Masons Whom We Have Met. No. I.

we carrj in our " mind ' s eye " fche busy , ubiquitous little brother , who is ever busy in the cause of Charity , and who never is so happy as when he is patronisingly patted on tbe back as the " sturdy beggar . " To prove himself

worthy of the soubriquet applied to him is the summum tonum of his ambition . It is pleasant to contemplate this worthy scion of the Craft , as in the course of the fourth degree festivities he is called upon to acknowledge the

recognition of services so thoroughly executed . We see him now , with modest trepidation , listening to the accents of genuine praise pronounced upon him by the Worshipfnl Master , shaking his long , sleek locks in solemn

protestation against a eulogium which in his inmost heart he thinks a piece of adulation . But the brethren who know his merit deem otherwise , and endorse by spontaneous

applause the epithets so well and appositely applied to the " sturdy" one , who does good by stealth , and blushes to find it fame . We have known the brother

"whom we indicate silently meandering amongst the brethren , pleading eloquently on behalf of this or that Institution , or for a candidate for its benefits eminently in need and deserving of them , yet all the while concealing

his identity in the matter , pocketing all the expressions and looks of gratitude which are pointed at him as he goes about his mission of mercy . Yet this is the type of a man "who spends his energies in a truly disinterested vocation ,

the results of which are more apparent to those who are benefited thereby than to him who is the voluntary instrument of attaining them . Here we see the force and intrinsic value of the tenet we all learn in the earliest

stages of our Masonic career , that Charity—like mercy , is twice blessed ; to him who gives as well as to him who receives . Watch him at a Charity Election . See how he glides about amongst the brethren who have votes to

give or to exchange . The look of earnest solicitude at one and each he meets , for aid , not for his own aggrandisement , but for the welfare of some poor suffering one , —

may be a distressed brother or widow , or an orphan . Nor is his work accomplished until the ballot reveals that his strength has not been spent for nought , or his labour in vain . With a jylow of satisfaction we have seen him

congratulate the object of his solicitude upon his or her success , and , disdaining all thanks , retiring from the hall in happy consciousness of having done his duty . Yet withal there are moments when the " pepper "' so

proverbial to his temperament has risen above other considerations , and when as Past Master of his Lodge he has insisted upon the verification of the old motto of Tacitus , " Hi vitus quoque modo inducli , aniinwitate Aefendatum , "

which being interpreted meaneth , that " these rites and ceremonies were made , established , and kept for antiquity ' s sake . " The brother whom we try to picture is not one of the numerous and unwholesome class of Masons who ,

having elbowed their way through the ranks and achieved the highest ambition of their lives , retire upon the laurels they have won , and are content to subside into the serried and lethargic ranks of " veterans "—or drones—of whom

there are too many on the roll of Past Masters . Having done so much to merit tbe applause of his brethren in the Lodge he loves so well , like an " ancient mariner " he still holds on to the ship ' s crew , and aids each helmsman to

guide tbe barque through all weathers , be they stormy or rough . Whether in the solemn conclave , the open working . or the amenities which naturally follow as the reward of labour , he is equally afc home , always mindful , never selfish ,

and ever solicitous for the welfare of the rest . But best of all , when the Charity box goes round , and tbe merry music of the freewill offerings of the brethren is resounding in his ears , then our brother ' s heart rejoices , for he knows

that some poor orphan boy or girl is being lifted ont of helpless want , or some aged brothor , or a widow , is being helped on a stage towards comparative competency and comfort . Then it , is that he sees the outcome of the true

principles of Brotherly Love , Relief , and Truth , —when a child is rescued from the pinchings of poverty and placed in a position to fight the battle of life , or somo deserving one "who has seen better days , is tenderly borne into that haven of rest , -where

" Ago and want sit smiling at tho gate . " When all those energies are strained to carry rays of happiness into the houses of the sad , and relief across the

thresholds of the afflicted , there must be greater inward satisfaction in the mind of the brother so heroicall y engaged than can be afforded by the most prolific

