GMLewis

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WINSLOW LEWIS, JR. 1799-1875

WinslowLewis2_1871.jpg

Junior Grand Steward, 1834-1835
Grand Sword Bearer, 1836
Corresponding Grand Secretary, 1841-1844
Grand Marshal, 1845
Deputy Grand Master, 1846-1847
Grand Master, 1855-1856; 1860.


TERM

1855 1856

1860

MEMORIAL

Note: The Proceedings of 1875 have an extensive memorial section on Grand Master Lewis, running to about 300 pages.

IN ROBERT LASH LODGE, SEPTEMBER 1875

From New England Freemason, Vol. II, No. 10, October 1875, Page 465:

In Memoriam — Winslow Lewis.

Adopted by Robert Lash Lodge, Chelsea, Mass., Sept. 22, A. L. 5875.

(Among the many affectionate tributes to the memory of Dr. Winslow Lewis, we have met with none more appreciative and discriminating than the following from the pen of R. W. Tracy P. Cheever, P. G. W., and a member of Robert Lash Lodge.— Editor.)

The record of a well-spent life is one of the beneficent gifts of Heaven to mortals. Full, rounded years, which, as they have passed, have bestowed their charity and their sweetness upon mankind, cannot lose their force or beauty when he who brightened them has ceased to be. R. W. Winslow Lewis, who has compassed the tides and seas of earthly existence, after all vicissitudes of storm and calm, has reached the shining port of immortality. It is the simple prompting of our warm, though weak human affections, to speak of him as if the earth on which he trod were vacant; as though the wine of life were drawn, and renown and grace were dead. His departure creates, indeed, a void in the hearts of those to whom his presence and companionship were light and inspiration. Death has brought

"To us, the empty room and cot; To him, the heaven's completeness."

We fondly call him whom the "spoiler" has laid low, our father, our companion, the guide of our hearts; for we lived in the atmosphere of his goodness and were warmed by the constant glow of his affections. Should we not almost bemoan him, in the grand breadth of his love, in the outspreading embrace of his humanities, as the brother of mankind? A life like his should hardly be given over to a formal analysis, although its dissection might disclose nothing but the fairest and soundest elements of proportionate beauty and strength. If we glance but for a moment at some of the more apparent and obvious features of the character of our illustrious Brother, our griefs and our praises may be equally justified.

Born at the close of the last century, and in the purer days of the republic, Brother Lewis passed his childhood and youth under the public and social influences which had sprung up from the revolution and the adoption of the federal constitution. The best educational facilities of the period were fortunately at his command. He was graduated at Harvard University in 1819, and, choosing the medical profession as his life-pursuit, entered at once upon its appropriate studies, which he followed, at least approximately, to their exhaustion, under the most famous practitioners of England and France, viz., Abernethy and Dupuytren. To such theoretical science as the books afford he added a studious and careful attention to the practice of the most renowned hospitals and illustrative schools of the profession, and returned to his native land richly armed for his impending conflict with diseases and accidents of the human frame. His rigid and thoroughly conscientious training and preparation for the responsible duties of his profession were but the natural precursors and antecedents of the honors and successes which awaited him during the many years of his active practice. These honors and successes, although it may not be needful to speak of them here in detail, are of a permanent character, inasmuch as they embrace not merely the results of an excellent judgment of cases, of insight and appreciation, and of skill in manipulation, but include a clear perception of all the science and technics of the specialties to which he was devoted, as may be seen in the text books, treatises and translations with which he has enriched the profession.

It was the capital theory of Dr. Lewis, and one which deserves imitation in all the departments of life, that every man should be thoroughly furnished and equipped for any work he might undertake. Inasmuch as the practice of surgery and mediciue was his aiopted profession, his main effort was undoubtedly to illustrate and magnify this profession. But we should be grossly unjust if we did not recognize the fact that his view of the wide expanse of life and duty, and of all human interests outside of the limits of his chosen profession, was so clear and comprehensive that he made almost equal preparation for those high public and social duties which are often more important and vital than the narrower duties enacted by any calling or profession. Life to him, even in his early days, was large and genial; and he intended, so far as was in the power of honest endeavor or the compass of a ready brain and a willing heart, to answer all its ends. If his native city should call him, as it often did, to the exercise of his strong judgment and quick perceptions for the maintenance of its rights or the service of its interests, he made himself ready and was ready at the call If society should need his bracing intellect or the graces of his heart, in the cause of the degraded and the fallen, for the elevation of the ignorant and lowly, or the relief of the poor and the suffering, he had gathered the sunshine in his nature, and freely poured it on the dark places which needed the illumination. Not only by studies, but by work, was his life enriched. He opened his mind to all the sciences, and his heart to all the affections. An accomplished scholar in the ancient and modern languages, he revelled in the contemplation and enjoyment of those interlacing yet mysterious links, those hidden connections which seem to bind all languages together, as if there never had been a confusion of tongues. To him, indeed, there seemed no confusion, for he drew from the secret depths of all the languages which he understood the same virtues of charity, friendship, and hope for mankind. To his deep research, they were all fountains of one and the same love. Thus the accomplishments of his study and his life became the ornaments of his character, and the culture, which is sometimes a burden, sat upon him like a grace He moved among men from his entrance into life and society, rightfully bearing their respect, claiming alike the homage of the peers, who knew no nobler manhood, and the worship of the lowly and the poor, who could scarcely deem him less than divine. When, therefore, he died, there was true mourning in all the ranks of his native city ; and as he was laid to rest in the peaceful shades of Mount Auburn, and in the close companionship of those whom he had loved, and who had preceded him to the upper sphere, it might be truly said of him as was said of a kindred spirit:—

"Ne'er to the chambers where the mighty rest,
Since their foundation, came a nobler guest;
Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss conveyed
A fairer spirit, or more welcome shade."

R. W. Winslow Lewis was to us, as Masons, far more than he could possibly be to the world of the profane. Although we may more fitly muse in silence upon his life, and leave our veneration without expression in the inner circles of our hearts, it may perhaps not be without advantage to the Brethren who shall come after us, to write upon some lasting scroll even the feeblest tribute of our appreciation of this unexampled Brother. It is safe to say, because it is in the sweet and tearful memory of all Masons, and is, moreover, his own warm and emphatic declaration, that at the shrine of this Fraternity, within these walls and around this altar, he had garnered his heart; that here were his truest life and hope; here his noblest aspirations and his highest charities. To others he gave his knowledge, his culture, his good manners, his kindness and his worldly means. But to us he gave himself, the inexhaustible grace and sweetness of his soul, the incorruptible purity of his life. It is one of the least of his praises that he filled almost the entire round of the offices and stations to which the judgment and appreciation of his Brethren from time to time gratefully summoned him. This was but a circumstance of his Masonic life, and was rather his own benediction to his Brethren than their own coronation of him. He wore his crown in Masonry by virtue of his own transcendent worth, and not by the suffrages which placed him in office. Had he never filled an official chair he would still have been Most Worshipful.

Yet, inasmuch as the studies and discipline of his life had so well fitted him for the responsibilities and work of Masonry, his Brethren, poetically and practically just, could not refrain from bestowing upon him their corresponding houors. So meekly were these honors borne, and with such "unaffected grace," that they seemed to fit him as easily as his garments. His exercise of the powers and prerogatives of office was so gentle and unobtrusive, that the relation of superior and subordinate faded at once from the thoughts of the Brethren. In the more recent years, after he had completed the full round of mere official station, his presence in the Lodge-room, or at any gathering for Masonic communication, was like a revelation of the spirit of Masonry. He never forgot its full measure of dignity and sobriety. He knew and understood our system in all its philosophical and scientific relations as well as in its ritualistic and practical bearings. Masonry, to his apprehension, was not merely a philosophic or symbolic treatment of great truths, but was a spring of action—a rule and guide of life. It was personal, informing the motives, searching the heart and reaching out to all human conduct. If at any time during the present generation the Fraternity of this Commonwealth had been challenged to produce a man who, by the consent of his Brethren, should be presented to the world as an exponent of the principles and teachings of Freemasonry, one tempered to resist all the assaults of adverse criticism, by a voice more nearly unanimous than would have been given to any other, that consent would have fallen upon Winslow Lewis.

His Brethren loved him with a reverent and unfailing love, because he never failed to love them. Whether in the solemn Communication, the Convocation or the Assembly, his wisdom, dignity and urbanity were constant and impressive. In the more social meetings, and amid the festivities of refreshment, his beaming countenance, his radiant features and benignant smile sent rapture into all hearts. His keen and subtle humor and his sometimes extravagant pleasantries of speech were light and life to the table ; the sparkle of his conversation was the brightest wine.

What need to say more of him whom every Mason knows by heart—the very tie by which this grand Brother was bound to all his Brethren?

Robert Lash Lodge, though so young in years, and not the Lodge of his active affiliation, justly and sincerely holds fast to the memory of him who was its earliest Honorary Member. Perhaps the first official action taken by the Lodge after its constitution was the election of Brother Lewis and the other Past Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts as Honorary Members. Our R. W. Brother Lewis was for many years, and especially during the days which tried all true Masonic souls, the warm and intimate friend of our own Robert Lash. They had often met in the closest bonds of social intercourse, and communed and resolved for the welfare and, indeed, for the salvation of our ancient Fraternity. Each of them was regarded, even by the enemies of the Craft, as of spotless character and clear integrity ; and by each other they were well beloved. When, therefore, a Lodge was formed in this city, bearing the cherished name of Robert Lash, and the distinguished subject of our contemplation was elected as one of its Honorary Members, he received his election as a personal honor, and warmly reciprocated the affections of his Chelsea Brethren thus manifested. When his health permitted, he was only too happy to offer his welcome presence at our quarterly meetings. Around our social table he shone with the illumination of his best years; and with wit, wisdom and anecdote, enlivened and instructed the Brethren. He often turned,-as it seemed with sad regret, to the days of his companionship with Robert Lash, whose gentle life and character he held up as a model worthy of all imitation.

So widely extended were the Masonic acquaintance and connections of our departed Brother, that he could hardly concentrate his affection upon a single Lodge.

"No pent-up Utica contracts his powers."

And yet, when present in this small association of Masons, so marked was the manifestation of his regard for these Brethren that it seemed almost as if he knew no others. This circumstance only illustrates the universality of his Masonic kindness ; the all-embracing character of his fraternal love.

At length, in the golden twilight of a serene and placid age, our Brother sinks below the horizon of earth, and rises to the purer heights of the immortal life beyond.

The shadow has fallen upon the old Lodge of St. John, in Boston, the Lodge of his affiliation; upon Columbian Lodge, which made him a Mason; and with darker wing upon the Lodge which bears his own beloved name, and to which he was at once a Father and a Brother! To his long-tried associates in the Grand Lodge, to the whole Fraternity of the Commonwealth, and to numerous Lodges and Masonic .Bodies beyond its limits, and even in distant lands, his departure will bring a profound sorrow. But the sorrow is not without its cheer. Memory, faithful and efficient beyond the resources of art or science, will embalm him in the universal heart. For is not this great life an assured inheritance and joy forever?

" These shall swim after death, with their good deeds shining on their white shoulders."

BIOGRAPHY

FROM MOORE'S FREEMASON'S MONTHLY, 1861

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XX, No. 8, June 1861, Page 231; biographies of prominent members of Columbian Lodge:

Brother Winslow Lewis was initiated in this Lodge, and soon after . . . he was admitted to membership in St. John's Lodge. Here we have a Masonic life of the greatest activity and usefulness, extending over more than thirty years, to attract our attention. To treat it deservedly demands limits far exceeding the space of this report. The pages of the "Historical Account of Columbian Lodge" sketch in some degree the manifold Masonic services of this distinguished Brother; but since they were compiled, a half dozen years more of active duty and honorary service are to be added to his fame. His initiation occurred on the 3d of November, 1830. We pass over the recital of his official relations with the Chapter, Encampment and various other organizations, in all of which he has manifested the characteristics of a leading and animating spirit, imbued deeply with those virtues which our institution inculcates, and proceed to point out his connections with the Grand Lodge.

In that body he was G. Steward in 1834 and 1835; G. S. Bearer in 1836; Corresponding G. Secretary in 1841, '42, '43 and '44 ; G. Marshal in 1845; Dep. G. Master in 1846 and 1847; and Grand Master in 1855, 1856 and 1860. He was on the Committee on Finance in 1839, and has served on the Committee on the Library from the date of its establishment in 1853 to the present time. He is the founder of the Library, which, through his unwearied pains and pecuniary liberality, mainly, has become an object of interest and importance to the fraternity. As Trustee of the Charity Fund and Trustee of the Masonic Temple he rendered arduous and valuable services. In one word, it is but just to say, his efforts in Grand Lodge have been untiring to promote its good name and honor.

FROM MOORE'S FREEMASON'S MONTHLY, 1863

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly Magazine, Vol. XXIII, No. 1, November 1863, p. 20ff:

BRIEF MEMOIR OF R. W. WINSLOW LEWIS, M. D.
BY R. W. JOHN H. SHEPPARD.

Dr. Winslow Lewis was descended more immediately from the Rev. Isaiah Lewis and his wife Abigail, daughter of Kenelm Winslow, a lineal descendant from Edward Winslow of England, in the fifth generation. Gov. Hutchinson, in his remarks on the death of Gov. Edward Winslow, says : "He was a gentleman of the best family of any of the Plymouth planters, his father Edward Winslow, Esq., being a person of some figure at Droughtwich in Worcestershire."

Capt. Winslow Lewis was born in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, May 11, 1770, son of Winslow Lewis of that place, sea captain. He was married to Elizabeth Greenough, daughter of Thomas Greenough, (mathematical instrument maker,) and Ann Hobby. He had great practical knowledge and skill in hydraulic engineering. After he quit going to sea, he was constantly employed in building new lighthouses on our coasts, rivers and lakes, or in altering and repairing old ones. He furnished plans and specifications for beacons, buoys and monuments for the shoals and harbors along our shores, and was very successful in the construction of the Beacon on the Romer shoal in New York bay, the beacon on Bowditch's Ledge in Salem harbor, and other permanent ones, which to this day, stand as monuments of his skill and long and faithful services to his country. He was contractor and builder in his lifetime of 200 lighthouses for the government; he invented the Binnacle illuminator, for which he got a patent, and which is now in such general use; he introduced the cotton duck into his factory at Watertown, and it became a substitute for the more expensive Russian duck ; was the owner of a ropewalk at the foot of the Common ; for several years Port Warden of Boston; and in 1829 and 1836, was one of the Aldermen of the city.

But the reputation and talents of Capt. Lewis will be long held in remembrance for his public services, and "when the history of the lighthouse establishment in this country is written," as a gentleman, well acquainted with him, stated to me in a letter, "it will appear that Mr. Winslow Lewis was the first to introduce the present mode of illumination, and to lay the foundation for the modern improvement in the structures as well as lantern lamps and reflectors."

Dr. Winslow Lewis, was born in Boston, July 8, 1799, in the same house in which his mother was born. He was fitted for college under the tuition of Mr. Daniel Staniford, who kept a private school of high repute in Boston; graduated at Harvard University in 1819, studied medicine under the late eminent Dr. John C. Warren, and took his degree of M. D. in 1822. His favorite pursuit was anatomy, for which he had a peculiar tact, as he had a firm nerve and quick, decisive judgment, qualities so essential in delicate and critical operations of surgery. To perfect his studies he went immediately to Europe, attended the lectures of Depnytren in Paris, and Abernethy in London, both surgeons of great celebrity. This was not, however, his first visit, for he crossed the Atlantic, when only seventeen years of age, and saw many places and persons; and if the old adage would apply, Noscistur e sociis, he stood high, for he kept good company ; coming home with such distinguished men as Dr. Edward Reynolds, the late Hon. Abbott Lawrence, and Franklin Dexter, Esq., who died not long since.

On his return he commenced practice in Boston. In Febuary 22, 1828, he was married by the Rev. Bethel Judd, to Miss Emeline Richards, daughter of Capt. Benjamin Richards, New London, Conn. He has been two years Physician of the Municipal Institutions, three of the House of Correction, and since Dr. Warren's decease, he has been consulting Physician in the Massachusetts General Hospital.

In 1849 he again visited the Continent, leaving his family at home. He was gone only seven months, and visited several places of note. He was in Rome when it was attacked by the French, and quitted that city only the day before the siege commenced, of which he wrote home a glowing description which was published in the Transcript. He journeyed on to Geneva, and was admiring the sublime scenery which surrounds that city —the overhanging Alps and the mirror of the blue lake beneath them — when, not dreaming of evil, he took up a newspaper from Boston and read the death of his only surviving son, Winslow ; this young and promising lad of only ten years, had followed the fate of his two infant brothers, cut off by that ravaging disease, the Scarletina. The blow was sudden and heavy to the afflicted father, and he hurried home.

The next year, 1850, he again embarked for Europe, with his family, consisting of Mrs. Lewis and his three daughters. The Doctor is an observing voyageur and took notes of his travels, extracts from which would be a rich treat to the reader of dry pedigrees, but they are, as yet, a sealed book. The writer of this has never had a glimpse of them, and could only, here and there, get a word or hint of his travel's history in a hurried conversation, but he has followed him from place to place in imagination, when he spoke of clasic grounds he had visited.

