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Article THE LATE REV. THOS. FLOYD OF STALYBRIDGE MASONIC DEMONSTRATION. ← Page 2 of 2 Article LIFEBOAT ENDOWMENT FUND. Page 1 of 1 Article REVIEWS. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Late Rev. Thos. Floyd Of Stalybridge Masonic Demonstration.
unite on tho square in all our actions by gospel rule and gospel lino ; that our conduct shall bo regular and uniform , and that our money shall neither be hoarded nor spent wastefally . Tho chisel and mallet teach us the advantages that accrue from a proper education . The human mind unpolished is as the diamond surrounded by its natural crust ; it discovers none of its sparkling powers until tho rough
external is chipped off . Education gives to the mind what the chisel gives to the stone ; not only external polish , it smoothens , and gives us a knowledge which enables us to arrange and appreciate the delights of matter and science , and , the most valuable of all , to understand onr real duty to God and our neighbour . The level advises us that wo are all derived from the same common stock , we are all
partakers of the same frail nature , we have all tho same vices , and the same hopes through redemption , and are , therefore , naturally upon a level one with another . We should never forget the claims that humanity has upon us and that a time will come , a time which the wisest of us knows not how soon , when all distinctions besides that of goodness will cease , so that we should , ere the great
leveller comes , see that the house , our house , is set in order and ready to receive the Grand Master at whatsoever hour he may think fit to come . Lastly , the trowel teaches us that nothing is united and knit together without proper cement , and as the trowel connects each stone together by a proper disposition of cement , so charity , that bond of protection , and all social links separated , links together
separate minds and various interests , thus taking the emblematic meaning of tools , which is tho soul of Masonry . Encouraged in every good disposition , that condition of mind is fostered which nothing earthly can give nor yet destroy , tho soul , the secret of pure heartfelt joy . And tho " thoughtful Mason is instructed to raise with these tools a stately fabric of good work upon the strong foundation
of faith , that he may be fitted at last to inhabit that glorious house which is not made with hands , but which is eternal in tho Heavens . The text proposes to us a question whicn needs an answer—Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth ? Now this assumes a double question . There is an appointed time wherein man may receive instruction , and may embrace it at an appointed
time ; and another , when all his earthly work must be accomplished . To both these questions we must admit that the Mason has better opportunities than other men of being able to give a satisfactory reply . I have shown you that at onr Lodge meetings , where we have our working tools exhibited , we are reminded of our duties ; to make the best use of our time , and of all earthly advantages , and to
Master Masons it is unnecessary for me to add—they know full well how the appointed hour , when we shall have to leave this earth , is brought to their notice . He then asked tho congregation to look into themselves , and see what was their daily practice . Was it not too true that the lives of too many were only spent for the pleasures of this earth . Death might come upon them when it was quite unlocked for .
It might come after a little sickness as it did to that brother whose memory they that day revered . Frequent instances had been brought under their notice of the uncertainty of life , but , strange as it might appear , they never seemed to apply such cases to themselves . If not in words , at any rate in their actions , they showed that they contemplated living for many years . Ho continued : To most of you our
deceased brother was long and faithfully known as a Mason . To you who belong to his particular Lodge a connection of so many years was more than euough to establish a tie of more than an ordinary nature . To those who were members of his congregation , the fact that he was entirely instrumental in binding up aud working out the formation of this place , is enough to make you feel that a friend is missing . He
brought about tho building of the edifice iu which we are assembled , he was chiefly instrumental in erecting a House of Cod , and within a very recent date he had the satisfaction of learning , ere he fell asleep in Jesus , that the debt had been paid off the Church , and to you who aro of his congregation ho must have been more than favourably known and loved . After an active life thus
spent , perhaps tinged here and there with weaknesses and infirmities —for who of us but must plead guilty to weaknesses and infirmities too?—but when we hear of a universal charity which thought nothing of giving the coat , or the hat , or anything else ho had , to those whom he thought might need them , we must pass over tho weaknesses and infirmities , and say that , perhaps , he is now in tho glorious presence of his Great Master Jesus Christ We
may well hope that he is tranquil among the spirits , and iu the company of Master Masons in the Great Lodge above , with the spirits of men made perfect He , like our dear departed brother , who follows out the principles of our Order—not a mere professor , but a doer of work—plants his foot on a firm and sure rock , against which the temporal billows may beat themselves ever so strongly , and dash ever so madly , but yet he stands secure and erect , because he stands on that rock which is the rock of Christ .
