , character and mind should be equally considered , for the mental and intellectual qualifications are not to be

disregarded . Oftentimes one who , so to speak , is known as a good fellow , against whom nothing particularly derogatory to his character can be said , is far from being desirable material . And in admitting such , a Lodge

oftentimes finds itself sold . Their narrowness of mind and contracted ideas of the Institution are almost sure to become a source of disturbance in the Lodge and the promoter of difficulties hard to eradicate . Be well satisfied that in

addition to a good reputation , the candidate has sufficient intelligence to appreciate our symbols , and to learn and understand their import . Be well satisfied upon both of

these points , and then vote as a Mason should ; but never let private pique , honest differences of opinion upon any subject or any unworthy motive influence you in discharge of this duty .

Remember that it is not always the weak and the ignorant who endanger the welfare of the Order , bufc the ill-regulated minds , the contentious and caviling are to be avoided , to the end that the harmony of the Lodge may