Freemasonry And The Fair Sex.

the menu will be made the ' very utmost of by tho gay and festive company who have decided to go on Tuesday next . In the following week occurs the anniversary festivities o ! the Domatic Lodge , No . 277 , the locale being IOmpton

Park , than which no more charming spot could he si'lectori within an easy distance from tho metropolis . The Worshi pful Master of this solid old Centenary Lodge , Bro . Abel Simncr , has already shown us the stuff he is made of , ami

his resolute ability in carrying" out whatever lie undertake * in Freemasonry ; so that , under favourable ei > 'cumsta . ne : \ - as to weather , there can be no shadow of apprehension at to the tidat which will attend this gathering . The Kemptm

Park Committe have again placed at the disposal of the Lodge the whole of their charmingly picturesque grounds , the grand stand , pavilion , & c , and those who were present last year will vividly recollect the pleasantries of that

event , and look forward to Tuesday , tho 19 th inst ., with all the greater avidity on that account . Several other Lodges arejengaged in similar preparations for the delectation of their friends of both sexes , and we can only hope that , each

and all of them will go as merry as marriage bells . Thes < meetings are calculated to produce vast and permanent benefit to the Craft , by promoting tho interchange of kindly feeling and goodwill , and rubbing off those social

knobs and excrescences which are apt to obtrude at times in all communities . Whilst , therefore , sending our heartiest good wishes along with those who have gone farther afield

in search of rest and relaxation , we sincerely hope that those who are anticipating briefer respites from every day affairs may enjoy themselves to their heart ' s content .

These Must Be Done.

THESE MUST BE DONE .

An Oration before the Grand Lodge of California , VMh October 1886 , by Bro . Morris March IMee . THERE is something sublime in the thought that behind the ages , in the gloom of the unremombered

past , in the very boyhood of man , there was a Society whose principles were founded upon tho equal rights of man , and that the time of the creation of this Societ y cannot inmarked by any historical event . Conspicuous amnao- the

traditions of Masonry is the belief that it existed before ! any records of profane history , before Socrates taught his sublime philosophy , before Demosthenes thnndered his

orations against Philip of Macedou , b- fore Rome existed , and long before the Christian era , erected a new mi ' v-stoue on the highway of nations .

In Masonry , the old and the new are blended , th ? monarchial government of the patriarchs and the freedom of modern republics aro made to harmonise together , and the lessons of the remote ages serve to shed new lio-ht

through the gloaming of the present . The quaint rituals of our Order and the faith which one Mason is taught to have in another , are lessons which indicate in a , most

marked degree the simple character of those who lived in the early period of man ' s existence ; and these must have received their inspiration from the patriarchal age .

The old and the new differ in this , that the richer people become , and the more enli ghtened they are , the more doubting and commercial are their instincts . A warm heart does not often go with great business intellectual

development , as business knowledge is principally the knowledge of dollars . In this age man believes what he sees more than what he is told . These facts would seem

to carry on their face , if none others existed , the proof of the antiquity of our Order ; but its antiquity docs not alone inspire our veneration ; it is not the number of its years , but its deeds , which we most admire .

Indeed , it matters but little whether Masonry existed only a few hundred years ago , or before the pyramids , for we do believe that it existed before books were printed , before gunpowder was invented , and before America was

discovered or steamboats dreamed of . We know that railroads , telegraphs , telephones , and steam engines were not thought of when Masonry was being exemplified over a great portion of the world . We know that new nations

have been created and old ones have passed away ; that new and marvellous inventions have beeu made , and that the world ' s history has been written and re-written over

and over again since Masonry was first taught to man ; yet the princi ples of Masonry are but little changed , because time cannot destroy truth , and because the calls of

These Must Be Done.

humanity and the emotions of the human heart aro the sauie to-day as always . These are like the inspirations of religion , or the leve we have for home and kindred . Although our rituals are unchanged , Masonry has

progressed . Masons have learned something during the recent past . Masonry has advanced with the tide of events , and progressed with the march of human intelli . ge-ee . It has been a learner and teacher among men , but

it lias learned only in its business relations with the outside world . Its spirit , its soul , is tho same as of old ; and whether we note its lessons in practical Masonry , as

exemplified in the construction of King Solomon ' s Temple , or its sublimer lessons in human charity and Christian benevolence , everywhere and in all ages it has been an educator .

lo day it is the same grand old Order as it was at the beginning . Its great age has not brought with it decrepitude or nurtured the seed of decay , for it survives now on what it does to-day . It carves out its own history

as fast as the fleeting present passes by . We must admit that it is a human organization , with many human frailties , Find not destitute of human faults ; that it makes mistakes

aud corrects them ; but the mistakes our Order makes are but tho proof of our humanity . The l'emedies we afford come from the inspiration of a Divine Providence , and these represent the generous , tho charitable side of man .

If we are to believe tradition , there is a peculiar romance about tho early organization of our Order . It came into existence in the far East , amid the grandest specimens of God ' s handiwork , and in an age of faith that reached even

beyond the skies . It was cradled under the fostering care of the patriarchs , and the sacred precepts of prophecy and religion formed the corner-stone of the edifice . Tot Masonry acknowledges no sect , but tbe human race , no

religion but that taught in the Bible , whoso God was the God of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob . In the early times Masonry was a peace-offering to the world , and indeed in war it has been a conspicuous messenger of peace . In

pence it has been the advance guard in tho march of human freedom . Founded npon inspired religion aud controlled bv law , it acknowledges alike its duty to religion , good order , and regular government . Though everv Lodge is a

little republic , yet it flourishes under the shades of monarchies , and amid the benign influences of the most p"rfcct democracy , for the whole human family is its children , and the whole world its home .

It is especially suited to the practical charities of everyday life , for ostentation finds no place in Masonry . Though it . is a human organization and conforms to the customs of the peoples of ail lands , yet its creed is , and ever has been , to " do unto others as ye would that thev should do unto

you . ' Its lessons give hope and courage to the poor aud ignorant , and lower the pride of the rich and the envious . Whatever else may be said of it , it is a great leveller of men , but it seeks the hi ghest plain for its level , and on that plain all are equal .

" rue , we are sometimes wearied with its p lain and oftrepeated lessons as heard in the Lodge-room , as we become annoyed at the rays of the blazing sun ; but , like the sun , this Order gives hope and life to all the world . No man

can be a rrood Mason who is not a patriot and true to his country , yet Masonry has no pride , no distinct nationality . There is no boundary line that marks the limit of its usefulness , and the whole earth is its home . Still , each

jurisdiction is within some national authority which Masonry is bound to obey . This is true because the language of Masonry is universal ; it speaks in every tongue and is known in every land . The most benighted

and most ignorant of men can understand its great truths and appreciate them . Its very simplicity is its greatest strength , for it is intended for all men and all ages , past and to come . It has been well said that Masonry has been

the most remarkable and the most illustrious organization ever known in history , because it has brought , and still brings , into one family and under one control all classes of

people , from the prince down to the humblest cottager . It makes no distinction of place , and confers no honour except for real merit , for after all its onl y glory is the good it does .

We often expect too much of Masonry , and we always expect too much of Masons . Masons are human beings , and Masonry can only make the Mason the best of

his kind . The Masonic Order therefore cannot be any better than the men who compose its membership ; but Masonry never made a man worse , and it has mad 1 ? many