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Article ROYAL FREEMASONS' GIRLS' SCHOOL. ← Page 3 of 13 →
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Royal Freemasons' Girls' School.
family was an institution of heaven , established by tho Creator at tho commencement of tho human raco , which was but a combination of families , - - nay , one great family , whoso father was God , whose birth-place was time , and whose homo was eternity . Nothing could be more important to tho happiness of tho human race than households in which , whatever discomforts a man might encounter elsewhere , he was sure on his return home to meet with peace , to bo welcomed ivith affectionate greetings , and surrounded by tho comforts of a well-ordered family . But if they reversed the picture , and contemlated the mischiefs which resulted from
p the want of domestic happiness both to parents and children , they would see still more forcibly the advantages of well regulated homes , whilst home was attractive , it would seldom bo deserted ; but many a man , otherwise amiable and exemplary , had been driven from his home by the absence of peace , comfort , and order in his dwelling , and tempted to resort to haunts of intemperance and ruinous excitement , till , at last , he was shipwrecked in reputation , deprived of all standing in society , and perhaps reduced to beggary ; and , again , had not coldness , diminished affection , the stern look , the havsli tone , tho ferocious violence on the part of a
domestic tyrant driven many a woman from her home , and been the means of plunging her into sin and shame ? But that was not all ; the effects of domestic infelicity on the spirit and conduct of children was most marked and melancholy . There was no means so effectual of binding children to their parents ancl to each other as by making their homes happy . Where parents walked before their children in purity and order , —instructed with affection , —exhorted with tenderness , —reproved without harshness , and constantly strove to make the parental roof pleasant and attractive , the best elements of human happiness would be foundand the children would good and reliious
mem-, grow up g bors of society , ancl never leave their parents' roof without regret , or think of it but as the long-loved abode of a thousand pleasant memories , —as the cherished centre to which all their thoughts and affections woidd ever tend . But , on the other hand , if they were to contemplate a circle of children , the members of a family in which discomfort , strife , and discord were the
prevailing elements , the parents austere , harsh , and tyrannical , repelling each other with mutual reproaches , they woidd find the sons disposed to escape from it as soon , and return to it as seldom , as possible . Ancl might not the daughters , when the parental home was a scene of discomfort , be ready to make almost any change which promised relief , and sometimes , perhaps , in pursuit of that relief , take steps fatal to their peace , if not to thoir character % It could not be doubted that children in family disagreements were frequently the culpable parties ; still , it could not be denied that children once amiable and promising were too often driven into imprudence , criminal connections , and final
destruction for time and eternity , by domestic unhappiness , which had led them to believe that any change must be for the better . The Rev . Brother then proceeded to impress upon the heads of families the duty which they owed to society , to their children and themselves , to endeavour to make their homes the abode of peace and comfort , by which they would secure then- own happiness , and the future prosperity and happiness of then * children when launched into the troubles and anxieties of life , and then said : " But it is time to speak a word on the occasion which has brought us together . I do not think it necessary—nor , indeed , is there time—to say much on the history of the
Institution , for which I have now to solicit your aid . Our Brethren ofthe Craft are well acquainted ivith it , and for the information of others it may be sufficient to observe that it was founded in the year 1788 , —that its object is the moral and religious education of the daughters of om- Masonic Brethren , whose families , from a position of affluence and respectability , have either , by the death ofthe fathers , or by the operation of some of those contingencies to which all things temporal are subject , fallen into circumstances of adversity and distress , and that above 600 girls have been so educated and fitted for positions of usefulness in life . Various reasonsmoralsanitaryand financialwhich there is
, , , , no need for me now to enter upon , have induced tho Governors to abandon the old site , and transfer the establishment to the present advantageous situation . And that beautiful building which most of you have seen , and the dedication of which to the best and noblest of all purposes , the training the minds of the rising generation to the knowledge of duty and of God , you will have an opportunity of witnessing this morning , will become the future theatre for the benifi-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Royal Freemasons' Girls' School.
