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the glory of the world. The order and system which marked the building of the first temple, followed them in the latter ages; and although in the erection of the vast creations of Masonic skill, the busy sounds of labor were heard on every hand, as the grand arches and pinnacles and towers rose from their solid foundations to the heavens, yet the same beautiful plan of work by which the magnificent structure of the King of Israel

"Rose like an exhalation, with the sound

Of dulcet symphonies, and voices sweet," governed the Craft in the building of those colossal triumphs of architectural genius, which shall forever demand the admiration and worship of the human intellect.

Passing from this brief review of our subject, let us for a moment consider our institution in its adaptation to the wants of humanity; its fitness as the almoner of the holiest charity; its laws and precepts as the embodiment, not only of the purest morality, but presenting likewise a frame of government fitted for all conditions of life, for all races of people, and for all states of society. It sprang into existence far back in the distant ages, over whose history rests the pall of everlasting silence; it gleamed out of that darkness as the light of history began to irradiate the gloom only in dim and fabulous traditions; it took organic shape and practical development in the earliest days of the ancient Kings of Israel ; and its culminating point was reached in that perfect system of work and government which presided over the erection of that miraculous structure-that marble poem of consummate genius whose lovely beauty, shining from the sacred mountain, gleamed to the remotest horizon like a star.

Thus it has come down to us from the earliest times. Through all the changes of empires, and amid all the revolutions of governments, it has preserved its existence. The altar now stands where it stood in the days of the first Masters; and the enkindled fires and the emblematic lights still shed their beams to illuminate the surrounding darkness. It has outlived the Temple which its ancient Craftsmen builded; but the same laws that held it in harmonious union then, alike preserve its unity and integrity now. The forms of architectural beauty and design may have gone down in the dust of the vanished ages, but the soul and spirit of the design, order and beauty, yet lingers in our Craft and hallows all its work. From Praxitelean shapes, whose marble smiles

"Fill the hushed air with everlasting love;"

from towers and arches, moldering among their mocking ivy; from the solemn cloisters of many an old cathedral; from the dim aisles of grand old woods, whose mighty trees are evermore repeating

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'Their old poetic legends to the winds;"

from the stupendous caves with all their sparry grots; and from the rock-invested gorges of the mountains, whose beetling walls might serve as the bastions of a world, where the sublime Architect of the

Universe has in the play of His omnipotence set those copies for human genius to imitate; from each and all, the lesson falls with a deep significance on the Mason's heart. Architecture, its first great operative application, compelled the recognition of the laws of unity and order. From the study and contemplation of the principles upon which the harmony of the material universe depended, the transition was natural and easy to the recognition and adoption of those laws governing the life, conduct, character, and actions, upon which alone, as upon a corner stone, could be erected the moral and spiritual Temple of Masonry.

Neither the time nor the occasion demand from me an exposition of the tenets and principles of the Craft. I may, however, be allowed for a brief moment to allude to some of the excellencies of our Order.

And first, its sublime equality. Its first principle is the recognition of the humanity of the man, and the acknowledgment of the fraternal ties that bind all men together. Within its sacred enclosure there can be no rank or caste. The royal ruler of a mighty realm; the mitred prelate; the soldier, bearing upon his body the scars and trophies of a hundred fights; the philosopher, whose keen vision has explored all the intricacies of natural or political wisdom; the soul of science that hath sojourned among the stars or dived into the nethermost depths-are all alike, Brethren all— made so by the recognition of each individual humanity-and each an equal scholar in the school of virtue. "Love one another" is written upon the door-posts, and the word "Brother" embraces in its comprehensive dialect all ranks, from the Neophyte to the Supreme Master.

While prejudice alienates-while sect and nation, lineage and language, wealth and power, set up evermore the barriers which keep men asunder-while political distinctions and religious differences but deepen animosities and engender bitterness-Masonry presents a platform and a principle broad and firm enough for all the world to rest upon in peace.

In the grand Choral Hymn of the noble Schiller, I find these lines, which could only have sprung from a heart incandescent with Masonic heat :

"Spark from the fire that gods have fed--
Love-thou Elysian child divine-
Fire-drunk, our airy footsteps tread,
Oh, Holy One, thy holy shrine.
Strong custom rends us from each other,
Thy magic all together brings,
And man in man but hails a brother,
Wherever rests thy gentle wings.
Embrace, ye millions, let this kiss,
Brothers, embrace the earth below,
Yon starry worlds, that shine on this,
One common Father know."

