PART SECOND

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

IN THIS PART IS GIVEN A SERIES OF ODES AND POEMS,

embodying emblems and symbols of Masonry, the technical phrases, the myths and traditions, the festival pieces, the references to Lodge nomenclature and numerous offerings concerning death and the dead.

In so great variety of productions will be found appropriate hymns for cornerstone and cap-stone ceremonials, for the consecration of halls and cemeteries, for the semi-annual feasts of the Order, and for all other incidents that agitate the Lodge.

Many of the shorter pieces in this division of the book have been made subjects of musical compositions by famous song writers, among whom may be named without impropriety, H. R. Palmer, Mus. Doc., of New York, Geo. F. Root, of Illinois, A. C. Gutterson, of Minnesota, Prof. Butter-field of Illinois, Ossian E. Dodge, of Minnesota, M. H. Morgan, of Chicago, Ill., Henry C. Tucker, of New York, J. T. Baker, of Massachusetts, H. S. Perkins, of Chicago, Ill., and others of our own country, with some in England.

A few pieces, such as "Our Vows," etc., written only for recitation in tyled assemblies, are properly omitted here.

And yet the world goes round and round,
And the genial seasons run,
And ever the truth comes uppermost
And ever is justice done.

— Brother Charles Mackay.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

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THE SYMBOLISMS OF THE LODGE

THE LODGE FOCUS

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 Right the Open Word,

Which lendeth grace to every thought!

See on the Left the Mason's lord,

'Tis chosen well, the sacred spot.

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 unveil our Mystery.

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,

No further need the speaker seek

Good spirits stand and speak with him!

It is admitted by lecturers 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 the speakers required to take their stand at the focus of the Lodge!

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

THE SQUARE

In the Holy Land, Oriental Masons teach that while the Supreme Architect used the Gauge, Gavel, Plumb, Level, and other working tools in building the earth, yet when He built the heavens He used the Square alone.

'Twas in Damascus on an April day;
In the bazars where pilgrims congregate
I met an aged Mason; on his head
The turban of Mohammed, large and green;
In his right hand the mystic almond rod,
Such as wise Jacob bore, and Moses bore
When the Red Sea was cleft beneath his hand.
Mustapha was his name; tall, gaunt and gray,
Yet his black eye, undimmed, flashed into mine;
And his strong hand exchanged the mystic grip
With sinewy force.

He was my senior by some forty years,
And sixty years a Mason. He had thought
More deeply than the most of the intent
Of Solomon's wise imagery so quaint and old,
And how it makes its impress on the soul.
I asked him which of all these emblems wise
That glorify our Trestle Board, is best?
Which gives divinest light? Which points to us
Most surely the Great Master of the Craft?
In quick reply, he laid that sinewy hand
Upon the Square. It is my favorite type,
One that in a thousand Lodges I have loved
To moralize upon the Trying Square.
He took it up, and with great reverence
Raised it toward the Throne.

"By this," he said,
"The Heaven of Heavens in perfect order fell,
When God took out the Master's implements
From His own chest, and built the universe!
By This the radiant Throne — by This the Courts
Of His own glory were constructed sure!
"Earth and the stars were fashioned well by these,
The Gavel, Trowel, Level, Line and Rule;
The Lodge Celestial by the Square alone!"

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This was the legend that the Arab told.
I partly do believe it, for I see
In this full angle and these perfect lines
What in no other working tool appears.
And noting that you choose this honored type
To give your Lodge a name, I charge you now,
Dear brethren, keep within it! Do your work,
Your praise, your counsels to the listening Craft,
And on your daily walk before the world,
Keep within the Square.

PERFECT ASHLARS

The sunbeams from the eastern sky,
Flash from yon blocks, exalted high,
And on their polished fronts proclaim
The framer and the builder's fame.

Glowing beneath the fervid noon
Yon marble dares the southern sun,
It tells that wall of fervid flame,
The framer and the builder's fame.

The chastened sun, adown the west,
Speaks the same voice and sinks to rest,
No sad defect, no flaw to shame
The framer and the builder's fame.

Beneath the dewy night, the sky
Lights up ten thousand lamps on high;
Ten thousand lamps unite to name
The framer and the builder's fame.

Perfect in line, exact in square,
These Ashlars of the Craftsmen are,
They will to coming time proclaim
The framer and the builder's fame.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

THE WORKING TOOLS

Let us be true, — each Working Tool
The Master places in our care
Imparts a stern but wholesome rule
To all who work and journey here;
The Architect divine has used
The Plumb, the Level and the Square.

Let us be wise; the Level see!
How certain is the doom of man!
So humble should Freemasons be
Who work within this narrow span;
No room for pride and vanity
Let wisdom rule our every plan.

Let us be just; behold the Square!
Its pattern deviates no part
From that which, in the Master's care,
Tries all the angles of the heart.
O sacred implement divine,
Blest emblem of Masonic art!

Let us be true; the unerring Plumb,
Dropped from the unseen Master's hand,
Rich fraught with truthfulness has come,
To bid us rightly walk and stand;
That the All-seeing Eye of God
May bless us from the heavenly land.

Dear friend, whose generous heart I know,
Whose virtues shine so far abroad, —
Long may you linger here below,
To share what friendship may afford!
Long may the Level, Plumb and Square,
Speak forth through you the works of God.

THE APRON

This fair and stainless thing I take
To be my badge for virtue's sake;
Its ample strings that gird me round
My constant cable tow are found;
And as securely they are tied
So may true faith with me abide;
And as I face the sunny South
I pledge to God my Mason's truth,
That while on earth I do remain
My Apron shall not have a stain.

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This fair and stainless thing I raise
In memory of Apprentice days,
When on the checkered pavement wide,
With gauge and gavel well supplied,
I keep my garments free from soil
Though laboring in a menial toil;
And as I face the golden West
I call my Maker to attest
That while on earth I do remain
My Apron shall not have a stain.

This fair and stainless thing I lower, —
Its 'Prentice aid I need no more;
For laws and principles are given
The Fellow Craft direct from Heaven; —
To help the needy, — keep a trust, —
Observe the precepts of the just;
And as I face the darkened North
I send this solemn promise forth,
That while on earth I do remain,
My Apron shall not have a stain.

This fair and stainless thing I fold, —
A Master Mason now behold!
A welcome guest in every land
With princes and with kings to stand;
Close tyled within my heart of hearts
I keep all secret arts and parts,
And try to walk the heavenly road
In daily intercourse with God;
And as I face the mystic East,
I vow by Him I love the best,
That while on earth I do remain,
My Apron shall not have a stain.

This fair and stainless thing I doff; —
But though I take my Apron off
And lay the stainless badge aside, —
Its teaching ever shall abide;
For God has given Light Divine
That we may walk opposed to sin; —
And sympathy and brotherly love
Are emanations from above;
And life itself is only given
To square and shape our souls for Heaven,
The glorious temple in the sky,
The grand Celestial Lodge on high.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

GAVEL SONG

Through the murky clouds of night,

Bursts the blaze of Orient light

In the ruddy East appears the breaking Day.

