1 r- J — ii— 7f \hH iii MFttMi m I c s ^^^ ^L~ &-./S& 5 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. t — T ;tD & — j I UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. | Baltimore, Md., June 16, 1851. We have every confidence in Brother P. Donaldson, who has long been connected with the literature of our Order. His Text Book, just published by Moss & Brother, of Philadelphia, is a work which we cheerfully recommend to all Lodges, and all Members of the Order. "While it gives all the information desirable, for the use of our Fraternity, it is a Book, which, at the same time, may be read with interest by our wives and children. Signed, THOMAS WILDEY, Past Grand Sire, and founder of the Order in the United States. JAS. L. RIDGELY, B. W. G. Secretary Grand Lodge IT. S. GEO. S. MORRIS, G. M. G. L. State of Pennsylvania. WM. CURTIS, Grand Secretary G. L. State of Pennsylvania. RECOMMENDATIONS. The subjoined Recommendations, from a number of Lodges and prominent men of the Order of Odd-Fellows, are a few of the many which the author of the Text-Book has received. The publishers take pleasure in submitting the evidence they afford of the estimation in which the writer of this work is held by the Fraternity. " P.G. Donaldson is one of our most worthy and active Odd- Fellows. His knowledge of Odd-Fellowship well fits him for the duties of an expositor of its principles. His addresses are instructive, and much good has been derived from them. The undersigned commend Bro. D. to the friendly regards of the Brotherhood, as being a true Odd-Fellow and a worthy and in- telligent man, whose acquaintance the members will be pleased to make ; and any attention shown to him will be appreciated and cheerfully reciprocated by the undersigned. "JOS. R. TAYLOR, Grand-Master, " JOHN G. TREADWELL, Grand Sec'y, "MATTHEW BIRD, Grand Treasurer, "WILSON SMALL, Past Grand-Master, " Of the R. W. Grand Lodge of New York. « ROBT. H. MORRIS, of No. 46, Late Mayor of New York. "We also concur in recommending P.G. Paschal Donaldson to the Order in general, from our knowledge of his usefulness. " JOHN A. KENNEDY, Past Grand-Sire, " THOMAS WILDEY, Past Grand-Sire, " JAS. L. RIDGELY, Corresponding Sec'y, " Of the Grand Lodge of the United States. " WILLIAM CURTIS, Grand Secretary " Of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. " E. MORRIS, Grand Secretary " Of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey." " At a meeting of the members of the I. O. of O. F., of this city [Cincinnati, Ohio], held at their Hall, for the purpose of hearing an Address from P.G. P. Donaldson, the following Resolution was unanimously adopted, and the undersigned were appointed a committee to forward a copy for publication in the Covenant. " Resolved, That the thanks of the Odd-Fellows of Cincin- nati are hereby tendered to P.G. Paschal Donaldson, of New York, for the kindness with which he accepted their invitation to address them, and the ability and eloquence with which he impressed upon their minds the beauty and the strength of the principles of Odd-Fellowship. » MARK P. TAYLOR, Past Grand, " THOMAS SHERLOCK, Past Grand-Sire, " ALBT. G. DAY, Past Grand Representative, " Of the Grand Lodge of Ohio." 1 " Bro. Donaldson : It affords me pleasure to transmit to you the following Resolutions, which were passed unanimously at a large meeting of the members of the I. O. of O. F. in this city [Washington, D. C], on the evening of the 29th inst. « C. W. BOTELER, Sec'y. " Resolved, That the thanks of the members of the Order of the city of Washington, be and are hereby presented to P.G. Donaldson, for his Lecture, replete with sound doctrine, excel- lent advice, and sterling truth, delivered in our hearing this evening. Resolved, further, That we tender him our warmest wishes for his health, happiness, and prosperity through life." " At a regular meeting of Jefferson Lodge, No. 46 [New York City], on the evening of March 21st, the following was unanimously adopted : — " Resolved, That the thanks of this Lodge be tendered to Bro. Paschal Donaldson, for the excellent Lecture, on the prin- ciples and duties of Odd-Fellowship, which he has delivered before the Lodge this evening ; and that this Resolution be en- tered on the minutes of this Lodge. " SAMUEL WANDELL, Past Grand, « LEWIS K. OSBORN, Past Grand, . » BENJ. B. HALLOCK, Past Grand, " Of Jefferson Lodge, No. 46, of New York City." " We unhesitatingly affirm, that a more interesting and im- portant work than this [The Odd-Fellows' Text-Book], in all that regards the concerns of our Order, has never been given to the public. The members of our Institution have long felt the need of a work, which should not only embody the principal characteristics of Odd-Fellowship, but which should give at a glance every particular of the Order which might of right be given to the world. Bro. Donaldson is in every respect compe- tent to the task of producing such a work ; and we are satisfied that the Text-Book is destined to become a valuable, if not an indispensable requisite of every Odd-Fellow's library. No sub- ject possessed of interest to Odd-Fellows, or connected with Odd-Fellowship, has been omitted." — Banner of the Union. " I take great pleasure in recommending P.G. Paschal Don- aldson, whose connection with the literature of our Order is too well known to need any elucidation. He brings with him the highest testimonials from his own Lodge, the Grand Lodge, and Past Grand-Sire Kennedy. He carries with him our very best wishes ; and I commend him to the kindest regards of the Order. " JOHN W. DWINELLE, District-Deputy Grand- Master, and Representative to the G. L. of the United States." We have received many other Recommendations of Grand and Subordinate Lodges, which speak in the highest terms of the capacity and ability of the author of the Text-Book. MOSS 8c BROTHER, Publishers, NO. 12 SOUTH FOURTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA. 9 OF i>r/;pt> Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, By MOSS & BROTHER, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. J STEREOTYPED BY C. C. SAVAGE, 13 Chambers Street, N. Y. T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, PRINTKR8, PREFACE. The Fraternity is indebted to Moss & Brother, the worthy publishers of this Work, for the idea of an " Odd-Fellows' Text-Book." At their suggestion, I have written and compiled this Volume. I need not advert to the labor it has cost me to prepare it : I will only say that I have endeavored faithfully to dis- charge the trust confided to me. I must not forget to add, that I am gratefully in- debted for valuable hints and assistance to Brothers Raleigh F. Daniel, Esq., of North Carolina ; Rev. John D. M'Cabe, of Virginia ; Hon. John Brough, of Ohio ; and Rev. B. B. Hallock, of New York city. As the author, I may be permitted to say a word for the publishers of the "Book:" they richly de- serve the patronage of the Order. They have been most liberal in the employment of means to render the mechanical departments of the " Text-Book" worthy of our great Brotherhood. RD. New- York, 1st May, 1851. 1* TO WILLIAM HOPKINS, Most Worthy Grand-Master of the Grand Lodge of Northern New York ; Right Worthy Grand-Secretary of the Grand Lodge, and Right Worthy Grand- Scribe of the Grand Encampment, of Northern New York ; JOHN G-REEN, Past Grand-Patriarch of the Grand Encampment of New York ; LEWIS K. OSBORN, Past Grand High-Priest of the Grand Encampment of New York ; P. DUNG-AN, Past District-Deputy Grand-Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania ; J. V. VAN DOREN, Of New Brunswick Lodge, No. vi., at New Brunswick, New Jersey ; AND EDWARD MUSCHAMP, Of Chosen Friends' Lodge, No xxix., at Camden, New Jersey — TRUE MEN— FROM WHOM, IN THE VARIED CIRCUMSTANCES OF MY LIFE, WHETHER OF ADVERSITY OR PROSPERITY — OF EVIL OR GOOD REPORT— OF MISFORTUNE OR SUCCESS — I HAVE EVERMORE EXPERIENCED FRIENDSHIP ENDURING AS ETERNITY, AND AS TRUE AS HEAVEN ; I AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE €\x$ % n nit. Paschal Donaldson. CONTENTS. Grand-Master William Hopkins page 9 History and Tendency of Odd-Fellowship 13 Chapter I. — General Remarks — Our Mysteries — Origin of the Order — History — Antiquity 13 Chapter II. — Origin of the Order in America.. 26 Chapter III. — Principles and Tendency of Odd- Fellowship „ 39 Organization of Odd-Fellowship „ j 49 A "Word to the Neophyte 54 The Subordinate Lodge 55 The Officers of a Lodge.. - * ., 64 The Noble-Grand 64 The Vice- Grand 67 The Secretary 68 The Treasurer „ 71 The Conductor „ 72 The Warden 73 The Guardians 73 The Supporters 74 Attendance at the Lodge „ 74 Behavior in the Lodge 75 Behavior out of the Lodge 76 Duty of one Member toward Another 78 Charity should distinguish Odd-Fellows 82 The Proposal of Candidates... ., 86 Discipline of Odd-Fellowship „ 89 Principles of Odd-Fellowship 93 Opening and Closing a Lodge 98 Degrees and Degree Lodges ., 100 Subordinate Encampments 102 State Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments 105 Grand Lodges 107 Grand Encampments Ill 8 CONTENTS. The Grand Lodge of the United States page 114 Organization of Lodges, etc., and Installation of Officers. . 119 An Odd-Fellow's Counsel : in Nine Chapters 122 Chapter 1 122 Chapter II 128 Chapter III 131 Chapter IV 141 Chapter V 145 Chapter VI - 150 Chapter VII 153 Chapter VIII 155 Chapter IX 159 An Odd-Fellow's Counsel (concluded) : 167 Secrecy 179 General Regulations of the Order 187 Regalia and Jewels 187 The T.P.W 191 Cards 192 Brothers Travelling 194 Ceremony at Dedication of an Odd-Fellows' Hall 195 Ceremony at the Funeral of a Deceased Brother 200 Form of a Procession of Odd-Fellows 205 Rules for Sub. Lodges and D. D. Grand Masters 208 Application for Degrees 211 Honorary Degree for Ladies 213 Addressed to the Ladies 216 To the Uninitiated 223 Odd-Fellowship and Patriotism 232 Odd-Fellowship and Religion 233 An Address for the Use of Odd-Fellows 234 Condition of the Order in 1850 257 Odes for Several Important Occasions 267 The Odd-Fellows' Temple 267 Anniversary Ode 268 Consecration Ode 270 The Burial 271 Odd-Fellows' Parting Hymn 272 A Manual of Practice, for the Guidance of Presiding Offi- cers, Members of Lodges, etc 273 Officers, and Members of the G. Lodge of the United States 283 WILLIAM HOPKINS, ESQ., RIGHT WORTHY GRAND-MASTER OF THE GRAND LODGE OF N. N. Y. In the year 1837, we were temporarily a resident of the beautiful village (now city) of Auburn, in the state of New York. Our sojourn there was so brief, and our engagements required so large a portion of our time and attention, that we found little opportunity to cultivate the acquaintance of the good people of the town. In sooth, we were indisposed to court society ; for we had been the victim of a stranger, under whose auspices we had left our home in New York : he had promised much but performed — nothing. In other words, we had been "hired" by a sharper, who in- duced us to take ourselves and our family "out there" by an assurance that, for our services in managing his printing-office, we should receive a certain stipulated sum per week. The " aforesaid" weekly stipend was unfortunately so exceedingly like angels' visits, that, (O that we should acknowledge it !) as we were nude of cash and too proud to ask credit, our situation soon became one " more easily imagined than described." 10 WILLIAM HOPKINS, ESQ. But " it is an ill wind that blows no good." In the midst of our tribulation, we were so fortunate as to form the acquaintance and secure the friendship of Professor William Hopkins, of the Auburn Acade- my. He was then, as we have often since thought, a true Odd-Fellow in everything but name. Compre- hending our difficulty, and appreciating the awkward circumstances of our situation, he made every effort to lighten our burden and encourage us, in our per- plexity. We remember him, then as ever, as a plain, candid, generous man, with a countenance and de- meanor which, in every feature, indicated the integ- rity and sincerity of a true heart. We have not here the space, nor is this the occasion, for a detail of the friendly service and kindness he showed us ; our bu- siness is now briefly to furnish a sketch of his life and connection with Odd-Fellowship ; but we have availed ourselves of the opportunity here presented to place on record an acknowledgment of the obligation we owe the friend, whose portrait, as it appears in this book, affords, if there be any truth in physiognomy, a striking corroboration of our assertion that he is in heart and feeling a man. The picture itself, we must add, is as true to Nature as Art ever painted her. It represents William Hopkins in perfection. " Mr. Hopkins," says the Cayuga Chief, " is a full-sized, square-shouldered individual, thirty-nine years of age, and in vigorous health. A stranger see- ing him in the streets, would recognise at once, in WILLIAM HOPKINS, ESQ. 11 that careless rocking of the shoulders, and in that resolute stride, the frank, cordial, and open-hearted character of the man. He puts down his heel with a hearty good will, and in the same spirit puts his palm in a friend's." Prof. Hopkins was born in Hebron, Washington county, N. Y. His grandfather was long a senator and judge. His father was a blacksmith and farmer, with whom he lived until eighteen years of age. He then made a determination to secure a collegiate education, which he accomplished ; not through the aid of friends, but his own energy and perseverance. He graduated at Williams' college in 1836. Thence he went to Auburn, Cayuga county, H. Y., and became Principal of the Auburn Academy, which position he still occu- pies. Grand-Master Hopkins is a member of Osco Lodge, No. 56, attached to the Grand Lodge of Northern New York. He was initiated into the Order in 1843. A gentleman of high character and commanding talents, the influence of his connection with Odd-Fellowship was speedily felt, not only in his own immediate neighborhood, but throughout western New York — a section well known as the theatre of that romantic hoax, which frightened little children and weak men out of their propriety, yclept the " Morgan Affair" In less than two years after his initiation, Bro. Hop- kins had served in the several official capacities of a subordinate Lodge ; and he therefore entered the 12 WILLIAM HOPKINS, ESQ. Grand Lodge in 1844. From that time until the present (1851), he has been a prominent leader in the Fraternity. In 1847, he acted efficiently as the Dis- trict-Deputy Grand-Master of the county of Cayuga. In 1849, he was elevated to the office of Deputy, and in 1850, he was elected and installed Grand Master, of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of Northern New York — which office he now holds. Since his eleva- tion to this position, he has visited a large proportion of the Lodges under his charge, in which he has been received with the most enthusiastic welcome. He is undoubtedly the most popular grand-officer the state of New York has ever possessed. The Lodges unan- imously respect him as a man, and honor and love him as a brother. We will take this occasion to remark, that, under the instruction and official superintendence of Grand- Master Hopkins, the Order in Northern New York is in a most prosperous condition, and a model of correct and perfect " work." For this reputation, we must add, it is indebted also, in a great measure, to the efficiency of William H. H. Prall, Esq., the popular Grand Sec'y of the Grand Lodge of N. N. Y. With this brief notice of the original of our portrait, we conclude our sketch, by wishing, in the sincerity of our heart, Grand-Master Hopkins a long life of usefulness and enjoyment ; to which, we have no doubt, the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, one and universal, will respond. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. THE HISTORY AND TENDENCY OF ODD-FELLOWSHIP. CHAPTER I. GENERAL REMARKS— OUR MYSTERIES— ORIGIN OF THE ORDER— HISTORY— ANTIQUITY. As love and regard grow out of contact and com- munion, so, by an unalterable law of our moral consti- tution, men naturally behold with indifference, if not with aversion and prejudice, objects which seem to hold no sympathy with them, and from whose con- cerns they are shut out, as it were, by a wall. These influences it is our duty to our Order as far as possible to remove : moreover, we owe an explanation to soci- ety at large ; for wherever the conventional compact exists, men are deeply interested in any organization which is formed, or any principle which is agitated among them, as ultimately it must have a good or evil bearing upon themselves. We declare, then, at once, that the whole scope and object of our association is to make its members wiser and better men, — by the equality and condition which it supposes, to break down and soften the arrogance and selfishness of the human heart — to subdue the asperities of sects and 2 14 parties — to inculcate charity and brotherly love — to strengthen and invigorate all the relations in which man can be contemplated, toward himself, his family, his neighbor, his country, his God. And to these ends our institution appeals directly to bis social, the strong- est of all man's instincts. We are simply a society for mutual improvement in virtue, religion, and sound morals ; and for the practice of a judicious, well-di- rected, and efficient charity. We bring to the aid of this honorable pursuit the principle of social combina- tion ; the same principle of activity and energy which has been applied to all pursuits, whether industrial or moral. It is the remark of an acute and philosophical observer, that the " political associations which exist in the United States are only a single feature in the midst of the immense assemblage of associations in that country Americans of all ages, all condi- tions, and all dispositions, constantly form associations. They have not only commercial and manufacturing companies, in which all take part, but associations of all other kinds, religious, moral, serious, beneficial, etc. If it be proposed to advance some truth, or to foster some feeling, by the encouragement of a great example, they form a society." These reflections evince the strong necessity of moral, as well as other combinations, to advance the great cause of human improvement ; and even were Odd-Fellowship a thing of yesterday, we might derive from them a sanction for the institution we are seeking to enlarge and per- petuate. Our "mysteries" are objected to by some, who would confound us in this respect with those secret as- sociations which, at various eras, have scourged the THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. 15 world : yet our reasons for adopting them seem to us simple and satisfactory : for our " mystic signs," with- out the medium of a common language, bind in their golden chain the tongues and tribes of all the earth. They are a safeguard against intrusion, and a protec- tion from the imposition of the depraved and aban- doned. They may make our connection more inti- mate, and prevent our labors from being regarded with the indifference which familiarity always begets. In every age of the world we may trace institutions, whe- ther formed for mutual protection, or the prosecution of some useful branch of knowledge, to whose pro- ceedings the broad seal of secrecy has been' affixed, the better to shield their labors from the ravages of prejudice and ignorance. Thus, in the infancy of Sci- ence, her votaries bound themselves by a solemn vow to reveal to none but the initiated her nascent glories ; and Religion, throwing around the laboratory of Sci- ence and Art her solemn sanctions, seized the mystic union of Mind as an agent in enforcing the morals of her creed. Dark and unsatisfying as those teachings were, they tended to impart that regard for moral asso- ciation which would present motives for perseverance in the acquisition of useful knowledge. In this early age of the world and under these auspices, it is said, was laid the foundation-stone of the celebrated " Elcu- synian Mysteries" about which so much has been said, and so little is really known : and, though we admit their subsequent perversion to the worst purposes, in that primitive age, they embodied the perfection of the moral code then known. At the period referred to, and for ages subsequent, Egypt was the seat of sci- ence ; and the learned of every nation crowded her 16 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. temples, and sought admission to her mysteries — for in them alone were the undimmed beauties of knowl- edge permitted to shine. Homer, Lycurgus, Plato, Thales, Euclid, and a long roll of remembered names, were initiated by the Egyptian priests, and returned home laden with the wisdom which the world then possessed. A branch of this institution was trans- planted into Greece, by the Egyptian Cecrops, the founder of Athens ; and into Judea, doubtless by those wise men who built the temple of Solomon ; and thus by degrees the mysteries passed into most of the East- ern nations, and thence into other countries. Some have charged the excesses of the feasts of Bacchus, and the other abominable rites of heathenism, to this association. They were in no manner connected with them, but were the result of vile imitations, of which, at this distant day, we can form no proper conception. Following in the line of history, through all subsequent periods, we perceive similar associations, modified by time and the religious customs of the countries in which they existed, no doubt shoots of the luxuriant stem that flourished in the nursery of young Science. The "Dionysian Artificers" u Essenes" "Kasade- ans" " Fraternity of Builders,'''' and, finally, the "Fraternity of Ancient York Masons"- — all these are only modifications through which the principle of secret social union has passed down to us from an- tiquity. We refer to these societies, because the rec- ord of their existence is more clear and distinct than that of many others whose memory is lost in oblivion. In truth, the mementoes of the principle of secret asso- ciation are impressed upon our very language in vari- ous forms. Thus, not to go farther, we hear, as a THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 17 common expression, of the mystery of particular trades, in which the master binds himself to instruct his ap- prentice ; by which we are distinctly referred to the fact in the history of modern Europe, that when Art began her infant struggles against feudal oppression, her first acquisitions were fenced in and protected by the bonds of mystic union. Her accomplishments were mysteries to which the initiated only advanced by de- grees, and under the solemn compact to preserve them inviolate. By these aids did she, with her handmaid Commerce, contribute to raise a noble fabric of Eng- lish civilization, which has braved the storms of a thousand years. The societies of the ancient Druids furnish another example of the force of the social prin- ciple. They, too, had their temples of mystic sci- ence, the humanizing influence of which probably pre- served their history from the stain of human sacrifice : and, even among the aborigines of our own continent, small, select compacts are said to exist, bound by the seal of secrecy, who communicate by signs, and insist that their societies have existed from eternity. The most interesting of these is found among the Iroquois ; it consists of five Oneidas, two Cuayagas, two Saint Regis, and six Senecas. It is thus avouched, that the natural, as well as the civilized man, seeks a more in- timate and endearing connection with his fellow than is secured by the common usages of society. Let it not be objected, that to secret associations may be as- cribed frauds, iniquities, and oppressions, the darkest that stain the page of history. Thus, we have not for- gotten the "Rosa Croix" or "Brothers of Exalted Dew" the " Carbonari of Italy ," or the " German llluminati" — wretches who paled the very cheek of 2 * 18 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. night with their atrocities ; nor the Thugs of India, more recently discovered, where the bond of union was cemented with human blood — among whom mur- der and robbery were accounted degrees of honor, and who for centuries had been applying the knot and cord to their victims indiscriminately, and without dis- covery or suspicion. Let it be remembered that these societies were really secret in their character : that the members were unknown ; that their places of meeting were concealed ; their purposes infamous : we might as well conclude all government unjust and oppres- sive, because the despotism of the Old World deprived men of their inalienable rights, as to charge a sound system of moral union with the vices and evils of cor- rupt association. With regard to the origin of Odd-Fellowship, we claim for it a high antiquity. At a meeting of breth- ren, held in the Greenock district, Scotland, in 1S40, Brother Cooper, a gentleman fully conversant with his subject, remarked that our Order was first estab- lished by the Roman soldiers, in camp, during the reign of Nero, in the year 55. " At that time," says Brother Cooper, "they were called Fellow- Citizens ; and the present name was given by Titus CaBsar, in the year 79, from the singularity of their notions, and from their knowing each other by night or by day ; and from their fidelity to him and their country, he not only gave them the name of Odd Fellows, but at the same time, as a pledge of friendship, presented them with a dispensation, engraved on a plate of gold, bearing different emblems — such as the sun, moon, stars, the lamb, the lion, the dove, and other emblems of mortality." THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 19 The first accounts of the Order being spread in other countries are in the fifth century, when it was established in the Spanish dominions ; and in the sixth century, by King Henry, in Portugal. In the twelfth century it was established in France ; and afterward by John de Neville in England, attended by five knights from France, who formed a " Loijal Grand Lodge of Honor" in London, which remained until the eighteenth century (in the reign of George III.), when a part of them began to form themselves into a Union ;* and a portion of these remain up to this day. The Lodges which have arisen from these several or- ganizations are numerous throughout the%orld, and have been called, at different periods, by the names of the " Loyal Ancient Odd-Fellows" the " Union Odd- Fellows" and the " Manchester Unity Odd-Fellows." This last is of more recent date, and there is no doubt of its emanation from the original sources above-named. Its first introduction into Manchester was about the year 1800, by a few individuals from the " Union" in London, who formed themselves into a Lodge, and continued in connection with the " Union" Order for a time, when some differences caused a separation, and the Association declared itself independent; hence we now have the " Independent Order of Odd-Fellows." — They have kept their word — "independent" they have been since this " difference :" and they have progressed in number, in talent, and in respectability ; at this moment the banner of Odd-Fellowship proudly floats in many a clime, waving over the ruins of pov- * It is due to truth and candor to remark, that there is no doubt the earlier Lodges of Odd-Fellows in England were of a convivial character. 20 erty and sadness. The genius of benevolence maybe seen pointing the way where sorrow may be solaced, and poverty ameliorated. Observe the immense num- ber of Odd-Fellows in Great Britain, in the United States, in Holland, Germany, Spain, and even in New South Wales, Gibraltar, and Malta : in short, from the burning rays of the torrid to the cheerless sky of the frigid zone, and in " the islands of the seas," an Odd-Fellow may find a brother. Witness the Frater- nity in California, as an example of the beneficent pur- poses of the Odd-Fellows. What have they not done for the poor, the friendless, the sick, and the dis- tressed? How many, who have gone hence with high hopes and fair prospects — who expected to bring from the "land of promise" the golden substance that was, in their own hopeful imagination, to make them for ever invulnerable (pecuniarily) to the numerous "ills that flesh is heir to," but had fallen, half-way between their starting-point and their goal — have been raised from wretchedness by the kindly offices and sym- pathy of the Odd-Fellow, and restored to the home which they abandoned for what proved, to them, truly an ignis fatuns ! Yet these are by no means solitary examples. The history of Odd-Fellowship is full of similar acts. But, with all due respect for Brother Cooper's in- teresting statement, concerning the origin of the Order, we must be permitted to remark, that, while we will not deny its authenticity, we have very little concern in regard to the antiquity of Odd-Fellowship. We are for jirmcijrfcs, rather than dates, and more disposed to inquire what the Order is, than when it originated. There is a disposition in many minds to view with a THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 21 kind of sacredness that which bears the stamp of an- tiquity. Forgetting that " The Old yields always to the New," they often honor and revere systems and institutions, simply because they are " ancient." We are free to say — even though the assertion may subject us to the charge of heterodoxy — that in our view Odd-Fellow- ship would be no better, as a Fraternity simply, if it were as old as the bow of heaven, or the everlasting hills. We contend that the principles on which it is founded, the objects it has in view, and the good influ- ences that it exerts among men, are matters much more important than its " venerable age." Why should we glorify the past ? Let us for a moment consider this matter. What has man accomplished in modern days, which man in ancient times never dreamed of attempt- ing ! There is no more of the subtle, indefinable light now than there was when the Almighty created it ; but neither the wise Babel-builders, nor Diana's craftsmen, nor the Grecian or Roman philosophers and sages, understood, as Newton did, how to analyze, dissect, and subdivide it, as the anatomist divides his subject. The materials that compose the deadly gunpowder all lay in their secret chambers, when Samson slew his thousands with the jaw-bone, and Shamgar put to death six hundred men in a day with an ox-goad ; yet not until the fourteenth century of the Christian era was it sent out, by Schwartz, of Germany, in its roar and blasting, to terrify and destroy. Water would fly ofTin steam, and was as capable of generating this po- tent agent in the days of the battering-rams, and the 22 the odd-fellows' text-book. sluggish Grecian ships, as it is at the present time ; but it was left for Watt, and Fitch, and Fulton, to " give it the wings of the wind and the energies of Jupiter." From the day that clouds, mingled with fire and smoke, rolled in fleecy volumes over Sinai's summit, the light- nings have shattered the old trees of the forest, and the thunders uttered their voices of desolation over the ruins ; yet nearly 1800 years of the Christian dispen- sation had passed away, when Franklin's genius, supe- rior in this respect to the most brilliant minds that had preceded his, gave identity and character to electricity, and subjected the incomprehensible fluid to his will. The principle by which the electric essence might be made the medium of thought and intelligence has ever existed ; yet among all the wise, and learned, and sci- entific of the ancients, there was no Morse to apply it. The art of printing, a knowledge of which would have been of infinite value and importance to the book- makers of the ancient world, was not discovered by the "wise men of old ;" but, by an humble German, as late as the fifteenth century. Odd-Fellowship, as an operative, individual com- pact, may be " ancient ;" it may claim with some cer- tainty to have originated in the palmy days of old Rome ; but there is positive evidence that its princi- ples — its materiel — have existed from time immemo- rial. It was the spirit of our system which went up in acceptable incense from the altar of righteous Abel ; which warned the ungodly and vile citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah ; which went with Abraham into the wilderness, among the wretchedly ignorant and idola- trous heathen, and caused him there to rear his al- tar of true patriarchal piety and genuine worship ; THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 23 which led him to the mountain, where the wood and fire were prepared to sacrifice his only son ; and as he raised the shining death-knife to plunge it into the heart of his boy — his beloved — the angel whose soft tones came from the throne, crying "Forbear!" also recorded one of the features of this Order, Fidelity. What we would contend for is principle, not a name ; truth, rather than antiquity ; original greatness, rather than ancient identity. If we affirm, therefore, that Odd-Fellowship as a compact should receive little credit for antiquity, we are always ready to elucidate the fact, that its essence, its principles and power, are coeval and coexistent with the race of Adam. We can see, in the mellow tints of the rainbow that the Almighty bended in the heavens, that principle which gives our Institution one of the gems in its crown — Faithfulness to a solemn promise. We can hear, in the thunders that shook Sinai, the voice of Truth, as its glowing fire flashed in the clouds that lowered about that monument of the Divine presence and power. In the ephod, and the breastplate, and the curious girdle, spoken of in Scripture, we can see the symbols of that benevolence and friendship, which, even in a barba- rous and iron age, were delegated to individuals, that the name and excellence of the everlasting God might be declared and revered, and mankind might take their degrees in moral and intellectual advancement. We can see, in the two tablets of stone, that were carried " early in the morning" to the mount, when the Lord descended in the cloud, and the covenant with Israel was made, the signs and tokens of a moral power be- fore which the altars and images of paganism crumbled, and light and reflection shed their healing influence 24 the odd-fellows' text-book. amid the unhallowed groves of the unsanetified idola- ters. We can trace, in the friendship of David and Jonathan, an affection that made them lovely in their lives, and that united them in death — a love that made an arrow a tongue to speak, when the murderer whetted his death-knife. Do men inquire how "old" Odd-Fellowship is ? We refer them to the smoking incense that rose from the altar of righteous Abel ; to the dove, as it bore to the ark, that stood above the ruin of a world, the olive-leaf; to old Noah, amid his vine-clad farm, surrounded by the cattle on a thousand hills ; to Caleb and Joshua, as they stood by the heap of stones, reared up as an everlasting symbol to the generations to come, of Friendship, Love, and Truth ; to Jonathan and David, as they stood by the stone Esel, where, in the touching language of Scripture, " David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times : and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded." We assert, therefore, of Odd-Fellowship, that its materials — its life-blood, and heat, and soul — are as old as the first Sabbath morning — as old as the "sol- emn and binding obligation" that united the beating hearts of the first pair in the garden of Eden, when " angels were the witnesses, and God the priest." The patriarch Lot, surrounded by a vicious race who had corrupted the earth, seemed to be the only good man in that dense and abominable mass of wickedness to unfurl the banner on whose folds were written " Fi- delity," and the motto, " In God we trust." Daniel, and Jeremiah, and Job, with others, are examples which demonstrate the nature of those moral principles 25 that constitute Odd-Fellowship. As far back in the annals of the past as Cyrus, the Persian king, we can see traces of that spirit, which, superior to the contami- nating influences of selfishness, and lust, and pride, rises to the dignity of the man and the magnanimity of the philanthropist. Greece, too, had her Lycurgus, to hurl the shafts of his firmness and humanity against the miscreant demagogue, and to revolutionize the affairs of his waning country. And when Solon, like some appointed angel who can calm the storm and stay the thunders, set his foot on the code of Draco, his generation comparatively became " social and hu- mane;" and Cruelty for a time lost its "travelling- card," and Revenge had no " password." Thus we might follow the history of man from one age to another down to the present clay, and show that, in the darkest periods, what men most desire, "Light" — what they love, "Virtue" — what they ought to practise, "Be- nevolence" — what is most conducive to peace and hap- piness, " Truth" — have all had their warm advocates and supporters. But we have said enough on this subject. We must, however, in conclusion, repeat the following sentiment, which is (or should be) familiar to us all : " We are Odd-Fellows, and Odd-Fellows only, when we speak and act like honest men." If we practise the precepts of our Order, we must be good men ; and, whether we be ridiculed or com- mended, we shall ever have the consolation to know that we are preserving the best treasures of the past — goodness, fidelity, and friendship. Yet we must per- mit this "past" to repose upon its own merits. As in ordinary life, no man should entirely depend on the opinions and experience of his predecessors, so this 3 26 Fraternity of ours (which, in a very important view, may be esteemed as fixed on what may be called a " one idea," or individual basis) should not found its importance and excellence on its ability to prove that it has existed for a longer period than circumstances, or proofs of the facts, sure and unequivocal, w T ill admit. In all conditions of life, and among all classes of men, honesty is invariably " the best policy." And Odd- Fellows, more than all other men, should be honest. But we have detained the reader quite " time enough" — and we shall therefore now endeavor to show the true origin of the Order of Odd-Fellows in America, and its tendency. This w T e shall do honestly and sin- cerely, and will tell only what is really the truth — truth which may be corroborated by testimony that must be regarded as invulnerable. CHAPTER II. ORIGIN OF THE ORDER IN AMERICA. The actual commencement of Odd-Fellowship in America was in 1806. This, we are aware, has been disputed by some who are interested in dating its ori- gin here at a later period ; but the facts are too clearly proven to admit of any successful controversy. It will appear from the following documents, for the genuine- ness of which we pledge our veracity as a faithful his- torian, that the first Lodge was opened in the old THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 27 " Shakspere House," or tavern, in Fair street, now Fulton, No. 135, between Nassau street and Broad- way, New York, on the twenty-third of December, 1806. The institution did not, however, prosper in the hands of the worthy and now venerable brethren who were then concerned in it. Doubtless, they ex- erted their utmost efforts to establish the I. O. of O. F. on a firm basis ; but the soil, at that day, was uncon- genial to its growth ; and the honor of its establishment in the New World was to fall upon other and success- ful pioneers. Yet the New York brethren are entitled to credit for their efforts in this cause ; and it should be remembered that their failure was the result of in- surmountable difficulties. We are indebted to P. G. Downing, of Columbia Lodge, No. 1, New York, for the following documents : — - " This is to certify that I, William E. Chambers, together with Solomon Chambers, John C. Chambers, William West- phall, and William Twaites, did meet together, in the fall of 1 806, for the purpose of making inquiry and collecting together all Odd-Fellows, for the purpose of establishing a Lodge ; and, after advertising for several weeks, we found just enough to fill all offices, and the following are the names of the first five that met together : Solomon Chambers, John C. Chambers, William E. Chambers, William Westphall, and William Tw r aites, come- dian : and after we had collected the remainder, and in fact all we could, we then concluded to raise and form a Lodge, as three of us had passed the chair in the old country. We then made up our minds to establish a Lodge at the house of Thomas Hodg- kinson, known as the ' Shakspere Tavern,' in Fair street, now 135 Fulton street, between Broadway and Nassau street, on the left hand from Broadway. This house was frequented by the- atrical gentlemen : therefore we gave it that name, and called it the « Shakspere Grand Lodge of Odd-Fellows ;' and, believ- ing that there was no other Lodge in the country, we set our shoulders to the wheel, and all, like good Odd-Fellows, went to 28 THE odd-fellows' text-book. work in making what we could toward it. So we persevered, completed our work, and had as handsome a Lodge-room as any in the city now. After that, we went to work and appointed our officers, in the following order : Solomon Chambers, M. N. G. ; John C. Chambers, V. G. ; William E. Chambers, R. H. S. to M. N. G. ; Richard Ford, L. H. S. to M. N. G. ; Benjamin Warry, R. H. S. to V. G. ; James Chesterman, L. H. S. to V. G. ; William Westphall, Warden; William Helass, Guar- dian ; and J. D. Myers, Secretary. Previous to J. D. Myers being a member, William Twaites acted as Secretary, and we initiated J. D. Myers, who was afterward our regular Secreta- ry ; then we initiated our worthy host, and considered our work done. " The night we opened our Lodge we received propositions for about fifteen members. This was good encouragement, and it caused us to labor cheerfully, and we continued our labors and improvements in such a manner, that, during the first quarter, we had over eighty good and faithful Odd-Fellows ; and the Lodge continued in a flourishing state for a long time at the above house, where myself and my brother and father all passed the chairs. After some time, the Lodge was removed to the ' Trafalgar House,' in Gold street, kept by Brother Edgarly, as we had not sufficient room where it was first established. After that, it was removed to the ' Ring of Bells,' in CofFee-House slip, kept by Brother Spencer ; after which it was removed to Brother William Moore's, at the corner of Cedar and Temple streets, in consequence of the death of Brother Spencer. After that time it seemed to fail, and I believe that it was pretty much the last ; for, as I had to leave New York for the fron- tiers during the last war, I heard no more of it, and when I returned I could not trace it out, and so it slept for a time. But during my time we were applied to for a branch to go to Phila- delphia ; but whether it was granted, I can not tell. My father and brother and myself passed the chair during its continuance, and also Captain John Hewett and William Moore. "To all whom it may concern: The above document is a true statement of the first formation of the Order of Odd- Fellows in the city of New York, made by AVilliam E. Cham- bers, the only surviving founder in the city of New York of the THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 29 • Shakspere Grand Lodge of Odd-Fellows,' instituted and opened the twenty-third of December, 1806. " William E. Chambers, 527 Greenwich St., N. Y." " This is to certify that I, John C. Chambers, was one of the founders of the first Lodge of Odd-Fellows, instituted and opened the twenty-third of December, 1806, at the house of Thomas Hodgkinson, known then as the ' Shakspere Tavern,' No. 17 Fair street, now called Fulton street, in the city of New York. And said Lodge was hailed and styled the ' Shakspere Grand Lodge of Odd-Fellows.' "John C. Chambers, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., " P. G. M. of the Loyal Independent Grand Lodge, "Westminster, England." "I hereby certify that 1 was made a member of the ' Shak- spere Grand Lodge,' held at the ' Shakspere Tavern,' in Fair street, now called Fulton street, in the year 1806 ; and that Solomon Chambers was Most Noble Grand, and John C. Cham- bers was Vice Grand. William E. Chambers was R. H. S. to M. N. G. "John R. Thomas, N. Y." " This is to certify that I was a member of the • Shakspere Grand Lodge of Odd-Fellows,' about the year 1807, held at 4 Shakspere Tavern,' kept by Mr. Hodgkinson, in Fair street (now Fulton street). Mr. Solomon Chambers was Most Noble Grand, and Mr. John C. Chambers Vice Grand. " The only surviving members I now recollect are Mr. James Chesterman, Mr. John C. Chambers, and Mr. William E. Chambers. " William Dubois, No. 285 Broadway, N. Y." " This is to certify that I was a member of the ' Shakspere Grand Lodge of Odd-Fellows,' held at the ' Shakspere Tavern,' in Fair street, now Fulton street, in 1806, or thereabout ; with Mr. William E. and Mr. John C. Chambers, and their father, Solomon Chambers, who was M. N. G., and John was V. G. Mr. William Dubois, of Broadway, was a member. "James Chesterman, 710 Broadway, N. Y," 3* 30 " Shortly after my return from New Orleans, in the early part of 1819, as near as my memory serves, I was proposed by Mr. Nexson (a school-teacher, and then acting as Secretary), and became a member of ' Shakspere Lodge, No. 1.' At this period it was generally conceded that the ' Shakspere' was the oldest (if not the only) Lodge in the United States. We held our meetings in the house corner of Cedar and Temple streets, occupied by Mr. William Moore, who had been a mem- ber of the theatrical profession. I remember well that at his house we elected as Treasurer the performer, Mr. Hopkins Rob- ertson, who died while holding that office, and by a unanimous vote of the Lodge the funds then in his possession reverted to his widow, who was in indigent circumstances. "About two years after, the Lodge was removed to the house occupied by Mr. Mahany, in Chatham near Spruce street, where we opened under the name of ' Franklin Lodge, No. 2.' It was in this Lodge that General George P. Morris, editor of the ' Mirror,' passed the chairs. I was elected Secretary at this period, and continued in that situation for two years, during which time the Lodge was removed to Water street, near Beekman slip. I left the city soon after removing to this loca- tion, and know not what became of certain books and documents at that time under my control. I can not say who succeeded me as Secretary, but understood that they merged into the 1 Columbia Lodge.' "As regards the antiquity of 'Shakspere Lodge, No. 1,' I never heard it questioned ; and I am assured there are members now living who can testify that it existed in this city fourteen years previous to my becoming a brother, in 1819, at which time it was revived under the old dispensation. "Manly B. Fowler, N. Y." In the year 1816, according to the testimony of Brother Charles Sherwood, of New York, who as- serts that his authority for the statement is undeniable, there were a few Odd-Fellows, all foreigners by birth, who met together in New York, and organized them- selves into a Lodge, which they called "Prince Re- gent's Lodge." This institution, also, from various THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 31 causes, failed to establish and carry out the principles of the Order. Late in 1822, a charter was obtained from the Loyal Beneficent Duke of Sussex Lodge, No. 2, in Liverpool, England, and Columbia Lodge, No. 1, of the city of New York, which is still in suc- cessful operation, was regularly organized. There can be no doubt, however, that Wildey was the actual originator and founder of Odd-Fellowship, as it exists in America. He was accustomed to the enjoyment of the society of Odd-Fellows at home, and he felt naturally anxious for similar society here. Thomas Wildey was born in London, in the year 1785, and is therefore now sixty-six years of age. In 1806, at the age of twenty-one, he was initiated into " Independent Lodge," at Bath, England, in which he was subsequently raised three several times to the prin- cipal chair. In July, 1818, he embarked for America, and on the second of September of that year arrived at Baltimore, where he immediately commenced the busi- ness of coachspring-making, which he had learned with his father. On landing, he was desirous to visit a Lodge, and was much astonished on being informed by a brother of the Order whom he met — John Welch, also a foreigner — that there was no Lodge in Balti- more. Wildey and Welch, however, determined to ascertain if there were no Odd-Fellows in the city, and they accordingly gave public notice, calling for mem- bers of the I. O. O. F. The result was the meeting of five, and the subsequent formation of a Lodge. To Henry M. Jackson, the first N. G. of Franklin Lodge (the second Lodge instituted), and John Boyd and John Crowder, Mr. Wildey was much indebted for assistance in the infancy of the Order. 32 The following thoughts, in connection with the his- tory of this matter, have been furnished us by a brother who has been long a valuable member of the Frater- nity : — " In the year 1819, two worthy brothers of the Order of Odd-Fellows by chance met in the city of Baltimore. They were foreigners by birth, and had left their na- tive land to seek an asylum in this country. It would appear that they were not strangers to each other in their mother-country, or, if they were, they at once recognised one another as having been co-workers in the great cause of humanity in the land of their birth ; and, as they were often together, their conversation was naturally directed to the subject of the Order : they had known and enjoyed its kindly principles at home, and it was with deep and bitter regret that an institu- tion so kindly in its principles, and so congenial to the government and country they had adopted, had not found its way across the ocean. " Many were the schemes they devised to ascertain what number of Odd-Fellows, if any, could be found on the western continent, for it does not appear they had any knowledge at this time of the previous estab- lishment of the Order in New York. After many vain and fruitless efforts, they accidentally hit upon the plan of giving public notice through the newspapers of the day, calling a meeting of such of the Order as should have come to this country from the Old World, and designating the time and place of meeting. The long- looked-for day and hour at length arrived, and with trembling and anxious hearts they assembled at the place of meeting — and behold! three besides them- selves, out of the vast population of the United States, THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 33 assembled at the call of their brethren, and made them- selves known. These five humble individuals met, not as strangers to each other in a distant land, but as brothers whose hearts and souls were united in the bonds of Odd-Fellowship. Although they were stran- gers to one another in the general acceptation of the term, yet as Odd-Fellows they were brothers, and re- garded and esteemed each other as old and long-tried friends, because they knew the most implicit confi- dence could be reposed in one another, and that it mat- tered not what language they spoke, or what country or clime gave them birth : they met as friends, and were bound together in the ties of friendship. " No motive but the purest brotherly love had called them together ; nothing but the pure spirit of benevo- lence, and a desire to advance and improve the condi- tion of man, actuated them to assemble on that occa- sion ; no motives of gain, no allurements to wealth or power, no high-sounding titles of distinction, brought them together : they were men without any particular influence — with no pecuniary means, except such as was necessary for their comfort and temporal happi- ness in the humbler walks of life. They, however, firmly resolved to surmount all obstacles, and, if pos- sible, to plant the seed of Odd-Fellowship in the soil of Freedom ; firmly believing that, if properly nour- ished and watered, it would speedily take deep root, and that its branches would extend far and wide, until the inhabitants of the whole western continent could repose under its shade, and receive nourishment from its fruits. " They accordingly applied to England, and after much anxiety and delay procured a charter, and this 34 Lodge they called ' Washington Lodge.' They had no sooner obtained a charter and organized the institu- tion, than prejudice and superstition started up on all sides, and proclaimed the most unblushing slanders against all secret societies, and that this poor Lodge of Odd-Fellows was the very nucleus of all immorality and infidelity. And it no doubt appears marvellous that this small band of brothers had the courage and firmness of purpose to sustain themselves under such trials and persecutions, and with so great a weight of public opinion pressing upon them. "But these persecutions were no doubt intended for wise and good purposes; for, no sooner had the slanders of the day been circulated, than people were led to inquire into the objects of the Order, and who- ever learned its friendly precepts and benevolent pur- poses, solicited to become members in the cause of humanity, and, if found worthy, were received as broth- ers. These persecutions, no doubt, had a tendency also to chasten their conduct, and to actuate them to walk uprightly before God and man ; they being con- scious that, without the strictest moral conduct, the world would draw the inference, and perhaps with rea- son, that their purposes were evil rather than good : and the consequence was that ' Washington Lodge' soon had its scores of followers, and ultimately became the centre from which emanated the purest moral pre- cepts, cheering and dispensing their kindly influences in every direction ; and from this once feeble band were soon established in the city of Baltimore a num- ber of Lodges, composed of a portion of the most wealthy and most intelligent inhabitants of that city. By this time the light of benevolence and brotherly THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 35 love had been kindled in ' Columbia Lodge,' and their joint influences had fanned it into a flame, extending far beyond the bounds of the states in which these Lodges were established, and one state succeeded after another, until there are now Lodges established in every state of the Union. "What a pleasing reflection, to behold such unpar- alleled success in so short a period of time ! What a mighty host we now number ! Contemplate the charities and blessings we are daily dispensing to the widow and the orphan ; how many thousands at this moment are receiving the benefits of Odd-Fellowship's open-handed charities, and praying for its continued success !" But, to proceed to the origin of Odd-Fellowship in the United States, and to a correct statement of the commencement of the Order here, we observe that Washington Lodge, No. 1, was instituted by the five persons assembled at Wildey's suggestion. It was organized at the house of William Lupton, sign of the " Seven Stars," Second street, Baltimore, on the twenty-sixth of April, 1819, by Thomas Wildey, John Welch, John Duncan, John Cheathem, and Richard Rushworth. The two first-named were elected N. G. and V. G. of the Lodge ; and it was at first intended that the new Lodge should " work" according to the usages of the Union, or London Order, and operate on the ancient method of self-institution, or indepen- dency of any " higher-law" power. " The archives," says P. G. Sire Kennedy, "do not furnish the exact period at which this design was abandoned ; but there is evidence that it was in the first month of the exist- ence of the Lodge. The work being thus changed to 36 that of the ' Independent Order,' it became necessary to be possessed of a dispensation from competent au- thority, as required under that organization. As early as June, 1819, a series of efforts was commenced to that end, directed toward various points, as one after another indicated failure. The ' Abercrombie Grand Lodge, of Manchester' (the head of one of the divis- ions of the Order which were at that time in active contest for supremacy in Odd-Fellowship), which was merged into the ' Manchester Unity' in 1826, respond- ed ; and on the seventh of January, 1820, issued a dispensation — which, however, it is believed, never reached its destination." But through the instrumen- tality of P. G. John Crowder, who visited Baltimore from Preston, England, during the latter part of 1819, the Duke of York's Lodge, Preston, Manchester Unity, by virtue of powers indisputable, granted and forwarded the following dispensation : — "NO. WASHINGTON LODGE. 