East. It is his province to nurture and teach the budding genius to expand. The labour of Masonry is in his hands, and it is his duty to lead the brethren, by degrees and prudently, into all the depths of masonic research. For this purpose he must judiciously appropriate the several portions of his work to the capacities of the brethren. The Apprentice cannot be expected to perform the business of the Fellow Craft or the Master Mason; and, even in each class, much discrimination is necessary, when mental improvement is the object, and spiritual illumination the grand design. The Tracing Board lies before him, teeming with such moral plans and excellent sketches, that, were we conversant therein, and adherent thereto, it would bring us to a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. From this abundant store, the worthy Master selects his materials. with judgment, and applies them in the true spirit of universal Masonry, to the edification of his hearers. He expatiates with eloquence and truth on the objects within his view. He traces the rough ashler through all its various forms, till, under the workmanship of the expert Fellow Crafts, it assumes the square die, or cube highly wrought and polished, and incapable of trial and proof, except by the square of God's word, and the unerring compass of an irreproachable con

science.

Above all, the expert Master carefully avoids the frequent repetition of dry technicalities and monotonous forms of speech. Desirable as an uniform mode of working may be, the language may be varied, though the ancient Landmarks ought to be carefully preserved. Our ceremonies and discipline, science and morals, our symbols, tokens, and machinery, are so various and diffusive, that no Master of a Lodge can be at a loss for a subject of instruction, which would edify the brethren and augment the interest that warms and animates them, amidst the miscellaneous topics which our authorised lectures afford.

Twelve monthly lectures would complete the Master's year; and the punctuality of their delivery would ensure a full and regular attendance of members, increase the popularity and strength of the Lodge, and, by a natural consequence, ensure the efficacy of the order, in promo

ting amongst mankind the moral blessings of peace, harmony, and brotherly love.

REFRESHMENT.

When the Lodge is called from Labour to Refreshment, the brethren enjoy the blessings of social harmony, without that confusion and irregularity which usually characterize all other assemblies. Each brother strives to convey and receive pleasure, and all attempts at sarcasm are promptly discountenanced. In these hours it is that the true Mason will carefully place those guards over the external avenues of his conduct which may contribute to maintain the sovereignty of reason. If these barriers be removed, and Masonry be made subservient to intemperance or excess, the duties of the Craft become neglected, and the noblest faculties of the mind enslaved. To this cause the contempt and odium which are often reflected on the institution may be truly attri buted. He who is possessed of a laudable ambition to practise Freemasonry in its purity, and to enter into an exemplification of its true nature and design, will consider these hours as subordinate to the business of the Lodge, and calculated to no other end than to enliven the mind, and to add a cheerful lustre to the grave pursuits enjoined by the immemorial usages of the Craft.

CLOSING.

In the performance of a ceremony so solemn and momentous as the closing of a Masons' Lodge, every member has a lively interest. At the usual report, preceded by an enquiry involving the best interests of Masonry, the brethren are again reminded what is the chief care of a Mason. The avenues to the Lodge are carefully inspected by the meridian officer, whose knowledge and fidelity have entitled him to the confidence of the brethren, and after he has publicly proclaimed the security of the Lodge, the business of closing proceeds. The particular duties of the leaders of the respective bands of craftsmen are rehearsed. At the command of the Worshipful Master, the Senior Warden performs his duty, after seeing that the brethren have received their due proportion of masonic instruction and improvement; and the whole

concludes with an impressive address to the brethren on their respective duties as men and Masons, when pursuing their accustomed avocations in the world; and with a fervent petition to the Deity supplicating his blessings on the fraternity, wheresoever dispersed under the wide canopy of heaven.

