BP I S W »'4". ^^y.^h tiL'K',''/. Vi>mf: 1 Ml iMHJ^BBHBBBBi^Bl^BBK?;' 046095 THE GIFT OF HEBER GUSHING PETERS CLASS OF 1892 Aafexsl^^ y\\Sr\. t :i^ 52a6 Cornell University Library HS431 .M87 Masonic odes and poems. 3 1924 030 294 437 olln.anx The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030294437 MASONIC 5es (xnb oettts By KOB MOKKIS, LL. D., MASONIC WRITER. Thus life and beauty come to view, In EACH DESIGN our fathers drew. So glorious and sublime ; Each breathes an odor from the blcom Of gardens bright beyond the tomb, Beyond the flight of time. ■^tfa fork: ROB MORRIS, NO. 545 BROADWAY; MACOT & SICKELS, 430 BROOME ST. 1864. K>?Lb2."lt LODGE. This theory accords with the general view entertained of Masonry through all the historic period, at least. We meet upon the Letel and we paxt trpoN the Square ; What words of precious meaning those words Masonic are ! Come, let us contemplate them, they are worthy of a thought — In the very soul of Masonry those precious words are wrought. We meet upon the Level, though from every station come — The rich man fiom his mansion, and the poor man from his home; For the one must leave his heritage outside the Mason's door, While the other finds his best respect upon the Checkebed Flooe. 18 THE LEVEL AND THE SQUARE. We part upon the Square, for the world must have its due ; We mingle with the multitude, a faithful band and true ; But the influence of our gatherings in memory is green, And we long upon tee Level to renew the happy scene. There's a World where all are equal, we are hurrying towards it fast ; We shall meet upon the Level there, when the gates of death are past ; We shall stand before the Okeent, and our Master will be there To try the blocks we offer with his own unerring Square. We shaU meet upon the Level there, but never thence depart ; There's a jMansion — 'tis all ready for each trusting, faithful heart — There's a ^Mansion and a welcome, and a multitude is there. Who have met upon the Level and been tried upon the Squ.vre. Let us meet upon the Level then, while laboring patient here ; Let us meet and let us labor, though the labor be severe ; Already in the Western Sky the signs bid us prepare To gather up our Working tools, and part upon the Square ! Hands round, ye faithful Masons, in the bright, praternal chain! We part upon the Square below, to meet in heaven again ; Oh ! what words of precious meaning those words Masonic are. We meet upon the Level and we part upon the Square ! b^ 6ooi>Ig pjrxtagi. The Psalmist, expressing the hope of his calling, of the resurrection, .«nd of life everlasting, cries aloud, in an ecstacy of gratitude, " The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly HERITAGE ;" and afterwards, in recounting his former experience, he ■confesses that God has heard his vows and has given him the heeit- jiGE of those that fear His name. Oh what a goodly heritage The Lokd to us hath given ! How blest the brotherhood that pledge Their Mason-vows to heaven ! We sing the mystic-chain that binds These western realms in one ; Such loving hearts, such liberal minds, No other land has known- Pive thousand Ughts in Mason-halls, Are gleaming on our eyes ; Five thousand emblems on the walls, Tell whence the gleaming is ; And when the portals ope, to pass The humble seeker in, The toice of pratek pervades the place, And j)roves the light Divute ! On every HU our brothers lie. And green sprigs deck the knoll ; Their fall brought sorrow to the eye. But triumph to the soul : 20 YEARNINGS. Our orphans lighten many a home, Our widows' hearts are glad, And Mason-light dispels the gloom And comfort finds the sad. Thus link in link, from shore to shore, The mystic chain is wound ; Oh, blended thus forever more. Be Mason-spirits found ! And while the heavens, on pillars sure, Of Strength and Wisdom stand. May brotherhood like ours endure, Where Strength and Wisdom blend ' § earnings. Brothers, when o'er my head. The silent dust is spread, ^Vnd this poor heart its quiverings shall forbear, Where'er my body lie, Though far the grave away, I would, dear Brothers, be remembered here ! Brothers, when tender sighs iVround me shall arise, And speak of what I did, or fain would do, Such honest, truthful words, As Masons' tongue afibrds, I would, dear Brothers, have rehearsed by you !^ I^ing Solomon's Jfarftell. It is not diflBcult to conceive what the parting words of Solomon to his Temple-builders must have been, nor is it strange if tradition has preserved it, in the main, faithfully. The original plan upon which the architects drafted, was given, we are informed, " in writing by the Spirit," to King David, and by him transferred to his son. This gave the stamp of Divinity to the structure. All the after-plans, secondary to the original, were neces- sarily in accordance with it ; so that the Royal Builder might well ad- vise his workmen in the spirit of the following lines : King Solomon sat in his ivory chair, His chair on a platform high, And his words addressed, Through the listening West, To a Band of Brothers nigh ; Through the West and South, These words of truth. To a Band of Brothers nigh. " Ye Builders go ! ye have done your work- The Capstone standeth sure ; From the lowermost block, To the loftiest rock. The Pabeic is secure ; From the Arch's Swell, To the Piimacle, The Fabric is secure. 21 22 KING SOLO III On'S FAREWELL. " Go, crowned with fame ! old time will pass. And many a change will bring, But the Deed you've done, The cii'cling snn Through every land will sing ; The moon and stars, WMle earth endures. Through every land will sing. " Go build like this ! from the quan-ies vast, The precious stones reveal ; There's many a block In the matiice rock. Will honor your fabrics well ; There's many a beam. By the mountain-stream, "Will honor vour fabrics well. ■ Go build like this ! strike oif with skill. Each superfluity ; With critic eye, Each fault espy, Be ZEALOUS, FERVENT, FREE ; By the perfect Square, Tour work prepare — Be ZEALOUS,' FERVENT, FREE. KING SOLOMON'S FAREWELL. 23 " Go build like this 1 to a fitting place, Rear up the Ashlahs true ; On the Trestleboard Of your Master's Lord, The Ghakd Intention view ; In each mystic line, Of the vast Design, The Grand Intention view. " Go build like this ! and when exact. The joinings scarce appear, With the Trowel's aid. Such cement spread, As time can never wear ; Lay thickly round. Such wise compound. As time can never wear. " Go, Brothers ! thus enjoined, farewell ! Spread o'er the darkened "West ; Illume each clime, "With Art sublime. The noblest truths attest ; Be Masters now. And as you go. The noblest truths attest !" The well-knowii expression in the caption suggests, In the symboli- cal language of Freemasonry, those various departments of mystical labor in ■which the speculative craftsmen are employed. To declare one's attachment to his friend, " in quarry, hill, and temple," is to confess a friendship independent of time, place, and circumstances. The ties of Masonry, accepted in the presence of Deity and under the Divine sanction, are of this nature, and, in a good man's heart, indis- soluble. Thine in the Quarry, whence the stone For mystic ■svorkmanship is drawn : On Jordan's shore, By Zarthan's plain, Though faint and wear}', thiiK alone. The gloomy mine knows not a ray — The heavy toil exhausts the day — But love keeps bright The weary heart. And sings, /'ot thine without decay. Thine on the Hill whose cedars rear Their perfect forms and foliage fair : Each graceful shaft And deathless leaf. Of Masons' love the emblems are. Thine when a smile pervades the heaven — Thine when the sky 's with thunder riven- Each echo swells Through answering hills, My Mason prayer, for tlise His given. 24 QUARRY, HILL AND TEMPLE. 35 Thine in the Temple, holy place — Where silence reigns, the type of peace ; "With grip and sign, And mystic line, My Mason's lore I do confess. Each block we raise, that friendship grows, Cemented flbrmly ne'er to loose ; And when complete. The work we greet, Thine in the joy my bosom knows. Thine at the midnight in the cave — Thine in the floats wpvn the wave — By Joppa's hill, By Kedron's rill. And thine when Sabbath rest we have. Yes, yes, dear friend, my spirit saith, Fm thine until and after death ! Ko bounds control The Mason's soul Cemented with a Mason's faith 1 Jfrujgrana of a (^aoii ^itiJ. Many years since, .\ poor sojourner through the wilds of Texas paused at a farmhouse on the lonely banks of the Brazos, to die. The owner, a Freemason, discovered the Masonic claims of his guest not too late to make the mystic tie available. All the consolations of brotherly sympathy and .ittendance were freely bestowed upon him, and when these could avail the pilgrim no longer, his remains were tenderly consigned to maternal earth, the generous planter reading the Masonic service and covering in the precious dust, alone I Long years afterwards, and when a populous village had sprung up upon the river banks, a Masonic lodge was established there. The hall was built, and the Mount iloriah upon which it was erected was the green knoll beneath which the stranger's bones are mouldering ! Moreton Lodge, No. 1i, at Richmond, Texas, yet (1855) stands to per- petuate " the fragrance of a good deed !" On hallowed ground those walls are reared ; Tliat roof encloses in A spot to Masonry endeared, To Zion's Mount, akin ; Since Zion's Temple is bereft And Judab mourns Ms God, No holier site on earth is left, Than this our feet have trod. For here, inspired by truest faith, Relief a Brother gave — Upheld a wanderer unto death And blessed him with a urave ; APARTINGHYMN. 27 Aye, with a grave whose portals closed To that majestic song, Which has to the fraternal host. Brought deathless hopes so long. The Eye Divine approved the deed — 'Tis graven as with steel ; And when the noble act we read This fond desire we feel, — That all our mystic work and word Thus modeled well may be. And so the Temple of our God Rise fast and gloriously ! % farting "^^mu, Eefreshed with angels' food we go, To serve Thee in thy work below ; Trusting, when Sabbath-rest is given, To share Thy richer joys in Heaven. Then, bind our willing souls in one ; Confirm the Covenants here begun ; Each day those vows more sacred be, Cemented in eternity. ^oxiQ for St. Jol^n's ^ag. These lines have been set to music by Professor Henry Tucker, of New York. Ended now the Masons' labors, Past the travel and the toil ; Gather in ye loving neighbors. Share the Com, the Wine, the Oil : Brethren now, of each degree, Come in harmony and glee ; Happy meeting, Gentle greeting, — 'Tis the joy of Masonry. Spirits of the blest departed. As on earthly ways they roam. Where are met the faithful-hearted. They to share our labors come ; Though their forms we cannot see They are here with you and me. Love unites us with its cement ; Truth inspires the Masons' breast ; Ever faithful, ever clement, — Thus our doctrines we attest. Thus we come of each degree, Come in harmony and glee ; Happy meeting. Gentle greeting, — 'Tis the joy of Masonry. 28 C|« (liDkirwjtt ^isdpl^. The ancient historian, Janiblichus, describes with unction, the cir- cumstance that forms tlie basis of the following piece. The two travelers, therein named, were disciples of Pythagoras, whose system of secret aflSliation, if it was not Feeemasonry, at least exhibited the benevolent features which make up so large a part of it. A Brotlier, bound for distant lands, In sickness fell alone, alone ; And stranger care from stranger hands, Did tlie last rites of nature own. But ere the trembling spirit passed, He on a Tablet faintly traced — Some mystic lines — a spiral Thread — A Square — an emblem of the Sun — A Chequered Band, that none could read- And then his work and life were done. And stranger care from stranger hands, Gave him kind burial in the sands. Full many a year swept by, swept by, And the poor stranger was forgot ; While on an olive colunm, nigh. That Tablet marked his burial spot ; And many gazed at Square and Thread, And many guessed, but none could read. 30 THE OBEDIENT DISCIPLE. But then a sage Disciple came, Of one whose ■wisdom filled the land — Himself right worthy of the name — The thovylitful head and ready hand : He looked upon the mystic lines, And read the TMeffsfitU designs. It spoke of one long passed before, In quest of truth, like him sincere ; Of one gone onward, never more To delve in mines deep hidden here ; And solemn was the lesson traced — Lo PU^m ! HU your fate at last ! Awe-struck, yet wiser now, he strayed In solenm silence from the spot ; SepauJ the debt his brother made, And Eastward journeyed on his lot; Yet never on life's shifting wave, Lost he the lesson of that grave. How weighty is the charge we give, Brethren, in this short history read — To hless the living icliile we lite, And leave some tokens wlien we're dead ! On life's broad Tablet let us trace Emblems to mark our burial-place I WiK ^iitis, WvA Cruris. " The way of light is the way of the Cross," ia cue of those an- cient maxims which both in rhythm and reason commends itself to the favor of every reader. The entire System of Freemasonry is an illus. tration of it. How sad to the Grave are our feet slowly tending, Tte cold form of one whom we loved, on the bier I What sighs swell our hearts while above him we're bending. And shudder to think we must part with him here 1 Ah, gloomy is life when our friend has departed ! Ah, weary the pathway to travel alone ! There's little remaineth to cheer the lone-hearted Oppressed with the burden, " the loved one is gone I' But glad from tlie Qrame are our feet homeward tending. Though death's cold embraces our Brother restrain 1 Hope springs from the hillock above which we're bending. And whispers "Eejoice ! you shall meet him again ! Death's midnight is sad, but there cometh the morning ; The pathway is dark but its ending is nigh." Then patient we wait till the glorious dawning. That's told in our emblems of life in the sky ! 81 A city s«t upon a hill, Cannot be hid ; Exposed to every eye, it wiU, Over surrounding pl^in and vale, An influence shed, And spread the light of peace afiir, Or blight the land with horrid war. Each Ma=ons>' lodge is planted so, For high display ; Each is a Beaco>"-light, to show Life's weary wanderers, as they go, The better way ; To show by ties of earthly love, How perfect is the Lodge above ! Be this TOUT willing task, dear fiiends. While laboring here ; Borrow from Him who kindly lends, The Heavexlt Ladhee that ascends The higher sphere ; And let the world your proyress gee, Upward, by F.iiTH, Hope, C'habitt. ©oitt of i^t (jT^ntpk. The Voice of the Temple ! the tidings of Love, That speaka of the Master who reigneth above ; " His Glokt, His Glory, in the Highest who dwells, And Good-will to mau " is the burden it tells I Come Brothera, in chorus Prolong the glad tidings, No duty so sweet as the hymning of God : His faith each professing, Hia knowledge possessing, Exalt each the blessing His grace hath bestowed. ^wilbing tl^jj Jfait^. The cry of Nehemiah, ■when, on his return to Jerusalem, he saw the Royal City lying " heaps npon heaps," has, in every age, echoed upon the heart of the moral builder. Oh, the world in ruins I oh, the ■wrecks of humanity, lying about ua on every hand, and crying aloud for the Master Buildee, ■who alone can reconstruct the edifice so fear- fully cast down 1 Come, Comrades, let us build I * Our Mason-hearts are filled With fond solicitude and keen desire, t While musing o'er these heaps. Whose every ashlar keeps The stains of bloodshed and the marks of fire I | 34 BUILDING THE FANE. What though some voice would say " Leave Salem to decay !" § Our Mason-hearts were not instructed thus ; Let's work for Salem^s Lord, — And, Comrades, be assured The God of Heaven, He will prosper us ! { TTith goodly Sword and bright, TVith Teowel in the right, Each hand is sanctified to God's employ : IT LeVs build^ nor doubt that soon — This weary labor done — Our Mason-hearts wiU feel the Bdtldek's joy I ** * Gome and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be do more a reproach, — Xehemiah^ ii., IT. 1 1 sat down and wept, and mourned, and fasted, and prayed. — 2^eh47nia7i, L,4. ^ Thef slew with the sword young man and maiden, old man, and him that stooped for age, and they burnt the house of God and ail the palaces with fire. — 2 Chrtmicle-s xxxtL, 17, 19. § Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem laughed us to scorn, and despised us and said, AlTiat is this thing that ye do ? — Xeliemiah^ ii, 19. 1 1 answered and said unto them, " The God of Heaven, He will prosper us, therefore, we His servants will arise and build." — Xehemiah, ii., 20. T Every one with one of his hands wrought in the worlc, and with the other hand held a weapon. — Xehemia^i,, iv., 17. ** They sang together by course in praising and giving thanks, and all the people shouted with a great shout, because the foimdation of the house of the Lord was laid. — Ezra, iii., 11. '^^n oi i\jz glason-^oltrbrs. In camp, hospital, and on the march, the " Friends of the Square" in the Union armies, were wont, during the campaigns of the fall and ■winter of 1863, to enliven the sad hours by singing this " Hymn of the Mason-Soldiers," as arranged to Professor Henry Tucker's un- equaled melody, " When this Cruel War is Over." Brothers, met from every nation, Far away from home. Men of every rank and station, Eound this altar come. Bring your hearts, so full of feeling ; Join your hands, so true ; Swear, ye sons of truth and honor. Naught shall sever you. Chorus. — "War's dark cloud will vanish — Joy to East and West , Oh, Brothers ! Though the land is full of weeping, Masons, Masons still are blest. Come, forgetting every sorrow. Level bring and Squabk ; Leave all trouble to to-morrow ; Each the Compass bear ; Pass the Tkowel o'er each discord ; Wear the LAMBSKHf white ; Brothers, one more happy meeting, In our Lodge to-night. 