1. " Pluribus Unum. " The Grand Lodge of Maryland, and of the United States of America, of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellowship. " To all whom it may concern : This Warrant or Dispensa- tion is a free gift from the Duke of York's Lodge, of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd-Fellowship, holden at Preston, in the county of Lancaster, in Old England, to a number of Brothers residing in the city of Baltimore, to establish a Lodge at the house of Brother Thomas Woodward, in South-Frederick street, in the said city : hailed by the title of « No. 1, Washington Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States of America.' That the said Lodge, being the first established in the United States, hath power to grant a Warrant or Dis- pensation to a number of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellow- ship into any State of the Union, for the encouragement and support of Brothers of the said Order on travel or otherwise. 37 " And be it further observed, that the said Lodge be not removed from the house of Brother Thomas Woodward, so long as five Brothers are agreeable to hold the same. " In testimony hereof, we have subjoined our names, and affixed the seal of our Lodge, this the first day of February, one thousand eight hundred and twenty : — "James Mandsley, G. M. John Cottam, N. G. Geo. Nailor, V. G. John Eccles, Sec'y. John Crowder, P. G. Saml. Pemberton, P. G. John Walmsley, P. G. W. Topping, P. G. Geo. Ward, P. G. George Bell, P. G." This instrument was received on the twenty-third of October, 1820, and was formally accepted. It con- tinued to be the warrant of authority under which the Lodge worked, until, by a unanimous vote, it was sur- rendered into the hands of the Past Grands, and the Lodge received a dispensation from the Grand Lodge in its stead. " The success of the Order," says P. G. Sire Kennedy, " may with propriety be dated from this event, as concentrated and more enlightened ac- tion was the primary result." From that time (Feb- ruary 22, 1821) the Grand Lodge of the United States* has been the head of the Order in America. A dis- pensation, or charter, was granted to the Grand Lodge of the United States, May 15, 1826, by the Grand Annual Movable Committee (the head of the Order in Great Britain), confirmatory of the dispensation granted * In 1821, and until the separate organization of the Grand Lodge of Maryland (November 22, 1824), called " The Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United Slates." 4 a» THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. by the Duke of York's Lodge, and authorizing the said Grand Lodge to conduct the business of Odd-Fellow- ship in America, without the interference of any other country. In consequence of important changes in the work of the Order by the English brethren, made without the advice or consent of the Grand Lodge of the Uni- ted States, and in defiance of its frequent remonstrance, a separation between the Order in Great Britain and America was decided upon by the Grand Lodge of the United States, at the session, of that body in 1842. Previously, however, to this decision, the Grand Lodge had in vain exerted every effort to induce the Man- chester Unity of Odd-Fellows to restore the ancient language of the Order.* We are happy to say, how- ever, that, although the form used by these two bodies is slightly diverse, they are united in principle; and that the objects they have in view, and the good they accomplish, are the mainspring of their motive and action. In concluding this part of our subject — the History of Odd-Fellowship — we shall explain the "motive and action" of the Order, by exhibiting its practices and principles. f * For the history of this matter (which is too lengthy for this work), we refer the reader to the Journal of Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of the United States — a new edition of which has been lately authorized — pages 389-433. f We have borrowed on this subject a portion of an eloquent Address, by Rev. J. D. M'Cabe, delivered before Hawkins Lodge, No. 41, at Rogersville, Tennessee, July 4, 1849, at the *' laying of the corner-stone of the Odd-Fellows' Female Insti- tute," of that place. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 39 CHAPTER III. THE PRINCIPLES AND TENDENCY OF ODD-FELLOWSHIP. Odd-Fellowship is an institution formed by good men for the advancement of the principles of benevo- lence and truth. The foundation of the superstruc- ture is laid in the acknowledgment of universal frater- nity — that man is bound to sympathize with, to aid and protect his brother-man : upon this foundation is erected a system of practical benevolence, that sends its influence through all society ; and that this may not degenerate into an indiscriminate system of alms-giving, which converts the earnings of honest industry into a reward for pauperism and idleness, it has established certain checks and balances, by which its active good- ness is restrained within proper limits. Its first duty is to its own household, but its influence is felt beyond ; uniting good men in the practice of acknowledged du- ties, requiring no surrender of religious or political creed, leaving speculation for practice, it has gone forth among the homes of men like some missioned spirit of good, with its words of kindness, its deeds of comfort; wherever it has moved, it was for the healing of disease, the alleviation of pain : the tear of sorrow has been wiped away, and the face of anguish illumined with a smile : " it has no marble altar, no wreathed statue, no offerings of incense ; but hearts of affection build up its shrine ; the widow and the orphan are its 40 living monuments, and gratitude pours out for it a free libation." Uniting men under the influence of the so- cial principle, Odd-Fellowship demands the practice of benevolence and charity ; and in order to impress these duties upon the mind, and furnish incentives to action in those moments of relaxation to which all men are subject, it has instituted solemn ceremonies, or- dained frequent meetings, and formed a language of signs — all designed to produce a habit of benevolence, and, by educating the moral faculties, promote the well-being of society. The principles emblazoned upon our banners, and inscribed upon our altars, are Friendship, Love, and Truth, and it is the constant and unvarying inculcation of these principles that causes Odd-Fellowship to be strictly practical. We are associated to preserve no striking and beautiful traditions — to teach no original truth — to enunciate no occult mysteries. We receive with reverence the teachings of God's Holy Word, which tells us that we are the children of one common Father — brethren of one family — fellow-travellers through the same dark world of sin, alike needing the sympathy and support of our fellow-men ; that we are bound, as stewards of God, to use wisely the things which have been com- mitted to us in trust, for the advancement of the gen- eral good. It is true that the means of our Society do not enable us to relieve all the wants of all men, but they do enable us to mitigate the sufferings of many. The relfef is, in the first place, justly restricted to the members of the Order and their families ; but, these demands answered, relief is extended to others as far as we possess the ability. The pecuniary contribu- tions of the members, which consist in small weekly THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 41 sums, constitute a fund for the exclusive purpose of relieving the sick, burying the dead, educating the orphan, and protecting and assisting the widow. In this respect our Order is a vast mutual-aid society, " differing from all others in the perfection of its or- ganization, the universality of its extent, and the mo- tives presented for action in high and benevolent teachings, which lead from specific and enforced da- ties to the voluntary performance of the noblest deeds of charity." While, therefore, our Order, in its or- ganization and development, is founded upon eternal principles, it only gives direction to known and admit- ted truth, and enforces the duties it teaches by disci- pline. It is formed for action, and he who will not work is not permitted to remain a drone in the busy hive. From this very general view, we may pass to a con- sideration of some of the specific benefits of the insti- tution secured to each and every member by the stipu- lations of covenant agreement : — 1. If a member of the Order is unable to attend to his ordinary avocation, from sickness or providential disability, he is paid every week, during the continu- ance of such disability, a sum varying from three to ten dollars. He is visited by the officers and mem- bers of his Lodge, and proper attendants furnished to watch by his sick-bed and attend to his wants. 2. In case of death, he is decently buried at the expense of the Order; his remains are followed to " the house appointed for all the living," and the dust is smoothed on his grave by the hand of sorrowing Friendship. 3. The duties of Odd-Fellowship end not here. 4# 42 the odd-fellows' text-book. The chain of earthly fellowship may be broken, but some of its severed links remain, in the persons of the stricken widow and the helpless orphan : Odd-Fellow- ship repairs to the desolate home ; re-fills the cruse of oil, and replenishes the empty barrel ; over the night of desolate widowhood it watches with sympathizing care, and comforts the stricken-hearted mother with assurance that her fatherless children will be protected and educated. Pause for one moment to examine the strong argu- ment furnished in favor of our Order by this view of its character. The young man in business far from home — the man of family, who earns his bread by the sweat of his brow — can, when in health, easily spare four or five dollars annually, and thus secure such aid and attention during sickness as could be obtained by no other pecuniary expense. Especially does the man of family reap an advantage in a pecuniary point of view which no other investment of the same amount of funds could yield. The merchant, the man of busi- ness, visiting our northern or southern cities, may be taken sick : and who that has ever been sick, a stranger in one of the large hotels, knows not the neglect with which persons under such circumstances are treated? They may have abundant means to procure the atten- tion of hirelings, but they can not purchase kindness and sympathy. The possession of an Odd-Fellow's card will secure all this ; for its presentation to the Lodge is an assurance of fraternal attention. These, we may say, are the common duties of humanity, ac- knowledged by all men, and needing no societies to enforce them. We grant that they are the duties of common humanity, but are they performed ? THE ODD-FELLOWS ? TEXT-BOOK. 43 We have no idea of the amount of suffering endured by virtuous poverty, when the supplies procured by industry are cut off by sickness ; when the strong man is prostrated, and lies stricken and helpless, knowing that loved ones are in want ; when no friendly footstep crosses the threshold of the obscure home to which he has fled to conceal from a heartless world the bitterness of his poverty. Oh ! the agony of the hot tears that blister his fevered cheek as he nightly kisses the parched lips and looks upon the famine-pinched faces of his children, as they go supperless to their bed of straw ! Who can tell the anguish of his heart, when the wife of his bosom bends over him, with her pale, earnest face, and, as she wipes the fever-drops from his brow, with the sublime energy of woman's endurance, whis- pers resignation, hope ! Alas ! what has he to hope for his loved ones, if God in his providence should call him away ? Nothing ! That wife will be a broken- hearted widow, struggling single-handed against pov- erty, exposed to the insults of a heartless world ; those children will be reared in ignorance, it may be for a life of shame — a death of disgrace. But how different would be the condition of such a person, if, in the days of his health and strength, he had become a member of our noble Order ! A competency would have smiled around his hearthstone ; sympathizing friends would have watched around his sick-bed ; and he would close his eyes in death w T ith the sweet assurance that his family was left in the care of brothers, whose con- stant duty it is to " protect the widow and educate the orphan." We could give numerous instances of the advan- tages secured to individuals who, when they entered 44 the Order, did not dream of ever needing its benefits. The advantages of this association are further seen in the fact that it brings together men of the most dis- cordant opinions, and unites them in the bonds of brotherly love — affording by its frequent meetings so- cial intercourse, free from the contaminating influence of vice. It promotes the morals of community, by re- straining its members from all intemperance and other illegal practices, under penalty of expulsion, and the publication of their names in connection with the offence for which discipline is executed throughout the limits of the Order. It is calculated to make men social and humane, by bringing them frequently together to de- vise means and measures for the relief of their dis- tressed fellow-creatures ; thus breaking down the bar- riers erected by sect and party, and uniting men as citizens of one country, "the world" — members of one family, " the human race !" It is sometimes urged that the institution comes in contact with the claims of the church, and creates con- flicting duties. The Order of Odd-Fellows is com- posed of Christians of every denomination ; they all acknowledge individually the authority of the church, and in the most perfect obedience they unite to do pre- cisely what the teachings of the church command to be done. Singly they could not effect as much good as when united. Precisely the same objection may with equal propriety be made against all voluntary as- sociations. The fact is, the church makes no specific provision, in any of its branches, for the performance of the duties in which Odd-Fellowship engages ; it does not, in any one of the sects or denominations, make provision for their discharge. Where has it THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 45 made provision for the sick members of its commu- nion, furnishing watchers by their beds every night for months — -supplying them with money to procure the necessaries and often the delicacies of life? What provision has it made for the support of the widow — the education of the orphan ? What provision has it made to take care of the sick stranger, and in death to give him decent burial? Where are these provisions ? No such provision exists ; there is no systematic plan in the church enforced upon its members by discipline. All the conflict our Order can have with the church is to reprove its apathy. It may be made an instrument to provoke the church to activity, by showing what a mere human society can do, with " her usages of old" — her bonds of love, her deeds of self-denial, her require- ments of discipline — in those days when her children showed their faith by their works of mercy and love. Odd-Fellowship wields the old means; the church refuses to use them. And is this wrong? Shall all these deeds be left undone, because a few will murmur at the expenditure, and sell the precious ointment to increase their own gains ? Is it right, is it proper, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick ? is it right to bury the dead, protect the widow, and educate the orphan ? Who will say it is wrong to do these things ? What is Odd-Fellowship, but associated action in the performance of these duties? What has converted the howling wilderness into a home for talent and refinement, broken up the lair of the red man, and enthroned hospitality where all was wildness and barbarism? What has waked up the song of the laborer, the click of the artisan's hammer, the hum of the thrifty multitude, the creations of taste 46 and refinement? Associated action! the same kind of power that, forty centuries ago, upheaved the giant pyramids that survive the ruins of desolation, as the hoary connection between the past and the present, " like monuments over unknown graves, heralding the glory, though their worn inscriptions tell not the names, of those who sleep at their base." From the active virtue and sweet charities of the domestic circle to the integrity and stability of the mightiest nation upon earth, this principle of associated action is seen at work. It is a principle of power and of might : direct it we may, destroy it we can not. Like steam, if confined in iron bonds, it will burst its fetters, and scatter death and destruction around ; and yet, like the well- broke horse, it may be harnessed and driven in safety. Men will associate. If their association be not turned to the melioration of human wo — to plans for the moral and social elevation of mankind — it will be seized upon by the factious and the discontented, the licentious and the vile, as a potent engine to overturn the social and religious institutions which now serve to check their excesses. Will men, under the influ- ence of the social principle, seek the bar-room- — the gaming-house ? Give them some other attractive place of assembly, where virtuous thoughts and moral habits will become chosen themes and preferred practices. Will they unite in secret clubs, to agitate treason, and seek to unsettle government and society with their vain discontents and Utopian schemes of social equality? Unite them by the charm of secrecy, to perform works of mercy and benevolence. God has sanctioned this principle of association in the institution of his holy church. Elevated above the discords of earth, unin- THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 47 fluenced by the changeful policy of time, it is to con- stitute one vast association designed to concentrate the action of its myriad members into the effective unity of one catholic body. When this perfection is attained, minor associations will not be needed. Such is a brief view of the practice, and principles, and tendencies, of Odd-Fellowship. That there will be opposition, is to be expected ; for what that is lovely or of good report has ever escaped the sneer and the scowl of the gloomy Pharisee, who, while he tithes anise, mint, and cumin, neglects the weightier matters of the law, making it void through his traditions ? But our principles may be tried by their fruits ; and who can rise up and say these fruits are evil, or that asso- ciated action, by which all the achievements of the age have been wrought, is wrong? Like "the still small voice" upon the ear of the prophet, when the wind, and the fire, and the earthquake, had passed, Odd-Fellowship, the noiseless spirit of benevolence and love, has trained its children to follow in the path of desolation and affliction, whispering peace, and bind- ing in the golden bonds of Friendship, Love, and Truth, the sheaves left standing in the fields over which Death and Sorrow, the great reapers, have passed. Look over the field of our appropriate labor for the evidence of these works. See yon stricken widow, bowed down and sorrowful ; the hope of her heart is quenched. But there is a change : an arm of affec- tion is cast around her — a hand of love has wiped away her tears. That arm was our Order's arm ; that hand an Odd-Fellow's. See yon orphan, with no earthly parent to watch over him, no mother to caress 48 THE odd-fellows' text-book. and wipe away his burning tears, no shelter for his defenceless head. Look ! an arm is cast around him, he is sheltered and cared for, his darkness is gone, his mind and his heart are cultivated, and his glistening eye tells of gratitude and love. The spirit of Odd- Fellowship has been there ! The true Odd-Fellow ! he is out in the field, gather- ing the ready harvest; in the workshop, laying his strong hand to the anvil, the loom, and the forge ; in the counting-house, employed in the pursuits of pro- fessional labor. He is at home, fulfilling the duties of parent, husband ; gladdening the hearth and the board by the virtues of the social spirit. He is by the bed of sickness, wiping the moist brow and cooling the parched lip ; he is in sorrowful places, ministering to poverty, comforting affliction, and relieving distress. He is upon the field of his country's fame and glory, where rank after rank goes down in the shock of bright blades, and before the volleying death-shot — with dauntless heart and eagle-eye battling for freedom ! Brethren, let us go on, unfurling the white banner of our Order — giving it proudly to the breeze, till its triumphant folds intertwine, and become blended with the stars and stripes of the freeman's hope and home ; till Oppression break his sceptre, War lie crushed on his harness ; " till man is bound in brotherhood to man — till tears are changed to smiles, and groans to benedictions !" 49 THE ORGANIZATION OF ODD-FEL- LOWSHIP. The Order of Odd-Fellowship consists of two seve- ral branches, viz. : Lodges and Encampments. The Lodges comprise six, and the Encampments three De- grees. These, with the exception of Degrees obtained through official service, embrace the entire work of the Order, the Royal-Purple Degree, of the Encampment, being the highest and last. The cost of attaining these nine Degrees varies in different localities ; but usually it does not exceed forty, and in some states it is less than thirty dollars. The qualifications re- quired are that the candidate must be a free white man, not under twenty-one, nor over sixty years of age, of good moral character and sound health, and a believer in the Supreme Being, the maker and ruler of the universe. All Lodges and Encampments are, directly or indi- rectly, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the United States ; which body meets annually on the third Monday of September, and specially, if neces- sary, at the call of the Grand-Sire. It is the supreme head of the Order in the United States, and is the source of all true and legitimate authority in Odd-Fel- lowship therein. It consists 01 Representatives, elected 5 00 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. from each local or State Grand Lodge and Grand Encampment ; one for any number of members under one thousand, within the jurisdiction of said local bodies, and an additional one for any number compri- sing and exceeding one thousand ;* and of Past Grand- Sires, f Its elective officers consist of a Grand-Sire, * The government of the Order in Great Britain is consti- tuted in the following manner: — The entire body of the Inde- pendent Order in the kingdom is known and distinguished by the title of " The Manchester Unity, of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows," so called from its organization and concentra- tion of power in the city of Manchester : — " The Grand Annu- al Movable Committee," consisting of Representatives from districts in the ratio of one for every thousand members, is the sovereign depository of the power of the Order, not only in re- lation to the work, but also in reference to the entire detail of government, descending even to all the rules and regulations of subordinate Lodges, and leaving with them the isolated power of making By-Laws not inconsistent w r ith the enactments of the Grand A. M. C. This body is constitutionally movable in its character and absolute in its powers. It assembles annually, on Whitsun-week, which is in England a period of universal holyday, at which time a Grand-Master and Board of Directors are elected ; all of whom must be residents of the city of Man- chester. This Board exercises during the recess a supervisory jurisdiction over all the affairs of the Order : it usually ex- pounds the laws ; responds to all applications for instruction or advice ; and heretofore was an integral part of a standing com- mittee for the determination of all questions of grievance subject to the final action of the Grand A. M. C. The propriety of a change of this government, we are informed, is under advisement. f At the session held in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept., 1850, the following amendment to the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of the United States was adopted : — "Past Grand-Sires shall be admitted to seats in this GrandLodge, with the power of debating, and making motions, but shall not have the privilege of voting, unless they be Representatives." THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 51 a Deputy Grand-Sire, a Recording and a Correspond- ing Secretary, and a Treasurer, who are elected bien- nially, by the Representatives. The appointed officers consist of a Marshal, a Chaplain, and a Guardian. It transacts its business in secret; but any brother who shall have attained to the Royal-Purple Degree, and who is in " good standing," may, by its permission being first obtained, by vote, be admitted to its meet- ings. The State Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments are the heads of the Order in the localities where they are severally established. Three or more subordinate Lodges or Encampments — having been previously instituted by the Grand Lodge of the United States, and which are under its jurisdiction* — located in any State, District, or Territory, wherein reside seven Past Grands, or seven Past Chief-Patriarchs, in good stand- ing, may petition for and obtain from the Grand Lodge of the United States a Charter for a Grand Lodge, or for a Grand Encampment. These consist of Repre- sentatives from the Lodges or Encampments, which usually comprise all the Past Grands, or the Past * Upon the petition of five brothers of the Order, in good standing, praying for a Charter to open a subordinate Lodge, or of seven patriarchs for one to open a subordinate Encampment, in a State, District, or Territory, where a Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment has not been established, the Grand Lodge of the United States will grant the same. Such Lodge or En- campment will be organized by a Past Grand, or a Past Chief- Patriarch, by authority from the Grand-Sire. Such petition, accompanied by the Charter-fee (thirty dollars), must be for- warded to the Grand-Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the United States, at Baltimore, Md. The form of the petition is similar to that submitted to a State Grand Lodge. (See p. 55.) 52 THE odd-fellows' text-book. Chief- Patriarchs — and sometimes the Past High- Priests — of the subordinates. Their chief officer is a Grand-Master, or a Grand-Patriarch, who is elected annually by the Past Grands, or by the Past Chief- Patriarchs. The State Grand Lodges and Grand En- campments have power to grant and revoke Charters for subordinates in their several jurisdictions, and to make such laws as may appertain to the Order in their localities. No person, except a Past Grand, or a Past Chief-Patriarch, is permitted to visit the Grand Bodies. Past Grands are of the Grand Lodges ; Past Chief- Patriarchs and Past High-Priests of the Grand En- campments : these bodies are entirely separate and dis- tinct from each other. The subordinate Lodges consist of what may be ap- propriately called " The People :" from these, in a true and legitimate sense, proceed Encampments, Grand Lodges, Grand Encampments, and, finally, the " supreme head of the Order." They comprise a va- riety of minds ; but we may confidently say, they are of one heart. The chief officer of a subordinate Lodge is called a Noble-Grand ; he is elected semi- annually ; he has the control of the members and business of the Lodge. Other officers are elected and appointed to support and assist him in his duties. We have previously stated what qualifications are neces- sary to entitle a gentleman to membership. The man- ner of introducing candidates is as follows : — A brother of the Lodge proposes his friend, whom he must be willing to recommend. On the reception of the proposition, a committee is at once appointed, whose business it is to ascertain the character, age, condition of health, and standing of the applicant. If 53 this committee, after due investigation, report that they believe him worthy, he is, on the week following such report, "balloted for;" and if three blackballs appear against him, he is rejected — if not, he is elected.* He may then be initiated to membership in the Lodge. After a certain time (which varies in different states), usually a month, he is entitled to receive the first three Degrees ; and after a certain other additional season, the last two; these Degrees are granted by a vote of the Lodge, and conferred by a person appointed or authorized for the purpose. The Encampments consist of brothers who belong to the Lodges, and who must have attained to the fifth, or Scarlet Degree. No person can be admitted to membership in an Encampment, unless he be a Scar- let-Degree member, in good standing. Encampments comprise three Degrees, which are considered by many the sublimest of Odd-Fellowship. Their prin- cipal officers consist of a Chief-Patriarch and a High- Priest ; whose duties are to preside over, and perform the work of, the Encampment. No brother of the Order should be content with his advancement to the Scarlet, or final Degree of his Lodge ; he should pro- ceed through the Encampment to the last, or Royal- Purple Degree. Such elevation will entitle him to privileges and advantages of much value. f * The reader will observe a repetition of this on page 57. A full explanation of the introduction of members, and other matters connected with the government of a subordinate Lodge, will be found under the head, " The Subordinate Lodge," p. 55. f We have given in the foregoing a mere outline of the va- rious branches of the Order. Elsewhere in this Book we fur- nish a full explanation of those several bodies under their ap- propriate titles. 5* 54 THE odd-fellows' text-book. A WORD TO THE NEOPHYTE. It may be considered an important period of life in which a man enters a Lodge of Odd-Fellows. The duties there taught him, and the lessons incul- cated throughout the progress he may make in the Order, will tend, if he be true to his nature, to his moral and intellectual advancement, and consequently to his happiness. He should therefore prepare his mind for the task he has undertaken, and determine to be attentive to the instructious he is about to receive. He will find in these instructions the voice of Wis- dom and Truth ; and he will see that whoever shall heed and obey them must be respected by the wise and virtuous. They teach him his duty to his God, his country, his neighbor, his family, and himself; they show him how he may live in the enjoyment of a peaceful, contented mind — which is the highest wealth a mortal need desire ; they demonstrate to him that " vice is a monster of such frightful mien," that it should be shunned and hated ; they persuade him that there is in Fraternal Union and Love the truest, sub- limest pleasure ; they lead him to obedience of the commands of his Divine Maker, in which he can not fail to be blessed in life, death, and eternity. 55 THE SUBORDINATE LODGE. A Lodge must be constituted by at least five mem- bers, including one qualified to preside at its meetings ; the qualifications necessary being that such presiding officer must have been instructed in the five Degrees. The Vice-Grand, Secretary, Treasurer, and Guardian, should also have received the five Degrees. Any num- ber of brothers not less than five, holding clearance or withdrawal cards, from the Lodge or Lodges to which they were previously attached, may apply to the Grand Lodge of a State (or in case there is no Grand Lodge in the State, District, or Territory, in which they reside, to the Grand Lodge of the United States) for a Charter to open a Lodge, in the following words : — " The petition of the undersigned, holding withdrawal-cards from Lodges legally recognised by your Right "Worthy Body, respectfully represents, that it would be consistent with the ad- vantage of the Order to establish a Lodge, to be located at blank. Wherefore, your petitioners pray, that a Charter (or Warrant) may duly issue in pursuance of the laws of your It. W. Body." This, accompanied by the Charter-fee (usually thirty dollars), must be sent to the Grand-Secretary, who will lay it before the Grand Lodge, which will author- ize a Charter in the following form : — 56 THE odd-fellows' text-book. INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS. " To all whom it mat concern: — The Grand Lodge of the State of blank, by authority of a Grand Charter, granted to them from the Grand Lodge of the United States, held in the City of Baltimore, State of Maryland, doth hereby grant this Warrant or Dispensation, to a number of brothers of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, residing in the State of blank, to establish a Lodge at the city of blank, to be hailed by the title of blank, for the encouragement and support of brothers of the said Order, when on travel or otherwise. And the said Lodge, being duly formed, is hereby authorized and empow- ered to initiate into the mysteries of the said Order any person or persons duly proposed and approved, according to the laws of Odd-Fellowship, and to administer to true brothers all the privileges and benefits arising therefrom ; and to enact By- Laws for the government of their Lodge : Provided always, that said Lodge do act according to the Order, and in conjunc- tion with, and obedience to, the Grand Lodge, adhering to and supporting the articles and charges delivered with this Dispen- sation ; in default whereof, this Warrant or Dispensation may be suspended, or taken away, at the decision of the Grand Lodge. " And Further, the Grand Lodge (in consideration of the due performance of the above) do bind themselves to repair all damages or destruction of the Dispensation, or charges, whether by fire or other accident : Provided sufficient proof be given that there is no illegal concealment or wilful destruction of the same. And the Grand Lodge will support this said Lodge in the exercise of their duty, and in the privileges and honors of the Order. "In witness whereof, we have displayed the colors of our Or- der, and subscribed our names, and affixed the seal of [l. s.] the Grand Lodge of blank, this seventh day of Febru- ary, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one." (Signed by the Grand-Master and all officers of the Grand Lodge, together with the names of such past officers of Lodges as may choose to sign.) 57 This document will be forwarded to the brothers applying for the Charter, and the Lodge will be or- ganized by the Grand-Master or his Deputy, or a brother authorized by the Grand Lodge to perform such duty. The first business of a Lodge is, of course, to increase its membership. We have elsewhere, in this work, expressed our opinion in reference to the cau- tion which should guide Odd-Fellows in introducing individuals for membership. We are aware that it is extremely desirable to every Lodge, especially in its commencement, to enlarge its numbers ; but we are sure that a Lodge never loses by exercising the utmost surveillance over its good name. One improper per- son admitted will often restrain a dozen worthy men from connecting themselves with a society, wherein an individual may have been received with whom a gen- tleman of correct moral sensibilities would not be wil- ling to associate. The name of a person desiring membership must be proposed by a member in writing, stating the age, residence, and business of the candidate ; which must be referred to three of the brothers for investigation, who must report at the succeeding regular meeting, when the candidate may be balloted for with ball-bal- lots ; and if not more than two black balls appear against him, he will be elected ; but if three or more appear, he must be rejected, and so declared. A brother of the Order wishing to become a member of a Lodge must present his card from the Lodge of which he was formerly a member, which will be referred to a committee of three ; and he must be bal- loted for, and elected or rejected, in the manner above 58 stated. An Ancient Odd-Fellow,* whose card is out of date, or which may have been lost, can be admitted by referring his application to a committee, and dis- posing of it in other respects as explained above. He must be admitted through the process above described. It is usual, when a candidate is rejected, to send notice thereof to all the Lodges in the same and adjoin- ing counties in and near which the rejection occurred. No rejected person can be lawfully balloted for, in any Lodge, under six months from the time of his rejection. Any brother who is in good standing in his Lodge — that is, who is not in arrears, and against whom there is no charge " for conduct unbecoming an Odd- Fellow" — is entitled to receive from his Lodge, in case he should be sick or disabled, a sum of money weekly. The amount varies in extent — some of the Lodges giving twenty dollars per week, and others four or five. The usual allowance, how r ever, is five dollars per week. Those Lodges which give large benefits charge large initiation-fees and dues. Every worthy brother has a positive right to his weekly al- lowance. Neither is its payment to him a matter of charity. It belongs to him as really and unqualifiedly as would insurance-money, due from the insurer of * An "Ancient Odd-Fellow" is a person who, having been regularly initiated into a legal Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, has honorably withdrawn, by card, from the Lodge of which he was last a member ; and, retaining his card, the same is out of date, by reason of more than twelve months having transpired since it was granted ; or, having lost his card, good and satisfactory evidence is presented of his honorable with- drawal from the Lodge in which he was last in membership. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 59 property against loss by fire. It can not be too strongly impressed upon the minds of Odd-Fellows, that there is no humiliation in receiving the Lodge benefits. In case of the death of a worthy brother, there is allowed, usually, a sum not less than thirty dol- lars, to defray the expenses of burial, which is to be paid over, without delay, to the deceased brother's nearest of kin. The N. G., in the absence of compe- tent relations, takes charge of the funeral, and receives account of the disbursements. On the demise of the wife of a worthy brother, a sum not less than fifteen dollars is allowed, for the purpose of assisting in the funeral expenses. Any brother who may offend against the laws of the land, or violate any of the principles of the Order, should be promptly expelled from his Lodge. And all persons in arrears beyond the time specified in the By-Laws for payment of dues, should be as promptly suspended. The success and usefulness of a Lodge depend much upon the integrity and character of its members, and upon the faithful payment of its dues ; and it can not be too circumspect in watching over the one, and enforcing a rigid observance of the other. Yet every man should have a fair trial for an offence involving either expulsion, suspension,* or reprimand ; neither should a man be suspended for non-payment until every warning and facility shall have been given him, to induce or aid him in liquidating the claims against him. * For minor offences, brothers are often suspended during the pleasure of the Lodge, and sometimes for a definite period fixed by the Lodge. Occasionally, also, brothers are suspended for an indefinite period, which amounts to little less than expulsion. 60 No member of a Lodge can be put on trial, unless charges duly specifying his offence be submitted to the Lodge in writing by a brother of the Order, except when made liable by non-payment of dues, in which case he is usually suspended by the action of the By- Laws of his Lodge. When the charge or charges shall have been thus preferred against a brother, or when any matters of grievance between brothers are brought before the Lodge, they should be referred to a special committee of Jive members, who must, if pos- sible, be chosen from among the peers of the implicated brother ; and who, with as little delay as the case will admit, must summon the parties, and examine and de- termine the matter in question : and if it do not involve the expulsion or suspension of a member, or if no ap- peal be taken from their decision to the Lodge, it should be final without further action from the Lodge. Should the committee be convinced of the necessity of suspending or expelling a member, they must submit a motion for the purpose to the Lodge for action. When a motion for the expulsion or suspension of a brother shall have been submitted in due form, it must be announced at two regular meetings previous to ac- tion being taken, and the accused must be summoned to be in attendance at the Lodge, at the time when it may have been determined to consider the question ; at which time, whether the implicated brother be pres- ent or not, the Lodge may proceed to consider and determine it : two thirds of all the qualified members present voting in favor of the motion, it will be carried ; and the Lodge is fully competent, while such motion is under consideration, to vary the penalty from the original motion. If the decision of a committee, ap- THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 61 pointed as above stated, shall not be satisfactory to all parties, either of those interested have the privilege of appeal to the Lodge ; and at the time appointed for trying the appeal, the committee must present to the Lodge, in writing, the grounds on which their decis- ion was founded, and the parties have the privilege of being heard before the Lodge ; after which the Lodge may determine the correctness of the decision of the committee by a majority of the votes present. Either party interested in a case, feeling aggrieved by the decision of the Lodge against him, is entitled to an appeal to the Grand Lodge for a new trial, if infor- mality or want of fairness be shown on a former trial. When a brother has been regularly suspended or ex- pelled, notice thereof should be given at once to all Lodges in the vicinity ; and no one who has been thus expelled can be again admitted to membership without the consent of the Grand Lodge. The members of a Lodge should ever regard the feelings of each other. They should treat each other with due delicacy and respect ; and all ungenerous remarks, personal allusions, or sarcastic language, by which the feelings of any brother may be wounded, and the most prominent of our objects (Friendship, Charity, and Harmony) be interrupted or defeated, should be carefully avoided. All the discussions should be conducted in that spirit of candor, modera- tion, and open generosity, which leads men to the altar of concord and good-fellowship ; and the presiding officer of a Lodge should have the aid of every brother in his endeavor to repress anything to the contrary. It is right and proper, and to be expected, that breth- ren will differ in regard to various matters which may 6 62 THE odd-fellows' text-book. be brought before the Lodge ; but surely there is no good reason why an honest difference of opinion should lead to angry contention and animosity. The following rules of order for the government of a Lodge are such as should be adopted by all well- regulated Lodges of Odd-Fellows ; and we can not do better, in concluding this branch of our subject, than to present them, for the instruction and the study of the readers of this work : — 1. As soon as the N. G. takes the chair, and calls the Lodge to order at the sound of the gavil, the officers shall explain their respective duties. 2. Calling the roll of officers, and reading the last minutes. 3. Report of the Committee of Relief, Sickness, and Distress. 4. Consideration of previous proposals for membership. 5. Initiation of new members. 6. Reception of new proposals for membership. 7. Unfinished business appearing on the minutes. 8. Has any brother anything to offer for the good of this Order? 9. Reading communications. 10. Reports from Finance Committee, Corresponding Com- mittee, Trustees, and Special Committees, by seniority. 11. New business. 12. Applications for Degrees. 13. Balloting for Degrees. 14. No question shall be stated unless moved by two mem- bers, nor be open for consideration until stated by the N. G. ; and when a question is before the Lodge, no motion shall be received, unless to lay on the table, the previous question, to postpone, to refer, or to amend ; and shall have precedence in the order in which they are arranged, the first two of which shall be decided without debate. L5. Any member may call for a division of a question when the sense will admit of it. 16. Any five members calling for the yeas and nays, they shall be ordered by the N. G., and recorded on the minutes. THE ODD-FELLOWS 5 TEXT-BOOK. G3 17. After any question has been decided, except one for indefinite postponement, any two members who voted in the majority, may, at the same time, or next regular meeting, move for a reconsideration thereof, but no discussion of the main ques- tion shall be allowed unless reconsidered. 18. All questions, unless otherwise fixed by law, shall be de- termined by a majority of votes. 19. Every member of the Lodge shall have the privilege of speaking twice on any question under consideration, but not more, unless by the permission of the N. G. 20. When a brother intends to speak on a question, he shall rise in his place and respectfully address his remarks to the N. G., confine himself to the question, and avoid personality. Should more than one brother rise to speak at the same time, the N. G. shall determine who is entitled to the floor. 21. The N. G. or any member may call a brother to order while speaking, when the debate must be suspended, and the brother take his seat, until the point of order be determined. Should the N. G. confirm the call, any brother may appeal to the Lodge, which appeal must be decided without debate, and the objectionable words shall, if required, be put in writing. 22. No brother shall retire without leave of the N. G. ; and no brother shall retire or be admitted during the ceremony of initiation. 23. No member shall be permitted to speak or vote on any question before the Lodge, unless clothed in suitable regalia. 24. No motion can be made by one member while another is speaking, and no motion can be made without rising and addres- sing the chair. 25. No resolution shall be offered to the Lodge, except in writing. 64 THE odd-fellows' text-book. THE OFFICERS OF A LODGE. THE NOBLE-GRAND. The elevation of a brother to the highest position in a Lodge, is a distinction of which he may reasona- bly be proud. It confers upon him a dignity, and enti- tles him to present and prospective privileges, which, as an Odd-Fellow, he may justly regard of inestimable value. He should, therefore, having such an appre- ciation of the honor conferred upon him, endeavor, by his faithfulness to the Lodge, in both his official and unofficial capacity, to evince his sense of grate- fulness for such honor. Much of the peace, harmony, and prosperity of the Lodge will, of course, depend upon him; it is there- fore necessary that he should deeply impress on his mind the important duties of his station. In the per- formance of those duties he should be strictly honest and correct, and should by no means permit his feel- Wg — his "likes or dislikes" — to interfere with the justice of his government or the integrity of his decis- ions. He should act without fear or partiality ; be zealous, yet temper his zeal with prudence ; and al- ways, even in the most trying circumstances, maintain a tranquil temper, a generous disposition, and an un- sullied veracity. If he acquire for himself a reputation THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 65 for the most unbending integrity and firmness, his de- cisions and instructions will not only be received with respect, but attentively observed. By the laws of the Order he is required to support and maintain the rules and regulations of those bodies to which his Lodge is subordinate, and to enforce a strict adherence to the laws of his own Lodge ; he is instructed to enforce those laws, and to preserve, during all times, in his Lodge, the strictest order and decorum : he is expected to judge of every transaction that may come before him, while presiding over the deliberations of the Lodge, impartially and without prejudice. The N. G., being the head and director of the Lodge, is the legal custodian of its Charter, books of charges, and lectures, which he is required to preserve carefully during his term of office, and to see that they shall be delivered to his successor. He is also required to see that all officers of the Lodge and members of committees perform their respective duties, as enjoined by the laws of the Order. He must appoint commit- tees ; give the casting vote on every question where there is a tie ; inspect and announce the result of all ballotings or other votes of the Lodge ; convene spe- cial meetings of the Lodge when deemed expedient ; draw upon the Treasurer for all sums that have been voted by the Lodge, or that may be necessary to pay the benefits provided for by the By-Laws ; cause the names, age, and residence, of the widows and children of deceased brothers to be registered in a book to be kept for that purpose, and watch over their interests with paternal care, provided that such widows and children are of a reputable moral character. It is not proper for the N. G. to make or second G* 66 THE odd-fellows' text-book any motion or resolution, nor to take part in any de- bate, while in the chair. Neither does it appear well for him to leave the Lodge in charge of a brother, for the purpose of taking part in a debate. He has the right to advise and to speak generally, from his place, on any subject of a general nature for the good of the Order ; but he should not enter into the arena of de- bate, and make himself a party in any question before the Lodge. In the selection of his subordinate officers, the N. G. should be circumspect and discreet. He should endeavor to judge, from an observation of the intelli- gence of the brothers of his Lodge, which of them are best qualified to fill, with credit to the Lodge and them- selves, the various duties expected of them. Espe- cially should the Conductor and Warden of a Lodge be men of capacity and intelligence — men who are competent to give the charges peculiar to their office in a dignified and impressive manner. The N. G. should by all means be attentive to the sick or distressed members of his Lodge. He should be the first to call on his brother in trouble or adver- sity, and sympathize with and aid him by his coun- sel or advice. Nor should he consider that this duty is not required of him, but only of the committee appointed for this purpose. Such is an erroneous impression, which ought to be at all times corrected, wherever it prevails. It is as much consistent with the duty and obligations of the head of a Lodge to visit weekly his sick or disabled brothers, as it is for him to be present each week at the opening of his Lodge. And such sick or distressed brothers may properly feel aggrieved, if neglected by him to whom, THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 67 as an Odd-Fellow, they naturally look for sympathy and condolence in their time of trouble. THE VICE-GRAND. The Vice-Grand, who is second in authority in the Lodge, and who, if he conduct himself with propri- ety, is always sure to succeed to the highest place in the gift of his brethren, should regard the situation he occupies as one in which he has abundant facility to make himself acquainted with the duties and require- ments of the office he will, in a short time, be called upon to fill. During the term of his occupancy of the " lower chair," therefore, he should make it a part of his business to acquire a correct understanding of the laws he will be expected to enforce, and to study the dispositions and qualities of those he will be called upon to govern. By so doing, he will be pre- pared to perform, with credit to himself and advan- tage to the Lodge, the duties we have, in the prece- ding pages, described as those appertaining to the office of a Noble-Grand. It is expected of the Vice-Grand, while in the dis- charge of his office as such, that he will assist the N. G. in the execution of his duties, and use his utmost efforts to promote the harmony and welfare of the Lodge, and to increase love among his brethren ; and that he will check or restrain every improper sen- timent that may be uttered by any brother, in or out of the Lodge. He must also carefully attend to the support of order in the Lodge : and it is his duty and his privilege to advise with the N. G. and to remind 68 the odd-fellows' text-book. him of any omission of anything appertaining to his office and duty. At all times, when the N. G. is ab- sent, or otherwise engaged, the V. G. takes his place and assumes his duties, and is, for the time being, the head of the Lodge, with all the authority of a princi- pal officer. It is also his duty to appoint his own assistants (two in number) and a minority of Commit- tees of Investigation ; to assist in examining the ballot- ings for members ; and to take especial charge of the ingress and egress of brothers to or from the Lodge. The V. G. also should make it his business to visit weekly his sick or afflicted brothers. He should not esteem this duty so lightly as to suppose that it attaches merely to the Visiting Committee and to his superior officer; but, as he is second in his Lodge, and must soon be first, he must remember, not only that much is expected of him in his present position, but that a visit from him, and a few words of encour- agement, to a brother in pain, will lighten that brother's burden, at the same time that they raise him in the estimation of all, who appreciate such conduct in those on whom honors and authority have been conferred by the brethren. THE SECRETARY. The office of Secretary has been esteemed, by some, to be the most arduous and responsible situation in a Lodge. We would not wish to say that we agree with this opinion, nor would we underrate the useful- ness and labor of a Secretary ; but we are of opinion that every office, while it requires abilities suited to its nature, is more or less arduous, if it be faithfully i THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 69 filled. Yet the Secretary's is a most important post, and one which requires a capacity which compara- tively few men possess. A correct record of the pro- ceedings of all public bodies is most desirable. The Secretary of a Lodge should be quick of comprehen- sion, and possess the quality of writing, or in some way placing ideas promptly in his memory, so rapidly as to obtain an accurate record of every subject sug- gested or acted upon. For, frequently, matters of the greatest importance must be decided by a reference to his minutes of the proceedings. The Secretary is properly considered the third officer in a Lodge ; and although he has no power or authority, yet his opinion has great weight with the brethren. It is also the case, that, with very rare ex- ceptions, he is, at the end of his term, elevated to the chair of the V. G., whence, in due time, he of course goes up to the head of the Lodge. It is the duty of the Secretary to keep a correct and impartial record of all the proceedings of a Lodge ; to fill up summonses ; to write all letters and communi- cations that may be ordered by the Lodge or the N. G. ; to fill up certificates and cards ; to keep securely the seal and books ; to attest to all moneys ordered to be paid ; to furnish to the Grand Lodge (at the end of his term) a correct account of the condition of the Lodge ; and to answer, by direction of the Lodge, all communications that may be addressed to it.