The Grand Master Of California.

would be , if even no harm or discredit were occasioned , that many sue persons get disgruntled when they find that "there is nothing in it , " and so are caused to join the large army of non-affiliates . Bro . Angelotti also rtferred to the scant attendance by the brethren at Masonic funerals , and we have elsewhere referred more fully to this subject , haiinir our artirlp to some extent on his remarks .

Also he mentioned the fact that certain matters will have to come oilore the next Grand Lodge , and his hope that the members will come prepared to vote intelligently and wisely , and with that in view , that they would discuss the vaiious subjects among themselves before starting in October to legislate on them . Amaru ? other thines he mentioned were the alteration

in the ritual , and that the Grand Lecturer ' s office shall be an elective one , and the great and much vexed question of physical ability or disability . All these things go to show how much Grand Master Angelotti ' s heart is in his work . We hope his year of office will be to him a pleasant one , and he has our " Hearty good wishes " therefore . —EDITOR , Freemason , Los Angeles , Cal .

Hope-{Light Of Life).

HOPE- { LIGHT OF LIFE ) .

PKOF . F . W . D RIVER , M . A . Author of " The Noble Sold , " " God ' s Flowers , " "The Shepherd ami the Sheep , " " The Two Angels , " frc . Lig ht of Life ! whose cheering ray Ever on our p ; ith attends , Turning darkness into day ,

And a joy to sorrow lends ; Dearest friend of man on earth , Vital source of every breath , Present with him in his birth , Present even at his death ; Even in the darkest hour ,

Ready comfort to impart ; Soothing , by mysterious power , Deepest sorrows of the heart ; Thou , the mainspring of his life , Youth givest courage to engage , And enduring in the strife , Life's stern battle boldly wage .

If a victor in the chance Which attends the uncertain fight , Hope the conquest will enhance With the glory of her light . And when adverse foes suiround ,

If the sinking heart should fail , Whisp ' ring Hope , inspiring sound , Nerves the soul to fresh assail . E ' en if vanquished on the plain , Sport of Fate , the warrior lies , Hope , sweet soother of his pain , From her mansion in the skies .

Swift descending on her wings , Precious balm she freely pours , Healing influence she brings , And the sinking frame restores , Lig ht of Life ! by Heaven fed , Emanation from Above ! O ' er the world thy beams are shed ,

Bounty of Eternal Love ! Manhood , Infancy , and Age , Equally thy blessings share ; Poor or rich , the unwise or sage , All are objects of thy care . As ' neath shower's arid sand .

Fresh with fragrant verdure blows , Hope ' s bright ( lower near at hand , On life's barren pathway grows . Bent , unbroken by the storm , Deeper rooted in the blast ; Springing with elastic form , When the tempest ' s power is past

Brig hter in the dark'ning gloom , Which attends declining age ; Hope , undying in the tomb , Glorious gilds Life ' s latest page Cheered by thee , the just have trod Fearlessly the Vale of Death On thy wings the soul to God ,

Upward mounts with fleeting breath Light of Life ! ethereal Dame ! With thine inspiration pure , Warm sustain this motal frame . And eternal bliss secure .

The Teachings Of The Masonic Ritual.

THE TEACHINGS OF THE MASONIC RITUAL .

We judge of the merits of an institution or an individual partly by the good that has been done and partly by the evil that has been avo ded . Men who are familiar with the Masonic ritual , and have learned from it valuable thoughts , may not have reflected on what me may call its negative

excellence . They know , for instance , that Freemasonry recommends the study of grammar , rhetoric , logic , arithmetic , geometry , music , and astronomy . Hearing these studies recommended , time after time , they fail to perceive that the familiar exhortation is a kind of a ballast , that it helps to keep the old ship in a straight course .

One of the curses of society is the half-educated man who thinks himself a philosopher . Every few years ] there is a new sensation , which is to revolutionise all modern thought . If the new idea strikes at morality and religion , its advocates shout the louder , and proclaim that now at last the human intellect is out of bondage . Some years ago a humbug went about the world declaring that Moses could not have written a line of Scripture , because writing was not known in his time . Now , everybody knows that writing

was known to people several hundred years before Moses was born . Now perpetual motion is called " science ; " now somebody revives the old spontaneous generation folly ; and now it is claimed that the speech of monkeys is soon to be interpreted . People who have never devoted an hour to genuine study since they left school , and who never read a book worthy of the attention of a rational being , deem it wise to skim every one of these new theories .

The course of study pointed out to the young Craftsman is of a different nature . It does not encourage him to wild speculations , but recommends lights which will never lead any one astray . It advises every one of its votaries to learn to speak correctly , to cultivate the art of persuasion , and to

form his thoughts according to the rules of logic . The importance of mathematics , and in especial of geometry , may well be emphasised in such a ritual as that of which we are speaking . Music needs no praise . Were we to speak of its powers and its charms , our best course would be to copy the noble stanzas of Dryden .

All Masons are not students . Some have not the inclination , many have tot the leisure to follow out in detail the recommendations so often repeated in the lodge room . Nevertheless , the wholesome caution has a good effect in preserving the conservative thought and feeling of which our Fraternity may justly be proud . The studies so warmly endorsed can only

be mastered by time , patience , and application . With a little reidiug , a man can pose as a philosopher if he only falls back on " words of learned length and thundering sound . " But if he determines to commit to memory the rules of grammar , or to follow the processes of the higher mathematics , he must work . The coveted knowledge must be dug from the soil or hewn from the rock .

During his earl y legal studies , Abraham Lincoln was puzzled by the word " demonstration , " It seemed a stronger word than " proof" or " certainty , " or any term bearing on verbal evidence . At last he pored over a text-book on geometry until he saw what " demonstration " meant . Thousands of less famous men have passed through a similar experience .

Amid the trials of mature life , men have looked back with gratitude to the schools wherein they were taught the patience , the industry , the attention without which no mathematical progress can be gained . Some of the most valuable lessons of the school room and the college arc recalled to the mind when the Craftsman is urged to devote himself to the liberal arts and sciences . — ' The Keys ! one ( Philadelphia ) .

SIR A . N ' HRHW LUSK , Bart ., who was Lord Mayor in 1 S 73 , enters upon his 90 th year to-day , and his numberless friends will be pleased to hear that , in his own words , he is in " fine health and spirits . " For 35 years Sir Andrew filled the office of Alderman , representing Aldgate and Bridge Without , and was ever an active member of the Corporation .

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