Dr. Lewis and his family spent six months in Paris, where he was introduced to Louis Napoleon, then President of the Republic, now the illustrious Emperor of France. The Duke of Tuscany and his lady, became his intimate friends, and their portraits now adorn his library. They also spent some time in England and Scotland, visiting all the remarkable spots and places sought by strung. ers, traveling as far north among the Highlands and lakes as Inverness. They also set out on a journey to Italy, the Classic land — the land of beauty and poesy, of fallen greatness, and august recollections. Rome with its ruins of past grandeur, lying as it were, beneath the magnificent dome and structure of St. Peter's — Milan with its palaces and splendid cathedral — Venice with its numerous islands, canals and Bridge of Sighs — and Naples with its enchanting bay and picturesque scenery, successively became the objects of their admiration. Three times, the Doctor said he had ascended Mount Vesuvius; more fortunate than the elder Pliny, of whose death from a sudden eruption of the volcano, his nephew the younger Pliny has given in his letters a melancholy, but graphic description ; and although written eighteen centuries ngo, the reader feels as though he was present at the scene.

But the principal inducement of his journey to Italy, and where he wished to make a transient home, was Florence, that beautiful city with the vale of Arno on one side, and the Appenines on the other; Florence lies encircled by these mountains from whose submit, it is said, the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas are visible; through the city flows the river Arno on its way some 50 or 60 miles from the coast, and watering Pisa, famous for its leaning tower, and university. Florence is the central city of Italy, remote from the Alpine snows in the north and the sultry Calabrian heat on the south—a truly delicious climate. It has been called the city of churches, palaces and bridges; for every house is a palace, from the richness and elegance of its structures.

Dr Lewis and his family returned home in 1853. He resumed his profession as a matter of choice, for his fortune placed him above dependence on the severe labors and arduous duties of a physician; yet such was his skill and knowledge of surgery, that he could not avoid the frequent calls of sufferers from disease or injury who came to him far and near; more especially since the death of Dr. John C. Warren. But he was much relieved in practice by the growing and well deserved reputation of his son-in-law Dr. George H. Gay, to whom, Nov. 21, 1855, his oldest daughter Elizabeth Greenough was married. One fact in his practice, so well known to his friends, ought not to be suppressed. Often, very often, his charges to the poor and unforlunate have been light or none at all. To feel for the distressed, to administer to the victims of pain and sickness, is the delight of the good physician and the glory of a great one.

Dr Lewis' favorite study has been surgery and anatomy, in which he is acknowledged to have few superiors, if any in the country. To these he united a love of antiquarian researches, and has retained his fondness for the Latin classics, the beauties of which seem to cling to his memory, as the perfume lingers in the sandal wood in every change of condition. Such are the sweet influences of the cultivation of taste and knowledge in early life; they give a tone to character and a charm to conversation, which neither age nor misfortune can take away. But his great object was his profession, and during the last 35 years the number of his private pupils have exceeded 400. He translated from the French, Gall on the Structure and Functions of the Brain, which was published in six volumes, edited Paxiori's Anatomy, and also a work on Practical Anatomy.

He was a representative from Boston to the General Court in 1835, '53; one of the Common Council of the city in 1839; on the School Committee, 1839, '40, '41 '44, '45, '57 and '58; visitor of the U. S. Marine Hospital 1856 to 1862; one of the Overseers of Harvard University from 1856 to 1862, and lately re-elected for six years more; Consulting Physician of the city, 1861; Counsellor of the Massachusetts Medical Society; a member of the American Medical Society of Paris; for three years he was Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, viz: in 1855, '56 and '60, and has been at the head of several Orders in Masonry, a recapitulation of which would sound strange and forthputling to the uninitiated, and give no information to those who are. He has for very many years been a fervent and active friend to that noble Institution. The reason of his becoming a Mason was singular. In the days when the Fraternity were abused without mercy and persecuted to the utmost, he saw an advertisement in a paper of one of the furious antimasons, Avery Allyn—a name now almost forgotten—that on a certain day, in 1829, he would deliver a lecture, showing up the weakness and hypocrisy of Freemasonry, and its dangerous tendency. The Doctor was led by curiosity to go and hear him; and the very sophisms this arch-enemy of the Brotherhood used, and the abuse he heaped upon many of them, who were men without fear and without reproach, made him a convert on the other side, and he became a Mason in Columbian Lodge, then under the government of Joshua B. Flint, M. D., since G. M. of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

The last honor he received was an unanimous choice as President of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society in 1861 ; an office he still retains ; and long may he be spared to preside over us. It would be ungrateful in ourselves and injustice to him not to mention the liberal and valuable donation he has made to the Society—several hundred volumes, and some of them very rare and costly. He has also made to the library of Harvard University several donations of ancient works, many of them the result of his purchase abroad.*

But I must pause and let this brief memoir of Dr. Lewis come to an end ; truly lamenting that the account must necessarily be meagre and imperfect; for he was absent under the call of the U. S. government, devoting his professional skill to an examination of all the hospitals o( New York and vicinity, where many of our sick and wounded soldiers were sent; and of course I have depended on other sources for information, and received not much help from him, touching his travels; yet from a long acquaintance, and the unbroken friendship of many years not only with him, but his excellent father, it gives me unfeigned pleasure to offer this tribute of affection and respect.

Dissolvi me, otiosua operam ut tibi darem.. — Terence.

Bro. Winslow Lewis was initiated in Columbian Lodge, Nov. 3, 1830; passed Jan. 6, 1831, and raised Feb. 3, 1831. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, St. Paul's Chapter, Council of Royal and Select Masters, Boston Encampment, Grand Chapter, Grand Encampment, affiliated member of the "Loge Clement Amitie," at Paris, and honorary member of Pythagoras Lodge, No. 86, at New York. He has been Senior Warden of St. John's Lodge, High Priest of St. Paul's Chapter, Commander of the Boston Encampment, Grand King of the Grand Chapter, Grand Master 'of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Encampment of the United States, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, a Trustee of the Grand Charity Fund and a Trustee of the Masonic Temple. This enumeration does not evidence the extent of his official services, as he has also held many subordinate stations.

His unremitting and arduous efforts to advance the welfare of the Brotherhood, have endeared him to them in bonds which cannot be sundered; and the elevated position which he now so ably fills, he justly merits. In speaking recently of his regard for the Masonic institution, he remarked, that "truth and my feelings prompt the declaration, that in Masonry I have found the best friends, the best social ties and comforts; and that the ' whitest' hours of my life (apart from my family) have been when surrounded by ' Brothers,' and around that Altar, where heart beats responsive to heart, and all ' mingle into bliss."

A particular account of his lineage may be found in the N. E. Historic-Genealogical Register, lor January, 1803, in which the foregoing Memoir was originally published.

NEW ENGLAND CRAFTSMAN, JANUARY 1917

From New England Craftsman, Vol. XII, No. 4, January 1917, Page 121:

Born in Boston July 8, 1799. Died August 3, 1875. Raised in Columbian Lodge February 3, 1831. Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts December 27, 1854 to December 30, 1856, and again from December 27, 1859 to December 27, 1860. Harvard Class 1819. As surgeon stood at head of his profession in Massachusetts. Served in Common Council and Legislature. Girard College incident. In speaking of his regard for the Masonic institution he said:

"Truth and my feelings prompt the declaration that in Masonry I have found the best friends, the best social ties and comforts; and that the whitest hours of my life (apart from my friends) have been when surrounded by Brothers, and around that altar, where heart beats responsive to heart, and all mingle into bliss.

FROM TROWEL, 1992

From TROWEL, Spring 1992, Page 3:

Winslow Lewis. Jr. joined Brothers C. Gayton Pickman and Lucius R. Paige, D. D. as a member of {the Library} committee. From then until 1872. Bro. Lewis was chairman, and although he remained a member of the library committee, the chairmanship went to M. W. Sereno D. Nickerson. They worked industriously to improve the library that was destroyed by fire April 6, 1864. when Freemasons' Hall (Winthrop House) was destroyed. Many of the gifts made by Bro. Lewis were destroyed, but he, undaunted, immediately began to establish another library.

Another great work of his was the procuring of portraits of the Grand Masters who served previous to 1855. What, then, must have been his feelings when he saw nothing but ashes remaining from the valuable collections. Lost was the original Gilbert Stuart painting of M. W. Paul Revere when he posed at age 78 in 1813. Seven direct descendants of our famous citizen and Mason gathered in the Paul Revere Room of Grand Lodge April 19. 1967. for the unveiling of our present Revere portrait, the work of Jane Stuart of Newport and daughter of Gilbert Stuart.

Regarded as a "ripe scholar, eminent physician and surgeon and a distinguished Mason," Winslow Lewis, Jr. was the son of Capt. Winslow Lewis who was a noted shipmaster and interested in the ropewalks then on Charles St., Boston, and Elizabeth Greenough whose father was a manufacturer of mathematical instruments. He was properly fitted to attend Harvard College by Daniel Stanifort who kept a private school of high repute in Boston. He was graduated from Harvard in 1819, studied medicine under Dr. and Bro. John Collins Warren and received his degree of M. D. in 1822. His favorite pursuit was anatomy for which it has been written "he had a peculiar tact, firm nerve and able to make a quick decisive judgement." He went to attend lectures of Dupuytren in Paris and Abernethy in London, both celebrated surgeons of the era.

On Feb. 22, 1828, he married Emeline Richards of New London, CT, and they were parents of one son, who died at age ten, and three daughters. The second girl married Warren Fisher, Jr., and she was accidently killed when a skylight, forced down by heavy snow and ice, crashed down upon her when in the store of Messrs. Daniel in Boston. When Dr. J. C. Warren died. Dr. Winslow Lewis. Jr. became the physician for municipal institutions, the House of Correction and the consulting surgeon for the Massachusetts General and Boston City hospitals.

Possessing a love for antiquarian research and a fondness for Latin classics, he was also a Representative to the General Court for three years, to the Boston Common Council in 1839, served seven years on the Boston School Committee, was overseer of Harvard several years and a member of medical societies in America and Europe. In 1829. he read an advertisement in a Boston newspaper that excited his curiosity to attend a lecture by the furious anti-Mason, Avery Allyn. who was attempting to prove the weaknesses and hypocrisy of Freemasonry. He attended and became frustrated because he knew his father, an honorable man, would never subscribe to anything dishonorable and immediately petitioned Columbian Lodge where he was Raised in 1831. He was an affiliate of St. John's Lodge of Boston in 1834, and he and his father signed the Declaration of Freemasons of Boston and Vicinity that was presented to the public Dec. 31. 1831, when it was time for men to stand up and be counted during the anti-Masonic era.

In an address before Grand Lodge Dec. 28, 1840. Bro. Lewis strongly talked about the defection of "those once with us and who espoused our cause by their eloquence of speech and now taking subterfuge that Freemasonry is an institution of evil and dangerous to society," as spoken by the noted lawyer, Pliney Merrick, who had been Raised in King David Lodge, Taunton, March 14. 1821. and later expelled. Merrick's law career was never tarnished as he became a Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of the state in 1853, but never again as a Mason. He had addressed the gathering in Middieboro in 1823 at the installation of Social Harmony Lodge (now of Wareham) that "we are commanded to do good that our good light and works shall inspire and so enlighten society."

On Aug. 7, 1855. while workmen were making repairs to the foundation of the State House and upon removing a portion of earth at the southeast corner of the building, they were surprised by the appearance of a few copper coins and a small leaden box which consisted of two pieces of sheet lead without soldered corners apparently placed there when M.W. Paul Revere placed the cornerstone in 1795 when Grand Master. Sixty years and 38 days from the date of the original laying of the cornerstone, the ancient deposits, plus coins of the present and newspapers of the day were placed in a new metallic box made for the purpose, the top screwed down, and in the presence of Gov. Henry J. Gardner on the eleventh day of August. 1855. Most Worshipful Winslow Lewis. Jr.. in his first year as Grand Master, did without fanfare rededicate the cornerstone laying of the Massachusetts State House. The stone is easily distinguished by being the lowest hammered ashlar on the southeast corner of that building that has leveled edges.

On the ninth floor of Grand Lodge is the office of the Winslow Lewis Lodge that was chartered Dec. 10, 1856. and signed by him when Grand Master. The first act of the Lodge was to make him an Honorary Member "'with all the rights and privileges usually appertaining to such membership." That Lodge, with a limited membership, was the last to be chartered using the name of a living person. It memorializes a most learned man who was invested w ith many talents and imbued with a courage that often spurred him to stand up and be counted to support a just cause that would benefit mankind.

M. W. Winslow Lewis. Jr. was elected to be Grand Master for 1860 on a second ballot, and he was the first Grand Master to be seated in the new Freemason's Hall at the corner of Tremont and Boylston Sts. The new temple had been dedicated Dec. 27, 1859. He died in Boston Aug. 3, 1875. and on Aug. 6. Grand Master Percival L. Everett led Grand Lodge to St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Boston for the funeral ceremony and to Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge for the Committal.

SPEECHES

FEAST OF ST. JOHN, DECEMBER 1840

From Proceedings, Page 1875-175:

IN GRAND LODGE, Dec. 28, 1840.

The Committee appointed at the previous meeting to make arrangements for the installation of the officers, and for a due observance of the anniversary of the Nativity of St. John the Evangelist, by this Grand Lodge, reported that they had invited R.W. Winslow Lewis, Jr., M. D., to deliver an address appropriate to the occasion, and that he had accepted the invitation.

The committee also reported that they had provided refreshments in an adjacent apartment. The report was accepted.

R. W. Winslow Lewis, Jr., then delivered an able and interesting address, in which he reviewed, in a peculiarly spirited and caustic manner, the persecution through which the Institution has recently passed, and congratulated the Grand Lodge, and his Brethren generally, on the present encouraging condition and prospects of the Fraternity.

Voted, That the thanks of the Grand Lodge be tendered to the R. W. Winslow Lewis, Jr., for the very interesting, able and spirited address delivered by him this evening, and that a copy be requested for the files.

The address which follows is that referred to in the record above given. It was not spread upon the Records of the Grand Lodge, and is now printed, for the first time, from a copy in the handwriting of Dr. Lewis, which has fortunately been preserved.

ADDRESS BEFORE THE GRAND LODGE, DEC. 28, 1840.

The courtesy of the committee of arrangements has assigned to me the duty of saying a few words on this interesting occasion. My observations shall be brief. I have selected no particular topic on which to dilate, but shall content myself with a few desultory remarks, suggested naturally by the peculiarly agreeable circumstances under which we have this evening congregated, — the language of congratulation. May we not, without being deemed extravagant from success, without using the inflated language of victory, without the hyperbole inspired by excited hope, may we not now say of our Institution, that the Lord has smiled upon it, that He hath given it the victory, and stimulated by this earnest of His favor, should not our Faith in its excellence increase, our Hope extend its vision to ages of prosperity to come,, and our Charity pour its assuaging oil over the tumultuous billows of that contest through which it has passed, never again, we humbly trust, to be tempest-tossed?

But though we might not wish to speak of the failure of our enemies, though the topic recalls so much of the baseness, the utter profligacy, the moral recklessness of our opponents, still we cannot so well appreciate the "great transition" without going behind the dark curtain, to gaze for a few moments where there is only light enough to render "darkness visible," — where having left it in its everlasting stillness, we trust, we shall then turn to the day-star which has visited us, and dwell on a theme more consonant to this assembly, and this occasion.

I do not think it the best policy, if even policy alone is to be consulted, to let our persecutors pass away without comment. I do think that too much was yielded to them during the contest. There is a bound where patience itself should hesitate. Perhaps there is nothing more liable to destroy equanimity of mind, and to ruffle and disturb the temper, than uncharitable censure and unmerited reproach. The glow of indignation mantles the defence of calumniated excellence, and temperance is overcome by the zeal of vindication. Injustice and aggression provoke the honorable desire of resistance; and not of resistance only, but of punishment; and even under circumstances where aspersions, if left to themselves, would vanish into airy nothing from their own insignificance, and, passing into contempt, would soon be forgotten, it is not easy to repress the disposition to prove them false and groundless, and to inflict on their authors a severe and memorable chastisement.

What were the causes which built up the vast association against us, and for a time engrossed the minds of so many? I speak now of the great mass. To the "seceders," the "Lucifers" par excellence, we shall devote an especial notice.

First, the spirit of curiosity, a spirit indomitable from the creation of man.

"It reigned in Eden — in that heavy hour,
When the arch-tempter sought our mother's bower,
Its thrilling charm her yielding heart assailed,
And e'en o'er dread Jehovah's word prevailed."

here

"The world were in pain
Our secrets to gain;
They could not divine
The word or the sign
Of a Free and an Accepted Mason."

Here was the opportunity. The lively desire grew to impetuouspassion. They heard "the word" of the Mason, but it conveyed nought to them; it was not given from "breast to breast," it came only from the lips, and they have sounded very much like Mene, mene, tekel upharsin. They saw the sign. To them it has conveyed no meaning. To us it has been as the cross to Constantine, the assurance of success, the inspiring pioneer to victory, the truly significant in hoc signo vinces.