* * In most of the Lodges, the business being too much for one Secreta^, there is a second elected, who is called the Perma- nent Secretary, and who usually receives pecuniary considera- tion for his services. Ordinarily, he is elected for one year. It is his duty to keep just and true accounts between the Lodge 70 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. The Secretary of a Lodge should endeavor to exer- cise toward his brethren, who may apply to him for information relative to matters in his charge, the utmost courtesy and forbearance. He should be willing to take some trouble to enlighten them on all subjects connected with his business, into which they have the right to inquire ; and in no case should he allow him- self to be offended at what he may consider unneces- sary inquiry. There can be no secret rightfully kept from a brother of the Lodge. He has the right to de- mand information relative to everything that is done therein, whether it be in his presence or absence ; and as the Secretary is the servant of the Lodge, he must expect to be called upon for information concerning its transactions. We would also say, that the Secretary of a Lodge should not consider that his duty as an officer is merely to perform the requirements we have here noted ; but and its members ; to collect all dues, fines, and assessments, as soon as imposed, and report to the Lodge any brother neglecting to pay the same when duly notified ; to enter the charges as they become due, and credit the amounts as paid, giving a receipt for them; and to pay them to the Treasurer imme- diately, taking his receipt. He must, at the close of each term, notify every member who is thirteen weeks in arrears of the amount due by him to the Lodge, adding thereto twelve and a half cents extra for serving the notice. At the end of each quarter, he must render to the Lodge an account of the state of his books. He must keep his accounts regularly posted, and be ready at all times to render statements of the arrears of the brethren, so that their rights be not abused. No person, how- ever, is at liberty to interfere with his books, except the N. G. of his Lodge, or the Grand-Master or his Deputy. In Penn- sylvania, the Recording Secretary is called " Permanent," and the Permanent Secretary " Assistant. 1 ' THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 71 that -he too (although he may not be bound to do so by the regulations or official desire of his Lodge) should make his weekly call at the bedside of his sick brother. As an Odd-Fellow simply, he might do this with much propriety ; but, as an officer of his Lodge, he can hardly, if his heart be right, fail to perform so small a task of justice and good-will : for, with how little trouble to himself can he thus confer a real pleasure on a brother ! THE TREASURER. The Treasurer of a Lodge occupies a responsible and important office, which should be always confided to a brother known to possess correct business habits and the strictest honesty. For he is expected, not only to keep a rigid account of his receipts and expendi- tures, but to be most punctual in the payment of bene- fits due the sick and distressed brothers. It is em- phatically his duty to call, each week, on such brothers, to give comfort and consolation in a double capacity. His delay, even of a single day, may sometimes cause a great amount of real distress and disappointment. It may, too, bring a reproach upon the Lodge and the Order : for there are always enough people to watch the course pursued by Odd-Fellows toward each other in cases of illness, and to sneer at our professions if we do not happen to fulfil them to the very letter. When a Lodge once elects a good Treasurer, it should keep him elected so long as he may be willing to retain the office. It is the duty of the Treasurer to receive at each 72 the odd-fellows' text-book. meeting whatever funds may be paid into the hands of the Secretary (through which all moneys must pass), and be so correct, careful, and honest, as to give- the Lodge the most complete confidence that it is secure from any pecuniary loss. He should be ready, when- ever called upon, to inform the Lodge of its pecuniary condition, and be prepared to surrender, at any mo- ment, his trust with honor, in case he should be desired to do so. It has been well and truly said, for the con- sideration and reflection of the Treasurer, that " on the proper management of the fiscal concerns of a Lodge mainly depends its ability to render assistance where it is needed, and at the time it may be required." It is expected of the Treasurer, that, prior to his in- stallation as such, he. should give a joint and several bond, with two approved sureties, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. These sureties should be bona fide, so that the Lodge may not be under the unpleasant necessity of rejecting them at the time of installation. In case they shall be men of insufficient responsibility, the Lodge should not hesitate, from motives of delicacy, to reject them promptly; for the laws of the Order and of the Lodge should ever be paramount to individual consideration. THE CONDUCTOR. The office of Conductor is a most important one — one which few men, comparatively, are qualified to fill. The Conductor should be a competent reader, and understand something also of elocution. His duty is a peculiar one ; in fact, on the impressions he may THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 73 make often depend the subsequent conduct and use- fulness of the Odd-Fellow. THE WARDEN. The Warden, also, should be competent to read well, and to make a proper impression on the neophyte. It is his duty, likewise, to see that the regalia for the use of the members, at the opening of the Lodge, is properly provided, and to collect and preserve it in a careful manner at the close. He must canvass all votes on motions and resolutions, and act as messen- ger of the Lodge (during its sittings only) when desired to do so. He must also see that no improper person is in the Lodge at its opening. THE GUARDIANS. No office can be of more importance than that of Guardian. On the Guardian much depends. If he neglect or refuse to perform his duty, the Lodge might soon become a scene of confusion. It rests with him almost entirely whether an improper person shall enter the ante-chambers of the Lodge. He should therefore be wary, and promptly require every person whom he might suspect, to give a good account of himself, or report him to the proper officer. He should be a man of nerve, too-— one who would not for a moment hesi- tate to eject forcibly, if requisite, any person who might presume to deceive or intrude upon the Lodge. 7 74 the odd-fellows' text-book. THE SUPPORTERS. These officers are more useful and necessary to a Lodge than many are apt to suppose. They have duties to perform, which, in more than one sense, are important. Among these, not the least is that which requires them to remind the presiding officers of any omissions which they may make in the prosecution of their business. They should ever remember that the eyes of the brethren are upon them, and that on the faithful and correct performance of their duties depend in a great measure their prospect of future preferment, and final elevation to more responsible positions.* ATTENDANCE AT THE LODGE It is the duty of an Odd-Fellow to be vigilant and attentive. By this we mean that he should not only be strict in the payment of his dues to the Lodge, but that he should also be a punctual and regular attendant there. No brother can be fully impressed with his duty as an Odd-Fellow who attends only once or twice -in a year, and then merely for the purpose of paying his dues. The reasonable inference would be, that such a man had become a member of the Fraternity for the extremely selfish object of obtaining pecuniary advan- * We have said nothing of the Chaplain. It is optional with a Lodge whether to appoint a Chaplain or not. His duty is merely to open and close the meetings with prayer, and to attend at funerals of members deceased. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 75 tage ; and that he could not, or would not, see any excellence in the system beyond that of its beneficial character. This, unfortunately, is a " too-common error," and he who is under its influence should be at once undeceived. If brothers absent themselves from the regular meetings of the Lodge, those who do attend will naturally feel indignant Or grieved, or both, and consider that a slight has been put upon them : and those who are not members, observing the carelessness of brethren in this matter, will be apt to think that there must be very little attraction in Odd-Fellowship, when those who are connected with a Lodge appear to feel so little interest in its prosperity. Every brother should be at his Lodge, weekly if possible, but cer- tainly once in each month. A general attendance at the meetings makes them interesting, and is an encour- agement to officers and members. Thus more good can be accomplished, both to the brothers of the Lodge themselves, and to the community at large. Let it be therefore ever borne in mind that punctual attendance at the Lodge is an essential duty of every Odd-Fellow. BEHAVIOR IN THE LODGE. Brothers, during the working-hours of the Lodge, should conduct themselves with the utmost propriety and decorum. We would call particular attention to this subject. It is the object of all our ceremonies to make a good as well as indelible impression on the minds of those who would become Odd-Fellows. There 76 the odd-fellows' text-book. is a solemnity in the " work" — a reality in the emblems — a truth in the official instructions — which should not be trifled with. It would seem to be a mere farce to ask another to be serious, while all around him are talking and laughing. We do not say that any Lodge has so far forgotten its dignity as to act thus — we ac- cuse none — but we say plainly, that, if any Lodge should perform its work in the midst of confusion or uproar, it would bring a scandal upon the Order, for which it would deserve to be severely reprimanded. Such conduct, indeed, if indulged and permitted for a single evening, would soon show its fruits out of the Lodge. We may rely upon it, the world would soon laugh at us, if we should begin the joJce ourselves. If we wish to have our " mysteries" preserved, therefore, we must most sincerely respect them, and thus give an example which will command respect from others. Brothers should also be attentive in the Lodge to its regular business ; they should listen to whatever may be proceeding, in order that they may be able to vote upon it with a correct apprehension of its propriety or importance. Neither should a brother " dodge" a ques- tion, or refuse or neglect to vote upon it, without a very substantial reason. 77 BEHAVIOR OUT OF THE LODGE. Odd-Fellows should endeavor to convince the world, by their conduct as neighbors and citizens, that the teachings and objects of their Institution tend to make them wiser and better men. They should be upright and correct in their dealings — should be char- itable and benevolent — willing to relieve the distresses and wants of the poor, when they may do so consist- ently. They should be industrious and virtuous, and provide for those dependent upon them. The Odd- Fellow who behaves ill to his family, either personally in not providing for their wants, or by idling away his time in dissipation and drunkenness, should be accused before his Lodge, and condemned for conduct unbe- coming his profession. It is well enough for Odd-Fellows to encourage each other in business, preferring to employ brothers rather than strangers, provided they can be accommodated equally as well. This they are not of course enjoined to do by the laws of the Order ; but they may as broth- ers prefer one another, and no reasonable man can consistently complain of such preference. Brothers should be strictly cautious in their conver- sations and communication with others relative to the business of their Lodges. They should not only make no improper discovery to the uninformed, but they should also not, by any hint or double entendre, excite the curiosity of the world. They should never forget that curious people are constantly on the alert to catch at any word on this subject which, they imagine, may enlighten them with reference to our " secrecy." 7* 78 DUTY OF ONE MEMBER TOWARD ANOTHER. Every one should feel and display a deep interest in the prosperity of the society in which he has a part. Its interests are his interests ; he, too, is a professed supporter of its objects ; he is, as far as his abilities go, responsible for its proceedings ; he will actively concern himself for the faithful preservation of its tenets ; he will rejoice in its peaceful state of activity. This only is to be accomplished by a continued affa- bility and familiarity of manner toward those among whom he associates ; austerity, pride, and pedantry, are the three greatest enemies to such a consummation : he will not, therefore, by exercising an undue degree of the baneful tendency of self opinion, destroy that fellow-feeling so requisite among all who enter a Lodge- room. Let no degree of slight originate between us, because the individual who sits next us has, by his ordinary avocation, a more grimsy dye upon his fea- tures, or the shallowness of his purse causes his coat to be made of a coarser material than our own. His interests in the Lodge are conjointly formed with ours ; consequently, so long as the principles of the Order are held in deference and esteem by him, he deserves the same mark of respect from us which perchance is due from us to others of a higher caste. Again, let not the latter party imagine a slight where none is meant. His fellow-member's carriage and deportment in common life may seem to rank nigh to pedantry, or his style of language and general comportment seem like affectation ; still, however dissonant it may be to THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 79 our own feelings, he may hold good the principles of Odd-Fellowship, and condemnation of his demeanor is not justifiable without sufficient proof to his prejudice. On either hand we must withhold judgment until ex- perience shall have decided us. Particularities should have very little to do with the Order, which is noble and plastic, is meant for the world, and is adapted for man in all his diversified circumstances ; equality and brotherhood should be our greatest aim. In all our dealings, all our discussional points, let us not assume a loftier degree of superiority than the most well-founded pretensions can warrant ; neither let us lack spirit enough to think ourselves inferior to those who by dint of pleasing though powerful language may carry an argument, when the smallest iota of sound reason may tell us we excel them. To dwell on our own distinctive points, or those of other parties, has an alienating and divisive tendency. The very nature of things tells us that arrogant pretensions en- kindle resistance ; that ascendency generates discon- tent ; that insolence awakens scorn. Again, fear pro- duces contempt ; truculence strengthens authority ; adulation confirms pride. To enjoy more fully the desirable connection which our frequent intercourse affords, we should ever grace our conduct to each other with mildness, and generosity, and frankness, and confidence ; always open to advice when needful, whether it emanate from those whom we may consider a grade below us, or from those in a station superior to our own ; and ever ready to perform the same office to others, as far as in us lies, without pride and arro- gance, always remembering that cordial affability gen- erally begets esteem. Under any other system social 80 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. kindness dies away, and jealousy, resentment, and envy, usurp its place. But what need be said more than this — "we are members one of another," and we should ever nourish a feeling of brotherly love to all who join us. The " law of love" is the rule of Chris- tian intercourse : let not a perversion of its principles be shown among Odd-Fellows. To every one we should stand ready to exercise kindness, gentleness, forbearance, fidelity. To any that are erring from the strict path of rectitude, we should be assiduous in im- parting warning, reproof, and instruction — thereby ce- menting more firmly the bonds which endear us. To the afflicted we should administer, as far as ability will admit, to their comfort; at the same time manifest our sympathy. By thus bringing together our good inten- tions, and combining their influences, every individual will partake of the general energy. Our scattered light will thus be concentrated into one orb, shedding a lus- trous halo on all around. Toward those who are elected our officers let us exercise a beseeming degree of respect and deference, that they may find we do not set an idle value upon the offices they fill. By our own voice they preside over us, and consequently we virtually engage to accept their instruction in all that pertaineth to the good of the Order. Hence, members of the Order are expected to welcome official admonition, reproof, and advice. We mean no slavish mental or bodily fear or adulation — no sacrifice of conscience or judgment ; but a readi- ness to hear the inculcation of the different principles of the Order — a uniform obedience to its laws, how- ever apparently disagreeable. This is a duty we sol- emnly promise when we enter a Lodge, and to swerve THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 81 from such duty is a gross violation of honor as a man and an Odd-Fellow. Odd-Fellowship is, in our opinion, founded on the strictest principles of piety ; and we must perceive, in its social regulations, that the happiness of an individ- ual member must rise or fall in proportion to the inter- est he feels in the welfare of his fellow-members, and for the preservation of the Order in common. Like the heavenly bodies, which are preserved in their rela- tive position to each other by their common attraction to the sun, Odd-Fellows are kept in unison with each other by their attachment to principles which directly govern them. Those who can not heartily perform the social duties of Odd-Fellowship, want an essential mark of fellow-feeling to mankind in general. What other proof need be afforded of the efficacy and moral tendency of the Order, than the increasing, and rapid, and astonishing progress it has made throughout the world within the last few years ? As the light of intel- lect improves, Odd-Fellowship will acquire adherents and keep pace with it. Wherever it once becomes known, its benign influences are embraced, and no excitement is needed to blazon forth its precepts to accumulate disciples. Opposition has been made to it — is likely to be made — -by the base, the self-suffi- cient, and the unworthy ; but its purity has ever stood the fiery ordeal, and come forth in more vivid colors — its pristine brightness untarnished, unsullied. Let us, then, persist in the glorious work we have commenced, with vigor and unflinching stability ; let our bark, while sailing on the extensive ocean of Fel- lowship, be guided by the compass of justice ; and, if we may continue the metaphor, let us perseveringly 82 the odd-fellows' text-book, pursue the track its needle indicates ; that, when ar- rived at our destined haven, we may, with a pure con- sciousness of having supported to the utmost our pur- pose of benevolence and charity, securely recline our heads on the satisfactory pillow of contentment, and indulge in the aspiring hope that when summoned from this sublunary sphere, we may meet with an eternal welcome in that " angel-land" where " sorrow intrudes not" — where " the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest !" CHARITY SHOULD DISTINGUISH ODD- FELLOWS. Among the several moral virtues, Charity occupies a very prominent station. It is not, indeed, so much an independent virtue, as it is the element in which the other virtues move and operate. Its influence is remote, rather than immediate ; and its excellence is seen to the best advantage, when observed in the various accidents and circumstances of practical life. When we think of Charity, we think of it rather as an energy to give tone and character to other graces, than of something which is in itself a grace. Performed in the true spirit of Charity, the simplest act wears an aspect of beauty and sublimity ; apart from its pres- ence and influence, the most important action appears altogether hideous and revolting. Hence, an inspired writer has aptly called it " the very bond of perfect- ness ;" which is, in effect, to constitute it a sort of atmosphere for the other virtues to move in. TEXT-BOOK. 83 Charity is that universal feeling of good-will and kindness, which, rejecting local circumstances and prejudices, is willing to embrace the breathing uni- verse in the spirit of concession and compromise ; and which, where its object is smitten by the hand of pov- erty, is desirous of displaying itself in acts of pecu- niary assistance. If we would make a just estimate of its importance, let us look abroad upon the face of the peopled earth. Let us observe the myriads upon myriads of active beings dwelling upon its surface, who, as civil and social beings, are bound together mainly by the cold law of selfishness ; consider the numerous weaknesses and errors of human judgment ; mark the perpetual liabilities to collision of feeling and interest ; and we may then be prepared to form some idea of the importance of Charity. It is true that man, as an individual, possesses sympathies and incli- nations that lead to seek with avidity the fellowship of his species ; but, so soon as he enters into a state in society, his feelings of selfishness gain the ascendency of all the rest : hence the necessity of some strong opposing principle, which shall be, in fact, the great conservative principle of humanity. Such a principle is Charity. Like an angel of mercy, it has gone forth into the various departments of society with " healing in its wings ;" often humbling and subduing the proud oppressor's heart ; and ever seeking to soothe the wretched and disconsolate. The monuments of Charity are more enduring than those of the hero ; for they speak not of devastation and blood, but of positive deeds of mercy that can never be forgotten, until nature has forgotten to do its wonted work upon the memory of man. And while 84 - systems that have grown weak from age shall have fallen with a crash that shall shake the earth, it will be the province of Charity to gather up the fragments that lay around, and march on, to shape to better purposes the destiny of the coming period. But, if Charity be thus important in itself, institu- tions tending to extend and perpetuate its influence must be of vast utility also. Such an institution is Odd-Fellowship. It is based upon the purest prin- ciples of equality, extending like privileges and immu- nities to all its membership ; and, rejecting all prefer- ence for any particular creed in religion, it clings, with the utmost tenacity, to those great moral principles which are shadowed forth in the impressions of nature, and confirmed by the precepts of Divine Revelation. Its membership, particularly those of more elevated condition, should learn to lay aside feelings of pride and ostentation, by the frequent recurrence of scenes of sorrow and wretchedness ; while from those scenes they should gather a practical commentary upon the unstable character of earthly pomp and glory. Les- sons taught by example are more thrilling than those gathered from the history of past events. There is no school so good as that of self-experience. We read of events of gone-by generations, as things about which we are concerned but little ; and of those who were long since subjected to the sad fluctuations of earthly fortune, we are too apt to feel that they were beings with whose destinies our own are but slightly identified. We read of Xerxes, who marshalled his millions upon the plains of Asia-Minor, and fancied himself capable of shaking the pillars of the universe. A moment more, we see him flying from a handful of detested TEXT-BOOK. 85 Grecians. We read of Tadmor in the desert, whose splendor almost added additional lustre to the sun. Alas, she is gone now ! and she and Xerxes sleep in the same oblivious tomb. We read the sad illustration of the fleeting nature of earthly glory : it is an old story ; and our hearts turn away but slightly affected. But when from a tragedy, which was acted many cen- turies ago, we turn aside to gaze, for ourselves, upon a scene of wo and wretchedness, the tear of sympathy will glisten in the eye, and the visage, despite of itself, will begin to express the commiseration that rules the heart within. Such feelings indicate the true spirit of Charity ; and such feelings Odd-Fellowship is well calculated to create and preserve. But while Odd-Fellowship thus fosters Charity, and extends its influence as a social principle, it strips it of its most revolting character, when made to assume the garb of almsgiving. To a sensitive being, how- ever desolate his condition, the idea of being the receiver of accidental charity is a loathsome thing. This feeling Odd-Fellowship takes away, since, in sending its alms to the desolate widow — who stands in silent but speaking wretchedness over the couch of her deceased husband — it places it in her hands as that which is hers by right of inheritance. This is an incalculable good. It is not enough that alms be given : they must be so given that the subject does not feel the sad necessity he is under to receive them. Otherwise, in relieving an immediate necessity, alms- giving would often lead to a remote and fearful evil, by making its subject repine at his lot, and curse the hard hand of Providence for subjecting him to so sad a state of vassalage. 86 In promoting Odd-Fellowship, then, we are sub- serving the best interests of humanity by advancing Charity. Together may they run out into the various departments of society, until they shall have com- passed the four corners of the earth ! And while Charity shall erect its temple in every land, may benevolence and love rule the feeling of every breast ! THE PROPOSAL OF CANDIDATES. This is unquestionably one of the most essential matters, in reference to Odd-Fellowship, that can be suggested ; and we shall, therefore, speak plainly, though we trust not harshly, upon it. If we assert that much harm has resulted from negligence or hasti- ness in this business, we trust that those who may have been to blame will take no offence, but that they will " make haste" to atone, in some measure, for the evil they have done, by restraining others from following their example. There was an old charge (and an excellent one), which Odd-Fellows heard very often, and which might still, with much propriety, be impressed on their minds. The spirit of Innovation has " flung" that good old sentence of advice, with some other good things, into the shade ; but we shall print it here, with the hope that some thousands of Odd-Fellows, now and hereaf- ter, will read and ponder it. It is as follows : — " Should you, at any time, jwojiose a, friend to be- come a member of this Order, see that he be such a 87 man as will be likely to conform to the rules and pre- cepts of Odd-Fellowship ; for nothing is so painful to the feelings of faithful Odd-Fellows as to see the requirements of the Institution trampled upon and profaned.'''' With such an injunction as this impressed upon the mind, surely no Odd-Fellow could conscientiously be instrumental in bringing an unworthy person into the Fraternity. He would be careful to propose no such character. It will not do to say that a bad man may be expelled, and that his admission, therefore, will produce no harm. For when a worthless character once gains access to a Lodge, and is enrolled among its members, although it is true we can always remove him from a place he is unfit to fill, yet, as every one has some friends, the cure, in this case, is at least as bad as the disease. How much better is it to be care- ful, and allow no such person to be even proposed ! If a person heedlessly rush into danger, and break a limb, or engender a pestilential fever, his physician may restore him to health ; but how preferable to the physician would prevention have been ! So, more mischief can be avoided, and more good effected, by employing our vigilance and caution in proposing can- didates, than in healing the wounds caused by unworthy men after they have once entered our halls and been initiated into our mysteries. It is a lamentable fact, and one which has done us, as an Order, more harm than all the opposition of our enemies, that there have been bad men introduced among us. We can not deny this fact, humiliating as it is, but we can surely prevent a repetition of occurrences so much to be deprecated. 88 the odd-fellows' text-book. We would not undertake to set up any particular standard or rule in this matter ; but we would suggest that any brother who proposes for Odd-Fellows men whose characters are known to be bad, violates, as a member of our Brotherhood, every principle of honor, and deserves himself expulsion from any Lodge which he thereby so deeply disgraces and injures. Scoffers, bigots, gamblers, drunkards, slanderers, liars, sensual- ists, misers, swindlers, men who abandon wives and children, men who "grind the faces of the poor" — should no more be admitted into an Odd-Fellows' Lodge than the thief or the murderer ! Every man who becomes a member of a Lodge, signs his name to a written or printed paper, in which occurs something like the following : — " Any person not under twenty-one, nor over sixty years of age, of good moral character and industrious habits, and exempt from all infirmities which may prevent his gaining a livelihood for himself and fam- ily, shall be eligible to membership in this Lodge. Brothers, before proposing a candidate for member- ship, must first ascertain if he is qualified according to the preceding conditions ; his name must then be submitted, and, at the time of making the proposition, the sum of blank dollars must be deposited with the Secretary ; and in case the candidate should not come forward within eight weeks after being notified of his election (unless prevented by sickness or absence from town), he shall forfeit the same, and it shall be paid over to the Widow and Orphans' Fund, and the propo- sition shall be void ; but should he be rejected, the amount so paid shall be refunded. When a propo- sition for membership has been made, the same shall THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 89 be referred to a Committee of three brothers, who shall report at the next regular meeting, when the candidate shall be balloted for, and if he receive an unfavorable vote, the same can in no case be recon- sidered ; provided, also, that a proposition, when once made, can not be withdrawn. Every member, on be- ing admitted into this Lodge, shall sign the Constitu- tion and By-Laws thereof, agreeing to support the same, and pay all legal demands against him so long as he remains a member of this Lodge ; he shall also furnish the Secretary with his residence, and, in case of removal, shall notify him within three weeks there- after." This is what Odd-Fellows should consider carefully, in all its bearings, ere they propose any man — no matter how much a friend he may be — to the Order. DISCIPLINE OF ODD-FELLOWSHIP. Human nature is formed Of a material so frail in texture, that, however plausible may be its tenor for a time — unless bound by an adamantine chain of reso- lution — temptation soon makes an inroad upon its ter- ritories, and wantonly destroys all its barriers, all its good intentions. It can not therefore be surprising that in a Fraternity of 200,000, let their designs be ever so pure, some means must be taken to exercise a spirit of consistency among them, having for its object the perpetuity of the cause and the benefit of each in- dividual. Every human institution provides against 8* 90 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. departures from the purpose and spirit of its establish- ment. We see the Society of Friends- — a fraternity whose apathy to form is proverbial, where it can in the slightest case be dispensed with — even they have rules framed so as to protect its principles against the possi- bility of perversion. Every bill for the enclosure of a waste or the construction of a railway is marked by the suspicious prudence of mankind in dealing with their brethren. Now in scarcely any other case is there so great danger of innovation as in the case of Odd-Fel- lowship — a tender plant in an ungenial soil. Hence our General Laws, hence our By-Laws : how they operate, the increasing prosperity of the Order shows. To prevent a general decay, we must put forcible re- strictions upon a defaulter. We must have control somewhere. It is nothing but reasonable, therefore, that a government be formed, like that of the Grand Lodge of the United States, for the guidance of the whole, and the preserving a general and perpetual spirit of uniformity. If we are to remain a company of unflinching advocates in the cause of philanthropy, we must exact an unrelaxing discipline from all. The object to be kept in view is the purity of the Order and the good of all who oppose its interests by a base perversion of its principles. Still we are to avoid all rashness, all hasty conclusions. Reproof should be administered where a disposition is shown to infringe upon a law, and that in a serious manner, " with great meekness and pity," and with perfect i?npartialit)j. Admonition will often bring an erring brother to con- trition. St. Paul treats admirably on this point, when willing to the church at Thessalonica : "Note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 91 ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but ad- monish him as a brother." In every case of infrac- tion the object should be to " restore" an offender, rather than to punish or expel him. We see, then, the necessity of not entirely abandoning those who err : they should be warned, and, if possible, convinced of their departure from rule, that they may be " restored in the spirit of meekness." Persons are placed in a very delicate situation who incur the censure of a Lodge, and ought to feel and know the dishonor and danger that fall, not only upon themselves, but upon the Order in particular ; for the prejudice of the world is strong, and many who " lie in wait for our halting" would rejoice at the prospect of our downfall. Earnest adherence to rule is particularly necessary to Odd-Fellowship. We must never allow discipline to be relaxed, as the number of cases, which may by such means require it, increase, and the Order must contain many who are indisposed to employ the goodly resoluteness. Hence, too, none save such as entertain a strict desire for the prosperity of the Order, can be expected to maintain a real discipline. Many " roots of bitterness" will spring up in Lodges, and we can not expect to arrive at so desired a state of perfectness but some will be "found wanting;" for whereunto is the palace that foul things sometimes intrude not? The time must eventually arrive when our elder brethren will be " gathered to their fathers," and the guidance of the Order devolve on the younger mem- bers. If, then, we indulge in odious petty differences now, we must bid farewell to the tranquillity, content, and peace, exhibited and enjoyed to-day, and dread the anarchy, confusion, and turbulence, that will assu- 92 THE odd-fellows' text-book. redly prevail to-morrow. "Can such things be, and overcome us, like a summer's cloud, without our spe- cial wonder?" To obviate so dire an aspect in the perspective, so bitterly repugnant to the feelings of every true Odd-Fellow, so utterly at variance with the purposes for which our praiseworthy Institution was founded, let us, by our uniform adherence to its prin- ciples, evince our determination to secure unviolated, unsullied, without stain and without alloy, the purity of Odd-Fellowship in our own day. A decided enforcement of discipline is necessary in the promotion of unity among us, without which we may, as the numerous sands on a seabeach, lie in acci- dental proximity— in a seeming connectedness with each other — but, upon a more superficial observance, our manifold and important parts are wofully disjointed. We must exhibit a solidity of purpose and principle entirely connected. We must, like a mass of gold, uniformly allow all our parts and particles to adhere and combine; and so evince an ardent desire of reso- lution to fulfil the important duties we are called upon to perform in a manner that will reflect credit on the Order, and convey satisfaction to ourselves. We must, by unity, not only constitute a great number, but a great one. We must be united in both common interests and reciprocal esteem. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 93 PRINCIPLES OF ODD-FELLOWSHIP. One of the fundamental rules of life, laid down by our great Master, is, to "do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you." An injunction ema- nating from so divine a Source, can not fail to inspire every rational being with that sense of social fellowship which is due from one created individual to another, and must, therefore, elevate his mind to a perfection of purity far above the common feelings of life. This, we apprehend, w T as the chief intention of our ancestors, in guiding them to the attainment and general spread of Odd-Fellowship throughout the universe. The ordinary obligations of Odd-Fellowship are attached to the members of Lodges in their collective charac- ter ; but there are some positive and some negative duties, arising therefrom, which specially belong to such members ; every brother is required to have faith, and all the virtues therein composed are to be evinced by him. Before entering on this topic, it may be useful to notice, generally, the purposes of Odd-Fellowship. Odd-Fellowship is the exercise of the social principle in matters of common life — the junction of men who agree in views, and tastes, and purposes, for their joint assistance and united endeavors for providing relief in the hour of need. It is not confined to one particular 94 the odd-fellows' text-book. occasion, or limited to one transaction ; it extends its advantages to all who recognise each other as mem- bers — who rank under one common head; every expression of fraternal regard, every participation in the enjoyments of friendship, every act of sympathy and benevolence, as truly belongs to the principles of Odd-Fellowship, as the celebration of a natal day. Such ought to be the predominant feature displayed in the conduct of all who enter a Lodge-room. In truth, if we are strangers to communion with our brothers on other occasions, it is impossible for us to enjoy it there ; for the mind is not a piece of mechan- ism, which can be set going at pleasure, whose move- ments are obedient to the call of time and place. Nothing short of habitual sympathy, springing from the cultivation of benevolent feeling and the interchange of kind offices, will secure that reciprocal delight, that social pleasure, which are the soul of our communion. Our frequent flow of benevolence should not be limited to those who belong to the Order alone, but to all our fellow-creatures, when time and circumstance give oc- casion, in order that we may more cheerfully fulfil kind intentions to those who have a more immediate claim upon our liberality in the Order; as, if such sentiments do not sway our bosoms upon ordinary occasions, how can we voluntarily, and without a struggle, perform an act of good-will to our individual Lodge-members ? And when a moiety is contributed with a turbulent spirit, the recipient had much rather remain in his penurious state than seek relief from such a donor. Thus Odd-Fellowship requires its vo- taries to manifest a feeling of benevolence in public as well as private ; the one will naturally lead us to THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 95 perform good deeds toward the other ; therefore, if we fail on the one hand, a total neglect and indifference will arise on the other. To advance the principles of Odd-Fellowship, it is necessary to cultivate and enter- tain its foremost purpose, the benign spirit of philan- thropy, as regards the welfare of others. Can we, without compunction, exercise benevolence to our in- dividual relatives, if we exhibit a dereliction of that principle for a stranger ? Can we imitate the timely compassion of a Samaritan, if we foster the detestable feelings of vicious pride and contempt of a Levite? " When" — asks Cowper — " When was public virtue found Where private was not ? Can he love the whole Who loves no part ? he be a nation's friend, Who is, in truth, the friend of no man there ? Can he be strenuous in his country's cause, Who slights the charities for whose dear sake That country, if at all, must be beloved ?" Thus, then, we may conclude that the principles of Odd-Fellowship as much depend upon our general conduct out of the Order, as our character in common life depends upon our energetic fulfilment of disciple- ship in the Order. A constant provision (which is the great object of Odd-Fellowship) against the needs of brethren, is an operation and display of principle far more exalted in the eyes of all good men than the incidental manifesta- tion of charity, under the impulse of a momentary sympathy. To lay by a store of bounty for suffering and needy brethren, is to treasure up love and happi- ness in the heart — is a work of principle far surpassing the acts of a temporary compassion ; it is the founda- tion-stone on which the sublime structure of Odd-Fel- 96 lowship was raised, and finally became the formidable edifice we now behold. Nor could a more suitable plan be brought into operation, for expressing our filial attachment to that portion of mankind whose reci- procity of feelings demands our aid. Whatever plan might be adopted, we arrive but at one conclusion : we are bound by not only the law of nature, but the law of God, " not to see any brother have need, and shut up our bowels of compassion from him." Odd- Fellowship is constructed upon as divine principles as those which sway other institutions. Every votary at its shrine is expected to love and exalt its precepts — to love them for the sake of their excellence — to love them for the sake of those benefits which we all, in common, enjoy — to love them in this life, for the sake of that heavenly communion in which we hope to dwell hereafter. Odd-Fellowship is loud in prohibit- ing all jealousies ; all rejoicings in the evils of another ; all encouragement to vice, irregularities, and vicious propensities : it encourages all good deeds, and con- demns all frail habits ; it advances man in the social scale of life, and retards, by avoidance, him whose absolute viciousness requires admonition ; it requires us to cherish love toward all mankind, though not immediately connected with them : not that it requires us to neglect the officers and brothers of a Lodge with whom we are directly allied — no, this would be to destroy our membership in a particular coterie, and lose our social privileges and the peculiar advantages therewith attended, in a vague generality of commu- nion. The very fact of our entering one particular Lodge, intimates our preference for that Lodge, in dis- tinction from the rest, and requires our participation THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. 97 and exertions in its services : still, while such does not merge our membership in a vagrant indifference to its privileges, we are not to lose our feeling of catholicity in the restrictiveness of a general commu- nion. Here, Odd-Fellows maintain a visible bond of union in the world. An individual unites himself to a Lodge, that Lodge is united to other similar bodies, and thus has arisen universal association, whose praise- worthy efforts to do good is augmented by each indi- vidual putting " his shoulder to the wheel." It must be remembered that a union with one particular soci- ety does not dissociate us from the general body ; we are members of a community, though immediately con- nected with a particular family ; we belong to a king- dom, as well as a city within it, and are not allowed to lose either our patriotism in our citizenship, or our citizenship in our patriotism. All Lodges are to be regarded with the same benevolent feelings which char- acterize its uniformity, notwithstanding our intimate connection with one of them in particular. In an army are many companies, yet one great fraternity — " distinct as the billows, yet one as the ocean." So with Odd-Fellowship: we belong to a Lodge, yet are accountable to the Order for our actions ; and it appears but reasonable that one Lodge should recog- nise, as a sister, a Lodge similarly consisting of indi- viduals acting under the same authority, and seeking to promote the same cause. In this spirit, our Lodges are allowed to visit each other as brethren, and even to receive each other's members as brethren ; they Co-operate for the good of the Order, and thus recog- nise each other ; they reciprocally seek and render advice ; they contribute to each other's necessities, and 9 98 THE odd-fellows' text-book. in various ways are esteem and confidence exhibited and expressed. The principles of Odd-Fellowship emphatically hold forth, that however useful, and de- lightful, and legitimate, it may be to hold communion with other Lodges, regular attention to our own is obligatory — is indispensable. In a word, "universal love to all mankind," and a mutual sympathy with the wants of our fraternal breth- ren, are the two great pillars that support the laudable capital of Odd-Fellowship. Long may they stand; long may they remain an impenetrable barrier to rebut the attacks of the prejudiced and unprincipled ; long may they flourish in the refined sculpture that now decks them ; long may they serve as a beacon-light, to guide the hesitating and the waverer unto where true felicity may be experienced ; and long may they prove a source of relief to the afflicted, the needy, and the oppressed ! OPENING AND CLOSING A LODGE.* Previous to the opening of a Lodge, the officers and members must be clothed in proper regalia, and each take his station or seat. The door must be * The method (not the form) of opening and closing an En- campment is similar to that of opening and closing a Lodge. The Chief-Patriarch requires the officers to specify their duties, and he must see that these duties are performed. The High- Priest, at the opening and the close, offers an appropriate prayer. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 99 closed ; and the Warden will see that all the brothers in the room are " correct." The respective officers will then severally state what their duties are ; after which the N. G. will remind the brothers of their duty as Odd-Fellows and members of the Lodge, and cause the Lodge to be declared opened for such business as may be lawfully brought before it, and for the diffusion of the principles of benevolence and charity. The chaplain may then offer the following prayer ; after which the business will proceed: — " Almighty and most merciful God ! we adore thee as the Creator of all worlds, and the righteous Governor of all beings, upon whom we are dependent for life and all its blessings, and without whose favor no human enterprise can permanently pros- per. Lift upon us, we pray thee, O Lord, the light of thy countenance, and bless us while we are together this evening. May all things be done in the spirit of charity and brotherly kindness, and may our labors of love be blessed to the promotion of the best interests of our beloved Order. Hear us, O God, in behalf of the stranger, the sick, the afflicted, the widow, and the orphan, and bless them as thou seest that they may need. Keep us ever in thy fear and wisdom, and save us all with an everlasting salvation : and to thy great name be all the glory, 4 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.' Amen." When the business shall have been finished, the brothers will rise at the call of the N. G., and after the officers shall have stated their duties at the closing (the V. G. having first thanked the brothers for their com- pany, and requested it again), the Lodge will be de- clared closed until next Lodge-night : after which the chaplain may offer the following prayer : — - " We bless thee, O Lord, that we have been permitted to enjoy this, another Lodge-meeting. Pardon what thou hast 100 seen amiss in us ; and now, as we are about to depart, let thy blessing be with us, and with all our brethren throughout the globe. May brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue adorn our lives, while members of this Lodge below, and at last may we be admitted to the joys of a better world : and thine be the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen." DEGREES AND DEGREE LODGES. Degree Lodges are formed for the purpose merely of conferring the five subordinate Degrees on members who may apply for them : their legality is recognised by the Grand Lodge of the United States. The time, place, and manner of conferring the Degrees, are proper subjects for local legislation. They may be conferred by the Grand-Master, the D. G. Master of a District, or his deputy ; by the Noble-Grand of the Lodge to which the applicant may be attached, or by a Degree Lodge established for the purpose. But no Lodge can confer Degrees upon a member of another Lodge, without the consent of the Lodge to which the member belongs. The price for Degrees is left to the control of the local Grand Lodges. Certificates for Degrees must be granted by the subordinate Lodge to its mem- bers, by ballot, on the presentation of which certificates to the proper officer, the brothers are entitled to be instructed in the Degrees named therein. Not more than the first three Degrees can be conferred at one time, unless the most urgent necessity be shown to exist, in which case the Grand-Master of the Grand Lodge, or his deputy, may grant a dispensation per- mitting the five to be conferred on the same day. 101 A Degree Lodge is sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of a state, to which it is amenable. Its officers consist of a High-Priest, Deputy High-Priest, Secretary, Treas- urer, Warden, Conductor, Inside Guardian and Out- side Guardian. It is the business of the High-Priest and Deputy High-Priest to confer the Degrees. It is usually supported by an extra charge of twenty-five cents for each Degree it confers, the Lodge to which the member belongs always receiving the sum fixed upon by the Grand Lodge as the price for Degrees. Upon the written petition of five or more Past Grands, and five or more Scarlet-Degree members of the Order, praying for a warrant to open a Degree Lodge, the Grand Lodge may grant the same ; and such Degree Lodge will receive its charter and the necessary lec- tures and instructions in the same manner as is pro- vided for subordinate Lodges. No Degree Lodge can admit or retain in member- ship any person who is not a regular contributing member of a subordinate Lodge, unless it be one whose card is in the possession of the Grand Lodge or its officers as an applicant for a charter for a Lodge. Persons to whom is confided the duty of conferring Degrees should be men of known and unquestionable ability. They should be able to read and speak well, and be capable of impressing the truths they are called upon to teach, in a solemn and dignified manner, upon the mind of the candidate. They should be rigidly accurate in their explanations, and be competent to express them so perfectly and correctly as to render the slightest mistake or misapprehension impossible. 