Oh, ye Masons, up! the sky

Speaks the time of labor nigh,

And the Master calls the quarrymen away.

CHORUS

One, Two, Three, the Gavel sounding,
One, Two, Three, the Craft obey;
Led by holy Word of Love
And the fear of One above,
In the strength of God begin the Opening Day.

Oh, the memory of the time

When the temple rose sublime,

And Jehovah came in fire and cloud to see!

As we bowed in worship there

First we formed the Perfect Square,

And the Master blessed the symbol of the free.

While the Mason craft shall stand,

And they journey o'er the land,

As the golden sun awakes the earth and main,

They will join in mystic ways

To recall the happy days

When on Zion's mount they built Jehovah's fane.

Life is fleeting as a shade, —

We must join the quiet dead,

But Freemasonry eternal life shall bear;

And in bright millennial way

They will keep the Opening Day

With the Sign and Step that make the Perfect Square.

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THE LEVEL

We love to hear the Gavel, to see the silver Square,
But the moral of the Level is best beyond compare, —
Is best beyond compare for it guides us to the West,
Where the shades of evening cover the islands of the blest.

When the weary day has parted and starry lights appear,
We miss the faithful-hearted, the brother-forms so dear, —
The brother-forms so dear, of all the world the best,
But the Level points their mansions in the islands of the blest.

And we again shall meet them within the sunset band,
And face to face shall greet them, the Unforgotten Band, —
The Unforgotten Band, whose emblem is the best,
The Level, for it points us to the islands of the blest.

THE TROWEL

The Perfect Ashlars, duly set
Within the walls, need mortar yet —
A Cement mixed with ancient skill,
And tempered at the Builder's will
With this each crevice is concealed —
Each flaw and crack securely sealed, —
And all the blocks within their place
United in one perfect mass!

For this the Trowel's use is given,
It makes the work secure and even
Secure, that storms may not displace,
Even, that beauty's lines may grace
It is the proof of Mason's art
Rightly to do the Trowel's part!
The rest is all reduced to rule,
But this must come from God's own school!

We build the "House not made with hands";
Our Master, from Celestial lands,
Points out the plan, the blocks, the place,
And bids us build in strength and grace:
From quarries' store we choose the rock,
We shape and smooth the perfect block,
And placing it upon the wall,
Humbly the Master's blessing call.

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But there is yet a work undone, —
To fix the true and polished stone!
The Master's blessings will not fall
Upon a loose, disjointed wall;
Exposed to ravages of time,
It cannot have the mark sublime
That age and honor did bestow
Upon the FANS on Sion's brow.

Brothers, true Builders of the soul,
Would you become one perfect whole,
That all the blasts which time can move
Shall only strengthen you in love?
Would you, as Life's swift sands shall run,
Build up the Temple here begun,
That death's worst onset it may brave,
And you eternal wages have?

Then fix in love's cement the heart!
Study and act the Trowel's part!
Strive, in the Compass' span to live,
And mutual concessions give!
Daily your prayers and alms bestow,
As yonder light doth clearly show,
And walking by the Plummet just,
In God your hope, in God your trust!

THE PUBLIC GRAND HONORS

I.

Bear on your souls, dear friends, the blest departed;

Engrave on memory his beloved name;

Gone to his wages, gone, the faithful-hearted,

Write on heart tablets his deserved fame,

His spotless truth, his boundless charity,

His trust in God, his love for Masonry.

II.

Look to the Lodge floor where he now is walking!

Angel and spirit, he is clothed in white;

Hark, of what mysteries he now is talking;

Too bright, too dazzling for our mortal sight!

There his undying nature has its rest,

In the communion of the good and blest.

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III.

Honor the grave, honor the open earth,

Honor the body that we give to clay;

'Twas an immortal structure from its birth,

And it shall have its resurrection day;

Tenderly give to mother earth the prize,

And let her keep it till God bid it rise.

In recitation, these lines are pointed by the three appropriate movements of the Public Grand Honors as practiced in this country.

THE PILLARS OF THE PORCH

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 modern 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 unmeasured joy,
To this thrice-honored Cement have been given,
This Bond, this Covenant, this sacred Tie.

It comes to us full laden; from the tomb
A countless host conspire to name its worth,
Who sweetly sleep beneath th' Acacia's bloom;
And there is naught 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;

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 Grand Design.

An innovation upon the Masonic landmarks is like removing one of the emblems from the Pillars at the entrance of the Temple. It is Masonic sacrilege.

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THE FIVE POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP

Joyful task it is, dear Brothers

Thus to take upon the lip

With full heart, and fitting gesture,

All our points of fellowship.

Foot and knee, breast, hand and cheek

Each a measured part shall speak:

Speak of answering mercy's call;

Speak of prayer for Masons all;

Speak of keeping secrets duly;

Speak of stretching strong hand truly;

Speak of whispering the unruly.

FOOT TO FOOT: 'tis Mercy's mandate,

When is heard the plaintive sigh,

Hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked,

On the wings of aid to fly;

Hasten, mitigate the grief,

Hasten, bear him quick relief!

Quick with bread to feed the hungry;

Quick with raiment for the naked;

Quick with shelter for the homeless;

Quick with heart's deep sympathy.

KNEE TO KNEE. in silence praying,

Lord, give listening ear that day!

Every earthly stain confessing,

For all tempted Masons pray!

Perish envy, perish hate,

For all Masons supplicate.

Bless them, Lord, upon the ocean;

Bless them perishing in the desert;

Bless them falling 'neath temptation:

Bless them when about to die!

BREAST TO BREAST: in holy casket

At life's center strongly hele,

Every sacred thing intrusted,

Sealed by faith's unbroken seal;

What you promised GoD to shield

Suffer, die, but never yield.

Never yield whate'er the trial;

Never yield whate'er the number;

Never yield though foully threatened,

Even at the stroke of death.

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HAND TO BACK: A Brother falling,

His misfortune is too great,

Stretch the generous hand, sustain him,

Quick, before it is too late.

Like a strong, unfaltering prop,

Hold the faltering Brother up.

Hold him up; stand like a column;

Hold him up; there's good stuff in him;

Hold him with his head toward Heaven;

Hold him with the lion's grip.

CHEEK TO CHEEK: O, when the tempter

Comes, a Brother's soul to win,

With a timely whisper warn him

Of the dark and deadly sin.

Extricate him from the snare,

Save him with fraternal care.

Save him, — heavenly powers invoke you, —

Save him, — man is worth the saving, —

Save him, — breathe your spirit in him

As you'd have your God save you.

This completes the obligation;

Brothers, lest you let it slip,

Fasten on tenacious memory

All our points of Fellowship;

Foot and knee, breast, hand and cheek, —

Foot and knee, breast, hand and cheek.