Masons Whom We Have Met. No. I.

and lustrous jewels that any body of appreciative brethren can bestow . The " sturdy beggar" stands upon a pedestal , nofc of his own construction , but founded upon the tearful gratitude and inexpressible thankfulness

of those in whose behoof he has spent a great portion of his life . His present reward is in the spontaneous acknowledgment of those who have learnt the value of

his tenacity in the cause of real Charity , and in the recognition of the fervency and zeal which he has gained in the hearts of the brethren with whom he is most

intimately associated , and who know him best . His ultimate gain will be the approval of the Great Architect of the Universe , who will pronounce the fiat of "Well done .

thou good and faithful servant , " upon all who have worked with fidelity , and earnestly in His service , in whatever sphere they might have been called to occupy in this sublunary abode .

We are loth to spoil the above picture by any reference to another form of Masonic delineatiou , which unfortunately too often thrusts its unwelcome presence into the chamber of our thoughts . But we cannot avoid the

contrast which is demonstrated to us between such a mau as he whom we have faintly endeavoured to portray , and the man who—by bounce and " high falutin ' , " as they term ifc across the Herring-pond—forges his way , over the heads of

the more deserving and less boastful , into a position for which he is eminently unfit . We have a vivid recollection of such a person , who , having the gift of plausibility and assurance , has raised himself on the shoulders of the

credulous and weak-kneed , and who even now poses before his fellows as a veritable type of valour and indomitable pluck . Saturated with egotism and self-complacency , this bird of borrowed plumage flaunts his idiosyncrasies

like fireworks before the eyes of bewildered followers , and like Sir Oracle bids all men listen while he speaks . It is said that when Homer nodded all the world went to sleep , and so such a

selfconstituted Saul rises to fche occasion , and expects and finds that many others follow , sheep-like , through the gap that he has made . Such a man as we have before us , in boastful vein for a brief space deludes the

brethren into the idea that everything he does is in the cause of Charity , though all the while he has not an atom of that divine attribute in his composition . He struts his brief hour upon the stage in a blaze of self esteem , bufc

ultimately , like Lucifer , he falls , never to rise again in the respect of those whom he has cozened and betrayed . Having struggled fiercely for the distinction which ifc is in the power of his brethren fco confer , he fails to attain

the zenith of his hopes , and finding thafc his vaulting ambition has overleaped itself , he crawls from the charmed circle and peevishly vows that he sees " nothing in Masonry . " How many there are who though they may

make good running afc first break down lamentably when the time for effort arrives , and whose eager enthusiasm or vanity has outran discretion and brought its own condemnation ! A bejewelled Pasfc Master whose wiles have thus outrun his wisdom is a mistake to himself and an

impoverishment to the Craft , and the Institution is better without him . How great the contrast between the jaded and spent egotist and fche " sturdy beggar " is well known to men who care fco study fche traits of character in

Masonic as well as other walks of life , for whereas on the one there waits bufc fainfc and fleeting popularity—the other is held in lasting- regard amongst brethren with

whom he lias borne tho heat and burthen of the day . We have many other such contrasts yefc in view , which may form the subject of comment iu these columns , as " time and circumstances shall permit . "

Bro . James Stevens P . M . P . Z . has consented to give his lecture on the "Ritual and Ceremonial of Metropolitan and Provincial Lodges , " at the next meeting of the Shake . spero

Lodge , rio . 1009 , held at the Freemasons' Hall , Manchester on Friday , 2 nd October . Tho Lecture has been delivered with great success at several of the London and Provincial Lodges , and is o £ a most interesting character .

, £ 20 . — TOISACCOJI-ISTS Comisxcmc ,. — -An illustrated guide ( 110 p : i « c « ) " Ilnv to Open Respectably from £ 20 to £ 2 HOO . " ' ¦ ' , Stamps ' . II " . "MYKHS ATL ' O ' OUrar and Tobacco Merchants , 100 Kuston Road , London . Wholesale only Telephone "No . 7 oll .