35 36 EAR NEST X ESS OF COVENANTING, In the circle liere extended, Shadowy forms appear ; With our loving spirits blended, Dead ones, ah, how dear ! Dead on many a field of battle, Lost to friends and home, Yet in Mason's love surviving. Round this altar come. When to distant homes returning, We shall say farewell. And shall cease the tender yearning, Xow our bosoms feel — Prattling lips and sweet caresses. All the joys of home, Win bring back the loving circle. Round this altar come. (L'anustncss nf (lofamunimg. Xever will I break the Covenant, Plighted, Brother, with thee now ! One between us stands, attesting To the fer\'0r of my vow : III his name, nTKire his Promise, By his honor. /or his cause. Here's my hand, the Lord confirm it, — I will surely keep my vows ! €ht Jf^rfaor of ^ffliatmn. The privilege of association in a harmonious, strongly-cemented band of Masons, is a thing to be coveted. Exiles from home, deprived of the long-accustomed pleasures of the lodge, have been known to express their yearnings for re-affiliation in language not less forcible than this. In the military camps, these lines sung to the common air " A Life on the Ocean Wave," are very popular. A place in the Lodge for me, A home with the free and bright, Where jarring chords agree, And the darkest soul is light : Not here, not here is bliss. There's turmoil and there's gloom ; My spirit yearns for peace — Say, Brothers, say, is there room ! My feet are weary worn. And my eyes are dim with tears ; This world is all forlorn, A wilderness of fears ; But there's one green spot ielow, There's a resting place, a home. My spirit yearns to know — Say, Brothers, say, is there room ! I hear the orphan's cry. And I see the widow's tear ; I weep when mortals die, And none but God is near ; 3T 38 TnEENCLOSURE- From sorrow and despair, I seek the Mason's home, My spirit yearns to share — Say, Brothers, say, is there room I With God's own eye above. With Bbotheb-ha2«ds below. With Fbeendship and with Love, My pilgrimage TU go ; And when in death's embrace, My summons it shall come. Within your heart's best place, Oh, Brothers, oh give me room 1 (Tl^i €mlomxt. Fbom me to thee, fbom me to thee. Each whispering leaf a missive be. In mystic scent and hue to say — This green and fragrant spray — In emerald green and rich perfume. To teach of Faith that mocks the tomb. And link the chain Fidelitt, 'Twixt, Brother, thee and me ! In distant land, in olden time. The Acacia bore the mark sublime. And told to each discerning eye Of deathless constancy : MASONIC TRAINING. 39 So may these green leaves whisper now, Inform the heart, inspire the vow. And link the chain Fidelity, 'Twist, Brother, thee and me 1 Oh ! Ladies, when you bend above. The cradled ofepring of your love. And bless the child whom you would see A man of truth and constancy, — Believe, there is in Masons' lore, A fund of wisdom, beauty, power, Enriching every soul of man Who comprehends the mystic plan. Then train your boy in Mason's truth ; Lay deep the cornerstone in youth ; Teach him to walk: by virtue's line, To square his acts by squabb DrvrNE ; The cement of pure love to spread. And paths of Scripture-truth to tread ; Then will the Youth to manhood grow To honor us and honor you. Ask, and ye shall receive ; Seek, ye shall surely find ; Knock, ye shall no resistance meet, If come with ready mind ; For all that ask, and ask aright, Are welcome to our lodge to-night. Lay down the bow and spear ; Eesign the sword and shield ; Forget the arts of warfare here. The arms of peace to wield ; For all that seek, and seek aright, Are welcome to our lodge to-night. Bring hither thoughts of peace ; Bring hither words of love ; Diffuse the pure and holy joy That Cometh from above ; For all that kxock, and knock aright, Are welcome to our lodge to-night. Ask help of Him that's high ; Seek grace of Hjem: that's true ; KJNOCK patiently, the hand is nigh, WUl open unto you ; For all that ask, seek, kkock aright, Are welcome to our lodge to-night. Insaixk i,uIir-|^aitg-Sgm. A society whose ceremonies and language extend so far into an- tiquity as those of Freemasonry, may justly claim, more than others, to be the conservator of old things. Nowhere are aged men so prized as in lodges of Freemasons. The models of lodge furniture, to the smallest piece, are of ancient patterns, and their lectures and their songs, and their hopes, all breathe the spirit so well expressed in the Scotch phrase, " Auld Lang Sjme." The following lines, much used in the gatherings of the Craft, may be accompanied in recitation with significant gestures. We do not sigh for pleasures past, Nor fondly, vainly pine ; Yet let us give one memory To Auld Lang Syne. With Gavel, Trowel, Guage, we work, With Level, Square, and Ltae ; Come, join the Chain of Love, and sing Of Auld Lang Syne! For Auld Lang Syne, my dear, For Auld Lang Syne ; Ah, who like us can sing the days Of Auld Lang Syne ! 'Twas sweet when evening's shadows fell — How bright our Lights did shine I Down from the Bast to hear the words Of Auld Lang Syne. 41 42 TEARS AND SMILES. The 'Pbbntice knocked with trembling hand, The Craft sought Com and Wine, The Master stood, and nobly fell, In Auld Lang Syne. With step so true, with form upright. We drew the Grand Design ; 'Twas well we knew " to square the work," In Auld Lang Syne. A tear to them, the eaklt dead. Fond memory would consign ; We dropped the green sprig o'er their head. In Auld Lang Syne. And till the JIaster call us hence To join the Lodge Diyine, Let's sometimes give a grateful thought To Auld Lang Syne ! Cfars anil Smilts, The tear for friends departed. The faithful and true-hearted. Cast midst the rubbish of the silent grave. Is changed to smiles of pleasure. While trusting that our treasure, A glorious Resurrection-day will have 1 puiTt §imitlis. It is written of a venerable Craftsman of the past generation, that, having lived through all the trials and reproaches of the Antimasonio period (1826-1836), and maintained hie membership first in one lodge and then in another, as the contiguous lodges successively gave way under the pressure, he came peacefully to his death-bed at last, and, smilingly said to the friends who thronged about his bed-side, " Now, Brothers, let me have my demit !" In the oldest system of Masonic ethics extant, it is distinctly averred that " every Brother ought to belong to a lodge." The prac- tice of non-affiliation so common at the present day, is thus stamped as unmasonic. Death alone should sever lodge-aiEliation. " Now dismiss me, vfHle I linger, For one fond, one dear word more ; Have I done my labor fairly ? Is there aught against my score ? Have I wronged in all this circle, One by deed, or word, or blow ? — Silence speaks my fall acquittance — Nunc dimittis, let me go ! " Let me go, I crave my wages ; Long I've suffered, long I've toiled ; Never once through work days idle, Never once my apron soiled ; In the Chambee, where the Master Waits with smiling to bestow CoBN, and wine, and on, abundant. Nunc dimittis, let me go ! 44 NUNCDIMITTIS. " Let me go, but you must tarry, Till the Sixth day's close has come ; Heat and burden patient bear ye While you're absent far from home ; But a little for the summons "Waits alike for each of you ; — Mine is sounding, spirits wait me, Nwn/^ ilimittis, let me go ! " Oh, the Sabbath-day in Heaven ! Oh, the joys reserved for them, Faithful Builders of the Temple, Type of blest Jerusalem ! Oh, the raptures of the meeting "With the friends 'twas bliss to know ! Strive no longer to detain me, ^unc dimittis, let me go 1" Hushed that voice its fond imploring ; Faded is that eager eye ; Gone the soul of labor wearied, To repose eternally : But the memory of his service Oft shall lighten up our woe, Till the hour we too petition — '■'■Nunc dimittis, let me go !" yingering llolfs. None of the ancient Masonic legends are more graceful or convey a more charmingly esoteric meaning, than that -which assures us there is for an hour after the Brethren disperse from their lodge-room a rm/sterious echo of sounds which may be heard there, weird, lingering, fraternal in tone, made up, in fact, of all the brotherly expressions and divine acknowledgments that have passed about the group through the entire convocation ! It is affirmed by those who have the gift to understand it, to be charming beyond expression, and that the last note, aa it dies away upon the ear, is the echo of that spirit which filled the soul of our Patron Saint, the Evangelist John — " Love !" Lingering notes the echoes stir, Soft and sweet, these walls along ; Softly, sweetly, they concur In the pleasant tide of song ; Night-birds cease their plaintive lays Listening to the hymn of praise. Angels gliding through the air, On celestial mission bent, Pause, the sacred hymn to hear — Fold their wings in soft content — Join their notes divine to these, Hymning Masons' mysteries. Now the solitary room, Peopled with a countless throng — Now the stillness and the gloom Kindle with the tide of song, Filling our delighted ears — Music of three thousand years ! 4(5 THE GIVING OF THE SHOE. Every Emblem pictured there, On the ceiling, wall, or floor — Gavel, Tkowel, Apeon, Squaee, CoiitTiEf rent or open Door — Blends a light and yields a tongue, To this softly-lingering song. Now the anthem dies away ; One by one the voices cease ; Birds resume their wonted lay ; Angels on their mission press ; But the latest note that moves In the mystic song is Lote's ! Take this pledge ! it is a token Of that truth that ne'er was broken, Truth which binds the Mystic Tie, Under the All-Seeing Eye. Take this pledge ! each ancient Brother, By tills type bound every other Firmly, so that death, alone, Eent the bonds that made them one. Take tliis pledge ! no pledge so holy ; Though the symbol seem but lowly, 'Tis divine ! It teUs of One, Of the rain-drops and the sun. INSCEIPTIONS FOR A LODGE-EOOM. 47 Take this pledge ! the token sealeth All the judgment-day revealeth; Honor, Truth, fraternal G-race, Brother, in thy hands I place ! fttsai^mns tax a: '§a)3Qi-^aam. EAST. Erect before thee, A hand upon thy "Wobd, We thus adore thee And swear to serve thee. Lord I WEST. So mote it be — each murmuring word Speaks the soul's earnest, deep accord, And echoes, from its inmost sea, A deep " Amen, so mote it be !" SOUTH. Te faithful, weave the chain 1 Join hand in hand again ! The world is filled with violence and blood 1 Hark to the battle-cry ! Hark to the answeriog sigh ! Come weave the chain that's blest of man and God I mt f illars of th ^axc^. An innOTatiou upon the Masonic landmarks is like removing one of the emblems from the Pillars at the entrance of the Temple. It is Masonic sacrilege. Every instructed brother will set himself reso- lutely against such an act, remembering the declaration in the ancient books of our Order : " It is not in the power of any man or body of men to make innovations in the body of Masonry." In this lie the STEEXGTH and the establishment of the Order. The Old is better : is it not the plan By which the wise, in by-gone days, contrived To bind in willing fetters man to man, And strangers in a sacred nearness lived ? Is there in modem wisdom aught like that Which, midst the blood and carnage of the plain, Can calm man's fury, mitigate his hate, And join disrupted friends in love again ? No ! for three thousand years the smiles of heaven, Smiles on whose sunbeams comes immeasured joy. To this thrice-honored Cexeext have been given, TliM Bond, this Covenant, this sacred Tib : It comes to us fiill laden : from the Tomb A countless host conspire to name its worth, Who sweetly sleep beneath tb' Acacia's bloom, — And there is nought like Masonry on earth. Then guard the venerable relic well ; Protect it. Masters, from th' unholy hand ; See that its emblems the same lessons tell Sublime through every age and every land ; 4S CHERISHING THE PLEDGE. 49 Be not a line erased ; the pen that drew These matchless tracings was the Pen Divine; — Infinite Wisdom best for mortals knew — God will preserve intact the Gband Design. C^irisl^mg i\i& ^lutrg^. During the Civil War, the question. How far the Masonic obliga- tions extend to those in arms against their country, has perplexed many. The following Ode is proposed as the ancient and sure solution of the difficulty. The Ancient Chakges, it will be found, leave no room for doubt upon the subject. It would be criminal here to omit to state the fact that through all the strife which has deluged the land in blood, while other bonds and covenants have been nullified, the Bond of Fkeemasonkt has remained intact ! Dear Friends of the Square let us cherish our faith, Though broken and torn every other ! Remembeb the vow ; — we swore unto death We would chng, hand cmd hea/rt, to a Brother ! Then raise up to God the left hand ! With mine join the other ! Though war blow the blast, and with death strew the land, We bweak to be tbub to each Beothee ! The East lends his light, though the world is at war ; The SoDTH shines in glory and beauty ; The West gently smiles o'er fields drenched in gore — They teach to each Mason his duty ! 50 LET YOUR LIGHT SHINK. The Badge of the Craft is unsullied as yet — From war's dust and blood let us fold it ! The Page of our History is brilliant with light ;-< Let's swear thus in honor to hold it ! Great God ! from thy Throne view the nation at strife S Thy Gavel must heal this disorder ! Send Peace o'er the land ! give Refuge and Life ! Be Thou Lokd our Saviour and Warder ! Then raise up to God the left hand ! With mine join the other ! Though war blow the blast, and with death strew the land, We sweab to be tkue to each Brother ! ^£ii four f tg^t S^m. " Let your light shine," the Master said,- " To bless benighted man ! The light and truth my Spirit shed Are yours to shed again." We come, oh Lord, with willing mind, That knowledge to display ; Enlighten us, by nature bUnd, And glad we will obey. §rfltl^£rlg '§abt. By one God created, by one Satioub saved, By one Spirit lighted, by one mabk engraved, We're taught in the wisdom our spirits approve, To cherish the spirit of Brotherly love. Love, love, Brotherly love — This world has no spirit like Brotherly love. In the land a^ the stranger we Masons abide. In forest, in quarry, on Lebanon's side ; Ton temple we're building, its plan's from above, And we labor supported by Brotherly love. Though the service be hard, and the wages be scant, If the Master accept it, our hearts are content : The prize that we toil for, we'll have it above. When the Temple's completed, in Brotherly love. Yes, yes, though the week may be long, it will end, — Though the temple be lofty, the keystone will stand : And the Sabbath, blest day, every thought will remove, Save the mem'ry fraternal of Brotherly love. By one God created, — come, brothers, 'tis day ! By one Spirit lighted — come, brothers, away ! With Beauty, and Wisdom, and Strength to approve, Let's toil while there's labor in Brotherly love. 51 '^t jri« flf Jfritntrsl^ip^. ITothing in the Masonic institution is more practical or more grate- ful to the sensibilities of the traveling-brother than to find, as he wiU do in every lodge in this country an officer whose constitutional duty it is " to welcome and accommodate visiting brethren.'' This makes the circle of the Order complete, for every well-informed brother has a claim and a right to the hospitalities of lodges wherever he may travel or work. The following lines represent the sentiments of grati- tude which such an one may be supposed to feel upon the reception of that broad and unreserved welcome peculiar to the Masonic system. Men of the bright inheritance, oh true and loving band, Who, linked in chains of Masonry, around this altar stand. Bright let the fire of Fkiendship bum and warmly let it glow, For a stranger from a distant land would join your circle now. The Acacia blooms in every clime, the Brokeit Shaft doth rear Its moumftil form in mystic guise, and meets us everywhere ; The Gavel rings o'er land and sea, yon Emblem speaks the same. About the globe, as here it speaks, the Univbksal Name. And why ? because One God we have in whom alone we trust ; He made us all, Our Father made us all of kindred dust ; The same green Mother Earth, the broad, the generous he gave. That feeds us while we live and gives us when we die, a grave. 52 WORDS OP PEACE AND LOVE. 53 TVe build a common Temple too, the lofty and the low, We bring the same heart-offerings and in conmion homage bow ; Our TRAcmo-BoASD the same designs in every clime has given, And, serving the same Master, we expect the same bright Heaven. Then let the stranger have a place within your mystic band, Where eye responsive answers eye, and hand imites with hand ; He knows your Wobd, he knows your Sign, he asks no better grace Than with you here to sit awhile and greet you face to face. Peace in the lodges where you work be heaven's boon to-day ; Peace, Peace; — it is the yearning prayer the stranger's heart would pray ; And could they hear it from the land and from the rolling sea, From every Mason's lips would come the cry. So mote it be ! Worirs 0f '§ma aitir Wahi. Now, while the Thunder-peal of battle is heard, Earth with the trampling of legions is stirred, Turn from the Battle, Brothers, take from above. Words of Peace and Love ! Hearts of consolation, bide ye the vow ! Hands, never weary in charity now ! Tongues rich in sympathy, oh take from above Words of Peace and Love. 54 THE pilgrim's home. Blood like a river flowing, smokes o'er the plain ; Tears, bitter weeping— oh, who can refirain ! Stay, stay the slaughter. Brothers, stay this distress, Speak the Woeds of Peace ! Thus speaks the Tkowel, Brothers, thus speaks the Line, Thus speaks the Compass and Symbol Drvnra; ; Each bears its message on the white wings of Peace, Bids all waixings cease. ^h ^pilgrim's '^ome. In the " Life in the Triangle," is described a Masoxic Bueial at NIGHT, of which this Ode forms a part. Four members of the frater- nity, who resided in an intensely antimasonic commmiity, had discov- ered the body of a man upon whose garments was seen the mystic em- blem of the Order. This they had carefhlly enshrouded and provided with a coffin. At night, with every precaution against interruption, they took it to the village graveyard and interred it, with the songs and the signs, and the circuits prescribed by the time-honored usage. Bear him home, his bed is made In the stillness, in the shade ; Day has parted, night has come, Bear the Brother to his home — Bear hiTn home. THE pilgrim's HOME. 55 Bear him home, no more to roam, Bear the tired Pilgrim home ; Forward ! all his toils are o'er — Home where journeying is no more — Bear him home. Lay him down ; his bed is here ; See the dead are resting near ! Brothers they their Brothers own, Lay the wanderer gently down — Lay him down. Lay him down ; let nature spread Starry curtains o'er the dead ; Lay him down ; let angel eyes View him kindly from the skies — Lay him down. Ah, not yet for us the bed, Where the faithftd Pilgrim's lain ! Pilgrims weep, again to go Through life's weariness and woe — Ah, not yet ! Soon 'twill come, if faithful here, Soon the end of all our care ; Strangers here, we seek a Home, Fbibnds and Savioub in the tomb — Soon 'twiU come. 56 HTMN FOR CONSECRATION. Let ns go, and on our way Faithful journey, faithful pray ; Through the sunshine, through the snow. Boldly, Brother Pilgrims, go — Let us go. Pmnn for Conswratbn. Lo, God is here, oiu" prayers prevail ! Li deeper reTerence adore ; Ask freely now ! he will not fail His largest, richest gifts to pour. Ask by these Emblems old and true ; Ask by the memories of the past ; Ask by His ow>- Great Name, for lo. His eyery promise there is cast ! Ask Wisdom ! 'tis the chiefest thing: Ask Strength, such strength as Gtod may yield ; Ask Beauty from his Throne to spring And grace the Temple we shall build. Lord God most high, out Lodge we veil ! 'Tis CONSECRATE with ancient care ; Oh let THY Spirit ever dweD, And guide the loving Builders here 1 Cl^« ^^liti-apromtr '§tat\iitB. And he said unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robea, and whence came they ? And I said unto him, Sir, thou know- est. And he said unto me. