"God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death!"

The master then records the name and age of the deceased upon the roll, and says,

"Almighty Father! into thy hands we commend the soul of our loving brother."

The brethren answer three times, (giving the grand honours each time,)

"The will of God is accomplished! so be it."

The master then deposits the roll in the archives, and repeats the following prayer:

"Most glorious God! author of all good, and giver of all mercy! pour down thy blessings upon us, and strengthen our solemn engagements with the ties of sincere af fection! May the present instance of mortality remind us of our approaching fate, and draw our attention toward thee, the only refuge in time of need! that, when the awful moment shall arrive, that we are about to quit this transitory scene, the enlivening prospect of thy mercy may dispel the gloom of death; and after our departure hence in peace and in thy favour, we may be received into thine everlasting kingdom, to enjoy, in union with the souls of our departed friends, the rewards of a pi ous and virtuous life. Amen."

A procession is then formed, which moves to the house of the deceased, and from thence to the place of interment. The different lodges rank according to seniority, excepting that the lodge of which the deceased was a member walks nearest the corpse. Each lodge forms one division, and the following order is observed:

ORDER OF PROCESSION AT A FUNERAL.

Tiler, with a Drawn Sword;
Stewards, with White Rods;

Musicians (if they are Masons, otherwise they follow the filer):

Master Masons;

Senior and Junior Deacons :
Secretary and Treasurer;
Senior and Junior Wardens;
Past Masters;

The Holy Writings, on a cushion covered with black cloth,
carried by the Oldest Member of the Lodge;
The Master;
Clergy;

with the insignia

and two

placed thereon,

swords crossed;

Pall Bearers ;

THE

Pall Bearers.

The brethren are not to desert their ranks, or change places, but keep in their different apartments. When the procession arrives at the church-yard, the members of the lodge form a circle round the grave, and the clergyman and officers of the acting lodge, taking their station at the head of the grave, and the mourners at the foot, the service is resumed, and the following exhortation given :

Here we view a striking instance of the uncertainty of life, and the vanity of all human pursuits. The last offices paid to the dead are only useful as lectures to the living from them we are to derive instruction, and consider every solemnity of this kind as a summons to prepare for our approaching dissolution.

"Notwithstanding the various mementos of mortality with which we daily meet; notwithstanding death has established his empire over all the works of nature; yet through some unaccountable infatuation we forget that we are born to die: we go on from one design to another, add hope to hope, and lay out plans for the employment of many years, till we are suddenly alarmed with the approach of death, when we least expect him, and at an

hour which we probably conclude to be the meridian of our existence.

"What are all the externals of majesty, the pride of wealth, or charms of beauty, when nature has pail her just debt? Fix your eyes on the last scene, and view life stript of her ornaments, and exposed in her natural neanness; you will then be convinced of the futility of those empty delusions. In the grave, all fallacies are detected, all ranks are levelled, and all distinctions are done away.

"While we drop the sympathetic tear over the grave of our deceased friend, let charity incline us to throw a veil over his foibles, whatever they may have been, and not withhold from his memory the praise that his virtues may have claimed. Suffer the apologies of human nature to plead in his behalf. Perfection on earth has never been attained; the wisest as well as the best of men have erred.

"Let the present example excite our most serious thoughts, and strengthen our resolutions of amendment. As life is uncertain, and all earthly pursuits are vain, let us no longer postpone the important concern of preparing for eternity, but embrace the happy moment, while time and opportunity offer, to provide against the great change, when all the pleasures of this world shall cease to delght, and the reflections of a virtuous life yield the only comfort and consolation. Thus our expectations will not be rustrated, nor we hurried unprepared into the presence of an all-wise and powerful Judge, to whom the secrets of all hearts are known.

Let us, while n this state of existence, support with propriety the character of our profession, advert to the nature of our solemn ties, and pursue with assiduity the sacred tenets of our order. Then, with becoming reverence, let us supplicate the divine grace to ensure the favour of that eternal Being, whose goodness and power know no bound; that when the awful moment arrives, be it soon or late, we may be enabled to prosecute our

journey, without dread or apprehension, to that far distant country whence no traveller returns."

The following invocations are then made by the Mas

ter:

Master.

live and die

Ansuer.

Master.

May we be true and faithful; and may we in love!""

"So mote it be."

May we profess what is good, and always act agreeably to our profession!""

Answer "So mote it be."

Master. "May the Lord bless us, and prosper us; and may all our good intentions be crowned with success !''

Ans ver. "So mote it be."

Masier. "Glory be to God on high! on earth peace! good will towards men."

Answer. "So mote it be, now, from henceforth, and for ever more."

The brethren then move in procession round the place of interment, and severally drop a sprig of evergreen into the grave, accompanied with the usual honours.

The master then concludes the ceremony at the grave, in the following words:

"From time immemorial it has been the custom among the fraternity of free and accepted masons, at the request of a brother, to accompany his corpse to the place of interment, and there to deposit his remains with the usual formalities.

"In conformity to this usage, and at the special request of our deceased brother, whose memory we revere, and whose loss we now deplore, we have assembled in the character of Masons, to resign his body to the earth whence it came, and to offer up to his memory, before the world, the last tribute of our affection; thereby demonstrating the sincerity of our past esteem, and our steady attachment to the principles of the order.

"The great Creator having been pleased, out of his mercy, to remove our brother from the cares and troubles of a transitory existence, to a state of eternal duration, and thereby to weaken the chain, by which we are united, man, to man; may we, who survive him, anticipate our approaching fate, and be more strongly cemented in the ties of union and friendship; that, during the short space allotted to our present existence, we may wisely and usefully employ our time; and, in the reciprocal intercourse of kind and friendly acts, mutually promote the welfare and happiness of each other.

"Unto the grave we resign the body of our deceased friend, there to remain until the general resurrection; in favourable expectation that his immortal soul may then partake of joys which have been prepared for the righteous from the beginning of the world. And may Almighty God, of his infinite goodness, at the grand tribunal of unbiassed justice, extend his mercy towards him, and all of us, and crown our hope with everlasting bliss in the expauded realms of a boundless eternity! This we beg, for the honour of His name, to whom be glory, now and for Amen."

ever.

Thus the service ends, and the procession returns in form to the place whence it set out, where the necessary duties are complied with, and the business of masonry is renewed. The insignia and ornaments of the deceased, if an officer of a lodge, are returned to the master with the usual ceremonies, after which the charges for regulating the conduct of the brethren are rehearsed, and the lodge is closed in the third degree.

Songs selected for this work.

HAIL Masonry divine!
Glory of ages shine;

Long may'st thou reign.