Such is the high ground which Masonry assumes from the extreme purity of the system. We are bound, therefore, to reflect that as our station is exalted, so ought our conduct to be exemplary; for the world regards us with a scrutinizing eye; and, which is of more consequence, we are under the constant inspection of the All-Seeing Eye of God. If we would adorn the system which is our pride and boast, nay, if we would not expose it to contempt, we must discharge the relative and social duties of life with a precision at least equal to the most virtuous of our fellow-men; for, as the science we profess may be ornamented by our rectitude of demeanour, so will it infallibly be disgraced, should we be found deficient in any of the obligations which are incumbent on us, in our respective characters of husband and father, citizen and subject, neighbour and friend.

I address myself plainly to the brethren at large on the subject of morals, because Freemasonry is defined as "a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols." It is indeed a system which is, or ought to be, the guardian of every virtue. I am anxious, therefore, for the extension of its principles. I would have every good man become a Mason, from a selemn conviction of its purity, and its decided influence over the moral character of its members, evinced by their propriety of conduct, their industry, sobriety, and public usefulness. I would have their Faith, and Hope, and Charity, like the pentalpha, or triple triangle of Masonry, mutually assist each other, and combine to sup

8 Stukeley, in his Itinerary, (vol. i. p. 148.) has the following curious remark on this figure. One would be apt to suspect that they (the Druids) had a regard to the sacred symbol and mystical character of medicine, which, in ancient times, was thought of no inconsiderable virtue; this is a pentagonal figure formed from a triple triangle, called by the name of Hygeia, because it may be resolved into the Greek letters that compose the word. The Pythagoreans used it among their disciples as a mystical symbol denoting health; and the cabalistic Jews and Arabians had the same fancy. It is the pentalpha, or pentagrammon, among the

port the rectitude of their professions; and I anticipate that the day is not far distant when Lodges shall be formed in every important town; and the members increase in ample proportion, as mankind behold the fraternity to be wiser and better than those who have not had the advantage of masonic teaching.

With these hopes and anticipations before me, can I be too strenuous in recommending the Free and Accepted Mason to let his light shine before men, that they may glorify the Father which is in heaven? Shall I omit a single opportunity of furthering the interests of Masonry, by raising my voice against the indiscretion of those who are satisfied with a mere profession of masonic zeal, without uniting with it the practice of masonic virtue? No, my brethren in the mystic tie, let it not be said by the uninitiated, that you are deficient in those practical characteristics of the Order, which, when firmly and systematically adhered to, cannot fail to distinguish you from the rest of mankind. And do not forget, that while you cultivate the perfection of your fraternal duties, you will, at the same time, improve in Christian ethics, you will fear God and love your neighbour, you will grow in grace and in the knowledge of that pure system of religion which is cemented by the blood of an atoning Saviour, and, if you persevere to the end, you will receive the reward of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Egyptians; the mark of prosperity. Antiochus Soter, going to fight against the Galatians, was advised in a dream to bear this sign upon his banner, whence he obtained a signal victory."

LECTURE XII..

THE BEAUTIES OF FREEMASONRY

EXEMPLIFIED; AND ITS PECULIAR CEREMONIES AND OBSERVANCES SHEWN TO BE JUDICIOUSLY SELECTED, RATIONALLY MAINTAINED, AND HIGHLY ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE INSTITUTION GENERALLY, AND TO EVERY BROTHER IN PARTICULAR WHO IS WELL VERSED IN THEIR MORAL AND SYMBOLICAL REFERENCE.

Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard;

Spikenard with saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices;

A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

Sol. Song. iv. 13, 14, 15.

THE system of Freemasonry as now practised, combines the Speculative and Operative divisions, as they were reunited at the building of King Solomon's Temple. By the latter I would not be understood to mean the mechanical business of a bricklayer or a mason, but the study of the liberal sciences, including geometry and architecture. The morality of the First Degree, blended with the science and doctrines developed in the Second and Third, constitute the peculiarity, as well as the perfection of the system. If Freemasonry were merely an institution for the propagation of moral truth, it must long ago have yielded to a superior teacher-the pulpit. Had it been confined exclusively to science, a common Literary Society would have answered all its purposes. It is the dulce et utile mixed together-it is the beauty of the arrangement that convinces the understanding and fascinates the heart.