VOL. III.
OXFORD, N. C., WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 1877.
NO. 27.
THE SECRETS OF JJIASOKRV.
Tlie storj' is told of a Mason’s wife,
Who plagued him almost out of his life
To learn the secret—-whatever it be—
The mystic words of Masonry.
Said he; “ Kow, Mary, if I should tell
The awful word.s, I know very well
AVhen you get mad, my darling dear,
You’ll rip them out, that all may hear.”
Said she: “Oh, Edward, never! ne\’er!
They’ll re.st in my heart’s recess forever!
Tell me, Edward, and never more
Shall I scold, or fret, or slam the door;
And I’ll try to be quiet with all my
might,
Komatter what houryou come at night.”
Jfo man, unless he was made of wood,
Could resist an offer so fair and good ;
So he said; “ Now, Mary, my woe or
weal
Deiicnds on the words I’m about to
reveal.”
“Oh, Ned,” she answered, “yon may
depend.
I’ll keep the secret till life .shall end.”
Said he; “The secret that Masonry
screens.
The awful words are—Port and heans
Scarcely a week had passed away
When Mary got mad, and what did
she say ?
She shouted out, that all might hear:
“ Pork and beans! I’ve got you there!”
THE RAEEIOH ACADEMY.
The attention of the people of
Raleigh was early directed to the
subject of education. The most
active man in inaugurating schools
was Joseph Gales, the editoi of
the Register, one of the most en
lightened of the fathers of Raleigh.
The following is the list of the
Ti'ustees elected March 27 th,
1S02 ; John Ingles, Wm. White,
Nathaniel Jones (of White Plain),
Henry Seawell, Simon Turner,
Wbi. Boylan, John Marshall, and
Joseph Gales.
Nathaniel Jones, who had do
nated $100, was chosen President,
and Joseph Gales, Secretary.
One month afterwards $800 is
reported subscribed, and soon an
academy is built by permission
of the General Assembly, on
Burke square, one building for
tile males, one for the females.
This Academy became a power
in the land. It grounded the
education of nearly all the boys
of that day in central North Car
olina. It was the pride and glory
of Raleigh for the third of a
century.
The Academy began in grand
style. In 1804 we read an ad
vertisement which announces the
teachers as follows:
Rev. Marin Detargney (la+e of
Princeton, and of the college of
Maryland) as Principal.
Cliesley Daniel, graduate of
the University of North Carolina,
and late one of the Tutor’s as
sistants.
Miss Charlotte Brodie, Teacher
of Needle Work.
Greek, Latin, Spanish, French,
Mathematics, with application to
the system of the World, Astron
omy, Navigation, &c., all at $5
per quarter. A less amount might
be had for $4 per quarter. The
English branches for $3 per
quarter, and Needle Work free.
Such array of all the sciences
seems to have been above the
demands of young Raleigh, and
in 1810 it is announced by Wil
liam White, the Secretary of the
Board, that the Trustees of the
Academy had engaged the Rev.
William MePheeters, a gentleman
eminently qualified for the un
dertaking, to become the Princi
pal of the Academy and “ Pastor
. of the City.”
The leaders in the great contest
with the social and political evils
of the (lay, those who must drill
tile young to their full powers
and enable them to cope with the
active adventurous, nothing fear
ing, all daring spirit of this age,
are the teachers of the land. Our
people captivated by the elo
quence of the statesman, or the
brilliant achievements of the war
rior do not fully appreciate the
grandeur of their calling.
We honor with abundant praise
that man by whose investigation
into the laws of nature, rich har
vests of golden grain beautify the
sterile heath, fat cattle crop a
grateful food on a thousand barren
hills. How much more worthy
of lasting glory is the man by
whose aid heaven-born ideas
spring up and flourish in' a desert
mind, principles of noble conduct
in a moral waste, high aspirations
for the beautiful and sublime in
the place of low and vulgar
prejudice.
Dr. Wm. MePheeters was one
of the best of his class, pains
taking, conscientious, thorough,
parental and kind to the dutiful,
but a terror to the truant—high-
minded, brave, frank, abhorring
all meanness, he not only in
structed the minds of the boys,
but he trained their consciences
to aim at his own lofty standard.
He W'as, too, pastor of the city
for several years. His ministra
tions in the Commons Hall ■\vere
attended by all, and Episcopalians
and Baptists, Presbyterians and
Methodists, in their triumphs and
their sorrows, on the bed of .sick
ness, and in the hour of death,
found in him a sympathizing
friend, a safe counsellor, a true,
tried, well-armed Great-Heart.