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple ; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living foimtains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. — Rev. vii., 13-lY. Come cease from your labors, Te white-aproned neighbors, And answer my words — Tell us wTio are ye f " We are friends of humanity. Hating profanity, Spuming all vanity, Childben of peace — Men who can feel All our own need of kindness, And bless the Great God, Who hath lightened our blindness." 58 THE -WHITE- A PRO X ED BROTHERS. Tell ns, vhat do ye ? " By precept, example, We're building a temple, Fair, lofty and ample For Hr\f whom we serve — FoUowing the plans That our ilASTEB doth give ns, And amply repaid "WTien TTia servants receive ns." And wTtat do you trarl- ttiih ? " The Gage and the Gavel, The Plnmb, Square and Level, And then as we travel. The Trowel we hold — SkiHthlly these, As first we"re inducted — Obediently these, In the way we're instructed." Your timbers, what are they ? '• The blocks that we qnany, And timbers so heavy. Our hands shape and carry, Those ashlars are mes ; Rough ashlais they are — But hewed, marked and garnished. By precepts divine. Our task will be finished." HOURS OF PRAISE. 59 Your resting, when is it ? ' We look for no leisure, We sigh for no pleasure, We covet no treasure, Till Sattiedat night — Wages and joys. And a rest without breaking, Wait for us then, In the home that we're seeking." ^onxB of IPraist. Mom, the mom, sweet mom is springing ; In the East his sign appears ; Dews, and songs, and fragrance flinging Down the new robe nature wears. Forth from slumber, forth and meet him I Who too dead to love and light ? Forth, and as you stand to greet him. Praise to Him who giveth night. Noon, the noon, high noon is glowing ; In the South rich glories bum ; Beams intense from Heaven are flowing ; Mortal eye must droop and turn. 60 HOURS OF PRAISE. Forth and meet him ! while the chorus Of the groves is nowhere heard, Kneel to Him who bendeth o'er us — Praise with heart and willing word. Eve, the eve, still eve is weeping ; In the "West she dies away ; Every winged one is sleeping — They've no life but open day. Forth and meet her ! lo, she lends us Thrice ten thousand brilliants high ! Glory to His name who sends us Such night-jewels from the sky. Death, pale death, to all is certain ; From the grave his voice comes up — " Fearless raise my gloomy curtain — Find within, eternal hope " : Forth and meet Him, ye whose duty To the Lord op Life is given : He will clothe death's garb with beauty- He will give a path to Heaven. t igirtg f op£. Algernon Sydney was executed on the scaffold, Dec. 7, 1683. Having ended his devotions, he placed his head, unassisted, on the block. Being asked by the headsman, according to custom, " Sir, will you rise again ?" he answered promptly and unfalteringly, " Not tUl the GENERAL Resurrection ! Strike on !" On the verge of Eternity, calmly surveying The dark-rolling veaters that threatened beneath, The MAKTTR OP LiBBKTY ended his praying. And patiently vraited the signal of death ; His head on the block, but his spirit away, In the land where the tyrant shall forfeit his sway. The words of his lips, how undaunted and cheering ! They spoke of a victory grand and complete ; They told that this mortal, whom despots were fearing, Though conquered by wrong, was the conquerer yet — " The grave cannot hold me ! the dust shall be won From the worm and the darkness of nature ! btkike on I" How mighty that hope, when the spirit departing. Must sunder the ties that have bound it so long. To feel that this tenement we are deserting, Shall rise to new glories thro' Jesus the Steong I The grave cannot hold vs ! the flesh shall be won Prom the worm and the darkness of nature 1 steike ON 1 62 o N . All, yes ! and each flaw that the eye has detected, While occupied here shall be covered above ; Renewed by the same glorious hand that erected, These Temples shall aU be made perfect in love ; The grave shall not hold us — ^this flesh shall be won Prom the worm and the darkness of nature ! btbike on 1 Then cheer Brothers, cheer ! for why should death alarm us 1 A brief separation the monster will bring ; His pangs will afibrd, though a moment they harm us, A glorious reunion thro' Jesus the King ! The grave shall not hold us — this flesh shall be won From the worm and the darkness of nature ! stbiee on ! In the eleventh chapter of Nehemlah, the expression " Ono, the valley of Craftsmen " occurs, which forms the subject of the following lines: Where is the true heart's Mother-Lodge ? Is't where, perchance he earliest heard The frightful voice, from rocky ledge, That told a horrid deed of blood ? Is't where his vision earliest saw. And hands enclasped that Golden Thing, The symbol-crowned, the wondrous Law, Noblest creation of our King ? PIiEDGE TO A DYING BROTHER. 63 No : though in fancy he may turn, In pleasing reminiscence back, As happiest hearts at times, will yearn, To tread again youth's flowery track, — The true heart's Mother-Lodge is found "Where truest, fondest hearts conspire To draw love's deathless chain around, And kindle up love's deathless fire. Methinks that here, dear Friends, must be, Ono, the Craftsmen's happy Vale, And you, true Laborer, brave and free The Master in the peaceful dale ! So let me fancy and when bowed In daily adorations due, I will entreat the Masons' God To bless the Craftsmen here, and you I We'll lay thee down when thou shalt sleep. All tenderly and brotherly ; And woman's eyes with ours shall weep The .precious drops of sympathy : "We'll spread above thee cedar boughs "WTiose emerald hue and rich perfume Shall make thee deem thy resting-place A bahny bed and not a tomb. 64 PLEDGE TO A DYING BROTHER. That teeming breast which has supplied Thy wants from earliest infancy, Shall open fondly and supply Unbroken rest and sleep to thee : Each spring the flower roots shall send up Their painted emblems toward the sky, To bid thee wait, within thy couch, A little longer patiently. We'll not forget thee, we who stay To work a little longer here ; Thy name, thy faith, thy love shall lie On memory's page all bright and clear ; And when o'erwearied by the toil Of life, our heavy limbs shall be, We'U come and one by one lie down Upon dear mother-earth with thee. And there we'll slumber by thy side ; There, reunited 'neath the sod We'll wait, nor doubt ia His good time To feel the raising-hand of God ! To be translated from the earth, This land of sorrow and complaints, To the ALL-PERFECT LODGE ABOVE Whose Master is the King of Saints. % "goak ia % #rxmt. Tes, in yon world of perfect light, The wearied soul at last may rest ; No higher, farther, wings its flight, Brought to the glories of the East. There is the long-sought boon divine, And worthy of the painful quest ; When evening shades of life decline, The day is dawning in the East. i Who feels this truth in fervent heart, May know his last hoin« are his best ; How joyful from the West to part When calls the Master from the East. Join hearts and hands in union dear — Jesus has sanctified the test ; Life's chain is only broken here To join forever in the East. Mourners, your tears with gladness blend ! Joy, Brothers, joy, our faith's confessed ! The grave will yield our parted friend, When we with him a/pproach the East. ^vaijcr— @ral or Smd. There is a prayer unsaid — No lips its accents move ; 'Tis uttered by the pleading eye, And registered above. Each MYSTIC SIGN is prayer, By hand of Mason given ; Each gesture pleads or imprecates And is observed in heaven. The deeds that mercy prompts, Are prayers in sweet disguise ; Though unobserved by any here, They're witnessed in the skies. Then at the altar kneel — In silence make thy prayer ; And He whose very name is Love The plea will surely hear. The darkest road is light — "We shun the dangerous snare, When heavenly hand conducts the road, Kesponsive to our prayer, 66 ®^« Song af St. So\in, How blest is the home Where the Brotherhood come I How charming the time and occasion I The love that was bom, In the heart of Saint John, Now warms up the heart of each Mason. It is you. Sir, and you, Friendly Brothers and true, No matter what may be your station — On the level our way, We abb equal to-dat, For I, Sirs, vrith you, am a Mason I This love that was bom. In the heart of St. John, Is the bond of a charming connexion ; Through good, and through ill. It abides with us still. And makes us thcmJs God we're a Mason. When in the Lodge met. And the officers set, 'Tis of duty and pleasure the season, Ah 1 gladly is given To the Father m Hbatbn, The praises devout of each Mason. 67 THB SONG OF ST. JOHN. When labor is done, And the Brotherhood gone, Do you think that our secrets we Mazon ? No ! no, 'tis the joy Of our mystic employ, That Tve tell them to none but a Mason. For 'tis this we do learn. From our patron St. John, The pride of this charming occasion, That the tongue that conceals. And never reveals. Is THE VERT BEST THIKG FOR A JIaSON I Then Lady and Sir, While yre stoutly aver. In our Secrets we'U never work treason, The rules we profess. Are the same that did grace Our patron St. John, the FRBBatisoN. And while to his name, We may boldly lay claim. To hia graces we'll cling till death's season, And then to the bourne. Where his spirit has gone, We'll hie us like every good Mason. ^nhvdt to Mas^ingion. Ho ! Brothers of the mystic Tlb, Come round me if you please ! Lay down the gavel and the squap.e, And let the thowel cease ; The work may stop a little while— The Master will not blame, While I ftom memory sing of one Eight worthy of the name, — A true old-time Freemason Whose name was Washington 1 Of every superfluity He did his mind divest ; He would not set a timber up Unless it was the best : He plumbed, and squared, and leveled well TTifl BLOCKS, and set them true ; Then turned his apron Master-wise And spread the mortar due — This true old-time Freemason Whose name was Washington ! When bloody war at foreign hands, His country threatened sore. He thought it ric/ht to take the sword, And guard his native shore ; 70 THE BROKEN COLUMN. He s'x)od wliere bravest hearts are found- He struck for liberty ; But ■when the conquered foemen sued, A man of mercy he — This true old-time Freemason, The glorious Washington. Upon his Apron was no stain ; His work had no defect ; The OvEKSEEK accepted all, There was nothing to reject. He lived in peace with God and man ; He died in glorious hope. That Chkist, the Lion, Jtjdah's pride, TVould raise his body up — This true old-time Freemason, Ottr Brother Washington. ^\it ^roluit (!*oI«mn. " His Work was not done, yet his Column is broken ;" Mourn ye and weep, for ye cherished his worth ; Let every tear-drop be sympathy's token, — Lost to the Brotherhood, lost to the earth. His Work had been planned by a Wisdom Sdpeknal ; Strength had been given him meet for the same ; Down ia the midst he is fallen, and vernal Leaves hang above Th'tti and whisper his fame. A mason's epitaph. 71 His Work -was to Build ; on the walls we beheld him — Swiftly and truly they rose 'neath his hand; Bnvions death with his Gavel has felled him, Plumb-line and Trowel are strewn o'er the land. His "WoKK thus unfinished to us is entrusted ; Mastbr op Masons, give strength we entreat, Bravely to work with these Implements rusted, Wisely to buUd till the Temple's complete ! His epitaph a Mason true and good, Sincere in fiiendship, ready in relief, Discreet in trusts, faithful in Brotherhood, Tender in sympathy and kind in grief. On grateful memories his name is writ ; Sis genial heart our hearts did kindle up ; We drew ovir inspiration from his light And buoyancy from his all-buoyant hope. His toils are ended ; we must labor on : 0ms Master for a little longer calls Our hands to duty at the rising sun. Our hearts to i-est when evening shadow fa'ls. 72 DEATH, THE CELESTIAL GATE. But 'twill be ended soon ; may our reward Be upon hearts like his to He secure ; Like him to enjoy the favor of the Loed, Whose grace is boundless and whose promise sure. geatfa, tbc (L'tkstial 6ate. By the pallid hue of those Whose sweet blushes mocked the rose- By the fixed, unmeaning eye, Sparkled once so cheerfully — By the cold damps on the brow- By the tongue, discordant now — By the gasp and laboring breath, W?tat ! oh tell us, what is death ! By the vacancy of heart. Where the lost one had a part — By the yearning to retrieve Treasures hidden in the grave — By the future, hopeless all, Wrapped as in a fimeral pall — By the links that rust beneath. What ! oh tell us, what is death ! DEATH, THE CELESTIAL GATE. 73 By the echoes swelled around, Sigh and moan and sorrow-sound — By the grave that, opened nigh. Cruel, yields us no reply — By the silent king, whose dart Seeks and finds the mortal part. We may know, no human hreath Can inform iis what is death ! But the grave has spoken loud ! Once was raised the pallid shroud ; When the stone was rolled away — When the earth, in frenzy's play — Shook her pillars to awake Him who suffered for our sake ; When the vaU's deep fissure showed All the mysteries of God! Tell us, then, thou grave of hope, What is He that breaks thee up ? " Mortal, from my chambers dim, Chbist arose, inquire of him !" Hark, unto the earnest cry, Notes celestial make reply 1 " Christian, unto thee 'tis given — Death's a passage unto Heatbn I" ^urns' J^anfofU. As stmg by Professor John C. Baker, the vocalist, there is a pathos in Burns' celebrated Ode that is irresistible. Never since 'neatb the daisies laid Bums joined the cold and tuneless dead, Were those sweet lines, his noblest flight, Sung as you sung them o'er last night. They bore us, fancy-ivinged, above ; They thrilled the inmost soul with love ; And tears confessed '■ The fond Adieu" As stmg so well, last night, by you. Ah what a thing is this to spread, That binds the living with the dead. And makes them one fraternal throng As you, last night, so justly sung ! How blest are we who rightly claim The Masons' heart, the Masons' name, And see "the Hieroglyphic bright" Of which you sung, so well, last night ! Then as you journey sweetly sing; Let craftsmen hear that tuneful thing; No better can the pen indite Than those sweet words you sung last night. THBCRESCENT. 75 And when your own High xil has come, And craftsmen bear you, weeping, home. May loving friends your requiem write Like those grand words you sung last night 1 Addressed to Crescent Lodge, No. 402, City of New York. Growing, Growing still iu numbers, Still in Uving stones of strength ; Some on earth, and some in Heaven, Where you may arrive at length : While the Moon its horns shall fill, " Cbescbnt" be your motto still ! Growing, Growing still in wisdom. Light stiU breaking day by day. Sacred light from yonder volume Leadiug to the perfect way 1 While the Moon its horns shall fill, " Crescent" be your motto still ! Growing, Growing still in honor, Still in that good men pursue ; Honest reputation gilding Every gracious deed you do ; While the Moon its horns shall fill, " Crescent " be your motto stUl ! 76 DITTIES OF THE CRAFT. G-KowiNG, Geowing Still in goodness, Drawing daily still toward Heaven ; All the emblems glowing 'round you For that yery purpose given — While the Moon its boms shall fill, " Cbesceint " be your motto still ! Gkowing, Growing : — Men of '' Crescent," May your growing never cease. While there is a vice to chasten, Or a sorrowing heart to bless ! 'Till your fulhiess you shall see Dawning on Eternity ! potws of tb Craft. To afford succor to the distressed, to divide our bread with the in- dustrious poor, and put the misguided traveler in the way, are duties of the craft, suitable to its dignity, and expressive of its usefulness. Come and let us seek the straying, Lead him to the Shephekd back ; Come, the travelers feet betraying. Guide him from the dangerous track ; Come, a solemn voice reminds us — Come, a mystic fetter binds us — Masons, here your duties lie. Hark the poor and needy cry ! VERDANT, FRAGRANT, ENDURING. 77 Come and help the -worthy poor Starving for the needed bread ; From your well-replenished store Let the fellow-man be fed ! Boimties God to you supplieth To the poor he oft denieth. Come where sorrow has its dwelUng, Comfort bring to souls distressed ; To the friendless mourner telling, Of the Rock that offers rest ; What would life be but for heaven ? Come, to us the Wobd is given. Band of Brothers, every nation Hails your bright and orient light ! Fervent, zealous, free, your station Calls for deeds of noblest might I Seek — the world is full of sorrow — Act — your life will end to-morrow. ^ixhrnd, ^xuQmni, ^tvamixiQ, Gkeen, but far greener is the Faith That gives us victory over death. Fbagbant, more fragrant far the Hope That buoys our dying spirits up. Enduring, but the CHARrry That Masons teach will never die. Far away in the West, where the savage is straying, His war path all gory, his visage begrimed, Where man hates his fellow, betrayed and betraying, And nature alone breathes a spirit sublimed — There's a Foitntaix whose flow sweet as nectar inviteth, Embosomed in hills such as Eden adorn : — Each sip of its waters to Friendship inciteth And Peace is the song that its song-birds return. There met, drops the Savage his hatchet and arrow, There met, breast to breast, joins in fondest embrace : From the song-birds the foemen sweet carolings borrow, And war paint the waters wash out from each face : The hills smile around — 'tis the approval of Heaven — Their light catches, glances in every eve, And speaks of a host of foul insults forgiven. And pledges a Covenant that never can die. TnTE Lodge is a Peace-foimt ! come, Brothers, and taste it ! O'erflowing with sweetness, to you it is given ! A Rock its ForxcAxiox — what ages have placed it ! Its CovERnNG. the starry-decked arches of Heaven. Its L.A.W, 'tis inscribed in yon holiest Volume — Its Chain, every link is the soul of a Man ! Behold on the right hand and left hand its Coltjmn 1 Behold in the East is its marvelous Plan ! 7S #ir£ for a Minht ^tBixbd. Friends eyer dear, begin the opening lay; Chant ye of joys that none but Masons know ; Heart answering heart, love's secret power display, Gain from our rites a blessing e'er we go. Love reigneth here — Love reigneth here ; Hate has the rule without, But love reigneth here. Bleak blows the wind : the sky with angry storms, Glares on the traveler as he flits along; Sere genial Are, the fire of Friendship warms, Here gleams the eye, here tunes the jocund song : Love reigneth here : Love reigneth here ; Bleak storms may blow vrithout, But Love reigneth here. Sadness and care — our life is fuU of these; "Tis but a strife, a turmoil at the best ; Sere all is calm ; our walls we build in peace ; Sere one short hour the weary heart may rest. Love reigneth here — ^Love reigneth here ; Sadness and care without, But love reigneth here. $r^« ^uarro of Kiit, Darkly hid beneath the quarry, Masons, many a true block lies ; Hands must shape and hands must cany, Ere the stone the Master prize. Seek for it — measure it — Fashion it — polish it ! Then the Oversees will prize. What though shapeless, rough and heavy, Think ye God his work will lose ? Raise the block with strength he gave ye ; Fit it for the Master's use. Seek for it — measure it — Fashion it — polish it ! Then the Oversees will use. 