Limitations Of Obligations.

the faith . " The family , the home , Masonry recognizes as the centre of every true life , and the p lace where all sweet affections are brought forth and matured . Says tho old proverb , wisely : " Ho who is far from home is near to

harm . " No one can doubt that the home is the very bulwark of personal happiness and thrift , and that the woisi evil which could befal Masonry would bo tho consummation of the plans of socialists and communists , who would

destroy the home and erect great barracoons in which all should dwell together without privacy and without special rights . Blessed be Masonry , in that it has put the seal ot condemnation on all things which have tendency to destroy

the influences of the home ; that it throws its guards around what is dearest and sweetest in life , and that it lifts up rather than tears down the barriers which God and nature have erected to defend the affections and the duties

pertaining to life . It is a bulwark arid strong defence of the home . No wonder , then , that we find here a Masonic limitation ; no wonder that here wo meet with a duty which is , before any , distinctly Masonic . The home before the Lodge . We say with the poet :

Where er I roam , whatever realm to see , My heart nntravelled fondly tarns to thee ; Still to my home it turns with ceaseless pain , And drags at each remove a lengthening ohain . " Another limitation is the Mason ' s duty to his country .

THE MASON'S DUTY TO HIS COUNTRY . It will not be denied that the demands which our country is entitled to make are of such a character as to place them above anything purely personal . It has been for this reason that patriotism has ranked as one of the greatest and

purest elements of character in all ages . Poets have sung the praise of the love of country , and orators have eloquently p ictured its effects . Next to love of family , and closely allied thereto , and at times rising superior to it , comes the spirit of devotion to native land . Said Scott :

" Breathes there a man with soul so dead , That never to himself has said :

'This is my own , my natives land ? If such there breathes go mark him well ; For him no minstrel raptnres swell ;

Proud though his title , high his name , Boundless his wealth as wish can claim , Despite his titles , power and pelf—The wretch concentred all in

self—Living , shall forfeit fair renown , And doubly dying , shall go clown To the vile dust from whence he sprung , Unwept , unhonoured , and nnsnug . " At the call of public duty everything private must bo

laid aside , and all the obligations of the Lodge are made with this qualification , and this reservation . In the stirring times when country calls , men must heed the cry , for all interests are bound up with those of the land we love , and a recreant at such a time dishonours the name of

Masonry as well as manhood . It is a privilege that we are capable of feeling an intense and persistent love of country . Somewhere I have heard it stated that " self-love is the freezing point in the temperature of humanity , " and as we arc warmed and thrilled

by nobler feelings we are lifted nearer to the ideal of perfect manhood . Thus , then , as the heart is ennobled and expanded , it pours out its affections upon an ever-widening circle , first upon family and kindred , then upon country , and then upon humanity . The Home , the Flag of Country ,

and the symbol of religious feeling—the Cross ; these are the representatives of the most durable and sacred feelings which humanity cau know . And here it is that we fh ,. d an

illustration of the workings of one of nature ' s laws : The man who has the most of the sentiment of charity will be found to have the most intense special affections . It cannot be said that one loves the whole world who loves no

special individual . However wide and far reaching tin good-will towards mankind which one feels , he must look , with a thrill which nothing else cau awaken , into the face of his mother , atid feel a special throb of love when the kindly face of his father looks into his own . We

cannot cast off the ties and responsibilities of kindred if \ vi would , and Providence has decreed that out of a commoi ancestry and the influences of the s . irne general surround ings . we should feel the power of that wider and grandci

love for the country as a whole , which v . u call patriotism . It is this which makes us feel the nation ' s life in our vein :., rejoice in our country ' s glory , or suffer with our people ' s shame . r ^ B ^ J < jj «^ ...

Limitations Of Obligations.

