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Article AN ORATION ← Page 5 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Oration
that the God of all grace may grant her clue consolation in the day of her sore trial and bereavement , ancl may guide ancl protect her during the whole remaining course of her earthly p ilgrimage . Bro . Smith afforded a noble example of fortitude ,
patience , ancl independence . His infirmities were such as would have sunk ordinary men into a state of the greatest depression , ancl been held a sufficient warrant for abandoning labour altogether , and living in idleness ancl dependence . Far
different was the conduct of our late friend . He was still courageous and strong-hearted . He disdained to eat the bread of idleness . He laboured
with few intermissions , and to the utmost extent of his strength , almost to the day of his death . It was fortunate that in the latter part of his life he found so kind ancl indulgent a master as Mr . Steell . That gentleman , when he saw his bodily powers impaired by disease , did not clo what some masters would have done—cast him out of his
employment . On the contrary , he kept the door of his studio always open to him , and , by giving him such employment as he had to do out of doors , enabled him to be useful without over-taxing his diminished powers . I have often heard our
deceased friend speak of Mr . Steell in terms of the highest respect . He evidently had not merely a great admiration of him as an artist , but a warm affection and attachment , to him as a man . I have
reason for thinking that the regard was to some extent reciprocal , and that Mr . Steell appreciated his worth and integrity , and reposed in him the utmost confidence . As members of the Lodge Journeymen , we feel grateful to Mr . Steell for the
uniform kindness and indulgence which he extended to our late friend . We are confident that it will not detract from his laurels , that it will not lower him in the esteem of the thousands in all parts of the world , who know his name , who admire his
works , ancl appreciate his talents , that he befriended a disabled workman , that he overlooked his deficiencies , ancl sympathised with his infirmities , that he gave him the means of earning an honest livelihood , ancl thus kept him from a
state , which to him would have been one of the greatest pain ancl degradation—that of being dependent on the bounty of others . Our deceased brother was a sincere , downright honest man . He was one of the few persons in the
world to whom we would readily entrust our reputation , our worldly means , and even our very life . He had no flummery , no pretence . lie made no promises
which he did not fulfil , he held out no hopes which he did not realise . . We were not deceived and disappointed by him . He did not come before us flaunting with Masonic jewels , and boasting of his Masonic knowledge , his Masonic services , aud his attachment
to Masonic principles . He did fur better . He showed what the principles of Masonry are hy his actions . He showed that its justice , its fortitude , its temperance , its truth , its brotherly sympathy and cheirifcywere the objects of his affection , that they
, were implanted in his nature , and bore their legitimate fruits . He was , in short , a real man , and no sham * AYe have iTreemasons now-a-days that can be regarded as nothing better than sounding brass or tinkling cymbals . Great is their noise , their disphiy , and their
pretended regard to the requirements of our Order , but strip them of the cloak which they wear , and you will find them full of fraud , falsehood , calumny intemperance , and every abomination . Such men are a disgrace and a source of weakness to the society
with which they are connected . They may , it is true , sometimes receive applause—they may be taken under the wing of men in power , and j ^ atted , caressed , and encouraged—they may even gain triumphs , and be
surrounded by troops of shouting sycophants , but it is fortunate , it is satisfactory , that they cannot long play the impostor . It is beyond their power to conceal their knavery . The Ethiopian could as well change his skin , or the leopard his spots . They are soon seen in their true colours . They soon stand
forth detected and exposed , and then by a righteous retribution , shame , and discredit , overwhelm both them aud their abettors . But our late brother had no disguise to take off . He was no moral assassin under a mask . He was no preacher of purity ancl
righteousness , while inwardly ho was full of corruption , and secretly practised the grossest iniquities . His virtues and his sturdy independence reflected honour on our ancient Institution . It is by such men that its stability is maintained , because , it is by
finding such men within its pale , that the well-ordered are induced to join its ranks . 13 y the sudden and unexpected removal of our brother , we are reminded of the shortness , the uncertainty , and the mutability of this life . Man ' s days
are swifter than a weaver ' s shuttle , they are as a tale that is told . In the morning of life- we set out strong and buoyant , full of animation and golden A'isions ; we toil and struggle ; we lay grand schemes of future enterprise ; we set our affections on endeared objects ;
we gather together , it mav be , a small portion of this world ' s goods for the use of coming years ; and just iu the midst of our career , in the midst of our fancied security , in the midst of attached friends and companions , when we think we have almost reached the goal of earthly felicity , the fiat goes forth from the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Oration