'Twas for this our Fathers banded — Through life's quarries they did roam. Faithful-hearted, skUlfol-handed, Bearing many a true block home. Noticing — measuring — Fashioning — polishing — For their glorious Temple-home. t Cibar ^UL In the lawn that graces an aged Mason's residence, stands a Cedar Tree, planted in 1836, "for masonic purposes." Still the -withered hand that placed it there to famish sprigs of evergreen for burial use is strong enough to do the Mastek's "Work at each Lodge meeting, and still at an age passing the Psalmist's utmost computation, he who planted it waits patiently for the day when its limbs shall be bared of their foliage to bestrew his coffin. Droops thy bough, oh Cedar Tree, Like yon dear, yon aged form — Droops thy bough in sympathy, For the wreck of life's sad storm ! Sad, indeed, his weary age — Lonely, now, his princely home — And the thoughts his soul engage, Are of winter and the tomb ! 'Twas for this, oh Cedar Tree, Verdant midst the wintry strife, — 'Twas for this he planted thee Type of an immortal life — That when round his grave in tears. Brothers in their Art combine. From the store thy foliage bears, Each may cast a portion in ! 81 82 A LODGE VALEDICTORY. Lo ! he comes, oh Cedar Tree, Slowly o'er the frosted plain ; Pauses here the signs to see, Graven with a mystic pen ! How does each some hope express 1 Lighter gleams the wintry sky, Lighter on his furrowed face Smiling at the mystery ! Soon to re»t, oh Cedar Tree, Soon the veteran shall be borne, There to sleep and patiently "Wait the resurrection-mom; Thou shall perish from the earth ; He in sacred youth revive, Glorious in a better birth — Truths like these the emblems give. ^ KolUQt l);i(fbirtorij. Good-night ! the spirits of the blest and good. From these dear walls go with you and abide ; In hours of sorrow, hours of solitude, Or when the hosts of melancholy brood, And cloud your mind, may angel-spirits glide From the White Theose and give you great delight : Dear friends, good-night ! HARD SERVICE, GOOD WAGES. 83 Good-niglit 1 good-night ! and joy be with you all ; May sickness never blight, nor poverty ; May slanderous breath your spirits ne'er appall ; May no untoward accident befall. But all things prosperous and happy be ; May morning suns rise on you fresh and bright : Dear friends, good-night I Crood-night ! and when the shadows of the grave Close in around you, — when the laboring breath Draws heavily, and unto Him who gave, Tou yield the spirit, be He strong to save, Who is our Guide and Savioub unto death 1 Then may dear friends and heavenly hopes unite To say, good-night ! partr Sfrhki, #oo!& Bow the back, ye Brothers, dear ! — Pinch the flesh, the work's severe ! Come, while every workman sleeps. View the City ! heaps on heaps ! See the Temple desolate ! Lo ! the burnt and shattered Gate I To repair it is your wish ? — Bow the Back ! and Pinch the Flesh I 84 HARD SERVICE, GOOD WAGES. Bow the Back ! — ^"tis hopeftil toil ; Tours the Com and "Wine and Oil, Emblems of reward, shall be, Plenty, Peace, and Unity ! Pinch the Flesh ! — ^not long yon wait ! — Standing in the Golden Gate, Lo ! your Lord ! and in his hand Wages rich at yonr command ! Cheer to those who, long and late, Meet and toil at Sions Gate ! Cheer and Courage 1 — See ! on high Beams the bright Ali-seeisg Ete ! See 1 the work goes bravely on ; — "Wall and Gate and Tower are won ! Grasp the Trowel ! — Wield the Sword !— Cheer ! — ^And trust in Sion's Lord ! By the Hieroglyphics ten — Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty's plan ; — By the mystic Features seven — Surely by the 5L\ster given : By the Covenant-woven faith, Strong in life, and strong in death ; — Every hope of foeman crush ! Bow the Back ! and Pinch the Flesh I jfaii^ of t^t #Iirm Citui. Give me the Faith my fathers had, When home-worn ties they cast, In stem contempt forever back. Like chaff upon the blast. These prayers, lip-measured, leave me chill, As icy foimt sends icy rill ; No passion bidding nature start, ITo fire struck out to warm the heart ; There's nothing here to make me glad — Oive me the Faith my fathers had. A patriot now is bought and sold, For price — but render me The hopes that braced the hearts of old, My fathers' Libektt. "What's fine-drawn speech and wordy war A candle-ray to freedom's star 1 The hand to hilt, the sword abroad. The flag to heaven, the heart to God, These are the tokens I would see — Give me my fathers' Liberty. Give me my fathers' walk below : No artful mind was theirs. To compass kindred hearts about. With treachery and snares ; 86 FAITH OF THE OLDEX TIME. No nets of artifice they spread To lure the innocent to tread ; Life's blessings how they freely shared ! Life's fear they boldly met and dared ; A blameless life, a death sublime, These were the things of Olden Time. Give me the friendships that entwined. The upright trunks of yore ; The tendrils that so sweetly vined A beauty and a power. My heart is sad to think this earth. With all its joy, with all its mirth. Has lost the chain our fathers wove. The chain of holy, holy love, — Has lost the path our fathers trod. The path that led them up to God. Oh then bring back the palmy days, Of innocence and truth, When honesty was in its prime, And selfishness in youth. When man allowed to man his place, When probity unbared its face, When justice poised an equal scale, And faith sang through the dying wail j Away an age of care and crime. Give me the days of Olden Time ! C^J Slfsurr^dion. The Craft in days gone by, Drew from their Mystery, The mightiest truths God ever gave to men : They whispered in the ear, Bowed down with solemn fear, " The dead, the buried dead shall live again 1" Oh wondrous, wondrous word ! No other Rites afford This precious heritage, this matchless truth 1 " Though gone from weeping eyes. Though in the dust he lies, Our Friend, our Brother, shall renew his youth !" And we, who yet remain, Shall meet our dead again ; Shall give the hand that thrilled within our grasp The token of our faith. Unchanged by time and death ; — And breast to breast his faithful form shall clasp I But who, oh Gracious God ! The power shall afford ? Who with Omnipotence shall break the tomb ? What morning Star shall rise To chase from sealed eyes The long-oppressing darkness and the gloom ? 88 CONSECRATION OF A CEMETERY. Lo, at the Mystic shrine The answer all Divine ! Lo where the Tracing-Board doth plainly tell : " Over the horrid tomb, The bondage and the gloom, The Lion op the Tribe op Judah shall prevail I" Then hopefully we bend Above our sleeping friend, And hopeful cast the green sprigs o'er his head ; 'Tis but a fleeting hour — The Omnipotent hath Power, And he will raise our Brother from the dead I Consirraiioit oi a €tmthx^. In each cold bed a mortal sleeps — The Silent Lodge is here ! Pale death an awful vigil keeps. Through all the changing year. What tears have wet these grassy mounds I Wliat sighs these winds have heard ! Oh God, have not the piteous soimds Thy pitying bosom stirred 1 CONSECRATION OF A CEMBTEKY. 89 Shall man thus die and waste away And no fond hope be left 1 Is there no sweet confiding ray For bosoms all bereft ! From each cold bed a form shall rise When the great hour shall come ; The trump shall shake the upper skies, And wake the lower tomb. No weepiQg then, no tear nor groan. For these around us spread ; A shout shall reach the very Throne From the long-sUent dead. Then hush our hearts, be dry each tear. Wake, oh desponding faith ! And when our Saviotjb shall appear. We too shall conquer death ! On these West Grawi let sunbeams pour Their balmiest influence ; On them, let each reyiving shower, Its gracious pearls dispense. 0'«r th^se blest Ormes eaoh gentle breeze Its heavenly whispers breathe ; 0'«r them, the foliage of the trees A crown of verdure wreathe. 90 SOMOTEITBE. Bound these hlest Oranes at dead of night, May angel-bands combine, And from their Mansions ever bright, Bring something all Divine. From tJiese lleat Graves may hope revive ; May Judah's Lion tell That we shall meet these dead alive, For oh, we loved them well. Then come sad hour, we lay us down And calmly wait his word : Blest are the dead, our spirits own Who knew and served the Lokd. So UoliJ it ^i. So MOTE IT BE with US when life shall end. And from the East, the Lord op Light shall bend, And we, our six days' labor fully done, Shall claim our wages at the Master's throne. So MOTE IT BE with US : that when the Square, That perfect implement, with heavenly care, Shall be applied to every block we bring. No fault shall see our Mastes and our Ketg. A HE BREW C HAN T. 91 So MOTE IT BE WITH US : that though our days Haye yielded little to the Master's praise, The little we have builded may be proved To have the marks our first Grand Master loved ! So MOTE IT BE WITH US : we are but weak ; Our days are few ; our trials who can speak 1 But sweet is our communion while we live, And rich rewards the Master deigns to give. Let's toil then, cheerfully, let's die in hope ; The Wall in wondrous grandeur riseth up ; They who come after shall the work complete, And they and we receive the wages meet. % P^bMfo €\innt Lonely is Sion, cheerless and still, Shekinah has left thee, thou desolate Hill : Winds sweep around thee, familiar their tone, But trumpet, timbrel, song are gone. Joyous was Sion on that glorious day, When Israel beheld all thy Temple's display ; Heaven sent a token approvingly down. But temple, altar, cloud are gone. 92 GO ON THY BRIGHT CAREER. Foemen of Sion uplifted the spear, The brand to thy Temple, the chains to each frere ; Pilgrims and strangers, thy children yet mourn. But foemen, fetter, brand are gone. Spirit of Sion, oh hasten the day, When Israel shall gather in matchless array I Lord ! build thine altars, thy people return, For temple, altar, cloud are gone. 60 on ihv |3rtg^ €nxm. Go on thy bright career, brave, faithful heart. Prayers of the faithful every step attending ; Go spread the triumphs of the Mystic Art, Wherever knee to Deity is bending ; Haise up the landmarks, long in rubbish hidden 1 Rear high the Altar on Moriah's brow ; Denounce all teachings by oiir rites forbidden. And Light, more Light, on yearning hearts bestow. Crush all things that obstruct the cause of truth ; How gi-and, how noble is the sacrifice ! How worthy of the brightest dreams of youth. To build a House like that within the skies ! Oh when we lay thee, moumed-for, 'neath the sod, And cast the green and fragrant bough of faith. How cheerful can we give thee to thy God Whose works defy the utmost power of death I t if«^masflits' lixrm^. Where hearts are warm with, kindred fire, And love beams free from answering eyes, Bright spirits hover always there, And tJiafs the home the Masons prize. The Masons' Home ! the peaceM home I The home of love and light and joy ! How gladly does the Mason come To share his tender, sweet employ ! All rom^d the world, by land, by sea. Where summers bum or winters chill, The exiled Mason turns to thee. And yearns to share the joys we feel. The Masons' Home ! the happy home ! The home of light and love and joy t There's not an hour but I would come And share this tender, sweet employ ! A weary task, a dreary round. Is all benighted man may know, But Jiere a brighter scene is found, The brightest scene that's found below. The Masons' Home 1 the blissful home Glad center of unmingled joy 1 Long as I live I'll gladly come And share this tender, sweet employ I 94 THE DYING REQUEST. And -n-hen the hour of death shall come, And darkness seal my closing eye, May HAiros traternal bear me home. The home where weary Masons lie ! The Masons' Home 1 the heavenly home 1 To faithfixl hearts eternal joy ! How blest to find beyond the tomb The end of all our sweet employ ! (Tk ^giirg |Uqi«st. The last request of General Morgan Lewis, Grand Master of Masons in Is'ew York, is embodied in these liaes: The veteran sinks to rest ; — '' Lay it upon my breast, And let it crumble with my heart to dust — Its leaves a lesson tell ; — Their verdure teacheth well The everlasting greenness of my trust. " Through three score years and ten, "n'ith failing, dying men, Tve wept the uncertainties of life and time ! The s^'mbols, loved of yore. Have changed, have lost their power, All save tJih emblem of a faith sublime. THE DYING BEQUEST. 95 " Things are not as they were ; — The Level and the Square, Those time-worn implements of love in truth, — The incense flowing o'er — The Lamb-skin chastely pure, Bear not the interpretation as in youth. " Their moral lore they lose ; They mind me but of those Now in death's chambers who their teachings knew ; I see them — they but breathe The chamel airs of death — I cannot bear their saddening forms to view. " But this, O symbol bright ! Surviving age's blight, This speaks in honey-tones, unchanged, unchanged ! In it I read my youth. In it my manhood's truth. In it bright forms of glory long estranged. " Green leaves of summer skies. Blest type of Paradise ! Tokens that there's a world I soon shall see. Of these take good supply ; And, Brothers, when I die. Lay them upon my breast to die with me !" 96 THE ALL-SEEING BYE. 'Twas done. They're crumbled now — He lies in ashes too ; Yet was that confidence inspired in vain ? Ah no, his noble heart, When death's dark shades depart With them in glory shall spring forth again. \t ^Il-Smrtg (^g^. There is an eye through blackest night A vigil ever keeps ; A vision of unerring Ught, O'er lowly vale, o'er giddy height, The Eye that never sleeps. Midst poverty and sickness lain. The outcast lowly weeps ; What marks the face convulsed with pain ? What marks the softened look again ? The Eye that never sleeps. Above the far meridian sun — Below profoundest deeps, Where dewy day his course begun, Where scarlet marks his labor done— The Bye that never sleeps. APPEECIATION. 97 No limit bounds th' Eternal Sight ; No misty cloud o'ersweeps ; The depths of hell give up their light — Eternity itself is bright — The Eye that never sleeps. Then rest we calm, though roundour head The life-storm fiercely sweeps ; What fear is in the blast ! what dread In mightier Death ! An Eve's o'erhead, The Eye that never sleeps. ^prmaiion. 'Tis good to feel ourselves beloved of men ; To know that all our anxious cares and sighs Eor others' weal is given not in vain, But treasured up in grateful memories ; How light the toil for those we fondly love 1 How rich the wages grateful spirits prove ! But when those men are Bkotheks, strongly bound By bonds indissoluble, sweet and true ; — When gratitude springs out of sacred ground And prayers are mingled with the praises due ; Ah then, toil is no burden, gifts no load ! We have full recompense for what's bestowed. 93 LEANIXG TOWAKDS EACH OTHER. 'Tis thus with you, my Friend ! the voice of all Yields willing tribute to your high deserts ; But from the Ckaft there comes a stronger call — From that Great Brotherhood whose chain begirts The broad world round, the grateful wages come Whose price is Hoj>'Or and whose favor Bloom. Long may you live in Bloom and Honor, long To show the Christian in the Masox's guise ! In Strength Omkipotext may you be strong I In "Wisdom Heavenly may you be wise 1 And when to Death's dark portals you shall come May Jesus banish all the fear and gloom 1 ^"tuning (Lohoarbs (tar^ (i}i\iet. The jolts of life are many, As we dash along the track ; The ways are rough and rugged, And our bones they sorely rack. We're tossed about, We're in and out. We make a mighty pother — Far less would be Our pains, if we Would lean towards each other ! LEANING TOWARDS EACH OTHER. 99 Behold that loving couple, Just mated for their life — What care they for the joltings, That happy man and wife ! The cars may jump, Their heads may bump. And jostle one another, They only smile. And try the while To lean towards each other ! Woe to the luckless pilgrim. Who journeys all alone ! Well said the wise King Solomon — " Two better is than one !" For when the ground's Most rugged found. And great's the pain and pother, He cannot break The sorest shake By leaning towards another ! There's not one in ten thousand, Of all the cares we mourn, But what, if 'twas divided, Might easily be borne ! If we'd but learn. When fortunes turn, 100 THE HOUR OP ELEVEN. To share them with a Brother, We'd prove how good's Our Brotherhood, By leaning towards each other t Then, Masons, take my counsel — The Landmarks teach you so — Share aU the joltings fairly, As down the track you go ! Yes, give and take, Of every shake. With all the pain and pother, And thus you'll prove Tour Mason's love. By leaning towards each other ! The expiring words of a zealous Mason were " High Eleven 1" 'Twas at the hour, when laborers cast A wistful eye to heaven. And near the South the fervid sun In glory shines — eleven. A skillful man with cheerful toil His morning tasks had driven ; He smiled to see the glowing sun Proclaim the hour — eleven. THE HOUR OF K L E V K N . 101 A faithful frere, of all the band To him the meed was given ; 'Twas not in indolence he gazed, Or smiled to see — eleven. His Master's work had lost no charm That youth and zeal had given ; Unswerving faith had buoyed Viim up From srs to high eleven. But worn and spent, he needed rest, Nor could delay till even ; He felt his task was nearly done, And smiled to see — eleven. And soon the stroke high noon announced His entrance into heaven ; Prophetic proved that upward gaze. That smUe, that word — eleven. Corn. mint. m. It is the Master's province to comnnmicate light to tlie brethren.' They come from many a pleasant home — To do the Ancient AVork they come, With cheerftil hearts and light ; They leave the ■world ■without, a space, And gathering here in secret place, They spend the social night ; They earn the meed of honest toil, "Wages of CoBX, and Wixe, and Oil. Upon the sacred Altar lies, All many a precious sacrifice Made by these ■working men ! The passions curbed, the lusts restrained. And hands ■with human gore unstained, And hearts from en^vy clean ; They earn the meed of honest toil. Wages of CoKU, and WrsE, and On.. They do the deeds their Master did ; The naked clothe, the hungry feed — They ■warm the shivering poor ; They ■wipe from fevered eyes, the tear ; A Brother's joys and griefe they share. As OxE had done before : They earn the meed of honest toil. Wages of Coe::^, and Wixe, and Oil. CORN. WINE. OIL. 103 Show them how Masons Masons know, The land of strangers journeying through, Show them how Masons love ; And let admiring spirits see How reaches Masons' charity From earth to heaven above ; Give them the meed of honest toil. Wages of Cokn, and Wine, and Oil. Then will each Brother's tongue declare How bounteous his wages are, And Peace will reign within ; Tour walls with skUlfal hands will grow, And coming generations know Your Temple is Divine ; Then give the meed of honest toil, Wages of Corn, and Wine, and Oil. Yes, pay these men their just desert I Let none dissatisfied depart, But give them fall reward ; Give Light that longing eyes may see ; Give Teuth that doth from error free ; Give them to know the Lokd ! Give them the meed of honest toil. Wages of Corn, and Wine, and Oil. Cributi ia fiobcrt ^urns. The Sim is uprising on Scotia's far MUs, Day's labor is opening, the Grand Master wills, But Lodge-lights are gleaming in cheerfulness yet. Afar in the west, where we Masons are met. There's song for the tuneful, kind words for the kind, There's cheer for the social, and light for the bUnd, But when we, uprising, prepare us to go. With one thought and feeling we'U sing thy Adieu. A melting farewell to the fayored and bright, — A sorrowful thought for the sim set in night,— A round to the Bard whom misfortunes befell, — A prayer that his spirit with Masons may dweU. When freedom and harmony bless our design. We'll think of thee. Brother, who loved every line ; And when gloomy clouds shall our Temple enshroud. The voice of thy music shall come from the cloud. Across the broad ocean two hands shall unite, Columbia, — Scotia, — ^the symbol is bright ! The world one Grand Lodge, and the heaven above. Shall witness the triumph of Faith, Hope, and Love ; And thou, sweetest Bard, when our gems we enshrine, Thy jewel, the brightest, most precious, shall shine, Shall gleam from the East, to the far distant West, While morning shall caU us, or evening shall rest. ^^t Jforniiratioti Mom. When the Spibit came to Jephthah, Animating his great heart, He arose, put on his armor. Girt his loins about to part. Bowed the knee, implored a blessing, Gave an earnest of his faith. Then, divinely-strung, departed, Set for victory or death. If a rude, imcultured soldier Thus drew Wisdom from above, How should we, enlightened Laborers, Children of the Sire of Love, — How should we, who know " the Wisdom Gentle, pure and peaceable,'' Make a prayerful preparation That our work be square and full ! Lo the future ! One can read it — He its darkest chance can bend : Lo our wants, how great, how many ! He abundant means can lend : Raise your hearts then, PDgrims, boldly Build and journey in his trust : Square your deeds by precepts holy. And the end is surely blest. 