This meddlesome, mischievous and ill-regulated curiosity has enlisted alone thousands in the cause of anti-Masonry. They have perhaps acquired the letter, lost and useless without the spirit thereof. They have snatched the lifeless, mutilated frame, but where is the vital principle, the soul, the breathing essence? It is only within the Lodge, where no unclean thing, no cowan, can witness its purity. Having thus congregated the merely curious at the onset, and their number soon becoming considerable, then commenced their cause.

The second source of increase was the formation of a separate political party, a party sui generis, based upon nothing; on its standard was seen nothing, its results were nothing, and as ex nihilo nihil fit, — from nothing, nothing comes,—this grand political manoeuvre produced about as much effect as might have been supposed from the inanity of its basis. Where are the rewards seen in such bright relief by those who pressed forward so earnestly in that contest? Alas! they have proved "false creations proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain." They have been the fatal visions, the daggers of the mind which marshalled them to their destruction. They saw treason, stratagems and spoils imprinted on every Mason. Their eyes were made the fools of the other senses. Forty swords became 40,000, and on their blades and dudgeons gouts of blood.

A third source of their growth was that the period was favorable to their increase. It was a period when a restless spirit was in the community. It was a time to engender all sorts of monsters. It was a time when those various associations began to enlist men under banners of novelty which have since been the causes of ridicule, of discontent, of great excitement.

I do not intend to name particularly any of the associations evidently referred to. Each and every one present can construe for himself. The ungovernable, zealots of the church lashed themselves into an anti-Masonic furor. The right of approaching the altar of God was denied, and to partake from that table spread in commemoration of Him who taught "peace on earth, good will to men," forbidden to a "Brother." From all such saints, good Lord, deliver us.

"Arouse the tiger of Hyrcanian deserts,
Strive with the half-starved lion for his prey;
Lesser the risk, than rouse the slumbering fire
Of wild Fanaticism."

The last source of their increase that I will mention was the defection of those who were once with us, who once espoused our cause, not only by their attendance, their apparent devotion within the veil, but openly by their lips, before the world, by their eloquence. I cannot forbear; my charity cannot go so far as to prevent my showing upon this occasion one whose vacillations have been so varied, that Proteus himself could not hold a candle to him. The Mason, the anti-Mason, the Whig, the Tory, the second Vicar of Bray, the thing, Pliny Merrick. I am confident I offend neither political party by mention of him. All must despise both the treason and the traitor.

"An open foe may prove a curse,
But a pretended friend is worse."

"The rock that's seen gives the poor sailor dread,
But double horror that which hides its head."

Hear an extract from an address delivered at the installation of Social Harmony Lodge, at Middleborough, in 1823. Having spoken of the Institution as time-honored, he says: —

"Thus ancient and thus preserved, the Fraternity claim no peculiar praises for their Institution, beyond what reason in its calm and deliberate survey pays as a willing homage to its benign and peaceful character. It requires not of its members to emblazon its fame, and they are forbidden to enter into angry and noisy disputes to protect it from the unhallowed desecration of those who, unacquainted with its means of aiding the cause of virtue and of increasing the common fund of benevolence and peace, cast upon it unmerited and uncharitable reproach. Justice and virtue are imperishable in their nature; and the hand of sacrilegious violence cannot tear the robe of purity from the one, nor wrench the sword and the balance from the possession of the other. Yet we are not forbidden to exhibit its character in appropriate colors. (You see, my Brethren, in his own words I find an apology, if one were necessary, for thus roasting him on his own fire.)

"Commanded to do good as we have opportunity, it is permitted that our 'light shall so shine' that the darkness of prejudice and error may be dispelled by the radiance of truth; and we should point out and illustrate some of the designs and principles of our Institution. What are they? Its great end is improvement; 'to raise the feelings and to mend the heart;' to make men wiser and better; to diffuse the principles of benevolence and philanthropy; and to make them active and practical in the advancement of common and universal enjoyment. All its plans, its mysteries, its designs and emblems are devoted to these interesting and useful purposes. All the sensible objects, and all the moral affections we use, abound in inducements to the path of duty; and separately afford rich themes of important discussion, while they all combine to produce that comely order

"Which nothing earthly gives or can destroy, —
The soul's calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy."

Such were the sentiments of Pliny Merrick when there was naught to tempt him but Truth. But the evil day came. Political preferment in brilliant prospectus shed a mist around him. The mild radiance of Truth was shut out, and from those lips which in the temple of the Highest proclaimed the ideas which have been quoted, from these same lips, in Fanueil Hall, the great political arena, issued the following : —

"Freemasonry is an Institution, evil and dangerous in its tendency; a great evil, resting upon assumptions which had no foundation; in fact, one fraught with danger to the best interests of mankind here and hereafter, with danger to the cause of patriotism and religion," etc., etc.

I have thus signalized this individual among the many of the same issue, because his tergiversations in Masonry and politics have rendered him odiously conspicuous. How stands Moses Thacher, "damned to everlasting fame"? His character is at zero, Masonically, politically and morally. In fine, where is the great party? and echo answers, where?

Thus, in brief, has been suggested a few of the causes which gave rise to that bitter opposition which threatened the extirpation of our Order. It appeared necessary to say thus much of our dark hours, that we might turn with greater joy to that halo under the happy influence of which we are now gathered together.

"On wings of light, Hope's fairy form appears,
Smiles on the past, and points to happier years;
Points with uplifted hand and raptured eye
To the pure dawn that floods the opening sky."

Under such auspices of success, when "Hope dawns in every omen," when renovated vitality diffuses the thrill of pleasure to every Masonic heart, shall I not, on this occasion, use the congratulatory strain as the most appropriate?

Most Worshipful Grand Master, I congratulate you that you have been called to preside over this Body, at this period when an onward, successful career is the present augury, when you can feel that those around you are the trustworthy and true. They mostly are those who have been tried in the fire, purified by the ordeal, refined and more valuable by the process. The inanimate members have been lopped off, amputated, leaving the parent Body more healthful by the process. And this Body, with its new Head, and yet an old one too, no doubt will be well directed by zeal tempered with a ripened judgment. In behalf of all assembled, I offer you the homage of their hearts.

To the venerable of our Order, who have come to the altar of Masonry with the zeal as when life was young, I offer congratulations. That you have been permitted to witness the resuscitation of that which so long has been a charm in life's weary pilgrimage, I congratulate you. I truly feel the sanctity of Masonry which can bring to its peaceful enclosure the time hallowed form, the hoary locks of those whose years, whose lives, have been but a commentary of what good can come from our Nazareth. Well may we congratulate ourselves that among us are found those who can testify of us, even in the sere and yellow leaf of life, that our ways are the ways of pleasantness, and that all our paths are peace. And you, my younger Brethren, go onward with renewed confidence in the cause you have espoused; these venerable pioneers are before you living demonstrations that the honorable, the virtuous, the good, have long trod the same path on which you have entered.

Brethren, I congratulate you all on this new organization of the Grand Lodge. Two of your first three officers {S. W. Robinson, D. G. M., and Winslow Lewis, Senior, J.G.W.}, although "all of the olden time," have not shrunk from your call for their services. One whose Masonic age is forty-five years, now for the first time bearing an office, is willing to sustain on his yet vigorous shoulders any burden which may lighten the good old cause, and even to transmit the same to his heir and assignee forever. Our Brother in the West, although not entitled to the appellation of a Venerable, yet, as is said in common language, is betwixt and between both as regards his years and relation to his two Brethren. His zeal has been eloquently shown to us in his recent official relation as District Deputy Grand Master, and no doubt will increase with his increasing honors.

And your Treasurer. If I might speak all that I could speak, it would, perhaps, be deemed to bear too hard on that modesty which ever accompanies merit. But look not to your Treasurer as the keeper of your little pittance of the base coin alone ; regard him as the noble storehouse of the best feelings of the man and the Mason; call upon him, you will have your heart's demand liberally discounted without any endorser but that heart's necessities.

I congratulate you on the valuable possession of such a Secretary as has fallen to your good lot. A living, walking Masonic Encyclopaedia, certainly a tall copy, without spot or blemish, of the best type, without errata, an edition dedicated to the Craft. May such a one be stereotyped, and copies multiplied, when the editio princeps shall have passed away. We wish no other herald,

"No other speaker of our living actions,
To keep our honor from corruption,
But such an honest chronicler."

To the Most Worshipful and Reverend Past Grand Master, whose high duties have terminated this evening, congratulations are due. We felicitate you that your government has produced the happiest influences on the Institution, and on the hearts of your Brethren. May the remaining years of your life be brightened by the high consciousness that those you have bestowed on us have not been lost on ungrateful hearts. Many, many pages bear on their records the ardent expression of your zeal in our behalf. They will ever be memorials of one who, in our good report and in our evil report, was ever the firm, unflinching Brother. We fear that the presence of one so cherished may not be afforded us in the future. That you are about to separate from among us, we learn with sorrow. But, go where you may, distance cannot divide the Masonic heart; the "still small voice" of fraternal emotion, whene'er we meet, shall be wafted to you " trumpet-tongued," giving the heart's desire, — "We wish he were here." There are the relics of joy which let

"Fate do her worst, she cannot destroy."

At this our meeting under such pleasing aspects, let us renewedly determine to maintain that which is our pride and boast. In this cause we should not vacillate. Let the fate of the traitorous teach us that, however specious their pretences, the right always ensures the might. Let us say, with an old poet, that

"A soul sincere
Scorns fraud or fear,
Within itself secure;
For vice will blast,
But virtue last,
While truth and time endure.
Blow high, blow low,
Frown fate or foe,
He scorns to tack about;
But to his trust
Is strictly just.
And nobly stems it out."

Shall we be ashamed of that association which engenders in our hearts the best feelings of our social nature? This is the simple but broad basis of its superstructure. Is not the fabric a hallowed one? How sweet are the affections of social kindness! How balmy the influence of that regard which dwells among us! Distrust and doubt darken not the brightness of its purity; the carpings of interest and jealousy mar not the harmony of that scene. It matters not if the world is cold, if the selfishness and injustice of mankind return our warm sympathies barren, can we but turn to our own peculiar circle, and ask and receive all that our heart claims. The exchange of kindly affections, in confidence and trust, is the purest enjoyment of our nature. Have we not this? Do we not feel it at each reunion among ourselves? Have we not, then, all a strong internal consciousness of what Masonry is, and what it enjoins? Does it not impel

"The conscious heart of charity to warm,
The wide wish of benevolence to dilate,
. . . and into clear perfection
Gradual bliss, refining still, the social
Passions work"?

It is a something better felt than expressed. It uniformly requires of us that which is good. Its simple but inestimable code presents no puzzling question to tear the divided heart by conflicting duties. It speaks of life as a mutable scene, and it admonishes us to enjoy its' blessings with moderation, and to endure its evils with patience. It tells us that man is as variable as the world he inhabits ; that imperfections mingle with the virtues of the best, and, by the beautiful similitude of a state of warfare, urges us to constant and unwearied attention. From this mixture of good and evil, it directs our pursuit after the former, by teaching us to curb our passions, and to moderate our desires; to expect with diffidence, enjoy with gratitude, and resign with submission. It commands us, conscious of our own failings, to be indulgent to the errors of others. Upon the basis of mutual wants, general imperfection, and universal kindred, it builds the fair structure of candor and benevolence. Shall we then desert this good fabric whose foundations are upon a rock ? The tempests have but proved its strength — shall we now despair of its shelter? Surely not. Let us receive our trials as benefits. It is not every calamity that is a curse, and oft adversity is a blessing. Difficulties give rise to miracles. The brightness of the morning is preceded by the twilight.

The greatest darkness is before the breaking of the day. Our sun has risen to shine with its august splendor. Warmed by its beams, guided by its light, may we go onward with joy. Like an expurgated edition of a good work, Masonry has been cleansed from its impurities by the abstraction of the traitorous and wicked. Let its future pages beam with the excellence of right and truth. May its enemies be taught that this must prevail, and may they learn to govern themselves accordingly.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS, FEAST OF ST. JOHN, DECEMBER 1854

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XIV, No. 4, February 1855, Page 114:

On assuming the functions of presiding over the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, I sensibly feel the dignity of the office and the responsibilities incurred. It is the first Grand Lodge as to the period of its foundation, the Mater Latomia of the United States. Its decisions are respected every where, and its radiance of "light" as widely diffused. Its offices have been sustained by the honored and the good ; bright jewels among Masons, ornaments of society.

Passing over the early history of the Order in our ancient Commonwealth, and starting from the time of the " Union " in 1792, when, as our historian Harris terms it —

"Nunc magis opus movetur,
Felicior rerum noscitur ordo—"

There are found the names of John Cutler, John Warren, Paul Revere, Josiah Bartlett, Isaiah Thomas, Timothy Bigelow, Samuel Dunn, Benjamin Russell, John Dixwell, John Soley, John Abbot, and others, who have shed lustre not only on our Institution, but also on the vocations they adorned. In the storm as in the calm they were faithful. All these have passed on to a more sublime exaltation. Here, their memories are forever green— Virtus port fumera.

Here, we are gathered amid the brightness of prosperity, which often tries mortals more than the dark hour. "Felicity eats up circumspection," and it behoves us to be warily diligent; on our Masonic field to sow that seed which shall enrich and bring forth the best fruits. If too profusely scattered, its shoots at first present the promise of a rich harvest; but it is a promise to the eye only. The very profusion impedes the thrifty action. " Guard well your portals for the safety of your house, is as applicable to us here, as in our domestic abodes. Let not mere numerical force be our desire or support, but seek to strengthen by the power of character and goodness. Let not mere negative qualities secure admission among us. Require the stronger proof, the active excellence; the heart that acts as well as feels, that exercises the good deed as well as the word; that the applicant should stand out in bold relief, not as one who has merely done no harm, but as the more emphatic one who has let his light shine to enlighten, to assist and vivify.

At this particular period, in the tranquility of success, our Institution may be viewed with distrust and scanned with jealousy, by those who view it as a secret power, combined either for purposes selfish, or as exerting influences beyond the ostensible union of the Order. Combinations have recently been formed, and are multiplying, to sway public opinion and effect public measures by secret organizations. It is not our province to applaud or decry them. From political discussion we carefully hold ourselves aloof, and this we should impress upon our fellow-citizens on all proper occasions, and I hold that this Grand Lodge should now re-affirm, as often before, but now especially essential to reiterate, that we are bound as members of a Brotherhood throughout the world, irrespective of language, nation or sect, (religious or political,) to improve the kindly affections, to relieve the unfortunate, the "large wish of benevolence to dilate," the "conscious heart of charity to warm," to make ourselves wiser and better. We go not beyond. We shut out the divided opinions and rancours which beset society, and in our quiet asylum " mingle into bliss." "Our great end is improvement;" "to raise the feelings and to mend the heart"; "to diffuse the principles of an universal benevolence and philanthropy. All our designs, mysteries and emblems are devoted to useful and interesting purposes, and are suggestive of the paths of duty, while they all combine to produce that order,

"Which nothing earthly gives or can destroy,
The soul's calm sunshine and the heartfelt joy."

These are the purposes for which we are thus banded together. And moreover, we are not a secret society, only so far as is necessary to ensure our unity and carry out our professions and practices. Where, when and who assemble, is, or may be, known to all. The names of the officers are widely published, and there is no Mason who will deny his brotherhood. Books are published illustrative of our principles, and all the world can read therein, that if we are true followers of our professions, we are not wanting as citizens or Christians. We exert no influence on public measures or actions, save that still, silent, beneficent influence which our teachings should produce on our lives and deeds. By our acts without, let us develop that which is sowed here, and practically demonstrate what "good can come from our Nazareth." As patriots, philanthropists, and good citizens, let Masonry point to her votaries, and with pride proclaim, "Si requisis monumenta, circumspice."

My predecessor has given a full detail of the present state of the Grand Lodge, and of its flourishing condition, to which he has so much conduced by his judgment and unceasing attention. I have therefore but a few words to add. I would suggest for your consideration, the propriety, nay, the necessity, of providing better and more ample accommodations for your Grand Secretary. All other Grand Lodges of standing are thus provided. Brethren visiting this city, requiring information, seek for the Recording Officer of the parent body, not only to learn the details of Massachusetts Masonry, but from him gather the lore of the whole Masonic world. Arrangements might be made, and at a small expense, to accommodate the Corresponding and Recording Secretaries and Treasurer together.

Deeming the formation of a better Library of essential importance and interest, and, as under, my predecessor, one has been commenced, which already contains rare and valuable works, I would call the attention of the fraternity to the subject. Circulars have been issued requesting the donation of books and pamphlets relating to Masonry, and I trust that the Brethren will respond to the request.

At the last meeting, a dispensation was granted to our German Brethren for a new Lodge, to be entitled the Germania Lodge, in order that those of that nation, not sufficiently conversant with the language of the land of their adoption, might reap the full benefits of that Order, which recognizes no language save that of Masonry, which is universal. The Teutonic stock has ever been welcome to our shores. Their honesty, industry and thrift, are well known and appreciated. We extend to them the hand of friendship here, feeling a firm assurance, that we are adding to that extended basis, on which our great superstructure rests.

