relationship and a bond of sympathy that can not be exterminated. The
principle of brotherly love is so great and broad that all mankind
could unite in offices of human benefaction. Brother. Oh, how sacred
and how sweet when spoken by a true heart! Whether it be in the home
circle, lodge-room, or in some distant land, it sends the same soothing
thrill of joy to the heart. Let us pause just a moment to think of the
time and place when we first learned to call each other brother. Ah!
Methinks no Odd-Fellow will ever forget his first lesson. He will
always remember how quickly he was changed from the haughty disposition
manifested by that one of old, who, when he prayed, went to the public
square, or climbed to the house top, and thanked God that he was not
like other men, to the humble attitude of that one who stood afar off
and bowed his face in the dust, crying aloud, "O Lord! Be merciful
unto me a sinner." How very much like this ancient boaster are
thousands of the human family today. Sitting in high places,
surrounded by wealth and power, they see nothing beyond the narrow
circle in which they move. They are deaf to the low, sad wail of
sorrow that comes from some breaking heart. Seated by their own
comfortable fireside they give no thought to the lonely widow standing
outside in the cold. It distresses them not that the keen, wintry
blast sends its icy chill to the already broken heart. No thought, no
feeling, for this poor creature that must now fight the fierce battles
incident to human life, all alone. How sadly these tender duties to
suffering humanity are neglected when left to the cold charity of the
world.

Odd-Fellowship seeks to lessen sorrow and suffering. It supplies
temporal wants; gives encouragement; aids and comforts those who are in
distress. In sickness we watch by their bedside and administer to
their wants. If death calls, Odd-Fellowship forsakes not its follower,