The above was a favorite poem of Brother Andrew Johnson, late President, and is one that has entered largely into popular use, during the twenty years since it was written. The paraphrase embodies the following ancient form of injunction. "Foot to foot [ teaches ] that we will not hesitate to go on foot and out of our way to aid and succor a needy Brother; knee to knee, that we will ever remember a Brother's welfare, in all our applications to Deity; breast to breast, that we will ever keep, in our breast, a Brother's secrets, when communicated to us as such, murder and treason excepted; hand to back, that we will ever be ready to stretch forth our hand to aid and sup-port a falling Brother: Cheek to cheek, or mouth to ear, that we will ever 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 reformation; and will give him due and timely notice that he may ward off all approaching danger." These sentiments seem to express the whole charitable scheme of Freemasonry. In the succeeding poem the same thought is wrought out to correspond with the English form of injunction.

Transcriber's Note: The following poem, a variation on the one above, is untitled in the the book, but is similar to one known today as

"The Mason's Pledge"

Men and brethren, hear me tell you
What we Masons vowed to do,
When, prepared at mythic altar,
We assumed the Masons' vow:
Hand and foot, knee, breast and back
Listen to the charge they make.
Men and brethren, God be with you
While you keep the charge they make

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Hand to hand, in mystic meeting,
Thrills the Masons' cordial clasp,
Telling of a deathless greeting
Linked in this fraternal grasp:
While upon God's earth we stand
Truth and love go hand in hand.
Men and brethren, God is with you
While in loving grasp ye stand


Foot to foot, he stands before you
Upright in the plummet's line!
Share with him your manly vigor,
Be to him the power divine.
While he keeps the unerring law;
Never let your foot withdraw.
Men and brethren, God be with you,
While ye keep the unerring law!


Knee to knee, in earnest worship,
None but God to hear and heed,
All our woes and sins confessing,
Let us for each other plead.
By the spirit of our call
Let us pray for Brothers all.
Men and brethren, God be with you,
While ye pray for Brothers all!


Breast to breast, in sacred casket,
At life's center let us seal
Every truth to us intrusted,
Nor one holy thing reveal.
What a Mason vows to shield
Die he may, but never yield.
Men and Brethren, God be with you,
While your mysteries you shield!


Hand to back, no base-born slander
Shall assail an absent friend;
We from every foul aspersion
Will the honored name defend,
Warding from a Brother's heart
Slander's vile, envenomed dart.
Men and Brethren, God be with you,
Warding slander's venomed dart!

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Let us, then, in earnest ponder
What we Masons vowed to do,
When prepared at mythic altar
We assumed the Mason's vow.
Hand and foot, knee, breast and back,
Heed the solemn charge they make.
Men and Brethren, God be with you,
While you heed the charge they make!

The author employs the following expressions as a preface to the recitation of this piece: "If there is real antiquity in Freemasonry, as I sincerely believe; if this Order has come to us from the remote period of David and Solomon, as I am convinced it has, then this `Five points of Fellow-ship' is the nucleus around which the whole structure was formed. Nothing in Masonry exhibits the master mind of Solomon like this symbol. How practical thus to teach the principles to Masons by these selected portions of the human body, the foot, knee, breast, hand, cheek; as no one can lawfully be initiated who is deficient in these parts, they become the most undeniable object-lessons, always in sight, always in front!"

THE SACRED CORD, THRICE WOUND

Bind it once, that in his heart,

He may surely hold

All the mysteries of the Art,

As did the Craft of old;

Bind it once, and make the noose

Strong, that sin shall not unloose.

Bind it twice, that Masons' law,

Faith and Charity,

Ever may his spirit draw

In one resistless tie;

Bind it twice, and make the noose

Stronger, — death alone shall loose.

Bind it thrice, that every deed,

Virtuous and chaste,

On the heavenly page be spread,

Worthy of the best;

Bind it thrice, and make the noose

Strongest, — death shall not unloose.

These lines were highly complimented by Brother George D. Prentice.

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THE HOLY SCRIPTURES — A RECITATION IN FIVE PARTS

I. EXORDIUM

(Bible closed. Position west of the altar, facing the east.)

The Landmarks of Freemasonry are graven on God's Word;
It tells the Wisdom and the Strength and Beauty of the Lord;
These tapers three, in mystic form, reveal to willing eyes
The freest, purest, grandest light of Masons' mysteries.
O Wise and Good Grand Master,
Reveal this Law to us!

(Position north of the altar, facing the south.)

As lies the mightiest oak within the acorn's fragile shell,
So, with the secrets of the Craft, they in this Volume dwell;
King Solomon, directed here by the Omniscient Judge,
Drew forth the ashlars from their place, and built the Mason's Lodge.

(Position east of the altar, and facing the west.)

The golden Law unfolds itself, mysterious, by degrees;
At first comes sunrise, then high twelve, then sunset gilds the trees;
So, by three grades, we see our Ladder up to Heaven ascend,
And rising stronger, clearer, holier to the very end.

II. THE ENTERED APPRENTICE

(Bible open at the 133d Psalm.
Through the rest of the recitation, the speaker stands west of the altar, facing the east.)

"Behold how good and pleasant 'tis, — read it on yonder page, —
For brethren in true harmony of labor to engage!
'Tis like the dew of Hermon, yea, 'tis like the holy oil.
It sweetens all life's bitterness and mitigates the toil."
O Wise and Good Grand Master,
We bless Thee for this light!

We must work in Fidelity; no mystic thing, reposed
Under the sacred seal of faith, should ever be disclosed;
This, this is the foundation stone King Solomon did lay,
And curses on the traitor's heart that would the trust betray.
We must not take the Holy Name, the awful Name in vain;
God will not hold us guiltless, if we dare that Word profane;
But all our trust must be in Him, sole source of living faith,
From our first entrance to the Lodge till we lie down in death.

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III. THE FELLOW CRAFT

(Bible open at the 7th Chapter of Amos.)

The Master stood upon the wall, a plumb line in his hand,
And thus in solemn warning to the working, listening Band:
"By this unerring guide," he said, "build up your edifice,
For I will blast your labors as ye deviate from this!"
O Wise and Good Grand Master,
We bless Thee for this light!

We must preserve the Landmarks olden, that our fathers set;
Approved of God, hoary with age, they are most precious yet;
Our brothers over the river worked within their mystic bound,
And for a six days' faithfulness, a full fruition found.
We must relieve the destitute, disconsolate and poor;
For 'tis our Master sends them to our hospitable door;
And He who giveth all things richly, to His children's cry,
Will mark, well pleased, our readiness His bounty to supply.

IV. THE MASTER MASON

(Bible open at the 12th Chapter of Ecclesiastes.)

Remember our Creator now, before the days shall come
When all our senses failing point to nature's common doom;
While love and strength and hope conspire life's pilgrimage to cheer,
We'll give our Master grateful praise whose goodness is so dear.
O Wise and Good Grand Master,
We bless Thee for this light!