9* 102 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. SUBORDINATE ENCAMPMENTS. Subordinate Encampments exist by virtue of war- rants, or charters, granted by a Grand Encampment, or by the Grand Lodge of the United States. Seven members of the Royal-Purple Degree, in good stand- ing, may obtain a charter for an Encampment.* To acquire or retain membership in an Encamp- ment, full membership in a Lodge is indispensably necessary. Neither can any person become a member of an Encampment who has not attained to the Scarlet Degree. A brother who wishes to propose another as a mem- ber of an Encampment, must do so in writing. The candidate must be received and admitted in a manner similar to that by which a person is admitted to a sub- ordinate Lodge: one black ball, however, is sufficient to reject him. The fee for admission is seldom or never less than twelve dollars, for which the three Encampment degrees are conferred. The price, how- ever, varies in the several states. It is optional with an Encampment whether or not to pay benefits to sick members. Most Encampments, however, do pay some benefits. The amount varies from three to five dollars and upward. On the death * Petitions and Charters for Encampments are similar, in Form and manner, to those pertaining to Lodges. See p. 55. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 103 of a Patriarch, also, a sum is appropriated toward assist- ing to pay his funeral expenses. The elective officers of an Encampment are a Chief- Patriarch, High-Priest, Senior Warden, Scribe, Treas- urer, and Junior Warden, who are (as are also the officers of subordinate Lodges) elected by ballot semi- annually. There are several appointed officers (be- sides a Sentinel and Guardian), whose duties pertain particularly to the assistance required of them at the introduction of members : they are appointed semi- annually, by the Chief-Patriarch and High-Priest. The duty required of the Chief-Patriarch is similar to that which is performed by the Noble-Grand of a Lodge. The duty of the High-Priest is principally to read certain lectures pertaining to his office, and to give necessary instructions to initiates. He should be a man of ability, and of unquestionable morals. The Senior Warden is the assistant of the Chief- Patriarch, and, in case of that officer's absence, must preside over the Encampment. The Scribe's and Treasurer's offices are similar to those of the Secretary and Treasurer of a Lodge. The Junior Warden must assist the Senior Warden in the performance of his duties, officiate for him in his absence, and perform such other duties as may be legally required of him by the Chief-Patriarch. The patriarchal branch of the Order is, in the esti- mation of many, far more desirable than the initiatory branch. Every Odd-Fellow should make it his aim to reach the "topmost round of the ladder of Odd- Fellowship," the Royal-Purple Degree. No brother of good character, however poor he may be, or how- 104 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. ever humble, need be prevented from attaining thus to the full stature of an Odd-Fellow. We can not conclude this subject without expressing our earnest hope that the heads and members of the Encampments will read our remarks on the duties of subordinate-Lodge officers and members, and that, so far as they may apply to them, they will endeavor to adopt the advice they contain, with the full assurance that the more careful and correct we become as Odd- Fellows, either in or out of our Lodges or Camps, the more prosperous we shall be ourselves, and the more useful we shall become to the world. The following is the order of business of an En- campment : — 1. Opening the Encampment. 2. Calling the roll of officers. 3. Reading the minutes of last session. 4. Inquiry whether any Patriarch needs aid or sympathy. 5. Consideration of previous proposals for membership. 6. Admission of members. 7. Conferring of Degrees. 8. Reception of new proposals. 9. Report of Visiting Committee. 10. Unfinished business. 11. New business. 12. Report of Committee of Finance. 13. Report of Committee of Correspondence. 14. Report of Trustees. 15. Report of Committee of Revision. 16. Reports of Special Committees by seniority. 17. Reading of communications, &c. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 105 STATE GRAND LODGES AND GRAND ENCAMPMENTS. Three or more subordinate Lodges or Encamp- ments, located in any state, district, or territory, where a Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment has not been established, having seven Past Grands or Past Chief- Patriarchs, in good standing, may petition the Grand Lodge of the United States for a Charter for a Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment; which, if approved by a majority of the votes given, will be granted, and or- ganized by the Grand-Sire, or some qualified brother or Patriarch whom he may appoint for the purpose. Such three or more Lodges or Encampments must each first appoint one or more of its Past Grands or Past Chief-Patriarchs to represent it in a convention, to be composed of the several Lodges or Encampments in the state, district, or territory, who must consider the propriety of applying for a Grand Charter, as well as determine on a place or town for the location of the Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment. When these questions shall be decided (the vote having been taken by Lodges or Encampments, and not by the number of past officers present in the convention), the rep- resentatives must make application in the following form : — 106 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. " To the R. W. Grand Lodge of the United States, or the I. O. of O. F. " The petition of blank Lodge [or Encampment] No. 1, blank Lodge No. 2, blank Lodge No. 3, of blank, respectfully represents, that at present they work under warrants granted by your right worthy body ; that at present they have blank Past Grands [or Past Chief-Patriarchs] in good standing. They are of opinion that it would be of advantage to the Order to establish a Grand Lodge [or Grand Encampment] in the state of blank. They therefore pray your right worthy body to grant a Charter for a Grand Lodge [or Grand Encampment] in the state of blank, to be located at blank. " Witness our hands and seals, this blank day of blank, 1851. "A. B., Representative of No. 1. " C. D., Representative of No. 2. "E. F., Representative of No. 3." This petition must be accompanied by the charter- fee, which is thirty dollars. During the recess of the Grand Lodge of the United States, the Grand-Sire, Deputy Grand-Sire, and Grand Recording Secretary, are authorized to grant dispensa- tions to open Grand Lodges or Grand Encampments, which must be submitted to the Grand Lodge for ap- proval and confirmation when it next meets. The Charter or Warrant for a Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment, issued by the Grand Lodge of the United States, and furnished to a state Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment, is expressed as fol- lows : — "INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS. " To all whom it mat concern : I, A. B., Most Wor- thy Grand-Sire of the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, of the United States of North America, and 107 the jurisdiction of the Order thereunto belonging : Friendship, Love, Truth. " Know ye, that by virtue of the powers in me vested, I do hereby authorize and empower our trusty and well-beloved [C. D. and others] to constitute a Grand Lodge [or Grand En- campment] in the city of blank, and state of blank, to be known and hailed by the title of blank. " I do further authorize and empower our said trusty and well- beloved [C. D. and others] to hear and determine, all and singu- lar matters and things relating to the Order within the jurisdiction of the said Grand Lodge [or Grand Encampment], according to the rules and regulations of the Grand Lodge of the United States : Provided always that the said [C. D. and others] pay due respect to the Grand Lodge of the United States, and the ordinances thereof: and provided also that this Dispensation shall be approved at the next session of the said Grand Lodge of the United States, otherwise to be of no force or effect. " Given under my hand, and seal of the Grand Lodge of the United States, at the city of Baltimore, in the state of Maryland, this blank day of blank, and of our Order the blank. [l. s.] " A. B., Grand-Sire. " E. F., Corresponding Secretary." GRAND LODGES. We have previously stated that Grand Lodges are the heads of the Order in a state, district, or territory, where they may be established, and that they are insti- tuted by and are under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the United States. They have the control of all the subordinate Lodges under their own jurisdic- tions, and enact all laws required for the government of such Lodges. They meet either annually or semi- annually, for the transaction of business : with one or two exceptions, they permit all the Past Grands of 108 THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. their subordinates the right of speech and vote.* In these exceptions the Grand Lodge is composed of one or two representatives from each Lodge, each having one vote for a certain number of members, and addi- tional votes for additional numbers.! The Grand Lodge is the supreme tribunal of the Order in its jurisdiction. No Lodge can be formed, or continue to exist, without its sanction. It has the sole right and power to grant or suspend Charters ; to receive appeals and redress grievances ; to originate and regulate the means of its own support ; and to do all other proper acts to promote the interests of the Order. The elective officers of the Grand Lodge are as fol- lows : Grand-Master, Deputy Grand-Master, Grand Warden, Grand Secretary, Grand Treasurer, Grand Representatives to the Grand Lodge of the United States. * Each Grand Lodge consists of all the Past Grands in good standing within its jurisdiction ; but by its constitution it may restrict its legislative power to such representative basis as it may deem best for the proper transaction of business ; but it can not abridge the privileges of Past Grands pertaining to their rank in the Degrees of the Order, viz. : their right to past-official Degrees, eligibility to office, precedence belonging to their grade, privilege of attending the meetings of their Grand Lodge, and light to vote for Grand Officers. — Digest, p. 43. f The Grand Lodge of Northern New York, whose founders were the originators of these " exceptions," allows every Lodge of less than fifty members one vote, two votes where the num- ber amounts to fifty, and one vote for each additional fifty mem- bers. One object of the reform intended was a prevention of the confusion which might arise in legislation by the rapid increase of the Past Grands, who were being admitted as legislators in the Grand Lodge of New York at the rate of about six hundred annually. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 109 The appointed officers [appointed by the Grand- Master] are as follows : Grand Chaplain, Grand Mar- shal, Grand Conductor, Grand Guardian, and District Deputy Grand-Masters who have charge of the Lodges in counties or other specified localities These officers are elected and appointed annually. The Grand-Master must preside and preserve order, and enforce a due observance of the laws of the Insti- tution ; give the casting vote in cases of " tie," except in those of the election of officers ; and order the pay- ment of moneys. He may grant dispensations for con- ferring Degrees on a brother who may require them in advance of the ordinary time, and confer official or other Degrees in person. He must decide all ques- tions of law that may arise during the recess of the Grand Lodge ; and he must give such instructions in the work of the Order as may be necessary. The Deputy Grand-Master must support the Grand- Master in presiding, and in his absence fill the chair for him. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Grand-Master, the Deputy Grand-Master becomes Mas- ter for the balance of the term. The Grand Warden must assist the Grand-Master in conducting the business of the Grand Lodge ; and, under the Grand-Master, have special charge of the door ; and in the absence of the Grand-Master and Deputy Grand-Master, he must preside. The Grand Secretary must make a just and true record of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge at every session, and transmit, immediately after the close of the annual session, to the District Grand-Masters and sub- ordinate Lodges, printed copies thereof. He must keep the accounts between the Grand Lodge and its 10 110 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. subordinates, receive all moneys coming to the Grand Lodge therefrom, and pay the same over to the Grand Treasurer. He must issue all necessary notices and circulars to subordinates, and to the District Grand Masters and Representatives. He must provide all stationery for the use of the Grand Lodge, and super- intend such printing as the Grand Lodge may direct. He receives such salary as may be ascertained and fixed upon at each annual session. He must, previous to installation, give bonds to the three first-named Grand Officers, in such form and penalty as they may approve of, for the faithful discharge of his duties. The Grand Treasurer must receive and take charge of the moneys of the Grand Lodge ; pay all orders drawn on him by the Grand-Master, under the seal of the Grand Lodge; make such investment of the funds as the Grand Lodge may direct; keep his accounts in such a manner as will exhibit the sources and amount of receipts, and by whom paid ; the purposes and amount of disbursements, and to whom paid ; have his accounts closed up on the first day of blank, annually, and submit them to the Finance Committee. He must, previous to installation, give bonds to the three first- named Grand Officers, for the faithful discharge of his duty. The Grand Representatives must attend the Grand Lodge of the United States, and faithfully perform the duties of legislators therein. The Grand Chaplain must attend the sessions of the Grand Lodge, for the purpose of opening and closing with prayer. The Grand Marshal must assist the Deputy Grand- Master in supporting the Grand-Master in the Grand THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. Ill Lodge ; must attend at the installation or organization of Lodges ; and have charge of all processions that may be ordered or participated in by the Grand Lodge. The Grand Conductor must examine the certificates of candidates for admission, and introduce such candi- dates to the Grand Lodge ; and assist the Grand Mar- shal in the discharge of his duties. The Grand Guardian must attend the door of the Grand Lodge, and permit no improper person to enter. At the installation of the officers of Lodges, he must have charge of the door of the Lodge. The District Deputy Grand-Masters must perform? in their several districts, the duty of presiding at meet- ings for the transaction of business relating to the mem- bers in their localities. In other respects, also, they perform the duties of a Grand-Master. They must confer Degrees and install the officers of the Lodges. They must report immediately to the Grand-Master any violation, on the part of their Lodges, of the laws of the Grand Lodge or of the Order. The revenue of a Grand Lodge is derivable from charter-fees and assessments on the subordinates. It is appropriated to the purpose of defraying the neces- sary expenses of the Grand Lodge. GRAND ENCAMPMENTS. These bodies have control over the Encampments of a state, district, or territory, where they may be established. They also are instituted by and are under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the United States. Although not subordinate to a Grand Lodge, 112 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. yet they can pass no laws excepting such as may relate to the government of the Encampments. In all cases where precedence is to be observed, they rank below state Grand Lodges, which are the supreme legislative heads within their respective jurisdictions. They usually consist of all Past Chief-Patriarchs and Past High-Priests, but in some instances of Past Chief-Patriarchs only, within their respective juris- dictions. The officers of a Grand Encampment are as follows : Grand Patriarch, Grand High-Priest, Grand Senior Warden, Grand Scribe, Grand Treasurer, Grand Jun- ior Warden, Grand Representatives to the Grand Lodge of the United States, Grand Sentinels, and Deputy Grand Patriarchs for each district. All these are elected annually, excepting the Grand Sentinels and Deputies, who are appointed annually by the Grand Patriarch. The Grand Patriarch must preside, and preserve order at the sessions of the Grand Encampment ; de- cide all questions of constitutional law ; receive and act on all complaints which may be made to him against his deputies or Encampments ; give such in- structions in the work of the Order as may be neces- sary ; and grant dispensations to subordinates in all such consistent matters as he may deem promotive of the interests of the Institution. He has supervisory authority over the jurisdiction of the Grand Encamp- ment. The Grand High-Priest must preside in the absence of the Grand Patriarch ; and in case that office be- come vacant, he has the full powers of Grand Patri- arch for the remainder of the term. It is his duty to 113 assist the Grand Patriarch in giving instructions in the work. The Grand Senior Warden must assist in presiding, and in preserving order. In the absence of the Grand Patriarch and Grand High-Priest, he must have charge of the Grand Encampment. He is the third officer of that body : in case of a vacancy in the offices of Grand Patriarch and Grand High-Priest, he has the full power of the Grand Patriarch for the remainder of the term. The duties of the Grand Scribe and Grand Treas- urer are similar to those of the Secretary and Treas- urer of a Grand Lodge. The Grand Junior Warden must open and close the Grand Encampment according to the regular form. He must introduce all new members. The Grand Representatives must perform the duties of legislators in the Grand Lodge of the United States. The Grand Sentinels have charge of the doors, and must prevent the admission of any improper person. The duties of Deputy Grand-Patriarchs, in the gov- ernment of their Encampments, are similar to those of Deputy Grand-Masters in the government of their Lodges. The revenue of a Grand Encampment is derivable from charter-fees and assessments on the subordinates, and is appropriated to defray necessary expenses. 10* 114 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. THE GRAND LODGE OF THE UNI- TED STATES. The Grand Lodge of the United States is the supreme head of the Order in the United States of North America. All Grand Lodges and Encamp- ments therein derive their authority from it. It may also establish Lodges of Odd-Fellows in any other part of the world. A Grand Lodge under its jurisdic- tion exists in British North America, and a subordinate Lodge in the Sandwich Islands. Grand or subordi- nate Lodges under its control exist in every State, District, and Territory of the Union, with the excep- tion of Utah,* New-Mexico, and. the Indian Territo- ries. At Santa Fe, in New Mexico, an application has been made for a Lodge, which, at the last session of the Grand Lodge of the United States (September, 1850), was recommended to be granted on receipt of the proper petition. The Grand Lodge of the United States is a body corporate. It was incorporated by the legislature of Maryland in the year 1841. It is the ultimate tribunal to which all matters of general importance to the State, District, and Terri- * Wi' hove been informed that there is a Lodge in Utah. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 115 torial Grand Bodies are to be referred, and its decisions thereon are final and conclusive. It possesses the power to regulate and control the work of the Order, and the several Degrees belonging thereto, and to fix and determine the customs and usages in regard to all things which concern Odd-Fellowship. Its members are, the Grand-Sire, Deputy Grand- Sire, Recording and Corresponding Secretaries, Treas- urer, Marshal, Guardian, Chaplain, and the Repre- sentatives from State, District, and Territorial Grand Lodges and Encampments, granted and sustained by its authority. The first five-named of these are elected biennially, except the G. Corresponding Secretaries, who may be elected during the pleasure of the Grand Lodge. The Grand-Marshal, Guardian, and Chap- lain, are appointed by the Grand-Sire, with the ap- proval of the Grand Lodge. These officers may all be chosen from the various State Grand Lodges and Encampments,* and need not be elected as Repre- sentatives, in order to be elevated to the positions of officers of the Grand Lodge of the United States : but none except the Grand-Sire can vote, and he in case of "tie" only. The Representatives must be from Grand Lodges and Encampments of the States, etc., and must be Past Grands in good standing, who have received the R. P. Degree. They must be elected or appointed by the Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment they rep- resent for the term of two years. They are entitled * A candidate for Grand-Sire, or Deputy Grand-Sire, must be a Past Grand-Master of a State Grand Lodge, and have received the R. P. Degree. He must be nominated by the Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments, through their Representatives, by whom also the grand officers are elected. 116 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. to vote, on all questions before the Grand Lodge, in the manner following : Each Grand Lodge or Encamp- ment having less than one thousand members, one vote ; and each Grand Lodge or Encampment having more than one thousand members, one additional vote. It is the duty of the Grand-Sire to preside at the sessions of the Grand Lodge, to preserve order, and to enforce the laws. He has the casting-vote in all cases of " tie." During the recess of the Grand Lodge, he has a general superintendence over the interests of the Order. He must hold no office in a subordinate Grand Lodge, or Grand Encampment, while acting as Grand-Sire. The Deputy Grand-Sire must aid the Grand-Sire, by his advice and assistance, and preside in his ab- sence. He must also open and close the meetings of the Grand Lodge. The Grand Secretaries (Recording and Correspond- ing) must keep a record of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge ; keep accounts between the Grand Lodge and the Grand and subordinate Lodges and Encampments under its jurisdiction ; write all letters and communi- cations ; carry on the correspondence of the Grand Lodge ; and perform such other duties as may be required of them. The duties of these two officers have been for several years performed by P. G. M. James L. Ridgely, Esq., of Maryland, whose ca- pacity and faithfulness have been such as to deserve the admiration and thanks of the brotherhood at large. As an evidence of the appreciation in which he is held by the Fraternity, it is merely necessary to advert to the fact that he has been unanimously elected, year after year, by the Representatives of the Grand Lodge, THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 117 whose constituents have given unmistakable evidence of their impression that the loss of his services would be a real calamity to the Institution. P. G. Master Ridgely has done more for Odd-Fellowship, in these United States, than any other brother in the Order. He is a man of much intelligence, and of the strictest integrity. As long as Odd-Fellowship has a name and character (which will be for ever !) he will be remembered as its most eminent and competent advo- cate and exponent. The Grand Treasurer receives all moneys, and pays all orders drawn on him by the Grand-Sire. The Grand Guardian attends to the admission of the members, whom he is required to " prove" before he permits them to enter the Grand Lodge. There is also a Messenger elected by the Grand Lodge, whose duty it is to assist the Grand Secretary, and perform such other work as the Grand Lodge may require. The Grand Marshal, and the Grand Chaplain, must perform such duties as are usual to such offices. At each annual session of the Grand Lodge, the Grand-Sire must appoint in each State, District, or Territory (in which there are not a Grand Lodge and a Grand Encampment), an officer, to be styled " Dis- trict-Deputy Grand-Sire," whose duty it will be to act as the special Agent of the Grand Lodge, and perform such offices as it may direct. He has a general super- vision over all subordinate Lodges and Encampments in his district, which work under Charters granted by the Grand Lodge of the United States. To qualify a brother for this office, he must be a regular contrib- uting member of a subordinate Lodge and Encamp- 118 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. ment, and must have attained the rank of Past Grand, and be a Royal-Purple Degree member. If a Grand Encampment has been established in his district, he must also be a member of that body. The Grand Lodge of the United States meets annu- ally, on the third Monday in September, at such place as may be designated by itself. A majority of the Representatives of the several Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments is necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The revenue of the Grand Lodge arises from char- ter-fees, dues from Grand and subordinate Lodges and Encampments under its jurisdiction, and from the sale of books and cards for the use of the Lodges. The Grand Lodge of the United States was organ- ized February 7, 1821, by a committee of Past Grands from Lodges which had been instituted by Thomas Wildey, John Welsh, John Boyd, and others, by vir- tue of a Dispensation granted to them by the " Duke of York's Lodge, holden at Preston, Old England." It was then called "the Grand Lodge of Maryland and of the United States." Subsequently, on the 22d of November, 1824, it was established as the Grand Lodge of the United States, and the title " Grand Lodge of Maryland" dropped. Thomas Wildey was the first Grand-Master ; John Welsh, Deputy Grand- Master ; William Williams, Sec'y ; and Thomas Mitchell, Guardian. At the session in April, 1826, the title of Grand-Sire of the Grand-Lodge of the United States was suggested, and in 1828 the Consti- tution was revised and this title confirmed. From this time the Grand Lodge has increased in importance, and in the number of Odd-Fellows within its jurisdic- 119 tion, until there are under its control 31 Grand Lodges, 2,400 subordinates, 27 Grand and 500 subordinate Encampments (numbering 20,000 Patriarchs), com- prising a membership of one hundred and seventy-eight thousand, which is represented in the Grand Lodge of the United States by ninety-one votes ; there being fifty-eight from the Grand Lodges, and thirty-three from the Grand Encampments. ORGANIZATION OF LODGES, ETC., AND INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS. Lodges are organized and officers installed by the Grand-Master of the Grand Lodge in person, or by his Deputy, who must be a Past Grand. He is as- sisted by the Grand Officers. If these are not present in person, their places may be filled by Past Grands. Previous to organization, the brothers applying for the Lodge must, agree to conform to and support the laws of the Grand Lodge and of the Order. Previous to the installation of officers, they must be examined by the Grand Marshal, whose duty it is to ascertain whether they are competent to fill the offices to which they have been elected, and who, if the examination prove satisfactory, will present them severally to the Grand-Master, who will duly install, or cause them to be installed. As each appears for this purpose, the Lodge is required to express its satisfaction or other- wise of the choice it has made in him, for the informa- ation of the Grand-Master, whose province it is to as- 120 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. certain whether the election has been regular and prop- erly understood. If objection be made to the installa- tion of any officer, the Grand-Master will ascertain if it be valid, and in case it should, he will immediately order a new election, which he will superintend in person. After the installation is concluded, the Grand- Master will instruct the various officers in their duties; and, after having delivered to the Lodge its Charter, books, and papers, he must receive (if the Lodge be one which has been previously in operation), a correct " return" of its membership, its pecuniary condition, names of officers past and present, number of Degrees conferred, names of brothers suspended or expelled, with the causes therefor, and names of persons reject- ed, together with the amount of dues to the Grand Lodge ; which he is required to forward to the office of the Grand Secretary. Such "returns" should al- ways be prepared previous to the attendance of the Grand-Master for the purpose of installing, so that they may be placed in his hands the moment he calls for them. Blank forms for this purpose are furnished in ample season to all Lodges, by the Grand Secretary. The election and installation of officers of Lodges and Encampments occur semi-annually, in January and July. Encampments are organized and installed by the Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment, assisted by the Grand High-Priest, Senior and Junior War- dens, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sentinel. The style of their organization and installation (not the form) is similar to that of Lodges. THE ODD-FEI LOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 121 Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments are organized by the Grand-Sire or his deputy. Past Grand-Officers of these bodies may install the officers elect. Previous to installation, such officers must agree to conform to and support the rules and laws of the Order as adopted by the Grand Lodge of the United States. The Past Official Degrees are usually conferred by the Grand-Master or his deputy. An officer must serve at least a majority of nights of a term, as Secre- tary, Vice-Grand, or Noble-Grand of a Lodge, in order to become entitled to either of these several Degrees. Members of Grand Lodges consist of all Past Grands in good standing in the subordinates; they are admitted on the authority of certificates granted by the Lodges of which they are members ; which certifi- cates must specify that the brothers holding them have been instructed in the five Degrees, and served an elective term in the office of Noble-Grand. The members of Grand Encampments consist of all Past Chief-Patriarchs, and usually of all Past High- Priests also, who are admitted on the authority of cer- tificates, specifying that such officers have served an elective term as Chief-Patriarchs or High-Priests of Encampments. 11 122 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. AN ODDFELLOW'S COUNSEL. IN NINE CHAPTERS. CHAPTER I. I. Man, in this world of misfortune and care, needs Brotherhood. In his hours of darkness and trouble, he requires a friendly hand to cheer and comfort him. How brief, indeed, is his life ! how rapidly his days fly ! Soon he will reach that goal whence no traveller returns. In his brief journey, should he not be com- forted as well as admonished ? We are but shadows, floating for a moment over time, soon to be dissipated by the light of eternity. How often are we called upon to shed the tear of sym- pathy over the grave of what was once great and noble, fair and lovely ! How often are the ravages of the destroyer beheld amid the busy tribes of flesh and blood — perhaps in the very circle of relationship and friendship — changing joy into sorrow, the fairest spots into the gloomiest wastes, and severing the most en- deared and tender associations ! Indeed, man is sur- THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 123 rounded by innumerable mementoes of his mortality. To-day he looks upon the coffin of the smiling infant ; to-morrow he sees the youth, in the bloom of life and hope, consigned to an untimely grave ; and again he follows one, who, after a long pilgrimage through life, has sunk, at length, to rest. Upon his own brow is stamped the seal of mortality ; and he is ever reminded, by the inroads of decay upon his own system, of that, time when he shall become a tenant of the tomb. "Man cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not ;" alike in the moments of solitude and sadness, when the days of other years, and the forms of the departed, long buried in the stillness of the tomb, come over the mind with the vividness of reality ; and in hours of triumph and hilarity, when mirth and festivity are in the ascendant, he is checked and dismayed by the chilling presage of death, and thinks of the time when it shall be said of him, that he sleeps the sleep that shall know no earthly waking ! Yet death — which is the effect of sin — if we seri- ously meditate upon the solemn admonition it affords, will teach us that our hearts should foster no evil — evil, which is the bane of society, and the fountain of all wrong ; the progenitor of crime, hatred, and vio- lence, whose fearful consequences must continue to afflict mankind, until the coming of that glorious day when — " The lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant meadv And boys in flowery bands the tiger lead ; The steer and lion at one crib shall meet, And harmless serpents lick the pilgrim's feet; The smiling infant in his hand shall take The crested basilisk and speckled snake — 124 the odd-fellows' text-book. Pleased, the green lustre of their scales survey, And with their forky tongues shall innocently play ; All crimes shall cease, and ancient frauds shall fail, Returning Justice lift aloft her scale, Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend, And white-robed Innocence from heaven descend !" This will be the era of Universal Brotherhood, when the tears and woes of this world will disappear before the light of Benevolence and Peace. » ii In the course of years, many solemn changes pass before us. Man comes upon the scene of life ; he flourishes, prospers, declines, and dies ; but, if he be observant, he will see and profit by the lessons of life. One of these lessons will teach him that the good man will never be forsaken by his God, and that even his children will reap the advantages of his conduct. Thus, David said that he had been young, and was now old ; yet he had never seen the righteous for- saken, nor his seed begging bread. Friendship, Love, and Truth, practised by man toward his neighbor universally, would make a paradise of this world. Then, indeed, in the language of Pope — " No more should nation against nation rise, No ardent warriors meet, with hateful eyes, Nor fields with gleaming steel be covered o'er, The brazen trumpet kindle rage no more ; But useless lances into scythes should bend, And the broad falchion in a ploughshare end : Then palaces should rise ; the joyful son Should finish what his short-lived sire begun ; The vines a shadow to their race should yield, And the same hand that sowed should reap the field." TEXT-BOOK. 125 Friendship, Love, and Truth, if practised faithfully, are a safeguard against the ills of life. If we be actu- ated by these motives in all our transactions with our fellows, we shall be indeed happy. in. Good conduct before the world will secure to us the esteem of the wise and virtuous. The example we show will have an important influence for good or ill. Faith and virtue are ever admired, even by the bad ; falsehood and vice are despicable, even to those who practise them. We must be honest : " an honest man's the noblest work of God." In our dealings with mankind, and especially with our brethren, we should take nothing more than our due; in all things we should avoid the very semblance of deception. We should be honest to our neighbor by speaking well of him — and, if we can not thus speak of him, by holding our peace concerning him. The calumniator can not be a man of good faith ; he is not to be trusted ; he should be shunned as a leprosy. He is more to be despised than the thief; for " He who steals our purse steals trash ; 'Twas ours — 'tis his — and has been slave to thousands; But he who filches from us our good name, Robs us of that which not enriches him, Yet makes us poor indeed." IV. Men are not always what they seem. We may be greatly deceived in them. The poor man, with the rough, hard hand, and humble garb, may be good and 11* 126 THE odd-fellows' text-book. generous, while another, with the manners and appear- ance of what the world calls a " gentleman," may be base and mean. We should, therefore, judge of men by their conduct, not by their appearance or profession. He who possesses a humane and a benevolent heart — who is willing to do good to his neighbor — who closes not his hand against his brother, is a true man, be his situation in life ever so humble. Love is the remedy for all social evils. It is the fundamental principle of all good. We should make it our aim, our study. He who loves his God and his fellow, and by his actions proves his sincerity, is a blessing to his race. Man, by his own evil passions, brings himself into a state of slavery more bitter than any human bondage. If he suffer himself to be led captive by them, he must at last be dragged to the lowest depths of wretched- ness — misery — despair. He should, therefore, if under their control, seek to liberate himself from their grasp, ere their hold upon him become so firm that it can not be shaken. Man gropes his way through life in darkness and doubt; his reason and his moral nature are dark; un- til he acquires, by virtuous perseverance, a knowledge of himself, his duty, and his destiny. Then the light breaks in upon him, and he sees clearly the path he is required to tread. The objects which so often excite men's passionate ambition are, when viewed in the light of mortality, so insignificant, that the reflecting mind will turn from them with disgust. It is far better to be an humble •-> follower of the path of Virtue than to pursue the THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 127 ignus-fatuus of Wealth, or Power, or Pleasure. These are evanescent and perishable ; they elude our grasp : but Virtue, substantial and everlasting, will give us present enjoyment, as well as happiness eternal. Man is a constituent of one universal Brotherhood, having come from the hand of a common Parent. He should not, therefore, wrap himself up in self, and refuse his good offices to his brother ; for, without that brother, what would he be ? what could he do ? No human being can be " independent." " God never made an independent man; 'T would jar the concord of his general plan." Under the comprehensive influence of Friendship, Love, and Truth, all the tribes and kindred of the earth may meet and concentrate their energies for the good of the race of man. By it, all nations, tongues, and creeds, may be brought to comprehend the motive for Fraternity. Fraternity ! This is our corner-stone. Upon its solid basis rests our superstructure. It teaches us to regard the great family of mankind as our brethren ; children of one heavenly Father, the great Author of our existence, " in whom we live, and move, and have our being ;" and that we should, in our conduct, reflect the image of that Father, after whose likeness Man was formed. Friendship, Love, and Truth! — fit warriors against vice in all its forms ! Friendship prompts the contest ; Love's gentle influence will supply the 128 the odd-fellows' text-book. weapons ; Truth will consecrate the effort and lead to victory. Let us engage in this holy war ; nor cease our bat- tle until the world shall be conquered to our cause, and induced to enlist under our banner. CHAPTER II. No man, however poor or despised he may be, is entirely friendless. The natural affections never com- pletely die : sympathy will at least survive, and prompt exertion in behalf of the forsaken. Yet the kindly sen- sibilities often become blunted by time, and the heart, hardened by selfishness, forgets the tenderness with which it was wont to regard the sorrows of the dis- tressed. Association for purposes of benevolence serve to banish selfishness, and to keep alive and active the kindly sensibilities of the heart, by enforcing an ob- servance of social and humane duties. ii. We must, if we would be men, be sober, temperate, and chaste. The drunkard is a curse to himself, his family, his friends, and the world. He renders him- self wretched in this life, and unfitted for the life here- after. The intemperate man is only one step behind TEXT-BOOK. 129 the drunkard ; if he do not pause, he must shortly overtake him. The unchaste man must bring upon himself certain disgrace ; he is a scandal to his kind, and shall be despised by the good and pure. in. Benevolence diffuses a lustre at once around the benefactor and the object of his bounty ; it is a crown of glory to the meek and merciful of heart ; and while it challenges the admiration of men, must secure the favor of him who said, " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." If there is anything that tends to exalt man in the scale of sublime virtue, and assimilate him to the Divine character, it is this. Be- nevolence does not consist in fair words only — it is not a mere name, but a deed — it is a duty to be per- formed from principle, and not from the excitement of mere pity. It will carry us to the abode of the sufferer, and it will seek out sensible, living objects, with the purpose and intention of relieving them, because it is a duty so to do. IV. Brotherly Love shall dwell among those who meet for purposes of Benevolence. Kindly sentiments for each other and for the world shall be enkindled in their hearts, and burn brighter and brighter throughout all time. If Benevolence, Brotherly Love, and Charity, dwell in our breasts, and are exemplified in our lives, who can reckon the amount of happiness they shall 130 bring? The fraternal relation is one around which cluster the best feelings of our nature ; and he who becomes duly impressed with a sense of the obligations of this relationship can neither be controlled by selfish- ness nor indifference. In the sacred chain that binds us, whatever link is touched by the hand of Violence or Corruption, tenth or ten thousandth, breaks that chain alike. Let there be no strife, therefore, between us, for we are brethren : yea, let us leave off contention before it be meddled with. We profess principles which shall destroy the stubble and the chaff of dissen- sion, and refine the powers and faculties which consti- tute the dignity and glory of man. Charity springs from the heart ; it softens the affec- tions ; it brings to its dispenser pleasures the most sub- lime. The poor and the rich love him ; he is honored and respected at home and abroad. His home is the mansion of peace, and in all its relations he is blessed. He who is actuated by the heavenly influence of char- ity — who is deeply imbued with that spirit which not only " worketh no ill to its neighbor," but which is constantly striving to do that neighbor all the good possible — is always pleased with any opportunity that may present itself for relieving the destitute. The man who has true charity looks upon the world of suffering humanity as the objects of his regard and care ; and so far as he may have the power or ability to relieve suf- fering, he performs the duty with pleasure. Nor does Charity aim only at the alleviation of hu- man misery. It strives also to prevent unhappiness. It watches with anxious eye the threatened ill, and throws up its protecting hand to avert the danger. It hesitates not to step aside from its ordinary course, to ^** THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 131 warn the object of its concern of any evil that may be by such friendly warning avoided. It throws its mantle over the faults and failings of humanity, and seeks to find excuses for those frailties, rather than to hold them up to the world's view, to the injury of mankind : for it considers that men are at best erring beings, and that as such they can not avoid the failings incident to poor, weak human nature. In a word, Charity, if its impulses were faithfully regarded, would change this world of gloom and misery to a paradise ; it would lead man to follow that golden rule of doing to others " as he would wish others to do to him ;" and thus might the whole human family become united in the bonds of Friendship. He who practises this charity, and teaches it to others, shall be crowned with honor, and come down to the grave in peace, with the full assurance of a blessed future CHAPTER III. Mutual relief can be afforded by a union of men for the purpose of aiding each other in the time of dis- tress, danger, or difficulty. A system of mutual relief cultivates the sympathies and relieves the woes of men. That shame of depen- dence and alms-receiving which tingles in the manly cheek, and pierces with sharp agony the heart, is not the least of the keen pangs of poverty. Often and long 132 will the natural pride of the sufferer lead him to pine and consume in secret, before he will let the world know the fact that the wan cheek and the hollow eye have revealed long before. Yea, at times shame will drive a man even to crime. He will not beg, be the consequences what they may ; and the fierceness of hunger preying upon our tempted, frail nature, will nerve to the commission of foul deeds the soul that a short time before would have shrunk with horror from the idea. A system of mutual relief will prevent this crushing misery, and save the victim of it from despair and crime. n. In an association for mutual relief, men of all classes and conditions enter into a covenant, or contract, or bargain, to help and support, to protect and defend, to advise with and admonish each other. In this world of trouble and care, such an associa- tion is surely needed ; for the strongest, the wealthiest, or the most prosperous man, may, in a moment, be crushed by adversity. There are many pleasing associations in the idea of a covenant. God himself has made a covenant with man ; he has told us that the rainbow is the seal of that covenant ; and he thereby assures us, through the pa- triarch Noah, that this earth shall no more be deluged by the waters. He also entered into other covenants with his people — evidences of his love and regard for them, amid their murmurings and disobedience, which prove the boundlessness of his goodness and mercy. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 133 Covenants have existed in all nations, among all people. We find them in every walk of life. Men bind themselves to each other in various business rela- tions : nations make treaties or covenants of peace ; young men and maidens enter into covenants of mar- riage. These, however, are mere compacts of business : the covenant of brotherhood is one more holy and sub- lime ; it is designed to remove the obstacles that inter- pose between the hearts of men. in. David and Jonathan pledged themselves in a cove- nant of friendship and love, the history of which is most interesting and affecting. David, an humble shepherd, without title or honors, and Jonathan, the son and heir of a powerful Hebrew king, were bound to each other in the equality of friendship by a tie which no power could sever. When the envious king, who was jealous of David, because of his noble and daring exploits, sought to kill him, Jonathan warned his friend of his danger, and determined to arrest it. " Now, therefore, I pray thee," said he to David, " take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee ; and what I see, that I will tell thee." And Jonathan, in accordance with his covenant, did speak well of David to his father ; he reasoned with him, and persuaded him, until he obtained a promise from him that David should not 12 134 be slain. And he brought David to his father, and he was in his presence as in times past. IV. But the evil spirit of envy and jealousy came again over Saul the king, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand, and he sought to smite David to the wall with his weapon. That night David fled to his house, where Saul pursued him ; but he escaped by a stratagem of his wife, and went to Ramah, where he met the prophet Samuel, who accompanied him to Naioth, in Ramah. Saul sent messengers after him there, and at length went himself, but the Spirit of God constrained both his messengers and himself, and protected David. v. David fled from Naioth, and came and said before Jonathan, "What have I done? what is my iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?" And Jonathan said unto him, "God for- bid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show it me : and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so." And David sware, moreover, and said, " Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, 'Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved :' but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step be- tween me and death." Then said Jonathan unto David, " Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 135 it for thee." And David said unto Jonathan, " Be- hold, to-morrow is the new-moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat : but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. If thy father at all miss me, then say, * David earnestly asked leave of me, that he might run to Bethlehem, his city : for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.' If he say thus, ' It is well,' thy servant shall have peace : but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant ; for thou hast brought thy ser- vant into a covenant of the Lord with thee : notwith- standing, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldst thou bring me to thy father ?" And Jonathan said, " Far be it from thee ; for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee ?" Then said David to Jonathan, " Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly ?" And Jonathan said unto David, " Come, and let us go out into the field." And they went out both of them into the field. And Jonathan said unto David, " O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father to-morrow any time, or the third day, and be- hold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and show it thee, the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan : but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not, but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever : no, not when 136 the odd-fellows' text-book. the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth." So Jonathan made a cov- enant with the house of David, saying, " Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies." And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him : for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David, " To-morrow is the new-moon : and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And behold, I will send a lad, saying, 1 Go, find out the arrows.' If I expressly say unto the lad, ' Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee,' take them ; then come thou : for there is peace to thee, and no hurt, as the Lord liveth. But if I say thus unto the young man, ' Behold, the arrows are beyond thee,' go thy way : for the Lord hath sent thee away. And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee and me for VI. So David hid himself in the field : and when the new-moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall ; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought, " Something hath befallen THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 137 him, he is not clean ; surely he is not clean." And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty : and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, " Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday nor to- day?" And Jonathan answered Saul, "David ear- nestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem : and he said, 'Let me go, I pray thee ; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city ; and my brother hath commanded me to be there : and now if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my breth- ren.' Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table." Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, " Thou son of the perverse, rebel- lious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the con- fusion of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die." And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, " Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?" And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him : whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month : for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. VII. And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with 12* . 138 the odd-fellows' text-book. David, and a little lad with him. And he said unto his lad, " Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot." And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, "Is not the arrow beyond thee?" And Jonathan cried after the lad, " Make speed, haste, stay not." And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. But the lad knew not any- thing, only Jonathan and David knew the matter. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, " Go, carry them to the city." And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times : and they kissed one another, and wept with one another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, " Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn, both of us, in the name of the Lord, saying, ' The Lord be between me and thee, and be- tween my seed and thy seed, for ever.' " And David arose and departed : and Jonathan went into the city. VIII. But Saul, bent on destroying David — for nothing could appease his malice or disarm his envious jealousy — pursued him still. David abode in the wilderness, in strongholds, and remained in a mountain in the wil- derness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. And Jona- than went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God ; and said unto him, "Fear not, for the hand of my father shall not find thee ; thou shalt THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 139 be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, and that also Saul my father knoweth." And they renewed their covenant before the Lord : and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. IX. At length (after David had generously spared his pursuer, whom he surprised while he was asleep within a trench, unarmed and helpless, and Saul, touched with this noble conduct, had acknowledged his sin and repented of his folly), when Jonathan fell in battle, and death had broken the tie which bound these friends so indissolubly together, how deeply was the heart of David moved ! " O Jonathan !" he exclaimed, " thou wast slain in thine high places ! I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan : very pleasant hast thou been unto me : thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women /" Ay, "passing the love of women." For it was the love of friendship, pure, disinterested, holy ; not a passion, but a deep and abiding principle, replete with sincerity and truth. In David's breast, it did not die with Jonathan's death. It followed Jonathan's seed. David asked : "Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may do him kindness for Jona- than's sake ?" The reply was, that Jonathan had left a son, who "was lame on his feet," and David sent for him and brought him to his palace (for he was then king of Israel). When the poor cripple, whom per- 140 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. haps the world had neglected, came trembling unto his father's friend, and fell on his face before him, and did him reverence, " Fear not," said the king, " for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul ; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually." And he accordingly directed that Jonathan's son should be put in possession of all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. " Thou, therefore," said he to Ziba, one of Saul's and Jonathan's former servants, " and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat : but Mephibosheth, thy master's son, shall eat bread alway at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then said Ziba unto the king : " According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do." — "As for Mephibosheth," said the king, "he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons." And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jeru- salem ; for he did eat continually at the king's table. XI. In this narrative of the love of Jonathan and David, we have a most happy and impressive illustration of mutual relief as the result of a covenant. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 141 CHAPTER IV. i. The man who will sacrifice his ease, his substance, or his life, to serve or save a friend, is truly actuated by the spirit of Friendship. There have been those who have offered their lives for their friends. There was one, also, who, to aid and deliver his persecuted race, abandoned all the pleasures and endearments of the world, and willingly endured privation, calamity, and trouble, through motives of love and friendship such as few men have felt or practised. ii. And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water, under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them ; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me ; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God 142 the odd-fellows' text-book. in vain : for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work : but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates : for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath-day, and hallowed it. Honor thy father and thy mother ; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh- bor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-ser- vant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. hi. Our infinite Creator, who is the Soul of all true Friendship, and the Source of all good ; who is abun- dantly worthy of our love ; and who may rightfully command our obedience — is the only proper object of our worship. He hath said, through the mouth of his servant : "If thy brother be waxen poor, and falter 143 in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him, yea, though he be a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with thee." He requires us to sympathize with our brethren in distress, and to relieve them in their time of need. IV. Bright pages of history, like stars beaming out in the midst of the dark and stormy heavens, have reflected the lustre of Friendship, and exhibited its beauty. Who has not felt a thrill of unutterable sublimity when contemplating the heroic friendship of Damon and Pythias — the melting affection of Jonathan and Da- vid — the noble, self-sacrificing love of the great law- giver of the Jews, who chose rather to share the wretchedness of his despised countrymen, than to enjoy the utmost favor of their powerful oppressors? How beautiful, amid the havoc of war and the bar- barous customs of the ancient world, shines forth the inimitable conduct of Tygranes, a prince of Armenia, who, when asked by his conqueror, Cyrus, " What ransom do you offer for your life ?" replied : " My possessions." " What for your wife ?" " My life !" was the prompt reply. Penetrated by the magnanimity of his conduct, Cyrus released him. On retiring from the presence of Cyrus, Tygranes inquired of his wife her opinion of the king. "I did not see him," was the reply. "Not see him !" cried the astonished prince. "No," she replied, "I was so taken up with gazing on him who offered his life for my ransom, that I saw no one else." Friendship is of every clime ; it blooms in every soil 144 of earth ; it sheds its sweets amid the snows of Cau- casus, and cheers the Greenlander and Esquimaux, as they wander forth among their bleak hills and gaze upon the cliffs of their ice-bound shore ; it flourishes amid the sand-hills of the desert, and strengthens un- der a torrid sun ; its beauties are alike developed where winter first puts on her robes of snow, and where the green livery of summer is longest worn : gilding, by its influence, the darkest hours of human adversity ; elevating human nature in the scale of being ; giving to the social affections their noblest impulses ; and alleviating, though it may not be able entirely to remove, the disquietudes and calamities of life. As old Memnon, touched by the genial light of the morning, sent forth spontaneous music, so does the human heart, under the influence of Friendship, until the soul feels the concord, and yields her functions to the enchantment. Its appeal is the voice of universal union to the islands of every sea and the inhabitants of every land ; and as it sheds its rays, rendered brighter by the teachings of that revealed truth which is working its healing miracles in the earth, it will exhibit new fields of moral beauty, like islands of glory in the sea of darkness, sending up a fragrance grateful to rejoicing heaven ; and, like the circlets on a summer's lake when agitated by a falling shower, it shall extend its borders and enlarge its dimensions, till it is lost in one vast circumference of light and life, that shall gird the earth around, and grasp in its ample embrace the universal family of man. This principle, in its personal and most extended bearings, we should practise. Men of all languages, of all religions, of the remotest nations, and of every habit and opinion, are, '%$^pp 145 by its influence, united together in one indissoluble bond of brotherly affection. The wild Arab of the desert, the haughty Chinese, the rigid Mussulman, the pious Christian, the polished courtier, and even the untutored savage, who roams his primeval forests free as his own mountain eagle, will, through it, greet each other as brothers, and do justice to that title by every endearing expression of love and good-will. In a word, it makes affectionate companions at home, and abroad introduces the stranger to a household of brothers. CHAPTER V. Let us not forget the truths we have been thus far taught. Let the memory of them be precious in our sight. Do unto others as thou wouldst they should do unto thee; love thy neighbor as thyself; regard all men as brethren : the children of the Creator are, in his eyes, equal — from the monarch on his throne, to the beggar in his rags — and Universal Love is what he requires. The selfishness of mankind needs correcting. How many noble spirits have been quenched by the opera- tion of the world's selfishness ; how many bold aspira- tions checked ; and how much misanthropy and ruin produced ! To cultivate a generous spirit of kindness — to wake up the sympathies and purge the heart from its selfish- 13 146 ness — is the noblest mission in which man can engage; and he who would place an obstruction in the way of such a pursuit, can never have well learned the lessons of Friendship and Love. He who is bound up in the iron chain of Bigotry — who is fettered by the influ- ence of human creeds — whose head is filled with self- conceit — has a heart tame, cold, and indifferent, and will neither bind up the wounds of the stranger, nor give shelter to the outcast, unless they yield them- selves to his dictation. Wherever man is found, in whatever situation of life, he bears his Maker's image ; he is immortal ; and, however poor, or even degraded, he may be, in his soul are the signs of human equality. If thou canst do aught to promote his happiness, then, or canst relieve his wants, do it : it is thy duty. If there be a scheme of good, designed to meliorate his condition, engage in it with all thy heart, remembering that he for whom thou art laboring is thine own Father's son. Pause not to inquire his creed or his faith, his title or his condition ; but consider, that, with all his errors or imperfections, he is thy brother. If men would all act thus, how soon would the lost communion with heaven be restored, and the reign of Love, Peace, and Joy, be perfected on earth ! ii. Divine Wisdom teaches us to love Mercy and Truth — to write them on the tablets of our hearts — so that we may find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. It teaches that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil ; that pride, and arrogance, and the 147 evil way, and the froward mouth, are to be avoided. They that keep the ways of Divine Wisdom shall be blessed. They that will hear her instruction, and are wise — who watch daily at her gates, awaiting her ap- proach — shall find her, and live, and obtain favor of the Lord : but they that sin against her, by refusing to seek her, wrong their own souls ; and, in hating her, shall perish, in. Love your enemies ; bless them that curse you ; do good to them that hate you ; and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you : that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven ; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth the rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? IV. Permit not prejudice to control thee in thy dealings with thy fellow. Blemish not thy good deeds by using uncomfortable words when thou helpest thy brother. Shall not the dew assuage the heat? So is a word better than a gift. Lo ! is not a word better than a gift? but both are with a gracious man. A fool will upbraid churl- ishly, and a gift of the envious consumeth the eyes. Learn before thou speak : before judgment, examine thy- self, and in the day of visitation, thou shalt find mercy. 148 THE odd-fellows' text-book. When thou hast enough, remember the hungry ; and think upon poverty and need. Rehearse not unto another that which is told unto thee, and thou shalt fare never the worse. Whether it be to friend or foe, talk not of other men's lives ; and if thou canst without offence, reveal them not. If thou hast heard a word, let it die with thee ; and be bold — it will not burst thee. Admonish a friend ; it may be he hath not done it ; and if he have done it, that he do it no more. Ad- monish thy friend ; it may be he hath not said it ; and if he have, that he speak it not again. Admonish a friend ; for many times it is a slander ; and believe not every tale. There is one that slippeth in his speech, but not from his heart ; and who is he that hath not offended with his tongue ? Admonish thy neighbor before thou threaten him ; and not being angry, give place to the law of the Most High. A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jeri- cho, 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 [of a race which the priest and Levite despised], 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 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 149 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 twopence, 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 was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves? VI. Justice, temperance, and charity, are the duties of all men. We should be just in our dealings with our brethren and with the world. We should be industri- ous and honest. We should be kind in our demeanor to all with whom we have intercourse ; we should com- passionate sorrow ; we should bind up the broken heart, comfort the disconsolate, and dry the tears of the be- reaved. We should be temperate. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging ; and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise. The drunkard shall suffer many grievous evils, and come to poverty and rags. We should be charitable, by doing with promptness and alacrity all the good in our power to our fellow- men. We should teach charity to others, by both pre- cept and example. Charity suffereth long, and is kind ; charity envieth not ; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seek- eth not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil ; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth. 13* 150 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. CHAPTER VI. The mild and heavenly radiance of Truth will light man's steps, through the benighted paths of error, to the lustre of unclouded day. Truth is that grand virtue which deals plainly and honestly in all actions, without disguise, without false- hood, and without hypocrisy ; it comprehends all that is wise and good ; it is the vital spirit of every commu- nity which is well founded among men. Where the name of God is sanctified, where his ordinances are * duly attended, where good laws are enacted against immorality, and those laws diligently executed — in short, where that celebrated rule is the standard of dealing, that every man do to others as he would they should do to him — these people may be truly said to execute judgment and seek after the truth. What eulogiums does not the world give, and give deserv- edly, to the lovers of truth? The man that does good, and speaks truth, resembles the Deity, whose essential properties are goodness and truth ; when a man has acquired a reputation for veracity, his word is taken implicitly — it has all the authority of an oath — and all receive what he says with a sort of religious re- spect. No man is greater in truth than he is in God's esteem. Truth presents us with a rule to ascertain what Vir- tue is, and guides us into its personal possession. Virtue is the voluntary homage we pay to Truth, /W.';J' «*%• X TMUTJHf. TEXT-BOOK. 151 which thus becomes the basis of Virtue. Truth is essentially the only foundation of confidence, and con- fidence is the only bond of association among the wise, the good, and the intelligent. To it we are indebted for the whole sum of happiness enjoyed in time. Truth mingles its unclouded perceptions of duty with the generous grasp of Friendship and the sympa- thizing voice of Love. It is the great law of their being and mainspring of their action. Its robe is the spotless vestment of sincerity, snow-white and lustrous ; it is an attribute of Deity, and has been made attaina- ble to man, that his race might be blessed and im- proved. Without it, society is like a world without a sun. There are the towering mountains, the broom-clad vale, the gushing fountain, the broad expanse of ocean lifting its foam-crested billows to the embraces of the skies, and laving with its waters the golden sands of a hundred isles : but over all rests the deformity of dark- ness. The mountain has no greenness ; the lovely flower and the enamelled vale w T ear the hue of death ; the waters sparkle not, and the golden sands on their island-gems send forth no lines of reflected light! Truth rises like the day-god upon the scene, and every object is flooded with beauty and loveliness ; and a blessed influence is breathed through every portion of society. These three duties — Friendship, Love, and Truth — indissolubly joined in the teachings of our lessons, furnish the broad foundation upon which is erected those extensive plans of relief which distinguish associations formed for the purpose of uniting men in the bonds of brotherhood. How vivid the contrast exhibited between the abodes of Error and those delightful habitations where Truth 152 reigns in its unclouded beauty, and every tongue and every heart sweetly think and speak under the influ- ence of its teachings ! United in bonds of kindred feelings, Truth is, by every member of this vast and happy Brotherhood, loved, studied, embraced, and spoken, for ever; and Confidence springs up in the soul, and claims its pure mansion as an eternal resi- dence. Friendship, twin-sister of Confidence, joins hand in hand with deathless grasp ; while Love, with links of holy Brotherhood, binds heart to heart in puri- fied communion. From heaven God looks down with complacency, and sheds over all in rich profusion the enduring blessings of his favor. ii. A Fraternity whose broad foundation is Universal Brotherhood ; which opens its doors of relief and sym- pathy to all ; which teaches the sacred and sublime sentiments of Friendship and Love, and clothes its adherents with the dignity of Truth — will be owned of Heaven, and shall confer incalculable benefits on mankind. Let us, then, be true to our professions. Let our walk and conversation in life be such that the world shall be compelled to acknowledge the sublime theory we teach. Thus shall we live in the enjoyment of the blessed consciousness of having performed our duty to our Maker and our kind ; and when the hour comes for us to leave this earth and join the vast Brotherhood beyond it, we shall be able to look back upon a life well spent, and prepared to meet Him who has taught 153 us that love for our brethren here is a duty incumbent on the children of one heavenly Father. CHAPTER VII. I. Prejudice imposes upon the minds of men restraints which lead to unnecessary ill feeling, and prevent that union of hearts which is essential to true happiness. Hospitality to the stranger is a duty enjoined by God, who teaches us that, as he is the Father of all men, we are not to pause to inquire our brother's faith, or creed, or nation, before we render him the sympathy or aid he may need. God's commandments, as delivered by him to Mo- ses, embrace every duty required of us by our Maker. He who obeys these, may claim to be a true man. ii. Virtue is the rule by which our lives should be gov- erned. " The good alone are great." Virtue can never die. It will live and flourish throughout the eternal ages of God. When green wreaths shall have faded, and glorious monuments of human skill have perished — when the weapons of victorious battle shall have been broken, and the sound of the poet's lyre have died away for ever — Virtue will stand, high above all earthly power and fame, the essence of all 154 that is good, and great, and glorious. " Virtue alone is happiness below." It gives joy which none but he who practises it can understand. Its influence is felt and acknowledged even by the bad. It will be the crown of age, the honor of manhood, the guardian of youth ; it will be our guide in prosperity, and solace in affliction. It will give us here on earth the truest happiness, and prepare us for the future state of being to which we are hastening. in. The patriarchs of old, who dwelt in tents and passed their lives in the inculcation of the social virtues, were a happy because they were a good people. The world would be better and happier were it to practise now the simplicity and purity of these simple-minded and truly-honest men. They were united as one family : no jealousy, discord, or envy, interfered among them to make them discontented or miserable. Pride — that bane of humanity — had no existence among them. Hospitable, generous, loving, and faithful, their exam- ple is one which we may and ought earnestly to follow. He who succors the distressed ; who gives food and rest to the hungry and weary ; who comforts the bro- ken-hearted, and raises the fallen, shall enjoy a pleas- ure far more desirable than wealth, or power, or fame. If our brother offend us, let us remember that he is weak and erring, like ourselves, and that it is far better to treat him kindly, and to tell him of his fault in the spirit of friendship, than to rise up against him in the spirit of hatred, and attempt to crush instead of to THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 155 reform him. Tf he repent, let us forgive him. " To err, is human ; to forgive, Divine." He who will not act thus is no true Odd-Fellow. He may dwell among us ; he may be elevated to the highest rank ; he may be regarded as rich, or wise, or talented : but none of these can make him an Odd- Fellow in the true meaning of the title. If he be, as a man, implacable and malicious, he can not be a friend or a brother. CHAPTER VIII. " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them." Shall a man, a unit in the universal kingdom of God, stand aloof from his fellow-unit because he may not be of the same faith or nation as himself? Nay! The question must not be, " Is he a Christian, or is he a Jew, or a Mohammedan ? is he a European, or an American, an Asiatic or African ?" but, " Is he a MAN AND A BROTHER?" Human prejudice and intolerance are and have ever been the causes of more misery in the world than all other evils combined. Be it our duty to destroy their power, by asserting and maintaining the high birthright of humanity — by regarding and treating our brother as our equal, the child of our own benevolent Father, created in like form and bearing the same image as ourselves. 156 THE odd-fellows' text-book. II. Let us "be just, and fear not." Let us be honest. Let us never hesitate to avow our principles. Let not fear of man induce us to falsehood. Conscience should be permitted always to govern us ; and as it directs, so should we ever act. The evils that afflict our brother should be regarded as in a measure our own. If we injure him, we shall also injure ourselves. Whatever directly affects a member of the body, must remotely affect the entire structure. Man's misfortunes are our misfortunes, and his sufferings are ours. in. Mankind are divided into numerous sects and par- ties, each of which holds opinions peculiar to itself; and, however absurd, or even ridiculous, each may seem to the other, its adherents are mostly sincere and firm in their belief. The Christian's faith in Christ is not more earnest and positive than the Jew's in his expected Messiah, the Mohammedan's in his prophet, or that of the Chinese in the object he worships as a representation of the Deity. All these, though holding opinions the very antipodes of each other, are satisfied that they are correct, and can produce arguments in support of their theory, which, in the estimation of those who practise it, are clear and conclusive. Christendom is itself divided into scores of sects and parties, many of which, though they profess to agree on the most important principles of Christianity, 157 are so heartily opposed to each other, that they are in constant controversy ; and to the disgrace of that pure and peaceable spirit of love by which they claim to be governed, they too often conduct their disputes with a bitterness and rancor that would much better become the men of " the world" than the servants of One whose gentleness and forbearance were among the most prom- inent characteristics of his eventful career on earth : for he not only exhibited in his own person the utmost forbearance toward those who were opposed to him, but gave the most positive directions to his followers to love even their enemies, and to extend to all men the rights which they claimed for themselves. As no two countenances among the thousand mil- lions of the race of man now on earth are alike, so perhaps no two in this vast multitude of minds think alike. Difference of opinion, on religious subjects es- pecially, has always existed, and will be likely to con- tinue to divide the hearts of men until the reign of the sublime principle of Universal Brotherhood shall have been established on earth. Should we despise our brother for this " difference" ? Nay ! for he has the same right as ourselves to the enjoyment of his pecu- liar opinion, and may maintain it in opposition to the opinions of the whole world. IV. " Gob is no respecter of persons." St. Peter said to Cornelius and others who had assembled to hear him : " Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one U 15S THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. of another nation ; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." God had exhibited to Peter, in a vision, that what He con- sidered as worthy of regard, man should not shun or despise. He had taught him, in a manner which, as a Jew, he could not misapprehend, the sacred principle of Toleration. When the golden rule shall have exerted its power, and obtained its dominion over the world, men of all creeds and nations shall sit together in love, and the light of knowledge and of pleasure shall shine around and about them. Then the descendants of Abraham, and the followers of the Crescent, and the worshippers of Christ, shall commingle in one happy family, know- ing no diversity of faith or creed. Then a calm repose shall have come upon the elements of strife : " no sigh nor murmur the wide world shall hear," and the tears of sorrow shall be changed to those of joy. Then shall man hail his brother with fraternal greetings : then shall Falsehood be driven from the earth, and the race of Adam form a universal band of Brotherhood : then shall one law — and that the law of Love — bind the nations by a golden chain which no power of darkness can ever break asunder. VI. Let us exert our utmost endeavors to hasten this most desirable period. Let us conquer the world to THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. 159 its own peace, by compelling it to aid us to establish the glorious reign of the Golden Power. The globe is the field of our labor. We should not pause in our efforts until the whole world shall be made happy. We should carry our Benevolence and Friendship into every corner of the wide earth, and into the remotest islands of the sea. CHAPTER IX. We live in a world of change, of sorrow, and of pain : the emblems of decay and death are thick around us ; the stout arm of roseate health falls powerless be- fore the ravages of disease. The strong and the mighty, who to-day " laugh at the shaking of a spear," and defy the tempest and the storm, may to-morrow be as help- less as the puny infant on its mother's breast. He who stands forth, nerved to toil, with the bloom on his cheek, vigorous as the oak of Bashan, may soon " fade as a leaf." We are subject to sickness, to misfortune, and to death. But we must struggle on, though beset with danger, toil, and strife, through the wilderness of this world, to our destiny. Let us therefore be stout of heart, and determine, through faith and energy, to overcome the obstacles that lie in our path. Let not fear or dis- couragement cause us to turn back, after we shall have once entered upon our journey. Let us take Honesty 160 THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. for our guide : however rough or uncouth he may seem, or whatever abuse may be heaped upon him by those who love him not, if we cling to him and follow him, he will assuredly bring us at last to a peaceful and pleasant abode. ii. Life's journey is indeed eventful. It is full of diffi- culties. We must beware how we proceed in it. We must take the true path, as pointed out by our guide. Straight is the gate, and narrow the way, that leadeth to life : alas ! there be comparatively few that go that way ! — but along the broad path that leadeth to destruction, what multitudes rush ! Yet, throughout and at the end of the one are peace, and joy, and pleasure ; while in the other, beautiful though it may seem to the eye, are turmoil, and sorrow, and pain. Death in its most frightful shapes — not physi- cal, but moral death — lurks constantly by the wayside ; and the fiends of darkness skulk at every turn, to lead and drag their victim to ruin and despair. Brother ! take the narrow path ; it will lead thee to bliss : pursue not the broad road, enticing though it be ; it will lead thee to perdition. Follow thou thine honest guide, who will shun the siren way as he would the pestifer- ous breath of the fiends of hell ! in. The road through which thou art journeying may be a rough one. Difficulties may crowd around thee to impede thy progress. The path may be filled with THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 161 obstacles that would intimidate a weak spirit. Indeed, at times, it may be a cheerless and dreary way. It may be, even, that in following it, poverty and want shall beset thee : but keep up thy spirit ; look not at present ease, which is but for a moment, but rather at future rest, which shall be everlasting. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left ; make no false step in thy career ; avoid the darkness of error : be thou a true man, and act as such. IV. Brother ! if thy heart be stout and thy faith bold, thou shalt make thy way to the glorious goal thou seek- est. Yet, the farther thou proceedest on thy journey, the more the energies of thine enemies will be put forth to entice thee to thy ruin. The pleasures of the world, in the forms of Mirth and Revelry, of Wine and Woman, of Pride and Ambition, of Wealth and Power, of Worldly Fame and Glory, will be presented before thee in their most tempting blandishments. Oh, heed them not ! they will afford thee an uncertain and brief pleasure, and forsake thee in thine hour of greatest need. They will leave thee when thou shalt most require consolation, and abandon thee to a repentance that shall be too late to serve thee, and a despair that shall be full of horror ! Thy time, indeed, is too brief to permit of thy de- laying to dally with the pleasures that surround and entice thee. Behold how soon the years are gone ! behold how rapidly thou art travelling ! The light of life with thee is already waning — soon thou must ter- minate thy journey. 14* 162 THE odd-fellows' text-book. Brother ! cheer thee ! Thou hast done well ; thou art far on thy toilsome way. The impediments and the incitements thou hast overcome are in the distance ; thank Heaven ! thou hast pressed nobly through them. But, alas ! how many, ere they come thus far, sink under the difficulties, or embrace the sirens that crowd thick about them ! Thou mayst indeed " thank God and take courage." Thou hast learned and attained much through perseverance and firmness. Thy prog- ress now shall be more calm : thy foes shall abandon thine as a hopeless case. Thou hast passed the criti- cal point, and shalt henceforth proceed more safely. So is it with all who commence this journey betimes ; who set out early for the goal of Virtue and of true Happiness : the longer they delay, the greater the dan- ger that they shall perish ere they shall attain to the point to which thou hast arrived. Thou mayst not know all that is yet before thee. Thou shalt feel nevertheless, in the midst of thy darkness, that thy Father will not forsake thee. And though a storm more fearful than any thou hast yet encountered — that of physical death — shall soon burst upon thee, the hand of God Almighty, which has sustained thee thus far, will protect thee amid that storm, and thou shalt come up through it with joy and gladness to the land of eternal delight. In that glorious Rest, thou shalt behold the innu- merable hosts who have travelled this path before thee. Thou shalt join " the Patriarchs of the infant world," and mingle thy voice with theirs in the music of the angels. Thou shalt dwell in the presence of the Most THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 163 High, whose smile is heaven. Throughout the eter- nal ages of Jehovah thou shalt be the associate of angels and just men made perfect, in a land where, far more than in this, Faith and Truth are lovely and divine. VI. Whoever travels the road that we have thus de- scribed, must expect to be ill treated by the world. The wicked and perverse are ever ready to sneer at and discourage the good and the true. Yet we must endure this contumely with patience ; we should rather pity than despise the benighted beings who treat with scorn the dignity of virtue. Are they not objects of pity? They are pursuing the false and flattering charm of earthly pleasure, which, when they attempt to grasp it, vanishes from their presence. Frail mor- tals that they are, knowing not what a day or an hour may bring forth, encompassed with peril on every side, with the seeds of disease implanted in their na- ture, and the very air they breathe impregnated with death — fading as a leaf, and passing as the shadow that fleeth away — let us force them from the frightful precipice on which they are standing, and, by the power of friendship and love, compel them to fly from their impending danger, ere it be too late for ever. VII. Brother ! let the character and conduct of the Pa- triarchs of old, as exhibited in the Bible, be thy study, and, in all their good deeds, be thou their imitator. They were, amid the idolatry and temptation which 164 the odd-fellows' text-book. surrounded them, sincere worshippers of the God whom thou shouldst also adore. Amid the base cor- ruptions of the world, that beset them on every hand, they were ever true and faithful to him : so shouldst thou be. They were devoted to all that was worthy of frail man's consideration : so oughtest thou to be. They lived not alone for themselves, but for their age and for their race in all future time : so shouldst thou live. The possession of virtue such as theirs is far preferable to all the power or glory that this world might bestow. It will afford thee higher and truer pleasure than could be derived from the possession of the wealth and the honor that all the money or earthly fame of a thousand worlds like this could heap upon thee. Follow, then, their example, and, like them, be wise, and good, and happy. VIII. Trust God with the most unfaltering confidence. Thou mayst do so unhesitatingly : the patriarchs trust- ed him, and were never once deceived. Brother, let thy Faith be firm and steadfast, and no good thing will thy Father withhold from thee. Thou shalt not ask in vain : He will hear and answer thee when thou entreatest his aid and presence. Do thou sacrifice thine own will on the altar of truth and confidence, and in the spirit of Faith approach thy Maker, and thy days shall be sweet and precious ; thy peace shall flow like a river ; thou shalt be blest in thy dovvnsit- ting and thine uprising, at thy labor and at thy home, and no ill of life, however afflicting, shall disturb thy mind's repose. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 165 IX. " Faith," says St. Paul, " is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts ; and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death ; and was not found, because God had translated him ; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house ; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise ; for he looked for a city which hath founda- tions, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, bles- sed both the sons of Joseph ; and worshipped, leaning 166 THE odd-fellows' text-book. upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel ; and gave commandment concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season : by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king ; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. By faith the Israelites passed through the Red sea, as by dry land, which the Egyptians essaying to do were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. And what shall I say more ? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae, and of David also, and of Samuel, and of the prophets ; who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again : and others were tortured, not ac- cepting deliverance ; that they might obtain a better resurrection : and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprison- ment : they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword ; they wan- dered about in sheepskins and goatskins ; being desti- tute, afflicted, tormented : (of whom the world was not worthy :) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 167 AN ODD-FELLOW'S COUNSEL [con cluded.] No man can reflect upon his admission to the mys- teries of Odd-Fellowship, and his advancement through its various degrees, without feeling the force of the truth that "Virtue alone is happiness below." When we speak of virtue here, we use it as a generic term, including every disposition and every duty inculcated at our altars. We have endeavored, in the preceding pages, to lay before our brethren of the Order a synopsis of the great principles of our institution, and the duties we are, as Odd-Fellows, pledged to practise. Never, we trust, will subjects less ennobling displace from our ritual these rich teachings — never may the foul footsteps of a recreant Odd-Fellow pollute our temple — never may its walls echo to the voice of violated obligations and slighted vows ! Brethren, the task imposed upon you, while it is honorable and dignified, is responsible and arduous ; and it is only by an observance of those rules, which our founders in their wisdom have ordained, that you will acquit yourselves in such a manner as to obtain the approval of each other and the approbation of your 168 own hearts. To effect a consummation so devoutly wished, cultivate temperance ; shun as the second death the intoxicating draught — it may do harm — it can not do good. Odd-Fellowship most impressively forbids intemperance ; the public voice demands ab- stinence ; benevolence unites with public opinion, and duty commands obedience. No Odd-Fellow can be intemperate without violating his engagements, and no Lodge can retain in her bosom a member guilty of in- toxication, without shamefully violating that truth to the maintenance of which we are all pledged. Another important prerequisite to the performance of the duties required of us, is chastity of mind ; and here we would enjoin the repudiation of all licentious pursuits. No unchaste mind can realize the duties of Friendship, experience the lofty emotions of Love, or discharge the obligations of Truth. In this connec- tion we may refer to that unbecoming practice so to- tally disreputable to Odd-Fellows, profane swearing, as a fruitful agency in destroying chastity of mind. — Confessedly an idle habit, by indulgence it becomes fixed, the name of God is profaned wantonly, and the ear of decency shocked by the blasphemy. No true Odd-Fellow should thus act : how can he, when he remembers his duty to his God, and that the All-see- ing Eye is fixed upon him ? If any should so far for- get his duty as to indulge in these things, we should caution him of his danger ; and if he still persist in a course of evil, regardless of his duty, " let him be as a heathen man and a publican :" yet let us do our duty — and from his broken and disregarded vows shall arise a voice, loud as the seven-fold thunder, proclaim- ing to his recreant heart, " Remember thy end!" 169 ii. What is the object of Odd-Fellowship, and what is the influence it should exert upon us ? We need not be told that its chief object is charity. But charity, in a pecuniary sense, is, in our view, one of the least im- portant of its objects. It has higher aims ; it has no- bler ends. It cultivates the charities of life. Its ten- dency is, to remove the barriers which an artificial society has thrown around its members ; to tear away the film of repulsion which we find to exist in the world, and to make us feel and act toward each other as BRETHREN. The causes that have been at work to separate man from his neighbor are various. They seem to have existed since the fall of our first parents, and are co- eval with the existence of sin. Jealousies, heart- burnings, and contentions, which were first exhibited in the factious spirit of Cain, have ever since existed, and still are found in the bosoms of all the children of earth. " Mountains interposed have oftentimes made enemies of nations that had else, like kindred drops, been mingled into one." Do we not speak truly when we say that a state of warfare is an unnatural condition of man ? Men were not born to be enemies to each other. For God is not an enemy to man. The fair and beautiful earth, the glorious sun, the moon, the stars, the seasons — all, all speak to us of Love : — "From harmony, from heavenly harmony, This universal frame began : From harmony to harmony Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing full, in man !" 15 170 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. When we meet together, week after week, and month after month, to engage in the business of Odd-Fellow- ship, do we not feel our spirits softened, our rougher natures smoothed ? Do we not feel the influence of Friendship and of Love stealing over us, binding us by the holiest ties to each other and to itself? But it is not the only tendency of Odd-Fellowship to cultivate the charities of life. There is another principle incul- cated by our Society, of more importance than any we have yet considered. Friendship and Love may be ranked among the charities of life, and they form but two of the links in the Odd-Fellows' chain. It is only by the addition of Truth that the chain is made perfect. We remark again, therefore, that Truth is one of the most important principles of Odd-Fellowship. " Truth," it has been said, " lies in the bottom of a well." It might be said with equal propriety that it lies upon the top of a high mountain, or in some other place equally inaccessible to man. It is indeed a commodity rarely to be met with in this world of ours. But among Odd-Fellows it comes up from the bottom of the well ; it comes down from the mountain's top ; it takes up its abode in the Lodge, and dwells here as our continual companion. May the time never come when it shall cease to dwell among us ! Let its presence be cher- ished here. Let not the sacred chain be broken. Seize upon Truth where'er 'tis found — Among your friends, among your foes ; On Christian or on heathen ground, The flower 's divine, where'er it grows ; Neglect the prickles, but assume the rose.' THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 171 As Odd-Fellows, we should be sincerely wedded to the Truth. In the present state of society, we must expect to find her a portionless virgin, and we must take her for herself alone. Let the contract be to love, cherish, and obey her, not only until death, but beyond it. For our union with Truth shall survive, not only Death, but Time, the conqueror of Death. As Odd- Fellows, therefore, we must be sincere adorers of the Truth. So shall we be above all present things ; we shall stand firm in the midst of temptation ; w T e shall be frank and free in the minds of treachery. And if we should be decried as a bad bargain by those that want to purchase us, it will only be because we are not to be bought. Closely allied to Truth is the spirit of self-trust — self-confidence — the spirit of independence. We should think for ourselves in all things. We should be distrustful of the opinions of men. True wisdom lies in the holy of holies, in the temple of Knowl- edge ; and Doubt is the vestibule that leads unto it. Luther began to doubt the infallibility of the pope. Copernicus and Newton doubted the false systems of others before they established a true one of their own. Columbus differed in opinion from all the Old World be- fore he discovered a new one ; and Galileo's terrestrial body was confined in a dungeon because he doubted the existing theories of astronomy, and asserted the motion of the celestial bodies. Let lis never yield to the tyranny of opinion. Let the mind ever be kept free. Let us be patient and careful searchers after Truth. Should all others forsake her, we will not forsake her. Should she be temporarily crushed to earth, she " shall rise again." If, like Galileo, we 172 shall be confined in a dungeon for saying that the world goes round, we will cry out through the key- hole, " The world goes round still !" We do not sufficiently cherish the freedom of the soul. We are too apt to receive our opinions at sec- ond hand ; to be content with the opinions of others, and with the researches of other men. We should take the mysterious divining-rod into our own hands, and become diligent and faithful explorers throughout all the wide domain of science, of politics, of litera- ture, of morals, and of religion — if by any means we may search out and embrace the beautiful, the true, and the good, of human life. in. The duties which Odd-Fellowship enjoins upon her children are these : she teaches them to be good citi- zens ; to be obedient to the civil power ; to cultivate the social duties ; to be good husbands, fathers, brothers, friends. She teaches them not to regard mere external appearances, which all Odd-Fellows know are often de- ceptive, but to judge of the character of men by their actions, by their conversation, " by their fruits." She teaches a reverence for humanity. She tells us that "Man" is a greater name than " President" or "King." Though his back may be ragged, his hands hard, and his countenance sunburnt, yet, inasmuch as he possesses the human face and form, insomuch does he partake of the Divinity: and if his character is unsullied and his morals fair, we take him by the hand and hail him brother! We disregard the factitious distinctions of rank and privilege which station confers, and judge of THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 173 men by the only true standard, their intellectual and moral character. This is the voice of Nature ; it is the voice of God. It must be gratifying indeed, to those who are now members of our Order, to look back upon its earlier years, and witness the small be- ginnings from which all our present greatness has sprung. We were once small and weak ; we are now great and powerful. We number in our ranks a fair proportion of the intellect, the talent, and the wealth of our country. We have brushed away the rising tear from many a widow's eye and from many an orphan's cheek. We have healed the broken heart. We have bound up the bruised soul. When the spirit of the widowed mother has been borne down to the earth, crushed by the weight of accumulating sorrow — when her last prop and support has been removed, and the tenderest tie that bound her to earth has been sev- ered — the friendly hand of Odd-Fellowship has raised her up again. Our Order is a living witness that the earth is not all a moral desolation. It has green spots scattered here and there over its surface. And in the wilder- ness of the world there is no brighter spot, there is no lovelier oasis amid the desert, than the Independent Order of Odd-Fellowship. IV. The benefits of our Order are yet to be enlarged ; its sphere of usefulness extended ; its roots will be planted broader and deeper in our country. The spread of Odd-Fellowship will be but the spread of the principles of benevolence, and charity, and love. It 15* 174 will be but another step in the civilization of our race Let the members of the Order, not forgetting thfe principles of benevolence, turn also their attention somewhat to the pursuits of the Scholar. For it is he that is the excellency of his country, the beloved of his race, the happiest of men. His vocation does, indeed, lead him directly to the holy ground, where other men's aspirations only point. Let us not only be pioneers in the world of morals : we may become intellectual backwoodsmen, ever upon the outskirts of the empire of the mind, reclaiming continually from the wilderness new fields for the display of the genius and the intellect of man. Let us become acquainted with our thoughts ; let us cherish the soul, and our faculties will rise up within us full and fair, like the forest-oak, or the magnolia-grandiflora of the sunny south. Let us enjoy the private, sincere, divine expe- riences of the scholar. Let noble, manly thought be ours. Let us study the lessons of human life ; catch and keep the harmonious strain of upper music that peals from it. Let us worship the immortal divinities who whisper to the poet and the scholar, and make each the utterer of melodies that pierce the ear of eternal time. v. Above all, let us love one another* This is the Divine command, and it is the command of Odd-Fel- lowship. Let us be, truly and sincerely, Brothers. "Brother!" Beautiful word! and how pleasant when kindly spoken ! How much of love is bound up in those seven letters ! how the human heart hu^s 175 the heavenly sound ! Surely it has a peculiar fitness to symbolize pure affection. Blessed be the lips that first uttered it ! and let the wretch never be known whose bosom could not respond to it ! What a relationship it expresses ! It is the name of him who is our equal; our father is his father — ■ our mother is his mother. The love which cares for us cares for him ; and the eyes that weep when we sorrow, weep also when he sorrows. He is our coun- terpart, and has with us equal rights beneath a com- mon paternal roof; he eats from the same table, and sleeps beside us on the dreamy couch. He is partaker alike of our joys and pains ; and when an enemy ap- pears, we stand back to back and shoulder to shoulder. Boys together, we grow to manhood : the stream of life sweeps one hither, and the other thither, and years pass on ; but neither distance nor years can prevent our longing spirits from speeding over land and ocean to commune with our secoud self. Brother ! Generous epithet ! Every man should speak it lovingly to his fellow ; but how much more the Odd-Fellow ! Who should utter it if he does not to his brother! The term is his peculiarly; God has given it to him ; and will he not use it ? Is the poor Odd-Fellow afraid or ashamed to apply it to the rich one ? is the rich one too exalted to call an humble one by so sweet a title? And is it so? Children of one family — who are, or should be, going to the same glo- rious home, to live there together for ever — refusing or neglecting to love one another! Never — never should an Odd-Fellow permit an unkind feeling to have a place in his breast against his Brother! 176 VI. It is well enough for us sometimes to analyze our feelings and actions as Odd -Fellows, to ascertain whether we are truly actuated toward each other by the broad, eternal principle of Love. What is its spirit ? It is mild as an infant's breath, yet resistless as the thunderbolt ; gentle as the lamb, that licks the hand raised to shed its blood, yet more controlling and powerful than the elements that melt the rocks and rend the mountains. The prophet Elijah went and stood on Mount Horeb, to witness the majesty and grandeur of the Almighty. — The roaring winds, as the rushing of a thousand cataracts, were let loose from their secret chambers, and the strong rocks and frag- ments of the mountain yielded to the sweeping blasts ; but the Lord was not in the wind. Then came the earthquake : the mountain reeled, as though it would have been dashed headlong by convulsive throes, and shaken to pieces by the power before whom its quaking summit trembled; but the Lord was not in the earth- quake. Then the devouring fire, in terrifying and ser- pentine streams of flame, flashed along the shattered mountain, carrying destruction and devastation in its train ; but the Lord was not in the fire. After these fearful and portentous sounds were hushed, what did the prophet hear? Nothing like storm, earthquake, or bursting fire, but " a still, small voice" exhibited the power and the glory of Jehovah ; in it did the Eternal manifest himself to his servant. That was the voice of Love ; which shall conquer, and subdue, and win its trophies, when the storm of passion shall have wasted its energies, and the fire of Revenge and Mai- THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 177 ice shall have been quenched for ever. Brethren, be it our intent to exhibit this principle in our lives, and, by example, as well as precept, to teach it to others ! VII. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God ; neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer ; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. We ought to be wil- ling to lay down our lives for the brethren. 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 him?- — Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Hereby we know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before God. For if our heart condemn us not, then have we confi- dence toward God. God is love ; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. If a man say, " I love God," and hateth his brother, he is a liar. He who loveth God, loveth his brother also. vnr. Our future prospect is full of promise : nothing but our own misconduct can dim its brightness. It rests with us alone whether our Fraternity shall perish or 178 THE odd-fellows' text-book. prosper — whether it shall retrograde or advance. — What will give us the certainty of a bright and joyful future as a Fraternity of Odd-Fellows ? We answer, " Union." The maxim is as true of us as of any body of men, " United we stand; divided we fall." We have all read the story of the hundle of sticks. — One, alone, was broken with scarcely an effort ; but the bundle was proof against the physical strength of the strongest. There is such a union of interests, and of feeling and action in our Brotherhood, that it may be, not inaptly, compared to the physical frame of man. If one member of the body suffer, the entire frame is affected. If we make a puncture on the hand or arm, and infuse poison into the blood, the whole system becomes contaminated. Whatever is calcu- lated to disorganize and disunite us — to scatter dis- cord and foment strife among us — must weaken our power and destroy our peace. Brethren ! let union of sentiment, union of effort, union of interest and action, be engraven on our altars and reign in our hearts and councils, and we may defy the sneers and enmity of a thousand worlds ; our Fra- ternity shall increase, and flourish, and become more and more useful to our race — and when we shall have passed away in the flood of time, it shall be said of us, what Goldsmith said on another subject : — "As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm, Though round its breast the rolling clouds were spread, Eternal sunshine settles on its head /" TEXT-BOOK. 179 SECRECY. Secret societies, for mutual relief, protection, in- struction, and religious worship, were probably first known in Egypt, in the days of her greatest glory and refinement. History has handed down the renown of the ceremonies which these secret societies enacted at their public festivals. The feasts called Cerealia, of the Eleusinian Order, in honor to Ceres, and the Dyo- nisia, or the feasts of Bacchus, together with the " Or- der of Pontifices" of Numa, king of Rome, were prop- agated from Egypt over all the world. From these orders, Moses (who was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians) probably derived much of that wisdom which made him the greatest lawgiver in the world. From these, the Greeks made models of institutions which lasted to the latest day of their historical glory. From these, the Druids of Britain modelled their reli- gious rites, so imposing that nothing but the revelation of the religion of Christ could have dissipated their power. From these, we doubt not, the aborigines of our own land have derived by tradition their annual festive ceremonies, to which none but their own blood and nation are ever admitted. That such societies existed in all the ancient empires of the world, we have abundant evidence on the pages of history. We 180 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. read that the highest honor that could be bestowed upon Hippocrates, in the city where his art first tri- umphed so signally, was to initiate him into all the mysteries of their secret orders, to which strangers were never before admitted. But these ancient orders, with the causes that made them useful, have passed away before the transmuting hand of Time. The religious sublimities of Egyptian and Grecian mythology have given place to a holier and more simple religion, the precepts of which are written upon all the pages of Nature's great book, in characters so plain, that the weakest in intellect may read them as he runs. Thus has ended the mystery that was once deemed necessary to preserve religion from oblivion. The archives of learning, too, have been spread before the world by the magic power of the press, while Science is knocking and importuning at the door of the humblest of the poor, that its inmates may be made wise. Hence the mystery of that mo- nopoly of wisdom which once existed with the priests of a heathen religion, has vanished, and its altars have crumbled to the dust. But the general diffusion of science, or even the Divine light of a wisdom that cometh from above, are powerless from oppression and want, or the relief and comfort of the sick in body and the broken in spirit. Though Wisdom and Devotion need no longer the veil of mystery over their altars, the heavenly attribute of Charity still loves the shade — still loves to shun the eye of the world, and do good by stealth. Let no one say that there should be no secret concert in the cultivation of the virtue of Benevolence. Pharisees may give alms before men, and make their show of TEXT-BOOK. 181 figures on subscription-papers ; they may hoard to- gether their thousands for splendid schemes of public charity : but scarcely a mite of all their bounty ever reaches a deserving object ; scarcely a drop of their consolation ever relieves the distresses of a really de- serving sufferer. To those who possess a tolerable acquaintance with human nature, and are in any wise familiar with the history of mankind, either past or present, the impor- tance and usefulness of societies in ameliorating the condition of man, in correcting the evils of his nature, and in bringing forth the latent principles of his mind into healthful exercise, are sufficiently obvious. There are, however, in this strange and contradictory world, many persons who oppose secret societies on the mere ground of their secrecy, and who ask, " If there is any good in them, why do they not open their portals to the public gaze?" We would ask, in reply, "Are those who make the most ado about the secrecy and mystery of others, willing that every act of their own should come to the knowledge of the world?" No! Their stammering tongues and blushing cheeks would be evidence of their unwillingness to surrender the keys of their hearts. The truth of the matter is, that mystery and secrecy abound, and will ever abound, through each and every department of society. That maxim which taught men that a secret should be held inviolate, sprang from a sense of the importance of implicit confidence in every relation of life. Those concerned in secret societies only act up to the principles of every-day existence. Is not a man's household the place wherein his best affections centre ? While troubles beset him on either 16 182 the odd-fellows' text-book. hand while attending to his daily calling, he looks to the domestic hearth as to the Mecca of his heart, the haven of his rest. But if the world were to gaze upon the concerns of his family, or if he himself were to pro- claim all the events which might occur within his little circle, need it be said that all the charms of his fire- side, all the sacred associations of home, would for ever depart? The fact that his family is a small commu- nity, separate and distinct from the mass of mankind, makes it the means of domestic felicity. If you were to enlarge this community by the admission of the mul- titude, would it not lose its fascination ? Yet, upon the principles of the opponents of secret societies, unless he proclaim to the world the affairs of his family, unless his household gods are prostrated and trodden under foot, then, forsooth, vice and immorality must reign within his dwelling ! What would be the fate of every sacred engagement, of all the relations by which the best feelings of the soul are promoted — from which arise the greatest blessings of the social system — if there were no obligations of secrecy on those who con- tract them ? As well might the silver cord at once be loosened, and the chain of affection become as a rope of sand. There are mysteries and secrets in every department of society, which can never be fathomed. There are secrets which occupy but few breasts, and will never be extended to others ; secrets, too, into which no person of refinement would think of prying. There are secrets among all classes of men, in every pursuit in life, which are held inviolate. Business-men have secrets which they studiously confine to their own bosoms, scarcely allowing them to escape even to those engaged in their service : professional men have secrets, TEXT-BOOK. 183 which they will not reveal to any excepting members of their own calling. Why do not the opponents of secret societies complain of these ? There are none so blind as those who will not see. Men who oppose Odd-Fellowship on the ground of its secrecy merely, and who, with an inconsistency that would seem to indicate monomania, object to secrecy in any form, as- though it were some fell destroyer, may not be easily persuaded. But there are those who sim- ply misapprehend this matter, who are willing to be convinced ; and to such we now address ourselves. If these people could enter a Lodge of Odd-Fellows as members, they would be astonished at the simplicity of our " mysteries." There is nothing horrible, noth- ing terrifying, in our secrets. They have a single object, and that is one which no sensible man would condemn. They are practised for the simplest of pur- poses — one of which is that of recognition. Many of our brethren come from a distance to visit the Lodges, and some of them require our aid in seasons of adver- sity. If we had no means of knowing them, we might be the constant dupes of imposture, and the prey of deception and fraud. By the proper employment of the intelligence derived through our " secrets," we can always recognise an Odd-Fellow ; and thus, without even speaking with him, can give him our aid. No matter what language he may speak, if he be a brother, we are able in a moment to know him as such. The " secret," then, of our secrets, is simply this : to faww each other, and to prevent imposition. What evil, we ask, can they do to society? why should they be made such "bugbears" among men and women? But supposing, after all, that our secrets were appalling, 184 and horrifying, and to be properly distrusted by those who are ignorant of them ? If we elevate the charac- ter of men, and send them forth to the world better fitted to discharge their various duties, what matters to the world the means we employ to do it ? What profit would it be to the unlawful "priers" into our mysteries to know whether we " rebuild the temple of Solomon," or practise the incantations of the witches of Macbeth, in our ceremonies? Some have said that secret societies are inconsistent with, and dangerous to, our republican institutions. We need not argue any abstract political theories on this subject. They are sufficiently answered in the fidelity and patriot- ism, exemplified in their conduct to the world, of the members of the Order. To the initiated, who know how perfectly harmless to all the world is the secrecy of a Lodge-room, this objection is a matter of ridicule. Odd-Fellowship is a philanthropic institu- tion, which has been more successful than any similar association ever established in this country. How many, professing a like object, have had an existence, in all the forms which the ingenuity of man could de- vise, within the comparatively brief space of the last half century? And what of them, save this and Masonry, now remains? Why is it that destruction has been written upon them all, by the finger of time, ere its mould had covered them ? Because their prin- ciple of association, consisting in the mere promptings of benevolence, however good in itself, embraced no fellowship of hearts, no community of interest, and consequently they possessed no bond of union nor element of life. They imposed duty without incul- cating affection ; and they extended charity with the TEXT-BOOK. 185 cold hand of formality, instead of accompanying it with the warm and generous emotions of the heart. It is the principle of secrecy that forms our bond of union, because it is that which, though it be common to us, is unknown to the world ; it constitutes our Brotherhood, links us together in a community of feeling and affection, and enables us to preserve the organic capacity which in all other forms has crumbled to pieces. If it were dangerous to any principle of government, or any interest of society — any precept of morals, or any fundamental doctrine of our faith — is it likely that we would hold it out to every one, and invite all to come and be made acquainted with it? Or, if it contained any or all of these elements, is it probable that it could retain in its embrace the hundreds and thousands of great and good men who are enrolled among its members ? Would there not be at least one, among them all, who, scorning the trammels of deceit — spurning all obligations requiring the concealment of vice, immorality, and even treason itself — would at once unmask them to the world? Is secrecy, in itself considered, a crime ? If it be, then all men and women are criminals; for all, in whatever situation of life they may severally be placed, have secrets which they will not reveal to mortal ear. It is no crime. Heaven and earth, God and nature, death and eternity, life, love, and even Truth itself, are full of it. Why, then, should Odd-Fellows be .condemned for their " secrecy ?" We have sometimes thought that Odd-Fellows them- selves have been to blame for the opposition our " se- crets" have encountered. They are not, in all cases, sufficiently careful in their conversations with the world 16* 186 on this subject. Indeed, they have misrepresented facts, by absurdly hinting to their friends and neigh- bors, that there is something in our rites and mysteries extremely awful or ridiculous. They have mischiev- ously pretended that the candidate for Odd-Fellowship must undergo a certain terrifying ordeal, and that he must " ride a goat /" We contend that all this is not only foolish, but scandalous. No brother has a right to bring reproach upon the Order by promulgating such trash. In concluding this subject, we would impress upon the minds of the Brotherhood the importance of not only keeping our secrets, but of discouraging, in every possible manner, the practice of misrepresenting them. If we are truly Odd-Fellows, we shall keep our mys- teries inviolate. Those who fail to do this, have not well learned the lessons they have been taught. They should study them over again, and commit to memory some of the instructions they have received ; so that, by their example, they may convince the world that " good faith" and virtue are the peculiar characteris- tics of a true Odd-Fellow ; for, according to our laws, ive can he Odd-Fellows only while we act like honest men. Brethren ! let us remember this. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 187 GENERAL REGULATIONS OF THE ORDER. REGALIA AND JEWELS. The regalia and jewels worn by Odd-Fellows have been made the subject of much remark, by those who do not understand their object. They have been called " a useless expense," a " token without mean- ing," " an ostentatious display for the purpose of catching the eye." We have only to say, to all such as do not know their meaning, that, to those who do, such remarks as the above are consummately ridiculous ; and, without any further explanation at present, shall proceed to describe the regalia and jewels that are to be used by brethren in the various branches of the Order. 1. The regalia of a member who has taken only the initiatory degree is a plain white apron, without collar or any other badge of distinction. 2. The aprons and collars of members of subordi- nate Lodges are White. Those for members of the several subordinate Lodge Degrees are: — Of the First Degree, trimmed with White. " Second Degree, " Pink. " Third Degree, " Blue. " Fourth Degree, " Green. " Fifth Degree, " Scarlet. 188 the odd-fellows' text-book. The Noble-Grand wears a Scarlet Collar, trimmed with White or Silver. The Vice-Grand wears a Blue Collar, the Secretaries Green, and the Treasurer Green, trimmed in the manner above specified. The Supporters of the Noble-Grand wear Scarlet Sashes, and those of the Vice-Grand wear Blue Sashes. The Warden and Conductor wear Black Sashes. The Scene Supporters and the Chaplain wear White Sashes. The Aprons of the elective and appointed officers are White, trimmed with the color of the Collar or Sash indicated for the office. 3. Past Grands wear Scarlet Collars or Sashes ; and Aprons, either White, trimmed with Scarlet, or Scarlet, trimmed with White. The Aprons and Col- lars of Past Grands may be trimmed with silver-lace or fringe. Those who have taken the Royal-Purple Degree may have trimmings of Yellow Metal. 4. All members of a subordinate Lodge may wear Rosettes, displaying the colors of the Degrees which they have taken. 5. The jewel for the P. G is a Five-Pointed Star, " " N. G., is Crossed Gavils. " V. G., Hour-Glass. " " Secretary, Crossed Pe?is. " " Treasurer, Crossed Keys. " " Warden, Crossed Wands. " " Conductor, Crossed Axes. " " Guardian, Crossed Swords. The jewel for a Past Grand-Master is a Sun, with Hand and Heart. The jewel for a Grand-Master is a Sun, with the Scales of Justice impressed or en- graved thereon. The jewel for a Deputy Grand-Mas- ter is a Half-Moon: THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 189 That for a Grand Warden, Crossed Gavils. " Secretary, Crossed Pens. " Treasurer, Crossed Keys. " Conductor, Roman Sword. " Guardian, Crossed Swords. " Marshal, ifaforc. All the aforesaid jewels are of While Metal. 6. The Officers and Past Grands of a Grand Lodge wear the regalia of a Past Grand, as above defined. 7. The regalia for an officer of a Grand Encamp- ment, is a Royal-Purple Collar, or Sash, and Black Apron trimmed with gold-bullion fringe. The rega- lia for an officer of a subordinate Encampment is a Purple Collar and Black Apron trimmed with gold- colored fringe or lace, or both. For Grand Patriarch the jewel is a double triangle of Yellow Metal, with a representation of an Altar and Crossed Crooks in the centre. For Grand High-Priest, same triangle, with a representation of the Breastplate. For Grand Senior Warden, the same, with Crossed Crooks. For Grand Junior Warden, the same, with single Crook. Scribe, Crossed Pens ; Treasurer, Crossed Keys ; and Senti- nel, Crossed Swords, with similar triangle. For offi- cers of subordinate Encampments, single triangle ; otherwise as designated for officers of Grand Encamp- ments. Members of Grand or subordinate Encamp- ments wear Purple Collars, Black Aprons, and Black Gloves ; the Aprons and Collars trimmed with yellow lace or fringe. 8. All Past Officers of Grand and Subordinate En- campments are entitled to wear the regalia and jewels appertaining to the offices they have passed. 9. The regalia to be used by brothers attending the 190 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. funeral of a deceased brother is as follows : A black- crape rosette, having a centre of the color of the high- est Degree to which the wearer may have attained, to be worn on the left breast ; above it a sprig of ever- green, and below it (if the wearer be an officer or past officer) the jewel or jewels which as such he may be entitled to wear. The ordinary mourning-badge to be worn by brothers, in memory of a deceased brother, is a strip of black crape passed through one button-hole of the left lappel of the coat, and tied with a narrow riband of the color of the highest Degree to which the wearer has attained. 10. Past Officers and members in possession of En- campment Degrees, and all other members of the Order, when visiting Grand or subordinate Lodges, are entitled to wear the regalia and jewels pertaining to the highest Degree which they have taken. 11. The Grand Representatives in the Grand Lodge of the United States, appear in the proper regalia of the bodies which they respectively represent. 12. All processions and balls, or other ceremonies, at which the regalia and jewels, and other emblems of the Order, are to be used, must be sanctioned by the Grand Lodge, or, in its recess, by the Grand-Master. And all publications made in the newspapers, calling on the Order to appear in regalia, unless authorized as above specified, are improper and contrary to the law of the Grand Lodge of the United States. And the unauthorized use of the name of the Order is strictly prohibited by that body. 191 THE T. P. W. This was adopted for the protection of the Order, and is one of the tests by which travelling-brothers are proven. It is designed for the use of brethren who are travelling beyond the limits of the jurisdiction of Lodges or Encampments to which they belong ; and all Noble- Grands and Vice-Grands of Lodges, and all Chief- Patriarchs and Senior Wardens of Encampments, are possessed of it, in order that they may be qualified either to give or receive it. The Grand-Master and Grand- Patriarch of a state, and their regular deputies, possess it ; and none other than members who are placed in some of the positions above mentioned are entitled to receive it. It is originated by the Grand-Sire, is changed yearly, and goes into use on the first day of January of each year. It is communicated by the Grand-Sire to the Grand Representatives at each an- nual session, and delivered by them in their several states to the Grand-Master and Grand-Patriarch, who deliver it to their deputies, and through them to the officers of Lodges and Encampments, as above stated. Brothers who may procure a visiting or travelling card for the purpose of obtaining admission into Lodges or Camps of other states, receive it in connection with the card. As a general rule, it can only be given by a Noble-Grand or Chief-Patriarch to the members of their own bodies respectively ; but when brothers are called from home suddenly, without time to make per- sonal application for their visiting-cards, it is customary to accompany the card, when sent to the brother, by a 192 THE odd-fellows' text-book. letter, over the seal of the Lodge or Encampment, from the principal officer of the body granting it, to the Noble-Grand or Chief-Patriarch of some Lodge or Camp in the place where the travelling brother is tem- porarily resident, conveying (through said letter) a request that the T. P. W. be communicated to the brother, who will, of course, be entitled to receive it in such manner. CARDS. A brother who may desire to visit other Lodges or Camps out of his district, or who may wish to with- draw from his Lodge or Encampment, receives a card, certifying that he is entitled to the privileges and ad- vantages of an Odd-Fellow. Any brother who may wish to withdraw from the Order, can at any time do so by offering to his Lodge a written resignation ; he is not bound, in such case, to take a card of with- drawal. If he shall take a withdrawal-card, which is always good for one year (during which time he may become a member of any other Lodge or Camp), he is amenable during that year to the Lodge or Camp whence the card emanated, " whose duty it is to watch over his conduct."* These cards are furnished by the Grand Lodge of the United States, and are signed by the Secretary of that body. They are also signed by the Noble-Grand and Secretary of a Lodge, or the Chief-Patriarch and Scribe of an Encampment, grant- * The Lodge or Encampment granting a visiting or with- drawal card, has power to recall or annul the "same for good cause. — Digest, p. 37. 193 ing them. And they must always be signed, also, in the margin, by the names of the brothers receiving them. The wife or widow of a member of a subordi- nate Lodge may, by a vote of two thirds of the mem- bers present, receive a card, expressly adapted for her use, by the Grand Lodge of the United States, which is to be signed in manner above noted, with the addition of the signature of the Vice-Grand. Such card, granted to the wife of a member, can not remain in force more than one year; but if granted to a widow, it continues valid during her widowhood. The following is the form of this card : — " Friendship, Love, and Truth. "INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS. " TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING: " This certifies that Mrs. E. C, whose name is endorsed on the margin of this card in her own proper handwriting, is the wife [or the widow] of our well-beloved brother, who is [or was] a member of Lodge No. — , held at blank, and working under authority of a charter duly granted by authority of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of the state of blank. We therefore rec- ommend her to your friendship and protection wherever she may be, throughout the world, for the space of blank, and no longer. "In witness whereof, we have subscribed our names, and affixed the seal of our Lodge, this blank day of blank, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one. [l. s.] " A. B., Noble-Grand. " C. D., Vice-Grand. " G. F., Secretary." The object of furnishing this recommendation is one which must commend itself to the approbation of all men. She who possesses it is entitled to receive the friendship and protection of those who claim the privi- 3 7 194 lege of watching, not only over their brethren, but also over all who are near and dear to those brethren. BROTHERS TRAVELLING. A brother travelling, who may desire to visit a Lodge or Encampment, must be in possession of a card and the T. P. W. He presents himself at the door, and sends his card to the presiding officer, who appoints a committee of three to examine the visiter. In a Lodge, one member of this committee must be either the Noble-Grand himself, the Vice-Grand, or a brother known to be in possession of the T. P. W., and the other two members must be of the Scarlet Degree. In an Encampment, one member must be either the Chief-Patriarch himself, the Senior Warden, or a pa- triarch* known to be in possession of the T. P. W., and the other members must be of the Royal-Purple Degree. These committees examine the brother in the T. P. W., and in the Degree in which the Lodge or Encampment is open ; and, if satisfied, introduce him to the meeting. Brothers can visit Lodges or Encampments without this form, if introduced by a Grand Representative, or other elective Grand Officer, of the jurisdiction under which they wish to visit. In no other way, except as above stated, can a brother enter a Lodge or Encampment to which he is not attached, unless it be located in the state or jurisdiction in which his own Lodge or Encampment is working. It is important that this fact be well understood by Odd-Fellows. * Members of Encampments are called Patriarchs. 195 CEREMONY AT THE DEDICATION OF AN ODD- FELLOWS' HALL. The dedication is preceded by a procession, formed of the Grand and Subordinate Lodges and Encamp- ments of the state where the ceremony is to take place, and such of the neighboring Lodges and brothers as may accept an invitation to assist in the proceedings. This procession having arrived at the Hall, the exer- cises begin : — # The Grand-Master gives three distinct raps with his gavil, to command the attention of the brethren, and directs the Grand Marshal to make proclamation of the object of the convocation. Grand Marshal. — It is the will and pleasure of the Most Worthy Grand-Master of the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows of the state of blank, that the ceremony of dedicating this edifice to the business and purposes of Odd-Fellowship do now proceed. Grand-Master. — Such is my will and pleasure. * The ceremonies and form which follow are those used at the dedication of Odd-Fellows' Hall, New York, which took place June 4, 1849. We do not give this as a legalized form. The Grand Lodge of the United States, at its last session (Sep- tember, 1850), passed the following resolution, and appointed Representatives Holmes of Missouri, Smith of Tennessee, and Larue of Louisiana, a committee to attend to the required duty :— "Resolved, That a special committee of three be appointed, whose duty it shall be to prepare and report to the next session of this Grand Lodge, forms of ceremony to be used at the laying of corner-stones, and at the dedication of Odd-Fellows' Halls." 196 the odd-fellows' text-book. A prayer appropriate to the occasion will then be made by the Grand Chaplain. The President of the Hall association (or commit- tee) may then say the following : " Most Worthy Grand- Master : We meet you here to-day to announce that our work is finished. It is not the business of the com- mittee to allude to their own labors, nor the manner in which they have been performed, nor would good taste permit them to descant on the fitness of our edifice for the sacred purpose to which it is designed. It is capable of speaking for itself, through its proportions and its style ; if these fail to impress you, any words of mine would prove worse than useless. I have only to repeat that our work is finished ; and, in behalf of the association (or committee) appointed for the purpose of superin- tending the erection of this Odd-Fellows' Hall, and of the Order in this place, I make the request that the building be set apart and dedicated to the business and purposes of Odd-Fellowship." The Grand-Master will then say : " Mr. President of the Odd-Fellows' Hall committee" (or association), " in the name of and in behalf of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows of the state of blank, I accept, for dedication to the uses of Odd-Fellowship, this edifice, which has been constructed under your supervision. " To you and your associates the present must be an occasion especially gratifying. To-day you witness the consummation of that for which you have ardently toiled and hoped. To-day you hail the completion of that for which you have zealously and faithfully labored — and to-day you behold the recognition by your breth- ren from the north, the south, the east, and the west, of this, the result of your efforts, as a temple devoted to THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 197 the service of those whose vocation it is to ' visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, educate the orphan' — duties which neither interfere with nor su- persede the discharge of any others, social, moral, or religious." At the termination of these remarks, the Grand- Master will say : " Hear ! hear ! hear ! all men : by authority and in the name of the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows of the state of blank, I dedicate this Hall to the business and purposes of Odd-Fellowship ; to disseminate Friendship, Love, and Truth, and to diffuse Benevolence and Charity in their fullest extent to all its worthy members : and by this solemn act I hereby declare it duly dedicated. " The Grand Marshal will please cause this dedica- tion to be appropriately proclaimed." Grand Marshal. — Brothers, Grand Heralds of the North, of the South, of the East, and of the West: By the solemn act of the Most Worthy Grand-Master of the Grand Lodge of blank, this Hall is duly dedica- ted to the business and purposes of Odd-Fellowship, to disseminate Friendship, Love, and Truth, and to dif- fuse Benevolence and Charity in their fullest extent to all its worthy members. It is his will and pleasure that the same be proclaimed, which duty you will per- form. Grand Herald of the North — [After a blast on the trumpet]. — Hear, all men ! By authority of the Most Worthy Grand-Master, I proclaim this Hall dedi- cated to the business and purposes of Odd-Fellowship, and the promulgation of the principles of Benevolence and Charity. This being duly repeated by the Grand Heralds of 17* 198 THE odd-fellows' text-book. the South, East, and West, the Grand Marshal will say: — " Most Worthy Grand-Master : Proclamation has gone forth to the four quarters of the globe, that all men may hear and know the principles of Odd-Fel- lowship have here a dwelling-place." Grand-Master — [Holding in his hand a vessel of pure water, in the act of pouring it out], — I do de- clare and proclaim — in the name of a Friendship as pure as this element- — this Hall solemnly consecrated to the practice of that ennobling virtue, which, uniting men as brothers, teaches them to sustain that relation at all times each to the other : in the name of a Love that delights in listening to a tale of sorrow, that it may relieve it — that exults in every opportunity to wipe the tear from the weeping eye, and is ever found armed for the defence of the widow and orphan — this Hall sol- emnly consecrated : in the name of Truth, devoid of guile and hypocrisy, which inculcates sincerity and plain-dealing, that communicable attribute of Deity which most exalts the character of man on earth — this Hall solemnly consecrated. The brothers may answer, " So be it !" and may also give the honors of the Order, by clapping the hands quickly together three successive times thrice repeated. The Grand Secretary will read the certificate of dedication, signed by the Grand Officers, and the fol- lowing ode may be sung : — Uplifting to th' auspicious skies, For Friendship, Love, and Truth, a home, Behold the stately fabric rise, A finished whole from base to dome ! TEXT-BOOK. 199 As step by step, and stone by stone, Our temple rose toward the sky, The work of Fellowship sped on To reach that dome outspread on high. Long celebrated be this day, And be our Hall, when old and gray, The honored temple as in youth — The home of Friendship, Love, and Truth ! Rejoice ! the finished type reveals To love -born Hope a glorious sight ; Let anthems sound in psean peals — The dawn has broken on the night ! Our temple stands the type confessed Of work in Fellowship complete, When, every heart with Friendship blest, Each hand a brother's hand shall greet. Long celebrated be this day, And be our Hall, when old and gray, The honored temple as in youth, The home of Friendship, Love, and Truth ! Along the eternal paths of Time We see the fane, "not made with hands," Where Truth, enshrined in might sublime, O'er sin and self triumphant stands : Her altar built of deeds had birth In myriads of halls like this, All stars of Hope encircling earth To gem the cup of Grief with bliss ! Long celebrated be this day, When other honored fanes and gray Shall, ages hence, as this in youth, Be homes of Friendship, Love, and Truth ! The Grand Chaplain will then pronounce a bene- diction, and the exercise? close. 200 THE odd-fellows' text-book. CEREMONY AT THE FUNERAL OF A DECEASED BROTHER. At an hour appointed, the subordinate Lodge of which the brother was a member must meet at its room, and open the Lodge in the initiatory Degree. The Noble-Grand will then appoint a Marshal and as- sistants. The Lodge will thereupon close, and the brothers pass in procession from the room to the place whence the brother is to be taken for interment.* The order of procession will be as follows : — 1. The Marshal, with black scarf, and baton bound with a band of black crape. 2. Outside Guardian, with red staff, in like mourning. 3. Scene Supporters, with white wands, in like mourning. 4. Members of the initiatory Degree, in order of juniority, two abreast. 5. Members of the White, Pink, Royal-Blue, Green, and Scarlet Degrees, respectively, in like order. 6. Members of the Lodge having the Degrees of the Encampment, respectively, in like order. 7. Inside Guardian, bearing the regalia and insignia indicative of the rank in the Order of the deceased brother. 8. Treasurer and Secretaries of the Lodge. 9. Past Grand, with Right and Left Supporters, each bearing his wand of office bound with a band of black crape. * For description of regalia to be used on funeral occasions, sec page 190. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 201 10. Chaplain, with white scarf, supported by the Warden and Conductor, each bearing- his staff of office in like mourning. 11. Noble-Grand, with his Right and Left Support- ers, each bearing his wand of office in like mourning.* 12. Past Grands of the Lodge, in order of juniority. 13. Brethren of invited Lodges, those of each Lodge arranged in the order above prescribed ; the Lodges, when more than one may be represented, arranged in order of juniority. On arriving at the place appointed for the starting of the funeral, the brothers must take position in the above order immediately before the corpse, and pre- cede it to the place of interment. On arriving at such place, the brothers will open to the right and left, and allow the corpse, mourners, etc., to pass through, the brothers on either side standing uncovered, the hat held in the left hand of each, and joining hands with each other. And after the passing of the corpse, mourners, etc., between the two lines, the brothers will re-form in procession after them in reversed order, and close the procession into and within the place of interment. * If the deceased brother, at the time of his death, was a member of an Encampment, or of a State, District, or Territo- rial Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment, or of the Grand Lodge of the United States, the Chaplain, and the highest offi- cer or officers present, of such Encampment, or Grand Body or Bodies, supported each by two members thereof, may take a position in the funeral procession next after the Chaplain and Noble-Grand, respectively, of the subordinate Lodge of the de- ceased ; they being entitled to take precedence of such Noble- Grand, and of each other (in all processions of the Order, of whatever kind, according to their respective rank), in conduct- ing the ceremony of interment as above set forth. 202 After the performance of such religious service as the friends of the deceased may cause to be there performed, and before the final closing of the grave, the brothers must form silently around the grave (as near to it as may be), according to the order above set forth ; they must be uncovered, the hat in the left hand of each, and joining right hands with each other in one or more circles, as regularly as the nature of the ground may admit; the Chaplain — or, if there be no Chaplain present, the Noble-Grand — may deliver the following — Address. We are assembled, my brethren, to render the last office which the living may minister to the dead. Man is born to die. The coffin, the grave, the sepulchre, speak to us in language that can not be misunderstood, however unheeded it may be, of "man's latter end." Youth in its harmlessness and comparative innocency, and manhood with its wonted vigor and pride of strength, are not more exempt than decrepit and tottering age from the fixed law of being, which dedicates all that is mortal to decay and death. This truth is inscribed in the great volume of nature upon its every page. The beautiful and the sublime, which the handi- work of the Creator displays on our every side, fearfully asso- ciate the unerring certainty of the end of all things, amid the vividness of the moral which they are ever suggesting to the contemplative mind. Day after day, we are called upon to follow our fellow-crea- tures to that bourne whence no traveller returns : but, from the house of mourning, we go forth again to mingle in the crowded world, heedless, perhaps, of the precarious tenure of life, and the certainty of that end to which all flesh is rapidly tending. He who gives the vigor of body, without warning paralyzes the stout heart and strikes down the athletic frame — the living of to-day become the dead of the morrow. Men appear upon, and disappear from, the stage of life, as wave meets wave and parts upon the troubled waters : "in the THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 203 midst of life we are in death." He whose lips now echo these tones of solemn warning, in turn will be stilled in the cold and cheerless house of the dead ; and, in the providence of God, none may escape. Let us, then, so far improve the lesson as to be prepared for that change, which leads to life eternal. After which, the Chaplain will offer the following Prayer. Our Father and our God ! who art the resurrection and the life ; in whom, whosoever believeth shall live, though he die ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in thee, shall not die — hear, we beseech thee, the voice of thy creatures here assem- bled, and turn not away from our supplications. We humbly beseech thee so to imbue us with a conviction of our entire helplessness and dependence upon thee, that we may be brought to meditate upon the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death. In the dispensation of thy providence, thou hast summoned from among us our brother, and we, the sur- viving monuments of thy mercy, are gathered together to com- mit his remains to the earth. Give, O God ! we beseech thee, thy Holy Spirit to us, whom thou hast spared ; increase our knowledge ; and confirm our faith in thee for ever. (Bless and comfort, we pray thee, those whom it has pleased thee to add to the number of the disconsolate ; buoy them up under this heavy stroke ; sustain them against despondency. O, wilt thou be their Father and their God, and pour down from on high thy blessings upon their heads !) Bless, O Heavenly Father ! the brethren here assembled : imbue them with the wisdom of thy laws ; and draw them unto thee by the cords of thy inestimable love ; impress them with their duty to each other as brethren, and their obligations in the various relations of human life ; and, finally, bless our beloved Order throughout the globe. Preserve its principles and its purposes from innova- tion ; sustain it from the shafts of enmity ; protect it from self- immolation ; and shield it from all evil. And unto thee we shall render the praise for ever. Amen. The address or prayer, or both, may be omitted, and should be, in case the friends of the deceased ob- 204 ject to them. Whether they be admitted or omitted, however (the brothers having formed as previously directed), the Noble-Grand will, after a pause suited to the solemnity of the occasion, advance singly to the head of the grave, and cast into it the sprig of ever- green from his regalia, and then return to his place ; whereupon the brothers from left to right in regular succession, and in such numbers at a time as not to cause confusion, may advance to the grave, cast into it the sprig of evergreen from their regalia, and return to their place. After all shall have done this, and the grave shall have been filled up or closed, the brothers must silently re-form into procession according to the order observed in coming to the place of interment, and return in such order to the Lodge-room, where the Noble-Grand will declare the funeral ceremonies to be closed. The form of prayer, the funeral address, and the ceremony above prescribed, have been adopted and authorized by the Grand Lodge of the United States. It is optional with Lodges or Encampments whether they use it or not. In case they do not use it, how- ever, they are required to refrain from using any. It will be observed that the form — while it is such as all persons, of whatever faith, may consistently employ — is adapted to no sect or party, simply as such ; and that it is, therefore, most appropriate for Odd-Fel- lows. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 205 FORM OF A PROCESSION OF ODD-FELLOWS. Grand-Marshal and Aids, mounted. Music. (Subordinate Lodge as follows :) Marshal of the Lodge. 0. G. with drawn sword. Banner. Scene Supporters. Brethren of the Initiatory Degree. White Pink Royal-Blue Green Scarlet 1. G. with drawn sword. Permanent Secretary — Treasurer — Secretary. Supporter — Vice-Grand — Supporter. Conductor, with "> p C Warden, with axe. > <. white rod. Supporter — Noble-Grand — Supporter. Music. (Subordinate Encampments as follows :) Marshal. Guardian. Junior Warden. Banner. First W. — Senior Warden — Second W. Patriarchal Degree Members. Golden-Rule Degree Members. 18 206 Royal-Purple Degree Members. Sentinel. Scribe and Treasurer. G. T. — High-Priest — G. T. Third W. — Chief-Patriarch — Fourth W. Music. (The Grand Encampment as follows :) Marshal. Grand Sentinel. Grand Junior Warden. Banner. Grand Senior Warden. Members of the Grand Encampment. Deputy Grand Sentinel. Grand Scribe and Grand Treasurer. Supporter — Grand High-Priest — Supporter. Past Grand > /-. r> ^ Past Grand _. . . > — Grand Patriarch — < _ . Patriarch. ) C Patriarch. Past Grand High-Priests. Past Grand Patriarchs. Music. (The Grand Lodge as follows :) Four Grand Heralds,* mounted. Deputy Grand-Marshal. Grand Guardian. Banner. Grand Warden and Grand Conductor. Members of the Grand Lodge. Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer. * These in case a hall is to be consecrated. For an explana- tion of their duty, see " Ceremony at Dedication of an Odd- Fellows' Hall," page 197. 207 Supporter — Deputy Grand-Master — Supporter. Supporter — Grand Chaplain — Supporter. Past Grand- ) _ Grand . Master _ \ Past Grand- Master. ) ( Master. Past Deputy Grand-Masters. Past Grand-Masters. Past Grand-Sires, and Officers and Members, of the Grand Lodge of the United States, in Carriages. Brothers engaged in processions will wear regalia suitable to the Degrees to which they may have at- tained. When two or more Lodges or Encampments walk in procession, they form severally as above ; and the younger Lodge or Encampments should precede the elder. All officers in processions should wear the badges of their office. Emblems of the Order may be borne in processions, either in carriages pre- pared for the purpose, or by persons whose positions in the Order are such that they may appropriately bear the several emblems. Chaplains usually carry the Bible. The Marshals should walk on the left of the procession, near the heads of the divisions under their charge. * # * It must be remembered, that the rules of precedence, as explained in a note under the head of " Ceremony at the Fune- ral of a deceased Brother" (page 200), must be observed in processions of the Order, so far as they may admit of being followed. 208 RULES For Subordinate Lodges, and D. D. G. Masters,* in Corre- sponding with the Grand Lodge, on Questions of Law and Usage. The D. D. Grand-Master, as the Representative of the Grand-Master and Agent of a Grand Lodge, must correct all irregularities and illegalities of Lodges and their members within his district, and decide in wri- ting all questions of law and order properly presented to him for that purpose. All Lodges and members in his district must pre- sent any questions of law and usage which may actu- ally arise, to the D. D. Grand-Master for his decision. All questions of law or usage must be clearly stated in writing, with a statement of the circumstances under which they have arisen, and must be signed by the member, or officers of the Lodge, proposing the same. All questions thus proposed must be answered in writing, under seal of the D. D. Grand-Master, and signed by him, within three weeks from the date of their reception ; unless at an earlier date he should notify the Lodge or member of the necessity of refer- ring it to the Grand Lodge or its officers. If any appeal from such decision is made by the Lodge or member, it should be made within one month after its reception ; and should be accompanied by the decision appealed from, or a copy thereof, certified as * The D. D. Grand-Masters are officers appointed by the Grand-Master, to preside over the Lodges of certain specified localities. 209 correct under seal of the Lodge, and the reasons for the appeal, addressed to the Grand-Master. No communication from any member or subordinate Lodge, on questions of law and usage (except an ap- peal as aforesaid, or a formal complaint against the D. D. Grand-Master), should be received by the Grand- Lodge officers, unless the same comes under the seal and endorsement of a D. D. Grand-Master. The D. D. Grand-Master of each district must file all questions presented or arising for his decision, en- dorsing thereon or filing therewith a copy of his decis- ion in each case. And he must also keep a record of each case and each decision in a book provided for that purpose, together with a memorandum of each irregularity corrected by him. And he must affix to each item the number and name of the Lodge, or name and Lodge of the member thus corrected, with the date of such correction. Said book and papers to be con- sidered as the property of the office, and to be deliv- ered up to the Grand Lodge, or its agent, accord- At least once in every six months he must present said file of questions and decisions, or said books of records and minutes, to the Grand-Master, for review and correction or approval, or for reference to the Grand Lodge. A copy of all complaints or appeals by Lodges must be furnished to the D. D. Grand-Master com- plained of or appealed from, and time be allowed him for reply, before proceedings shall be instituted against him, or his decision be reversed ; and all communica- tions on such decisions from the Grand Lodge to her subordinates, should be first communicated to the D. D. 18* 210 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. Grand-Master, and by him be made known to the Lodge. Any communication placed in the D. D. Grand- Master's hands for a member or subordinate Lodge, or for the Grand Lodge or its officers, should be by him forwarded as addressed, without any further delay than may be absolutely necessary to read the same, and certify to its genuineness if need be. Any D. P. Grand-Master, or other officer of a Grand Lodge, or any subordinate Lodge or member thereof, neglecting the duties or violating the obliga- tions imposed by these Rules, may be proceeded against as for the violation of any other duty, obligation, law, or usage, of the Order ; and on conviction thereof after fair trial, may be punished according to the heinousness of his offence, at the discretion of the triers having authority in the case.* * The above Rules were adopted by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, at its session of 1850. They are such as may very properly apply to all Lodges and D. D. Grand- Masters : hence we have introduced them in the " Text-Book." The following are the duties assigned to the D. D. G. Masters of the Grand Lodge of Northern New York : — " The D. D. G. Master shall, in the absence of the Grand- Master, preside at all meetings of the D. G. Committees [con- sisting of all Past Grands in good standing] of their respective districts, and'preserve order and decorum therein, and enforce due observance of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Grand Lodge ; be the organs of the Grand-Master with the subordi- nates in their districts ; have power to call special meetings of the D. G. Committees when necessary ; to grant dispensations to Lodges in their districts for granting certificates for the five degrees in less time than may be otherwise permitted, when cir- cumstances require it, and to officiate in person or by special deputy, in conferring the five Degrees in places where no De- gree Lodge mav be located. Thev shnll see that the work of THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 211 APPLICATION FOR DEGREES. Any brother in good standing, who shall have been a member of the Order for the full period of blank,* may apply personally or otherwise, in open Lodge, for a cer- tificate to entitle him to receive the Degrees of the Order. On application for the Degrees, a ballot must be taken, at which only those members of the Lodge who have received the Degrees applied for can vote ; and unless there shall be three black balls, the certificate must be granted. In all cases, the certificate must be directed to the Degree Lodge (if one is established in the district) ; if not, to the Degree or D. D. Grand-Master, whose duty it shall be to confer or cause them to be conferred in proper form. In districts where there is no Degree Lodge, the Degrees may be conferred in the subordi- nate Lodges of the district respectively. The Lodge must be kept open for that purpose, and the Degrees the Order is performed -uniformly ; confer official Degrees on Past-Officers ; collect from Lodges in their districts all returns and moneys due the Grand Lodge, and forward them imme- diately to the Grand Secretary ; install the officers of the Lodges under their charge ; decide all questions of law that may be sub- mitted to them by Lodges or members thereof under their charge, and report semi-annually to the Grand- Master of their proceed- ings. They shall forthwith report to the Grand-Master all cases of violation, on the part of subordinates, of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Grand Lodge, or of disobedience to its lawful commands, or the lawful commands of the D. G. Committees. When officially visiting the subordinates of the district, the D. D. G. Masters shall be received with the honors of the Order." * The rime varies in the several states. 212 conferred in the presence and with the assistance of the officers and members of the Lodge who may have received the Degrees about to be conferred, who alone are entitled to be present. The fees to be paid on receipt of the certificate must be regulated by the By-Laws of the several Lodges. In case the Degrees are not conferred by a Degree Lodge, the fee for conferring the Degree belongs to the Lodge granting the certificate.* * The following is the regulation of the Grand Lodge of Nor- thern New York relative to Degrees : — " A member who has been in membership one month shall be eligible for Degrees, but shall not be elected to more than three Degrees at the same meeting, unless a dispensation be obtained therefor from the Grand-Master or his deputy for the district. " Applications for election to any of the five subordinate De- grees shall be accompanied with the amount required therefor, and shall be presented to the Lodge when opened in that order of business, if so provided for in its rules of order ; if not, then in the order of new business, when the Lodge shall forthwith proceed to hold a ballot, in open Lodge, of its members then present, to determine the result of the application. Each mem- ber, before he casts his ballot, shall prove himself in the pass- word of the Degree applied for, and the application for the lowest Degree applied for shall be determined first, and so on to the higher Degrees in their order. If a majority of the ballots so cast are in favor of any application, a certificate shall be given to the applicant, addressed to a Degree Lodge, or officer au- thorized to confer Degrees, located or residing in the district, showing that he is a member of the Lodge, and has duly applied for such Degrees, and has been authorized by a ballot of the members of said Degrees of the Lodge to receive them ; but the Grand-Master or D. D. Grand-Master may, by dispensation, authorize a Degree Lodge, or officer authorized to confer De- grees, located in another district, to confer such Degrees." THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 213 HONORARY DEGREE FOR LADIES. At the last session of the Grand Lodge of the Uni- ted States, held at Cincinnati, September, 1850, the following resolution was adopted, and Representatives Colfax of Indiana, Martin of Mississippi, and Steel of Tennessee, were appointed to perform the duty re- quired : — "Resolved, That a special committee of three mem- bers be appointed to prepare an appropriate Honorary Degree, with an accompanying sign or signs and pass- word, to be conferred upon the wives of Scarlet-Degree members who are in good standing in the Order; and that such committee report such Degree for considera- tion at the next communication of this Grand Lodge." The following are the reasons adduced by Grand- Representative Colfax for the establishment of this Degree : — " 1. It would tend to increase the resources of sub- ordinate Lodges by the advance of members in the Degrees. The experience of other Orders which have adopted kindred systems, have proved this. It affords an additional incentive for brethren, and an additional argument for those allied to them, to induce them to progress upward in the Order. I am willing to test the correctness of this prediction, by the experience of the future, if the new Degree is adopted. 