105 106 THE INHERITANCE OF 'FRIENDSHIP. Vainly will the builders labor If the OvEBSBER is gone ; Vainly gate and ■wall are guarded If the All-Seeing is withdrawn ; Only is successful ending When the work's begun with care ; Lay your blocks, then, Laborers, strongly, On the Eternal Rock of Prayer. ^^t |nljtritan« of ^rifnirsJ^p-. When twenty years have circled round. The lads now standing at my knee Win cherish one poor spot of ground Sacred to memory and me. Gazing upon the humble sod, Recalling each fond, loving word, They'll keep one link in memory's chain Bright, till the hour we meet again. Such is the lesson I impart At evening's set when prayers are said : The last sweet sentiment at heart Ere little eyes are closed in bed. That when upon life's billows tossed, In worldly selfishness engrossed, A Cable-tow the thought shall prove To draw them by a Father's love. THE INHERITANCE OF FRIENDSHIP. 107 When twenty years have come and gone They who shall fondly look for you Must leave the scenes you now adorn And seek the sodded hillock too : Tears will bedew the grass beneath, Sighs will unite with nature's breath, To embalm within that hallowed bed, A father loved, a father dead. There's Brotherhood in honest sighs. There's Brotherhood in earnest tears : Our sons, made kindred by such ties, Shall interchange their hopes and fears : Yours to the West their steps will bend To honor their dear Father's fiiend : Mine to the East will make their way A pious pilgrimage to pay. Such was the dream that fired my brain Last night as mid my loved ones lying, It came again, again, again. And traced itself in lines undying. I dreamed we twain had joined the bands Who live and love in other lands. And from high seats beheld with joy The step of each dear pilgrim-boy. 108 TO MASONS EVER V WHERE. I dreamed that on some smmy plain They, o'er whose couch we've bent at night, Met, twined with eager hands the chain. The Chain of Love, the Chain of Light ; With glowing lips exchanged the Word — No fonder does our tongue aflford, — And Covenanted by that faith Their fathers pledged and kept tDl death. Then be it so, dear Friend, and while For earthly labore we are spared. Let's teach our sons to cherish well The friendship we've so freely shared. Then at life's sunset we may die And yet the power of Death defy : Then by the Monster-victor slain In our dear Children live again ! Co Hascns drbcrofol^erc. In gladsome mood again we're met — How swiftly passed the year ! Begin the feast, and, Brothers, drink To Masons everywhere ! A Mason's love is unrestrained ; Each other's woes we share ; Then lift the cup, and, Brothers, drink To Masons everywhere ! TO MASONS EVERYWHERE. 109 What would our Mystic Tie be worth — How little should we care For Masonry, did not its links Encircle CTerywhere ! With Masons' love so unrestrained, Each other's woes to share, Well may we fill the cup and drink To Masons everywhere ! Though some we loved have fallen on The weary path of care. What then ! in heaven they're yet our own I To Masons everywhere ! For Masons' love, so unrestrained. Eternity may dare ! Then, Brothers, fill, and fondly drink To Masons everywhere ! And so, when death shall claim us, too. And other forms be here. May we in memory's heart be held By Masons everywhere ! For Masons' love is imrestrained. Nor death the chain may tear ; O'eiflow the cup, and. Brothers, drink To Masons everywhere ! Lo, from the distant West, Lo, from your honored guest The voice of greeting and a word of prayer ; Ye Sons of Cheer, all hail ! This grateful tongue shall tell The tie that binds you and the joys you share 1 There is a Cord of length, There is a Chain of strength, Around you each I see the sacred coil ; How long, ah, well I know ! How strong, your deeds do show, The while you labor in the sacred toU. In amjjlest share bestowed. By Him you worship — God, The joy of Friendship well you feel and prize, 'Tis His own best design, 'Tis perfect, 'tis divine, It is the bliss diffused through upper skies. Peace be within your halls ! Tlie Cement of your walls Be Holt Love — pure, indestructible I From the o'erarching Heaven A gracious smOe be given. The favor of a Deity to tell ! 110 THE HAPPY HOUR. Ill When each shall bow in death, Joy to the parting breath 1 Rich fragrance from a thousand generous deeds 1 And where your ashes be, Sacred to memory The spot while man pure truth and honor heeds 1 And me, oh loving Friends, When life's poor story ends, Me in your inner heart of hearts enshrine I Humble, but oh sincere, — Erring and sorrowing here. Write me as one who loved each Mystic line I Builders of light, your hands ! Distant our several lands ? No ; for I see, I hear, I feel you now ! Bind once again the chain ; Again, dear Friends, again ; Hear, Gracious Lord, hear and confirm the Vow I ^\i6 Pappff Pour. Oh happy hour when Masons meet 1 Oh rarest joys that Masons greet ! Each interwoven with the other. And Brother truly joined with Brother, In intercourse that none can daunt. Linked by the ties of Covenajit. 112 THE WORLD-WIDE RECOGNITION. See, ranged about the Holy Word, The Craftsmen praise their common Lobd ! See in each eye a love well proven ! Around each heart a faith well woven 1 Feel, in each hand-grip, what a tie Is this whose scope is Masonry. Blest bond ! when broken, we would fain Unite the severed links again ; Would urge the tardy hours along. To spend the wealth of light and song, That makes the Lodge a sacred spot ; Oh, be the season ne'er forgot, That takes us from a world of care To happy scenes where Masons are I C|^£ Wioxlla-ixiiiii '§,tcoQmiion. Wherever man is tracing The weary ways of care, 'Midst wild and desert pacing, Or lands of softer air, We stirely know each othek, And with true words of cheer, Each Brother hails his Brother, And hope wings lightly there. THE WIDOW AND THE FATHERLESS. 113 Wherever tears are faUing — The soul's dark wintry rain — And human sighs are calling To human hearts in yain, We surely know each other, etc. Wherever prayer is spoken, In earnestness of Faith, We're nainded of the token That tells our Master's death. We pray, then, for each other, etc. Wherever man is lying Unknowing and unknown, There's one yet by the dying — He shall not die alone. For then we know each other, etc. ;itr0ia antr % JatJ^^rl^ss. As on my road delaying, The stream's cool waters by, My thoughts in fancy straying, I heard a plaintive cry : " There may be hope in heaven — ■ For us no hope is here ; Oh, why was joy thus given. So soon to disappear 1 " 114 THE WIDOW AND THE FATHERLESS. Around the grave was weeping A widowed, orphaned band ; Beneath their feet was sleeping The husband, father, friend ; And as their sorrows, swelling, Broke forth midst sigh and tear, Again these words were telling — •' Alas, no hope is here ! " The stream's cool waters flowing, Ko longer sung to me — The soft spring sunbeams glowing, Were cheerless all to see ; For still that widowed mother. And still those orphans dear, Bewailed my buried Brother — " Alas, no hope is here ! " My Brother ? yes, forsaken, These lor'd ones round thee mourn; Too soon from friendship taken. Dear Brother, thou art gone ! Gone from a cold world's sighing, From sorrow and from fear. But left these mourners crying — '■ Alas, no hope is here ! " THE DEATH OF THE GRAND MASTER. 115 Those tears, my heart, are holy ! Those sighs by anguish driven, This mourning group so lowly, Are messengers of Heaven ; And so will I receive them. As God shall give me cheer. Protect them and relieve them. And teach them Hope is hbke I Ceawfoed, Grand Master of Maryland, died under the affecting circumstances here described: His voice was low, his utterance choked. He seemed like one in sorrow bound, As from the Obibnt he invoked God's blessings on the Masons round. 'Tis sad to see the strong man weep — Tears are for sorrows yet untried ; But who his sympathy can keep, When age unseals emotion's tide ? Eeverently stood the Brothers round. While their Grand Master breathed farewell, And strove to catch the faintest sound Of accents known and loved so well. 116 THE DEATH OF THE GRAND MASTER. He told them of the zealous care Of their forefathers of the Art ; How TaUey-gloom and mountain-air Bore witness of the faithful heart. He conned the precepts, line by line — Oh, that the Craft may ne'er despise Precepts so precious, so divine, That shape the Mason-mysteries. He warned them of a world unkind. Harsh to the good, to evil mild. Whose surest messengers are blind. Whose purest fountains are defiled. He told them of a world to come. To which this life a portal is. Where tired laborers go home. To scenes of never-ending bliss. Then of himself he humbly spoke — So modestly ! so tenderly ! While from the saddened group there broke An answering sigh of sympathy : " Now give me rest : my years demand A holiday. Companions dear ! My days are drawing to an end, ,1 And I would for my end prepare. THE veteran's lament. 117 " Now give me rest ; but wlien you meet, Brothers, in this beloved spot, My name upon your lips repeat. And never let it be forgot ! " Now unto God, the Masons' Friend, The God our emblems brightly tell. Tour dearest interests I commend — Brothers, dear Brothers, oh, farewell ! " Down from the Orient, slowly down, Weeping, through that sad group he passed, Turned once and gazed, and then was gone — That look — ^his tenderest and his last. Mis last—ioi, ere the week had sped. That group, with son-ow unrepressed, Gathered around their honored dead — Bore their Grand Master to his rest I There's tenfold Lodges in the land Than when my days were few ; But none can number such a band, The wise, the bright, the true. As stood around me on the night, "When first I saw the Mystic Light, Full fifty years ago. 118 THE veteran's LAMENT. There's Brother love and Brother aid, Where'er the Craft is known ; But none like that whose twinings made The mighty chain that's gone — Ah, none like that which bound my soul When first my eyes beheld the goal Full fifty years ago. There's emblems green to deck the bed Of Masons where they rest. But none like those we used to spread Upon the Mason's breast, When, yielding up to death, they fell. Who'd battled with the monster well. Full fifty years ago. Oh, how my heart is kindled now, When round me meet again The shadows of the noble few, Who formed the mystic train In which my feet were proud to tread. When through admiring crowds we sped, Full fifty years ago. They're fled, that noble train, — ^they're gone,- Their last procession's o'er, — And I am left to brood alone. Ere I, too, leave the shore ; ■WASHINGTON 119 But while I have a grateful tear, I'll praise the bright ones that were here, Full fifty years ago. MasJ^iitglcn. " Glory to God, in courts of glory high ! Earth, bahny peace ! good will, good will to men I " O'er the stiU plain, beneath the Christmas sky King the glad tidings ; and again, again, " Glory to God, to God ! " the dewy plain Echoes the notes ; the midnight solitude, "Wood, mount, and waters, catch the glowing strain ! Ah, ne'er was heard such note since Satan stood. Sad hour, in Eden's groves, and worked to man no good ! Heaven's joy that night was perfect ! Christ was bom ! Immaitoel, Prince of Peace, and Son of God ! New grief to demons, wailing and forlorn, Pierced through their souls as an envenomed sword " To God, to God on high ! " — thus the accord — " On Earth good will and peace, good will and peace !" Now far ascending, singing as they soared. The angelic sisters vanish ; echoes cease. And, from their mystic trance, the Shepherds' souls release. 120 WASHINGTON. Spirits of peace, since that bright Christmas eve, Have oft descended from the ladder's top, And brought to those who suffer and believe The priceless blessings of the Christian's hope — That soon humanity will cease to grope In doubts and darkness, as in days gone by, And follow Hra, the Peaceftjl, journeying up. From Bethlehem to gory Calvary, "Who died that we might live, and lives eternally. Heaven sent a Washington ! there was much need — Ages had rolled along, and hearts had bled And liberty, down-trodden as a weed, Ko shelter found for her defenceless head : Peace lav, like Lazarus, in sepulchral bed : — God raised up Washington, and freedom smiled ! Once more to yearning hearts the angels said, " Good will to man, of grace the favored child ! " Good will to man !" that voice shall never more be fstilled. On Trestus-boabd DrrrsE the plan was traced — The Masteb ABCHxrEOT his work surveyed ; Each virtue in its proper balance placed ; Each ornament of purest metal made ; Each block in symmetry exact was laid ; And there stood Washington, the Mason-man ! Wise unto warfare's sanguinary trade. Wiser to Peace — such was the Master's plan, And Wisdom, Beauty, Strength, through all the Temple rani ■WASHINGTON. 121 Caution his cMefest care ; the outer gate Was strictly guarded ; through its portals came Nought that betrayed ; prudent, deliberate, Each messenger bore out undoubted claim To instant reverence and deathless fame. Thus, tyled with care, his sanctuary kept. Unstained its altar, xmforgot its flame. While sentinels on other watch-towers slept. And Prudemee o'er the ills of sad indifierence wept. Sober in all things — Temperance, the spring Of human strength, was paramoimt in him ; There was no vile excess or lust to bring Untimely feebleness to manly limb. Or dull his ear, or make his eye grow dim. like one of old, the Leader through the sea, S'loated no changes on life's rapid stream ; Age brought him death, but not inflrmity — Bore hence the vigorous frame, vmshaken by decay. How great his Fortitude ! protracted war Caused patriot hearts to sink dispirited ; His bleeding army cast in flight before A taunting enemy ; his hopes betrayed — How great his Fortitude I flrm, undismayed, The pillar of his suffering country stood, By night a glow, by day refreshing shade, A column' fixed, imshaken, unsubdued ! Plumbed by the Master's hand, by him pronounced Good 1 122 WASHINGTON. Excellent lie in Justice ; if to do, In all that life presents, from day to day, To others as you wovld fhey do to you, — If this be Masonry, a JIason he ! Unswerving to the right or left, his way "SVas onward, upward ; in his hand the scale Of righteousness was equipoised, to pay Homage to God — hail, Great Creator, hail ! Justice to man — for man was Brother cherished well. But not these sterner virtues only stand Aiovmd this good man's life ; true Brotherly Jj/ce, Such as the ancient brethren cherished, and Relief that does both pain and woe remove, And Truth, an attribute of God above. Clustered like dropping vines on Washington. What marvel that admiring Masons strove To catch the light from such a matchless sun, Or claim the mantle, ere the godlike chief was gone ! Henceforth the Christmas song need not be stilled ! The conqueror, ere the battle's turmoil cease. Turns from the glory of the encrimsoned field And bends in homage to the Pkesce of Peace. " Glory to God" — that anthem shall increase, •' On Earth " such lives proclaim " Good will to man ! " Henceforth, when angels sing Immajtoel's grace, We'U strike the harp, and recognize the plan ; Oh, that our earth might yield such Temple-work again.' WASHINGTON. 123 Lo the sands swiftly run ! behold, our lives Dropping, like foliage, to a solemn close I To-day the bud bright expectation gives, To-morrow blossoms to a transient rose ; Another mom, and its whole beauty goes ; Its leaves are scattered wastefuUy around. No heart remembering ; another glows Upon the stem ; another hope is crowned ; And this is human life, the life the dead have found. Count well the moments then, flU up the day I Brothers, let wisdom's hand your life-plans trace ! The Temple will be finished, though we may Not see the Stone exalted to its place : It is enough that God will see and bless : Labor while it is day ; there's work for all ; The Trestle-Boaed proclaims it, and alas ! Too soon will night spread round its hueless pall : Too soon the grave, the grave from which there's no recall. Clouds may obscure us ; slander may detract ; The foes of truth and rectitude miite ; But while vnthin our mystic sphere we act, There lives no power can hinder or affright. The Master's eye stm oversees the right ; Heaven's books record it with angelic pen ; And when death's summons calls us up the height, A ftiU reward for labor shall we gain, In God's own Temple ft'eed from sorrow, toil and pain. 124 THE THREE SALUTES. Man of a thousand virtues, Washington ! Thy model, lent from heaven, we prefer; Our deeds, upon that high design begun. Shall merit praise, tried by the Chief O'erseeb : Master of men ! hear thou the Mason's prayer ! Breathe in our spirits a true love of peace ; Teach us a brother's bonds and woes to share ; Enlarge our charity, our faith increase. And save us all in Christ, the Mason's Righteousness ! I hail you. Brother, in the place Where none but those should meet Whose types are bended knee and brow, And the uncovered feet ; I take you by the grip, expressing All that heart can feel. And I pledge myself to be to you, A Brother true as steel ! Tve watched with real joy your quest, So ardent and so rare — Your bold, unflinching gaze upon The things we most revere ; I've seen that nothing daunts you In the paths our Lights reveal ; And I pledge myself again to you, A Brother true as steel I THE MASTER OF THE UPRIGHT HEART. 