We must in honor shield the pure, the chaste ones of the Craft;
Ward off the shaft of calumny, the envenomed, horrid shaft;
Abhor deceit and subterfuge, cling closely to a friend;
And for ourselves and others at the shrine of mercy bend.
We must inter in everlasting hope the faithful dead;
Above their precious forms the green and fragrant 'cacia spread;
'Tis but a little while they sleep, in nature's kindly trust,
And then the Master's Gavel will arouse them from the dust,

V. PERORATION

(Bible closed.)

And thus exhaustless mine of truth this holy Volume lies,
As open to the faithful heart as to the inquiring eyes;
Here are no dark recesses, but Freemasons all may see
The Landmarks of the ancient Craft, beneath the tapers three.
O Wise and Good Grand Master,
This Law shall be our guide!

In every place, at every hour, this constant friend we have,
In quarry and in forest, on the mount and on the wave;
At toil and at refreshment, in youth, manhood, and old age,
Let's draw our inspiration from its bright and holy page.
O Wise and Good Grand Master,
This Law shall be our guide.

Thus laboring, all our six days' burdens cheerfully we'll bear,
In hopes of wages ample, golden, held in promise there;
Then resting with the faithful, wait the Master's gracious will,
The summons to the Lodge above that crowns the heavenly hill.
O Wise and Good Grand Master,
Desert us not in death!

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STRONG FOUNDATION

Craftsmen, this lesson heed and keep,
Lay your foundations wide and deep!
When the appointed time had come,
And Israel from allotted home,
Came up, by Solomon's command,
To lay in state the corner stone,
And build the Temple high and grand,
Such as the Lord would crown and own,
The Monarch by a just decree
Thus set the law eternally:
"Lay your foundation deep, the fane
Will not eternally remain;
For tooth of time will gnaw its side
And foe deface its golden pride;
Pillar, pilaster, height, and base,
May mingle in the foul disgrace;
But with foundation deep and wise,
Other and nobler works may rise,
And till the earth in ruin fall
Some structure crown Moriah's wall."

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The people bowed obedient head;
Hiram, the Architect, began,
By long and wise experience led
(How sadly to our spirits come
The memories of the good man's doom!)
To justify the Monarch's plan.
From mighty quarries raised, the rock
In ashlars huge and weighty, drew;
See yet they rise upon the view
In spite of time and earthquake's shock!
Until there stood, as yet there stands,
The grandest pile of human hands;
A sure foundation, deep and wise,
On which the noblest works may rise.

The underpinning of Solomon's Temple, intact to the present day, is the heaviest piece of stone masonry ever constructed.

THE TESSERA

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
Which bound the heart forever.
"Broken thus the Token be,
While o'er the 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, I love thee!
Keep it there whate'er betide,
To guard thee and to prove thee!
And should the Token e'er be lost,
The ring that now is riven,
I'll know that death hath sent the frost,
And look for thee in Heaven!"

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

Parted on the sounding shore,
Each the Token keeping,
Met these Brothers nevermore
In death they're widely sleeping.
But yet love's victory was won, —
The scar that bond expresses,
Their long and painful wanderings done
Has closed and left no traces!

The ancient practice of sealing devoted friendship between parting friends, by separating some metallic substances, as a ring, a coin, and the like, and dividing the fragments between the parties, is not altogether 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.

THE DOOR OF THE HEART

Tyle the door carefully, Brothers of skill,

Vigilant workers in valley and hill!

Cowans and eavesdroppers ever alert,

Tyle the door carefully, door of the heart.

Carefully, carefully, tyle the door carefully,

Tyle the Door carefully, door of the heart.

Guard it from envyings, let them not in;

Malice and whisperings, creatures of sin;

Bid all unrighteousness sternly depart,

Brothers in holiness, tyling the heart.

Holily, holily, tyle the door holily,

Tyle the Door holily, door of the heart.

But should the Angels of Mercy draw nigh,

Messengers sent from the Master on high —

Should they come knocking with mystical art,

Joyfully open the door of the heart!

Joyfully, joyfully, ope the door joyfully,

Ope the door joyfully, door of the heart.

Are they not present, those angels, to-night,

Laden with riches and sparkling with light?

Oh, to enjoy all the bliss they impart,

Let us in gratitude, open the heart!

Gratefully, thankfully, ope the door thankfully,

Ope the Door thankfully, door of the heart.

90

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

BEAUTIFUL STONE OF THE MASONIC ARCH

If I were the Master Grand,

If I were the King of Judah now,

And of that sage Tyrian band

Who wore the cockle shell on the brow,

I'll tell you what I'd do:

I'd choose my brightest Parian rock,

No flaw or crevice in the block,

And right above the ivory throne,

I'd set the beautiful stone,

The beautiful, beautiful stone.

I'd take from Lebanon the trees,

The cedars fragrant, tall and fair,

And hardened by the centuries.

And them to the Mount I'd bear;

Hiram should them prepare.

From Ophir's golden sands I'd drain

The yellow, choice and glitt'ring grain,

And these in mystic form should crown

The white and beautiful stone, —

The beautiful, beautiful stone.

Then unto every shrine I'd go,

To every lorn and humble grave,

And all the prayers and tears that flow

From women meek, and manhood brave,

And orphan lone, I'd have;

Prayers for sweet incense should arise,

And holy tears for sacrifice;

I'm sure that God Himself would own

And bless the beautiful stone, —

The beautiful, beautiful stone.

This beautiful stone, its name should be

Each loving Mason loves it well,

'Tis writ in glory, — Charity, —

Best word the earth can tell,

Best word the heavens can tell;

Above the ivory throne so bright, —

Were I the Master Grand to-night,

Where God and man alike would own

I'd set the beautiful stone,

The beautiful, beautiful stone.

91

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

THE CHECKERED PAVEMENT

I on the White Square, you on the Black;

I at fortune's face, you at her back;

Friends to me many, friends to you few;

What, then, dear Brother, binds me to you?

This, the Great Covenant in which we abide —

Hearts charged with sympathy —

Hands opened wide

Lips filled with comfort,

And God to provide.

I in life's valley, you on its crest;

I at its lowest, you at its best;

I sick and sorrowing, you hale and free;

What, then, dear Brother, binds you to me?

This, the Great Covenant in which we abide —

Hearts 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?

This, the Great Covenant in which we abide —

Hearts charged with sympathy

Hands opened wide —

Lips filled with comfort,

And God to provide.

Let none be comfortless, let none despair;

Lo, round the Black grouped the White Ashlars are!

Stand by each other, black fortune defy,

All these vicissitudes end, by and by.

Keep the Great Covenant wherein we abide —

Hearts charged with sympathy

Hands opened wide

Lips filled with comfort,

And God will provide!

There is no emblem that teaches a more practical every-day lesson to a Freemason than the Mosaic pavement, denoting human life checkered with good and evil.