Masonry is, in short, the highest expresssion of the idea of Fraternity, and it is destined to be one of the most active agents in the accomplishment of that world-wide fraternization which so espec

ially marks the tendencies of the present age, and whose progressive development will ultimately result in drawing to a nearer and more perfect union all the children of the earth. It offends no prejudice; it opposes no sect. It stands aloof from all the noisy clamors of the day. Its mission is in secret and in silence. It "does good and communicates," but the right hand knows not what the left hand doeth. It is the minister to want, the angel of consolation to patient suffering, the handmaid of religion; for what religion teaches from lofty pulpits, it practically performs. Wherever there is want or sorrow, there is Masonry, the reliever; wherever is wrong or oppression, there is Masonry, the strong arm of support; wherever is death, or sickness, which is the shadow of death, there also is Masonry, to bind up the wound, to close the fixed and ghastly eye, and then, with reverent care, to commit the dead body to the silence and retirement of the grave.

How often have you, in this land of strange vicissitudes, been called upon to minister to such needs as these? The strong, boldhearted adventurer, struggling amid discouragements and privations for his children's bread, is suddenly arrested by the palsying hand of disease. Poverty and want environ him. A stranger in a land of strangers, to whom shall he go for succor? The swift tides of life rush by him, and he is cast a stranded wreck upon the shore. In the desolation and agony of his heart, he lays down to die; no friend near that death couch-no ministering voice of consolationno brother's hand to clasp the nerveless fingers-no upward-pointing angel of hope to guide the way to immortal life.

But stay, some one knows that poor man! Some one in all this bright world out of which he is passing into the unknown land, must know that man! Surely, he shall not die, and make no sign! Oh no! He has found friends. In almost the last agonized convulsions of his members, when his tongue could no longer syllable his thoughts, he found a brother-a brother in a higher sense than the claim which our common humanity in suffering or sore distress demands of every man-one, whose soul was knit to that vanishing soul in all the gentle ministrations of love and charity, by ties as strong, aye stronger, than those which knit the souls of Jonathan and David.

This picture, brethren, is a picture of practical Masonry. You have it framed in all your hearts; its colors cannot fade from your memories. In your own dark hours of desolation, the light from it will be a beacon pointing upward to Heaven!

And now, the hour for our departure has arrived. Henceforth, our paths diverge. From manifold pursuits in life, and from distant homes, moved by a common impulse, we have come up to worship near this sacred shrine, and to renew the vows of fealty to our common faith. I trust the hour has not been spent in vain, and that it has been good for us to have been together. In this interchange of kindly greeting, we have strengthened our fraternal ties, and in this common labor dedicated to our common cause, we have strengthened the hands of our Craft in every land.

As Masons of California, this hour is full of deep significance. You are the representatives of the world. From distant lands and climes, from every rank and station in life, from the most dissimilar conditions of physical and political existence, you have assembled on the western shore of our continent, a family of brethren bound together by a common interest and protected by the glorious Constitution of our common country. You are one, as citizens; and owing allegiance to a common law, you share alike in the glory and advancement of the State. In your Masonic relations you present the same anomaly. Of various tribes and nations, of parentages and educations the most diverse, with wide and high partition-walls separating you one from the other, you yet, here, to-day, meet upon common ground. We are all one-on earth, the great all-embracing, loving soul of Masonry claims us as her common children— and in the heaven above us, the One Eternal Father!

Before we go hence, let us review our work. Upon a solid foundation we have placed our memorial stone. It hides from mortal eyes (we hope for ages yet to come) in its safe and silent tomb, the records of this day. In all its appointments, and with all the glory of its architectural design, this temple shall rise to its lofty roof, a fitting and noble testimonial to the devotion of the Masonry of our State. But there must be something, brethren, underneath that stone, and underneath the foundation which supports it, deeper than all this, or the building will not stand. The master builder may perform his work never so well; the apprentices and craftsmen may labor in due subordination to the authority of the masters; the massive walls may rise in all their solid strength to heaven; the costly jewels of our work may adorn its various chambers; the fires may be lighted upon its inner altars; the entrance may be well and duly guarded; but all, all will be in vain, unless there is a deeper, surer, and more stable foundation than that on which our corner stone reposes. What is that nether stone? What is that upon which a true temple to Masonry must be built? Ah, brethren, it is the deep, underlying, imperishable foundation of Masonic love, and Masonic unity. With that beneath the material foundation, this Temple is indeed secure and indestructible. The foundations of the globe had need of no more permanent cornerstone than that structure, under whose deep bases repose Truth, Charity, and Brotherly Love.

One prayer, one spontaneous aspiration, is a fitting conclusion to this hour: Oh Temple! planned with the cunning skill of laborious art, rise in all thy majesty and beauty toward the skies? May thy walls be strength, and all thy tabernacles peace! May the votaries who shall in the long march of centuries enter thy sacred porches, find evermore therein repose, refreshment, peace! May the light of thy sacred altars burn ever like a star! May the "stranger and the sojourner in the land" ever enjoy the blessings of thy welcome and thy shelter; and when the hour of thy decay and dissolution crumbles thee to earth, may there be found thousands of faithful and devoted hearts to raise thee from thy ashes with renewed splendor and more enduring life! So mote it be.”

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