glittering helmets, jeweled regalias and beautiful degrees may touch
the vanity and excite the admiration, but to win the heart we must
satisfy its longings, feed its hopes and lift it above the narrowness
and selfishness of its daily experience. Odd-Fellowship strives to
touch the heart and better feelings, rather than feed the vanity of man
or arouse his admiration for gorgeous displays. Its work is an
exemplification of the living, practical Christianity of today. In
almost every state in this fair land of ours can be found Odd-Fellows'
homes, within whose walls the orphan is no longer motherless. For each
and every little one within these homes, one million Odd-Fellows feel a
father's love and pledge a parent's care.

Add to all this great work the little deeds of love, the little acts of
kindness that make life beautiful; add kind words of cheer and friendly
help and tender consolation, and add again the benefit of union, the
strength that comes from hearts united in God's work among mankind, and
you have caught a glimpse of the life-giving principle that has made
Odd-Fellowship one of the grandest fraternal and beneficiary
institutions the world has ever known. The work it has done can not be
fully estimated until the record is read in the bright light of
eternity. In that glad day the tears that have been wiped away will
become jewels in somebody's crown, and the sobs that have been hushed
will be heard again in hosannas of welcome.

Onward! is the ringing, pregnant watchword of the world. The vast,
complicated, ponderous machinery of life is kept in motion by tireless
and irresistible forces. The multiform and magnificent affairs of men
and of nations are all impelled forward with an energy and a velocity
as wonderful as glorious to behold.