Under this remarkable man the
Raleigh Academy grew and
flourished, and the Raleigh people
insensibly looking up to him as
a common guide, were a united
community, unpretentions, socia
ble, cordial to one another and
cordial to strangers.
Dr. MePheeters did not con
sider his responsibility for the
morals of the children under his
care to cease with the dismissal
of School on Friday evening. On
Sunday morning they wmre called
to assemble at the Academy for
Sunday School, and , after the
Presbyterian church was built in
1816," a procession was formed
with the assistance of the female
teacher. Miss Nye, and all march
ed to the Presbyterian church.
On Monday the roll was called
and wme to the chap who could
not give a good reason for non-
attendance. He firmly believed
in “moral suasion,” provided it
was rubbed in with a little hick
ory and ohinquepin oil, as illus
trating his management, as well
as displaying his grim humor,
one of our best and most dignified
citizens tells me that, -wlien a boy,
he with two others concluded
that hunting birds’ nests on Pig
eon House Branch was more
agreeable than learning the
Shorter Catechism. Accordingly
their handsome faces were not
found for several Sundays in the
procession marching from the
Academy to the church. One
morning the good Doctor dryly
observed, “ I have noticed that
several of these boys are affected
with a new disease—the Sunda}-
fever—I have a sovereign reme
dy for it, and for fear it may
prove contagious, I will now pro
ceed to administer it.” Where
upon he drew forth his stout
hickoiy and gave them such a
dose as cured the fever never to
return. He was no respecter of
nersons; regarded neither posi
tion nor the age of badl3'-behaved
boj’S. On one occasion he was
about to whip a large youth,
weighing 175 lbs. The boy ex
postulated, “ Dr., I am too old to
be whipped.” The reply was,
“ As long as a boy misbehaves he
is young enough to be punished.”
It is to the credit of the Ancient
Freemasons that they rvere the
first benevolent organization to
occupy Raleigh. Tliey even pre
ceded any religious denomination.
The first Lodge of Ancient
Freemasons in the city of Raleigh
was organized February 11th,
1793, at the house of Warren
Alford, under the charter granted
by the Grand Lodge, Friday,
December 14th, 1792, styled
Democratic Lodge, No. 21, with
John Macon, Master; Rodman
Atkins, Senior Warden; and Gee
Bradley, Junior Warden. This
Lodge existed for two or three
years. Hiram Lodge, No. 40,
W'as established under a dispen
sation of Wm. R. Davie, Grand
Master, dated the 10th day of
March, 1799, with Henry Potter,
Master; John Marshall, Senior
Warden, and Robert Williams,
Jr., Junior Warden. Its charter
bears date 15th of December,
1800; was signed by Wm. Polk,
Grand Master. The names of
many of the men who composed
the early membership of this
Lodge are prominently connected
with the history of Raleigh, either
from its foundation or from a date
not far remote from it. The
names of Henry Potter, Theoph-
ius Hunter, John Marshall, Wil
liam Boylan, William Hill, Calvin
Jones, William W. Seaton, and
many others are remembered
now by the Masonic Fraternity
with fraternal reverence.
The Grand Lodge of Masons,
after holding its communications
alternately in Tarboro, Hillsboro,
Newbern and Fayetteville, met
for the first time in Raleigh, on
the 3rd day of December; 1794.
It has since held its Annual Com
munications in Raleigh. Many
of our worthy citizens, some of
whom are now living, have been
and are yet active members of
this body. There are many in
teresting facts connected with the
history of this order in Raleigh,
which I regret cannot be given to
you on this occasion.—Hon K.
F. Battle’s Sketch of Raleigh.
A SAD PICTURE OF THE
HEATHEN.
It is impossible for me to con
vey to my readers any just view
of the many silly things connected
with the religion of the Hindoos,
or of the extreme to which the
silliness is carried. They have
sacred rivers, sacred trees, sacred
bulls, sacred—every thing, almost.
The monkey is especially sacred.
Images of the ‘ monkey god ’ are
very numerous. Here in Benares
there is a ‘ monkey temple,’ which
■w'e visited. About this building
there are hundreds, perhaps thou
sands, of monkev’s. Thet’ are all
of one species—a very common
and uninteresting species. Being
fed here, they remain in the
vicinity, but have the freedom of
the neighborhood, pilfering every
exposed article of food, and the
superstitious people never dare to
treat them rudely. As the custom
of visitors is, we purchased a few
cents’ worth of rice and threw it
to them. They scrambled for it
and fought over it as if they
might have been mere brutes ;
but these Hindoos have built
them this temple and do actually
worship them. Yet there are not
wanting educated Englishmen
who write flattering things of
Brahmanism, and hold that one
form of religion is about as good
as another. Surehy no such de
graded objects of devotion can
tend to any thing else but degra
dation in the worshiper.