125 I think there's that within you Only needs for time to show — Will kindle up a flame where Others only feel a glow ; I think the grave will claim you, As a Mason ripe and leal ; And so once more I pledge myself A Brother tbtie as steel ! German authors describe the aifecting incident given in the follow- ing lines. The opening verses allude to a journey up the Mississippi river in 1853, swollen at that time out of its banks, during which the author related the incident to his children. We joirmeyed up the Western flood, My little boys and I, And watched the drifts of ice and wood That floated swiftly by ; While banks and trees and dweUings too Appeared like islands in the view. We maxked with sympathy and grief The general distress, And fain the lads would give relief To every suffering case ; — But when a corpse came floating past They fled the spectacle aghast. 126 THE MASTER OF THE UPRIGHT HEART. Then in our little room we met Each on a willing knee And listened to the various fate Of men by land and sea ; Of shipwrecked sailors starved for food And lost ones wandering in the wood. I told them of such noble deeds Where rescue had been given, Such generous acts, that he who reads Is moved to worship heaven. But most I pleased them with the part Of Julian of "The Upright Heart." " 'Twas on a stormy April day, The floods were at their height, All Frankfort gather'd out, they say. To see a dismal sight. A broken bridge — a swollen sea — And oh, a drowning family ! " The Master of ' The Upright Heart' Was Frankfort's noblest son : On many a field of high desert His laurels had been won, Not laurels wet with human blood But those acceptable to God. THE MASTER OF THE UPRIGHT HEART. 127 " Smiles from the face of cold despair, — The widow's grateful song — The orphan's praise — the stranger's prayer — These to his crown belong ; Ah ! many such, thank God, there be In our world-wide fraternity I " Prince Julian galloped to the brink Of that tremendous flood ; The perishing about to sink Inspired his noble blood. He called aloud, he called the brave This wretched family to save I " None answered him ; again he cried : ' Oh ! have you hearts of stone. To see them perish by your side ? Look ! look ! they wave us on !' He offered gold as water free, To save the drowning family ! i " But when the boldest shrunk — deterred From such a desperate deed — He uttered not another word ; He bowed his pious head, Looked upwards — ^gave his ^oul to God — And plunged into the raging flood I 128 MASOXIC VALEDICTORY. " That day the gates of Heaven were thrown To admit a spirit freed ; That day earth lost its noblest son, And gave him to the dead ; That day enshrined the Royal Art, Her hero of ' The Upright Heart 1' "' The lads sat thoughtful on my knee, Reflecting on the tale ; They loved to talk of Masonry, And knew it3 precepts well ; "IJmow what made Itim take »uch pains; TTi£ signs tfiey made uere MasorCs signs .'" When auld acquaintance closing round, Their parting grips entwine ; "What song awakes the tender sigh, like auld lang syne ! 'Tis auld lang syne, the voice Of other days divine ! Come, Brothers, now a parting word To auld lang syne. MASONIC VALEDICTORY. 129 From many a pilgrim-pathway come, To work the grand design. We've wrought, and praised the sacred bond Of auld lang syne. Of auld lang S3me, the bond Of auld lang syne Our fathers marked the sacred way In auld lang syne. Though wintry blasts the flesh may chill, Though torrid suns may shine. Our hearts' response unchanged will beat To auld lang syne. To auld lang syne, they beat To auld lang syne ; Each pulse responsive, thrilling high. To auld lang syne. Adieu, adieu ! the falling tear To friendship we assign ; Tour hand, your hand, my brother dear, Por auld lang syne ! 'For auld lang syne, adieu For auld lang syne. Ah ! rent forever is the bond Of auld lang syne. At a New Year's Eve Festival at Chicago, Illinois, 1862-'3, twenty, eight Masons sat the Old Tear out and the Ifew Tear in. To commem- orate the pleasant event, a "Memorial" of songs was published, of which the following was the Exordium. (TTie Craft Assemble in Merry Mood.) High carnival to-night : a year of gloom, A twelvemonth, murky with the fogs of war. Has ended ; all its wrecks and ruin done ; Its severed bonds ; its Lodges, closed and still : Its altars overthrown ; its jewels soiled; Its lambskins spotted with the hue of blood ; — The tale of horror, to its latest page. Is done, and Frtfis written at the close. High carnival to-night : a genial band. About refreshments' Altar circled close. Brings each his sacrifice and lays thereon : Each brings his jest, and each a merry thought, And his kind eyes that speak unuttered love. High carnival to-night ; pass roimd the quip — Let not the fire of wit go down, nor give One moment to the saddening reign of care. No Gavel here ; no frowning face ; no voice Of Master to subdue the craftsmen's joys. 'Tis the last night, last hour of '63, And we will drown it in a flood of mirth. A MASONIC SYMPOSIUM. 131 {The Siffnal of Low XII. is heard.) But lo, the clock, 'tis midnight ! stealthy feet Of murderers creeping by, fall on the ear. And smothered voices whisper wonted words. ^Tis midnight ! quick, ye mystic crew, come rotmd— Close in, strong men, impenetrable lines. And weave the Indissoluble Chain op Love. {The Midnight Song of Masons^ Sing now departed joys ; sing high, ye Craft, "Whose solemn march is ever timed to song ; Sing ye of days, ah never to return ! Of friends forever parted : sing, with tears, Of those, beneath th' Acacia sprigs that sleep, And let the last stroke of the parted year Be holy with remembrance of their love. {Hail to the New Tear^ Huzza, sing louder now ! strain every voice In honor of the Teak, the new-bom Teak, The blessed, hopeful, happy '63 ! Of all its health, and wealth, and bUss, sing high 1 Of wives' love and of children's, blessed love. Of friends and friendship, everything that God Can yield on earth to His most favored ones. 132 THE NARROW BOUNDART. {The Prospective View.) Twelve teeming months lie spread before our eyes; Cease now to sing, and contemplate their train : Each Month a treasure from the Gracious Hand, Of means and rich occasions to do good. Join silently in Resolution now, And, Brothers, say, shall we not, through this year, Live nearer to our duty ? walk more true To Pltjmb-line and to Squaee than in the past ? Shall not our Covenants join, in closer bond, Us to each other and the whole to God ? So each one stands — a narrow line Divides the future from the past — A little space to labor in. Too brief for purposes so vast. Those grand designs, whose tracing proves Our inspiration is from heaven — Those boundless hopes — those deathless loves — 'Tis but a day to these is given ! Then let us labor while we can — Throw off the burdens that oppress — Redeem this poor and fleeting span And look to God to help and bless! NEW year's reflections. 133 And should we seek, to give us cheer, Examples of the bold and true, A cloud of witnesses is here To prove what laboring men can do. to ^mx's 'M.i&tctianH, Shall we see it, loving Brothers, Ere another New Tear's day ? Shall we join those loving others Whom the past year tore away ? Shall we change this toil and drudge. For the bright Celestiai, Lodge, T. G-. L. A. W. T. S. A. O. T. U. P. ? Shall we tread that one more station. Take that last and best degree Whose consununate " Preparation " Is to set tTie spirit free ? Lay our bodies off that then Souls unburdened may go in, T. 0-. L. A. W. T. S. A. O. T. U. P. ? 134 NEW year's reflections. Shall we find beyond the river — Shall we find beyond the tomb, Those who left us, not forever, Left us till we too should come ? Shall we learn the long-lost Wobdi That admits a man to God — T. C. L. A. TV. T. S. A. O. T. U. P. ? Then, be zealous, loving Brothers, While your lives so swiftly tend ; Emulate those faithftil others In the prizes they have gained ; O'er the river, on the shore. They are happy evermore, T. C. L. A. W. T. S. A. 0. T. U. P. Toil, — your wages rich are ready ; Bear, — your burdens all shall cease ; Gite, — ^however poor and needy ; Pray, — and God will give release From this bitter toil and drudge To the bright Celestial Lodge, T. C. L. A. W. T. S. A. O. T. U. P. ; ^'nmljj WiRxvmQ. We whisper good counsel in the ear of a Brother, and, in the most tender manner, remind him of his faults and endeavor to aid his refor- mation. Where is thy Brother, Craftsman, say, Where is the erring one to-day ? We look around the festive band, — What cheerftil smiles on every hand ! The voice of laughter swells amain — Where is the brightest of the train ? The ready vdt, the generous word, The glee in music's best accord. The bounteous gifts — oh where is he, The prince of Mason's revelry ? Not left unwarned in death to fall ? To lapse without one friendly call ? Alas, the grave has closed above So many objects of our love ! There is so many a vacant chair In every group where Masons are ! Of some the drunkard's cup doth tell: Tempted, yet sorrowing tTisy fell; Day after day they saw the light Recede, till day was turned to night ; Yet yearned and strove to pause, and staj Their feet upon the slippery way ; They fell, and none so bright are left As those of whom we are bereft. 135 136 A WELCOME INTO MASONRY. A voice from out the grave demands — " Wliere is thy Brother ? are thy hands, Quite guiltless of his priceless blood ? How often have ye kindly stood, And vrhispered loving word and prayer, Within the erring Brother's ear ? How often counseled, plead, and warned. And fi-om approaching danger turned? " The thoughtftd tear, the heavy sigh. Must speak for conscience a reply : Quick then, oh Craftsman, up and save TTie Ihin-g from imtimely grave ! % IMtltamt \vAa Hlasonrij. Directed to one who subsequently acquired a distinguished name 1 a Masonic writer. There were many with me were glad. Brother. When we read your later thought. And to one another we said. Brother, 'Tis an omen of good import 1 For the battle of law has begun. Brother, The strife for " the good old way," And we need just such an one. Brother, As we knew you of old to be ! A WELCOME INTO MASONRY. 137 Yes, one of the daring type, Brother — Such men as they had of yore, With a head that in age is ripe, Brother, And a heart that is biimming o'er ; To know what a Landmakk is, Brother — In love to be warm and true — Oh, how have we longed for these, Brother, And 'tis these we shall find in you ! In the day when your sands are spent. Brother, And the Craft shall your history teU, They'll say, as their grief has vent, Brother, " He has done his labor well !" For you know we have archives, Brother, And a column rent in twain. And a name that still greenly lives, Brother, Though the dust hath its dust again ! And these they'll give to you. Brother, As the guerdon of your meed ; For the love that is warm and true, Brother, For the heart and for the head ; For the battle of law has begun, Brother, The strife for " the good old way," And we need just such an one as you. Brother, As we know you of old to be ! gibibing % cTtsswa. The ancient practice of sealing a devoted friendship between part- ing friends, by separating some metallic substance, as a ring, a coin and the like, and dividing the fragments between the parties, is not alto- gether disused. In the rural districts of England and Scotland it is a custom of lovers, and many a poor laborer whose body lies buried in the soil of the Western Continent, bore upon his person at his dying hour this token of betrothal with one who shall never again meet him on earth. As a Masonic practice, we could wish it were more common. It is ancient, more ancient than any other manner of expressing friendship at parting. It is suitable to the symbolical character of our lessons. To rescue it from its present position as a mere amatory token, were worthy of our most accomplished writers. The following verses relate to an incident in the history of two orphan youth, adopted and educated by a benevolent widow in New Jersey. They became Masons at the same communication, were deeply indoctrinated in the symbolic beauties of the Royal Art, and, when they parted to pursue different fortunes— one to fill an honorable post in the army in Mexico, the other an officer on board an India Mer- chantman — they divided a golden ring between them, as a Tessera, and each suspended a portion nearest his heart They never met again. They, of whom it had been said, as of the early Christians, that " they possessed all things in common," fill graves as widely separated as the east is from the west. The lady whose charity gave them education, and the opportunity for usefulness and distinction, has now in her possession both the golden fragments, sent her with dying messages — the one from Vera Cruz, the other from Ceylon. Parting on the sounding shore Brothers twain were sighing ; Mingle with the ocean's roar, Words of love undying ; A ring of gold was severed then And each to each the giver, His faith renewed in mystic sign And bound his heart forever. DIVIDING THE TESSERA. 139 " Broken thus the token be, While o'er earth we wander ; One to thee and one to me — Rudely torn asunder ; But though divided we are one — This scar the bond expresses, When all our painful wandering's done, Will close and leave no traces ! " Warmly in thy bosom hide. The golden voice, lime thee ! Keep it there whate'er betide. To guard thee and to prove thee ! And should the token e'er be lost. Or chilled, what now is riven, I'll know that death has sent the frost And look for thee in heaven !" Parted on the sounding shore, Each THE TOKEN keeping. Met those Brothers never more — In death they're widely sleeping. But yet love's victory was won, — The scar that bond expresses, — Their long and painful wandering's done — Hath closed and left no traces 1 XII. The custom of lodge-refreshment, time-honored and sanctioned by the example of the noblest and best of American Masons, might well be renewed. The Order with us has too much of the pulpit and too little of the table. A due intermLsture of both was what the Craft in the olden time regarded. There's Pillars IL and Columns Y. Support and grace our haUs of truth. But none such sparkling pleasure give As the Column that adorns the S'. "High XTL" the Junior "harden calls— His Column grants the festive hour, And through our antiquated halls, Rich streams of social gladness pour. 'Tis then, all toil and care forgot, The Bond indissoluble seems : 'Tis then the world's a happy spot, And hope, unmixed with sadness, gleams. High xii : Tve shared the festive hour "With those who realize the bliss, And felt that life contains no more Than sparkles in the joys of this. What memories hover round the time ! What forms rise up to call it blest ! Departed Friends : why should it dim Our joys to know that they're at rest I THE CHECKERED PAVEMENT. 141 High XII. ! how they rejoiced to hear ! Quickly each implement laid down, Glad to exchange for toil and care And heavy Cboss, a heavenly Ceottn ! The Comrades all, by 3 x 3, Linked in the golden chaia of Truth, A hearty welcome pledge with me To the Column that adorns the S' ! High XH. : and never be the hour Less free, less brotherly than now I High xii , ; a rich libation pour To joys that none but Masons know 1 |£ Cl^wker^b '^nbimmt There is no emblem teaches a more practical every-day lesson to a Freemason than the Mosaic pavement, denoting human life checkered with good and evil. J, on the White Squabe, you on the Black ; I at fortune's face, you at her tad;; Friends to me mani/, friends to you few ; What, then, dear Brother, binds me to you ? This, THE Gkbat Covenant in which we abide — Hbabts charged with sympathy — Hands opened wide — Lips filled with comfort. And God to provide. 142 THE CHECKERED PAVEMENT. I, in life's valley, you on its crest; I at its lowest, you at its Jesf / I sick and sorrowmg, you hale avd free; WTiat, then, dear Brother, binds you to me ? This, THE Gebat Covenant in which we abide — Heakts charged with sympathy — Hands opened wide — Lips filled with comfort. And God to provide. They in death's slumber, we yet alive ; They freed from labor, we yet to strive ; They paid and joyful, we tired and sad — What, then, to us, Brother, bindeth the dead f This, THE Gkeat Covenant in which we abide — Hearts charged with sympathy — Hasds opened wide — Ltps filled with comfort, And God to provide. Let none be comfortless, let none despair ; Lo round the Bhick grouped the White Ashlars are ! Stand by each other, black fortune defy, All these ^'icissitudes end by and by. Keep THE Ghbat Covenant wherein we abide — " Heaets charged with sympathy — Hands opened wide — Lips filled with comfort, And God will provide !" It Jfocus flf i\it l^obg*. It is admitted by lecturers and Masonic speakers, that the true acoustical focus of the lodge is near the Northeast corner. This is attributed to the fact that it was there each of us received those first impressions on which to build our future moral and masonic edifice. Certainly in no other part of the room can the speaker give utterance, so truly and eloquently, to the genuine sentiments of the Order ; and the unhappy debates which sometimes disturb the harmony of our meetings, would be obviated were speakers required to take their stand at the focus of the lodge ! Oh, when before the lodge we stand, Its walls hung round with mystic lines, And for the loving, listening band, Draw truth and light from those designs ; — See ON THE KiGHT, the Open Word, Which lendeth grace to every thought ! See ON THE LEFT, the Mason's lord ! 'Tis chosen well, the sacred spot 1 For there our youthful minds received The earliest impress of that light, Whose perfect radiance, believed. Will lead the soul to Heavenly height. Around the spot there clusters much Of Masons' lore ; and dull were he Who, standing in the light of such. Cannot imveil our Mystery. 144 THE DEC A TED LODGE. If in Instruction's voice there come A tone of hatred, if, alas, The love and music of our home Be changed to discord and disgrace, — 'Tis that the speaker has forgot The solemn words first uttered there, — His feet have left the sacred spot. His heart and tongue no wisdom bear. But when the soul is kindled high, With love, such love as angels know — And when the tongue trips lightly by The truth and love our emblems show ; — When round the lodge, the eye and cheek Prove how congenial is the theme, Ko further need the speaker seek — Good spirits stand and speak with him i These walls are tottering to decay ; There's dampness on the stair ; But well I mind me of the day When two-score men met here : When two-score brothers met at night, The full round Moon above. To weave the mystic chain of light With holy links of love. THE DECAYED LODGE. 