92

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

THE CORNER STONE

The thought embodied in these lines is one of the most charming fancies in Masonic symbolism; for the use of the trowel is admittedly the best work of the best Masons, and the Lodge that exists in peace and harmony is the model Lodge. To disturb this harmony by substituting clamor, calumny, and harsh judgment for the mild voices of peace is what is implied in the following lines under the idea of robbing the corner stone!

Here is a legend that our fathers told
When Mason toils were done, and round the board
The Craftsmen sat harmonious, in the glow
Of Brotherly Love ! I heard it long ago
From lips now silent; and by this corner stone
I fain would tell it as 'twas told to me.

'Tis said that Solomon, in the vast array
Of nine score thousand workmen who came up
From Lebanon's foot, to build the temple, found
Discord and strife, contentions harsh and sharp,
Even to murder; hands that wielded best
The peaceful Trowel, black with human gore;
Aprons, worn to protect them from the soil,
Bloody with horrid stain; and in their speech,
Instead of gentle memories of home,
And children's prattle and sweet mother love,
Dire curses, threats, the very speech of Hell, —
Such base materials came up from Tyre.

King Solomon all humbly took the case to God,
And in deep visions of the night the Voice
Divine came to his soul in sweet response.
From the great Peace Lodge, where the patriarchs sit,
Wisdom descended, and his soul was glad.
The Wisest gave our wisest such a warmth
Of Light celestial that the fire has burned,
Steady, undimmed, lo, these three thousand years.

'Twas this. I was but young in Masonry
When first I heard it; and 'twas told to me
By one of four score, long since gone to Heaven;
And he did testify unto his truth;
And now, I add the experience of my life
To its strict verity, and it was this: —

The Monarch bade prepare a corner stone,
Vastly more large than this, than ten of this;

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

I saw it in my visit to the place —
A monstrous Ashlar, beveled on the edge,
Phoenician emblem, standing plumb and firm
Within the mountain, standing, as we say,
Respected friends, "trusty, deep-laid and true!"
And on the under side of this large stone,
King Solomon gave orders to scoop out
A Cavity, as you have done with this;
And when with mighty enginery, the Block
Was raised, as yours, dear Craft, just now was done,
He placed, with his own hands, within the Crypt,
What think you? newspapers? and current coins?
And names of honored men? No, no, he placed
All those damned vices, that discolored so
The spirits of his workmen, hatreds, all
That stained their Aprons, fouled their Trowels, cursed
The air of Palestine with notes of Hell!
These things by his great power, King Solomon took
From out the hearts of that Freemason band,
Placed them within the Crypt and ordered quick,
The mighty stone let down, and closed them there,
And stamped his Mystic Seal upon the stone!
And there they lie intact, unto this hour!

Henceforth the Work all peacefully went on;
The giant stones were laid within the walls
Without the sound of ax or iron tool.
Pure Brotherly Love sublimely reigned, and so
The Temple of King Solomon was built!
Honored and well beloved Grand Master! see
This mighty Order you so justly rule,
For thirty centuries has given respect
To Solomon's Seal! his corner stone abides
Right where he planted it, the strange contents
Festering dishonored in their dark repose.
Oh, may they never rise to plague the Craft!
No blood is on our Aprons, on our Tools
No trace of human gore; upon our tongues
No unfraternal epithets; thank God!
Thank God! And to the latest day of earth,
When the last trump shall call the blest above,
May Peace, sweet Peace, celestial Peace, abide
In Masons' lodges and in Masons' souls.

94

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

THE GRAND HAILING SIGN

Shipwrecked, nigh drowned, alone upon the sands,
Chilled with the flood and with the frosty air
Hungry and wounded, lo, a Mason stands,
And looks despairingly on nature there.

Her coldest frown the face of nature wears;
She offers to the shipwrecked but a grave!
No fruits, sustaining life, the forest bears,
No cheering flowers nor yet a sheltering cave.

The brake impenetrable closes round;
Thence the dense clouds of stinging insects come,
Maddening with venom every cruel wound,
Vexing the spirit with their ceaseless hum.

No hope, no hope! the soul within him dies;
He seeks a sepulture within the sands,
Once more unto his mother's breast he flies,
And scoops a self-made grave with bleeding hands.

The river moans in solemn strains his dirge;
The unfeeling birds upon the tree tops sing,
Or in the distant skies their pinions urge,
Southward to regions of perpetual spring.

He bids farewell to life; its joys so sweet;
Children and mother, — happy, happy home, —
But yesterday, ran out his steps to greet,
And bless his coming who no more shall come.

He bids farewell, and seals it with a prayer;
That lonely beach resounded with the word.
"Keep them, All Gracious, in thy tender care,
Thou art the widow's, Thou the orphans' God."

Then downward lying on earth's kindly lap,
He draws the sand as a thick blanket o'er,
And strives in dreamless quietude to sleep,
Vexed by life's fears and hungerings no more.

But hark, O joy! the voice, the voice of man!
Springing with heart elastic from his bed,
Life's strong desires in him revive again,
And hopes that seemed but now forever fled.

95

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

A gallant boat doth down the river come,
A hundred men upon its margin crowd;
Surely among the many there are some
Who know the Mystic Sign, the Holy Word!

He makes the Signal and the Signal Cry;
The pitying crowds his frantic gestures see;
The echoing shores his solemn words swept by,
"O, God, is there no help, no help for me?"

Alas, no help! 'tis thus that traitors work;
Ay, even so full many a gallant boat,
Decoyed by pirates, as they grimly lurk,
Has met the brand, or the destructive shot.

Yearning to stop and save him, how they gaze!
Some answering who know not what they do,
Some weep, some turn away in sheer amaze,
And so the vessel vanishes from view.

All then is death and solitude again;
Months pass; a wary hunter hurrying by,
Sees on the beach the sad decay of man,
And gives a grave for kind humanity.

Aad in the silence of the winter night,
A voice from that poor skeleton is heard:
"The heart of man is smitten with a blight,
There is no help but in the pitying God!"

LETTER G

Referred to the emblem of Deity that marks the Lodge-East. Deo optimo, maximo [To God, all great].

That Name! I learned it at a mother's knee,
When, looking up, the fond and tearful face
Beaming upon my eyes so tenderly,
She prayed that God her little son would bless!

That Name! I spoke it when I entered here,
And bowed the knee, as each Freemason must;
From my heart's center with sincerity,
I said, "In God, in God is all my trust!"

96

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

That Name! I saw it o'er the Master's chair,
"The Hieroglyphic bright," and, bending low,
Paid solemn homage at the emblem there,
That speaks of God, before whom all must bow!

That Name! In silence I invoked its power
When dangers thickened and when death was nigh!
In solemn awe I felt the death clouds lower,
And whispered, "God be with me if I die!"

That Name! the last upon my faltering tongue,
Ere death shall still it, it shall surely be;
The Password to the high celestial throng,
Whose Lord is Gon in truth and majesty!