" The oak , hieroglyphically , represents strength , virtue , constancy , and sometimes longevity : under these symbolical characters , it might be revered by the Drnids ; and the misleto , which they held in the highest veneration , has excellent medicinal qualities , which , iu those davs of ignorance , might form the chief of their materia
medica , being a remedy for epilepsies , and all nervons disorders , tn which the Britons , in those ages , might be peculiarly subject , from the woodincsa of tho country , the noxious respiration proceeding from tho large forests , the moisture of the air from extorsive uncultivated lands , and the maritime situation of this country . "Hutchinson ' s Spirit of Masonry .
Lifeboat Endowment Fund.
LIFEBOAT ENDOWMENT FUND .
The amount ( £ 1 is ) acknowledged in our issuo of 20 th March lis from the " Strong Man Ledge , No 45 , " should havo been as from the " Strong Man Lodge of Instruction , "
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . T 7 ie Marvellous Country ; or Three Years in Ariz-ma and New Mexico . By S . W . Cozzens . Illustrated by upwards of one hundred engravings . Second Edition . London : Sampson Low , Marston , Low and Searle , Crown Buildings , 188 Fleet Street . 1875 .
THIS work , iu which are recorded the incidents and experiences of a three years' sojourn in Arizona and Mexico , is in the highest degree interesting . Perhaps no class of literature is so universally popular as books of travel , for there is nothing people so love to read about as tho manners and customs of a strange people , the scenery and resources of a strange country . Even the practice , too commonly
resorted to among travellers , of drawing the long bow is excused , and it may be , overlooked , if the traveller records his real and imaginary adventures in a lively , graphic style . The chances too are that only a very few can gainsay the bold assertions of the wrirer . The fancy , therefore having a wider field in works of this sort , in which to exercise itself , many travellers of course avail themselves of this chance , and
give a free rein to their imaginative faculties . So many , indeed , have done so , that people who have not trodden the same paths as the author whose work they may be studying become very sceptical about anything which seems too marvellous to be true , yet is true notwithstanding . However , having no knowledge whatever of Arizona and New Mexico , except such as we havo derived from the sketches
written by this aud other writers , we are not in any position , nor have we the slightest desire to suggest that tho author is not a faithful historian of his three years' travels in these distant and rarely-travelled countries . All men see not with the same eyes . What appears marvellous to one person may excite a very trifling degree of interest in another , and the imaginative man will
unintentionally give higher colouring to what is not very attractive , while the unimaginative will hardly even do scanty justice to what is really grand and imposing . There are a few who strike the happy mean between the too extremes of excessive and defective colouring . But these few are almost as vara ares as black swans . But to pass to tho volume before us . We have not followed the author over tho
whole of the country ho traversed , but we havo read sufficient to fully justify the assertion that any one who takes it up will soon find himself deeply interested iu the scenes and incidents described . Mr . Cozzens , in his preface , disclaims all pretence to literary merit , but the disclaimer was qnilc needless . Wo do not expect that a man constantly on the move will trouble himself
much , either during his journey or afterwards , about well-rounded sentences , imposing phraseology , and the like . Such a one is more likely to err a little on the other side , and publish his notes in rougher form than usual . The p : > int , however , is of no importance , for Mr . Cozzens his considerable facility of com . position , and makes an admirable descriptive writer . He has been at
great pains , likewise , to obtain all tho information ho could of tho early history of these regions . Let us t ike , for instance , tho following account of Father Kino ' s exploration of the county in tho middle of the seventeenth century . This old Jesuit priest was bout on visiting and exploring it . Accordingly , Mr . Cozzens tell us how : — " Single and alone , this brave old liadre started forth from tho
mission Dolores to go , ho knew not whither , —the Cross his only protection , —the' wilderness through which ho must pass his only purveyor . Persevering in the face of tho most trying difficulties , ho succeeded in reaching a river—supposed to be the Santa Cruz , and what is now the province of Sonora . He followed the course of this river , until he reached its junction with the Gila . He then descended
the Gila , examining tho country as well as ho could on his way . Crossing the Gila near its mouth , he retraced his steps , and ascended the river on the north bank , passing through a country the most wonderful ever seen by tho eye of man . " " He found it inhabited by a people who were kind , generous and hospitable in the extreme , the better class living in houses built of
