Grand Lodge for any act of kindness or for tuition, this first letter written by her, except to her excellent mother, has not only canceled all former indebtedness, but has rendered us the obliged party. And we assure her that such evidence of attention to her studies, will secure for her all the means necessary for acquiring an edu⚫ cation second to none in the State. We recommend that provision be made for her instruction in instrumental music. The Committee on Education were directed to carry the recommendation of the committee into effect. "HE DOETH ALL THINGS WELL.” The following lines were composed by M. W. Bro. BENJAMIN B. FRENCH, 334, especially for the commemorative services of the late M. W. Bro. Y. P. PAGE, Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia, had by Naval Lodge, Washington city, and were sung by the choir on that occasion: WE praise Thee gracious God, Sore striken by Thy rod, We bow beneath the same : For though Thy ways we cannot tell, We know Thou doeth all things well. The Brother of our love; So good, so true, so kind, Has gone to realms above, He lives where saints and angels dwell, Then while we mourn our loss,. He will our God adore ; 'Tis but our earthly cross He has but gone before He wears the crown with those who dwell Again, in realms above, We shall our Brother meet; And hear Christ's word of love From off the mercy seat; "Come all ye blest, forever dwell Then mourners cease to weep; Brothers, repress the sigh- Mid bless and joy tongue cannot tell, APPLICANTS FOR RELIEF. IN noticing the Report from Louisiana for 1861, Bro. Claiborne of Indiana happily hits off some very strange and questionable facts, thus: "Among the curiosities of Masonic experience brought to light, we learn from the report, of diplomas exhibited of ancient date, and relief claimed as a right, on the strength of the parchment, even when the applicant cannot prove himself. In another case, fortythree years had elapsed since the applicant had visited a Lodge or contributed one cent. We look upon such ancient papers, where there is absence of qualifications in the bearer to recommend him, in the light the innkeeper of the Croix-de-Colbas regarded the yellow passport of Les Miserable Jean Valjean, not with his uncharitableness, but as evidence against him; they lack the grace of congruity. "Enough has been said and written of those loose-fish who give neither counsel, countenance, or comfort to our Order when engaged in labor, who are unwilling to rank their names on our rolls and assume the responsibility which they owe when the heat makes the burden heavy, but cheerfully appear at the laying of a corner. stone, or to the celebration of a Saint's Day ;-enough to shame them." Obituary. BROTHER WILLARD M. HALL. Springfield, Mass., April 4, 1864. Ar the regular assembly of the Springfield Encampment, held at their Asylum, April 4, 1864, A. O. 746, the following Preamble and Resolutions were presented and unanimously adopted : : Whereas, it has pleased God in his mysterious providence to remove by sudden death our esteemed friend and Brother, WILLARD M. HALL, and as it is fitting upon such occasions to give expression to our feelings of sorrow and grief, it is therefore Resolved, That while we bow with submission to the decree of an All-Wise Providence which called him hence, and sincerely and deeply deplore his loss as that of a warm-hearted friend—a true and faithful Brother-we have the consolation that the loss to us is gain to him, and that he has gone before us to the higher degrees of human perfection, in which we shall ere long join him in the Celestial Asylum above. Resolved, That we tender to the widow and relatives of our deceased Brother our warmest sympathy, and every service that may tend to alleviate their sorrow, or comfort them in their affliction. Resolved, That the Recorder enter these Resolutions upon the records of the Encampment, and a copy be furnished to the widow and friends of the deceased, with the assurance that we most sincerely symathize and condole with them in their sad bereavement. Moved by Sir Knight John A. Gamber, and seconded, and unanimously adopted, that a copy of the above Resolutions be sent to Brother Charles W. Moore for pub. lication in his Magazine. WM. T. INGRAHAM, Recorder. MASONIC CHIT CHAT. TO CORRESPONDENTS. By the recent burning of Freemasons' Hall, we have lost a large amount of personal property, including valuable books, pamphlets, documents, and manuscripts. Among the latter were many of our private papers, memoranda, letters, &c, together with a large file of articles prepared for publication in the Magazine. Among the latter was an elaborate and learned paper on the history of the higher degrees, by a correspondent, the loss of which we much regret. To correspondents we can only say, that we shall be happy to attend to any unanswered letters on being notified of their contents. We shall be obliged to Grand Secretaries for such copies of the Proceedings of their respective Grand Bodies as they may have to spare, without regard to the date of their publication. Our Grand Lodge Library having been wholly destroyed by the late fire, Masonic Pamphlets, of any description, will be acceptable. DEATH OF BRO. JOHN H. HOLLAND. We regret to be called upon to announce the death of R. W. Brother JoHN H. HOLLAND, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. He died at New Orleans on the 26th March, 1864, at the advanced age of 79 years. He was born at Hartford, Conn., but had resided in the city of New Orleans for more than sixty years; he had been much in public life, and was universally beloved as a citizen, merchant and man. As an intelligent and active Mason, in all the various branches of the Order, he had not his superior, and has probably not left his equal, in the State of his adoption. He had filled almost every office in the gift of his Brethren, including that of Grand Master. He was buried with Masonic honors, and his funeral was numerously attended by the different Masonic bodies of the city, and citizens generally. The Earl of Athol, Grand Master of Masons in Scotland for twenty years, died Jan. 16th, of cancer in the throat. He was a consistent observer of Masonic rites and principles. GRAND COUNCIL R. AND S. MASTERS IN RHODE ISLAND. James Salsbury, M. P. G. Master-James H. Armington, D. P. Grand Master-Henry F. Smith, Ill. Grand Master— Horace H. Snow, G. P. C. of Work-Henry M. Rawson, G. Recorder-Samuel Lewis, G. Treasurer-Edwin Howland, G. C. of G.Rev. Sidney Dean, G. Chaplain-Christian M. Nestell, G. Sentinel-Ebenezer B. White, G. Guard. THE A. AND A. RITE IN NEW YORK. The following is from the New York Courier, and does not present a very favorable view of the condition of the spurious organizations of the Ancient and Accepted Rite in that city : "A great deal has from time to time been heralded of the wonderful success of the 'Document Forgers.' Tin pans have been beaten, and penny trumpets blown ad nau seam, but we have recently discovered that the cause of all this noise was a funeral ceremony, and not a marriage feast. 