That Name then, Brothers, always gently speak,
Before your father's, mother's name revered!
Such blessings from His gracious hand we take,
O be His honor to our souls endeared!

QUARRY

Darkly hid beneath the quarry,

Masons, many a true block lies;

Hands must shape and hands must carry

Ere the stone the Master prize.

Seek for it, — measure it,

Fashion it, — polish it!

Then the Overseer 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 Overseer will use.

'Twas for this our Fathers banded, —

Through life's quarries they did roam,

Faithful-hearted, skillful-handed,

Bearing many a true block home.

Noticing, — measuring,

Fashioning, — polishing!

For their glorious Temple home.

97

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

THE PERFECT BRICK

Come, ye that strongly build,
And deftly wield
The Level, Plumb and Square!
Ye whose hard, girding toil,
God's Corn and Wine and Oil
Were made to cheer!
Ye clothed in aprons white,
Whose uttermost delight,
All through life's toilsome week,
Is, from the quarry, to perfect a stone,
That the Chief O'erseer will own,
And bless from His exalted Throne,
Come, and I'll tell you of a Perfect Brick!


Fit for the inclosing Wall
Of Hiram's royal Hall;
Fit for the Pavement that Queen Sheba trod;
Fit for the Capstone high,
Or in the Depths to lie,
Hid from each prying eye,
In the Mount of God,
This Perfect Brick, whose shape delights the view,
Whose polish charms us, too,
Whose angles all are true,
By examination due,
This Mason fair and meek,
This son of Light and eke the son of Love,
Whose pattern is the Sun and Dove,
Rare are the virtues of our Perfect Brick!


See, on its six-fold face
This Perfect Brick displays the things of light!
Turn it about, about, and trace
The ancient symbols as they catch the sight!
The Trowel, — ah, it speaks of spreading peace,
Causing all wars and bickerings to cease!
The Compass, — ah, it serves to warm the soul,
To circumscribe the passions and control
The appetites within the due and honest bound!
The G, — can any view that mystic round,
Nor feel like bending reverent knee,
As if in presence of the Deity?

98

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

It is the Signet of a King,
Greater than Babylonian bard did sing!
The Square, — its trumpet tongue proclaims
Great virtue's power to Square the heart,
Upon the perfect angles of our Art!
The Broken Column, whose white marble gleams
Above the grave of Hiram; and the Spray
Of everlasting Green that bade them seek
"Where he lay buried "; and through countless years
Of sin and strife, and mortal agony,
Hath taught the sorrowing spirit to look up,
Amidst its tears, and fondly hope,
In Immortality to lose its cares,
These are the Emblems of our Perfect Brick!


At last life's powers fail;
The Silver Cord is loosed, the Wheel
Of Life, and Golden Bowl are broken;
The sunny days return no more;
There comes through every avenue, the Token,
That Death is knocking at the Door!
The Grinders cease; the Eyes grow dim;
Gray Hairs are blossoming above;
The Ear no more receives the happy hymn,
The Heart no more is kindled up with love;
The ruffian Death his work completes, —
The Mourners go about the streets,
Our souls with Sympathy to move!
Beneath the green Sprigs we entomb
Him the delight of the Mason's Home!

What, then, is there for all his toil
Through life's long, weary week,
No Corn and Wine and Oil?
Ye unseen, hovering Spirits, speak!
Hath the Grand Master a reward
For him who sleeps beneath the sod?
I tell you yes! and when the wick
Of life's poor taper all is spent,
And the body goes to banishment,
The Soul, the Soul, the white-robed Soul,
All earthly dross off throwing, finds its goal;
The Column finds its place in Temple high,
To stand in honor to Eternity,
Then God Himself will claim our Perfect Brick!

The expression "Perfect Brick," is but another form for that of "Perfect Ashlar."

99

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

QUARRY, HILL AND TEMPLE

Thine in the Quarry, whence the stone
For mystic workmanship is drawn;
On Jordan's shore,
By Zarthan's plain,
Though faint and weary, thine alone.
The gloomy mine knows not a ray, —
The heavy toil exhausts the day,
But love keeps bright
The weary heart,
And sings, I'm 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 thee 'tis given.

Thine in the Temple, holy place,
Where silence reigns, the type of peace;
With grip and sign,
And mystic line,
My Mason's friendship I confess.
Each block we raise, that friendship grows,
Cemented firmly 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 upon the wave, —
By Joppa's hill,
By Kedron's rill,
And thine when Sabbath rest we have.
Yes, yes, dear friend, my spirit saith:
I'm thine until and after death!
No bounds control
The Mason's soul
Cemented with the Mason's faith.

100

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

TRUE CORNERSTONE

What is the Mason's cornerstone?
Does the mysterious temple rest
On earthly ground — from east to west —
From north to south — and this alone?

What is the Mason's cornerstone?
Is it to toil for fame and pelf,
To magnify our petty self,
And love our friends — and this alone?

No, no; the Mason's cornerstone —
A deeper, stronger, nobler base,
Which time and foe cannot displace
Is Faith in God — and this alone!

'Tis this which makes the mystic tie
Loving and true, divinely good,
A grand, united brotherhood,
Cemented 'neath the All-seeing Eye.

'Tis this which gives the sweetest tone
To Mason's melodies; the gleam
To loving eyes; the brightest gem
That sparkles in the Mason's crown.

'Tis this which makes the Mason's grip
A chain indissolubly strong;
It banishes all fraud, and wrong,
And coldness from our fellowship.

Oh, cornerstone, divine, divine!
Oh, Faith in God! it buoys us up,
And gives to darkest hours a hope,
And makes the heart a holy shrine.

Brothers, be this your cornerstone;
Build every wish and hope on this;
Of present joy, of future bliss,
On earth, in Heaven — and this alone!

101

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

CORN, WINE, OIL

It is the Master's province to communicate light to the Brethren.

They come from many a pleasant home —

To do the Ancient Work they come,

With cheerful hearts and light;

They leave the world without, apace,

And gathering here in secret place,

They spend the social night;

They earn the meed of honest toil,

Wages of Corn, and Wine, and Oil.

Upon the sacred Altar lies,

Ah, many a precious sacrifice

Made by these working men:

The passions curbed, the lusts restrained,

And hands with human gore unstained,

And hearts from envy clean;

They earn the meed of honest toil,

Wages of Corn, and Wine, and Oil.

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 griefs they share,

As One has done before;

They earn the meed of honest toil,

Wages of Corn, and Wine, and Oil.

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 Corn, and Wine, and Oil.

102

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

Then will each Brother's tongue declare

How bounteous his wages are,

And Peace will reign within;

Your walls with skillful 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,

Let none dissatisfied depart,

But give them full reward;

Give Light, that longing eyes may see;

Give Truth, that doth from error free:

Give them to know the Lord!

Give them the meed of honest toil,

Wages of Corn, and Wine, and Oil.

THE HOUR GLASS

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 afford,

Then at the last The Master

Shall double our reward!"

103

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

OH CEDAR TREE

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!