Having now concluded the few general remarks which seemed pertinent to the occasion, allow me, my Most Worshipful and Reverend Brother, to felicitate you on the prosperity and success which have attended your administration. Reversing the classic phrase, let me add, "Non equidem miror, invideo magis." I envy that calmness in debate, that executive tact, that eloquence, which have for three years adorned the Chair and shed from the East such grace and efficiency. I thank you for all you have done and so well done, and I am confident that your Brethren assembled here, and throughout our jurisdiction, accord in general approbation, and they have directed me to perform the pleasing duty of presenting to this Grand Lodge, the Portrait of their now Past Grand Master, procured by the subscriptions of the Fraternity ; with their prayers, that the living form may long be spared to them, and that the "presentment" may continue for many, many years, to adorn our Temple, and that a prosperous Brotherhood may be long reminded of one, who in his day and generation, was the " first among his equals."

ADDRESS AT ST. JOHN'S DAY IN MILFORD, JUNE 1855

ADDRESS AT FEAST OF ST. JOHN, DECEMBER 1855

From Proceedings, Page V-612, also 1875-213:

Another year is added to our venerable and venerated Institution; again we meet under auspices the most cheering, under circumstances the most favoring; and it becomes us humbly and devoutly to acknowledge that protecting Providence which has upheld and sustained us. May we now and ever look to Him for support and guidance. Throughout the world the accession to the Order has been great; perhaps unparalleled.

The timid and the cautious have trembled at its increase, and its prosperity has excited alarm. We confess that we entertain no such distrust. We have confidence in the justice of the cause in which we are engaged, and though the storms come, as in the past they have come, the tempests blow, as they have blown, we shall not be shaken, for the rock of TRUTH is our foundation, and against it error shall not prevail.

Within our own jurisdiction all has been harmonious. We have no dissensions to report, no wounds to heal. Our increase has been rapid but healthy; our course onward and cheering. Cities, towns and villages have added to the Brotherhood and strengthened the tie which binds us to the cause of a universal philanthropy.

The year has passed without a diminution of officers of our Grand Lodge by death. We have been spared once more to gather together; and the sad memorial to departed Brothers, which annually occupies a portion of the address from the Chair, and tinges its features with sadness, it is permitted us, on this occasion, by the mercy of our Father, to omit, but not without our devout thanks for his sparing mercy.

Of the various occurrences during the year, in which this Grand Lodge was called to participate, it may not be without interest to the Brethren to allude particularly to some. A delegation from Philadelphia visited Boston, and were received and entertained at this our Masonic Home; and it is to be hoped that that brotherly love and interest, which have been so long maintained between us, were strengthened and confirmed by that pleasant reunion.

The Grand Lodge, at the invitation of the Lodge at Milford, celebrated the festal day of Masonry at that flourishing place. It was a day of pleasure to all who attended, and the exercises were of a character which reflected great credit on the Milford Brethren.

By the politeness, the good taste, and correct judgment of the Commissioners on enlarging the State House, sanctioned by His Excellency the Governor, the Grand Master was invited to relay the corner-stone, and a plate was by him deposited, which bore the record, that a successor of Paul Revere (the then Grand Master, who laid the original) was present sixty years subsequent, to assist in a like ceremony.

On the 24th of September the new Masonic edifice in Chestnut street, Philadelphia, was dedicated in the most imposing manner. The Grand Lodge of this State were present in full numbers, and received those attentions and fraternal courtesies due to the most ancient Grand Body of Masons in the United States. We cannot but express the pleasure and pride we feel on stating our conviction, that for splendor of accommodation that beautiful edifice is unsurpassed anywhere. As a valuable hint to the Brethren in this jurisdiction, let it be noted, for their example, that the most pleasing and attractive feature in the vast procession on that day was the uniformity and elegant simplicity of the regalia. The apron of lambskin, and a plain blue sash were more effective than the most gorgeous paraphernalia; and we would enforce on our Order here the necessity of a uniform regalia among us, as more consonant with good taste and elegance.

September 17th the Grand Master was invited to be present at the laying of the corner-stone of the Free Public Library of the City of Boston. Resolutions passed the Board of Aldermen on the expediency and propriety of observing this time hallowed practice. The head of the Municipal Government being of the Order, and as there also appeared to be a general desire that the Masonic ceremonies should be observed on the occasion, it is with regret we add that they were wholly omitted. We leave the subject without further comment.

On November 8th the very beautiful edifice erected by the Brethren of Fraternal Lodge, at Hyannis, was dedicated by the Grand Master. The assemblage was large, and everything on the occasion evinced good fellowship and prosperity in this flourishing Masonic District.

Since occupying the Chair of this Grand Lodge, the incumbent has felt the want of information respecting the condition and standing of the other Grand Lodges of the United States, their actions, opinions and decisions. It is evident that such information would be highly valuable and important. It might shed "more light," and make us better acquainted with the great Band with which we are united. It is submitted to you whether our accomplished Corresponding Grand Secretary might not be requested to prepare an annual statement, embracing the subjects just alluded to.

Communications have been received from several of the District Deputies. It is of the greatest importance that all these officers should transmit them. Without this observance, how can the condition of our Lodges be known here, or their mode of work, or any discrepancies which may exist? It is incumbent upon this Body to remedy a complaint, which has been made by many Lodges, that they have no opportunity afforded them by the Parent Body of being taught the lectures and correct work. This should be done by either the Grand Lecturers or the District Deputies, who are competent to do so, and their expenses paid from the common fund.

It is recommended, by the Grand Officer of the 10th District, that the charter of Mt. Vernon Lodge, Belchertown, Thomas, Monson, and Humanity, Brimfield, be recalled, as these have long since ceased to be working Lodges. It is, therefore, suggested that they be stricken from the roll.

It is with regret that the Chair is compelled by a sense of imperious duty to state that Dispensations for conferring degrees with uncalled-for rapidity have been granted to an alarming number. If, among those who have thus erred, there be any present let them in future be chary of such favors. The necessity should be urgent, and well considered, ere granted; and to those, whether present or absent, who have the exercise of such power, let its operation be deeply impressed on their minds. One thus, hastily received into the Order must necessarily lose much of the import and impress of his duties and obligations. His ideas of Masonry must be vague and, perhaps, unsatisfactory. Bewildered at the portal, he can discover no beauties in the edifice. The basis being feeble, there cannot be raised a proper superstructure. Let this be amended.

The "Charity Fund" is very naturally an object of interest and solicitude to the members of the Grand Lodge, and to every Massachusetts Mason; and though this may not be the place, and, if it were, the Chair has neither the data nor the time for a detailed history of it, yet it may not be uninteresting to some of our Brethren present to learn that it has been in existence for nearly half a century, and that it has been, under a kind Providence, an important and efficient instrument in sustaining the interests of this Grand Lodge, and of the Fraternity throughout this whole Commonwealth. But for it we should not now be assembled in this beautiful hall; but for it Masonry in this Commonwealth would at this moment be without a permanent home. Its origin was briefly as follows : —

In December, 1809, the Grand Lodge appointed a committee, consisting of R. W. Brothers' John Soley, Francis J. Oliver, John Dixwell, Benj. Russell, and Shubael Bell, to digest and report a "plan for carrying into execution a Fund for Charity," as contemplated by the fourth chapter of the Rules and Regulations of the Grand Lodge. This committee did not make their report until January, 1811, when they submitted a plan, the wisdom of which an experience of nearly fifty years has but approved and confirmed. It provided for the holding of the Fund by a Board, to be denominated the Trustees of the Grand Charity Fund of Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and to consist of the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand Wardens, Grand Treasurer, and Grand Secretary, and four Brethren to be chosen by Grand Lodge, to serve during good behavior. The first Trustees so chosen were Josiah Bartlett, M. D., John Warren, M. D., Hon. Thomas Dawes, and Rev. Dr. John Elliott; and these Brethren, with Hon. Timothy Bigelow, G. M., Hon. John Abbot, D. G. M., and Andrew Sigourney, Esq., G.T., constituted the first Board. The plan thus submitted further provided for the increase of the Fund, by appropriating one-fourth part of the annual dues paid by the Lodges to the Grand Lodge, and one dollar for each candidate initiated within the jurisdiction, together with one-half of all donations to the Grand Lodge, not otherwise appropriated by the donors.

As a basis to build upon, the Grand Lodge, in 1811, voted $1,000 in specie to the Fund. It also provided that no loan or donation should be made from the principal of the Fund, until the income thereof should amount to $3,000 per annum, though the Treasurer was empowered to hold in his hands one year's interest, to be distributed in charity to worthy Brethren, should occasion require.

There is not time to follow up the history of the Fund, to depict its early struggles, its many trials and discouragements, or its importance in the great struggle of this Grand Lodge, when, but for its efficient aid, the wisest among us is not wise enough to say what the result might have been. Of this, we are certain, that for many years the only pecuniary support this Grand Lodge received from any source came from this Fund.

For the better security of the Fund, the Grand Lodge, in 1816, applied to the Legislature and obtained an act of incorporation; under which it continued to hold its property, and to transact its fiscal business, until the year 1834, when, for wise reasons, it surrendered its legal charter to the Body from whence it was received, and resumed its position as a voluntary association. At this time it had invested its Charity Fund in real estate, in this Temple, which it could neither safely hold nor manage, except as provided by the laws of this Commonwealth. It accordingly sold the property outright to a wealthy and trustworthy Brother, who held it until such time as the Grand Lodge thought itself warranted in repurchasing it for the benefit of the Fraternity, not of Boston, but of the whole State. This it did; and had the property conveyed by deed to nine Trustees, in perpetuity, with power to fill their own vacancies, subject to the approval of the Grand Lodge. These Trustees are required by the deed of trust to pay the debt due to the Grand Charity Fund, and all mortgages and other demands against the property, or which the Grand Lodge had contracted in the erection of the building. This they have done to a very considerable extent, and the probability is that, in a few years more of prosperity, they will be able to free the building from all incumbrances.

At that time, and not before, it may properly be regarded as a source of income to the Grand Lodge. The Grand Charity Fund at present consists of an investment in this Temple, — one safe and productive; and the Fund gives promise of being able, in a short period, to lend its aid to a more extended action of Masonic charity.

The Trustees of the Temple have paid during the last five-years on the debt of the Grand Lodge, besides making necessary and some expensive alterations and repairs, the sum of $6,608.79, leaving a debt still due on note and mortgage amounting to $14,500, besides the sum due the Grand Charity Fund. From my own knowledge, this Board are entitled to the entire confidence and thanks of the Grand Lodge for their faithfulness and disinterested services. Their labors have been arduous and their industry untiring. They have given their talents and time to the work, and though they have a lawful right to a fair compensation for their services, secured to them by the deed of trust, I am happy, as I am proud to say, that they have never appropriated so much as "half a Jewish shekel of silver" to their own use, or to any other purpose whatever than the actual and legitimate purposes of their appointment.

There is a subject which has been agitated in most of the Grand Lodges of these United States, but, so far, it is believed, without any successful result, viz.: the bringing of non-affiliated Masons to share in the labors and expenses to which every one should lend his aid. The Brother who does not do either of these is undeserving of his title. He is a drone in our hive. He, or his posterity, his widow and orphans, may reap where he has not sown, and may share where he has had no investment. It is of importance to find a remedy for such backsliders, and it is submitted to your wisdom to apply it.

During the past year the following warrants and charters have been issued, viz.: —{list omitted}

Thus, my Brethren, you have a very cursory detail, but one evincing nought but prosperity. It has been stated that we neither fear nor tremble at the omen. The seed thus sown cannot all fall upon stony ground. Some must take root. What a product, if but even a moiety of successful increase! This warmed into a dilated benevolence, expanded to a better appreciation of the relations which should be fostered between mankind, it must have its wide, salutary, holy influences. In all human organizations there will be mingled the active and energetic with the lukewarm and inefficient. We trust that we shall have received among us enough of the good leaven to lighten and invigorate the old stock, and to perpetuate those principles and actions which so long have shed a halo on the Institution of Freemasonry. So mote it be!

ADDRESS AT PUTNAM LODGE CONSTITUTION, JANUARY 1856

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XV, No. 9, July 1856, Page 270:

Another link is now added to the strong chain of Freemasonry; one more Lodge banded together to increase that union whose influences are so diffused, whose characteristics so unselfish, as to regard all our race as connected, and all entitled to our common sympathies. This is the best, the highest of human coalitions—the welding of human hearts, the cementing of souls. Its force is mighty, its power irresistible — a world-extended combination, without the power of arms. No political holy-alliance, no tri-partite actions of governmental power, to compel unity of purpose; but a concert of benevolence to harmonize the heart, subdue the passions, and elongate the social ligature; for

'Tis not the forts the builder piles
That chain the earth together:
The wedded crowns, the sister isles
Would laugh at such a tether:
The kindling thought, the throbbing words,
That set the pulses beating,
Are stronger than the myriad sword
Of mighty armies meeting.

As soldiers in the great contest of who shall best work and best agree, you have received your commission from the Head Quarters, and are here authorized to enlist and recruit. Receive from the Commander of the Forces quartered in this State, a few hints as to the manner and caution to be exercised in your selection for the ranks.

Do not by beat of drum entice or entreat any one to join with you. Let all come with free will and accord, deeming the cause a good one and the pay and reward certain. Let them be scanned singly and scrutinized individually; not coming up in whole squads, begetting confusion and error; but marching up war-fashion, with body erect, to his future Captain, there pledging himself (and understandingly so) to the great action for which he is willing to engage. Let him fully understand the implements of his profession. Teach him, these are tools apparently insignificant, which may be wielded with the mightiest effect, acting noiselessly, but penetrating deeply ; and that they should enter even into the heart, ere their full power is effected. That even the uniform they wear is highly symbolical and impressive, and that the Masonic Soldier can assign some efficacy, some intent and meaning in his decorations, which his more warlike Brother, would find it difficult to do, as regards his own. Let him be well drilled as a subaltern, before he aspires to be the officer, and at every roll call, let him be in his place. Caution him to keep and conceal the pass-words and countersign entrusted to him, and be ever on the watch for spies and enemies ; that he should support and maintain that Constitution under which he has enlisted, and the especial regulations of his own Company. In short, that by his loyalty, devotion and upright conduct, he may gain that proud distinction which is awarded to the " accepted" Soldier of our Faith.

As officers, how much are your duties enhanced, and how increased your requirements! Be not too much the mere martinet. Let your orders be given with promptness and decision, tempered by suavity, and as marching at the van, exhibit that readiness and alacrity denoting the perfect soldier, the accomplished leader. How much depends even on the tone, modulation and emphasis of your command and exhortation! A pusillanimous, feeble, infantile manner, will ill avail to stir up the warrior and inspire his valor; and equally impotent is the dull, unimpassioned drawling out of those sentiments and exhortations which are to urge on the Masonic soldier to press forward in the cause of Truth, Justice, Brotherly Love, Relief, Universal Philanthropy; and in all the Fraternal relations to do and to dare all that become men.

In these piping times of our peace and prosperity, no foes to be assailed, no enemies to be overcome, be not the less watchful. Let the outposts be vigilantly guarded; sentinels on every watch tower. Lower not the draw-bridge to your inner works, for too ready admission. Examine all through the loopholes of a well guarded jealousy. Every Masonic soldier should be a Cerberus to his trusts, an Argus to his Order, a Briareus, feeling with an hundred hands the pulsations of the motives of all who approach his sacred retreat. As your official Head, then, I say unto you— "Watch!" You have received your Commissions this evening and your arms, and are now in good marching array and order. Buckle on the whole armour of you Faith, take up the shield of the good old cause, to turn aside the foes who may press upon you; wield the strong sword of Right, advance onward, and may the Almighty, who is a strong tower to those who put their trust in him, be evermore thy defence and salvation.

ADDRESS AT GERMANIA LODGE CONSTITUTION, JANUARY 1856

ADDRESS AT MOUNT HERMON LODGE CONSTITUTION, JANUARY 1856

ADDRESS AT HALL DEDICATION IN GREENFIELD, FEBRUARY 1856

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XV, No. 11, September 1856, Page 342:

This room is now dedicated to Freemasonry. The simple but still solemn ceremonial is now concluded which consecrates this Lodge, where we fondly trust, a united, happy and prosperous Brotherhood may long continue to congregrate.