'Miscegenation' undoubtedly produced its effects. 'Templar' and 'Jerusalem' (so called) Gr. Lodges of Perfection, in the city of N. York, (Hays & Co.,) have, after long suffering from various maladies, given up the ghost, and laid down to their eternal sleep; i. e. if such turbulent spirits while in life, can after death enjoy a nap. 'Shekinah' (so called) Gr. Lodge of Perfection, Brooklyn, (Hays & Co.,) has adjourned sine die; whilst its neighbor 'Brooklyn' (so called,) Grand Lodge of Perfection, is in extremis, thus proving that 'ex nihil nihil fit.' 'Williamsburgh' (so called) G. L. of Perfection, has fizzled out. They were wise enough, we learn, to sell their traps, and divide the proceeds, amounting to $3 63 per head. 'Lafayette Chapter' (so called,) of B. C., is past resurrection, leaving innumerable creditors to mourn its untimely fate. There are, we have heard, one or two other sickly bodies left, but all the fostering care and acknowledged generalship of little Mac,' will not succeed in leading them 'on to Rich mond.'" New Lodge of Perfection in Connecticut. We learn that a Lodge of Perfection has just been established at Norwich, Conn, under favorable auspices, with the following Brethren for its officers :-Charles W. Carter, T. P. G. M.-W. W. Avery, D. G. M.-H. L. Parker, V. S. G. W.-John G. Brady, V. J. G. W.-John Backus, G. T.-Hiram Cook, G. S.-G. A. Harris, G. M. of C. OUR title is a sad and solemn one, but none the less appropriate, as it seems to us, to the present time. Many circumstances have recently ' combined to turn our thoughts in this direction, nor may it be altogether unprofitable to dwell, for a little while, on what we are all rather too apt, in the midst of life's busy, stirring scenes, to exclude, as far as possible, from memory and reflection. There may indeed be times and occasions when the poet's maxim "Let the dead Past bury its dead," should be the stimulating watchword to energy and action; but no such excitement seems necessary now. On the contrary, there is far more reason to apprehend that, amidst the whirl of struggle and strife, by which the whole community is tost and troubled, alike on the fields of business, politics and war, that serious and wholesome reflection may be altogether lost sight of, which is so essential to the right guidance of life. During the last year, and even the last few months, the number of Masonic Brethren who have been taken away from us has been very great. Not a few have died amid the roar of cannon and the clang of arms upon the battle-field, and even now lie buried where they fell, on the "field of their glory." Others, rescued at least from that more mournful fate, have been spared to return, wounded and dying, from the noise and tumult of ruthless war, to the calm rest and gentle quiet of home, and thus to have their dying pillow smoothed, their parting breath caught lovingly, by those whose joy and delight they had formed in the cradle of infancy. Many other Brethren have recently gone from us, ripe in honors as in years, in all the tranquil peace that marks the good man's end, closing a life of Masonic duty and virtue by a death undisturbed by remorse for the Past, or by fears for the Future. In recalling the memories of many of these departed Brethren, we have been forcibly struck with the purity and fairness of the "record," which a very large number of them have left behind; a precious and consoling heir-loom to the sad survivors. We have no intention to offend the sanctity of the grave by selecting individual examples for eulogy, but the fact we refer to-for fact it is-is one of vast and most cheering significance, nor could any other more strongly attest the beneficent influence of Masonry upon the hearts and conduct of its members. The sorrow of the living for their departed dear ones is unspeakably assuaged by reflecting on such a consoling fact as this. There is no memory of bitterness or baseness to cast a dark shade over the bright vision of him, whom we believe to have only passed from the dark bondage of earth to the clear, free home of Heaven, and if we still must mourn, it will not be a mourning altogether sad and dreary, but Thus shall we mourn, and his memory's light, While it shines through our hearts shall improve them, And as buried Saints have given perfume Consoling as these reflections may be, we ought still to ask ourselves, have we, in all things, done our duty to these, our departed Brethren, not in life merely, but in death? And the question has been suggested to our own mind by circumstances that have fallen under our notice, in connection with the burial of more than one lamented Brother. It seems to us that, of late years, while the taste for grand and showy demonstrations, in which all the splendor of the Masonic dress is accompanied with "the notes of many instruments," has been, at least among certain portions of the Brotherhood, greatly on the increase, there has been a corresponding neglect of what seems to us a far more important point in the duty of Masons towards a dead Brother, or rather towards his surviving relatives. Masonry does not consist in external show and ceremonial. These are but the outward types and symbols of its inner and more precious meaning. "Charity" is its fundamental principle, not alone the charity of alms-giving for the relief of pecuniary distress, very important and necessary as that may often be-but the Charity which strives in every way to give as much comfort and pleasure as possible to the hearts of others, and to avoid as much as possible causing them pain. Now where can the true |