adobe , while the more common people built their houses of sticks set in the ground , and bound together at the top by ropes made from the fibrous leaf of the maguey , and thatched with bundles of long grass . "These houses , he declares , were well constructed and comfortable . Their towns and villages he describes as situated upon the banks
of tho streams , and generally built upon mesas , and well adapted for defence . He represents tho population as vast , tho settled portion of tho country extending from liver to river , ihe inhabitants frugal , industrious , and contented . Thoy manufactured a kind of cotton cloth from the leaf of the maguey , which grew in great profusion all over tho country . He found them very expert in making the most beautiful
feather work , which thoy coloured with dyes , both mineral and vegetable , manufacturer ! by themselves . Tl . oy were also well versed in the art of picture writing , which they practised to a great degree , upon the walls of their dwellings—as also upon the wails of their eatafus , or public buildings , which were very smooth an- ! well finished , where a kind of record was kept of the remarkable events in their
history . " The account , is far too long to quote in exUnso , so we give tho substance of what follows . They used a kind of paper , made of tho cloth above mentioned , prepared with a coating of gum , and had also newly-dressed skins . Father Kino found likewise very beaut . ful specimens of pottery , and in great store , silver : md gold vessels , some of them exhibiting fine design aud elegant workmanshi p , with tools
made from copper and tin amalgamated . Tiiey in-i ^ sui-d the ground and raised corn , beans , and cacao . They ev' -n extracted from the stalk often a saccharine matter , from which tl . ev uiiiimfsici-mvl a kind of sugar and also a kind of liquor from tlie feruie-iied j . iice f the maguey , or Mexican aloe . From this plant , indeed , th-.-v : nn < le pins , needles , paper , rope , cloth , i . ) iu . . _; .-, ivr i / tcir houses , uuat and drink . Truly , a . moat remarkable plant ! Their
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Late Rev. Thos. Floyd Of Stalybridge Masonic Demonstration.
unite on tho square in all our actions by gospel rule and gospel lino ; that our conduct shall bo regular and uniform , and that our money shall neither be hoarded nor spent wastefally . Tho chisel and mallet teach us the advantages that accrue from a proper education . The human mind unpolished is as the diamond surrounded by its natural crust ; it discovers none of its sparkling powers until tho rough
external is chipped off . Education gives to the mind what the chisel gives to the stone ; not only external polish , it smoothens , and gives us a knowledge which enables us to arrange and appreciate the delights of matter and science , and , the most valuable of all , to understand onr real duty to God and our neighbour . The level advises us that wo are all derived from the same common stock , we are all
partakers of the same frail nature , we have all tho same vices , and the same hopes through redemption , and are , therefore , naturally upon a level one with another . We should never forget the claims that humanity has upon us and that a time will come , a time which the wisest of us knows not how soon , when all distinctions besides that of goodness will cease , so that we should , ere the great
leveller comes , see that the house , our house , is set in order and ready to receive the Grand Master at whatsoever hour he may think fit to come . Lastly , the trowel teaches us that nothing is united and knit together without proper cement , and as the trowel connects each stone together by a proper disposition of cement , so charity , that bond of protection , and all social links separated , links together
separate minds and various interests , thus taking the emblematic meaning of tools , which is tho soul of Masonry . Encouraged in every good disposition , that condition of mind is fostered which nothing earthly can give nor yet destroy , tho soul , the secret of pure heartfelt joy . And tho " thoughtful Mason is instructed to raise with these tools a stately fabric of good work upon the strong foundation
of faith , that he may be fitted at last to inhabit that glorious house which is not made with hands , but which is eternal in tho Heavens . The text proposes to us a question whicn needs an answer—Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth ? Now this assumes a double question . There is an appointed time wherein man may receive instruction , and may embrace it at an appointed
time ; and another , when all his earthly work must be accomplished . To both these questions we must admit that the Mason has better opportunities than other men of being able to give a satisfactory reply . I have shown you that at onr Lodge meetings , where we have our working tools exhibited , we are reminded of our duties ; to make the best use of our time , and of all earthly advantages , and to
Master Masons it is unnecessary for me to add—they know full well how the appointed hour , when we shall have to leave this earth , is brought to their notice . He then asked tho congregation to look into themselves , and see what was their daily practice . Was it not too true that the lives of too many were only spent for the pleasures of this earth . Death might come upon them when it was quite unlocked for .