To those present, not of the Order, who have honored and graced our meeting, the ritual, the symbols, the paraphernalia, may seem not only ineffective, but even, powerless and unattractive ; mere mysticisms without efficiency. What is Freemasonry'? An ancient and respectable institution, embracing individuals of every nation, of every religion, and of every condition in life; where distinctions of worldly rank are laid aside; where all differences in religion and political sentiments are forgotten, and where those petty quarrels which disturb the quiet of private life, cease to agitate the mind ; where every one strives to give happiness to his Brother, and where men seem to remember for once, that they are sprung from the same origin, possessed of the same nature, and are destined for the same end. The value of its principles is in its tendency to fortify friendship, society, mutual assistance, and the observance of what men owe each other. Where liberty is must prized and enjoyed, there our Order has preserved its excellence and consistency. The great and the good from all civilized societies have joined in its promotion. It includes in its fellowship the wise, the brave, the legislator, all professions, all the components of nations. It fetters them not by impious oaths, by unmeaning ceremonies, but by the ties of a world-extended philanthropy, that ligature, those bonds which we alone confess and proudly wear. It is not "a conspiracy against all religions and governments carried on in secret meetings of Freemasons," as urged by the Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; but it is a union to promote the best feelings of humanity, the mild government of peace on earth. What is its code, what are its teachings and injunctions? It uniformly requires of us that which is good. Its simple but inestimable code presents no puzzling question to tear the divided heart by conflicting duties. It speaks of life as a scene of mutability, admonishes us to enjoy its blessings with moderation, to endure its evils with patience. It tells us that man is as variable as the world he inhabits; that imperfections mingle with the virtues of the best, and by beautiful similitudes and symbols, urges us to constant and unwearied attention. From this mixture of good and evil, it directs our pursuit of the former, by teaching us to curb our passions, moderate our desires, expect with diffidence, enjoy with gratitude, resign with submission. It commands us, conscious of our own failings, to be indulgent to the errors of others, and finally, on the broad basis of mutual wants, general imperfection and universal kindred, it builds the fair structure of candor and benevolence. It cultivates the social principle and action, the mutual communion of friendship between man and man. Here we truly know each other, here brothers meet with their hearts opened, all pulses synchronous, beating in harmonious unison. We know each other, and this is one of the great excellencies of our institution, for in spite of all the Rochefaucaults who have libelled humanity; in spite of all the cynics who have snarled at its character, the tendency of the knowledge of our fellow-man, is to make us love mankind. The more extensive our knowledge of human nature is. the better acquainted we make ourselves among ourselves, the greater will be the indulgence towards the errors of our species, and the more will our affections become enlarged.

To the Brethren I need not say, there is an electric charm in our association, which all feel and appreciate. It cannot be conveyed by words; there is a deeper language of the heart, a still small voice within, which tells with tones of might, all that I wish, but cannot convey.

There is a kind of magnetism pervading the Masonic family, but the operation in our practice is very simple and brief. We join our hands, the heart is immediately excited, the soul brought into harmonious action, at once impressible. It should be termed moral magnetism. To be seen by our process, a state of somnambulism is never induced; on the contrary, the more the action is repeated, the more vigilant and watchful we become; and our symbols — Do they improve? Do they teach? Emphatically they do! They are both significant and instructive. How important are these mute teachers to us all! How wondrous is their agency! In a painted device, or simple emblem, how the commonest truth stands out to us proclaimed in quite new emphasis! Here Fancy with her mystic cower, plays into the domain of Sense, and becomes incorporated therewith. In our symbols there is ever, more or less distinctly and directly, some embodiment and revelation of excellence; the invisible blends itself with the visible, so that it makes it as it were attainable. Emblems and symbols teach with more eloquence than words. They speak to all. They possess both an extensive and intrinsic value. There is no intrinsic value in a military banner, but extrinsically, it reminds us of duty, of heroic daring, and in some instances (would it were so in all) of freedom, of right. Nay, the highest ensign that men ever met and embraced under, the Cross itself, had no meaning, save an accidental, extrinsic one, an acquired divineness, which as Christians we venerate.

With such monitors, and such teachings, we are banded together to promote reciprocal happiness, and diffuse the sublime principle of an universal benevolence. To relieve the distressed, is a duty incumbent on all men, but particularly on Masons, who are linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection. To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries, and to restore peace to their troubled minds, is the grand aim we have in view. On this basis we form our friendships and establish our connections,—sorrow, misfortunes, and sad reverses beset this life, and to mitigate their shafts is our noblest duty.

"The most that we can do is but little;
But in those sharp extremities of fortune,
The blessings which e'en the weak and poor can scatter,
Have their own season. 'Tis a little thing
To give a cup of water: yet its draught
Of cool refreshment drain'd by fever'd lips,
May give a shock of pleasure to the frame
More exquisite than when nectarean juice
Renews the life of joy in happier hours.
It is a little thing to speak a phrase
Of common comfort, which by daily use
Has almost lost its sense : yet on the ear
Of him who thought to die unmourn'd 'twill fall
Like choicest music: fill the glazing eye
With gentle tears: relax the knotted band,
To know the bonds of fellowship again;
.And shed on the departing soul, a sense
More precious than the benizon of friends
About the honored death bed of the rich,
To him who else were lonely, that another
Of our great family is near and feels.

Persevere then, my Brothers, in such a cause; in that good old cause, which amid the storm and the calm has been upheld by a kind Providence, and may it still continue to protect, support and defend you.

ADDRESS AT DE WITT CLINTON LODGE, MARCH 1856

ADDRESS AT GATE OF THE TEMPLE LODGE, MARCH 1856

MEMORIAL ADDRESS FOR BRO. JOHN JAMES LORING, OCTOBER 1856

ADDRESS AT CENTENARY OF THE LODGE OF ST. ANDREW, NOVEMBER 1856

From Proceedings, Page 1875-220:

REMARKS OF DR. LEWIS AT THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF SAINT ANDEEW'S LODGE, NOV. 30, 1856.

The Most Worshipful Grand Master, Winslow Lewis, in behalf of the Grand Lodge, said: —

WORSHIPFUL MASTER:— As the official exponent of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, as the Grand Master of the most venerable Masonic organization on this continent, I deem it and feel it to be the great feature of my official life, that the Centennial observance of St. Andrew's Lodge has occurred during my occupancy of the East, and that it is my high privilege to congratulate the Brethren on this, their festal day (which may well be termed the climacteric year of their existence), and to share with them the felicitations which exhilarate and cheer them on the completion of the hundredth year of their prosperous and honorable career.

Of that career your faithful orator and historian for the occasion (Hamilton Willis) has portrayed its incipiency and progress; its onward and upward advance; its relations to the Order; its services, through its members, to the great cause of. Freemasonry, as well as indirectly also to that of liberty and independence, in their capacity as citizens; and before taking my seat I cannot resist the inclination I feel, to pay the tribute of acknowledgment and thanks so eminently due to that distinguished Brother, who has contributed so largely to the interest and success of the occasion, by the eloquent and appropriate words he has spoken to us. I believe that I only give voice to the sentiment of all who have enjoyed the felicity of listening to him, when I tender to him the sincere thanks of all, and award to him the grateful praise of having acquitted himself of the laborious and responsible duty imposed upon him by his Brethren, in a manner worthy of his subject and of his own reputation as an accomplished Mason. For the handsome terms in which he has spoken of the Body over which I have the honor to preside, he has my personal thanks. In a word, your orator has presented to his auditors the honorable path in which St. Andrew's has ever marched, and which has ,conducted it to its present culmination of success. Well may your hearts respond with pride on this the "white day" of your organization.

And well may you say in the words of the great poet: —

"After my death I wish no other herald,
No other speaker of my living actions,
To keep "mine honor from corruption,
But such an honest chronicler as Griffiths."

Thus far as Grand Master; but I leave the Chair and take my place among you as one of your Lodge, as a "quasi member," for you have constituted me as such by your courtesies, your hospitable kindness, extended for so many years. Among you are the most loved friends of my Masonic life, my greatest social support, the hearts on which I lean, and which have never failed in their sustaining power. Words are but poor tributes to pay my dues to this Lodge.' If there was a better coinage you should have it; golden cannot express it, and, for my happiness in the future, let me hint that it is my ardent wish that the indebtedness, may never be diminished.

If this connection may be continued, and my life be spared for another decade; if these friendships may endure till old age — the "threescore years and ten" — come, then I shall feel that in true friendship's foliage there is no "sere or yellow leaf." In the silent register of my heart "St. Andrew's" will live, while memory lives.

I give you as a sentiment: — MAY THE RECORDS OF YOUR LODGE CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE AS IN THE PAST TO TESTIFY PROSPERITY, UNITY, AND THE PRACTICE OF ALL MASONIC VIRTUES.

ADDRESS AT THE CONSTITUTION OF WINSLOW LEWIS LODGE, DECEMBER 1856

From Proceedings, Page 1875-222:

Amid the varied embarrassments of a varied life, of the many positions in which circumstances have placed me, where there was a demand for readiness of action or of speech, — and there have been many, when, by a species of "floundering," I have escaped, surprised at the survival, — none has so palled my serenity, or so overcome my self-possession, as the present one.

I have addressed Lodges abroad in bad French, — have ventured, in worse Italian, a speech to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and even succeeded tolerably with his Holiness .Pius IX. But these all were such as befall the many who visit such "lions," or witness the "elephant" here and there. This has a more difficult aspect, producing, W. Master, that unpleasant peculiar action, well known to those illy gifted in speech (not, sir, that you have so suffered), where vox hæsit faucibus.

To you, Worshipful Master (Clement A. Walker, M. D.), I address myself, as both my Masonic and Professional Brother — as one deservedly high in both relations, with a heart for others' woes, and a skill to minister to the mind diseased. And it would seem that Masonry and medicine are not deemed incompatible by our Brethren; that there was almost some alliance or connection between them. It certainly cannot be that there is any disease in the Order; and, therefore, these are selected to that duty which they are supposed best to understand — the administering to morbid bodies! Surely not! But the fact is determinate and prominent. Six of the Grand Masters of our venerable Grand Lodge were physicians. One fell, liberty's first martyr, on Bunker's Heights, — three were Presidents of the Massachusetts Medical Society, — one is now an eminent Professor of Surgery in the great school of Louisville, Ky., and the last is one not likely to fall for any service he may render his country, nor has he any aspirations in that direction! Neither has he been, or ever will be, President of our State Medical Society. The only compliment to be paid him is that he presided over the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts two years, and no harm befell it! Both the Encampments of this city are excellently managed by M.D.'s, both adepts in wielding the lance for health as for chivalry, — and all our Lodges are teeming with the sons of Æsculapius.

But the power, the extended peculiarity of the connection, has been demonstrated this evening in the consecration of your new organization. It is chartered under the name of an humble medical individual, known only as an active Mason, and as one who cuts society with tolerable success! By his official position you have been inducted to the privileges of fellowship with the Lodges. Two of your first officers are of the Medical Corps, and among you are included the professional Heads of the House of Correction, the Lunatic Asylum, and of the Quarantine, Deer Island, and United States Marine Hospital. What an array to meet any emergency which may befall a Body! And for those even who may require safe-keeping, you have the Master of the Jail! I trust that this last Brother may find his office a sinecure as regards you all, and that you may never need his official hospitality or shelter! With these and others, true and trusty, you now commence your career as a duty and regularly constituted Lodge; and now is the period for laying the basis on which your superstructure is to rest, — to regulate a platform of the requirements you demand from all who are to form your future associates, of those who are to be admitted to your Masonic hearth. "The Spiritualists," to ensure the success of their operations, form a circle, and the efficiency of the manifestations they deem dependent on the " mediums being consentaneous in their sentiments and feelings. One, not sufficiently imbued, breaks the harmony, and the efforts of the rest are null, ineffective.

So compose your Masonic circle, that the electric chain may be unbroken, that the kindly spark may be transmitted through all, without discord of action .or feeling; that the same thrill of affection shall vibrate through every heart, producing that glorious manifestation, a Brotherhood dwelling together in peace and unity. You may not produce "rappings," but every heart will beat more vigorously with pleasure's increased pulsation. You may not receive "communications" from the spirit land, but be assured all good angels hover over those who seek the well-being of their fellows — the promotion of diffused happiness.

How important is the act by which another is added to our Order — by which the "Mr." is baptized into "Bro." and, alas! how much to be deplored when one is rejected from the privileges to which he may justly be entitled! Consider well what you do with your great power, — with your BLACK BALL, — which may wound not only the sensibilities but the reputation of a good man. Think before you act.

In the Lodges in France, and in the French Lodges in this country, whenever a ballot is taken for the solemn purpose of admitting or rejecting, the box is placed on the altar, resting on the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses. The Brethren advance singly, for a moment pause, take the ballot, and, making the sign of the degree, slowly deposit it. The effect of this is both impressive and good. It reminds them that what they are about to do is an act requiring calm consideration, — an act which involves deep responsibilities. Thus standing alone, in the centre of the Lodge, before the Altar of God, with God's Word there placed, with emblems also to remind him of his high duties, will the Brother not shrink from the exercise of the malevolent passions, and let conscientiousness alone be his sole monitor? I commend this practice to your consideration. It will take a little more time, but its loss will be your gain.

My Brethren: —: This is the last time that I shall be privileged to address a Lodge as Grand Master, and the last subject, but the first in importance, is the selection of your associates. I charge you, look well to, and ponder most seriously on the effect of every ballot cast for admission. How much evil one black sheep may produce upon a whole flock! How "one bad voice will put twenty good ones out of tune"! Most seriously do I emphasize on the importance of the severest scrutiny into all the qualifications and peculiarities of those who are to be admitted into the "household of your faith."

There are men who, in the transactions of life, in their vocation, their business, are fair, just and honorable; humane and generous at times; but who are endowed with a morbid excitability, a morbid jealousy, imputing wrong to all who may differ from them, and suspecting evil when none was practised or intended. Touch them however gently, and they explode, making confusion and strife, stirring up the angry passions, painful recriminations and discord; ever carping at the motives and actions of those whose judgments differ from their own; scanning with the most acrid severity, and eagerly watching for an expression, ay, even for a look, on which they may eject their venom. Such, gifted with the power of "talk" (and generally such are loud and constant declaimers), vox et proeterea nihil, will too oft infuse their poison into the minds of the younger, collect around them a coterie, call this, perhaps, "young America," and all others "old fogies." For them, age, experience, long-tried fidelity, are not the respected essentials. They would plough up the old soil without improving it, disturb the features of its ancient fields without any addition to their beauties, e'en though they shroud themselves, and all with them, in the dust and smoke of their innovations. Keep such out of your fraternal sanctuary; but if, unluckily, you receive them, keep them down, if you wish to keep yourselves up. Scan well and probe deeply into the motives of those who would pass your threshold. Look to it that they are not influenced by expectations of mere personal interest, or selfish advance. To Freemasonry they are useless. In them you receive no accession. Both parties are aggrieved and disappointed. They find not what they sought, nor you what you hoped for. They throw no incense on the altar of the heart. They add no fuel to keep alive the sacred flame of Brotherly Love and Relief.

They are called to give, when they look to receive. The real fund of Brotherhood and Friendship, of which they are made stockholders, to such is of no account. To them, "it don't pay," and the only satisfaction that will accrue to you is, that they will not trouble you long with their attendance; but to you the regret will attach, that, through you, drones have been added to a good hive, bringing no sweets, producing no addition but a miserable numerical one. Secure to yourselves those who give the promise of becoming useful as members of your Lodge, those who are capable of appreciating, and will devote their minds to its ritual; qualify and instruct themselves to fill the important stations as officers and leaders in the cause. Failing to secure such, how large may be your numbers, but how weak your organization!—how ineffective, how lifeless, how totally unimpressive your ceremonials! and consequently how feeble the impress on your initiates! I have seen the most solemn degree of Masonry gone through with (that is the proper phrase), and its impress on the recipient fall cold and powerless. The sublime monitions came as it were from a machine, an automaton. Words that should burn were uttered by icy lips, from a frozen soul — from a stolid mind.

That same degree has been given, where the candidate has evinced, by his emotions, his tears, that his heart was reached to its very centre, was penetrated to its keenest and best susceptibilities — and why? Because it was properly administered, by one who understood and felt, and could communicate, with the strong force of action .and delivery. This was the touch of Ithuriel, quickening into life; the other, the deadening weight of a stupid Boeotian. The one, the inanimate statue; the other, the vital, breathing, warm original. Select for your officers those whose position in society is prominent, well-known and esteemed, — not for their worldly wealth, but for the eminence of their characters, for honesty, benevolence, moral worth and.intelligence. The world looks to our officers as our Representative Men, as the exponents of our principles and actions. Show to it that your jewels are also those who are prized as citizens, as honored members of the general community. Besides character and position in life, knowledge of the work and lectures, there are other requirements — courtesy, mildness, judgment, grace, should be sought for in your choice. Place no dictator at your head — no lex et ego autocrat. The car of Masonry needs no such drivers, and 'tis a truism, "from where there is no judgment that the heaviest judgment comes."

My Brethren, receive these suggestions from one deeply interested in your welfare and success, crude and disjointed as they are, unpolished and unadorned; though they may lack mind, the heart is not wanting.

And now, how can I thank you for the great compliment, ay, for the greatest honor of my life ? In "storied urn or animated bust" posthumous rewards and praises are given to the departed. But here, while among you, with the chance whether my humble reputation may be sustained or lost, you have founded an Institution, and attached to it my name. Be assured it will be the strongest incentive to preserve the little. I possess of what is good ; and if that little should be less, you may still preserve your name without a blush, by using still the same, which, throughout a long, useful life, in the performance of life's highest duties, was. attached to an old Mason, my honored father. My grateful thanks to you all, and though the unpretending name on your banner will not excite your emulation in a cause whose course is onward and upward, may it remind you of one who did his best with what God had favored him, in advancing that Order, whose end is " Peace on earth, good will to men."

To those who have just commenced their Masonic career, permit me who have reaped so much of the harvest of my life's happiness from its fertile fields, enjoyed so profusely of its blessings through so long a period, now, as my official duties are. almost closed, to declare, with gratitude, that to this connexion I am indebted for the best friends, the best social blessings that can accrue to one, without the pale of his own family hearth. So may you all thus find the result with you in your new fraternal relation. May the light now kindled on your altar shed on your paths the most genial and cheering radiance.