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!
Lighter gleams the wintry sky,
Lighter on his furrowed face
Smiling at the mystery!


Soon to rest, Oh Cedar tree,
Soon the veteran shall be borne,
There to sleep, and patiently
Wait the resurrection morn.
Thou shalt perish from the earth;
He in sacred youth revive,
Glorious in a better birth,
Truths like these the emblems give.

In the lawn that graces an aged Mason's residence stands a Cedar tree, planted in 1836, "for Masonic purposes." Still (in 1853) the withered hand that placed it there to furnish sprigs of ever-green for burial use was strong enough to do the Master's Work at each Lodge meeting. and still at an age passing the Psalmist's utmost computation, he who planted it waited patiently for the day when its limbs should be bared of their foliage to bestrew his coffin.

104

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

EAR OF CORN

Of the water fall 'tis born,

In the nodding fields of corn,

Blest type of Masons' love and plenty;

And the hymn of our delight

Shall be this symbol bright,

Singing the type of love and plenty.

CHORUS

The emblem of plenty,

The rich, Golden Ear,

Gift of a Father of grace ever dear,

Oh, the hymn of our delight,

Shall be of this emblem bright,

Singing the type of love and plenty.

Of the bliss of earth it tells, —

Every blessing in it dwells,

Sunshine is on its treasure golden;

And the cooling drops of morn

Have bedewed the nodding Corn,

Ripe in the field of treasure golden.

In the nodding Ear of Corn,

Finds the spirit, weary, worn,

Hopes, hopes of better days in Heaven;

When the harvest toil is done,

And the feasting is begun,

Joy, joy, the Sabbath day of Heaven!

Let the golden symbol be

Where the toiling Crafts may see,

Toiling, and never quite despairing;

Of the water fall 'tis born,

In the nodding fields of Corn,

Meet for the soul in its despairing.

The Masonic emblem of the Ear of Corn, though rarely commented upon by our writers, is, in fact, one of the most expressive of all the designs upon our Trestle Board. It is generic, embodying all those symbols that refer to refreshment, rest, holidays, and the slumbers of the grave. In every Lodge the Ear of Corn should constitute one of those conspicuous objects which, like the letter G, by attracting the eye, instruct the mind. Its place is over the station of the Junior Warden.

105

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

WEARING THE EMBLEMS

You wear the Square! but have you got
That thing the Square denotes?
Is there within your inmost soul
That principle which should control
Your actions, words, and thoughts?
The Square of Virtue, — is it there,
Oh, you that wear the Mason's Square?

You wear the Compass! Do you keep
Within that circle due
That's circumscribed by law divine,
Excluding hatred, envy, sin,
Including all that's true?
The Moral Compass draws the line,
And lets no evil passions in!

You wear the Trowel! have you got
That mortar, old and pure,
Made on the recipe of God
Divulged within His ancient Word,
Indissoluble, sure?
And do you spread, 'twixt man and man,
That precious mixture as you can?

You wear the Oriental G!
Ah, Brother, have a care!
He whose All-Seeing Eye surveys
Your inmost heart, with open gaze,
Knows well what thoughts are there!
Let no profane, irreverent word
Go up t' insult th' avenging God!

You wear the Cross! it signifies
The burdens Jesus bore,
Who, staggering, fell, and bleeding, rose,
And took to Golgotha the woes
The world had borne before!
The Cross, — oh, let it say, Forgive,
Father, forgive, to all that live!

Dear Brother! if you will display
These emblems of our Art,
Let the great morals that they teach
Be deeply graven, each for each,
Upon an honest heart!
Then they will tell, to God and man,
Freemasonry's all-perfect plan!

106

SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

FOUNDATION STONE

When the Spirit came to Jephtha,
Animating his great heart,
He arose, put on his armor,
Girt his loins about to part,
Bowed the knee, implored a blessing,
Gave the earnest of his faith,
Then, divinely strung, departed,
Set for victory or death.

If a rude, uncultured 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, Pilgrims, boldly
Build and journey in His trust;
Square your deeds by precepts holy,
And the end is surely blest.

Vainly will the builders labor
If the Overseer be 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.

107

THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

THE VETERANS' GATHERING

Composed for a gathering of Masons at the Grand Union Hotel, New York City, February 15, 1883, in compliment to Brother Rob Morris, of Kentucky.

'Tis well nigh forty years ago,
This gallant company set forth,
A warmer-hearted set, I trove,
Hath never graced the earth;
And here we are, — a veteran ring,
A remnant old and gray,
Resolved, whate'er the morn may bring,
To-night we will be gay, dear Boys,
Oh, very glad and gay.

Then close the ranks, touch elbows, Boys,
Old friends are dropping fast,
Close up, close up a manly front,
'Twill all come right at last, dear Boys,
Sure to come right at last.

What's three score years to men like you?
The spirit scorns a base control,
Old Time your sturdy backs may bow,
He cannot bend the soul;
The eye that scans an honest life
Nor age nor clouds may dim;
The heart with generous promptings rife
Sings a perpetual hymn, dear Boys,
A bright, perpetual hymn.

Shall we begrudge the tender tear
To those who've stemmed the Lethean wave?
Ah, no, 'twill cast no shadows here
To name them in the grave;
We loved them, "there's no fear in love,"
Then reach across the sea,
And hail them in their homes above,
Bright forms of memory, dear Boys,
Best forms of memory.

A moment longer, — he whose name
To-night goes round your festive board,
In stammering words and couplets tame
Thus pledges heart and word;
"We may not meet again 'till death
Unite us 'neath his power,
But while I draw the vital breath
I'll not forget this hour, dear Boys,
Never forget this hour!"

Then close the ranks, touch elbows, Boys,
Old friends are dropping fast;
Close up, close up a manly front,
'Twill all come right at last, dear Boys,
Sure to come right at last.

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

GAVEL

"We meet upon the Level," is the Senior Warden's word,

As he lifts his mystic column in the West,

"We act upon the Plumb" — is the Junior's quick accord,

And to work the brothers hasten with a zest.

But the Gavel is my fancy

Over Level, Square and Plumb,

For it marks the very spirit of command,

In its ringing notes methodic

Every dissonance is dumb,

And a willing spirit hovers o'er the band.

"We part upon the Square" is the fiat of the East

When the hour of ten commands us to depart,

And the Junior lifts his column, and the Tyler is released,

And we hurry to the welcome of the heart.

But the Gavel is my fancy,

I shall never cease to cry,

'Tis Celestial music dropping to the earth;

'Tis a memory of the angels

As they heard it in the sky,

When the King from chaos called creation forth.

In the weird and mystic circle, solemn silence brooding round,

There's a something all invisible but strong,

Maybe summoned from the Highest by the Gavel's holy sound,

And it brings the better spirit to the throng.

