Masonic Records.

MASONIC RECORDS .

WHOEVE B essays to be a Mason should aim to have a Masonic record of which he may be justly proud . We do not now refer to those engraved certificates , mammoth marks , or blank books of forms for recording the dates when the several degrees in Freemasonry were taken and the fact and time of

holding Masonic office . The record we refer to is made daily in the life of a Mason . Some of it is committed to writing , whether he of whom it is written would have it or not . Some of it is cherished in the hearts of friends and relatives . Some in the lives of those his life has benefited . Some in the unwilling memories of wrongs committed or injuries done .

At the beginning of a Masonic career the page is unsullied . There is nothing on the records against the would-be Mason . But no sooner does he take the first step than , with even pace , his record accompanies him . Even before he takes his first degree he subscribes to certain solemn declarations , not the least important of which is a statement of his belief in and dependence upon a Supreme Being . These declarations , to which his

signature is attached , are filed as a part of the written record of every Mason . His life , as he hereafter lives it , will confirm or disprove his sincerity . Those who recommended him and those who were appointed as a committee to examine into his character and fitness for Masonic honours go with him upon the records , their signatures reposing with his upon the petition and all are made a part of the minutes for which the Secretary is responsible .

Is he a drone in the Masonic hive ? Is he content with the record indicated by the letters E . A ., F . C ., and M . M . ? The absence of his name on the Secretary ' s minutes will attest the fact . Is he incapable or unwilling to take part in Masonic work ? The absence of his name upon the records , even if it appears among those present at the Lodge meetings , will tell the

story of his inactivity . He serves on no committee . He takes no part in the floor work . He does not visit the sick or relieve the distressed . When Masons go hand in hand to accomplish any good thing he is not of the circle . No one would think of appealing to him for Masonic light and knowledge . But all this

is his negative record . Let us turn to his name on the Ledger . Do we find his dues paid promptly ? No ! He is always in arrears . Year by year he gets deeper and deeper into debt and at last we find opposite his name the symbol signifying suspended for nonpayment of dues . And this is generally the end of his short and inactive Masonic life .

Sometimes the record shows a Mason to be not simply inactive , but positively bad . Alas for that man who has prefixed to his name the sign meaning expelled ! And the good Mason has a choking in his throat and a sorrow in his heart for his

fallen brother . Occasionally we come across these cabalistic characters , E . G . M . S . This means that one suspended has been restored to good Masonic standing , and sometimes E . M . stands after a name , which means that the Brother has been restored to membership .

Sometimes we find the sign on the records meaning that a member has resigned . Has he . joined the body of unaffiliates ? Has his interest waned and his ardour cooled until he is willing to sever his connection with the Brethren and become as a dead branch lopped from a living tree ?

But what is the record of the good man and the good Mason ? One does not exist without the other . We find him in the Lodge and of it . He is proud of his attendance , and points to the records as attesting his faithfulness . Checkered through the pages of the minute book we find his name Here he is a recommender of a candidate for the degrees and membership ,

and we may rest assured that his name has been appended only after the most careful inquiry as to the fitness of the applicant . Or perhaps he signs as one of a committee on an application . We can cast our ballot without fear , for we know he would not have signed had the applicant been unworthy . We find him serving on charity committees , or doing the floor work when

called upon . He is always ready . Does the Master want a Junior Master of Ceremonies or a Senior Deacon , he finds him in the faithful Brother . There is no position so humble that he will decline it , and no position so exalted that he is not fit to fill it . As an appointed Officer he serves faithfully . As an elective Officer he serves ably . His ledger account is clean and his dues

are promptly paid . We may find L . M . after his name , but that means that he has prudently made himself a life member . Against the name of such a man one would never find the double section or the section , and rarely the asterisk . If he does demit it is for a cause , and we soon find him enrolled and actively at

work in another field of Masonic labour . He is known and respected . Where good works are to be wrought there we find him at work with his Brethren . The poor bless his bounty . The sick long for his coming . The troubled ask his advice and rely upon his wisdom . His motto is " Ich dien , " and in service he finds happiness . His written record tells the story of his

Masonic Records.

service , and his unwritten record reflects the beauty of his life . And as we follow up his life , at last the record tells us that he has gone to his reward . But what a noble structure he has reared ! The spiritual temple erected in his patient years of toil glows and burns with a living fire . ' His Brethren mourn his loss , but his praises drop from every lip . His Masonic record has been written . — " Keystone . "

Weighed.

