Will society?  No!  Society to its deepest core is selfish, corrupt, unnatural and unloving?  Society will not, and can not.  He is in the great world—­allurements and temptations are rife around him—­he is sick and in distress, and must suffer alone, with no one to console him with a word of comfort, sympathy, or love; he has no attention but such as money will purchase—­he dies, and the cold eyes of strangers only look upon the grave, if, indeed, a grave he has.  This is a life picture, and it is at this point the beauty and utility of Odd-Fellowship is seen, for the order is a vast family circle, spread throughout the community; always powerful and efficient to preserve those who are brought within the sphere of its influence.  He who is a member of this fraternity may go where his father’s counsel and his mother’s care can not reach him, but he can not go beyond the reach of that larger family to which he belongs!  Silently and invisibly, yet with unslumbering assiduity, Odd-Fellowship watches over him, and by its wise counsels, its tender sympathies and rational restraints, saves him from the ways of vice.

Mythic story tells us that the ancient gods invisibly and secretly followed their favorites in all their wanderings, and when exposed to danger, or threatened with destruction, would unveil themselves in their awful beauty and power, and stand forth to preserve them from harm or to avenge their wrongs.  Odd-Fellowship realizes this myth of the pagan gods; she surrounds all her children with her preserving presence, and reveals herself always in the hour of peril, sickness or distress.  Nowhere in our country can a true Odd-Fellow feel himself alone, friendless or forsaken.  The invisible, but helpful arms of our order surround him wherever he may be.  And should he be overtaken by illness or misfortune, be he in any part of the country, and never so poor, he will, if he makes his wants known, receive as a right the necessary assistance, and friends to watch over him with fraternal solicitude.  And should he fall a victim to disease, the brothers of charity will be there to close his eyes, and with solemn, yet hopeful, heaven-born rites, consign his body to the repose of the silent tomb.  Odd-Fellowship is an embodiment of family love and affection, and is the only substitute for home influence, and the only green spot in the dreary waste of life which binds these brothers to the tender practice of every virtue—­guides in prosperity and health, and as a ministering angel bends over them with tenderest pity in their chamber of suffering.  True, there are sorrows which it can not reach—­there are griefs which it can not remove; notwithstanding, it still pursues its way, imparts its healthful influence, and accomplishes its beautiful and holy ministry of benevolence and charity.  If it can not heal the wounds of misfortune, it administers the balm of sympathy, friendship and love.  My dear reader, learn to give encouragement to those around you.