again entering our protest against the severity of the punishment inflicted in some of the States, for delinquencies of this nature. Had the Brother resided within the jurisdiction of some other Grand Lodges, he would have been expelled and published-disgraced before the whole Fraternity-not for any moral delinquency, but for his poverty! This would not have been knowingly and wilfully done; but, as in the present case, from the want of correct information—from ignorance of his true pecuniary condition. It may be said, that a Brother, in such case, should make his circumstances known to the Lodge. A proud, high-spirited man will not do this. Our Lodges cannot, therefore, be too cautious in dealing with this. class of delinquents. They should be well assured that the delinquency does not arise from inability, before they proceed to stringent measures; and in all cases, the punishment should be scrupulously graduated by the nature of the offence. This is not done when expulsion, the highest penalty that can be incurred in Masonry, is inflicted for the non-payment of Lodge dues, or other slight cause.

We find no fault with the proceedings of the Lodge in the case before us. They were undoubtedly correct, because in accordance with what the Lodge, at the time, supposed to be true. But on discovering the error, if there be one, we should have thrown aside every other consideration, and complied with the Brother's last request.

PHYSICAL QUALIFICATION OF CANDIDATES. The London Freemasons' Review, in a brief notice of the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of New York, says :-"There are some few points to which exception may be taken-among them the following:-The men made Masons must be free-born, (or no bondmen,) of mature age, and of good report, hale and sound, not deformed or dismembered at the time of their making. But no woman, no eunuch.' In England, (continues the Review,) we have seen many estimable men made Masons, who were deformed-wanting an arm or a leg—and some even blind! Aye, and they proved to be most deserving. In these days, MIND supplies every want; and the leading virtue, CHARITY, the moral." This shows very distinctly what the practice is in England, and how the old regulation in this respect is regarded by our transatlantic Brethren generally. We have already expressed our views so fully on the subject, that we do not feel the propriety of enlarging upon it at this time.

*

*Vide Magazine, vol. iv. p. 5.

MISSOURI MASONIC COLLEGE.

Palmyra, Mo., Aug. 7, 1846. BRO. MOORE:-It affords me unfeigned delight to assure you of the continued success of the Masonic College of Missouri. The youthful institution is rising rapidly into eminence, realizing the fondest hopes of its patrons and founders. Already it is the dependence of Northeastern Missouri, for dispensing the facilities of education in the higher departments of learning; whilst there may be found on its catalogue of students, the names of young men from the States of Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, and the Territory of Iowa. The faculty consists of J. Worthington Smith, President; Prof. A. Patterson, and Prof. H. W. Hollingsworth-gentlemen of eminent moral virtues and distinguished learning. Their qualifications having now been tested by experience, the fullest confidence is felt by the Fraternity and the public in the prosperity of our school in their hands.

Exalted praise is due to the Grand Lodge of Missouri for its labors in setting up this alma mater (in the midst of our rising youth,) from whose beneficent care not only the rich, but the poor too, the destitute, may become the recipients of untold blessings. It is a peculiarity of Masonic works that their benign influences are confined to no single class of virtuous citizens: all such are permitted to enter the Lodge: all young men of good moral character are permitted to enter our College. The wealthy pay-the poor are taught gratis :—that is, the Lodges that send them, defray their expenses Masonically. Such is Masonic benevolence. Look at it. "The sun at high meridian is the beauty and glory of the day; for then his refulgent beams strike not merely on the loftiest peaks, but look down with cheering warmth into the deepest valley, and light up with a glow of radiance the loneliest stream that wanders on its bosom."

I had the good fortune to be present at a celebration of the 24th June last, at the College; and was so pleased that on my return home I prepared an account of it for you, but neglected to send it. The request of a friend has revived the original intention, which I now hope to execute, and perhaps to submit a few suggestions, touching the future advancement of the institution.