This is the feeling which nerves the warrior as he meets the foe ; this is the feeling that causes the statesman to scan the political horizon to discern the signs of hope , and this is the feeling which animates every breast when the

songs of native land are hoard floating on the air . And so long as this feeling burns within the heart , selfishness cannot reign . At the altar of patriotism will he laid in sacrifice all that is fairest and sweetest in life ; yea , life itself

will bo gladly given , that the institutions of the dear native land shall live . Masonry is a foe to war ; its principles inculcate peace and good-will ; but when country calls . Masonry lifts up its voice and honours quick response , for then this duty is supreme . As the poet has said :

"Tho sword !—a name of dread !—yet when Upon the freeman ' s thigh ' tis bound—While for his altar and his hearth , While for tho land tiiat cava him birth , The war-hums roll , the trump ¦¦•' * sound—How sacied it is then !

"Whenever for the truth and right , It flashes in the van of light—Whether in some mountain pass , As that where fell Leonidas ; Or on some sterile plain and

stern—A Mara ton , or a Bannockburn ; Or mid fierce crags and bursting rills ; The Switzer ' s Alps , gay Tyrol ' s hills ; Or as when sunk the Armada ' s pride ,

It gleams above the stormy tide ; Still , still , where ' er the battle sword is liberty , — When men do stand for Justice , and Their Native Land , then Heaven shall bless the sword . ' "

The duty we owe to country is , therefore , paramount to the duty we owe to Masonry , and much though we may desire to avoid all which may bring these two things in opposition ,-should ever such a time come , by the fundamental limitations of Masonry , country is first , and if dut y

to it is well discharged , Masonry will enter into its rightful place . And yet Masonry cannot league itself to anything which aims at harm to the institutions of the land . Treason against the state is a crime against Masonic princip les , and sedition , whatever form it may assume , or

however specious its plea , is dishonour to Masonry , Always on the side of law and order , engaged in building up the sweet chanties of life , Masonry expressly forbids whatever assails the properly constituted authorities , and lends its voice to the maintenance of honest p-overnment

and the enforcement , of every 311 st law . But here it may be well to make a distinction : Masonry , upholding good and honest rule , also maintains human ri ghts , and is thus a foe to oppression and wrong . All of the teachings are in the direction of equality , liberty , fraternity , and for this

reason tyranny can have no countenance . Fortunately , we live in a country where there is this recognition of personal rights and individual privilege , and here there can be no question as to the proper relation of Masonry towards all

public questions . Duty to country is paramount to duty to Masonry ; or , perhaps a better way to put it is , duty to Masonry means duty to country , support in every time of trial , and obedience to every law . The final limitation is that of dut y to our neighbour as well as to one ' s self . ( to be continued . )

At the unanimous request of The Great City Lodge of Instruction , No . 1426 , Bro , James Stevens P . M . P . Z ., & c , first W . M . of the mother Lodge , has consented to accept the position of Preceptor . The session just commenced

will be marked by Masonic working of considerable interest to members of the Craft desiring to attain proficiency in tho science . Dates have been fixed for the delivery 0 ? lectures , installation ceremony , and for the working of the Fifteen Sections , of which we shall wive

further notice in subsequent issues . The Lodge meets a " , seven o ' clock , for rehearsal of the ceremonies , & c , every Thursday evening , at Masons' Hall Tavern , Masjns ' Avenue , E . G .

HoLtowAi ' s PitLS . —With darkening days and changing" temperatures tho digestion becomes impaired , tho liver disordered , and tho mind despondent , unless the ituKc of tta irregularity be expelled from the Mod and bodr by such an alterative as these Pills . They directly attack the source of the " evil , . lirn-ifc out all impurities , from the circulation , restore tho distempered org ins fc 1 their natural stat

e , and correct all defective or contaminated secretions . Such an easy means of instituting health , strength and cheerfulness should be applied by all whoso stomachs a . io weak , whose minds are much harassed , or whoso brains are overworked . Holloway ' s is essentially a blood tempering medicine , whereby its influence readies tho remotest fibre of the frame and effects a universal good . JI