I . W. GRAND LOlMiK ^licitnt, /ice, Mb ^cttptei SElasons, A i/ro \

sea of ether, visiting countless glittering worlds, beholding them in the
b"uu f
y of their creation, in the august magnif<strong>ice</strong>nce of their meridian glory,
and in tho awful sublimity of t'-eir mighty ruin—these, all these, Masonry
regards—surrounds with the bright hale of divinity, till man, toy of fortune,
child of sorrow—
" Pendulum betwixt a smile and a tear "—
kneels in humble submission to the will of the Supreme Grand Master; and
although Epimetheus is wedded to his bride, the box of Pandora opened, the
crime of the first born multiplied to infinity, and the earth, poor mother,
forced to drink the life's-blood of her own children, and weep rivers of purple
tears at the unholy sacrif<strong>ice</strong> ; forgetting every thought unkind, he turns
to his fellow man, hugs him to his bosom, and calls him brother !
1 hen let tho enemies of Masonry do their worst, Ut them curl the lip of
sarcasm, wag the head of derision, and point tho finger of scorn ; wherever
thtro is a haul open to the melting appeals of charity, a heart susceptible
to tho tender emotions of sympathy, a soul capable of appreciating man's
exalted destiny—there, whether in our own happy America, or in the less
favored portions of this vast globe—whether amidst the chilling snows of Siberia,
or the vine-clad hillsof beautiful France—whetheron the fertile banks
of the Nile, or in the scorching deserts of Arabia,—there, will the sound ef the
yavel be heard, and true and faithful craftsmen be found at work in tho
great quarry of FRIENDSHIP, MORALITY, and BROTHERLY LOVE.
Ay, let the ocean of opposition be lashed into tempest; let its billows roll
mountain high, and dash their maddening spray into the very face of
heaven ; tho rod of a Moses will divide tho waters, and, like the children of
Israel, we shall pass through dry-shod. Nay, let tbe winds of ^Eolus be invoked
; let the fires of persecution be kindled; let her furnace be seven times
heated ; like the Hebrews of old, we shall come forth fiom the flames, scathless
and harmless, for, eve: with us, is the God of our Fathers ! And, amidst
all, our beloved institution will remain nobly erect—
•• As some tall cliff that lifts it, awful form,
Sfff'I" from the vale, and midway le.ivos the storm,
Tho' round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head !"
No—the progress of Masonry can never be stayed—its principles can never
die—will ever live; for they are indelibly engraven on the memory of tho
faithful, they grow in the hearts of the true, and shine forth in tbe lives of
the worthy. Nay, they are heard in the soft whisperings of the breeze, and
in the hoarse howlings of the hurricane; they are written by the lightning
on the cloud, and muttered in the deep reverberations of the thunder; they
glow in tho splendor of the sun-dazzling day, speak in the gloom of the
dark-jewelled night, are sung in the music of the ever-rolling spheres, and
emblazoned in characters of living light on the azure tablet of the heavens !
M. W. Grand Master, and off<strong>ice</strong>rs of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of