him?" says the Apostle John (1 John iii. 17). A prominent place was also assigned to this duty and its reward, in the teaching of our Lord Himself when He was upon the earth. "Then said He also to him that bade Him," when He sat at meat in the house of one of the chief Pharisees, "When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just" (Luke xiv. 12-14). No language could be stronger as to the importance of this duty, none could more strikingly set forth the advantage accruing from its discharge, and the fearful danger incurred by neglect of it, than that of the following account of the proceedings of the day of judgment. "When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all His holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto Inasmuch as ye you, have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. Then shall He

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say unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to on of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. xxv. 31-46). We have also an admirable and most affecting exhibition of this duty, with its limits defined, or rather its unlimited extent exhibited, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a parable which has long been one of the portions of Scripture most frequently read in meetings of Freemasons, and dwelt upon in masonic charges, with reference to the important rule of duty now under consideration. "And behold a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he, answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus, answering, said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:

and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him: and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise" (Luke x. 25-37). Here we have a beautiful illustration of the rule which we are now called to consider. We see charity displayed as triumphing over ancient, hereditary, and deep-rooted prejudices; over antipathies of race, antipathies connected with difference of religion. We see it displayed as exerting itself for the relief of distress, without regard to anything but the greatness of that distress, and in the way most suitable for its relief, not exceeding the amount of liberality which the occasion demanded, but fully extending to that amount, nothing lacking, and nothing superfluous. "Go, and do thou likewise," is the command to each of us; a command which it will be our wisdom and our happiness, as much as it is our duty, to obey. Occasions are continually presenting themselves for obeying it, in endless variety of form, yet with essential similarity. Let us seek to discover what it is kindest and best to do, what is really requisite for a brother's relief, and how it can be afforded in the way most for his benefit, and with tender consideration of his feelings, as well as compassion for his distress. The brother whom we have long known, and we have always found worthy of respect, has special claims on our regard; but the stranger, otherwise friendless, ought ever to find in every brother Mason a true and helpful friend.

There are, however, many ways in which help or relief may be afforded to the distressed, besides that of giving money, or some equivalent for it, such as lodging, clothing, or food. To lend money may often be an act of greater,

because of more judicious, kindness than to give it; if, for example, the stranger who applies to us in his need, has resources in his own country, of which he may ere long avail himself; or if a loan of money, such as we can afford, will enable a brother to enter upon some profitable employment, and relieve him from what in that case may be regarded as temporary embarrassment and destitution. One of the passages above quoted from the law of Moses, speaks of lending as well as of giving; and it is also written in the Book of Proverbs :-" Give to him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. It is often, no doubt, much easier to give than to lend; the thing is done at once, and there is no more trouble about it, whereas the loan requires subsequent attention, and perhaps not a little attention, if it is to be repaid by small instalments, but in this way a kindly interest is maintained on the part of the benefactor towards the brother whom he assists, and as he watches over him, he enjoys no small reward in seeing his perseverance and the success of his efforts. That feeling of honourable independence which is an excellent feature of character, is thus also better maintained; whilst in a good heart, the feeling of gratitude is called forth to as great a degree as it could be by any gift, however liberal.

Nor are the giving and lending of money or of anything that money can purchase, the only means by which a distressed or sinking brother may be aided. Moral support is often as valuable as material support, or even more valuable. If we have reason to think that a brother is suffering from calumny, we may often render him most important service by showing him countenance, making it evident that we do not allow any evil report concerning him to influence our feelings or our conduct, and doing this openly, so that it may be seen by all the world. He is thus encouraged still to hold up his head, contending bravely against what is often one of the sorest of trials; and others, influenced by our example, may probably be induced to act towards him with more kindness than they would otherwise do. Nay, even if a brother has been

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overtaken in a fault, we may often do him an inestimable service, by not casting him off and forsaking him, but showing that we still trust in his promises of amendment, that we look upon the fault which he has committed as owing to some sudden and powerful temptation, and not as growing out of his general disposition or character. who is ready to despair of himself, may thus again be encouraged to hope, and so to make new efforts in order to retrieve his position. The countenance kindly accorded in such a case may be of a value not to be reckoned in silver or gold; it may soothe the greatest distress, and contribute to the welfare of the whole remainder of a man's life, restoring happiness also, it may be, to an afflicted family.

II. THAT THE FOOT OF A MASTER MASON SHOULD NEVER HALT IN THE PURSUIT OF DUTY.

It is a rule equally to be observed as to all duties, that for their right performance there must be earnestness and perseverance in the pursuit of them. Moreover, there is no moment of life, nor can there ever be, except when the mental faculties are disordered, or when the exercise of all the powers of nature is suspended by sleep, in which there is not some present duty calling for our utmost attention and diligence. The rule indicated by this second point of the star in the symbol now before us, relates equally to all duties; it specifies no one more than another, and makes no enumeration of them. It merely calls us to consider, what it is most necessary we should everbear in mind, that we have duties at all times, in which our foot should run, with no laggard or halting step, but with alacrity and perseverance. These duties belong to all the various relations of life; we have duties to ourselves, in the cultivation of our own minds, and in seeking increase of knowledge, in the restraint of our appetites, and the government of our passions; we have duties to our families,