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VOL. 11.
GREENSEORO, TM. C., TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1876.
NO 1.
The Forgotten Grave.
Out from tlie city’s giant roar,
Yon -wanderefl tlirough the open door;
Paused at a little pack and spade
Across a tiny hillock laid;
Then noted on your dexter side
Some moneyed magnate’s ‘dove or pride;”
And so, beyond it hawthorn-tree,
Showering its raid of rosy bloom
Alike on lowly and lofty tomb,
You came upon it—suddenly
How strange the very grasses’ growth
Around it seemed forlorn and lo.ath;
The very ivy seemed to turn
Askance that w'reathed the neighbor urn.
Sunk was the slab; the head declined;
And left the rails a wreck behind.
Yo name; you traced a “6” a “7,”
Part of “affliction” and of “Heaven;”
And then—0 irony austere! —
You read in letters sharp and clear.
'"^Though lost to sights to memory dear.''
Austin Dobson. *
Practical Masonry.
In glancing over the pages of jur Ma
sonic e.{changet! and in wading through
the lengthy, and learned, addresses an
nually delivered to their flocks by our
out-going Grand Masters at annual com
munications throughout the States, we
are struck forcibly by the apparent
unanimity wdth which practical subjects
are avoided, and attention almost wholly
Turned towards Utopian flights into the
impo.ssible, and the impracticable. In
stead of teaching men and Masons how
they should apply their knowledge of
Ereemasonry to the everyday experi
ences of their existence, and utilizing
their superior wisdom by imparting prac
tical knowledge to them-subordinate to
them, our “wise men,” for such we must
call them,fall into a beaten track,and with
one accord indulge in orations replete
with beautiful sentiments, and with an
eloquence which would put to shame the
veriest Grecian orator, but of no possible
utility to those seeking after a method by
Avhich to apply their Masonry to their
lives. We may be termed “fault find
ers” in thus pointing out the fallacies of
that which has become a time-honored
custom in the fraternity, and if in our
desire to render Masonry practical, we
may encroach too much on the broad do
main of “'Masonic Oration,” w-e shall be
quick to offer apology for the offense.
In orr mind, however, Masonry is practi
cal,, or it is nothing ; it is a blessing to
mankind because of its adaptability to
ihe wants of his nature, or it is a useless
ceremony which takes both his time and
his attention, giving no adequate returns
for the demands which it makes upon
both. Now, to our thinking. Masonry
was designed as a hl.iscing to its profess
ors, and as a means of lightening the load
which we have to bear in this lite ; how
shall we avail ourselves of this blessing,
in order to make our Masonry practical,
is a subject which should command the
attention of those chosen for great ofEces
on account of their superior wisdom.
How much better it would be, then, for
our orators, those W'ho can speak w'hen
they are so inclined, to confine them
selves to practical subjects, avoiding the
high flown style so generally adopted,
and taking especial pains to impress
upon their auditors the importance of
leading Masonic lives.
The want of this age is a proper inter
pretation of the duties which are incum
bent upon those taking the obligations of
the craft; a proper appreciation of the
weight and force of those obligations, and
a clear perception of the aim and end of
the institution. These subjects are to be
understood only by study and close ap-
plication upon the part of the newly made
brothers, and where books or documents
fail to clearly present the subject, it be
comes the manifest duty of lecturer and
Gran-i Officer to interpret for the seeker
after knowledge. The elevation of a
brother to a high office imposes upon him
solemn and emportant duties; he assumes
something more than honor—responsibil
ity and accountability, for the faithful
discharge of his obligations, one of which
is that of feacAcr, both by example and
precept, to those who wait ,in a measure,
upon his ministry. The conferring of a
title upon a member of our institution
clothes him with authority, commands for
him respect and obedience, but it also
brings with it a solemn responsibility ;
while enjoying the honors of the craft,
he becomes a teacher, enterj-rets dogmas,
declares that which they are to believe or
reject, and it is through him that a clear
perception of masonic duty should be had.
We suggest, therefore, that “how to
make Masoniy practical?” is a question
which demands the attention of our Ma
sonic scholars, orators, and Grand Offi
cers. We do not excuse journalists from
the proper appreciation of thi,s duty;
thev are also teachers, and should be
careful, at all times, to faithfully fulfil
the obligations of their peculiar voca
tions. It is our endeavor to faithfully
present the wants of the fraternity, and
to explain so far as we a.e ahie the meth
ods by which Masanry may be rendered
practical , to the great body of Freema -
■sons. As we intimated before, Freema
sonry was intended to be a benfit to its
disciples, and we call upon those whose
oflliie it is to instruct and guide the craft,
to dwell more upon those subjects which
are to lead to that most desirable end.
We desire that the tenets and precepts
of the institution may be applied to our
daily walks, that by the benign influ
ences of Masonry the journey through
life may be rendered a pleasant one, and
that we, dying, leave behind us the un
speakable gift of an irreproachable and
blameless record.—W. Y. Square.
[It is with great pleasure we transfer
the above to our columns, as it so clearly
sets forth the views of the Journal on
this subject. We have labored to be
practical rather than to be theoretical or
sentimental, and have left the flowers
and vagaries to those so inclined.
Let
all
endeavor to bring our
Masonry practically into our everv
life.—Ed. I
day
The Poetry of the Locomotive.