145 But now the lightest of the train, In early grave is bowed ; The chain is broke, the holy chain — The Master's with his God I The wailing notes were heard one day, Where cheerftd songs are best, And two-score Brothers bore away Their Master to his rest. The South, that pleasant voice, is still, That spoke the joys of noon ; The "West, that told the Master's will, Has set as sets the sun. The sxm may rise, may stand, may fall, But these will stand no more — No more the faithful craft to caU, Or scan their labors o'er. I'll weep the rending of this chain, As Jesus wept his love ! This haunted spot ! what shall restrain The tears these memories move ! Where two-score Brothers met at night, There's solitude and gloom ; Let grief its sacred train invite To this old haunted room. t;^£ guflist. A brother, known and beloved for his Masonic and general worth, and had in fraternal contemplation for the highest honors of the Craft, was killed in a duel. Hia lodge, though warmly solicited, refused to bury him with Masonic honors, but accompanied his remains to the grave in citizens' apparel. Hark, how the air resounds with death I Lo, to the tomb a Mason comes ! But where is tlie badge the Mason hath — Type of a life beyond the tombs ? Is there not one in all the band, OiNTis biTTi a Brother now ! Speak, ye that weep around the bier. And say where the honors were his due I How he was loved these tear-drops show — How he was honored midst our band ; For he had a heart for every woe, For each distress a liberal hand. Bright in the East our rising sun. Proud viewed we his career ; — But now that to-day his race is run, "^e fling no Cassia on his bier. Whispeiing low the cause we j-ield — History of his unworthy death — False honor called him to the fi-eld And death the erring Brother met ! THE TRACING-BOARD. 147 No dirge from us can o'er him swell, Ko bamiers romid him wave ; Emblem of faith we dare not strew Upon the sad, self-murderer's grave. Ceases the knell of sorrow now — But long will the heavy sigh be drawn ; Yacant the East ! ah, heavy woe ! Our Wisdom, Strength and Beauty gone. But worst the grief this thought will bring To our fraternal home — Brightest and dearest, thou art passed Dishonored to on early tomb I 2^^« Cranng-^oarir. The following was composed to be accompanied, in the recitation, by the emblems respectively named. Twelve of these are selected aa the most significant of the furniture and jewels of the lodge. Tools and implements of Architecture are selected to imprint on the memory wise and serious truths. A bimdle of Maxims, quaint, ancient and true, A Code of good morals for me, Sirs, and you. To warn us and guide us in what we shall do. The SquAEB is Morality, just and benign — The Level, Equality, nature's design — The Plumb, it is Rectitude speaks in that line. 148 THE TRACING-BOARD. The swift flight of Time, by the Houb-Glass shown. The Gauge so distributes that each hath its own — The Compass restricts us to Prudence alone. The Trowel is Peace, of all lessons the best — The Gavel, excrescences helps to divest — The Sheaf, Masons' wages assures us and rest. The Cable-tow speaks of a CovEKAiJT sure — The Apron sweet innocence, lamb-like and pure — The Bagger of what the true heart will endure. What riches of wisdom and treasures of bliss ! Instructed by them none can labor amiss ; If tempted with passion, be cautioned by this ! When discord appears, spread the Cement of love ! When vice would o'ercome you this Monitor prove. When falling, from this learn uprightly to move ! Should death be forgotten, recall the great theme, For lo, life is passing in this passing stream ! With Fervency toil, ere your wages you claim ! Blest Purity's spirit, celestial and clean UnsoUed by life's errors, this emblem is seen ! With this clear the conscience of all that is mean t One third of the day give to Mercy and Prayer ! Remember the Covenant's registered there ! Let th is speak of Judgment and traitors, beware I FELLOW CRAFTS' SONa. 149 A bundle of Maxims, quaint, ancient and true, A Code of good morals for me. Sirs, and you. To warn us and guide us in what we shall do. Jfillrria Crafts' Sang. Founded upon the scriptural passage appropriate to this Degree, viz., Amos Tii, 7, 8. His laws inspire our being — Our light is from His sim ; Beneath the Eye All-Seeing, Our Mason's work is done : His Plumb-line in uprightness Our faithftil guide shall be ; And in the Soukce of brightness Our willing eyes shall see. Thott, Father, art the Giver To every earnest prayer ! O, be the G-ttide forever To this, our Brother dear 1 By law and precept holy. By token, word, and sign, Exalt him, now so lowly, Upon this GRAND DESIGN. 150 THE TEACHER TO HIS PUPILS Within thy Chamber name him A "Workman, Tvise and true ! While loving Crafts shall claim him In bonds of fiiendship due : Thus shall these waUs extol Thee And future ages prove What Masons ever call Thee, The God op TRrrn axd Love ! f be o'tacbfr to ^is |,lupils. The first session of the Xational Masonic Schc-ol of IxsTKrcTioy, at LoaisvlUe, Kentucky, May, 1S59, was a scene of ^reat interest to the participants. The assemblage was large and enthusiastic, repre- senting many portions of the country. As a Farewell, the writer made the following his Valedictory as President of the School : From the hills of old Virginia, from the meadows fat and rare, From the lianks of broad Ohio, and of othere broad and fair, — From the borders of our neighboring States, true neighbors each they stand, You have come responsive. Brothers, and have gripped me by the hand. You have brought me words of greeting, — ^words I never can forget ; — Have given me light my eyes will see till life's poor sun has. set; — You have told with signs significant, your messages so true. And now, at parting, one kind word I offer. Friends, to you. THK TEACHER TO HIS PUPILS. 151 A goodly group around us ! the thoughtful air of Greene — The cheerful gaze of Webster, — and Williams' modest mien, — The chivalry of Bullock, that courteous look and bow, — The sterling sense, the honest voice, the gentleness of Howe. These are the types of all who've sat unwearied 'neath the voice That told of Masons' labors and of Masons' well-earned joys ; Deep ia the souls of these have sunk th' unchangeable and true, The mighty Covenakts that bind, dear Brothers, me and you. Here too, those welcomed lights have shone, ay, welcome as the sun. Whose fame as skiUful builders has in distant lands been won — The veterans Peim and Norris, Tracey, vigilant and leal, And Hunt, the genial-hearted, and Bayless, true as steel. To aU who worh as these work, to all who love like them, To all who huild as they build the New Jeecsalem, Be wages such as they shall have, when standing in the Wpst They hear the Master call them, "Come, ye faithful, to your rest." True, zealous, loving men ! on this tempestuous, rocky shore I may not meet — ah sad to think — not meet or greet you more ; Each day speaks louder in my ears the uncertainties of time. And death amidst life's music louder peals his solemn chime. Then each Fabewbll ! bear homeward light our fathers weH approved. Set up the Pillars, rear the Walls ; — 'twas work our fathers loved: Time will your fond devotion to unending ages tell ; God wiU o'ersee and bless you ! Brothers, faithfully, farewell ! ^nhvdt to a i^ritnb. "Writtex is 1859. Dear Brother, 'tis no light design, Inspires this desultory line — When gratitude and love combine There's surely something in it ! My thoughts involuntaiy flow To that bright season spent with tou ; A tribute to the same is due And now I wiU begin it. If I should change my homestead place From Old Kentucky turn my face, I do with truthfulness confess An Alabama notion : Such ardor in our noble cause, — Such knowledge of our ancient laws — The yery memory of it draws My soul with strong emotion. And you with riprat wisdom fraught Tou, mild, experienced, firm — ^who've brought The hearts of all to love, and taught Them TVisdom, Strength, and Beauty — Of all the thousands whom I know Co-laborers on the Mountain's brow. Around our mystic Temple, few Perform like you their duty ! THE TWO VISITS. 153 Clopton and Wood : — God bless the twain I There's hope while such as they remain, Whose every thought and word is gain To the old Craft that love them 1 Far hence their final summons be — May children's children crown their knee, And grateful tears bedew the tree That's set at last above them ! ^& Cto0 Visits. I saw him _first one snowy winter night — But summer's fire glowed in his youthful breast — A humble seeker for Masonic light, A pilgrim journeying for Masonic rest : From the bright orient southward to the west Darkly he journeyed, while our eyes inquired If form, and heart, and garb fulfilled our test ? From the ordeal he came, as one inspired, And glad amongst us stood, enlightened and attired. Once more I saw liim — but his eyes were hid. Hoodwinked by death ; as with an iron band His limbs were fettered ; 'neath the coffln-Ud The strong man lay extended, and his hand Whose grip had thrilled me, ah ! how dead it spanned 154 THE TWO VISITS. His pulseless breast ! yet round our brother's head Thrice we encircled, though with grief unmanned, And with respectftd tenderness we spread Upon his breast green sprigs, fit presents to the dead. For he had journeyed further, learned a lore Profounder, drank in piu-er light than we, And of desired treasure gathered more Than dwells in all the mines of Masonry ! What unto us is veiled in mystery Was real to him, and by his Master's side. Knowing as he was known, the dead was free ! Therefore we paid our homage to the dead. And "we shall meet again our Brother dear" we said. And we shall meet again, not as in quest Of light Masonic, nor as in that time "When last I saw him paUid in his rest, But in a Lodge transcendenth" sublime ! Death there shall ring no funeral chime — No weeping band shall go about its dead, — But light and life inspire an endless hymn : Xh happy we whose veiy grave may shed Effulgent hope and joy as round its brink we tread 1 §ratb«r's fast ^qu^sl. A Freemason dying, sent a message to the writer, asking him to come and pronounce the Masonic Eulogy oyer his remains. But the distance was too great and the message too long delayed. How tender must the love of Masons be When in the dying moment they can think Of one another ! few the hmnan ties That are not severed by the approach of death ! He quenches common friendships ! blmits the edge Of mere acquaintance ! rends the cable-tow Of social ties or scatters them like chaff ! But on the love of Masons — golden chain, Stronger than iron — death can lay no hand ! Powerless, conquered, stingless, hateful death ! Brother ! when struggling thus in the last fight — That fight I too must struggle ia and soon — Did you remember me ? did the bright hours We sat together midst the Sons of Light Come o'er your spirit like a happy dream ? Did you recall the Mason-songs we sung ? Or what in sweet Companionship was told Of gentle Ruth and loving Martha pure While from the sisters round came answering tears ? 155 156 A FESTIVAL ODE. Those scenes delightftil I can ne'er forget ! "Would I had seen you in the conquering hour That I, too, might prepare for victory ! If the blest spirits of the just return To this cold world, if >Iason-love hath power To call one visitor from brighter scenes, May I have grace with God to see again, WTien I shall die, those whom I loved below ! To tell me how they won the victory And what the joys that wait me in the skies ! % t'fstifral 6be. Hark, from the lofty dome, Hark, from the JIason's home Comes a^ sweet song : ■Words full of mystery, Virtue and charity. Tuned unto melody Rise from the throng. Chorus. — Joy, the Masons' year is ended, Treres of St John ! Joy, which every month attended, Pains with brightest pleasures blended. Ended and gone ; Crafts of the temple, to your altar throng, Children of light, upraise the festive song. A FESTIVAL ODE. 157 Come, oh ye newly made, Late to our altar led. Hasten, oh youth ; Gone is the gloomy night. Sweet is the mystic light. Broke on the dazzled sight, Glowing with truth. Age, with the loots of snow, Time's burden bending low, Fathers, oh come ; Welcome the veteran here — With every added year, Dearer and yet more dear, To Masons' home. Master, your toil is done ; Brethren, the prize is won ; Hail the new year ; Pledge every soul again, Strengthen the mystic chain, Long may the lodge remain Without a peer. (iTmtmnial 0'i3t. Mov,' tlie souls of Mends deptirted Brood around this joyful scene ! Tender, brave, and faithful-hearted, They have left their memories green. Could we Tiew them, Smiles upon each face -svere seen. As they scan our gladsome meeting, It recalls a thousand joys : As they list our cheerful greeting, 'Tis to them a glorious voice : 'Tis the echo Of a hundred years of joys ! One by one those loved ones perished, But they left the chain still -wound ; Every virtue that they cherished Here is found as here th^ found : Thus in heaven Blessed souls to ours are bound. So shall we, tho' long departed, "When a hundred years are sped. Join the brave and faithful-hearted, TVTio around this lodge shall tread ; And our memories Shall be cherished here, though dead. 15S Over the grave of the Hon. Henry Gee, Past Grand Master of i Masons in Florida, is a marble monument of rare beauty and pro- priety. The writer visited the spot, January 24, 1858. The place of interment was selected by the deceased ; it is in a grove of oaks near the verge of a hill. The birds sing their sweetest through the Florida winters, and the evergreens, whose brightness is reflected upon the marble surface of the monument, give no indications of mortality. " May I, when given to dust, be laid In the o'erarching oak-trees' shade ! Not midst the crowded ranks of those In life conuningled, friends or foes ; Not 'neath the dust of trampling feet ; Not where the mourners frequent meet ; But far from life's poor turmoil, laid In the o'erarching oak-trees' shade." "Tis done ; this sweet retired scene la nature's own delightful green ; No voice but the lamenting dove That sighs and murmurs of its love ; No footsteps but the tender tread Of those who loved, who love the dead ; No passion but the sigh subdued, Breathed for the friend who's gone to God. 159 160 GRAVE OV THE GRAND MASTER. The pilgrim, dusty from a path, That circles rovmd the weaiy earth, Stands mutely pleased : — 'Twas well to place The Master on a couch like this ! The BtJTLDEES, scattered as they be, Sleeping on plain, and mount, and sea, Dispersed until the trumpet's blast — Few of them have such fitting rest. How searchingly that awful Eye Heads the impress of memory ! Death cannot hide a brother dead, But the Omniscient Eye will read Each act, each word, each secret thought, Through a long life conceived or wrought ; Well for the sleeper if his life Endure a scrutiny so rife ! But thou, oh, Master of the craft, A spotless memory hath left ; The pitying heart, the loving soul. The liberal hand to crown the whole. And zeal in toils of mystic plan, "WMch honor God and honor man — These are thy jewels — ^they will try The ken of the AUi-SEEiNG Eye. RISE up: he calleth thee. 161 Rest peaceful, then, while Nature sighs, And graces where thy body lies ! Lift high that column many a year, To call the grateful Buildees near ! Wait patient for the mystic call From out the depths of Heaven's hall ; — "Ye BuiLDBRS, Men from many lands. Come to the house not made with hands !" It might have pleased the great Creator of heaven and earth to have made man independent of all other beings ; but as dependence is one of the strongest bonds of society, mankind were made dependent on each other for protection and security, as they thereby enjoy better opportunities of fulfilling the duties of reciprocal love and friendship. He caUeth us to words and deeds of love. As spring calls forth from wintry crust the flowers ; He breathes vdthin us spirit from above As zephyrs breathe within the sunny bowers ; He saith. Arise, shake off the dust and go Where duty calls, where sorrow hath its sway ; He points our feet the proper path, and lo, He promiseth to be vnth us, alway ! tbc park Btcr^t. 'Tis done, the dark decree is said, That called our fiiend away ; Submissive bow the sorrowing head, And bend the lowly knee ; TTe will not ask why God has liroke Our PiUar on its stone, But humbly yield us to the stroke, And say " His will be done." At last the weary head has sought In earth its long repose ; And weeping freres have hither brought Their chieftain to his close ; We held his hand, we filled his heart, While heart and hand could move, Xor will we from his grave depart But with the rites of love. This grave shaU be a gamer, where "We'U heap our golden com ; And here, in heart, we'll oft repair, To think of him that's gone ; To speak of all he did and said, That's wise, and good, and pure. And covenant o'er the hopeful dead. In vows that shall endure. 163 THE PURSUIT OF FRANKLIN. 163 Oh Brother, bright and loving frere, Oh spirit &ee and pure, Breathe us one gush of spirit air, From off the heavenly shore, And say, •when these hard toils are done, And the Grand Master calls, Is there for every wearied one Place in the heavenly haUs I t Hwrsuit ai Ixnnhlm, When Dr. Kane, the Arctic navigator, left New York in search of Sir John Franklin, he set the Masonic Square and Compass in large characters upon his foresaiL He visited a lodge in Newfoundland at his hrief call there. The flag taken and left, by his orders, nearest the North Pole, was the Masonic flag It was an incentive to the zeal- ous search made by our intrepid countrymen, that Franklin was re- ported to be a Freemason. The following lines were written in 1853, upon his setting out on the philanthropic errand. It is needless to say, however, that the writer's prediction failed in its fulfillment. Midst polar snows and solitude. Eight weary years the voyager lies, Ice-bound upon the frozen flood. While expectation vanishes ; Ah ! many a hopeless tear is shed For Franklin numbered with the dead 1 164 THE PURSUIT OF TEA X KLIN. indst joys of home, and well-earned fame, Tovmg, healthful, honored, there is one Who pines to win a nobler name. And feels his glory but begun ; His heart is with the voyager lost, Midst polar solitude and frost. The voice from off the frozen flood. Appeals in trumpet-tones for aid ; 'Tis heard, "tis answered — swift abroad The flag is flung, the sail is spread; That sail on whose piire face we see Thy symbol, honored Masonry ! Away, on glorious errand, now, Thou hero of a sense of right ! Success be on thy gallant prow. Thou greater than the sons of might t Thy flag, the banner of the free. Oh, may it lead to victory ! Is there some chain of sympathy, Flung thus across the frozen seas ? Is there some strange, mysterious tie, That joins these daring men ? — there is I TMs. honored, healthful, free from want. Is bound to that in Covenant ! THE PURSUIT OF FRANKLIN. 