A Toast to the Ladies
02 August 23
I’ll now present to you the working tools of the Freemason’s partner.
They are: the timepiece, the locked front door and the rose.
The timepiece was used by the operative Freemason’s partner to measure the hours and minutes of peace and quiet they had until the Freemason returns home.
The locked front door is a large instrument, solid in its construction. It is capable of filling the largest of door- ways, and the most persistent of door- to-door salespeople have been kept at bay from the refusal of it to be opened.
The rose is delicate of fragrance and petal, yet just below its beauty lies a sharp reminder that it’s not to be trifled with. It was used by the Freemason’s partner to beautify and adorn the home.
But, as we have met, on the present occasions, as Free and Accepted or Speculative rather than as Operative Freemasons, it is the moral conveyed in these emblems that we are called upon more particularly to regard.
From the timepiece we learn of the patience exhibited by our partners, putting up with the Freemason being out until late, chores going unfinished, or their mind elsewhere and mumbling to themselves, for if they do not get their charge right, the Director of Ceremonies will come down upon them like a ton of bricks.
The locked front door teaches us a lesson in security; for the Freemason may practice and try to keep his words secret in vain, as the partner is sharp of hearing. But we must trust them, and they treat our obligations as their own.
The rose is a reminder to all Freemasons not to neglect their partners and wives, and to remember all they do for us to support us in Freemasonry. If we do not tend to the rose, it will no longer be there for us, enhancing our lives.
From the whole, we deduce this moral – Patience, aided by trust and nurtured by reciprocated love, forms a solid foundation of support for Freemasons and for Freemasonry to flourish.
This article by Bro Luke Sharplin, the Junior Warden of Lodge Tawhiri, was printed in the September issue of the NZ Freemason.