Not long ago an engineer brought his
train to a stand at a little Massachusetts
village where Ihe passengers have five
minutes for lunch. A lady came along
the platform and said : “The conductor
tells me the train at the junction in P.
leaves fifteen minutes before our arrival.
It is Saturday night; that is the last train
I have a very sick child in the ear, and
no money for a hotel, and none for a pri'>
vate conveyance a long, long way into
the country. What shall I do ?”
“Well,” said the engineer, “I wi.sh I
could tell you.”
“Would it be possible for you to hurry
alittie?” said the anxious, tearful mother.
‘■No, madam, I have the timetable, and
the rules say I must run by it.”
She turned sorrowfully awayq leaving
the brenzed face of the engineer wet with
tears. Presently she returned and said :
“Are you a Christian?”
“I trust I am,” was the reply,
“Will you pray with me that the Lord
may in some way delay the train at the
junction ?”
“Why, yes, I will pray with you, but I
have not much faith,”
Just then the conductor cried; “All
aboard.” The poor woman hurried back
to the deformed and sick child, and away
went the train climbing the grade.
“Somehow,” said the engineer, “every
thing worked like a charm. As I prayed
I coiild'nt help letting my engine out just
a little. We hardly stopped at the first
station, people gat on and off with won
derful alacrity, the conductor's lantern
was in the air in a half minute, and then
away again. Once over the summit it was
dreadful easy to give her a little more,
as I prayed, till she seemed to shoot thro’
the air like an arrow. Somehow I couldn’t
hold her, knowing I had the road, and so
we dashed up to the station six minutes
ahead of time.”
There .stood the other train, and the
conductor said: “Well, will you tell me
what I am waiting for? Somehow I felUl
m'ost await your coming to night, but I
don't know why.’" “I guess,'’ said the
brother conductor, “it is lor this poor
woman with her sick and deformed child,
dreadful anxious to get home this Satur
day night.” But the man on the engine
and the grateful mother think they Ban
tell why the train waited.
CLIPPINGS.
.... There are ‘1278 inns in Vienna.
.... The newest collar.- are calle;l bibs.
.... New fringes are elaborate and wide.
.... Tramps are .=a-id to admire yellow pan
taloons.
The chandelier for the Boston theatre-
cost $5000-.
A wise man makes more opportimitie-
than he finds.
The King of Dahomy has his coat to
button up the back.
Six thons-aEd persons-ill Atlanta, Ga.,
want work and cannot find it.
“James Centennial Jones” has just
been christened at Ithaca, New York.
.... Inspectors in beer in -Bavaria pour the
inferior article iu'.o the gutter.
Geo. 'William Curtis gets $18,000 a
year for editing Harpa-'s Weekly.
.... It costs $10,000 a year to sweeten tin-
coffee of the Indians at the agencies-.
.... Four million barrels .if ffoiir are re
quired to feed the people of New York on for
one year.
.... The Paris Figaro advises its readers fi
distrust “fair-complexioned -wornea with
wide mouths.”
.... Rossi is not coming to this cmmtrv
this September, having postponed his visit for
another year.
There grow wild in the Black Hills
|•aspberries, gooseberries, plums and hazelnuts.
Also Indians
Six hundred Servian eonvict-s were
pardoned by Prince Milan on the day an heir
to his throne was bom
Two western New 'York girls, during
the absence of materfamilia, sawed off the
tops 01 their bedposts for croquet balls,
.... “He who laughs can commit no dead
ly sin,” said the wise and sweet-hearted
woman who was the mother of Goethe.
.... At a place in Nevada called Hamlet’-
Claim, a luunaii skiiil has been found con
taining a swallow’s nest. Al.as! poorYorick.
Philosophy is but dry bread-; men will
not live upon it, however 'wholesome; they
ri'quire the succulent food and exciting cup cif
religion.
A philosopher in Paris has, learned
that pcyiple tiiat have extraordinarily long
first joints on their thumbs are born With
homicidal instincts.
.... Now is the time for husking bees.
The bee should be firmly seized by tlie res
ponsive end—well, you can depend upon tiic
bee for further instnictioiis.
“There is nothing in this Morld so fril
ly gratifying,” said Mrs'. Potter,“as thcslricl.
performance of ones duty.” and she .-avageiy
threw Potter’s night key into the cistern-.
... '[’he pleasures of youth wither and
perish like summer flowers; but it isdiffereni,
with a cast-iron stove, Which turns up both its
sharp edges toward your shin every fall.
IVlien a dog barks at night in Japan
the owner is arrested and sentenced to work
a year for the neighbors that Wmre disturbed.
The (log gets off easier being simply killed.
... .At a Paris dinner party recently a hair
comb was discovered in the soup. The but
ler merely expressed his surprise tliat the
cook should be so negligent as to lose such a
handsomely carved shell in that mannef.
Andrew Simmons, aged 1.7; of Martin,
Jliolitried to drive a sqnin'el froiii imilei-a
log with Ihe butt of bis gun. The gnil, of
course, was discharged, the contents lodging-
in tlie abdomen of the youth. He -wdll hoi.
j-ccover.
.... A girl ill Cincinnati rfeceritly over
loaded her stomach with tieayy wed.dingcake,
and retired early, in order tliat she nughi.
dream of her future husband. She dreamed
that a man.with a moutli curling Under eacli
ear one wflitq eye, a wig, ahd an income of two
dollars and eighty cfents a year came and sat
on her footboard, and she’s in the worst kind
of a cave of gloom in consequence.