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

ave seen it outlive the rise and fall of nations, kingdoms, and empires,
• is witnessed the magnif<strong>ice</strong>nce and grandeur of Balbcc and Palmyra, of
and Nineveh, sunk into insignificance. It has seen Gi eece, the seat
[om, wisdom and the arts, fall from her high estate. It has beheld
eloquence, heroism, and glory left only in her name; and the pyrad
obelisks of Egypt crumbling into the desert sand, tolling the last
f nor departed glory; and passing through ages when the sn i of the
hemisphere was obscured, and ignoran se and superstition had assumed
ay over the willing multitude, wo sae it again emerge, clothed in the
panoply ot Heaven's own mail, and stand before the wo.ld, like the
«f all moon on some stormy night—
Among the fugitive clouds that harrying by.
Leave her alone, unshaken in the sky.
"We have found that it is the spirit and tendency of the institution to
el ovate the intellect of man; to raise his moral feelings and enlarge his range
of scientific and useful knowledge, and that at the same time it is emphatically
and peculiarly an institution of social benevolence, forming its members
into one universal and harmonious brotherhood, governed by one set of
principles, animated by one feeling, and pronouncing one shibboleth in all
tongues, countries and ages."
We know of no Grand Lodge whose proceedings give higher promise of
future excellence than our youthful sister of Iowa.
MISSOURI.
This Grand Lodge met in annual communication in St. Louis, on Monday,
June 6, 1853, M. W. Benjamin W. Grovcr, Grand Master. A very large
number of Lodges were represented, the whole proceedings showing the prospi
rity of Masonry in Missouri. Tho Grand Master in his beautiful address
more, under the guidance and protection of our Supreme Grand
r, we are permitted to assemble as the representatives of the suborditdges
of the State, to consult together upon tho interest and welfare
beloved Order; to renew our annual greetings and fraternal interto
brighten and strengthen tho links of that mystic chain of
I, by which we are bound one to the other. It is a source of unigratulation,
that throughout our borders an unusual degree of
I harmony and solid prosperity has distinguished our beloved Order
; th* Masonic year now about to close. Ho other institution of human
back with swob Jam feelings of pride, to