214 THE odd-fellows' text-book. " 2. It would complete the present imperfect system in force in most of the jurisdictions, by which wives' and widows' cards are now authorized. By sections 12, 13, and 14, of * Digest,' page 37, wives' and wid- ows' cards can be granted to run for a year, and to be signed by the officers of the Lodge, and countersigned by the recipient on the margin. This is for the pur- pose of affording protection, in times of difficulty, to those who, by the theory of our Order, have an emi- nent right to claim our friendly assistance ; and many instances are on record, proving that this purpose has often and most happily been carried out. " We thus consider them as enjoying a quasi-mem- bership in the Order. This would make the system more symmetrical, and render that connection more pleasant and honorary. " 3. It would lessen and ultimately destroy the prejudice felt against the Order, by many of the fairer sex in various portions of the Union ; and which, un- deniably, often tends to prevent accessions of members in subordinate Lodges. We appear to exhibit a dis- trust of them, which other prominent Orders do not. In many of the States, the Masonic Lodges are author- ized to confer a similar degree upon those ladies con- nected with their members. The Sons of Temper- ance have a kindred branch of their Order, called the Daughters of Temperance, and the Rechabites have also their Daughters of Rechab. Others in addition might be named. It would seem to require no argu- ment to prove, that ladies becoming connected with the two latter temperance organizations, knowing that Odd-Fellowship apparently exhibits no confidence, reposes no trust in them, would endeavor to induce 215 those related to them to join the other more courte- ous Orders, while a different number, who are not connected with such, and do not desire to participate in the details and labor of business incidental to such organization, but who would prefer simply to have a tie in common with the Order of which their com- panions are members, would strive to incline the un- decided mind of such husbands to this argument, tending, of course, decidedly against the increase of our Order. " 4. Such a degree could be made to assist Odd- Fellowship in peculiar cases of brothers' sickness. In many such, the kindly nursing of woman is needed far more than the assiduous and constant attendance of man, for she was formed to minister at the couch of affliction ; and in the watching which our laws so strictly and properly provide for, we only strive to compel the observance, by laws and penalties, of what in her is instinct, the promptings of nature, the impulse of the heart. By making such assistance in cases of peculiar exigency, at the crisis of a tedious or dan- gerous disease — a duty known to be expected by the Order, as well as due in like cases to those of their own sex thus associated with them — a valuable and systematic aid will be secured. The promotion, by this association, of warm friendship between the lady members thus afflicted, is not, in addition, an unim- portant consideration. " Other arguments might be presented, but these are deemed sufficient to justify me in presenting this report. If the adoption of this plan should, as it undoubtedly would, increase the interest felt in the prosperity and growth of the Order among that sex 216 THE odd-fellows' text-book. who wield an influence that few deny and all obey, the purposes of its friends would have been accom- plished. Northern New York have unanimously ap- proved of and recommended such a system. Indiana and Mississippi, without knowing of such a decision, have also, by a large majority, adopted similar views. Whether others have acted similarly, is not within my knowledge. But I have full confidence that, whatever may be the present decision of this question, this step of progress will ultimately be taken." ADDRESSED TO THE LADIES. All good things do, or should, receive the coun- tenance and support of the ladies. We, as Odd-Fel- lows, are bold to say, that we are clearly deserving of such consideration from the fair half of creation. It has been customary with some to apologize to the other sex for their exclusion from our Order. We know not on what ground their exclusion can, by pos- sibility, be considered objectionable. We regard that sex too highly to palter with or to flatter it. We might indeed say, and say with somewhat of truth, that their very charms might be productive of disunion in the Lodge ; that concord and brotherly affection would vanish and give place to the ardor of love, the bitterness of rivalry, and the fantasies of violence and jealousy; and that the mild and sensitive nature of the sex, apt as it is to embrace and follow every good thing, needs not combination to strengthen its good impulses, THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 217 or new incentives to impel it in the course of virtue and benevolence. While we disclaim all doubt of the prudence and retentiveness of woman, we might ima- gine many flattering reasons for their non-admission ; but, in our humble judgment, apology is unnecessary. The simple truth is this : woman is not entitled to, and seeks not, a place among us. Our Institution was originally intended and framed exclusively for the men, and the various modifications it has undergone have not adapted it to the other sex. They could not with propriety, in conformity with the usages of the world, take part in our private assemblages, without exposing themselves to the censoriousness of the age. Their peculiar tastes and duties alike unfit them for the transaction of matters which require action, and lie more properly within the province of their partners in life. We esteem and reverence them, as " God's last, best gift to man ;" but we would not draw them from the stations they so honorably occupy in the economy of the world, to immerse them in cares and duties alien to their nature, and inconsistent with the customs of society, to which they are so directly ame- nable. But we aim at their advantage. We provide, in sickness, for the comfort of those who are nearest and dearest to them ; we bury their dead ; we en- deavor to support and cheer them in their widowhood, and to foster and educate, and place in the paths of usefulness and respectability, their fatherless offspring; we strive to render ourselves more worthy of them, and to purify and improve their fathers, their husbands, their brothers, and their lovers. We shall not argue at length the reasons why ladies may not become members of our association. For 19 218 the odd-fellows' text-book. we are persuaded that these are obvious to all who will take the pains to reflect upon the relative positions of men and women. While man is called upon to go forth into the world and fight its battles, woman's place is at the home-altar, as the high-priestess of that sacred spot; and her business — one which she well under- stands — is to cheer him in his rough journey, and to nerve him to proceed in it with faith and patience. Yet it can not be evaded, or denied, that Odd-Fel- lowship has been, and in some instances is yet, op- posed by our fair countrywomen. Why is this so ? Why should Woman, with her softness and kindness, her fidelity as a wife, her devotedness and love as a mother, her charity as a Christian, object to an Insti- tution which has been clearly proven of incalculable good to the human race ? Our homes for the blind, for the deaf and dumb, for the poor and destitute, and for the unfortunate creature of man's lust, have all been reared, and are sustained, under her fostering care and patronage : she has strewed chaplets of flow- ers in the patriot's path of glory ; her handiwork floats on the banners of our Sunday-schools and temperance societies ; her influence and labor are enlisted in almost every enterprise of good that has blessed humanity : why, then, we ask, should she discountenance a society which has for its sole object the amelioration of man- kind? This question, we are convinced, may be answered in a very few words — " It is a secret society for gen- tlemen only!" Here is the secret of woman's hostility to Odd-Fellowship : and on this subject we shall, therefore, beg to reason with her. In order to do so with some show of success, we can not do better than THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 219 to present the following, which was written by one of her own sex, and sent to us, years ago, for insertion in " The Rainbow," an Odd-Fellows' periodical which we edited in 1841 : — "I propose, with your permission, to offer to the ladies a few plain and well-meant remarks upon this subject of secrecy, as many have formed erroneous opinions concerning it and your Institution. They think that there must be something wrong where there is so much secrecy ; and as I intend to show, in my few remarks, that female influence is sensibly felt in society, I particularly wish to undeceive them on this subject. In my own mind there is no doubt but the ridiculous assertions that are made against the Order are thrown out to mislead the uninformed, and preju- dice the public mind, by those who know nothing con- cerning the Institution. I have taken great interest to find out this ' grand secret,' as it is called, which, I believe, is only the mode of initiation, and the signs by which the members recognise one another. What they are I can not tell, only that they are calculated to make deep impressions on the minds of men. I choose rather that the ladies would trace the history of this In- stitution themselves. The principles of Odd-Fellow- ship are published to all the world, and may be known to others as well as by the members. I more particu- larly wish the married ladies to study them out, for many are prejudiced against it, and, as a matter of course, think they are perfectly right in opposing their husbands. And many think, too, that, because woman is excluded, there is and must be a deep mystery attached to it. This is perfectly nonsensical. Why 220 is it that woman is excluded from the halls of legisla- tion, from political meetings, and from the noise and bustle of military pomp? You answer, because it is altogether inconsistent with our feelings and station. So it is here. Woman must content herself to rule at home : she should view her home as her kingdom. If a woman were to go into the world — if she were to mingle in the strifes of public life, and devote her time and attention to business concerns equally with the men — in what condition would be our homes? It is for her to cultivate the opening intellect, and to en- stamp moral and religious impressions upon the mind, in the days of infancy and childhood, which will en- dure throughout life. It is a sister's privilege to watch over a younger brother, and gradually to lead him in the path of rectitude and duty ; to enforce upon the tender mind those very principles taught in the Lodge by precept and example — Friendship, Love, and Truth. Then, when that brother arrives at the age of manhood, he perhaps associates with those who in- fuse by practice those truths imbibed in childhood ; and, however high he may ascend in riches, in rank, in honors — however low he may sink in poverty and disgrace — he can never forget the home of his youth. When the siren voice of Pleasure would fain tempt him aside, the voice of his sister or the counsels of his mother, whisper in his ear, ' Resist the tempter !' And is not this woman's province — this her field of action — this the scene of her highest usefulness? Why then does she aspire to that which is not consistent with the laws of nature and the will of her Creator? Then let no opposition be shown to your partner in life ; rather rejoice that he associates with the good and 221 just, and sooner urge him to attend more regularly to his duty. If I understand anything of Odd-Fellow- ship, I believe its elementary features are Benevolence and Charity ; and if I am right in my opinion, these are indeed its noblest attributes. If such be the fact, should we, as ladies of sound sense and discernment, oppose it because it may appear to us mysterious? Nay ! We should rather exert every power we possess to befriend and advance a cause which, despite our objection, is one of the noblest ever devised by man. 1 have reasons for this assertion in the amount of hap- piness I have seen it confer upon several of my friends, and in the true moral excellence which I have observed among those of its members who appear to feel a deep interest in its welfare." Thus much did our lady-correspondent and friend remark concerning " Odd-Fellowship and the Ladies," and we sincerely commend her observations to those ladies who may have objected to our Order on the ground of its secrecy and exclusiveness. Odd-Fellowship, as we have shown in the pages of this work, is a Society founded in the purest philan- thropy. "It scatters its blessings, like the dews of heaven, alike upon the rich and the poor," the high and the low, the strong and the weak. Woman largely shares these blessings. Fond and devoted wife ! need we tell thee that this is a life of mixed good and evil? — that the storm and the whirlwind succeed the calm and the sunshine? — that disappointment, bitter grief, and sad reverses, are the lot of mortals? He who lately led thee to the bridal altar may to-morrow be laid on the death-couch, and exchange his marriage- 19* 222 the odd-fellows' text-book. vesture for the winding-sheet and the shroud ! Wouldst thou desire the commiseration and sympathies of his brethren — they who have pledged themselves, by an obligation " heard in heaven," to protect and comfort thee in thine hour of despair ? Tender mother ! as thou bendest with untiring watchfulness over thy fair child, and hushest to rest every murmur that may dis- turb the gentle slumber of thy loved one, remember that, if thy babe should never need the friendship of Odd-Fellows (Heaven only knows what is in the fu- ture !) — there are "pale faces of little children" all around thee, who clasp no mother's knee, " the envied kiss to share ;" and for their sake, if not for that of thine own dear one, do not discourage Odd-Fellow- ship. Fond sister ! if thou wouldst live more fondly in the friendship of thy brother — if thou wouldst en- large thy enjoyments in his society, and, leaning upon him, feel a proud consciousness of his virtue and his worth, induce him to become acquainted with the spirit of Odd-Fellowship. Fair maiden ! thou who occa- sionally repressests the strong impulses of the heart, and quietests the promptings of love, to meditate in deep solicitude and anxiety upon the uncertainty of the future — wouldst thou take for that future a strong and certain bond of indemnity, persuade the object of thy affection to embrace the cause of Friendship, Love, and Truth. From these, and a thousand other reflections, which we have neither space nor time to name, we entreat our fair readers that they will not discourage Odd- Fellowship, but that they will rather aid it by their smile and approval. We assure them that they are deeply interested in its welfare — that it cnn cause them THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 223 no possible injury, but that it may procure them and theirs much real good. Their happiness is not the least object of its care. It will shed the sunlight of joy and consolation on the dark scenes of their lives — cheer and sustain them in their hour of trial — come, it may be, to their aid, when all other friends fail them ! TO THE UNINITIATED. The experience of every considerate mind must teach the fleeting and transitory nature of worldly pos- sessions, and the uncertainty of health, which is to all the greatest earthly blessing that can be enjoyed, and the deprivation of which to the greater portion of mankind is the suspension of the necessary means of existence. The frugal ant, guided by a benevolent instinct of unerring Nature, improves the sunny hour to husband up its store ere the approach of barren, cheerless win- ter : and the impulse which here prompts this petty member of the brute creation to action in its own be- half is the same impulse which gave our Order birth ; brought by process of intellect to that admirable system which distinguishes the first of God's creation when exerted in a noble and righteous cause. The condition in which man finds himself placed on earth, as both an individual and a member of the social compact, is fully calculated to develop the finer feature? of his nature. He perceives that his own hap- 224 the odd-fellows' text-book. piness depends upon the welfare of those to whom he is connected by the most inseparable ties ; his sensitive mind can not contemplate distress and misery without a shudder of pity and a desire to alleviate it ; and thus, from his own magnanimous nature, he becomes an ac- tive and willing agent in the cause of benevolence, friendship, and charity. But to dispense charity with a discriminate hand, to extend effectual relief to worthy objects, it is necessary that some systematic form of procedure be established for the purpose of rendering that relief mutual ; and we may here see the first grand principle of our Order. He who enters our ranks, subscribes to our regula- tions, pays his moiety for our support, becomes virtu- ally a shareholder, entitled to all its privileges and immunities, and in the dark hour of gloom and suffer- ing, the honest "grip" of a brother Odd-Fellow will warm his heart, soothe his weary, sleepless couch, and, unlike the fawning pretensions of too, too many sun- shine friends, yield him something more substantial than that poor consolation which words and professions alone can offer to the frame borne down with long suf- fering, rendered still more hideous by the too near approach of want. He who lawfully seeks relief from this source comes not in the shape of the humble alms-asking applicant, with cap in hand, to solicit the poor pittance which inconsiderate Plenty gives, and yet too often denies, to sorrow-stricken Poverty. Here is no compromising of that manly independence which is his proudest boast; his wants are anticipated, and he receives back with interest the bounty which he freely gave, ere Mis- fortune cast her murky shades around him. 225 But this is but a recapitulation of facts well known ; and the question is, whether Odd-Fellowship, if car- ried out upon the principles which now identify it, will effect the grand object of its aim, to protect from the pangs of want those who enrol themselves upon its lists. The sum necessary to become a member is by no means large, when the privileges conferred are taken into consideration, together with the fact that it is called for in the hour of prosperity. A long array of facts and figures might be cited to prove that this Order will answer its intended object ; but the necessity of adducing such proofs as these is uncalled for, the experiment speaking for itself; nearly all the Lodges in this country being in a prosperous condition, ready and willing at all times to meet all just demands against them. The sentiment upon which our Institution depends most for support and existence is the sentiment of true brotherhood, that mutual principle which should prompt to lay aside all personal differences and sacrifice all party considerations for the benefit of the general weal. The effect of this dangerous spirit — personal and party difference — may be read upon nearly every page of the world's history. Institutions laid upon foundations more solid and enduring, perhaps, than our own, have felt its shivering force and gone down to oblivion, and live only upon their timeworn and worthless records. Nations standing high, rejoicing in an industrious pop- ulation, with all the appliances and means of endurance, have been struck from their high and splendid emi- nence, and become the " schoolboy's dream, the won- der of an hour !" This baneful spirit can never be productive of aught but evil, and every true Odd-Fel- 226 the odd-fellows' text-book. low is called upon, by the most emphatic and forcible considerations, to frown upon the approach of this insidious and destroying hydra. Where fellowship is the nerve, and amity and good-will the aim, Peace and Plenty sit like household gods upon our altar-places. This Institution, when considered in a moral point of view, may be pronounced one of the most splendid undertakings ever set on foot ; no spectacle so grand to the eye can be presented, as men coming volunta- rily forth to the relief of the distressed and suffering. Science, with unceasing energy, may soar beyond the visible diurnal sphere, and weigh with faultless balance innumerable suns and systems, and bring down to the ken of earthly vision newly-discovered worlds, to the great delight of the philosopher and scholar : but see the " friend of man" bending o'er the emaciated form of his brother, presenting to his fevered lips the cool- ing draught, and say which appears more benign, more Godlike ! The nature of our Institution, by its formation, is eminently calculated to inculcate feelings of liberality, to soothe all feelings of bigotry and prejudice. Here may be seen members of the most hostile sects and parties, forgetting for the time their peculiar tenets and predilections, and mingling together in fellowship and love. The world abounds with institutions founded with benevolent views ; but how many of them are estab- lished upon the narrow basis of party, or sect, or nation ! They indeed dispense aid to the sufferings of those of their own fraternity, but their rules prevent the admittance of all except those who are qualified by the circumstances of creed, nation, or profession. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 227 No such qualification is here required ; the test neces- sary for admission into our Order is, a good reputa- tion and character for morality and honor ; it heeds not whether the man be a native of the Old or New World, Jew or Gentile, rich or poor : at his approach our portals open, he enters and becomes a brother. The tendency of Odd-Fellowship upon the minds and characters of its members, independent of the direct aid which it confers, is well calculated to de- velop those fine and social feelings which are the honor of our nature. It inculcates morality by the most forcible, and I may say practicable lessons ; it teaches men the sweetness of friendship and affection, and renders every man more fit to fulfil his duties as the head of his own household and as a member of the community. Its expressive mottoes and axioms are most acceptable to the moral, the benevolent, and the charitable. By them, men are reminded of their duty toward their God, their families, and their neighbors. In the Lodge-room they listen to exhortations which must banish all evil and improper thoughts from their breasts, and render them good and peaceful members of society. Odd-Fellowship to young men is, indeed, a benefit. It may be called a powerful conservator of their mor- als, and morality is the great safeguard of health. The minds of the most pure and well-meaning will some- times go astray, sometimes turn aside from the plain avenue of virtue, to glean the flattering flowers that stand temptingly by the waysides, siren-like, to allure and destroy the infatuated votary. The world pre- sents too many seductive pleasures for the minds of all to withstand : for living instances of this kind, we 228 need not go far. Let any review the course of his own observation — look around the circle of his own acquaintance — and behold how many young men, full of promise and hope, with splendid intellect and ca- pacity, have lost their fair fame by some impetuous act, and become objects of loathing and pity; how many, in the unguarded hour of conviviality, have raised the flowing goblet to their lips by way of healthy salutation to their friends, meaning no ill, and little dreaming of the sad fate that awaited them ! See many of them now ! watch the eye, that once sparkled with healthy vision, flickering with a sickly and ghastly hue — ambition, that load-star of youth, beaming no more for them — all pride gone, all respect, all energy, and the weak frame tottering to the inebriate's prema- ture grave ! A sad spectacle ; yet such as all have witnessed. Fortune, too, has her votaries ; and the gaming-table displays its glittering heaps to those who would stake fame, honor, soul, family, and all, against the yellow earth, and, in the essay to win, lose all — and seal their wretchedness through life. . When we claim for our Order those qualities which tend to prevent these disastrous circumstances, we claim for it no more than its equitable due ; each Odd- Fellow being bound by the most sacred obligation to advise and counsel a brother, to notify him of danger, and to stand as a guardian of his morals, reputation, and health. The wide extent of our Order, and the immense addition that has been made to it within the last few years, evince that the prejudice with which secret societies were once received is now fast fleeing away ; the effects of the existence of this Order have spoken THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 229 in its behalf; and the general sentiment prevails, that men whose actions are guided by philanthropy and benevolence can not prove dangerous. In regard to the secrecy, which is the only possible objection to our Order, we have spoken of it in preceding pages of this work. The world has been favored with innumerable dissertations upon secret societies, and their real or supposed effect on the morals of the people ; and they have all come to one and the same conclusion, that, they may be justifiable where secrecy is necessary. We know that we possess no more secrecy than is indispensable to our existence, and, accordingly, we feel little compunction at the mysterious nature of our Order. Every Odd-Fellow has sound views upon this theme. Ours is not that awful secrecy which would frown from our precincts all visiters, at all times, and impress silence, with a mysterious air, upon all who would inquire into our principles ; but we do and must possess certain signs and emblems that will make us known to each other, and protect us from the imposition of designing and unprincipled men. We rank among our fraternity many of the eminent men of the land — eminent for intellect and capacity — eminent for the purity and probity of their actions ; men who have given hostages to the world for the full performance of their duties ; and none can suppose that they, with a full knowledge of its nature, would remain connected with it if it were different from what it professes to be — an institution, the object of which is to relieve the wants of its brethren. The violent politician finds neither place nor time within the Lodge to promulgate his peculiar views and 20 230 opinions ; the infatuated sectary finds here no respon- sive converts to his faith : here men must lay aside their predilections, and incite to the grand work of benevolence. America, from its peculiar physical nature, is highly favorable to the growth of institutions of a democratic and benevolent tendency. The tone of popular sen- timent is, generally speaking, liberal and considerate ; and anything proposed for the alleviation of human suffering, for the furtherance of the general good, in nearly all cases meets with encouragement and sup- port. Schools for the education of all classes now exist in profusion throughout the land ; asylums for the retirement of those who have become shattered and broken down by the storms of mental vicissitude may be seen in all sections of the country : and, when we consider that the most of these splendid charities are the fruits of voluntary subscription, we are justly proud of the land we live in ; we can not pronounce her name without feeling our hearts to overflow with grati- tude and joy. Here, upon the continent of young •America, humanity has found a safe and hospitable shelter from the blighting effects of persecution. Here young, bright-eyed Liberty sought a refuge from her lawless ravishers, and found a welcome home and brave defenders. Here Friendship, Love, and Truth, the principles of Odd-Fellowship, have found a genial and healthy soil. Odd-Fellowship is genuine republicanism. We do not insinuate, by this, that it has anything to do in the political movements of the day : it has no business, nor does it desire to have, with the various parties in State politics that array themselves, in clamorous strife, 231 against each other. When we say that Odd-Fellow- ship is republicanism, we mean, that in the dispensation of its government, and the bestowment of its bounties and honors, the people, the members, bear the rule and share equal and undisputed rights. In reference to its organization and body politic, we may say with Sir William Jones : — " What constitutes a state ? Not high-raised battlement or labored mound, Thick wall or moated gate ; Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned ; Not bays and broad-armed ports : No: men — high-minded men — With powers as far above dull brutes endued, In forest, brake, or den, As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude ; Men, who their duties know, But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain, Prevent the long-aimed blow, And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain — These constitute a state.'''' It is the nature of our country and her laws to receive to her bosom the homeless exile, to protect him from political persecution. And it is our duty, as countrymen and as Odd-Fellows, to welcome our needy brethren from the lands beyond the sea, and to contribute our " mite" to the alleviation of their mis- ery. We shall still go on in our " labor of love," disseminating the principles that unite us as brothers, till the clouds of human suffering, which now shroud in gloom so many of our fellow-creatures, shall burst and roll away, before the approach of that sun which shall be hailed as the magic focus of brilliant radii, formed by the tokens and elegant emblems of our Order. 232 THE odd-fellows' text-book. ODD-FELLOWSHIP AND PATRIOTISM. Our Order is no political association. We are taught, as Odd-Fellows, to be subservient to the " pow- ers that be," and to obey strictly the laws, yet we give no political pledges — we are united by no political bond of union — we aspire not to any political authority. We are bound by our obligations to perform all the duties which can be required of good citizens ; and a violation of any of those laws, if proven against a mem- ber of our Fraternity, will subject him to immediate expulsion from our Society. We do not profess to a love of country beyond that of other men : in our teach- ings we counsel and inculcate peace and deprecate war; but in defence of the honor or the rights of their native land, Odd-Fellows would not be the last to re- spond to her call. As a proof of this assertion, we might refer to the hundreds of our brothers who en- rolled themselves in the regiments of the volunteers in the Mexican war : and we might also say that, while the bones of many of them were left on the fields of battle in a foreign land, their names and virtues are yet green in our memory ; and that, though on earth we shall never again grasp their hands in friendship, yet we confidently expect to meet them in the Odd- Fellows' home of glory ! 233 ODD-FELLOWSHIP AND RELIGION. This Order is no religious association ; yel, " Do unto others as you would they should do unto you" is the fundamental basis on which the entire fabric of Odd-Fellowship reposes. It assumes no higher au- thority than the regulation of the moral action of its members, while it confides an elucidation of the sub- lime requisites of the Sacred Scriptures to the minis- ters of Religion. It demands no obligations which would in the slightest degree violate a man's duty to his God, his country, his neighbor, or his family. It exacts no perilous vows which would implicate his fealty to his spiritual persuasions ; for it comprehends and embraces men of every creed, sect, tenet, and reli- gious denomination. It repudiates infidelity, but it assumes not that prerogative which the Great Searcher of hearts has reserved to himself alone. "Judge not, that ye be not judged," is the rule of action to every member of this Fraternity. The depravity of man renders it expedient for means to be employed to lead him from the paths of vice to those of virtue : and this should be done by inculca- ting the divine precepts of the Bible. This is what we do. But, while we teach those precepts in a man- ner peculiar to ourselves, we do not war with the prin- ciples of any sect. Jew or Gentile, Catholic or Protest- ant, is, as such, welcome to our Lodges and our hearts. 20* 234 AN ADDRESS FOR THE USE OF ODD-FELLOWS. [We have introduced this Address in the "Text-Book" for a specific purpose, as follows : It frequently occurs that Lodges, especially in remote rural districts, having occasion for some public demonstration, lack a " speaker," and are obliged to send for one a long way from home, at great expense. To obviate this necessity and cost, this Address may very prop- erly be used, by some brother of the Lodge, who could easily commit it to memory and deliver it. To the audience generally it will most likely be new, and therefore as interesting as some Addresses for which the Lodge might be required to pay fifty or a hundred dollars.] Respected Auditors : We have assembled this evening to contemplate a subject on which, if we can not be of one heart and one mind, we can at least coolly examine its claims to public confidence and favor. The sacredness of this place, the aspect of this audience, the motives connected with the occasion that has brought us here, and the unanimity of the friendly feeling which pervades community in reference to equal rights and freedom of speech, are earnests to us of a patient hearing and a candid judgment. Like Paul before King Agrippa, I may say: "I am happy, be- cause I shall answer for myself" this evening, touching the things connected with an Association now known far and wide by the unique appellation of " Odd-Fel- lowship." It is expected that one pretending to teach others will know something himself. He who lectures on astronomy or geology, is supposed to understand 235 something of the heavens and the earth, as an indis- pensable guaranty that his hearers may become ac- quainted with their sublime features and mysteries. Shunning a labored and extended introduction, I enter at once on the task assigned me this evening. I could have wished that this task had been assigned to abler hands : but " such as I have, give I unto thee." We shall, in the first place, ask what Odd-Fellow- ship is? 2. What it has done and is now doing for the good of men? 3. Are there causes in the social, physical, and rela- tive condition of our race, for its operations? 4. By what means will it be crowned with success? The question, "What is Odd-Fellowship?" you have heard answered perhaps repeatedly ; peradven- ture you have answered it yourselves. If you will apply to a physician to ask what the nervous system is, and to a chemist to teach you the law of affinity and repulsion — if you inquire of a Christian to know what Christianity is — I ask no more, at present, than a few moments for an Odd-Fellow to tell what Odd-Fellow- ship is. Would you go to the writings of Hobbs, Rousseau, Voltaire, or Paine, to know the claims and influences of the Christian religion? Then do not receive from Rumor's tongue her hasty verdict, nor the partial decisions of Prejudice. Odd-Fellowship is a philanthropic Institution. If there are secret cords which bind its members together, that have not been found out, and which would not be condemned if they were, yet one of its vital energies and of its foundation- pillars is Philanthropy. Men are here associated, for the purpose of doing good to their fellow-men. This 236 THE odd-fellows' text-book. Institution recognises the fact which is written in fear- ful emblems on the broad face of the creation, that mis- fortune, and misery, and death, are in the earth. Where we find men like ourselves, there we find the " pesti- lence that walketh in darkness and wasteth at noon- day." Where we find inhabitants, there too the sigh is uttered — the tear-drop falls from Sorrow's cheek. Where the laughing and merry children meet and gam- bol on the green, or sport in the meadow ; where the song of the young villagers, and the clangor of busy life, and the rattling wheels of industry are heard, there too the widow utters her lamentation, and the helpless orphan cries in the bitterness of bereavement — there are the pillows of death, and the fresh and new-dug graves. Odd-Fellowship was organized, not for the purpose of ridding the world of these pains and sor- rows — not to reorganize the present state of things — but to meliorate and soften the evils to which humanity is subject. It is an association of philanthropists, who, regarding all men as themselves, mortal, and subject to the miseries and reverses of the world, would unite their means and efforts to smooth the haggard features of Want, and soften the iron bands of Misfortune and Poverty. Philanthropy, in its high and broad sense, knows no favorites ; it goes to the prison-house, to the damp, dark cell, to the tattered cottage, to every place where humanity suffers, where the chains clank and " the iron eats into the soul ;" wherever there is mis- ery, its soft voice is heard like the rush of an angel's wing, and its hands apply the remedy and the antidote. Now if it be said that the philanthropy of Odd-Fellow- ship is a stinted and contracted one — that it is confined to its own members — the same objection may be urged TEXT-BOOK. 237 against other benevolent institutions, against Christi- anity itself, and the present order of society. The in- junction of the gospel, " Heaven's best gift to man," is, "Do good unto all men, especially unto the household of faith." Can we say that Christianity is not a system of philanthropy, because it prescribes especial and par- ticular beneficence to its advocates? The present or- ganization of the social community in which we live is such, from the ties of family and kindred consan- guinity, that if the most philanthropic man among us should see two children, one of them his own, about to be devoured by a ravenous beast, and he could save but one of them, he would preserve his own child and let the other perish. This would not vitiate his phi- lanthropy. It is no valid objection, then, against our Compact, that it gives a preference as regards its bene- factions to its members. It will be remembered, too, that the members of every Lodge have claims that are not of universal application. They have contributed their earnings into the funds ; their money is there ; and they should be entitled, by a claim superior to others', to draw it out from these funds when the day of adversity comes. But I remark again, Odd-Fellowship is a domesti- cating Institution. I mean by this, that it unites indi- viduals together as a family or household, in which there is a mutual and reciprocal feeling of kindness and brotherly love. Do we not all know the influences, and associations, and endearments, that cluster around the almost magic words, " home, sweet home" ? The venturous youth on the high mountain-wave thinks of his home. The kind mother has there smoothed his sick-pillow, and eased his aching head, and felt proud 238 of her bonny boy as he conned his lessons and chased the gossamer butterfly across the flowery meadows. Often when the tempests threaten and the thunders roll, she sleeps not till her prayer ascends for her sailor-boy to Him who " rides upon the wings of the wind" — who commands, and the lightnings cease. Yea, there is a kind of charm that goes with us all our life long, that " grows with our growth and strengthens with our strengths," that comes up in its thrilling and bewitching revery, when we think of our home. The parent was there ; he laid the foundation-stone in the temple of our glory : there we were learned the sweet music of love — there we revelled in the delights of the purest affection of earth. There we were taught the best of all governments, the government of our- selves. There the brother smiled in joy when we were happy, and the sister and the mother wept when we were sad. Similar to this is the social Compact of which we are speaking : it recognises the duty and office of father, brother, and friend. Like the children that gather around the domestic hearth of one father — bound together by the bonds of fraternal love — so Odd-Fellows, if they are true to their principles and obligations, make their Lodge a peaceful and desirable home — a home in which "Reflection, reason, still the ties improve — At once extend the interest and the love ; And still new deeds, new helps, new habits, rise, That graft benevolence on charities." It will be said that there are individuals in the Order who are strangers, in both heart and conduct, to prin- ciples of this fraternal character. We pretend not to 239 deny this, as humiliating as the concession may appear. But do not charge this Institution with moulding and forming the character of such men ; do not say the genial and legitimate tendency of the Association is demoralizing. This would be to say that Christianity betrayed its own Founder with a kiss, and by its influ- ence led Peter to curse and to swear. This would be saying that there is no true religion — that it is not founded on charity — because men have put it on as a cloak to rob and destroy. It would be saying that the whole system of medicine is a phantom or a farce, be- cause some arrant quacks have attempted to use the pill-box and the lancet. We say, then, Odd-Fellow- ship is of a domestic nature. Its members find ties of friendship and cords of love strong and endearing as those that unite the inmates of a well-regulated and happy family. He who once enters this family circle will find the principle developed which was exhibited by one of old : " Let there be no strife, 1 pray thee, between us, for we are brethren." Once more, I observe, this is an Institution of mu- tual relief. The members deposite in the treasury of their Lodge a weekly and monthly due, which in the sunny days of health and prosperity they can easily spare, and which returns to them with seven-fold bles- sings when disease has prostrated them on a bed of sickness. What industrious mechanic can not lay aside four or five dollars a year from his earnings, to go into the funds of his Society? This small sum may be saved in the retrenchment of some of his luxu- ries, perhaps ; or a hat, a coat, a pair of boots, a party less costly than usual by a dollar, will afford the re- quired sum. This yearly amount comes back to a 240 the odd-fellows' text-book. member for every week that he may be sick, or inca- pacitated from attending to his usual business. This we regard as one of the best features in the Institution. It is one that should commend itself to every lover of humanity and benevolence — the relief of the sick. This voluntary and benign principle manifests itself in deeds of charity and benevolence ; in its exercise the lonely orphan finds a benefactor, the widowed heart is cheered, and the sick-room, the cold and fireless hearth, break forth into thanksgiving and praise. Mu- tual relief! it is this that starts our courageous firemen at midnight from their peaceful slumbers, and, at the clangor of bells and the cry of fire, carries them amid darkness and the storm to the scene of devastation. Now they mount the flaming pile — and in the gather- ing clouds of smoke and the crashing ruin, their motto is, " To the rescue ! on, to relief — to the salvation of life from the jaws of menacing Death — to the preser- vation of property from the devouring flames !" Let one of these guardians of our property perish amid the raging element and the tottering walls, and his memory deserves as conspicuous a place on the bright escutch- eon of fame and glory as he who fell under the walls of Quebec, or those who bled at Lexington and Bun- ker Hill. He flew to the relief of his friends, his fel- low-citizens, and died a martyr in the glorious cause of benevolence, in relieving humanity and driving back the swelling tide of human wo. The young and the old shall cherish his memory with gratitude, and a God of compassion and benevolence will not forsake his widow and orphans. Look, too, at the Temperance cause : it professes to be based on the principle before us. "Mutual relief!" is the watchword; the stern THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 241 voice of war is hushed, and the soft melody of kind- ness and good will is whispered in the ear of the drunkard, and he begins to feel that he is a man, in- stead of a beast — that instead of being friendless, for- saken, and alone, the common mark for the contemptu- ous and the scornful lip, he is regarded as within the reach of reformation, and it has been found out that there is yet one spark in his moral nature which can be kindled into life and light by kindness and the prin- ciple of mutual relief. What the thunders and the lightnings of threats and proscription could not do, the balmy and tender influence of goodness and love has overcome, as everlasting hills of ice melt away before the noonday sun. " Odd-Fellowship" is but another name for this very principle, mutual relief — a combi- nation of powers and means, the accumulation of a fund to draw from, when we need the comforts and sympathies of friends. It is no more true that the stockholder can claim his share of the profits of a bank, than it is that the members of this Society have a claim to, and that they receive, the moneys deposited in its treasury. Do you ask, then, why we stand up to plead its cause ? why men are thus associated in this Institution, and what the nature of the Compact is ? I answer : It is a Society organized for the relief of its members. When the paralyzing hand of Disease has laid me on a couch of suffering ; when the silver cord is loosing, and the golden bowl is breaking ; when, helpless and low, I am breathing out my life — then will this Society shed its blessings around me, watch with me, and soften the tedious dreariness of my sick-couch. When Affec- tion's hallowed tears shall embalm my ashes, and " the 21 242 the odd-fellows' text-book. clods of the valley shall be sweet unto me" — when it shall be said of me, " Life's fitful fever over, he sleeps well" — then do I trust that my brother-members of this Association will carry out one of the prominent objects of this Order, "visit the fatherless children, and be the protector of the widow." Let me, then, cling to its altars ; let me speak in its behalf; let me see its banners unfurled in every land ; let me hear its voice echoed from the valley to the mountain-top ; let its principles, " Friendship, Love, and Truth," like Jupiter's golden chain, draw the earth into one great brotherhood, till not a cry of the orphan comes up from the cheerless hearthstone unheard ; till not a tear starts from the widow's eye unseen and unpitied ; till Charity, Philanthropy, and Mutual Relief, shall have made more, arid wider, and farther-reaching conquests, than glittering spears, or gilded crescent, and waving plume ; till it shall be said of this crazy, selfish world — " Here Love his golden shafts employs, here lights His constant lamp, and waves his purple wings : Here reigns and revels.*' But I am dwelling too long on this part of my sub- ject. I pass to the second query : What has Odd- Fellowship done, and what is it now doing ? We speak, firstly, of its rapid and unprecedented increase. About thirty-two years ago, five persons in the city of Baltimore met in a small upper room, like the primitive Christians, and there laid the corner-stone of Odd-Fellowship on this side of the Atlantic ? They were viewed, of course, with the Argus-eye of suspi- cion. Rumor and Jealousy, which look on almost everything of this kind through false mediums, im- THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 243 pugned their motives, and regarded this Compact, small as it was, a cabal of darkness — a secret horde of Fellows indeed, combined to set at naught the principles of religion and virtue, and to entrap the simple in the snares of wickedness. But what is it now? From this small beginning, a mighty tree has put forth its far-reaching branches, which overshadow the land ; the Potomac of Maryland and the St. Croix of Maine " shout to each other." Every city, town, and hamlet, unfurls its banners and resounds with the knock of its gavil. Let it increase in the same ratio another ten years, and the man who leaves the granite- hills of the Old Bay State, to see the setting sun gild- ing the Rocky mountains, may stop every night of his journey at a regular meeting of Odd-Fellows. There are in the United States thirty-one Grand Lodges, two thousand four hundred subordinate Lodges, and nearly two hundred thousand contributing members. According to the official data of the past year (1850), one million two hundred and eighteen thousand dollars were paid into the funds of those Lodges ; and the amount paid out, during the same period, to sick brothers, for funeral expenses, etc., was half a million of dollars. I leave it to your own candor and mag- nanimity to decide whether the disbursement of half a million of dollars for one year, under the direction of a chosen and judicious " Sick-Committee," as it is called, has done any good. I am willing to allow this audience to be the tribunal, to decide whether four or five dollars paid to a brother for every week in which he lay sick, and, in case of death, thirty dollars for his funeral expenses to his widow, have done any good. Yet this has been done again and again, and is now 244 THE odd-fellows' text-book. being done in all parts of the land. I say nothing of the visits, and attentions, and sympathies of the brothers ; let these speak for themselves. To those, then, who have united their zeal and energies to organize a Lodge in this place, and have invited this audience here this evening, let me say, you have great encouragement ; the harvest is already white and ripe, and you may thrust in the sickle. See what has arisen from the union of only five men, and that at a time when they were alone ; no kindred and encouraging voice was spoken in their ear from the world around them. It would have been madness for them to expect to see such a meeting as this, of ladies and gentlemen sufficiently interested in their cause to listen to an exposition of its merits. But young men and maidens, and the man of gray hairs, have come up here to-night to hear us of this matter. You have a number of brothers around you to cheer you on, to give you the warm grasp of an Odd-Fellow's hand, and to tell you, " On, on! my brethren, for you carry more than ' Cesar and his fortunes.' " Do you ask, then, what Odd-Fellowship has done ? I answer : It has gone to the bed-side of the sick and the dying; it has carried the means of procuring bread to famishing children ; it has followed the dead to their last and long home ; it is extracting from the cup of misery its bitterness, laying plans for the relief of the distressed, rolling back the tide of human wo, and making men feel the truth, " All ye are brethren." Again, I remark, Odd-Fellowship encourages liberal principles. By this I mean it has no sympathy with the rigid and austere feelings of the age in which the THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 245 heretic burned, and freedom of thought and opinion was deemed dangerous to the state. A man with us may believe what his conscience and his convictions of the truth dictate. Our only care is to know whether he is an honest man ; whether he have that moral dis- position and affinity of character to the principles of our Order that make him love the names Benevolence, Fidelity, Charity, Friendship, Truth. If none of these virtues constitute a leading feature in his charac- ter, he may have the faith which removes mountains — he can be no ornament or aid to the Institution. "We adopt the language of the Indian chief, called " Red Jacket," to a missionary : " We never quarrel about our religion." Hence, those sectarian and party views which have too frequently been the source of discord and bitterness in the world are avoided in this Institu- tion. One may say, "I am of Paul, and another of Cephas, or Apollos :" we are all one in brotherly love. None are admitted into the Order because they have a very great faith, none expelled because their faith is too narrow. If it is liberality to allow one to enjoy unmolested his own opinions in religious matters, then Odd-Fellows are liberal. All sects and names unite here in the building of one temple, whose pillars stand on the everlasting foundation "Peace on earth and good-will to men." From lowest place where virtuous things proceed, The place is dignified by the doer's deed ; Where great additions swell, and virtue none, It is a dropsied honor ; good alone Is good, without a name ; vileness is so ; The property by what it is should go, Not by the title." 