"Almighty Jehovah!
Descend now and fill
This Lodge with thy glory,
Your hearts with good will!
Preside at your meetings,
Assist you to find
True pleasure in teaching
Good will to mankind."

ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN, DECEMBER 1856

From Proceedings, Page 1875-228:

In peace and prosperity we once more gather together at this our annual close. Another Masonic year is added to our venerable Order; but its old age shows no decrepitude — no sere or yellow leaves flutter on the old oak; but a perennial foliage beautifies and increases its majestic trunk, — its branches spread further and wider with each revolving year. Time but gives it renewed strength and vigor. Vires acquirit eundo. The necessity for, and the advantages of, a society like that of Freemasonry is now universally acknowledged. It has become a fixed fact among the various organizations which have for their objects the relief of suffering, the ameliorations of humanity, and the union of man with his fellow-man. Of such associations. it is the first, as it is the most extended in its relations, — knowing no high, no low, no rich, no poor, no language, no country, no sect, as its limitations. The world is its sphere — a universal brotherhood, its aim.

Where there is the largest liberty, there its roots are the firmest, its growth the most rapid, its influences the most widely diffused, its operations the most beneficent, its excellence the most appreciated. It is, therefore, in our favored land increasing to a most unprecedented degree; public favor has smiled on its progress, and bids it God-speed in its course. No section is exempt in this increase, no portion but what has shared of this prosperity. In this jurisdiction about one thousand have been the last year's addition, — an addition of promise to its respectability, and to its kindly influences.

In my last Annual Communication there was no dread record announcing the loss of any of our number during the year. But brief must be the period when we are spared the fatal detail. Sooner or later, Death claims the fulness of his dark registry. Three of our permanent members have left us forever, and have passed away to a happier fruition. The Hon. Samuel P. P. Fay, Past Grand Master, died on the 18th of May, and a notice of his life and character, with appropriate resolutions, was prepared by the R. W. Lucius R. Paige, and recorded at the Communication in June.

This Body has also lost one of its most active, best and endeared of its members, —one who for a quarter of a century was always present at every Communication; one who watched over its interests with the most scrupulous fidelity, guarded its funds with the most zealous care, fulfilled every Masonic duty with conscientiousness and exactitude. In life he attached to him the hearts of his Brethren; now dead, his memory will still connect us vita conjuncti, etiam morte inseparabiles.

John G. Loring was Treasurer for twenty-five years, also a Past Sen. Grand Warden, and a member of the Charity Fund Committee. How well he sustained those important relations our records will amply testify: Let us, ere we part, show, so far as words can express our feelings, the high appreciation we entertained of him while here, and our deep sense of the loss sustained by this Grand Lodge by his death. Very recently a third has been added to the long list of the departed. The Hon. Seth Sprague, Past Sen. Grand Warden, died in this city the early part of this month, —a gentleman of probity and piety, universally respected and loved, he has been gathered to his fathers in the ripeness of years, in the fulness of honor.

At this, the close of my present official relation, permit me to make but one single suggestion, which has been forced on my attention by the experience of the two years of my administration. It is in relation to the apparently small amount annually appropriated by this Body to the cause of Masonic charity. The public, knowing nothing of the numerous fountains from whence our charities so copiously flow, of the large disbursements made by the subordinate bodies, of the drafts on the bounty of its individual members, look to the petty amount stated in our annual circular as the sum total of our benevolence. How far is this from the effective reality! If the records of the Grand Lodge, with those of all the Masonic Institutions, were spread before the public ; if the hands which have given in secret, though open as day to melting charity, could point to the varied objects of their bounty; if the poor, the friendless, the stranger, the rich, could shout their gratitude, they would proclaim, "trumpet-tongued," of the good that has come from our Nazareth; that though not gazetted to the world, the stream of Brotherly relief flows deep, efficiently and full, cheering on its course many hearts. This will consecrate and preserve for time to come, as it has for ages past, our venerable Order.

"The breast which happiness bestows
Reflected happiness shall bless."

Let us, therefore, in this our day of prosperity, give as freely as we receive, and let our enlarged charity flow in a more abundant and copious stream; and especially let the amount annually voted by this Body be more commensurate both with our means, and I trust with the wishes of all its members.

A regalia becoming the dignity, wealth and respectability of this most ancient Grand Lodge has been procured from England, and is precisely similar to that worn by that most dignified and most widely extended Body, our venerable parent, the Grand Lodge of England. May we imitate her excellences in the greater essentials as in these lesser particulars, and prove ourselves worthy scions of a noble stock.

Apartments have been provided in the central part of the city for the accommodation of the officers of the Grand Lodge; and the great facilities for transacting its business, the large number whose relations to the Institution call them there, and the convenience for the meetings of committees, make it quite apparent that these accommodations were imperiously required. And while on this subject, it has become evident to you all that this building is quite too limited for the increase of our numbers; that this our largest room is often filled to repletion; that the smaller apartments are not adapted to the purposes for which they are necessarily used, and that at no distant day our Fraternity will require a more spacious Temple than this. And here, also, let me express in behalf of all the Bodies who here meet, the deep obligations we owe to the Brothers Chickering for the liberality they have always manifested in offering their splendid halls to our service. It is not strange that the sons of such a sire should follow in their father's steps of liberality; but it is pleasing to record that it is so, and that the transmission of such excellence is unimpaired.

During the year this Body has assisted on two public occasions, at the invitation of the proper authorities, in rendering their services as Masons, viz.: the laying of the corner-stone of the State Lunatic Asylum, at Northampton, and the inauguration of the statue of Franklin at Boston. Both were legitimate occasions for Freemasonry ; the first the commencement of a structure for the relief of humanity, the last a testimonial to our country's "Guide, Philosopher and Friend;" and, above all, to us, our illustrious, unwavering Brother, and a Grand Master. These were claims for our respect and attention. But I deprecate the appearance of our Order before the world, except for such purposes. It never should be done to simply swell the pageantry of a procession, or to add to its numbers.

The Library has been increased, and is now of great value, and will vie with any collection of a similar character in the United States. I would commend it to the fostering care and liberality of my Brethren. It is the Depot of the congregated intelligence of the Masonic World, and the stock which represents this should be ample and choice.

The Grand Lecturers have visited such Lodges as required their services, which have been exceedingly beneficial to the interests of the Order, by infusing an increased interest as to the work and lectures, imparting regularity in. these matters much needed and essential to the Craft; and it is to be hoped that, at every Quarterly Communication of this Body, the day will be devoted to these expositions, arid we regret that this proposition should have been ever' negatived.

The following are the Dispensations and Charters, Dedications and Consecrations of Lodges during the year, with the date, etc.: — {list follows}

The reports of the D.D.G. Masters are complete and interesting — evincing a great improvement in the Lodges, generally. Particularly would I refer to an elaborate, well-written one from our active Brother, the Hon. Peter Lawson, which it would he well to have published, for the sentiments and information it contains; and I desire to express my deep sense of the obligations due to the Deputy Grand Masters, for the very faithful manner in which they have executed their important functions, which are second to those of none of the officers of the Grand Lodge, and which, well done, should secure for them a high niche in our Temple of Fame.

My labors as Grand Master have now closed. They have been many, but pleasant. If not discharged with ability, the zeal was not wanting, and, if it had been possible, it would have been to me most gratifying, to have served the constitutional period; but declining health, with pressing avocations, sternly forbid the task. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.

The period of my administration has been one of peculiar, unprecedented activity. If specified, the detail might savor too much of egotism. Our fabric is now stable; our prospects most cheering; peace within our walls ; public sentiment without, favoring and fostering us. Let us all, then, thus encouraged, thus prosperous, unite in the aspiration : —

God save the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts!

ADDRESS AT CORNERSTONE LAYING, OCTOBER 1858

From Proceedings, Page 1875-257:

ADDRESS AT THE LAYING OF THE COENEE-STONE OF MINOT'S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE, OCT. 2, 1858.
(Grand Master Heard laid the corner-stone, and at the conclusion of his address introduced Dr. Lewis.)

The commencement of a great work like this should have the befitting accompaniment of a public ceremonial. It is proper that the City Fathers of Boston should give their presence and utter their congratulations, that a grand monument of service and general utility is to be placed near the commercial metropolis of New England, long to direct the prosperous mariner to a flourishing and happy city; that perfected science shall, from this spot, enable the anxious mariner to behold this warning beacon at a distance of thirty miles, lit up by an apparatus than which, says the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," there is no work of art more beautiful or more creditable to the boldness, intelligence and zeal of the artist; while all that decorated the noble structure of the Eddystone at its completion was a feeble light from tallow candles. I congratulate my friend, the supervisor and director, on the success thus far attendant on his zeal, activity and scientific judgment, so long and so well displayed in his laborious task. Being for two years a resident on the shore nearest this scene of his labors, and often having the privilege of standing on this rock and sharing with him and his fellow-laborers, at least their unwished-for ablutions, I can render my testimony to the dangers encountered and perseverance manifested in the incipiency of this peculiar task.

The Eddystone Rock, on the coast of Cornwall, is twenty feet high from low-water mark. Bell Rock, in Scotland, has a large stony base. The light-house on the Skerryvore Rocks has a base of forty-two feet. But here the base was small, the edges very irregular, and could only be cut at low tides, and with a smooth sea. Rob. Stevenson had the great advantage in the erection of Bell Rock Light of placing near it a wooden barrack; and Alan Stevenson the same, while constructing the Skerryvore Light. Here no such aid could be obtained. The very slow progress of this work shows its difficulties.

Eddystone was finished in two years; Bell Rock in two years and three months, and the Skerryvore in about the same period. This was commenced in 1855, and may be completed in two years. No delays have interrupted its progress, but those which have arisen from this formidable position; and all that indomitable will could effect has been done.

For that which he has so ably done, Capt. Alexander will deserve and receive the approbation of all. May its completion be as successful as its commencement. Though the storms may come, the tempests blow, may it prove that its foundation is not only on a rock, but on the firm basis which science and art have unitedly combined to produce. Long may it stand a proud memorial of the perseverance, liberality and artistic skill of the United States, and the sagacity of a judicious government.

The allusion to the memory of my father in the address of the Grand Master will, I trust, serve as an apology for a very few remarks, not wholly inappropriate on this interesting occasion. His connection with the Order of Freemasonry for nearly sixty years, his official relation to the Grand Lodge of this State, is known to our whole Fraternity. But, here on this spot, where we are called on as speculative Masons to inaugurate the commencement of a Pharos, some few statements of his long-continued activity and devotions to the light-house department of the United States cannot be deemed irrelevant. For nearly half a century he was connected in a greater or less degree with this establishment, extending along our whole Atlantic coast, and on the shores of our mighty lakes. In the course of this long period he was the contractor and builder of more than two hundred light-houses, and ever sustained the confidence of the United States government. He suggested, many years since, that an edifice of stone, similar to this which we now hope with confidence will be successfully completed, should be erected, and offered to contract for the sum of $250,000. He established the use of the lenses and parabolic reflectors which were in operation for so many years, until the brilliant discoveries of Fresnel again changed the mode of light, and the dioptric system was adopted in this country, in 1852. "The name of Fresnel is classed," says a late work, "with the greatest of those inventive minds which extend the boundaries of human knowledge; and it will, at the same time, receive a place amongst those benefactors of the species who have converted their genius to the common good of mankind; and wherever maritime intercourse prevails, the solid advantages which his labors have procured will be felt and acknowledged." I therefore claim some humble tribute to the memory of a Boston merchant, for the services he rendered the government and our mercantile interests, and which will cause his name to long be held in respect and veneration by all who have business on the great deep; and trust his name will long be remembered and associated with whatever is true and excellent in man, long after all the almost countless beacons which he has erected to warn the approaching mariner of his danger shall have crumbled into dust.

LIBRARY COMMITTEE REPORT, DECEMBER 1859

From Proceedings, Page VI-269; December 14, 1859, report of the Library Committee:

The Committee on the Library Report— That its increase during the past year, has not added much numerically to its importance, still a few additions have been made of great value, and which did not accrue to the G Lodge at its expense.

Your Committee regret to state that the annual Report of the Proceedings of the G. Lodges of the United States are sadly incomplete in your Library and that their is not one perfect set of any Gd Lodge proceedings, no, not even of our own. The very last acquisition to the Library, (and every intelligent Mason would suppose it should have been the very first) was the "Freemasons Magazine — the work of your own Gd Secy: everywhere, known, every where prized, as the very best exponent of Masonic Law — the most conservative, as well as the oldest in the Union — a perfect series of which is with great difficulty obtained for a sum less than $110.

Undoubtedly there are many who may be disposed to decry the formation of a Library, especially those of the cui bono species, who deem it a Bibliomania, involving expenditure, without return. It may releive such who look to the pecuniary outlay, to learn that the now valuable Collection of the G Lodge of Massachusetts, has only cost the Institution the paltry sum of about $150.

Is a Masonic Library profitless? When the future historian of our country shall have occasion to portray these popular excitements which have agitated society, and among them, the wrorst of them all, the Anti-masonic, where could he glean all on the subject, where could he turn for the most extensive details of that nefarious Body, but to the ample pages of the Masonic Mirror — a work of rarement and fidelity, and which has become, even now, a rarity among book-collectors, a book so rare, that your committee, know of no other perfect copy, than the one in your collection.

How often is it necessary to consult authorities, and seek information on the History of the Order and on the various subjects connected with it? How desirable it is, that those who hold official positions should have a "Collectania from whence to derive such opinions or decisions as their stations impose—much perhaps that is generally considered as worthless is sent forth from the press. But every department of literature has its trash mingled with its good, still that work, which has in it no one idea, either curious, quaint or original, must of itself be a curiosity.

The Library of the G. Lodge is therefore like all collections, a collection of the valuable mingled with the almost useless, we say almost, for many of these "turn up" to satisfy the literary researches of some antiquarian minds seekers of the "odds and ends" of the of the teeming press chiffoniers, who raking from the gutters of intellectual sewers, sometimes from the mud itself bring to light that which is valuable and worthy of preservation.

Your Committee would therefore solicit from the Brethren, donations of any books or pamphlets, good, bad, or indifferent, which have any relation, direct or indirect with Freemasonry, for or against it.

Among the very few donors, our excellent Br. Thos. Waterman must again be mentioned as having contributed a very choice collection of bound volumes of pamphlets, interspersed with which are short biographies of the shining lights of our Order by his pen. Your committee in thanking him for his liberality would commend him as an example to others "to go and do likewise".

ADDRESS AT FEAST OF ST. JOHN, DECEMBER 1859

From Proceedings, Page 1875-243:

Again, my Brethren, you have conferred on me the highest honor in your power to bestow, an honor which any one might well covet, but one by me neither solicited nor desired.

Three years have passed since I vacated this high position, one which requires great devotion of time, and much more of Masonic ability and intelligence than in me lies.

To what, then, am I indebted for this reiterated manifestation of your kindness, and appreciation of any fitness for the duties of the Chair of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts? I answer, that it is solely to an unwavering devotion of so many years; to zeal, and not to any wisdom, am I your debtor for this renewed evidence of your kind partiality. This expression is a most ample offset for all I ever have done, or shall ever do, to promote your interest.

Still the burden imposed by that kindness is not light, nor the satisfactory performance of the duties easy to be rendered, considering the position now twice assigned me ; for I labor under the disadvantage now as when I first was placed in the East of the Grand Lodge of this State. I have had two immediate predecessors of no ordinary abilities. The first, the accomplished scholar, the eloquent speaker, the profound reasoner, our distinguished Brother Rev. Dr. G. M. Randall; and now I follow the administration of one whose untiring efforts have resulted in so much of good to the whole jurisdiction ; whose financial ability has been so successfully manifested in your behalf, and who now retires with the warm approbation and gratitude of every Mason of Massachusetts. With such antecedents, then, such luminaries, my feeble light must be but dim, and whatever of success may attend my labors will be the result of the association with those able officers who have been selected by your judgment to constitute the organization for the ensuing year.

The details of the condition of our Order in Massachusetts, of all that relates to its finances and statistics, have been most fully laid before you by him who is so intimately acquainted with everything relating thereto. Nothing has been left untouched by him, who has penetrated into every nook and corner of our history. He has harvested all, and the field is barren to his successor; not a blade is left; his sickle is useless, and all is gleaned of value and interest.

But there is a subject, of general interest to the Fraternity of the United States, which I recommend to the particular consideration of this Body, — one which has been urged on the attention of all the Grand Lodges by a circular issued from an organization, commenced last September, at Chicago, under the name of "North American Masonic Congress." It is endeavored, by this Body, to organize a representation from the Grand Lodges of the Union, somewhat similar to that from Grand Chapters and Encampments; that it shall hold triennial meetings, discuss Masonic Laws, Principles and Action, etc.; but that their determinations shall have no mandatory or obligatory power save that which may be effected by the force of public opinion, based on the prestige of this organized representation from all Grand Lodges.

Whether or not such a power may not be exerted, coming from a combination, so as to give its actions the dignity almost of a law, is a question for your grave consideration. The formation of a General Grand Lodge is one which has been discussed from the period when these United States became independent, and Gen. Washington was proposed as General Grand Master. It has never met the approval of this Body, ever jealous of its dignity and rights.