The College is twelve or fourteen miles west of this place; the road lying for the most part over a beautiful and even prairie. To be in the best plight for enjoying the occasion, I went up on the afternoon of the 23d. When I arrived at the refectory of the College boarding-house, (a most excellent establishment, kept by Mr John Higbee,) the whole institution was a scene of the most active bustle. The steward, the honorable Professors and their families, the students, the servants, not to mention several of the neighbors who had come in, were busily engaged in providing for the expected celebration. Minerva had relaxed the usual severity of her brow. From her wonted occupations of poring over the classic page, measuring the power of the wheel, seeking after the quadrature of the circle, or "tracing the comet's rapid flight through fields unknown," she had turned away to employ her energies in divers and sundry businesses, not less important in their place. I almost fear she was at that moment directing her thoughts to such unclassic themes as pork, veal and mutton. Nay, I have reason to believe that

by her special orders, several dozen of those birds deemed sacred to Esculapius, were cut up and stewed into pies; that by a similar oracle, both pigs and turkeys were roasted whole, and gallons upon gallons of peas, beans, onions, cherries, currants, &c., were manufactured into fabrics of the most approved invention, for the use of the votaries of the blue-eyed goddess and their guests, not forgetting the ice-creams, that last best dish of every dinner on the 24th June. In other words, Mr Higbee, who, in the capacity of college steward, is president and commander-in-chief of a most important department of the Masonic College-the eating department-was getting ready a most tasteful and elegant repast, to be served up on the ensuing day, when the Craft should be "called from labor to refreshment"; and the other dignitaries named were adorning with evergreens and otherwise preparing the college chapel for the coming ceremonies. The evening was soft and mild; the vegetable kingdom in all its glory. A pleasant breeze sprang up, and the setting sun, which went down without a cloud upon its face, revealed one of those gorgeous prospects so common at this season on our western prairies. From sundown till dark, flocks of students were traversing the walks and grounds about the College, in every direction; from the refectory to the dormitories, from the dormitories to the chapel, and thence to the residences of the President and Professors-their motions indicating the perfection of their health and vigor, and their countenances beaming with cheerfulness and contentment. The night was ushered in with music, which was continued till a late hour, when I fell asleep amidst a confusion of agreeable sensations, such as are apt to oppress the mind when a great number of pleasurable objects are presented in quick succession to its view, without allowing it to dwell sufficiently upon any one of them.

The proceedings of the 24th lost a portion of their interest, in the opinion of some, because there was no Masonic procession. Not so with myself. Standing upon a spot of earth here in the far West, which the Grand Lodge of Missouri had consecrated to the cause of human learning, I could but cast my eyes back a brief period, when all around me was a waste and howling wilderness. As yet, Marquette and his companions had not descended the Mississippi. I heard, in fancy, the fierce yell of the Sac and Winnebagoe savage, and saw the affrighted buffalo roused from his lair upon this very college ground. I remembered that so late as 1833, the celebrated "Black Hawk" had raised the war-cry against "the settlers," and stricken terror to many a heart on this very prairie. But now, the hunter and the hunted were gone-the smoke of the wigwam was swept away; of the wigwam itself no trace remained: instead, the husbandman, the cultivated field, the rich harvests, the splendid mansion, had appeared ;-society had already passed through several stages of advancement upon the spot;—a state of elegant refinement was arrived at: Art, science, literature, had here erected trophies commemorative of their triumphs, and were moving forward to the accomplishment of new achievements. The transforming power of civilization which was before me-the character of the events which composed the great outline of the picture-these were the reflections which occupied my mind, and filled it with intense interest. If Lord Byron could not pass the field of Marathon without catching the impulses of Grecian glory, which had expired more than

twenty centuries before, what emotions must be supposed to fill my bosom, when I was contemplating, in all their freshness and vigor, the majesty and beauty of systems just starting into life, of the value, energy and loveliness of which, neither Socrates nor Plato were ever permitted to form the faintest conception. And, by the way, my dear sir, after all that has been said and sung of Greek or Roman, of what was their glory composed? They had their orators, their philosophers, and their warriors-their painters, their musicians and their sculptors—but in what way did their labors add to the amount of human happiness? To human vanity, pride, avarice, and ambition, they had temples and altars without number. How many erected they to human charity? What institutions had they for the relief of the destitute? What provisions for the needy, either in mind or body?

Alas, not one-not one:

"The heroic lay is tuneless now,

The heroic bosom beats no more.'