that the God of all grace may grant her clue consolation in the day of her sore trial and bereavement , ancl may guide ancl protect her during the whole remaining course of her earthly p ilgrimage . Bro . Smith afforded a noble example of fortitude ,
patience , ancl independence . His infirmities were such as would have sunk ordinary men into a state of the greatest depression , ancl been held a sufficient warrant for abandoning labour altogether , and living in idleness ancl dependence . Far
different was the conduct of our late friend . He was still courageous and strong-hearted . He disdained to eat the bread of idleness . He laboured
with few intermissions , and to the utmost extent of his strength , almost to the day of his death . It was fortunate that in the latter part of his life he found so kind ancl indulgent a master as Mr . Steell . That gentleman , when he saw his bodily powers impaired by disease , did not clo what some masters would have done—cast him out of his
employment . On the contrary , he kept the door of his studio always open to him , and , by giving him such employment as he had to do out of doors , enabled him to be useful without over-taxing his diminished powers . I have often heard our
deceased friend speak of Mr . Steell in terms of the highest respect . He evidently had not merely a great admiration of him as an artist , but a warm affection and attachment , to him as a man . I have
reason for thinking that the regard was to some extent reciprocal , and that Mr . Steell appreciated his worth and integrity , and reposed in him the utmost confidence . As members of the Lodge Journeymen , we feel grateful to Mr . Steell for the
uniform kindness and indulgence which he extended to our late friend . We are confident that it will not detract from his laurels , that it will not lower him in the esteem of the thousands in all parts of the world , who know his name , who admire his
works , ancl appreciate his talents , that he befriended a disabled workman , that he overlooked his deficiencies , ancl sympathised with his infirmities , that he gave him the means of earning an honest livelihood , ancl thus kept him from a
state , which to him would have been one of the greatest pain ancl degradation—that of being dependent on the bounty of others . Our deceased brother was a sincere , downright honest man . He was one of the few persons in the
world to whom we would readily entrust our reputation , our worldly means , and even our very life . He had no flummery , no pretence . lie made no promises
which he did not fulfil , he held out no hopes which he did not realise . . We were not deceived and disappointed by him . He did not come before us flaunting with Masonic jewels , and boasting of his Masonic knowledge , his Masonic services , aud his attachment
to Masonic principles . He did fur better . He showed what the principles of Masonry are hy his actions . He showed that its justice , its fortitude , its temperance , its truth , its brotherly sympathy and cheirifcywere the objects of his affection , that they
, were implanted in his nature , and bore their legitimate fruits . He was , in short , a real man , and no sham * AYe have iTreemasons now-a-days that can be regarded as nothing better than sounding brass or tinkling cymbals . Great is their noise , their disphiy , and their
pretended regard to the requirements of our Order , but strip them of the cloak which they wear , and you will find them full of fraud , falsehood , calumny intemperance , and every abomination . Such men are a disgrace and a source of weakness to the society
with which they are connected . They may , it is true , sometimes receive applause—they may be taken under the wing of men in power , and j ^ atted , caressed , and encouraged—they may even gain triumphs , and be
surrounded by troops of shouting sycophants , but it is fortunate , it is satisfactory , that they cannot long play the impostor . It is beyond their power to conceal their knavery . The Ethiopian could as well change his skin , or the leopard his spots . They are soon seen in their true colours . They soon stand
forth detected and exposed , and then by a righteous retribution , shame , and discredit , overwhelm both them aud their abettors . But our late brother had no disguise to take off . He was no moral assassin under a mask . He was no preacher of purity ancl
righteousness , while inwardly ho was full of corruption , and secretly practised the grossest iniquities . His virtues and his sturdy independence reflected honour on our ancient Institution . It is by such men that its stability is maintained , because , it is by
finding such men within its pale , that the well-ordered are induced to join its ranks . 13 y the sudden and unexpected removal of our brother , we are reminded of the shortness , the uncertainty , and the mutability of this life . Man ' s days
are swifter than a weaver ' s shuttle , they are as a tale that is told . In the morning of life- we set out strong and buoyant , full of animation and golden A'isions ; we toil and struggle ; we lay grand schemes of future enterprise ; we set our affections on endeared objects ;
we gather together , it mav be , a small portion of this world ' s goods for the use of coming years ; and just iu the midst of our career , in the midst of our fancied security , in the midst of attached friends and companions , when we think we have almost reached the goal of earthly felicity , the fiat goes forth from the