Still, no one will be disposed to question the kindly result, if the representatives of the great mass of Masons in the United States could meet together, cultivate the courtesies and love of Brotherhood (without deciding the laws, landmarks and constitutions of Freemasonry), and thus effect that union of heart which is our profession.

Freemasonry is a great conservative link in that chain which should entwine the North, South, East and West; and if ever that most disastrous hour should come, when we must separate as fellow-citizens of a once glorious Union, the last tie to give way will be that strong, well-forged link, which now bands together the Freemasons of the United States as Brothers and citizens.

It is now more than sixteen years ago, that a committee, of which your now presiding officer was chairman, made a report, of which the following is an extract: —

"Your committee agree that the assembling of the delegates from the Grand Lodges, from every section of the wide domain of these States, must be, of itself, productive of great advantages to the whole Fraternity. The opportunity of interchanging sentiments among delegates, selected for their general and Masonic intelligence, will tend much to strengthen and expand the feelings of that philanthropy which is the profession as well as the practice of Masonry. If unity of action and ceremonial should not be the consequence of the deliberations of that Body, at least it will have produced unity of soul and heart, and thus their labors shall not have been in vain."

The subject is now left for your consideration. There are obstacles which may be perhaps impossible to surmount. You have some brilliant exemplifications of what may be effected by Brothers, living locally distant, being brought together, where differences in politics, religion, profession, and station are laid on the altar of the heart, and these diversities forgotten ; for, in spite of all the Rochefoucaults who have libelled humanity, in spite of all the cynics who have snarled at its character, the tendency of the knowledge of our fellow-men is to make us love mankind. The more extensive our knowledge of human nature is, the better acquainted we make ourselves among ourselves, the greater will be the indulgence towards the errors of our species, and the more will our affections become enlarged.

Recall an event of the past year for an illustration. May we not all most truthfully say, do we not all feel, that the visit of our Virginia Brethren here, and the thrilling, warm-hearted, unbounded hospitality of all Richmond extended to us there, has left such an impress on the hearts of all, that the recollection of this shall never die, that it will temper the asperities of the present and ever bind together as now, and in the times gone by, the Old Bay State and the Old Dominion?

A movement has recently been made for the "endowment of a National Institution for the maintenance and education of the widows and orphans of American Freemasons," and a Brother from Washington, at the Communication of this Grand Lodge on the 14th inst., presented the views of those who were interested and had taken the initiative in the design.

Surely the motives which prompted, the interest manifested, and the ulterior results anticipated from such an organization, if successful, will meet the hearty approval of an Order professing the practice of an enlarged philanthropy. But I have interposed the doubting word "if," as an indication of a distrust of an eventual success. Our Lodges, as associated Bodies, do not possess funds sufficient to meet such demands. Their little store can only supply the local claimants on their bounty, of the destitute around them, who have the first claim for relief. In our individual relation as Brothers, it is hoped we may freely distribute to a cause like the one proposed, and we trust that our hearts, as such, may be opened to its aid. Wishing God-speed to the fruition of the hopes of those who have espoused this undertaking, I leave this matter for your further consideration.

The reports of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodges of the United States, with few exceptions, are presented in an extended form, and are voluminous documents, especially when contrasted with the few pages which emanate from this body, and contain the names of the members of subordinate Lodges, and other matters perhaps of no general interest. They also embrace the reports of Committees on Foreign Correspondence, which, in my opinion, embody much that is valuable and important to be known by all well-informed Masons, who are interested, or should be, in the condition of this widely extended organization. Except through such a medium as these committees, how can the Brethren of this jurisdiction know of what is transpiring elsewhere? How can they be enlightened on the Masonic Jurisprudence of the several States, and on their views on questions which relate to this important subject? Might it not be well for us to present annually a resume from the Annals of Freemasonry everywhere? At least, is it not a topic worthy of your consideration?

Very recently, our Institution has lost, by death, one of its most exalted votaries, one who has occupied some of the highest social positions of life, and, loftier still, the respect of his fellow-citizens, and the love and gratitude of his Brothers in Freemasonry. Full of years, full of honors, in the ripeness of a well-spent life, he has gone to take his place among the good above; for when the body of our Brother the late Gov. Robert P. Dunlap, was committed to the earth, all felt the blessed assurance that the spirit was in heaven. It is appropriate that this Grand Lodge should notice this bereavement, as our late distinguished Brother was a member of the Order previous to the separation of Maine from Massachusetts, also District Deputy of this jurisdiction, and as many now among us were proud to claim him as their friend and associate.

During the past year, at the request of the Pilgrim Society, the corner-stone of a Monument to be erected to the memory of our fathers was laid with Masonic ceremonies by the officers of this Body; and, to further the object, that society look with expectation to the assistance of our Fraternity here and throughout our land. As individuals, I commend it to your liberality, as descendants of those who on that bleak shore raised their altars to civil and religious liberty. To the associated Bodies, who have aught to bestow from any surplusage of funds, I commend this enterprise. It will be a testimonial of their patriotism. A superstructure constructed by Masonic aid will add to the credit of your own Grand Lodge.

The accession of members has been so unprecedented that the necessary labors of the Lodge have left no intervals for the improvement of members in the lectures, or to allow of such social communion as is necessary to form the primary acquaintance, which among us should ripen to intimate friendship. Thus even prosperity has its evils. Our Institution is now under the fostering approbation of public opinion, and with this prestige great numbers are seeking admission. Is there a remedy needed for this plethora? Is it a diseased condition requiring a remedy? I am not prepared to say that there is any indication to that effect. It is not in our power to prevent applications. Any man, provided he possesses the prerequisites , can present himself as a candidate for reception. Our portals are not barred to any such. If found worthy, they are, or should be, received. Now, what should constitute that worthiness? That is the great question to determine, and it is at least questionable whether that standard has been of a sufficiently elevated character. Too many are received on qualifications wholly negative. Committees report nothing against the applicant; his moral character is unblemished, he is honest, temperate, truthful, etc., etc. All this allowed, shall such be received? Certainly not. Cannot each one of you, here assembled, call up some within the sphere of your acquaintance, who, with all the requisites thus detailed, are deficient in the heart's best feelings, the heart's best actions, and, in addition, the mind's cultivation; whose hands grasp the sordid pelf without ever opening to the plea of charity and benevolence; whose minds are as barren as their hearts; men whose souls soar not above their pockets? Such you may call Masons by name; but their nature is earthy, and earthy it will remain. They are nothingarians in Masonry — Haut nominis umbroe. Prefer the charitable, uneducated solicitor for your suffrages, to the accomplished but pernicious seeker for admission.

On the subject of admission there is one more remark which I feel compelled to make, and which I do with pain. There is a difficulty as to the reception of some who would add increased dignity and respectability to the Order, but whose social position in life, strange to assert, would be the cause of their rejection; for no man, for instance, placed in a high official station can fail to have his enemies; no man who has made himself conspicuous by the advocacy of sentiments calculated to affect the community can make himself acceptable to all. Therefore he who is almost unknown, and even illiterate, can more readily pass our portals than the refined, the learned, the public man. I speak this with regret, but from the fact, and some recent instances have strengthened my convictions of its truth.

In some of our largest Bodies committees have reported warmly in favor of applicants, and their reports sanctioned and confirmed by nearly all present, and still one has been found willing to place his personal pique against the united wishes of all his Brethren; to place a seal of condemnation on one, obviously from purely selfish considerations alone. Such a one would shake the prosperity of a Lodge, and undermine its prospects, to indulge his petty malice, irrespective of its wicked consequence; lost to all the considerations which should actuate the true man, more especially the true Mason.

Every year an invitation has been received from some subordinate Lodge, requesting the presence of the officers of this Grand Lodge on the festival of the 24th of June, which has usually been accepted. The proper observance of that day should be preserved by all Masons, but might it not be effected by less open manifestations, by less public show? The Grand Lodge should not be called on to leave the respective Bodies of which its officers are members, in order to present itself as an addition to a public show. The more unobtrusive as a Fraternity, the more we keep ourselves within our own precincts, the better. On no occasion, save an imperative Masonic one, should the Order be seen in public; and it is to be hoped that this expression of the opinion of the Chair may be considered as a sufficient indication of his individual judgment, only to be overruled by the wishes of the majority constituting his advisers.

One more remark ere closing this imperfect address, one dictated by truth, and one most agreeable to my feelings to announce. During my previous administration Germania Lodge was chartered, though not without considerable opposition from some of the most eminent of our Order; with the sincerest satisfaction it can now be thus openly stated, and in justice to the members of that Lodge it should be done, that there is not in Massachusetts one more orderly, better disciplined, or which fulfills the high mission of a Lodge more satisfactorily than this band of our Teutonic Brethren.

Once more we are gathered together under our own roof. These Halls of Masonry are ours. May they be sanctified by its influences and teachings. Here may Brotherly love be engendered and perpetuated. May the good and the true be added to its numbers, and all who shall here receive Light find it not in vain that they have sought the communion of that venerable Order whose grand characteristics are unwearied zeal in a Brother's cause, and universal benevolence. And can I better close these few remarks than in the language of one {Past Grand Master Rev. George M. Randall, D. D.} of the most ardent and pious of our members : —

"Supreme Architect of all worlds! Vouchsafe to accept our services to the glory of thy holy name! Make these walls salvation and its arch praise ! May the Brethren who shall here assemble, meet in unity, work in love, and part in harmony! May Fidelity keep the door, Faith prompt the duties, Hope animate the labors, and Charity diffuse the blessings of the Order! May Wisdom and Virtue distinguish the Fraternity, and Masonry become glorious in all the earth!"

ADDRESS AT HIRAM LODGE, DECEMBER 1856

ADDRESS AT WILDER LODGE, AUGUST 1860

ADDRESS AT THE CONSTITUTION OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD LODGE, SEPTEMBER 1860

From Proceedings, Page 1875-260:

Having been in AMPLE FORM constituted into a regular Lodge, and now prepared to enter on the performance of duties, serious and important, — duties, as they may be well or ill executed, exercising a most influential result on the character of Massachusetts Masonry; permit me to offer a very few remarks at this outset of your career, some suggestions on the best policy of your future course — some cautions to guide your prospective path. Your locality is near the ocean, and many of you go down to the sea and do business on the great waters. Those whose "home is on the wave," who visit distant lands, who intermingle with men of all nations and of all tongues, will find themselves, more particularly than any others, benefited by their connection with an Institution, the language of which is universal; which appeals at once to the hearts and the sympathies of the initiated, wherever recognized, and in most every maritime port where commerce spreads her sails, this recognition will be manifested. From many personal experiences in many parts of Europe, I know nothing more grateful to the lonely traveller than, emerging from the solitude of the inn, to enter into a Lodge and be received and welcomed by Brothers. A Lodge-room in a foreign land is an oasis to him amidst the desert of his loneliness. He who has the honor to address you has been of the Order in times of its deepest adversity, participated in the sacrifices then demanded and cheerfully offered up, and has also been cheered by the bright culmination of its present meridian splendor. Thus aware of the quicksands of danger, as well as of the calm sea of prosperity, both requiring the vigilant and careful navigator, permit him, in nautical similitudes, to show you the track which leads to the welcome port, and, ere you launch your untried bark, to furnish a few outfits, that your voyage shall be prosperous and happy.

The Freemason, like the mariner, has certain fixed points, — the first, a series of principles to guide him, from which he is not to deviate, and the seaman, also, has bis mind and eye directed to conspicuous capes, projections and lights, which, ever watchful in observing, can never mislead. With both, they are called landmarks; and the career, whether of prosperity or adversity, depends on the strictness with which they are watched and their monitions followed. Our landmarks are not of sand, disappearing and washed away by storms, but immutable monuments, piled up on sure foundations, cemented by the best architects. On your course, keep these ever in view; direct your craft steadily by their guidance; let it not be misled by neglect or ignorance. Let the Masonic mariner have his eye to these beacon-lights to point his voyage. They will soon improve the common sailor to the perfect Master, and promote the forecastle man to the quarter-deck. Regard the Constitutions from which you have taken your ship's papers, as every nautical man does his Bowditch's Navigator — the book by which he is both instructed and guided. Examine it carefully, follow its details and requirements, and on no account deviate from what is there laid down. It was prepared by the judgment and sagacity of the best and most experienced of our pilots, and the most venerable of our helmsmen; the result of long practical experience, and for the guidance of our ancient bark, which has ever stood A 1 on the Lloyds' Books of the. Masonic world.

Seek not to increase the mere numerical force of your crew, for the show of numbers only. They burthen the vessel, and impede its progress. They are in the way, ever. They are dead weights, and it is much better to have a well-trimmed ship, with an onward course, than one too deeply and heavily laden, that can make no progress. Let your ship-list be made up of good men and true, worthy and well qualified.

Let them be well tried on their first voyage, apprentices duly entered into the mysteries of their profession, before passing to the responsibilities of second mate; so that, when raised to the high station of a Master, they may adorn their profession, and strengthen their Craft.

From the non-observance of that wise maxim, "Hasten slowly," how many have stumbled, become confused, utterly useless! They have shipped in a hurry; made a brief voyage; seen many objects, but remember none; heard words which have left no impress, and reach the shore without knowing a rope in the ship. To such the finis is "stale, flat and unprofitable."

There is a caution which I would especially enforce on your minds, that is: be extremely cautious in showing the private signals of the craft. You may do it in danger or for practice in the cabin — but remember to answer all signals reciprocally, giving and receiving in due form. As to the qualifications of your officers, of course they should all be good sailors, with a knowledge of their various duties. Everything immovable, or movable, well understood; perfect in those actions which conduce to correct navigation. What they have to say, let them do it distinctly, audibly, emphatically. All of them should possess a good, natural speaking-trumpet, so that their orders and instructions may reach and be heard in the forecastle.

In the first place, attend to the construction and the furnishing of the good ship in which you are to meet as fellow-voyagers. Ever have before you, on your binnacle, the Great Chart of Salvation, directing your course by which, you will find your paths o'er the varied ocean of life paths of pleasantness and of peace, and by it be conducted to the haven where you would be, a harbor sheltered from every storm, and where the weary mariner shall be at endless rest.

On this Chart let the Compasses rest with the Square. Apply the compasses ever to your duties, and square your actions by that rule and direction ever pointed out by your infallible chart and guide. When assembled, neglect not to seek the protection of Him who "rules the tempest and directs the storm." No voyage can prosper without His approving smile. Put your trust in Him, and though your bark be foundered and sink, and the crew "in the deep bosom of the ocean buried," the ethereal essence shall not descend, but soar aloft, and beyond the power of change, to rest forever.

Be careful and attend that you have three lights. These form no requisite for ordinary vessels, but Masonic navigation has a very peculiar track; its watchmen never sleep. One of these lights must be at the stern, another at the bows, and the third on the larboard. At the stern, on the quarter-deck, with a watchful eye to the rudder, stands that officer whose wisdom directs your every proceeding. As every Masonic craft, when properly moored, should lie in a position due East and West, you are to look aft for that light which is to direct you. As at the stern are the rudder, the compass, the quarter-deck, the better decorated apartments, so here in your East you place your wisdom. The strength you concentrate more in the bow, that, duly fortified, the noble ship will dash unhurt through the resisting wave, and stem the storm of opposition. The beauty of your structure you exhibit on the side. Its fair proportions from thence are better determined. From stem to stern its graceful proportional lines are more extensively visible, and you very naturally deem the voice of the officer there particularly agreeable, as he pipes from labor to refreshment, perhaps even, on emergencies, to splice the main-brace.

Under these rapidly-sketched nautical similitudes, these few words are now addressed for your consideration. Consider their import, pardon their imperfections. Steer by the compass which points to the right, and you will attain success.. May your voyage be ever cheered by favoring gales and .smooth seas; your ship ever well manned and trimmed, ready for the storm as the calm, and may Heaven smile on your course, and conduct you to happiness here and hereafter; and, as sings the poet of the sea, the ship and the sailor, that

"There's a bright little cherub that sits up aloft,
And watches the life of poor Jack,"

so rest assured that your Great Captain, the arbiter of life and death, will ever smile on his children, when associated to promote Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.

The ceremonies necessary for organizing another band of Brothers as a constituent portion of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, being now completed, it only devolves on me to say a few words. Yours is the second Island Lodge which has ever been formed in this State, the first being Union Lodge, of Nantucket, the Charter of which dates back now nearly ninety years,— a Lodge which has ever sustained the highest reputation, never yielding to the pressure of the storm of opposition, but always enforcing the dignity of the Order, by the reputation of its members, and the practice of its benign principles.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GRAND LODGE OF VIRGINIA, DECEMBER 1860

From Proceedings, Page VI-345; December 10, 1860, correspondence with the Grand Lodge of Virginia:

M W. (John R. McDaniels) G. Master of the Gd. Lodge of Virginia.

Dear Brother.

The period has arrived (alas! that it should ever be so.) when it behoves every one who has lived and flourished under the benign influence of our glorious Union, to exert his best endeavors to obviate that sad impulse which threatens its dissolution. In the relations of fellow-citizens of a wide spread republic, our efforts have proved ineffectual. Fanaticism is the predominate demon, and the ties which have bound the South and North so long together, which carried them shoulder to shoulder in the days of our fathers, and have continued them in their prosperity as a United Nation, are now in preparation to be severed.

