sider 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 paid her just debt? Fix your eyes on the last scene, and view life stript of her ornaments, and exposed in her natural mean. ness; 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 delight, and the reflections of a virtuous life yield the only comfort and consolation. Thus our expectations will not be frustrated, 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 in 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 favor 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 master: Master. "May we be true and faithful; and may we live and die in love!”.

Answer. "So mote it be."

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

Answer. "So mote it be.' 99

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

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

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

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 honors.

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

"From time immemorial it has been a 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 deposite 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 favorable 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 expanded realms of a boundless eternity! This we beg, for the honor of his name; to whom be glory, now and forever. Amen."

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.

NOTES.

Where entered apprentices and fellow crafts wish to join in the procession, the lodge should be first adjourned to meet again at such an hour as they may appoint-after which adjournment they may join.

The grand honors ought, in all cases, to be given in presence of the corpse : but where, from inevitable necessity, that is prevented, they may be given in the lodge room.

CHAPTER XII.

REMARKS ON THE FOURTH, OR MARK MASTER MASON'S DE GREE.

THIS degree of masonry was not less useful in its original institution, nor are its effects less beneficial to mankind, than those which precede it.

By the influence of this degree, each operative mason, at the erection of the temple of Solomon, was known and distinguished by the Senior Grand Warden.

By its effects, the disorder and confusion that might otherwise have attended so immense an undertaking was completely prevented; and not only the craftsmen themselves, who were eighty thousand in number, but every

part of their workmanship, was discriminated with the greatest nicety, and the utmost facility. If defects were found, by the help of this degree the overseers were enabled without difficulty to ascertain who was the faulty workman: so that all deficiencies might be remedied, without injuring the credit, or diminishing the reward, of the industrious and faithful of the craft.

CHARGE TO BE READ AT OPENING THE LODGE.

"Wherefore, brethren, lay aside all malice, and guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings.

"If so be, ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious; ye also, as living stones, be ye built up a spiritual house, an holy priest. hood, to offer up sacrifices acceptable to God.

"Wherefore, also, it is contained in the scriptures, Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; he that believ eth shall not make haste to pass it over. Unto you, therefore, which believe, it is an honor; and even to them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.

"Brethren, this is the will of God, that with well-doing ye put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men, love the bro

therhood, fear God."

REMARKS ON THE FOURTH LECTURE.

THE FIRST SECTION.

The first section explains the manner of convocating and opening a mark master's lodge. It teaches the sta