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Article METROPOLITAN, ← Page 9 of 11 →
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Metropolitan,
entertained towards you by your Masonic Brethren . Gifts , I am well aware , may be in themselves but of small value , and yet be most valuable to the receiver , as showing the direction of the current of good will and approbation . To you the Brethren of this Lodge are greatly indebted—you they recognize as their leader and master . Educated , sir , as you have been in that profession to which Masonry is most allied , you have the skill to compare what is speculative with what is onerative . and vou have the abilitv to explain that comparison to your Brethren .
Following in the footsteps of your illustrious predecessor , you have voluntarily and disinterestedly laboured for the good of this Lodge ; you have skilfully executed the work ; and you have , with no ordinary talent , maintained the great trust reposed in you ; you have increased its value , and you have extended its usefulness . ( Hear . ) Hence our present meeting . To say that this is the only particular in which yon have deserved well of your Brethren , would be to do you scanty justice . You have ever practised those sublime lessons which you have taught here . As teacher in this important Lodge , you have naturally acquired a
great influence in the Craft . That influence you have used well , not to your own advantage , but to the advantage of the Brethren . ( Cheers . ) You have curbed the impetuosity of the young and inexperienced ; you have been the adviser of those of more mature years ; you ever studied—in support ' of order and of regularity—to maintain the authority both of the Master in the chair and of the Grand Master upon the throne . Kigid as a disciplinarian—and no man has succeeded in a great object who has not strictly enforced subordination—trusted and acknowledged as an authority—you found
yourself the honoured member of many Lodges , and the leader and teacher of this the most important Lodge of Instruction in the world . By your labours here you have consecrated your name in our memory , and to future ages , as a benefactor to the Craft . ( Great cheering . ) Well and "worthily have you been honoured by the Grand Master . Never was honour more worthily bestowed , and never was the bestowal of it hailed with greater satisfaction by the Craft . ( Immense cheering . ) Beyond these testimonials there ought to have been on the table a tea-service , but , owing to some carelessness , it has not been delivered . We
have , however , sent a messenger to the silversmith ; and the answer he has brought us back is , that the articles are all ready , polished and inscribed , but that the maker has gone away for the evening , locked up the house , and taken the key with him , so that they are not now forthcoming . We ought to have the opportunity of placing before you all the the testimonies of our regard ; that , unfortunately , not being so , you must , in your mind's eye , picture to yourself the whole of that domestic apparatus used in the preparation of the cup that cheers but not inebriates ; and I hope they will be as mute tokens to the ladies of your
family , and tell them , as they cannot be here present , of the esteem in which we hold you . We have the pleasure of presenting them to a veteran in Masonry , but one not at the end of a long life , wearied with labour—not bowed down by age , and anxious for repose ; we behold you in the full youth of your power , in the full maturity of your strength and judgment , ready to give us good service here . ( Cheers . ) May , Sir , your domestic happiness keep pace with your public reputation , and may you have the blessing of many more years of sound health to give us the benefit of your guidance and assistance . Bro . Wilson , I have , in the
observations I have addressed to the Lodge and to you , refrained from using terms of fulsome praise , or any expression which might be considered overlaudatory , feeling that I best consult the wishes of the Brethren who have placed me here ; and that anything more than the plain and honest truth would so far from being grateful to your feelings , be annoying to one of your earnest , simple , and honourable disposition . Permit me , in the name of this meeting , to beg you to accept these gifts , and with them , to assure you that you possess that far
greater reward , that which all good men covet—the respect , the approbation , and the affection of your Brethren . ( Immense cheering . ) Bro . Wilson , who was for some minutes so overpowered that he could not speak , replied in the following terms : — " Right Worshipful Master and Brethren , I rise with considerable diffidence to address you , because I find that I am utterly incapable of expressing those sentiments which are duo to you on this particular
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Metropolitan,
entertained towards you by your Masonic Brethren . Gifts , I am well aware , may be in themselves but of small value , and yet be most valuable to the receiver , as showing the direction of the current of good will and approbation . To you the Brethren of this Lodge are greatly indebted—you they recognize as their leader and master . Educated , sir , as you have been in that profession to which Masonry is most allied , you have the skill to compare what is speculative with what is onerative . and vou have the abilitv to explain that comparison to your Brethren .
Following in the footsteps of your illustrious predecessor , you have voluntarily and disinterestedly laboured for the good of this Lodge ; you have skilfully executed the work ; and you have , with no ordinary talent , maintained the great trust reposed in you ; you have increased its value , and you have extended its usefulness . ( Hear . ) Hence our present meeting . To say that this is the only particular in which yon have deserved well of your Brethren , would be to do you scanty justice . You have ever practised those sublime lessons which you have taught here . As teacher in this important Lodge , you have naturally acquired a
great influence in the Craft . That influence you have used well , not to your own advantage , but to the advantage of the Brethren . ( Cheers . ) You have curbed the impetuosity of the young and inexperienced ; you have been the adviser of those of more mature years ; you ever studied—in support ' of order and of regularity—to maintain the authority both of the Master in the chair and of the Grand Master upon the throne . Kigid as a disciplinarian—and no man has succeeded in a great object who has not strictly enforced subordination—trusted and acknowledged as an authority—you found
yourself the honoured member of many Lodges , and the leader and teacher of this the most important Lodge of Instruction in the world . By your labours here you have consecrated your name in our memory , and to future ages , as a benefactor to the Craft . ( Great cheering . ) Well and "worthily have you been honoured by the Grand Master . Never was honour more worthily bestowed , and never was the bestowal of it hailed with greater satisfaction by the Craft . ( Immense cheering . ) Beyond these testimonials there ought to have been on the table a tea-service , but , owing to some carelessness , it has not been delivered . We
have , however , sent a messenger to the silversmith ; and the answer he has brought us back is , that the articles are all ready , polished and inscribed , but that the maker has gone away for the evening , locked up the house , and taken the key with him , so that they are not now forthcoming . We ought to have the opportunity of placing before you all the the testimonies of our regard ; that , unfortunately , not being so , you must , in your mind's eye , picture to yourself the whole of that domestic apparatus used in the preparation of the cup that cheers but not inebriates ; and I hope they will be as mute tokens to the ladies of your
family , and tell them , as they cannot be here present , of the esteem in which we hold you . We have the pleasure of presenting them to a veteran in Masonry , but one not at the end of a long life , wearied with labour—not bowed down by age , and anxious for repose ; we behold you in the full youth of your power , in the full maturity of your strength and judgment , ready to give us good service here . ( Cheers . ) May , Sir , your domestic happiness keep pace with your public reputation , and may you have the blessing of many more years of sound health to give us the benefit of your guidance and assistance . Bro . Wilson , I have , in the
observations I have addressed to the Lodge and to you , refrained from using terms of fulsome praise , or any expression which might be considered overlaudatory , feeling that I best consult the wishes of the Brethren who have placed me here ; and that anything more than the plain and honest truth would so far from being grateful to your feelings , be annoying to one of your earnest , simple , and honourable disposition . Permit me , in the name of this meeting , to beg you to accept these gifts , and with them , to assure you that you possess that far
greater reward , that which all good men covet—the respect , the approbation , and the affection of your Brethren . ( Immense cheering . ) Bro . Wilson , who was for some minutes so overpowered that he could not speak , replied in the following terms : — " Right Worshipful Master and Brethren , I rise with considerable diffidence to address you , because I find that I am utterly incapable of expressing those sentiments which are duo to you on this particular