It is too late to avert the calamity. Is there nought remains of conservatism to be tried? Have we not an institution which binds us together not only as fellow citizens but as Brothers, and as Brothers can we lacerate those pledges, the foundation of our Faith & Practice? Therefore may we not look to it as a strong element to allay the bitter anguish of these dark days in our Nation's History?

It was my good fortune to visit Richmond with a band of our Order, and to witness and feel the mighty operation which cemented the hearts of all the participants on that occasion.

The influences of that meeting are ineffaceable the impress indelible, with such feelings of so powerful a fraternization, how disunion must pall the hearts of those whose affections as Brothers are so warmed towards those so dear to them in Virginia, and as one I was resolved to pour out my own, and to express to you what I deem to be, the predominate sentiment in Boston, if not, in the whole jurisdiction over which I have the honor to preside, and I assure my dear Brother, that we cling to you, not only as Brothers, but as Fellow-citizens; and may that evil day be far removed, when Virginia and Massachusetts, the States which gave to our country a Washington and a Franklin and to Freemasonry two of its brightest lights, shall be found opposed as enemies, and severed as components of United States.

May God avert that terrible issue: and may He instills into the hearts of all of our Order, the observance of that precept of his Holy Word, that first before to every neophyte in Free-masonry. "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity," and may all under your fraternal jurisdiction, demonstrate by their acts, that in the "Old Dominion" fellow citizens, and Brotherly Love, as Masons shall now, in this the perilous hour, as heretofore under the days of prosperity, be their aim and Resolve. — "So mote it be."

ADDRESS AT THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN, DECEMBER 1860

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol XX, No. 4, February 1861, Page 99:

The period has now arrived which releases me from my official relation to this Grand Lodge, and the arduous duties which have peculiarly devolved on me during the past year. I say peculiarly, for, as the Presiding Head of Templarism in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, at a time when more was required to administer that office than ever before, or is likely to be again, the duties imposed were unprecedented, and called for a devotion of time and labor, which literally precluded much attention to anything else. But, reviewing the connexion of thirty years with the Order, in times of its prosperity and adversity, sustaining official positions in its various departments throughout this long period, and now retiring from all, still this connexion has been the principal source of my life's happiness, excepting none but those of my domestic relations. It has brought to me the truest, the best, the most devoted of friendships, and the fond regard which hangs on the memories of those who have gone, the fraternal ties which still bind me to those who are spared, will smooth the declining path and still cheer the few years that may remain. And, in this, a valedictory address, as it is the last occasion I shall ever speak officially, it may not be deemed out of place to thus publicly allude to one, who to me has ever been the unwearied friend — to every Mason in Massachusetts the able counsellor, and to this Grand Lodge the very best supporter. Without that profound judgment, that unerring Masonic knowledge and sagacity which have ever distinguished your Recording Grand Secretary, the labors of the Grand Master could not have been sustained,— without that friendly mentor to guide, without that "greater light," the Chair could not have been supported.

On this, our annual meeting, on this, the day consecrated to Freemasonry everywhere, when all has been well with us, and increasing prosperity and union, with every attendant blessing, have favored the cause, let us not forget our gratitude to that Being, without whose favor neither individuals or associations prosper. He has given to us in his mercy, and also in like mercy, He hath taken away. In the fullness of years, and in the fullness of Faith and excellence, he has removed two venerable Brethren from the roll of our Permanent Members — Clarke Gayton Pickman, who died May 12th, and Paul Dean, who left us, for a higher communion, Oct. 1, 1860. Both were called suddenly, and we have full assurance they were not unprepared. They were both faithful to their God while here, and their faith has terminated, we may humbly trust, in a blessed fruition.

Clarke Gayton Pickman, graduated at Harvard University in 1811, being a classmate of the Hon. Edward Everett and others who have distinguished themselves in the various positions of society. He was a good scholar; his life was passed in study and seclusion. He was a lover of books, and his valuable collection he bequeathed to his Alma Mater. A constitutional infirmity which clouded his mind, and impaired an active usefulness, caused him to shrink from society; but his heart was ever employed in dispensing that bounty which his ample means allowed,— his hand was open as day to melting charity.

Prompted towards the Masonic Institution as a worker for good, he early entered into, and ever esteemed it. He presided over St. John's Lodge, and many can recur to the force and eloquence of his charges to the candidates. He was Junior Warden of this Grand Lodge, and a punctual attendant at its meetings. He formed no domestic ties. He lived the life of loneliness. The Christian's Faith and Hope were his supports. They alone upheld him in the despondency .of his mental malady, and pointed to happier skies.

Of our revered and reverend Brother, the late Paul Dean, to speak in the fullness which his long labors deserve, would call for an abler pen and a higher power. His lung official position in the Order, embracing all its departments; his energy, devotion and intrepidity in its cause, when its defenders were few, its opponents many,— his integrity of life, his social, his Christian excellencies, have all left their impress on the minds and hearts of every Brother. His name will stand high on the list of those who have presided over this Body, and added lustre to the institution. I trust that appropriate notice will be taken in this Grand Lodge, and that our records shall bear the sense of its members, on this their great bereavement.

A year has now passed since the first occupancy of these halls of Freemasonry. They have proved to be convenient and admirably adapted for the purposes for which they were dedicated—inferior to none, as to taste and elegance.

The property owned by the Grand Lodge, and invested in the Winthrop House and Freemasons' Hall, is not only of great value, but every year will increase it in this respect; and, prospectively, it will become a source of a very large income. The sale of the Masonic Temple and the purchase of this building was effected by the labor, perseverance and judgment of a few, after a protracted opposition,—and it is to be hoped that those few will not be forgotten, when succeeding years shall harvest the result of their energy and prescience.

A splendid organ, built by Simmons and Wilcox, having nearly 2000 pipes, has added to the beauty of this Hall in its architectural excellence, and given impressive effect to the ceremonies. Let me urge upon every Masonic Body to add the influence of Music to their meetings. It has an irresistible power on the heart,—attunes it to its best emotions.

The subject of Masonic Libraries is one which appears proper for the consideration of every Lodge. The press is teeming with publications on Freemasonry. That there are many, very many, which had better be committed to the stoves, is vividly true. They would thus do more good in warming the body, than in imparting in any way intelligence to the mind. Most of these are urged upon the Fraternity by such a pertinacity of application, that the itinerant venders have become nuisances on the time and patience of the Brethren. But let not these preclude the acquiring of those works, so essential to every one who aspires* to be an intelligent member of the Order. The productions of Dr. Oliver, Moore, Mackay, and many others, from the most enlightened of the Brethren; the voluminous London Masonic Magazine, the Latomia of Leipsic, the Revue Maçonnique of Paris, the Proceedings, especially, of the Grand Lodges of the U. S. should be accessible to every one desirous of a knowledge of the History, Principles, Practices and Jurisprudence of our widespread institution.

I regret in this connection to add, that the Brethren under this jurisdiction have not that information given to them, which in imparted to all subordinates of other Grand Lodges, through a Committee on Foreign Correspondence, where an analysis is given of all the important transactions of those Bodies. It is my opinion that the most venerable, and certainly not the least influential, of the Grand'Lodges of the U.S. should not lack in this very essential particular, bat that an able committee should annually promulgate to its members and constituents all such information as would enlighten them on those particulars, which should interest every Mason in Massachusetts.

Among the appointed officers in this Body is the Corresponding G. Secretary. From him should be derived information in regard to other Grand Lodges; the more necessary, as we hold no official relation with them, not having adopted the representative system, which has so extensively become the medium of fraternal intercommunication, and which, I believe, can now be productive of much good, and therefore endorse the sentiment of the Grand Master of Illinois, that this system will supercede the reasons claimed by the friends of a General Grand Body. I have received during the past year a diploma from the Grand Lodge accrediting a member of this Grand Lodge as their representative here, and also another from Dr. Leigham, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Unity, of Frankfort on Main, requesting a similar reciprocity. These documents are herewith submitted.

From the want of some more intimate, relation with our Brethren of the Grand Lodges of this continent and Europe, our Library, which should afford the most ample recourse for Masonic information, is barren. Our collection of Masonic literature is respectable, but the transactions of Grand Bodies are very incomplete,—and more singular still, there is no full set of our own transactions. It should not be so.

My very able predecessor, whose every suggestion for the advance and prosperity of this Grand Lodge, evinced sagacity and judgment; urged the importance of forming Lodges of Instruction in the several Districts of the jurisdiction, as being the best measure to diffuse a correct knowledge of the Work and Lectures. These would form both pleasant and profitable re-unions among members of different Lodges, and I cordially reiterate his recommendation. One has recently been formed at Cambridgeport, under the auspices of the Brethren of Amicable Lodge, a body which enrolls as much Masonic intelligence as any of those in which I have had the honor to be officially interested. They have selected a good name and title, being the "John T. Heard Lodge of Instruction."

The Reports from the District Deputies are exceedingly encouraging. They show that the Order is flourishing, not only by numerical increase, but by the more gratifying fact, that there is a very decided improvement in the knowledge of the Work and Lectures. So much is this so, that during the year the Grand Lecturers have not been called to visit but very few. Their labors of the preceding years were not in vain: what they planted has produced the best fruits. I should commit an injustice both to my own sentiments and what is eminently due from this Grand Lodge, not to mention with gratitude the labors so well fulfilled by the District Deputy Grand Masters. Their duties are arduous and highly responsible. They have been successfully administered. In behalf of all the components of the Grand Lodge, I most cordially thank them.

The Dist. Dep. G. Master of the 2d Masonic District, with that liberality which has ever characterized him: with that enlarged generosity in his every relation as a Mason, a citizen, and as a man, has refused any compensation for his expenditures in behalf of the Grand Lodge. To him this gilt may seem but a small matter, undeserving of this public acknowledgment. But as this is not the solitary, but only one of a thousand kindred acts, I shall not forbear this justice to his worth, though it may be repugnant to his delicacy.

The increase of initiates has been very large. In 1857 the number was 1092; in 1858, 951; in 1859, 1188; in 1860, 1323—making 136 more during the present than last year, which was unusually large. The following Dispensations for new Lodges have been granted daring the past year, viz:—

  • July 25. John Warren Lodge, Hopkintoo, to Frederic H. Wakefield and others.
  • August 3. Dalhousie Lodge, Newtonville, to Wm. D. Coolidge and thirty-five others.
  • August 23. Pacific Lodge, Amherst, to Henry Bridgman and others.
  • Oct. 10. Hancock Lodge, Metbuen, to Stephen Huse and thirteen others. '
  • Dec. 13. Aberdour Lodge, Boston, to Joseph E. Billings, P. Adams Ames, and others.

Masonic Halls have been dedicated and Lodges constituted -at the following places:—

  • Jan. 10. Dedicated Hall at Milford.
  • Feb. 7. Dedicated Hall at Brighton.
  • Feb. 21. Dedicated Hall at E. Weymouth.
  • March 20. Dedicated and constituted Pilgrim Lodge at Harwich.
  • March 26. Dedicated and constituted Caleb Butler Lodge at S. Groton.
  • July 10. Dedicated and constituted {David} Wilder Lodge at Leominster. (sic)
  • Sept. 23. Dedicated Hall and constituted John Cutler Lodge, Abington.
  • Sept. 18. Dedicated Hall and constituted Martha's Vineyard Lodge, Tisbury.
  • Sept. 27. Dedicated Hall and constituted Orange Lodge, Orange.
  • Oct. 5. Dedicated Hall and constituted Oxford Lodge, Oxford.
  • Oct. 27. Dedicated Hall by Special Deputy Wyzeman Marshall, at Foxboro.
  • Oct. 16. Dedicated Hall by Special Dep. United Brethren, Marlboro.
  • Dec. 13. Charters were granted to Quinebaug Lodge, Southbridge, and Hammatt Lodge, East Boston. These are to be soon constituted by my successor.

From the foregoing statement, it will be manifest that the year has been one of unprecedented activity, and of success, if numbers enter into the estimation of success. There have been many rejected. Let me urge upon you to make the standard of admission so high, that the composition of your Lodges be such, as to reflect honor on the institution. Without particularizing those qualities evidently indispensable for admission, as a useful life, an unwavering troth, an unblemished reputation, I beg you, for your peace, to regard the disposition of the applicant. See to it, that it is courteous, amiable, free from acrimony and causticity, temperate in discussion, cautious in the imputations of wrong intentions; in abort, that it depart not by word or deed from the sphere of the gentleman and the Brother. He who has not his passions in due subjection among bis Brethren, may prove a firebrand in the Lodge, inflaming and destroying the sacred edifice, by the unhallowed torch of an uncontrolled and devastating passion. To such a one a fool is preferable, for there is no general suffering from his stupidity, while the first may point a shaft of poisoned words to wound the whole of your numbers.

Remember that we gather here, remember that wherever Masons meet, it is around an altar, as Brothers of a Brotherhood extensive aa the earth. Holy is that communion here, the essential teaching of which is of that commandment, which enjoins to "love thy neighbour as thyself." Among us all, may that true fraternal spirit and practice be so engendered and prevail, that it may inspire our hearts, as members of a great community, to those kindly feelings towards all of our fellow-citizens of this wide-spread land, which will conduce to the harmony and the preservation of a glorious Union. It is not out of place to say, that our institution may do much in this relation. " Peace on earth, good will to men," is the great oonslitnent of Freemasonry. Therefore, introducing here no caustic allusion to sectional differences, no subject of political diversities, we can and should, as wielding a most powerful conservative influence, urge upon all of the household of our Faith, to cast the oil from our altars, o'er the troubled waters of political and sectional strife. It is those who meet, as we here are met, where differences are buried, acrimonies subdued, who can be powerful for so much general good, who hold in their hands the Olive Branch of Peace, who cherish in their hearts the warmest, widest philanthropy. With those feelings, unrestricted by space, undivided by local peculiarities, pray for the peace of our Zion, for the perpetuity of the Union, for the consequent prosperity of our country, and for the continuance of those fraternal lies which, God grant, may be long continued to us all, whether of the North or South, East or West, all fellow-citizens and as Brothers.

As Presiding Officer of the Grand Lodge, my work is now done,— younger, wiser and belter to succeed me, but none to whom I can yield, in devotion to the interests of the institution, or in love to all that concerns Massachusetts Masonry. To those who have been so long associated with me, the companions of my earlier and later days, I tender the assurance of my regard and gratitude, and trust they may long be spared to adorn the Order. Especially am I indebted to the officers of this year, who have lightened (he labors, and cheered the official toils which devolved on the Chair. May a kind Providence smile on each and all of you, and continue that protection and snecess which have ever blessed our good cause.

MEMORIAL FOR PAUL DEAN IN GRAND CHAPTER, DECEMBER 1860

ADDRESS AT ESSEX LODGE, OCTOBER 1862

LIBRARY COMMITTEE REPORT, DECEMBER 1864

From Proceedings, Page VI-544; December 13, 1864, report of Library Committee:

The Com. on the Library of the G. Lodge are compelled to present a Report on that which is not extant on those things which now "are among the things that were now to be catalogued as res non inventi non existentibus.

All that was, of a really excellent Library, so recently a proud monument of the literature of Freemasonry, belonging to this G. Lodge is burned among the ashes and rubbish of our Temple. That collection of Masonic Works, was a valuable one, collected by the labors of years. Most of it was the gift of two of the Brethren, and towards it this Body paid but a small sum. It was insured for $400. The Com. however have to congratulate the Fraternity (it being accidentally in the hands of the binder) that the most rare work, and of which no other perfect copy can be found, the Masonic Mirror, was preserved. It consists of two folio, and seven quarto volumes. It embodies all the details of that exciting period when Anti-Masonry was rampant and utter downfall, death and everlasting interment.

The Directors of the Corporation have placed the amount received from the insurance, in the hands of the Com. on the Library, and already many works have been purchased, and several donations have been made, and the Com. would express in behalf of this G. Lodge their thanks to the G. Lodge of Maryland, Ohio, Illinois and Louisiana for their donations of copies of their transactions.

A Masonic Library cannot now be readily obtained. It is a well known fact, that works on the subject of Freemasonry, are eagerly sought for, and obtain large prices and that several of the Brethren in this jurisdiction, have at a great expense, their private collections which have been obtained after much research, at the cost of much time and expenditure of money. Moreover, our Library cannot be enlarged by purchase, at this time, of foreign works, on account of the enhanced cost of importation.

The Com. therefore, look to their Masonic Brethren for their voluntary contributions, surely there should be a response from all, who are or should be interested in this matter.

The Com. are willing to contribute all their attention and care, to effect so desirable an object—a catalogue has been already prepared and every book and pamphlet registered and a column denoting the name of the donor of each gift. They trust to see that column filled with the names of the ardent lovers of the Order, and its interests, and among these interests should be the founding of a storehouse of Masonic Literature.

PRESENTATION AT INSTALLATION OF CHARLES W. MOORE LODGE, OCTOBER 1866

NOTES

CHARTERS GRANTED

1855-1856:

1860:

CHARTERS RESTORED

1855-1856:


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