165 For though, these twain have never met, Nor pressed the hand, nor joined the heart, In nnison theu' spirits beat, Brothers in the Masonic art ; — One, in the hour of joy and peace — One, in the hour of deep distress. And by the Symbols, best of those Time-honored on our ancient wall, — And by the prayer that ceaseless flows, Upward from every Mystic Hall — And by thine own stout heart and hand. Known, marked, and loved in every land — TTiou shalt succeed — ^his drooping eye Shall catch thy banner, broad and bright — That symbol he shall yet descry. And know a Brother in the sight I Ah, noble pair ! which happier then, ■Of those two daring, dauntless men I Monottv to iht Ion. f. €. ^mkn. The history of Freemasonry in the United States from 1S26 to 1861 bears many traces of the wisdom and zeal of ilr. Tucker, long Grand Master of Masons in Vermont. Dnring the reverses sustained by the Masonic order thirty years since, he was a tower of strength to the desponding in his own State, where antimasonry secm-ed its firmest foothold. His ready pen was ever at the service of the Insti- tution. His decisions upon mooted questions were unexcelled for clearness and soundness. His knowledge of ritualisms gave him a pre-eminence as a worA-iny 2fason, while his genial spirit and manner secured 'h\m popularity with all who knew him. The following Monody forms a part of the " Eulogy" pronounced b}' the writer in January, 1S62, in the presence of the Grand Lodge of Vermont ; Dead I and where now those earnest loving eyes WMch kindled in so many eyes the light ? Have they departed troxa our earthly skies And left no ravs to illuminate the night ? Dead ! and where now that heart of sympathy That welled and yearned, and with true love o'erflowed { Oh heart of love, is the rich treasure dry ! Forever sealed, what once such gifts bestowed ? Dead ! and where now that gen'rous, nervous hand That thrilled each nerve within its generous clasp ? Win it no more enlink the mystic band, Hallowing and strength'ning all within its grasp I 166 SONG AND FREEMASONRY. 167 Heart, eyes and hand, to dust are all consign'd— It was his lot, for, he was bom of earth ; But the rich treasures of his master-mind Abide hi Meav'n, for there they had their birth. Abide in Mea'B'n ! oh the enkindling trust ! The record of his deeds remaineth here : The Acacia blooms beside his silent dust To point unerringly to yon bright sphere. Then, though the shatteked column mark his fate, And weeping Virgin tell th' unfinished Fane, Not altogether are we desolate. For oh, departed fiiend, we meet again ! Sflitg anir JFHfmasonrg. Addressed to a lady who has written various Masonic productions of merit. Eich is song when tuned to passion. Love, benevolence, or joy — Vast its power, and blest its mission ; — Saints in heaven the notes employ ; Heaven itself resounds with song. Tuned by an unnimibered throng. 168 so KG AND FREEMASONRY. But its power is best extended, When, to bless the Sons of Toil, Masons' joys with songs are blended. Rhyming Com and Wine, and Oil ; Then it thrills the inner sense, Driving gloomy shadows hence. Sister, from your heart are welling, Thoughts attuned to sweetest song ! But the sweetest yet are telling Of the ancient JIason-throng ; Telling of its Te>'ets three, Faith and Hope, and Charity ! Still to us your muse be given — Ours the genial spirit-birth; Sing the Sabbath-rest of Heaven, Sing the six days' toil of earth. Festive joys, and sacred grief. Love fraternal, truth, relief Then, when death his object gaining. Stills the answer of your lyre. These the gems of song remaining. Other genius shall inspire. And the Craft, in deathless lays, Shall embalm their Poet's praise. t Jfumral Sottttir. "Wreathe the mourning badge around— Once again that funeral sound ! Prom his friends and from his home ; Bear him, Brothers, to the tomb ! "While iA«y journey weeping, slow, Silent, thoughtful let ns go ; Silent — life to him is sealed ; Thoughtful — death's to him revealed. How his life-path has been trod. Brothers we will leave to God ; Friendship's mantle, trusting faith. Lends a fragrance, even to death. Here, amidst the things that sleep. Lay hiTTi down — ^his rest is deep : Death has triumphed — ^loving hands Cannot raise him from his bands. But the Emblems that we shower. Tell us there's a mightier power ; O'er the strength of death and hell, Jttdah's Lion shall pkevail I 169 170 CRYPT IN THE CORNER-STONE. Dust to dust, the dark decree — S(ml to God, the soul is free ! Leave Mm with the lowly lain — Brother, we shall meet aeain ! in il^t ^axmx-Mam. It is a legend in Masonry that the Corner-stone of Solomon's Temple, sunk firmly in the northeast corner of the holy Mount, con- tains many objects strange and curious. Among them is a collection of all the Tiees and passions that were found in the hearts of the Temple- huilders when they came up from Phenicia to undertake the work. These, King Solomon was enabled, by his wisdom, to detect, and by his Power, to withdraw from their working-places, and to confine them securely as already stated. Since that period, whenever a Mason-brother exhibits any passion or impropriety forbidden by his Covenants, he may correctly he charged with having "robbed the corner-stone of King Solomon's Temple !" Build up, ye Crafts, the Sacred Fane — Raise up its walls as high as heaven — But sTiape your hlocks and lay them there, Upon the pattern given. Our Master bade us labor so — He marked the years, three score and ten, And gives us many a noontide hour, To cheer his toiling men. We build no walls for time to gnaw, No halls for men who yield to death ; — Oxa pattern is the perfect Law, And God our service hath 1 OUR FUTURE MKETING. 171 He reined the passions' evil train ; He quenched the fires within the breast ; He sunk them deep beneath the earth, And thsre we bid them rest ; He laid in love the Coeneb-stone, — A firm unshaken Eock 'tis found , Our fathers built on this alone, For this is holy groimd ! We build no walls for time to gnaw, No halls for men who yield to death ; — Our pattern is the perfect Law, And God our service hath 1 #ur Jfutuw Pi^trng. Where types are all falfiUed — Where mystic shades are real — Where aching hands and hearts are stilled, And death has set his seal — In that bright land called heaven, Dear Friend, we'll meet once more ! The token in thy parting given, Points to a hea/eerdy shore. "lis this, our signs have taught — Our symbols old and true ; "Tis thAs upon our work is wrought, Which every frere can view ; 172 EMBLEMS OF THE CEAFT. From the first line we traced, On the foundation walls, To that hrigJit stone, the last, the best, The glory of our halls. Oh, what a land of joy, Hast thou beheld, my Friend ! Oh, what ineffable employ Thy faithiiil heart has gained ! Thy Brother, weary, worn. Longs for the same bright dome. Where all the week's hard service done, He'll have thy welcome home. Cmbkms flf i\t Craft. The following lines were written to be accompanied by appropriate mo^ementa which will easily suggest themselves to the enlightened reader : Who wears the Square upon his breast. Does, in the sight of God attest. And in the sight of man, That aU his actions do compare With the DrviNE, th' unerring square That squares great Virtue's plan : And he erects his Edifice By this design, and this and this ! EMBLEMS OF THE CRAPT. 173 Who wears the Level says that pride Does not -withiii his soul abide, Nor foolish vanity ; That man has but a common doom, And from the cradle to the tomb A common destiny : That he erects his Edifice By this design, and this and this ! Who wears the G ; that type divine ! Whose very thought should banish sin. Trusts but in God alone ; Hi a Father, Maker, Friexd, he knows — He vows, and pays to God his vows, Before th' Eternal throne : And he erects his Edifice By this design, and this and this ! Who wears the Plumb, behold how true And just his steps ! and could we view The workings of his soul. Each secret thought, so pure, and good. By the stem line of Rectittode, Points truly to that goal : And he erects his Edifice By this design, and this and this ! 174 Solomon's midnight yisit. See ■Wisdom, Strength and Beauty too, In each design onr Fathers drew Here on the Tracing-board ! Each has a moral in it ^ven That tells us of a coming Heaven Whose Masteb is the Lobd ! Each bids us buDd oj« this, os this. An everlasting Edifice ! Solomon's ^iimigl^ BisA. It is one of the most charming traditions that past generations have entmsted to the present, this of Kiru/ Solomon's Midnight \1eit. The legend is that the Mighty Sage, weary with protracted waiting for the Resurrection Bay, is permitted an hour each night to roam over the earth. Naturally looking np Masonic lodges, he hears the gavel-sounds of those that are working past midni^t, enters them, thongh invisible, and infuses a spirit of wisdom and love into every bosom. Thus it has long been observed of the Brethren returning home at so late an hour, that they are fraught with a peculiarly brotherly spirit, explained best by this hypothesis of the Midnight VUit of Kiyig Solomon .' In a deep, rocky tomb great King Solomon lies, Sealed up till the judgment from all prying eyes : The Squabe on his breast, and his kingly brow Crowned — His Gavel and Sceptre with fiHettings wound ; At midnight, impatient, his spirit comes forth. And haunts, for a season, the places of earth. Solomon's midnight visit. 175 He flits like a thought, to the chambers of kings, — To the field where red battle has shaken his wings, — To the cave where the student his late vigil keeps, — To the cell where the prisoner hopelessly weeps ; But most, where Freemasons their mystical round Continue past midnight. King Solomon's found 1 Oh, then, when the bell tolls Low XII. do we hear A rustling, a whispering startle the ear ! A deep solemn murmur — while Crafts stand in awe At something the eye of a mortal ne'er saw ! We Teiww it, we fed it, we welcome the King Whose spirit takes part in the anthems we sing I And, then, every heart beats responsive and wai-m — The Acacia, blooms freshly — we heed not the storm ; Our tapers are starlit, and lo, from above, There seems as descending the form of a dove ! 'Tis the Emblem op Peace which King Solomon sends, To model and pattern the work of his friends. His friends, loving Brothers, as homeward you go, Bear Peace in your bosoms, let Peace sweetly flow ! In Concord, in Friendship, in Brotherly Love Be faithful, — no Emblem so true as that dove ! The world will confess then with cheerful accord. Toil haw met with King Solomon at midnight ahroad! Ck spirit 0f Stnion. In the settlement of long-pending difficulties among the Canadian Masons, the writer was called in in July, 1858, with the celebrated Judge Tucker, Grand Master of Vermont, to suggest proper terms of reconciliation. The pleasing task being performed, and the Union complete, the following lines were read at a Banquet that most agree- ably terminated the meeting ; There never was occasion, and there never was an hour, "When spirits of Peace on angel-wings so near our heads did soar ; There's no event so glorious on the page of time to appear, As the union of the Brotherhood, sealed by our coming here. "Twas in the hearts of many, 'twas in the prayers of some, That the good old days of Brotherly Love might yet in mercy come ; 'Twas whispered in our Lodges, in the E. and S. and "W., That the time was nigh when the plaintive cry our God would hear and bless. But none believed the moment of fruition was at hand ; How could we deem so rich a cup was waiting our command ! It came like rain in summer-drought, on drooping foliage poured, And bade us look henceforth for help, in all our cares, to God ! The news has gone already upon every wind of heaven ; The wire, the press, the busy tongue, the intelligence has given ; And every one who heard it and who loves the Sans of Peace Has cried, " Praise God, the God of Love ! may God this Union bless !" 1T6 THE SPIRIT OF UNION. 177 Vermont takes up the story — her " old man eloquent" — Long be his days among us, on deeds of mercy spent — He speaks for the Green Mountains, and you heard him say last night, " Bless God that I have lived till now to see this happy sight 1" Kentucky sends you greeting — from her broad and generous bound. Once styled of all the "Western wild, "the Dark and Bloody Ground." She cries aloud, " God bless you ! Heaven's dews be on you shed, "WTio first took care to ie in the right, then boldly went ahead 1" From yonder constellation, from the Atlantic to the West, Where the great pines of Oregon rear up their lofty crest, From the flowery glades of Florida, from Minnesota's plain. Each voice will say, "Huzza ! huzza ! this craft is one again !" Old England soon will hear it ; not always will the cry Of suffering Brothers meet her ear, and she pass coldly by : There's a chord in British hearts vibrates to every tale of wrong, And she will send a welcome and a Brother's hand ere long. Then joyftd be this meeting, and many more like this. As year by year shall circle round, and bring you added bliss ; In quarry, hill, and temple, peace , nor cruel word nor thought Disturb the perfect harmony the gracious God has wrought. 178 THE ORIENT. But while your walls are thus compact, your cement strong and good, Tour workmen diligent and just, a mighty Brotherhood, Eemember, Brethren, o'er the earth, and on the raging sea, How many a heart there is to-night that sighs, " Eemember me 1" By the sign the world knows nothing of, but to our eyes so clear, — By the tohen known in darkest hour, that tells a brother near — By the sacred void and word, and by " the hieroglyphic bright," Remember all, the wide world round, who claim your loTe to- night. C^£ (irimt. Light from the East, 'tis gilded with hope ; Star op cub faith, thy glory is up ! Darkness apace, and watchfulness flee ; Earth, lend thy joys to nature and me. See, Brothers, see yon dark shadows flee Join in His praise, whose glories we be ! Now, let these Emblems ages have given, Speak to the world, blest Satiotir, of thee. Lo, we have seen, uplifted on high, Stab in the East, thy rays from the sky ! Lo, we have heard, what joy to our ear — Come, ye redeemed, and welcome Him here ! THE PASSAGE OF TIME. 179 I/igTit to the Mind, they've wandered too long — Feet to the lame, the weak are made strong — Hope to the joyless, freely 'tis given — Life to the d^ad, and rmisic to hea/ven! Praise to the Lord, keep silence no more I Eansomed, rejoice from mountain to shore 1 Streams in the desert, sing as ye stray ! Sorrow and sadness, vanish away ! ^\t ^assag* of ^tm^. Xo, the sands swiftly run ! behold our lives Dropping like foliage to a solemn close ! To-day the bud bright expectation gives — To-morrow blossoms to a transient rose — Another mom and its whole beauty goes : Its leaves are scattered wastefully around, No heart remembering — another glows TTpon the stem — another hope is crowned ; And this is human life, the life the dead have found. Count weU the moments then ; fill up the day ; Brothers, let Wisdom's hand your life-plans trace ; The Temple will he flnished, though we may Not see the Stonb exalted to its place ! It is enough that God will see and bless ! 180 THE MODEL MASON Labor wHle it is day ! there's work for all The Tre8tle-board proclaims it, and, alas ! Too soon will night spread o'er its hueless pall — Too soon the grave — the grave — from which there's no recall I Clouds may obscure us ; slander may detract — The foes of truth and rectitude unite — But while within our Jlystic Sphere we act There lives no power can hinder or affiight ; The ilASTER's Eye stiU oversees the right ; Heaven's books record it with angelic pen ; And when death's summons calls us up the height, A fall reward for labor shall we gain, In God's own Temple, freed from sorrow, toil, and pain. l\it global Pasoit. Tliere's a fine, old Mason in the North, he's genial, wise and true, His list of brothers comprehends, dear Brother, me and you ; So warm's his heart the snow-blast fails to chill his generous blood, And his hand is like a giant's when outstretched to man or God;— Eeproaoh nor blame, nor any shame has checked his course or dimmed his fame — All honor to his name I THE LOVING TIE. 181 TUs fine old Mason is but one of a large family ; In every Lodge you'll find Ms kin, you'll find them two or three ; Tou'U know them when you see them, for they have their father's face, A generous knack of speaking truth and doing good always ; — Reproach nor blame, nor any shame, has checked their course or dimmed their fame — Freemasons is their name ! Ah many an orphan smiles upon the kindred as they pass ; And many a widow's prayers confess their sympathizing grace ; The Fathek of this Brotherhood himself doth smile to see Their works — they're numbered all in heaven those deeds of charity ! Reproach nor blame, nor any shame can check their course or dim their fame, All honor to their name ! The Loving Tie we feel, No language can reveal — 'Tis seen in the sheen of a fond Brother's eye ; It trembles on the ear When melting with a tear, A Brother bids us cease to sigh. 18'^ THE LOVING TIE. Behold how good and how pleasant For Brothers in unity to dwell I As heaven's dews axe shed On Zion's sacred head, The blessings of the Lord we feel. 'Twas at a sufferer s bed Now moldering with the dead, This Sond, ah, so fond, was discovered first to me !. I saw his dying eye, Light up with speechless joy. And I felt how fond that love must be. I ever will proclaim With gratitude the name Of Him, the DrvrsE, who has granted this to me — That weary tho' I stray O'er nature's rugged way, I never, never, alone can be. There's some I know will smile And others may revile — 'Tis so as we know with the evil heart alway- But if I can but prove Through life a MaaorCs lore, I little care what man may say ! Life's sands are dropping, dropping, — Each grain a moment dies : No stay has time, nor stopping — Behold how swift he flies ! He bears away our rarest — They smile and disappear ; The cold grave wraps our fairest — Each falling grain's a tear. Life's sands are softly falling, — Death's foot is light as snow : 'Tis fearful, 'tis appalling, To see how swift they flow ; To read the fatal warning. The sands so plainly tell ; To feel there's no returning Through death's dark shadowy dale. Life's sands give admonition. To use the moments well ; Each grain bears holy mission. And this the tale they tell : — " Let zeal than time run faster. Each grain some good afibrd. Then at the last. The Master Shall double our reward 1" 183 ^.l^t Clmrful piour at pig^ XII. One hour with you, one hour with you, No doubt, nor care, nor strife, Is worth a year as ages go, In all that sweetens life. One hour with you, and you, and you, Bright links in mystic chain — Oh may we oft these joys renew, And often meet again. Your eyes with love's own language free. Tour hand-grips, strong and true. Tour voice, your heart, do welcome me To spend an hour with you. I come when morning skies are bright, To work my Mason's due — To labor is my chief delight. And spend an hour with you. I go when evening gilds the west, I breathe the fond adieu. But hope again, by fortune blest. To spend an hour with you. And if perchance the page is closed On which my life is given, I would beseech the Masons' God That we may meet in Heave3j ! 1S4 KNIGHT templar's DIRGE. 185 In Heaven with you, and y meet, sor - ry — U- to — r- — part. Hap 1 — 1^ -py -t»— to meet a - gain, a -gain; ^5^ ^^^—2: =Sl-^ =S= — (f- —M-^- ^.- -5- =S= -j-j- ^y^s^^ii-H: lat liase. —ir- ^*s- —r — r — r- — 1» ' 1 r ■m m ^ ■!-[- -— Hap-py to Sri Base. meet. sor- ry to part, 1 1 Hap py to meet a- gain, a -gain; —- =J ml ml- —J-^ S= bs= =»- --L-l QJ If- m H i\l% i;i J /;r.'J*.i'i