It might come after a little sickness as it did to that brother whose memory they that day revered . Frequent instances had been brought under their notice of the uncertainty of life , but , strange as it might appear , they never seemed to apply such cases to themselves . If not in words , at any rate in their actions , they showed that they contemplated living for many years . Ho continued : To most of you our
deceased brother was long and faithfully known as a Mason . To you who belong to his particular Lodge a connection of so many years was more than euough to establish a tie of more than an ordinary nature . To those who were members of his congregation , the fact that he was entirely instrumental in binding up aud working out the formation of this place , is enough to make you feel that a friend is missing . He
brought about tho building of the edifice iu which we are assembled , he was chiefly instrumental in erecting a House of Cod , and within a very recent date he had the satisfaction of learning , ere he fell asleep in Jesus , that the debt had been paid off the Church , and to you who aro of his congregation ho must have been more than favourably known and loved . After an active life thus
spent , perhaps tinged here and there with weaknesses and infirmities —for who of us but must plead guilty to weaknesses and infirmities too?—but when we hear of a universal charity which thought nothing of giving the coat , or the hat , or anything else ho had , to those whom he thought might need them , we must pass over tho weaknesses and infirmities , and say that , perhaps , he is now in tho glorious presence of his Great Master Jesus Christ We
may well hope that he is tranquil among the spirits , and iu the company of Master Masons in the Great Lodge above , with the spirits of men made perfect He , like our dear departed brother , who follows out the principles of our Order—not a mere professor , but a doer of work—plants his foot on a firm and sure rock , against which the temporal billows may beat themselves ever so strongly , and dash ever so madly , but yet he stands secure and erect , because he stands on that rock which is the rock of Christ .
" The oak , hieroglyphically , represents strength , virtue , constancy , and sometimes longevity : under these symbolical characters , it might be revered by the Drnids ; and the misleto , which they held in the highest veneration , has excellent medicinal qualities , which , iu those davs of ignorance , might form the chief of their materia
medica , being a remedy for epilepsies , and all nervons disorders , tn which the Britons , in those ages , might be peculiarly subject , from the woodincsa of tho country , the noxious respiration proceeding from tho large forests , the moisture of the air from extorsive uncultivated lands , and the maritime situation of this country . "Hutchinson ' s Spirit of Masonry .
Lifeboat Endowment Fund.
LIFEBOAT ENDOWMENT FUND .
The amount ( £ 1 is ) acknowledged in our issuo of 20 th March lis from the " Strong Man Ledge , No 45 , " should havo been as from the " Strong Man Lodge of Instruction , "
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 67 Barbican , E . C . T 7 ie Marvellous Country ; or Three Years in Ariz-ma and New Mexico . By S . W . Cozzens . Illustrated by upwards of one hundred engravings . Second Edition . London : Sampson Low , Marston , Low and Searle , Crown Buildings , 188 Fleet Street . 1875 .
