MAGLCRobbins
CHARLES H. ROBBINS
From the collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
Junior Grand Warden, 1859
MEMORIAL
From Proceedings, Page 1871-72
"The scythe of time is constantly mowing its swath, and one after another we are launched into eternity, and the same time which cuts the brittle thread obliterates all traces of its ravages. The place which knew us knows us no more, and the busy world goes round and round, and the scythe of time continues to mow on and on, cutting down the constantly renewed crops of humanity.
"Knowing all this, and that whatever record we may make, it will by time be blotted out and all memory and all knowledge of our departed Brethren be lost forever, we still, as the bright examples among us pass away, continue to praise their virtues and mourn their departure. We do this, not with the hope of immortalizing their memories ; we do it as an act of justice to ourselves and justice to the institution of which we have so much reason to be proud. We also do it as a protest against the unfeeling forgetfulness of the busy outside world. No! The Brother who has eaten with us at the social board and knelt at the same altar, who has tenderly led the faltering steps of the Apprentice and stimulated the zeal of the Master Mason, shall not be forgotten as soon as he is out of sight. We will place his virtues on record, though the record may not prove perpetual. How sweet, how lasting, how unalloyed, is the true Masonic friendship ! The strifes of politics and religious sects do not mar it; pounds and pence do not debase it. It is as steady and true as a mother's love for her child; as trusting as the child's love for its mother.
"The capacity to inspire just such a friendship was a chief characteristic of Brother Robbins. His Masonic friendships were 'linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection.' He was, for nearly forty years, the keeper of the House of Correction for Suffolk County, and was so strict a disciplinarian that the unobserving might hastily say, 'Such a life makes a hard heart.' But it was not so. The administration of his official duties illustrated the four cardinal virtues : Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice, softened by the tenets of his profession, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. How much of that success which made his institution the model one of its kind was due to his Masonic discipline and Masonic teachings will never be known.
"Few of the new members of this Grand Lodge knew our departed Brother, though he was for many years one of the most ardent and active of our number. He was a Doric pillar. Single-minded, truthful, he talked from the heart. He had great strength of will and fixedness of purpose. The strong man had to yield at last. The great heart has ceased to beat. To the last he enjoyed the 'happy reflection consequent on a well-spent life, and died in the hope of a glorious immortality.'
"He was Past Master and honorary member of St. John's Lodge, honorary member of What Cheer Lodge, of Providence, R.I, and an active and honorary member of Winslow Lewis Lodge. In December, 1858, he was elected Junior Grand Warden of this Grand Lodge. He was also Past Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
"Your committee recommend the adoption of the following resolution: —
"Resolved, That while accepting the foregoing as a just tribute to the memory of our beloved Brother Charles Robbins, we do not forget to sympathize with the members of his family in their affliction; and that a copy of this report and resolution be sent to his bereaved wife, as evidence of the respect of his Brethren towards him.
BENJ. DEAN,
R. M. FIELD,
CHARLES EDWARD POWERS,
Committee.