family was an institution of heaven , established by tho Creator at tho commencement of tho human raco , which was but a combination of families , - - nay , one great family , whoso father was God , whose birth-place was time , and whose homo was eternity . Nothing could be more important to tho happiness of tho human race than households in which , whatever discomforts a man might encounter elsewhere , he was sure on his return home to meet with peace , to bo welcomed ivith affectionate greetings , and surrounded by tho comforts of a well-ordered family . But if they reversed the picture , and contemlated the mischiefs which resulted from
p the want of domestic happiness both to parents and children , they would see still more forcibly the advantages of well regulated homes , whilst home was attractive , it would seldom bo deserted ; but many a man , otherwise amiable and exemplary , had been driven from his home by the absence of peace , comfort , and order in his dwelling , and tempted to resort to haunts of intemperance and ruinous excitement , till , at last , he was shipwrecked in reputation , deprived of all standing in society , and perhaps reduced to beggary ; and , again , had not coldness , diminished affection , the stern look , the havsli tone , tho ferocious violence on the part of a
domestic tyrant driven many a woman from her home , and been the means of plunging her into sin and shame ? But that was not all ; the effects of domestic infelicity on the spirit and conduct of children was most marked and melancholy . There was no means so effectual of binding children to their parents ancl to each other as by making their homes happy . Where parents walked before their children in purity and order , —instructed with affection , —exhorted with tenderness , —reproved without harshness , and constantly strove to make the parental roof pleasant and attractive , the best elements of human happiness would be foundand the children would good and reliious
mem-, grow up g bors of society , ancl never leave their parents' roof without regret , or think of it but as the long-loved abode of a thousand pleasant memories , —as the cherished centre to which all their thoughts and affections woidd ever tend . But , on the other hand , if they were to contemplate a circle of children , the members of a family in which discomfort , strife , and discord were the
prevailing elements , the parents austere , harsh , and tyrannical , repelling each other with mutual reproaches , they woidd find the sons disposed to escape from it as soon , and return to it as seldom , as possible . Ancl might not the daughters , when the parental home was a scene of discomfort , be ready to make almost any change which promised relief , and sometimes , perhaps , in pursuit of that relief , take steps fatal to their peace , if not to thoir character % It could not be doubted that children in family disagreements were frequently the culpable parties ; still , it could not be denied that children once amiable and promising were too often driven into imprudence , criminal connections , and final
destruction for time and eternity , by domestic unhappiness , which had led them to believe that any change must be for the better . The Rev . Brother then proceeded to impress upon the heads of families the duty which they owed to society , to their children and themselves , to endeavour to make their homes the abode of peace and comfort , by which they would secure then- own happiness , and the future prosperity and happiness of then * children when launched into the troubles and anxieties of life , and then said : " But it is time to speak a word on the occasion which has brought us together . I do not think it necessary—nor , indeed , is there time—to say much on the history of the
Institution , for which I have now to solicit your aid . Our Brethren ofthe Craft are well acquainted ivith it , and for the information of others it may be sufficient to observe that it was founded in the year 1788 , —that its object is the moral and religious education of the daughters of om- Masonic Brethren , whose families , from a position of affluence and respectability , have either , by the death ofthe fathers , or by the operation of some of those contingencies to which all things temporal are subject , fallen into circumstances of adversity and distress , and that above 600 girls have been so educated and fitted for positions of usefulness in life . Various reasonsmoralsanitaryand financialwhich there is
, , , , no need for me now to enter upon , have induced tho Governors to abandon the old site , and transfer the establishment to the present advantageous situation . And that beautiful building which most of you have seen , and the dedication of which to the best and noblest of all purposes , the training the minds of the rising generation to the knowledge of duty and of God , you will have an opportunity of witnessing this morning , will become the future theatre for the benifi-