But, if the silliness of Hindoo
superstition were the worst of it,
it would, though inconoei-Vably
degrading, be, yet, a noble thing
compared to what it really is.
The popular religion of India is
in the last degree depraved. It
is, beyond conception, evil in its
moral phases. Starting out with
a high conception of life, it fell
to worshiping, the source of life.
From this -beginning it has gone
on in a descending scale until it
has deified lust. The Hindoo
trinity are Bramha, Vishnu, and
Mahadeo. The .symbols under
which this hist are worshiped are
too gross to be named. Yet these
are the very symbols which
abound more than any other in
the temples at Benares, and in
many other places, while our
observation is that these symbols
receive a more enthusiastic devo
tion than is paid to any other
images. The ardor of women in
these devotions is a most noticea
ble fact.
The moral effect of this is seen
every ivhere. There are no vir
tuous men in India. As for the
women, no man will trust his
wife outside of the zenana, except
the very poor, whose women are
compelled to labor for bread.
The temples have a class of
dancing girls connected with
them who are said to be married
to the gods. This is considered
an honor, and a family is proud
when a girl is chosen out of it for
this distinction. These girls pei-
form indecent dances in the tem
ple grounds, at festivals, to bring
a crowd of people. They are all
prostitutes, and their hire goes in
to the treasury of the temple.
The priests, so far as I can learn,
do not make any pretense of
sexual purity. They are all vile.
This picture is a black one, but
my readers may rest assured that
it is not overdrawn.—Bishop Mar
vin.
There are many things used
as money besides metals. Thus,
in some parts of India, cowry-
shells are used as coin. In the
Arctic regions, where iron is
scarce, even rusty nails are used
as money, instead of gold or silver.
But the strangest of all money is
that used in Abyssinia. Instead
of metals they use salt bricks,
which are about eight inches long,
and an inch and a half in breadth.
They are shaped like a scythe
stone. Each brick is worth about
t'wo pence.—Selected.
The founder of the great bank
ing house of Rothschilds made
the following rules the guide of a
business career culminating iu
magnificent success :
1. Combination of three profits.
‘ I made the manufacturer my
customer, and the one I bought
of, my customer; that is, I sup
plied the manufacturer with raw
materials and dv'es, on each of
which I made a profit, and took
his manufactured goods, which
I sold at a profit, and thus com
bined three profits.
2. Make a bargain at once. Be •
an off'-handed man.
3. Never have 'anything to do
with an unlucky man or place.
‘ I have seen mariv' clever men
who have not shoes to their feet.
I never act with them. Their ad
vice seems very well, but fate is
against them ; they cannot get on
themselves, how can they do
good to me]
4. Be cautious and bold. ‘It re
quires . a great deal of boldness
and a great deal of caution to
make a great fortune, and when
V'OLi have got it, it requires ten
times as much to keep it.’
Nice uncle (improving the oc
casion)—“You see, my dear, you ■
don’t generallj- call boj's ‘pretty;”
but if they are very good indeed
thej' may grow up ‘handsome.’”
Olive Branch—“Oh, uncle! why
didn’t you be a good bo}'?”
A venerable clergyman puts
these words into the mouth of the
t)ipical Bostonian: “what do vou
mean? Why I was born in Bos
ton, sir; I graduated at Harvard
University, sir. Do you mean to
say that such a man as I am must
be ‘born again’ in order to see the
kingdom of God? Why, the idea
is preposterous.”
A Scotch minister, being asked
by a friend during his last illness
whether he thought himself dy
ing, replied; “Really,friend I care
not whether I am or not; for if I
die, I shall be with God; and if I
live, God will be with me.”
A certain preacher once took the
text: ‘Husbands, love your wives,’
Pausing for a moment, he glanced
toward Emily, his wife, and be
gan as follows. ‘Now brethering,
we sartainly don’t love our wives
as we’d orter! I don’t love Em’ly
as I orter, but if I was to have an
other wife, I’d love her better’n I
hev Em’ly.
—A little fellow going to
church for the first time, where
the pews were very high, was
asked, on coming out, what he
did in church, when he replied,
“ I went into a cupboard and took
a seat on the shelf.”
—A wag W'as being asked the
name of the inventor of butter
stamps, replied that it was prob
ably Cadmus, as he first brought
letters into Greece.
•—It is the opinion of the doc
tor that the lawyer gets his living
by plunder, while the lawyer
thinks the doctor gets bis by pill-
age-
‘Is that clock right over there ?’
asked a visitor the other day.
“ Right over there,” said the boy.
At what time of ila^' was Adam
borni A little befiu-e Eve.