Oration Delivered At The Consecration Of The Eliot Lodge,

within , a rational soul , and Ave must educate that principle , as we ore taught in Masonry to take the rough ashler , and smooth ancl polish it that thus it may be chosen for that part of the building Avhich it is thereby best fitted to occupy , and Avhere

such an one is wanted . All maybe , all are useful , Avhile they are diligently discharging their allotted duties , " I . had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God , " says the Psalmist , " than dwell in the tents of Avickedness . " So the Tyler

in our lodges has an important office to fulfil , humble though it may be thought . Great fidelity is required of him , and he who faithfully discharges his duty in that office purchases to himself a hi gher degree , and shall not lose his reAvard . So in

common society , all cannot be masters , all cannot be noble , some must be subordinate , some servants . These things are as they are allotted to us by our Grand Master , and the subordinate AVIIO does his duty Avell , it may be in the most menial office ,

shall be thought Avorthy of high rank in heaven ' s great lodge . As Masons , Ave should not be satisfied with attending lodges , putting on our aprons

and jeAvels , giving certain signs and Avords , and answering certain set questions . ~ We should seek to improve ourselves in Masonry and in all that Masonry inculcates , by endeavouring to make ourselves good aud useful members of society . To

be this Ave should not bo , as our talented Bro . Robert Burns says " unfitted Avith an aim . " We ought each aud all of us to have an object in life , some definite object . We ought to be li ghts , light-bearers in the Avorld , ancl to let our light so

shine before men that they may see our good works , and glorify our Father which is in heaven . Our Masonry requires this . We ought also as Masons to be noted for our courtesy , not only to one another , but also to all men . Every Mason

ought to be , every true Mason is a gentleman . He may not bo of gentle birth , all cannot be ; but if he has been found Avorthy to be admitted into a lodge of Free ancl Accepted Masons , he ought to cultivate

all pure and honourable principles . The distinguishing characteristics of a good Mason are Virtue , Honour , Mercy . As there are things allowable in other men winch would be

unbecominopersons of good lineage and high rank , among whom tho maxim noblesse oblige is a rule , so ought it to lie with every Freemason . He should feel , my Masonry requires this of me ; an uninitiated person may allow himself in certain things to do this

Oration Delivered At The Consecration Of The Eliot Lodge,

or that , but my Masonry obliges me to act differently . The four Cardinal virtues , depicted by four tassels in the corners of our lodge , and also referred to in the ceremony of our initiation , are Temperance , Fortitude , Prudence , and Justice . May

Temperance guide , Fortitude support , Prudence direct , and Justice shine in every act of every member of this lodge , and that he Avill be an ornament to the Craft in general , and to the Eliot Lodge in particular , and Avill have done something

towards the completion of that temple perfect in its parts , and honourable to the builder , which all true Masons are endeavouring to assist iu .

Freemasonry Considered.

FREEMASONRY CONSIDERED .

BY ANTHONY ONEAL HAYE . ( Continued from page 465 . ) III . What , after all , is life , but a journey to a far oft land , Avhere we shall be examined upon the acts Ave

have clone , and the sights Ave have seen on our Avay . Each year that passes over our head is a milestone on the road to death , the first breath we draw is a step towards eternity . We have only to gather the fruits aud flowers that groAv on our

path , Ave have only to assist the Aveak and trembling , we have only to give an arm to the feeble , to bind up the wounds of the ailing . Is it not easier this , than to fritter the time away , loitering on the path to pluck the Aveeds , pushing aside and

assaulting the frail , trampling under foot the unprotected , driving a dagger into the heart of the inoffensive , or tearing open Avith ruthless hands the wounds of error of our weaker brethren .

Certainly , to do good is to be good , and its re-Avard is reaped not alone in heaven , but likewise on earth . How sweet to the dying , struggling in the waters of death , Avill be the remembrance of a Avell spent life ; but how sickening , how sinking

will appear the dark blots of an ill-spent sojourn on earth . Yes , Freemasonry teaches all this , she teaches her children to be kind , gentle , and forgiving , to remember that all men are children of the same family , children of the same Father ,

AA'ho never forgets , nor closes eye or ear upon the meanest of his creatures ; and that man has to fear neither poverty nor insignificance , but the stain of dishonour alone . She teaches him to live worthily , she teaches him to die happily , that life is not life , the earth not his abiding place , but he