WEIGHED .

WEIGHED and found wanting was the judgment on the monarch of the old Hebrew days . It is wise to see if this weighing with its sad result is not very applicable to those of us who find ourselves thinking very highly of our capacities in

these modern days . Take for instance the be-jeweled Brothers who make such a great stir in the Lodge , more , perhaps , of their own prospects than of the good of the Order . Everybody has such people in his mind ' s eye , and no names be called . There are none , or very few of us , who will not have to plead guilty .

There is a brother who is all fretfulness lest the law of the Order shall be violated in its letter , but cares nothing for its spirit . He opposes any innocent measure because he thinks it will open the door to untold extravagances . ' He is in the Order for business purposes only , and it is very plainly to be seen where the business would go if he had the sole charge of it . Eight to the dogs , of course . He has been weighed and found wanting .

Everybody knows this except himself , and he does norjdream of it . There is the big man in debate . He pretends to know that the facts are thus and so , and the law is as he states it , but he can neither prove his facts nor find the law . Nevertheless , he is as confident as ever that what he says is true , and will not listen to any correction whatsoever . Such a brother is sometimes some one high in authority , who stands very much on his dignity , yet he has been weighed and found wanting .

There is , of course , the crank . He is everywhere . All of us know him , and yet we ought to be very sure that we do not confound him with some of our best men . There are cranks who are very useful people , and there are others who are deserving of nothing but banishment . They object to everything that is

proposed , for the sake of objecting . They talk about nothing , and talk about it all the time . They have something to say , no matter what the subject under discussion . They love arbitrary government , so that they can prevent the other fellows saying anything whatever . Weighed and found wanting .

Then , there is the presiding Officer who does not know how to preside . He could find out , but he won ' t . He could devote his days and nights to the study of Cushing ' s Manual , but he wont ' t . He could resign , but he won ' t . Weighed and fouud wanting .

There is the Officer who , after a long initiation , and when everybody in the Lodge-room wants to go home , insists upon saying something that mi ght have been better left unsaid . The clock strikes eleven , and yet he talks on . It is half-past eleven ,

and his great mouth is still in operation . One by one the Brothers leak out , and yet he talks like the noise of waters rushing over a dam . He would probably talk the day in , only the lease of the hall forbids , and the janitor is getting anxious . Weighed and found wanting .

All Brothers know these men we have tried to faintly pourtray . Why not try to invent some lenient and legal method to finally weigh such pests and cast them into the fire that burns with unquenchable fierceness ?— " Fraternal News . "

A Laudable Ambition.

A LAUDABLE AMBITION .

nnO become Master of a Lodge of Freemasons is a laudable JL ambition . With such an ambition should be joined a clear apprehension of the character and duties of that important office . Its duties are not confined to the repetition of certain phrases and the direction of what is called the " work , " but

comprise vastly more of understanding and service . A Master should be able to instruct the Craft , not only as to the meaning and origin of our ceremonies , but also to explain the philosophy which is veiled in its allegories and illustrated by its symbols . He should be able , also , to convince his Brethren that all science and all art , legitimately directed , are but lines that radiate

toward the great I AM ; that the sciences are the media by which we are led to contemplate the goodness , greatness , wisdom and power of the Great Architect of the Universe , and that the arts are the modes we have developed of expressing our sense and admiration of the wondrous glories of an Almighty Father which are scattered around us .

The Master of a Lodge should always in his life and in his conversation be a model for his Brethren to admire and imitate , and should himself practice , out of Lodge , those great moral