upon it at once, and to discharge all its duties as he did. It is ever thus; the vacant place is never absolutely and exactly filled. A worthy man makes a place for himself, it may be said, rather than finds one. He devises schemes of usefulness, he exerts himself, he engages others to co-operate with him in his work, but without his guidance and without his active labour, it seems as if all would at once come to a stand. It does not, however. Although no one takes his place, to be all that he was, and to do all that he has done, the good works which he originated and to which he devoted his strength, are still carried on. One does one part, and one another, each finding a new place for himself, and a sphere of usefulness; for all are under the guidance of a higher wisdom, and are impelled to exertion by the same grace which was bestowed on him whose example they delight to follow. It is as when from some disease or injury, one of the great arteries of the limbs needs to be tied; the circulation of the blood through it is arrested, but presently vessels on every side begin to enlarge so that they may convey the necessary quantity of blood, and thus the loss is supplied. Or, when a tree of the forest falls, another tree does not at once spring up in its place, in like stateliness and luxuriance; but neighbouring trees increase in growth, and extend their branches, whilst new saplings occupy the ground, and ere long there is no vacancy any longer. The death of a much-esteemed and respected brother not only calls to thought of our duties in general, but specially to the consideration of the question, what new duties arise to us from this event?-what may properly be expected of us now which was not expected, because not necessary, before?

CHAPTER LXXXII.

MASONIC SYMBOLS.-THE FIVE-POINTED STAR.

A STAR with five points is employed as a symbol to remind Masons of five important rules always to be observed; viz:

First,-That a Master Mason should not withdraw his hand from a sinking brother.

Second, That his foot should never halt in the pursuit of duty.

Third, That his prayers should ascend for the distressed.

Fourth,-That a faithful breast conceals the faults and the secrets of a brother.

Fifth, That approaching evil is frequently averted by a friendly admonition.

The five points of the symbolic star are equidistant from the centre, and regularly disposed so that the distances. between them are equal. Five lines radiate from the centre to each of the five points, and each line is prolonged a shorter distance beyond the centre, all equally; and from each of the points, lines are drawn to the extremities of the two lines from other points which terminate next to it, one on one side and one on the other, so that five figures like lance-heads are formed, of which the one side is black and the other white, each of these figures being equally divided into two parts by the line which proceeds to its apex from the centre of the star. This diversity of colour, the most extreme possible, represents the difference between observing the good masonic rules indicated by the points and neglecting them. The equal distance of all the points from the centre directs our attention to the equal importance of the five great rules of which this symbol is

intended to keep us in mind. A good and worthy Mason must pay constant regard to them all.

Let us now consider these rules in their order.

I. THAT A MASTER MASON SHOULD NOT WITHDRAW HIS HAND FROM A SINKING BROTHER.

It is one of the chief excellences of Freemasonry that charity and brotherly-kindness are constantly inculcated in its lessons, and that the duty of relieving the wants of any distressed brother is strongly impressed upon every member of the Masonic Brotherhood. A Mason is not, indeed, bound to give indiscriminately, without regard to the worthiness of the Brother needing relief, or to the causes by which his distress has been produced. Nor is he bound to give so freely as to impoverish himself and his own family. He is to be prudent in his liberality, but he is to be liberal according to his ability; and although it is right that he should give most freely when he knows his distressed brother to be worthy, and that the cause of distress was not profligacy of any kind, nor even imprudence, but unavoidable misfortune, yet he is not to be too rigid or severe in his judgment of his brother's case, but must extend his hand for his relief so as to preserve him if possible from sinking into utter and hopeless ruin.

The duty of relieving the distressed is enjoined in many passages of Holy Scripture, and very encouraging promises are made concerning the discharge of it; whilst the character of the man who selfishly neglects it, is held up to reprobation. "Wash you, make you clean," says the Lord by the Prophet Isaiah, "put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge the fatherless; plead for the widow" (Isa. i. 16, 17). "Is not this the fast that I have chosen?" says the Lord by the same prophet, "to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to

the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedly; and thy righteousness shall go before thee: the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (Isa. lviii. 6-11). In the Book of Proverbs we read:-" He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth Him hath mercy on the poor" (Prov. xiv. 31). "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again" (Prov. xix. 16). "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor" (Prov. xxii. 9). "He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse" (Prov. xxviii. 27). "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Prov. xvii. 15). "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (Prov. xi. 24, 25). And in the law of Moses we find it written :-"If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates, in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy

wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nought, and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land" (Deut. xv. 7-11). Again:

"When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing" (Deut. xxiv. 19-22). The heart must be cold which is not affected by these precepts; the mind must be dark and perverse which does not admire the excellence of the rules which they contain.

If we turn to the New Testament, we shall see the duty of relieving the distressed inculcated as plainly as in the Old. "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love . . . Distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality," says the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (Rom. xii. 10, 13). And in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we read:-"To do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Heb. xiii. 16). "Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in