21* 246 We have an "odd" name; but if the principle of the Compact is good — if it has done any good — the name is of but little consequence. Pure water is water still, whether it come from a goblet of double- refined gold, or flow from the jawbone that slaked the thirst of Samson. But the question will be asked, if you mean well and are doing well, why do you have secrets and talk to us about mysteries? Have you not wished most ardently, when the beggar has asked you for the boon of charity, that you knew whether or not he was a real object of charity? When he has told you his tale of wo, his shipwreck and losses, or showed you his scars of wounds alleged to be the marks of patriotic and honorable battle, have you not heartily wished that there was some secret or hidden mode to know whether he was an impostor or not? Yet this is all the use that we have for our secrets. Many of our brethren come from a distance, and solicit the aid of our Institution. How should we know them, unless there were signs and tokens pecu- liar to the Order? We should be the constant dupes of imposture, and the prey of deception and fraud. The whole secret of our secrets, then, is this : to pre- vent imposition and to know each other. If we are to be condemned for such secrets, then you may con- demn the faithful sentinel at his vigils, who allows no man to pass into the camp without the " countersign." In the third place we were to inquire whether there are causes in the social, physical, and relative condition of our race for the action of such a society. This is so almost self-evident and indisputable that we need not stop long to discuss it. Man, to-day, is nerved with the sinews of health, and he wields the clanking THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 247 hammer and the sounding mallet, as a blithesome child does his rattle ; to-morrow, the feverish brow, and the faltering voice, and the pallid cheek, are the certain index of the inspired truth, " We all do fade as a leaf." A cessation from toil and the usual receipts of labor, a prostrated, sinking frame, and the forebodings of poverty and dissolution, come not over the soul of the young and single, perhaps, with that thrilling power which they strike into the heart of the husband and the father. If nothing has been laid up for this evil day (which is quite common), but a few suns roll over the sick man's bed, a few sleepless nights are passed, and squalid Want and Destitution enter the late joyous and happy abode. Must the children be sent out to beg from the charities of a cold and selfish world ? This would break the father's heart, already wrung with anguish and sinking in despair. Shall they be sent to the poorhouse ? The man of a generous and noble spirit, whose industry and good name have yielded himself and family a competence, can not bear the thought. Rather would he see the last tool in his chest bartered for bread, and all the furniture of his dwelling, except his sick-couch, sold at a sacrifice, than come to this. Yea, there will be suffering — pinching, bitter suffering — in such a family, before the man will confess that it is so. His brothers of this Institution, if he is a member, are bound to carry to him his weekly due ; and, although it may be insuf- ficient to meet all the wants of the distressed house- hold, it must do some good. We all know that sick- ness and pain are among us, and call for the benevo- lent heart and hand to soothe the sufferer ; there are tears which ask our sympathies ; there are lonely 248 THE odd-fellows' text-book. hearthstones, and abodes of misery, that invite the humane to " feel for others' wo ;" in the narrow gar- ret and the damp cellar, among all classes of ages and callings, there are appeals, and beckoning hands, and prayerful voices, for the exercise of brotherly kind- ness, the operations of a deep, and generous, and pure benevolence. The reasons for the organization of such an Institution as Odd-Fellowship, therefore, are found in the present condition of society, in the uni- versal liability to want, and poverty, and wretched- ness. It is not all poetry, that " man was made to mourn ;" the dark drapery of sorrow hangs over the earth ; there is weeping in the land ; trembling age is stealing on ; misfortune may come to all ; our fathers' graves are green ; and the orphan, with outstretched hands and moving lamentations, calls for our aid. These, in brief, are the motives that laid the first stone in the rising temple of this Order. To relieve the distressed, to soften the hard features of poverty, to be a father to the fatherless, and the benefactor of the widow, constitute the very elements of this Association. Some sages predict that this Society of Odd-Fellow- ship will soon run its career of glory, and sink in darkness, to rise no more. It may be so. If it is not founded in truth, supported and sustained by the prin- ciples of Friendship, and Charity, and Benevolence, it ought to fall. As much as I esteem it, at this mo- ment — as firm as my faith is in the purity of its prin- ciples — and as positive as our knowledge is that it has done deeds of Love, I say, if the gallant ship changes her streamer, on which Justice floats, for the pirate's flag, let her sink ! If the principles of this Institution are ever prostituted to griping Avarice, 249 grovelling Injustice, and deeds of blood — if it shall cease to hush the orphan's plaintive wail, aid the sick, bury the dead, and soothe the widowed heart — may it go down to the Plutonic realms of silence, and no trumpet-tongue ever sound its resurrection ! We are now to consider our fourth inquiry : By what means shall this Institution be crowned with success ? We have seen, already, that it has been successful in the increase of its numbers, in disseminating liberal views and feelings, and in alleviating, in various in- stances, the pains and sorrows of our fellow-men. What will prevent its cords from being broken, and its stakes from being removed ? What are the great conservative principles and measures, which, put into efficient action, will make us to say, as the immortal Adams is supposed to have said on the Congress-floor of " '76" : " We shall not fail ! We shall make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we are in our. graves, our children will honor it. They will cele- brate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires and illuminations. They will shed tears, copious, gushing tears — not of subjection and slavery, not of agony and distress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy.' 1 This patriot, and coadjutor in framing our national independence, had no more of the spirit of ancient prophecy than you or I have. But he saw around him a band of heroes — men, independent men — who knew their rights, and dared assert and maintain them ; who had pledged " their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," to do this. He knew the blood of these men would course in the veins of freemen, as it does this day, and that their successors 250 the odd-fellows' text-book. would guard, as the cherubim with his flaming sword, that " Declaration." Similar measures and means to those which have preserved and perpetuated our liber- ties and national independence, will also carry down the stream of time, unscathed and unharmed, the " In- dependent Order of Odd-Fellows." I do not mean that we shall buckle on the helmet and grasp the sword — that you shall see our ranks bristling with martial steel, and the war-horse prancing in blood, and the clouds gathering from the battle-smoke. No : the Founder of that Institution, which teaches us to become as a little child, said to his followers : " Put up the sword : my kingdom is not of this world, else would my servants fight." One of the means connected with the prosperity and ultimate glory of this Society, is perseverance. If that system of morality and truth which came from Heaven to reconcile and save humanity had its viru- lent opposers, and demanded the ardent courage and untiring perseverance of its advocates ; if the declara- tion of our independence has cost treasure, and the strong-nerved energies of intrepid heroism and firm- ness, to insure its success, we need not presume that our path to glory and triumph is strewed with naught but flowers and beds of ease. Our Institution would be an "odd" one indeed, if it should grow and flourish with no opposition — no culturing, pruning hand — no persevering toil. As well may we expect to see breathing locomotives flying on our railroads, that made themselves, or hear the buzzing wheels of manufacto- ries which the magic wand of some idle conjurer has called into existence. The hills and mountains have mouldered away ; even the deep-bedded rock has THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 251 opened a pathway for steam, and commerce, and breathing life. Cities which were, some time ago, so far distant from each other that a long and tedious journey lay between, present only the obstacle of a short morning's ride ; and even the remote shores of the Pacific ocean have already become the journey of a few days. What has been done and what is yet to do, are signalized by perseverance ; the execution of proper, judicious measures in reference to the proposed and desired end. It must be so in the formation, united action, and future success, of the Societies belonging to this Order. Public sentiment and unfavorable opinions, which are honestly, no doubt, indulged, in regard to the Institution, will assume a milder aspect, as our perseverance in well-doing is manifested and felt. The relief of one brother, the cheering aid car- ried to one sad home, the guidance of one orphan from the dark valley of despair to the road of light and joy, shall " Live, gratefully registered upon our tombs, And, spite of cormorant-devouring time, Shall make us heirs of all eternity." Again, I remark, the exercise of benevolence will lead us on to ultimate and lasting success. I thus judge from the developments of the past, from the in- trinsic quality of this virtue itself, and from the signs of the present times. * Would you know what Benevo- lence is? See it blending its colors and beauties in the rainbow ; descending in gentle showers from the fleecy clouds ; standing in pearly drops on the crimson rose ; beaming in the soft, mellow light of morning. Hear it in songs of praise in the woodlands and on 252 the hills, in the grassy meadows and beside the run- ning stream. Behold it and admire, in One who, while expiring amid the scoffs of his murderers, made a prayer that calls forth the inspired exclamation, " Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O ye earth !" Behold it in a Howard traversing the desert, enduring heat and cold, now laboring up the mountain, now ranging the valley, now in the noisome dungeon and the dismal prison-house, that he may do good to his fellow-men. 11 The spirits of the good, who bend from high Wide o'er these earthly scenes their gentle eye, "When first arrayed in Virtue's purest robe, They saw her Howard traversing the globe, Mistook a mortal for an angel-guest, And asked what seraph-foot the earth imprest." Benevolence, good will, is one of the elements of our happiness. If we can make beds of roses for the sick and sorrowful, their sweetest perfume returns back to ourselves. Like the melodious and touching strains of music that come from the hand of a master which rejoice the hearer and the performer, so deeds of benevolence bless the one who does them. To this principle we look as one of the enduring features in our stability and success. Let us cling to this with an unyielding tenacity ; bind it about our frontlets ; let its spirit reign in our councils, and in our intercourse with the world ; and the ruinous despoilers, Discord and Anarchy, which have overturned empires, and dis- solved strong compacts, can not harm us. The laws of Lycurgus and Draco have sunk down into the tur- bid regions of the past, to be revived no more : they lacked benevolence. Even Solon's more democratic THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 253 institutions are long ago superseded by a greater and, still greater manifestation of benevolence. The time is past in which men are so engrossed in the carnage of war, as to say, like one of old who saw his only son fall in battle : " Let me think now of nothing but vic- tory ; I will mourn to-morrow!" There is a broader and more expansive benevolence among us. The Spartan mother no longer gashes the flesh of her own children, to accustom them to the tortures and pains of bloody warfare, nor are our women made the de- graded slaves of a tyrant to till the ground with Helots. And while the overwhelming conquests of an Alexan- der and the daring exploits of a Hannibal may live in story as the " strange work" of dark and iron ages ; while the footsteps of Napoleon, dripping in the warm blood of humanity, may be traced by the pen of the historian from Marengo to Waterloo — and here, to them, is "end of all perfection" — the benevolence of Washington will be honored and practised, while the needle points to the pole, and the waters seek the great deep. This is so essential an attribute of every system and institution which has withstood the revul- sions and changes of time, that we regard the Society of Odd-Fellows as destined to stand or fall according to its adherence or rejection of the principle. Benev- olence will stamp it with the seal of immortality ; it will wreathe around its altars chaplets of imperishable glory ; and give it a name, a standing, and a durability, which will last till the ponderous earth itself shall dis- solve, and " Time and Nature die." [That this So- ciety is now carrying out this principle, one single fact which I know, and of which I was an eye-witness, is submitted to your judgment. I visited a sick brother 22 254 the odd-fellows' text-book. a few weeks since, who in all probability is nigh unto death. Nature has long been grappling with the in- sidious disease. It was a retired room in a remote part of the dense, busy city. There, prostrate and helpless as an infant he lay, with his wife and little ones around him. Every night, two brothers from his Lodge are there to watch away its dreary sadness, and give the dying man all the solace that sympathy and kindness can give one in his condition. If the appro- priation of five dollars a week, and the constant atten- tions of brotherly love, are of any value, they are so at a time like this. Should this brother never arise from that bed of pain and languishing, the sum of thirty dollars will be paid by the Lodge to his widow, and his brethren will follow his remains to the grave. This is but a single case among hundreds : this is our be- nevolence.] [In bringing my remarks to a close, I would con- gratulate my brothers in this place that they are aroused to spirited action to build for themselves a temple of Benevolence. May success attend these efforts. Let the fair temple be crowned with the garlands of affec- tion ; let its foundation-stone be laid on that Truth which, though " crushed to earth, shall rise again ;" let every timber be laid in Benevolence, and joined together strongly compact by Friendship and Love. Let the insignia of this Order here be displayed in its emblematic colors, and its tinselled drapery cover many a warm heart that is throbbing in unison with its fellows in the cause of mutual relief, the melioration of suffer- ing humanity — the cause of the widow and orphan.]* * The parts in brackets, if inappropriate, are not to be used. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 255 Brethren, the voice "Persevere!" is wafted to you on the wings of the southern breeze ; it comes rushing along the winding rivers from the north ; it is trum- peted on locomotive and paddling wheels from the east ; and the broad Atlantic shall not keep back its sound from the Emerald isle and the sea-girt home of Victoria. Meet in harmony ; act with prudence and justice ; keep before you, as the tempest-tossed sea- man does his compass, " Friendship, Love, and Truth" — "visit the sick, bury the dead, and educate the or- phan." To this assembly, who have given me their respect- ful and patient audience, I say, I heartily thank you. We are proud of our Lodge, and shall do our duty as Odd-Fellows. We shall pour the oil of consolation into bruised hearts, and smooth the grave of the dead. We will pay no less taxes into your treasury, be no less devout in your churches ; we must, if we are true to our principles, be more benevolent, more charitable, and better men, than before. Ours is an addition to your benevolent institutions, which, although she may be somewhat "odd" in name, and to some have on the veil of the nun, yet in her hand she holds the " box of precious ointment ;" the good Samaritan has thrown upon her his mantle. No helmet, cleft with battle-axe, and bloody girdle wrenched from the fallen warrior, are her trophies ; " she stoops to conquer," but her power is Love, and her victories are the triumphs of Charity over Hatred, Good Will over Malice, Beneficence over Pain and Death. Give her, then, a seat at your " feast of charity ;" welcome her as a co-worker in alleviating the miseries of the world, and in diffusing those principles which " the inaudible 256 THE odd-fellows' text-book. and noiseless foot of Time" can not efface, and which will outlive the " everlasting mountains" and the " per- petual hills !" Far in the distance I see the conquests of this Order — a mighty band that no man can num- ber, from the fourwinds of heaven they come; their banners float in the sunlight that gilds the eastern hills, and wave in the breezes that kiss the Rocky mount- ains. The lion has lain down with the kid, the wolf and the fading together, and a little child is leading the leopard. Thousands of voices come, like the song of angels, singing in strains as gentle as the song of Bethlehem : " Friendship has won her laurels ; Love has subdued the world ; Truth is mighty, and has prevailed!" THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 257 CONDITION OF THE ORDER IN 1850. In preceding pages we have given a general History of the Order in America. We propose now to pre- sent a brief account of the origin of the Fraternity in the several states, together with the number of Lodges and of members in each. WASHINGTON LODGE, NUMBER ONE, May justly claim the honor of being the pioneer in a cause which has been and is of immense value in the United States. From this small beginning have pro- ceeded thousands of Lodges, and hundreds of thousands of members, that have accomplished, in one genera- tion (about thirty-two years) more real, substantial good to mankind than all other similar associations. Washington Lodge, No. 1, was instituted on the 26th of April, 1819, at the public-house (in Second street, Baltimore) called " Sign- of -the- Seven- Stars" of which Mr. William Lupton was the worthy host. The odd fellows who were the "head and front" of this proceeding were THOMAS W1LDEY, JOHN WELCH, JOHN DUNCAN, JOHN CHEATHEM, RICHARD RUSHWORTH. 22* 258 THE odd-fellows' text-book. THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND, Having separated from the Grand Lodge of the United States on the twenty-second of November, 1824, became the head of the Order in the State of Maryland at that date. No. of Lodges in Maryland ----- 70 " Contributing Members - - - - 10,000 THE GND. LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS Was "chartered" June 11, 1823. It is located at Boston. No. of Lodges in Massachusetts - - - - 128 " Contributing Members - - - - 11,031 THE GRAND LODGE OF NEW- YORK Was chartered June 24, 1823. In 1849, the Grand Lodge of the United States authorized the establishment of two Grand Lodges in New-York — one to exercise its functions over that portion known as the northern, and the other over that known as the southern judicial district of the State. The whole number of Lodges in the two jurisdictions is ------ - 540 Members in the two jurisdictions 42,473 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 259 GRAND LODGE OF NORTHERN N. Y. No. of Lodges 356 " Contributing Members - - - 22,813 GRAND LODGE OF SOUTHERN N. Y. No. of Lodges -- 184 " Contributing Members - - - 19,660 GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA. Instituted June 15, 1823. No. of Lodges 400 " Contributing Members - - - - 40,000 GRAND LODGE OF DIST. or COLUMBIA. Instituted November 24, 1828. No. of Lodges 13 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,160 GRAND LODGE OF DELAWARE. Instituted June 27, 1831. No. of Lodges ----------24 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,600 260 THE odd-fellows' text-book. GRAND LODGE OF OHIO. Instituted January 28, 1832. No. of Lodges 159 " Contributing Members - - - - 11,039 GRAND LODGE OF LOUISIANA. Instituted January 11, 1833. No. of Lodges 28 " Contributing Members - - - - 2,131 GRAND LODGE OF NEW JERSEY. Instituted August 3, 1833. No. of Lodges 100 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,776 GRAND LODGE OF KENTUCKY. Instituted September 12, 1835. No. of Lodges ----------66 " Contributing Members - - - - 3,338 GRAND LODGE OF VIRGINIA. Instituted August 19, 1837. No. of Lodges 92 *' Contributing Members - - - - 5,610 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 261 GRAND LODGE OF INDIANA. Instituted August 14, 1837. No. of Lodges -- 82 " Contributing Members - - - - 3,670 GRAND LODGE OF MISSISSIPPI. Instituted May 4, 1838. No. of Lodges - --41 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,513 GRAND LODGE OF MISSOURI. Instituted June 12, 1838. No. of Lodges 41 " Contributing Members - - - - 2,093 GRAND LODGE OF ILLINOIS. Instituted August 22, 1848. No. of Lodges 76 " Contributing Members - - - - 3,291 GRAND LODGE OF TEXAS. Instituted April 19, 1841. No. of Lodges 16 " Contributing Members - - - - 200 262 the odd-fellows' text-book. GRAND LODGE OF ALABAMA. Instituted December 13, 1841. No. of Lodges ----------37 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,529 GRAND LODGE OF CONNECTICUT. Instituted November 15, 1840. No. of Lodges -----71 " Contributing Members 5,878 GRAND LODGE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. Instituted November 24, 1841. No. of Lodges ----- 20 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,848 GRAND LODGE OF TENNESSEE. Instituted August 10, 1841. No. of Lodges 60 " Contributing Members - - - - 2,152 GRAND LODGE OF NORTH CAROLINA. Instituted January 6, 1843. No. of Lodges -- - 30 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,200 THE ODD-FELLOWS* TEXT-BOOK. 263 GRAND LODGE OF GEORGIA. Instituted November 13, 1843. No. of Lodges ----------37 " Contributing Members - - - - 1,831 GRAND LODGE OF MAINE. Instituted March 18, 1844. No. of Lodges ----------59 " Contributing Members - - - - 5,088 GRAND LODGE OF RHODE ISLAND. Instituted June 15, 1849. No. of Lodges 13 " Contributing Members ----- 1,471 GRAND LODGE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. Instituted July 9, 1844. No. of Lodges 34 " Contributing Members - - - - 2,545 GRAND LODGE OF MICHIGAN. Instituted September, 1844. No. of Lodges ----------49 " Contributing Members - - - - 2,974 264 THE odd-fellows' text-book. GRAND LODGE OF VERMONT. Instituted December 29, 1847. No. of Lodges ------ - _ _ go " Contributing Members - - - 1,000 GRAND LODGE OF IOWA. Instituted in 1848. No. of Lodges 28 " Contributing Members 946 GRAND LODGE OF ARKANSAS. Instituted June 11, 1849. No. of Lodges ----------6 " Contributing Members ----- 197 GRAND LODGE OF WISCONSIN. Instituted January 9, 1847. No. of Lodges ----------49 " Contributing Members - - - - 2,287 In Florida there are eight subordinate Lodges, under the jurisdiction of the G. L. of the United States, comprising one hundred and ninety-eight mem- bers. 265 In Minnesota there are two subordinate Lodges, attached to the G. L. of the United States. In California, we are informed, there are twelve subordinate Lodges, belonging to the G. L. of the United States. There is also, under the same jurisdiction, a Lodge in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands. Bro. Alexander N. Frazer has been deputed to in- stitute Lodges in Oregon. There is a Grand Lodge in British North Amer- ica, instituted a few years since by the Grand Lodge of the United States. These Lodges are all in a prosperous condition. The Patriarchal — or Encampment — branch of the Order has also been established in nearly all the states and territories. The amount of funds expended in 1850, for the re- lief of brothers, etc., was nearly half a million of dol- lars. The revenue of the Lodges for 1850 was one million, two hundred and seventeen thousand, four hundred and seventeen dollars. The whole matter summed up, the following is the condition of the I. O. of O. F. in the year 1850 : — No. of Grand Lodges - 31 " Grand Encampments 27 No. of Subordinate Lodges - 2,399 " Subordinate Encampments - - 500 Whole number of Members - - 178,109 " of Patriarchs - - -20,000 Amount of Revenue for 1850 - - $1,217,417 Amount expended for Relief, etc., about $500,000 23 266 THE odd-fellows' text-book. It must be observed that the foregoing calculations are made up to July, 1850. The increase of members for the year preceding that time was 31,232. We may reckon that, at this date (June, 1851), there are fully two hundred and ten thousand Odd-Fellows within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the United States. It is reasonable to suppose that, during the next twenty years, the increase of membership will amount to fully thirty thousand per annum ; which will give the Grand Lodge of the United States, in 1871, a constituency of eight hundred thousand. And, in five years longer (1876), the increase will probably carry the number up to one million. This, we think, is a perfectly reasonable anticipation. The accomplish- ment of such a result depends, however, upon the Order alone : upon its conduct — its zeal — its perse- verance — and, above all, its practice of the sublime principles taught by the Institution. ** # The revenue of Lodges consists of initiation-fees, dues, and fees for the five degrees, The usual fee for initiation is ten dollars : some of the Lodges, how- ever, place it as high as twenty, and even fifty dollars. The dues vary from four to ten dollars per annum. The price for the five Subordinate-Lodge Degrees, in the several States, varies from five to twenty dollars. The cost for the three Encampment Degrees is twelve dollars ; the dues of Encampments are ordina- rily four dollars per annum. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 267 ODES FOR SEVERAL IMPORTANT OCCASIONS. Tenor. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEMPLE. May be used at the "laying of a corner-stone." Music by Th. Elmer Smith. fc* l£Qt=& £ Z2 tL— W± t=tt 1. All hail the glorious work of love Aus - pi-cious-ly be- gun! Air. t=~™-- w i .0-. 2. And cher-ub back to ser-aph call To leave his shin-ing throne, -0—0- zdf: ps^mmm The angels from their homes above Will gaze with gladness down e 0—- ^fel nwrzfz And smil-ing from the crystal wall, Will bless our cor-ner - stone. BE 1 *c -*-*■ e—e =f3=£$=3. Mzzs: i That stone whose mural strength shall bear A temple broad and high, Where Love shall wave his banner fair And Truth and Friendship vie, To smooth the rugged path of life, To fright disease away, To guard from want, and wrong, and And sorrow's pain allay. [strife, A temple where no narrow creed Protects a chosen few ; It holds alike deserved meed To Christian, Turk, or Jew. 6. Would that its walls could be as wide As yonder ether blue, That Adam's race might all abide In Love and Friendship true ! 7. Then hail the noblest work of Love ! Old tyrannies shall fall ; The vulture nestle with the dove, When o'er this earthly ball The peaceful temples of the Odd Shall stand like cedars tall — When man shall live the laws of God, And Love be all in all ! 268 THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. ANNIVERSARY ODE. For Celebrations of Lodges, or Dedications of Odd-Fellows' Halls. Tenor Th. Elmer Smith. / V 1. Joy, joy, brothers, joy ! with full hearts and glad voi-ces, Alto. a ^fe^^p a &-j=f •2. To our Fa-ther, whose fa-vors have e'er been ex - tend-ed, Air. . .. .. m m ms^ g^ sm B^fe 3. He hath opened our hands to the calls of the poor : 4. Praise Him that our hearts are not cal-lous— not cold— $& B ^P^ BSl t= tt Let us join in a cho - rus of bless-ing and praise *ft M^ ggggggg^ **■* Whose smiles on our ■■#■ la - bors have lightened our toil- That we look not on mis - 'ry with un-moistened eye- O, Gon ! still may Friendship shine bright o'er our way, And Love, with sweet accent, still breathe in our ear ! May Truth e'er be nigh, our defence and our stay, And for ever we'll go forth the needy to cheer ! We'll fly to the couch of the needy — the dying — We'll bind up the wounds of our bro- ther in pain — And when his cold form in the lone grave is lying, The cry of his loved ones shall never be vain ! THE ODD-FELLOWS TEXT-BOOK. 269 jffia^ai ^^ --?=$ p To the Friend in whose goodness 5ll na • ture re - joi - ces- ^mm^m^ a *% Whose power hath sustained, and whose arm hath de-fend -ed, t=* The need - y and friendless have come to our door, m& i^e •H5 «t$ fci £=#=£ That we leave not the wretch-ed to sor-row un told- U » SUp 9 Who is ev - er dis • pen - sing his love and his grace- j^gg^g^ pi^! When as-sail - ants have threat-ened our Tern - pie to spoil. ^mg^^gm And found us all rea - dy — all will • ing— to bless : ajj ^pggp^pg Nor by un To our Father, whose favors will e'er be extended — Whose smiles on our labors will light- en our toil — Whose power will sustain, as his arm hath defended, When assailants have threatened our Temple to spoil : • ing the wid-ow's sad cry! To the God in whose smile the Odd Fellow rejoices — Who is ever dispensing his love and his grace — To him, brothers, again, with full hearts and glad voices, Let us join in thanksgiving, and bless- ing, and praise. 270 THE odd-fellows' text-book. CONSECRATION ODE. May be sung at the Consecration of a Hall. Tenor. Th. Elmer Smith. bzzml ^#-w§ -•-# 1. Un - to thee, great God, be - long Mys - tic rites and W3EJ S ***** ggPf^^J^I^ t=t ft St T- +-e- a sa-cred song; Low-ly bend-ing at thy shrine, "We hail thy P 3eS *£ St Bitf T^* i=* ft£ 53 Z2Z I tf Ma-jes - ty di - vine fes I 5 s a=P « 2 Glorious Architect above ! Source of Light and Source of Love ! Here thy Light and Love prevail ; Hail ! almighty Master ! hail ! 3 While, in yonder regions bright, The sun by day, the moon by night, And the stars that gild the sky, Blazon forth thy praise on high, 4 Join, O earth ! and as you roll, From east to west, from pole to pole, Lift to heaven your grateful lays — Join the universal praise. 5 Warmed by thy benignant grace, Sweet Friendship linked the human race ; Pity lodged within her breast ; Charity became her guest. 6 There the naked raiment found ; Sickness, balsam for its wound ; Sorrow, comfort ; hunger, bread ; Strangers there a welcome shed. 7 Still to us, O God, dispense Thy divine benevolence ! Teach the tender tear to flow, Melting at a brother's woe ; 8 Like Samaria's son, that we, Blest with boundless charity, To th' admiring world may prove They dwell in God who dwell in Love. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 271 THE BURIAL. May be sung on a Funeral Occasion. Tenor. T. Elmer Smith. p^ j wm 1. They are moving to the church-yard, For "the soul of one has fled,' S7\ SS^^S^si And the sound of solemn dirges Fol-lows close be ■ hind the dead. pi^ tt v#ii They are moving to the church-yard, For " the soul of one has fled j" And the sound of solemn dirges Follows close behind the dead. There is gloom upon each feature- There is sadness in each eye, As the lengthy train of brothers Passes slowly, sadly by. They are moving to the church-yard, In regalia-honor clad ; But each step is slow and heavy, For each anxious heart is sad. Th' widow's grief, the tears of orphans, These have claimed their kindred sigh From that noble band, who never Pass a suffering brother by. They will stay the widow's anguish, They will dry the orphan's tear ; In the darkest hour of sorrow Will the helping hand be near. And the man of after-years Shall bless those guardians of his youth, And shall link his father's memory, Too, with Friendship, Love, and Truth. 272 THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. ODD-FELLOWS' PARTING HYMN. Th. Elmer Smith. ^^li^s^a 1. Brothers ! bind the mys-tic chain; Its links keep ev - er bright Not a blemish — not a stain — To dim its golden light. pl^^gpMfel^^ D. C. Heaven to earth, and earth to heaven, And man to God a - bove. eis^ gPS^te ifl J*=3t M m Da Capo. pl 3 st £ 4=f^ as Wondrous chain, to mor-tals given, Binding in the bonds of Love, FFj. # B BBSB ai Da Capo. ^^^sa^=-ggfeteg l 2. Who the trembling heart shall stay, When sinking to the dust ; Who shall turn the oppressor's way, When trampling on the just ? God the sinking heart shall free ; He shall break the oppressor's rod ; Still the hand of man must be The minister of God. Brothers ! raise to heaven your hands, The links that bind the heart ! Consecrate anew the bands Of faith, before we part ; Then, in heavenly peace and trust, Part in Friendship, Truth, and Love, Till, released from earth and dust, We meet again above. 273 A MANUAL OF PRACTICE, FOR THE GUIDANCE OF PRESIDING OFFICERS, MEMBERS OF LODGES, ETC* 1. The presiding officer having taken the chair, and a quorum being present, the minutes of the previous meeting must be read, and in case no mistakes appear upon them, they must be declared approved. The presiding officer must preserve (perforce, if necessary) order and decorum. He may speak to points of order in preference to other members, rising from his seat for that purpose ; and decide questions of order, sub- ject to an appeal to the body by any two members, on which appeal no member should speak more than once, unless by leave of the body. He must rise to put a question, but may state it sitting. He must put no motion until it shall be seconded. 2. Questions must be distinctly put in this form, to wit: "As many as are of opinion that [as the question may be], say 'Ay? " and after the affirmative voice is expressed, "As many as are of a contrary opinion, say * The Rules here presented are appropriate to the govern- ment of all public bodies. 274 * the odd-fellows' text-book. t £j s » # jf t }j e presiding officer doubt, or if a divis- ion be called for, the body must divide : those in the affirmative of the question must first rise from their seats, and afterward those in the negative. If the presiding officer still doubt, or a count be required, he may name two members, one from each side, to tell the members in the affirmative and negative ;f which being reported, the presiding officer must rise and state the decision to the body. No division and count by tellers will be in order, except upon the motion of two members. 3. AJ1 committees must be appointed by the presi- ding officer, unless otherwise specially directed by the By-Laws, in which case they must be appointed by ballot ; and if, upon such ballot, the number re- quired shall not be elected by a majority of the votes given, the body must proceed to a second ballot, in which a plurality of votes may prevail ; and in case a greater number than is required to compose or com- plete a committee shall have an equal number of votes, the body must proceed to a further ballot or ballots. 4. The first-named member of any committee must be the chairman ; and in his absence, or being excused by the body, the next-named member, and so on, as often as the case shall happen, unless the committee, by a majority of their number, elect a chairman. 5. Any member may excuse himself from serving on any committee at the time of his appointment, if he is then a member of other committees. 6. It is the duty of a committee to meet on the call * In Odd-Fellows' Lodges, so far as the expression of mem- bers is concerned, this form is changed, the voters being required to " give the usual sign of an Odd-Fellow." f In an Odd-Fellows' Lodge the Warden acts as teller. 275 of any two of its members, if the chairman be absent, or decline to appoint such meeting. 7. In all other cases of ballot than for committees, a majority of the votes given must be necessary to an election, and where there shall not be such a majority on the first ballot, the ballots must be repeated until a majority be obtained. And in all ballotings blanks must be rejected, and not taken into the count in the enumeration of votes, or reported by the tellers. 8. In cases of election by the body, the presiding officer may vote, unless a special enactment to the con- trary shall have been made by the body. In cases of equal division of the body, the presiding officer may have the " casting vote." If, by law, he is debarred this privilege, a " tie vote" decides a question lost. 9. The order of business should be as follows : 1. Calling the roll of officers. 2. Reading the minutes of the previous meeting. 3. Consideration of previ- ous proposals for or certificates of membership. 4. In- troduction of new members. 5. Reception of new proposals for or certificates of membership. 6. Con- sideration of unfinished business. 7. Consideration of business of a general description. 8. The reading of communications. 9. Reports of committees, by seniority. 10. Consideration of new business. 10. Resolutions which require investigation, or which it may be necessary to delay for inquiry and future ac- tion, must be referred to a committee, usually of three members, who should report as speedily as the nature of the subject may permit. 11. When a member is about to speak in debate, or for the purpose of making any necessary inquiry, he must rise from his seat, and respectfully address him- 276 THE odd-fellows' text-book. self to the presiding officer. He must confine himself to the question under debate, and avoid personality. 12. When two or more members rise at the same moment, the presiding officer must decide which is entitled to the floor. 13. No member should occupy an unreasonable time in debate : a member reporting a resolution under con- sideration from a committee, may open and close the debate upon it. 14. Any member who shall first obtain the floor, after the member reporting a resolution from a com- mittee shall have concluded, may speak in opposition for any reasonable length of time, and others may fol- low, for and against the measure. When the debate is closed by order of the body, any member may be al- lowed five minutes to explain any amendment he may offer ; after which, any member who shall first obtain the floor may be allowed to speak five minutes in oppo- sition to it ; and there must be no further debate on the amendment ; but the same privilege of debate may be allowed in favor of and against any amendment that may be offered to the amendment : and neither the amendment nor an amendment to the amendment should be withdrawn by the mover thereof, unless by the unanimous consent of the body. 15. If any member, in speaking or otherwise, trans- gress the rules of the body, the presiding officer must, or any member may call to order ; in which case, the member so called to order must immediately sit down, unless permitted to explain ; and the body must, if ap- pealed to, decide on the case, but without debate ; if there be no appeal, the decision of the chair must be submitted to. If the decision be in favor of the mem- 277 ber called to order, he should be at liberty to proceed ; if otherwise, he must not be permitted to proceed, in case any member object, without leave of the body ; and, if the case require it, he will be liable to the censure of the Society. 16. If a member be called to order for words spo- ken in debate, the person calling him to order must repeat the words excepted to, and they must be taken down in writing; and no member can be held to answer, or be subject to censure for words spoken in debate, if any other member has spoken, or other business has intervened, after the words spoken, and before excep- tion to them shall have been taken. 17. No member should speak more than once to the same question, without leave of the body, unless he be the mover, proposer, or introducer of the matter pend- ing ; in which case he may be permitted to speak in reply, but not until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken. 18. If a question depending be lost by adjournment, and revived on the succeeding meeting, no member who shall have spoken at the preceding meeting should be permitted again to speak without leave. 19. While the presiding officer is putting a question, or addressing the body, none should walk out of or across the room ; nor, in such case, or when a member is speaking, entertain private discourse ; nor, while a member is speaking, pass between him and the chair. Every member must remain uncovered during the ses- sion of the Society. 20. No member should vote on any question in the event of which he is immediately and particularly in- terested. 24 278 21. Every member who shall be in the room when the question is put must give his vote, unless the body, for special reason, shall excuse him. All motions to excuse a member from voting must be made before the body divides, or before a call of the yeas and nays is commenced ; and the question must then be taken without further debate. 22. When a motion is made and seconded, it must be stated by the presiding officer ; or, being in writing, it must be handed to the chair, and read aloud by the Secretary, before debated. 23. Every motion should be reduced to writing, if the presiding officer or any member desire it. Every written motion should be inserted on the minutes, with the name of the member making it, unless it be with- drawn on the same day or evening on which it was submitted. 24. After a motion is stated by the presiding officer, or read by the Secretary, it must be deemed to be in possession of the body, but may be withdrawn at any time before a decision or amendment. 25. When a question is under debate, no motion can be received but to adjourn, to lie on the table, for the previous question, to postpone to a day certain, to commit or amend, to postpone indefinitely : which sev- eral motions must have precedence in the order in which they are arranged ; and no motion to postpone to a day certain, to commit, or to postpone indefinitely, being decided, can be again allowed on the same day, and at the same stage of the proposition. 26. When a resolution shall be offered, or a motion made, to refer any subject, and different committees shall be proposed, the question must be taken in the 279 following order : the committee of the whole ; a stand- ing committee ; a select committee. 27. A motion to adjourn, and a motion to fix the day to which the Society shall adjourn, is always in order : these motions, and the motion to lie on the table, must be decided without debate. 28. The hour at which every motion to adjourn is made should be entered on the minutes. 29. The previous question must be in this form : "Shall the main question be now put?" It should only be admitted when demanded by a majority of the members present, and its effects must be to put an end to all debate, and bring the body to a direct vote upon a motion to commit, if such motion shall have been made ; and if this motion does not prevail, then upon amendments reported by a committee, if any — then upon pending amendments ; and then upon the main question. On a motion for the previous question, and prior to the seconding of the same, a call of the body will be in order ; but after a majority shall have sec- onded such motion, no call can be in order prior to a decision of the main question. A member may, at any time, move the previous question. 30. On a previous question there must be no de- bate. All incidental questions of order arising after a motion is made for the previous question, and pend- ing such motion, must be decided, whether on appeal or otherwise, without debate. 31. When a question is postponed indefinitely, the same should not be acted upon again. 32. Any member may call for the division of a question, which must be divided if it comprehend propositions in substance so distinct, that one being 280 taken away, a substantive proposition shall remain for the decision of the body. A motion to strike out and insert should be deemed indivisible ; but a motion to strike out being lost, precludes neither amendment nor a motion to strike out and insert. 33. Motions and reports may be committed at the pleasure of the body. 34. No motion or proposition on a subject different from that under consideration can be admitted under color of amendment. No resolution can, at any time, be amended by annexing thereto, or incorporating therewith, any other resolution pending before the body. 35. When a motion has been once made, and car- ried in the affirmative or negative, it will be in order for any member of the majority to move for the recon- sideration thereof, on the same or the succeeding meet- ing only : and such motion will take precedence of all other questions, except a motion to adjourn. 36. Where papers are laid before the body, or refer- red to a committee, every member has a right to have them once read at the table before he can be com- pelled to vote on them. [But it is a great, though common, error to suppose that he has a right to have acts, journals, accounts, or papers, on the table, read independently of the will of the body. The delay and interruption which this might be made to produce, evince the impossibility of the existence of such a right. There is, indeed, so manifest a propriety of permitting every member to have as much information as possible on every question on which he is to vote, that when he desires the reading, if it be seen that it is really for information, and not for delay, the pre- siding officer directs it to be read without putting a 281 question, if no one objects. But if objected to, a question must be put.] 37. The unfinished business in which the body was engaged at the last preceding adjournment, must have the preference in regular order ; and no motion on any other business must be received, without special leave of the body, until the former is disposed of. 38. The name of the member who presents a pe- tition or memorial, or who offers a resolution to the consideration of the body, should be inserted on the minutes. 39. The yeas and nays may be called on the de- mand of five members. In calling, each member, as his name is uttered by the Secretary, should answer promptly. It is proper for a member opposed to a measure to vote in the affirmative, and vice versa, for the purpose of calling for a reconsideration. 40. When the body forms itself into a committee of the whole, the presiding officer must leave his chair, and appoint a chairman from the committee. No previous question can be put in a committee of the whole ; nor can this committee adjourn as others may ; but if their business is unfinished, they may rise on a question, resume the Society, and the chairman will report that the committee of the whole have, according to order, had under their consideration such a matter, and have made progress therein ; but not having time to go through the same, have directed him to ask leave to sit again : whereupon a question is put on their hav- ing leave, and on the time when the body will again resolve itself into a committee. But if they have gone through the matter referred to them, a member will move that the committee rise, and that the chair- 24* 282 the odd-fellows' text-book. man report their proceedings to the body ; which being resolved, the chairman will rise, the presiding officer resume the chair, and the chairman will inform him that the committee have gone through the busi- ness referred to them, and that he is ready to report. 41. All questions must be propounded in the order in which they were moved ; but, in filling up blanks, the largest sum, and the longest time named, must be first put. 42. No standing rule or order of the body can be rescinded or changed without previous notice being given of the motion therefor, nor any by-law be sus- pended, except by a unanimous vote of the members present : nor can the order of business, as established by the rules, be postponed or changed, except by a vote of at least two thirds of the members present. The body may at any time, by a vote of a majority of the members present, suspend the standing rules for the purpose of going into the committee of the whole ; and also for providing for the discharge of the committee of the whole from the further considera- tion of any matter referred to it, after acting without de- bate on all amendments pending, and that may be offered. 43. Questions are to be put, first on the affirmative, and then on the negative side. After the affirmative shall have been put, any member who has not spoken before on it may rise and speak, because it is no full question till the negative part be put. 44. Resolutions involving the alteration of a Con- stitution or By-Laws of a Society must be adopted by a two-thirds vote, and action on them should be post- poned at least two weeks beyond the time of their presentation. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 283 OFFICERS OF THE R, W. GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEARS 1849, '50. Robert H. Griffin, M. W. G. Sire „ Savannah, Ga. Asher S. Kellogg, R. W. D. G. Sire Detroit, Mich. James L. Ridgely, R.W. G. C. and R. Secretary -Baltimore, Md. Andrew E. Warner, R. W. G. Treasurer Baltimore, Md. Rev. E. M. P. Wells, W. G. Chaplain Boston, Mass. H. A. Crane, W. G. Marshal Savannah, Ga. Solomon H. Lewtt, W. G. Guardian Baltimore, Md. John E. Chamberlain, W. G. Messenger Baltimore, Md. REPRESENTATIVES.* P. G. M. Thomas M. Abbett. Baltimore, Md. P. G. H. P. Townsend P. Abell Middletown, Conn. P. G. M. George H. Andrews New York, N. Y. P. H. P. H. Porter Andrews New Orleans, La. P. G. M. H. F. Askew , Wilmington, Del. P. G. William F. Bayly Washington, D. C. * Those in italics are also members of the next Grand Lodge of the United States, which holds its regular seosion in September, 1851. 284 the odd-fellows' text-book. P. G. William Bayley Baltimore, Md. P. G. M. Daniel P. Barnard Brooklyn, N. Y. P. G. M. D. N. Barrows Jackson, Miss. P. G. Horace Y. Bebee Ravenna, Ohio. P. G. Josiah H. Bonney Keosauqua, Iowa. P. G. George Brown - Pendleton, la. P. G. Stephen Brown Concord, N. H. P. G. James M. H. Brunet Petersburg, Va. P. G. F. R.Chace Conway, N. H. P. G. M. John Chester Detroit, Mich. P. G. P. H. N. Clark Cincinnati, Ohio. P. H. P. Schuyler Colfax South Bend, la. P. G. B. Conley Augusta, Ga. P. G. S. A. Corneau Springfield, 111. P. C. P. AmosB. Currier Concord, N. H. G. Sec. William Curtis Philadelphia, Pa. P. G. John J. Davies New York, N. Y. P. G. M. Wilmot G. De Saussure Charleston, S. C. P. C. P. David D. Egan New York, N. Y. P. G. M. William Ellison Boston, Mass. P. C. P. A. B.Ely Boston, Mass. P. G. B. M. Flint Calais, Me. P. G. M. Benjamin Follett Ypsilanti, Mich. P. G. Joseph B. Frost, jr Boston, Mass. P. G. Sec. Frederick S. Garritt Little Bock, Ark. P. G. S. John A. Gyles Charleston, S. C. P. G. James W. Hale New York, N. Y. G. M. Henry Holmes . St. Louis, Mo. P. G. JohnW. Hunt Baltimore, Md. P. G. Sire John A Kennedy New York, N. Y. P. G. Benjamin Kingsbury, jr Portland, Me. P. G. J. C. Larue New Orleans, La. G. H. P. JohnLibby St. Louis, Mo. P. G. T. C. M'Ewen Sandusky, Ohio. P. C. P. W. B. Magruder Washington, D. C. P. G. M. Horace A. Manchester Providence, R. I. P. G. John H. Manly . Raleigh, N. C. P. G. M. A. K. Marshall Nicholasville, Ky. P. G. Will. T. Martin Natchez, Miss. P. G. Solomon Meredith Cambridge, la. THE ODD-FELLOWS' TEXT-BOOK. 285 P. G. M. James Mitchell. Burlington, Vt. G. Sec. Elijah Morton Nashville, Tenn. P. G. James Narine Jersey City, N. J. P. G. M. Herman L. Page Milwaukie, Wis. P. G. Samuel Penny,. * Mobile, Ala. P. G. M. W. F. Phillips Warrenton, Va. P. G. H. C. Pindle Lexington, Ky. P. G. M. John G. Potts Galena, 111. P. G. M. Samuel Read Mount Holly, N. J. P. G. William H. Rice New Orleans, La. P. G. P. William E. Sanford New Haven, Conn. P. G. R. W.Seymour Charleston, S. C. P. G. M. R. 0. Shaw Mobile, Ala. P. G. Smith Skinner Philadelphia, Pa. P. G. M. G. P. Smith .Nashville, Tenn. P. G.. M. Ballard Smith Louisville, Ky. P. G. M. John Fairfax Smith Wilmington, Del. P. G. William L. G. Smith Buffalo, N. Y. P. G. P. E. G. Steele Nashville, Tenn. P. G. James Stewart Middleford, Del. P. G. M. F. D. Stuart Washington, D. C. P. G. M. John W. Stokes Philadelphia, Pa. G. Sec. G. D. Tewksbury Baltimore, Md. P. D. G. Sire N. A. Thompson Boston, Mass. P. G. D. C. Trippe Whitewater, Wis. P. G. M. C. M. Valleau St. Louis, Mo. P. G. S. C. Theodore Vennigerholz Natchez, Miss. P. G. E. Wakely Whitewater, Wis. P. G. P. David S. Walbridge Kalamazoo, Mich. P. C P. Theodore A. Ward New York, N. Y. P. C. P. H. L. Webster Providence, R. I. P. G. William A. Wells , Reading, Pa. P. G. M. /. M. Wheeler Providence, R.I. P. G. M. Junius M. Willey Stonington, Conn. P. H. P. John H. Williams Portland, Me. P. G. P. Richard Williams Tiffin, Ohio, P. G. Joseph Wood Trenton, N.J. P. G. M. George W. Woodward Galena, 111. P. G. M. Woodruff Columbus, Ga. P. G. William C. Worthington Charlestown, Va. 286 OFFICERS ELECT OF THE R. W. GRAND LODGE OF THE U, S -TERM COMMENCING SEPT., 1851, P. G. M. Wm. W. Moore, M. "W. G. Sire. . .Washington, D. C. P. G. M. H. L. Page, R. W. D. G. Sire.-.Milwaukie, Wis. P. G. M. J. L. Ridgely, R. W. G. C. & R. Sec. . Baltimore, Md. P. G. M. A. E. Warner, R. W. G. Treas.. .Baltimore, Md. PAST GRAND-SIRES. P. G. Sire Thomas Wildey Baltimore, Md. " Samuel H. Perkins Philadelphia, Pa. " Zenas B. Glazier Wilmington, Del. " John A. Kennedy New York, N. Y. " Howell Hopkins Philadelphia, Pa. " Thomas Sherlock Cincinnati, Ohio. " Horn R. Kneass Philadelphia, Pa. D. D, GRAND-SIRES ELECT FOR THE YEAR 1851, Vermont— Eli Ballou Montpelier, Vt. Florida — John N. Lewis Savannah, Ga. Arkansas — Frederick S. Garritt Little Rock, Ark. Minnesota — John G. Potts Galena, 111. THE END. ODD-FELLOWS' AND MASONIC REGALIA, JEWELS, DIPLOMAS, &c, &c. MOSS & BROTHER, No. 12 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, Manufacture, and keep constantly on hand, and make to order, Regalia of the most elegant description, and they invite the attention of members of the Order to an examination of their stock. Their Regalia is made of the finest materials, imported expressly for the purpose, is embroidered with gold and silver bullion in a style unsurpassed, and will bear com- parison in quality and price with any other in the Uni- ted States. FOR LODGES, ENCAMPMENTS, AND CHAPTERS, Always on Hand, and made to Older, AT THE SHORTEST NOTICE. MOSS & BROTHER, No. 12 South Fourth St., Philadelphia. BOOKSELLERS, PUBLISHERS, AND BLANK ACCOUNT-BOOK MANUFACTURERS, Keep constantly on hand a complete assortment of SCHOOL, CLASSICAL, MEDICAL, AND OT1 OP THE LATEST EDITIONS. Also, a full Stock of BLANK ACCOUNT-BOOKS, Suitable for County Records and Dockets, Banks, Insur- ance Companies, Merchants and Mechanics, Lodges, &c. made of the best materials in a neat and substantial manner, and at greatly reduced prices. Also, an extensive assortment of AMERICAN AND FOREIGN STATIONERY, WRITING- AND LETTER PAPERS, &c, &c. They publish the following valuable and useful works, to which they invite the attention of the Public : — Parke's Philosophy of Arithmetic. Schlegel's lectures on the History of Ancient and Modern Literature. The Cottage Garden of America. The Poems of Alice and Phoehe Carey, who are more commonly known as the Sisters or the West. The Odd-Fellows' Text-Book ; By Paschal Don- aldson, D. D. Grand-Master of the Grand Lodge of North- ern New York. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS • II II 1, 1 1 II 1 1 III II |l l| HI 027 273 770 8 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 027 273 770 8 i-