THIS work , iu which are recorded the incidents and experiences of a three years' sojourn in Arizona and Mexico , is in the highest degree interesting . Perhaps no class of literature is so universally popular as books of travel , for there is nothing people so love to read about as tho manners and customs of a strange people , the scenery and resources of a strange country . Even the practice , too commonly
resorted to among travellers , of drawing the long bow is excused , and it may be , overlooked , if the traveller records his real and imaginary adventures in a lively , graphic style . The chances too are that only a very few can gainsay the bold assertions of the wrirer . The fancy , therefore having a wider field in works of this sort , in which to exercise itself , many travellers of course avail themselves of this chance , and
give a free rein to their imaginative faculties . So many , indeed , have done so , that people who have not trodden the same paths as the author whose work they may be studying become very sceptical about anything which seems too marvellous to be true , yet is true notwithstanding . However , having no knowledge whatever of Arizona and New Mexico , except such as we havo derived from the sketches
written by this aud other writers , we are not in any position , nor have we the slightest desire to suggest that tho author is not a faithful historian of his three years' travels in these distant and rarely-travelled countries . All men see not with the same eyes . What appears marvellous to one person may excite a very trifling degree of interest in another , and the imaginative man will
unintentionally give higher colouring to what is not very attractive , while the unimaginative will hardly even do scanty justice to what is really grand and imposing . There are a few who strike the happy mean between the too extremes of excessive and defective colouring . But these few are almost as vara ares as black swans . But to pass to tho volume before us . We have not followed the author over tho
whole of the country ho traversed , but we havo read sufficient to fully justify the assertion that any one who takes it up will soon find himself deeply interested iu the scenes and incidents described . Mr . Cozzens , in his preface , disclaims all pretence to literary merit , but the disclaimer was qnilc needless . Wo do not expect that a man constantly on the move will trouble himself
much , either during his journey or afterwards , about well-rounded sentences , imposing phraseology , and the like . Such a one is more likely to err a little on the other side , and publish his notes in rougher form than usual . The p : > int , however , is of no importance , for Mr . Cozzens his considerable facility of com . position , and makes an admirable descriptive writer . He has been at
great pains , likewise , to obtain all tho information ho could of tho early history of these regions . Let us t ike , for instance , tho following account of Father Kino ' s exploration of the county in tho middle of the seventeenth century . This old Jesuit priest was bout on visiting and exploring it . Accordingly , Mr . Cozzens tell us how : — " Single and alone , this brave old liadre started forth from tho
mission Dolores to go , ho knew not whither , —the Cross his only protection , —the' wilderness through which ho must pass his only purveyor . Persevering in the face of tho most trying difficulties , ho succeeded in reaching a river—supposed to be the Santa Cruz , and what is now the province of Sonora . He followed the course of this river , until he reached its junction with the Gila . He then descended
the Gila , examining tho country as well as ho could on his way . Crossing the Gila near its mouth , he retraced his steps , and ascended the river on the north bank , passing through a country the most wonderful ever seen by tho eye of man . " " He found it inhabited by a people who were kind , generous and hospitable in the extreme , the better class living in houses built of
adobe , while the more common people built their houses of sticks set in the ground , and bound together at the top by ropes made from the fibrous leaf of the maguey , and thatched with bundles of long grass . "These houses , he declares , were well constructed and comfortable . Their towns and villages he describes as situated upon the banks
of tho streams , and generally built upon mesas , and well adapted for defence . He represents tho population as vast , tho settled portion of tho country extending from liver to river , ihe inhabitants frugal , industrious , and contented . Thoy manufactured a kind of cotton cloth from the leaf of the maguey , which grew in great profusion all over tho country . He found them very expert in making the most beautiful
feather work , which thoy coloured with dyes , both mineral and vegetable , manufacturer ! by themselves . Tl . oy were also well versed in the art of picture writing , which they practised to a great degree , upon the walls of their dwellings—as also upon the wails of their eatafus , or public buildings , which were very smooth an- ! well finished , where a kind of record was kept of the remarkable events in their
history . " The account , is far too long to quote in exUnso , so we give tho substance of what follows . They used a kind of paper , made of tho cloth above mentioned , prepared with a coating of gum , and had also newly-dressed skins . Father Kino found likewise very beaut . ful specimens of pottery , and in great store , silver : md gold vessels , some of them exhibiting fine design aud elegant workmanshi p , with tools
made from copper and tin amalgamated . Tiiey in-i ^ sui-d the ground and raised corn , beans , and cacao . They ev' -n extracted from the stalk often a saccharine matter , from which tl . ev uiiiimfsici-mvl a kind of sugar and also a kind of liquor from tlie feruie-iied j . iice f the maguey , or Mexican aloe . From this plant , indeed , th-.-v : nn < le pins , needles , paper , rope , cloth , i . ) iu . . _; .-, ivr i / tcir houses , uuat and drink . Truly , a . moat remarkable plant ! Their