I had a theme before me, in comparison with which the splendors of the boasted Parthenon were tame, and all the trophies of Marathon, Thermopylæ and Salamis were worthless baubles. It was the opening of the book of knowledge to the poor-the establishment of a splendid charity here, on the confines of civilization-the unsealing of a fountain by the Grand Lodge of Missouri, from which the precious waters of moral life might flow in upon society in copious streams, to which all were invited to approach, and from which all might be abundantly supplied-and when the sound of the chapel bell smote upon my ear, announcing that the hour for the celebration had arrived, I wanted none of the "pomp and circumstance" of external form, to enlarge my conceptions of the moral grandeur of the occasion. Or, if this had been necessary, I could well have imagined a procession of all christian virtues and divine influences, moving forward in advance of the multitude that were now pressing towards the chapel, and guiding them onward in the consummation of a work which had received the approving smiles of Him who ever presides in the Grand Lodge above. I hastened along with the rest, and procured a seat.

The oration was delivered by Prof. Hollingsworth. The exordium consisted of a short history and beautiful tribute to the memory of the patron Saint. The balance of the discourse-altogether one of the most interesting I have heard upon the subject-presented a vivid and powerful analysis of the Christian character; wherein were brought out and displayed in bold relief, the several elements that enter it, with apt and pertinent remarks upon the nature of the human intellect, the passions, the necessity and kind of moral training, the value of knowledge, and the purposes of the Masonic Order with reference to these important subjects. The oration over, the audience repaired to Higbee's, and enjoyed the delicious feast he spread before them. I returned the same evening to Palmyra, my mind elevated and delighted with what I had seen and heard, and feeling that I would rather be the founder of the Masonic College than the hero of Waterloo.

The College farm, (about 400 acres) which is by law under the care of the steward; the College buildings, consisting of the residences of the Professors, the chapel, the dormitories, and the refectory, have cost the Grand Lodge about ten

thousand dollars. Of this sum, the whole amount has been defrayed by the Grand Lodge, save only a few hundred dollars, which were donated by the Craft in other States, and the friends of learning, not Masons, here and elsewhere. The Grand Lodge have done much in the prosecution of a noble work. But it is not disguised, and the Grand Lodge are aware, that, to complete this work, much remains to be done. They are struggling on-but they are poor, and have a claim to the sympathies and aid of the Brethren in other States. Our College is not sufficiently endowed. We have all the necessary grounds and buildings, a healthy location, talents and learning already secured in the professorships inferior to none, the confidence and patronage of the public, and are succeeding equal to our expectations. But we need, greatly need, a philosophical apparatus and library. These are all important, and yet we have no present means of supplying the deficit. Now, my dear sir, in your great city there is, so far as I am informed, no public charity set up by the Craft, which holds a special claim upon your benevolence: there are many Lodges of our Brethren, and many members of the Fraternity not connected with Lodges, in Boston, whose hearts are warm with the love of human kind-who are anxious to spread wide the book of knowledge to the poor. May we, in these remote regions, venture to believe, that you have seen and admired our generous intrepidity in the work we have undertaken here, and that you will stretch forth the helping hand?

In so large a city as Boston, might not a very respectable philosophical apparatus be procured, at a cost which the donors would not feel? From one, you might procure for us a microscope; from another, a pair of lenses; from a third, a compass; a fourth, a box of plotting instruments-and thus, a chronometer, a voltaic pile, a set of Leyden jars, an electrical machine, a galvanic battery, crucibles, retorts, an air-gun, air-pumps, barometer, &c. &c. Thus, too, might not a library of standard works be gotten together, which would lend an impetus to our motions, and make glad the bosoms of our youth who are toiling up the steep ascents of the hill of science, in want of many facilities to smooth the ruggedness of the way.

But I have spun out these observations to an extraordinary length. In the course of time, no doubt, we shall ourselves remove all difficulties; but, candor compels me to say, if we are left to our own resources, it may be longer than we wish. That we shall, however, as we fondly hope, triumph over all opposing obstacles, and eventually place the Masonic College of Missouri high as, from its glorious purposes, it deserves, is the earnest prayer of

Your friend and Brother,

S. T. GLOVer.

[We will cheerfully take charge of, and forward donations of any description, which our Brethren may feel disposed to make for the above purpose; and we doubt if the liberal hand could be opened in a better cause-where more real, practical good could be accomplished by the same amount of means. We commend the subject to our Brethren, and shall be happy to learn that the urgent call of our correspondent, in behalf of this noble charity, has met with a proper and liberal response.]-EDITOR.