enforces no
religious or political tests; in these every member is free; but it
does teach and urge its members to be grateful to their Creator and
loyal to their country. In conclusion, let me urge upon the living,
fidelity to the teachings of Odd-Fellowship. If these are respected it
will make you better citizens, better husbands, better fathers, better
men. It is a cultivation of the heart and the better feelings, and
expands our humanity. If you are poor, it will come to you, or your
family, sometimes as a benefaction. If you are rich, you can afford to
give, and with a good Odd-Fellow that is more blessed than to receive.

I want to say here what I have often said in the lodge-room. I love
Odd-Fellowship, above all, for the heart there is in it. For its
display on the street and its pageantry I care but little. I shrink
from it rather than follow it. But its benevolence, its active
charity, and its mission of good will, I admire. When death's
unwelcome presence rests within our portals, and obedient to his call a
loved one has gone hence, we should give the mortal remains of the
departed brother a decent sepulture; fondly cherish the remembrance of
his virtues, and bury his frailties "beneath the clods which rest upon
his bosom." We should then direct our thoughts and cares to the
desolate home, where the widow, clad in the robes of grief, her heart
cords broken and bleeding, is weeping over earth's only idol, now lost
to earth forever. Then, too, should we extend the helping hand to the
fatherless children, and endeavor to so direct their steps that their
paths may be paths of usefulness and honor. These are the imperative
duties. But our ministrations of charity and benevolence should by no
means be confined exclusively within the pale of the order. This
crowded world, with its eager millions, maddened with ambition's
unquenchable fires, trampling under foot and well-nigh smothering each
other in the great rush of competitive strife, is full of poor
unfortunates, daily appealing for generous sympathy and assistance.

Though not members, it may be, of our peculiar family, yet the poorest,
the humblest, the most wretched, is a human being--"the master-piece of
His handiwork"--and, as such, demands our aid and comfort as far as
practicable. Life has been compared to a river. Aye, and beneath its
murky waters lurk countless reefs and shoals. Many a beautiful bark,
sailing, seemingly, under the very