Oh the Gavel, Master's Gavel,

It shall ever have my praise

While the Book and Symbol whisper "God is love";

In His mighty Name it speaketh,

All contention it allays,

Till the Lodge below is like the Lodge above.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

THE EMBLEMS OF THE CRAFT

Who wears the Square upon his breast

Does in the face of God attest, —

And in the face of man,

That all his actions will compare

With the divine, the unerring Square,

That squares great Virtue's plan.

And he erects his edifice

By this design, and this, and this.

Who wears the Level says that pride

Does not within his soul abide,

Nor foolish vanity;

That man has but a common doom,

And from the cradle to the tomb

An equal destiny.

And he erects his edifice

By this design, and this, and this.

Who wears the Plumb, behold how true

His words and walk! and could we view

The chambers of his soul,

Each hidden thought, so pure and good,

By the stern line of rectitude

Points up to Heaven's goal;

And he erects his edifice

By this design, and this, and this.

Who wears the G, — that mark divine, —

Whose very sight should banish sin,

Has faith in God alone;

His Father, Maker, Friend, he knows;

He vows and pays to God his vows

Before the eternal throne;

And he erects his edifice

By this design, and this, and this.

Thus life and beauty come to view

In each design our fathers drew,

So glorious and sublime;

Each breathes an odor from the bloom

Of gardens bright beyond the tomb,

Beyond the flight of time,

And bids us ever build on this,

The walls of God's own edifice.

In reciting this popular piece it should be marked with full esoteric accompaniments, to give it due effect.

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

SETTING A MEMORIAL

We'll set a green sprig here to-night,
To rescue, from the days to come,
Each bright and joyous memory
That henceforth gilds this festive room;
And should occasion e'er require
A token, to recall the place,
These Leaves will bring to clearest view,
The cheerful thought and sunny face.

We'll set a green and deathless sprig —
Each leaf a Brother's Name shall have;
And fragrant will th' acacia bloom
When one has left us for the grave;
When one in Temple labor fails,
And golden bowl is broken quite,
How grateful to the sense will be
The green sprig that we set to-night!

We'll set the sprig with every hand,
Come round, and plant the deathless tree!
There is not one in all this band
But what is marked by destiny;
Death comes to all — how well to know
There is a life beyond this scene,
Whose deathless limit may be read,
O, Brothers, in this sacred green!

We'll set the green sprig deep in love;
We'll water it with sympathy;
We'll give it fond and faithful care,
Nor shall a single leaflet die;
And when the last of this true band,
Death's mighty puissance shall attest,
May those who follow after say,
Faithful and true, how sweet they rest.

These lines embody an expression familiar to the Masonic reader: "Setting a green sprig, that the place may be known should occasion ever require it."

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

SHOE

Take this pledge! it is a token
Of a truth that ne'er was broken, —
Truth which binds the Mystic Tie,
Under the All-seeing Eye.

Take this pledge! each ancient Brother,
By this gift bound every other
Firmly, so that death, alone,
Rent the bonds that made them one.

Take this pledge! no pledge so holy;
Though the symbol seem but lowly,
'Tis divine! It tells of One,
Of the raindrops and the sun.

Take this pledge! the token sealeth
All that judgment day revealeth;
Honor, truth, fraternal Grace,
Brother, in thy hands I place!

THE GREEN SPRIG

From me to thee, from 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 Fidelity,
'Twixt, Brother, thee and me!

'In distant land, in olden time,
The Acacia bore the mark sublime,
And told to each discerning eye
A deathless constancy.
So may these green leaves whisper now,
Inform the heart, inspire the vow,
And link the chain Fidelity,
'Twixt, Brother, thee and me!

It was the practice of the members of the now dissolved Order of Conservators, to inclose in all their correspondence with each other a sprig of evergreen.

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

THE SWEEP OF SYMBOLISM

In the conception and arrangement of the following pieces, the writer has imagined himself conducting an intelligent inquirer around and through a well ordered Lodge room, whose lights, furniture, jewels and ornaments are complete in number, appropriate in pattern, and systematic in arrangement.

The neophyte is supposed to enter at the visitor's portal in the southwest, and stand, for a moment, taking in the imagery of the Lodge with a comprehensive look. Then the hierophant addresses him in these fifty-two forms of instruction:

I. THE MICROCOSM.

"The Freemasons' Lodge is a microcosm of symbolic forms and colors; a chamber of imagery; a school of moral truth, developed through ancient forms."

Bright Microcosm of high celestial types,
World of rare form and color, quaint,
Instructive in eternal laws which bind
All creatures, — yield us now thy truth!
Bear us above the sordid things of time;
For one brief hour; and let us see above,
Below, around this secret chamber, what
The Sages wrote upon the mystic tombs
That yawn in emptiness along the Nile.

II. BLUE

THE CELESTIAL COLOR

The cerulean sky, nowhere so deeply blue as in the land of Hiram, affords fitting color for the Masonic Lodge.

The o'erarching sky around our busy sphere
Looks down alike on every race of man;
Where'er our feet may wander, there appears
With morning blush and evening's crimsoning,
The sober BhuE prevailing over all.
So should a Mason's charity extend,
To every needy soul, unchecked by clime,
By nation unrestricted, and by tongue!
For where the destitute, there, too, is God,
Calling us thither with an open hand,
To do His charity upon the poor.

III APRON

NO DEGENERATION

No person can become worse for being a Mason. "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called," says the most philosophical writer of the sacred canon, and the injunction is made practical in Masonry.

White, only white, the badge of truth,
Type of unspotted innocence,
The virgin color, lily-white,
Tire hue that marks the sheeted dead.
The Lodge Celestial, round the Throne,
The raptured choir, all enrobed in white,
Sing high salvation unto God
Cleansed of all gross impurity,
We toilers in the Moral Fane,
So, humbly wear our garments, white.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

IV. EAST, WEST AND SOUTH

NORTH, THE PLACE OF DARKNESS

In all systems of ancient rites, the Borean has been stigmatized as the quarter of "frigid cold and cheerless dark."

Why tread in gloomy shades, when paths
Of light await the willing steps?
Leave the dark Borean to the feet
Profane — to cowan's feet profane —
To shapeless monsters of the night
That hate the glories of the noon,
Marauders of the dark; — but we,
The ways of pleasantness and paths
Of peace will seek, where Wisdom dwells,
And find her form exceeding fair.

V. BEEHIVE

INDUSTRIOUS APPLICATION

A society whose motto is, "Travel and travail, walk and work," sees practical suggestions to duty in the beehive. Well said the poet, "To do nothing, is to serve the devil and transgress the law of God."

None idle here! look where you will, they all
Are active, all engaged in meet pursuit;
Not happy else. No, for the Master's voice
That called them first, is ringing in their ears;
Go build! go build! a brief six days of toil
I have allotted, arduous toil, but brief;
The burden and the heat ye must endure
All uncomplainingly, — such is my will,
In darksome quarry, and on toilsome mount,
And heated wall; — go build! not happy else!

VI. HOUR GLASS

FLIGHT OF TIME

"So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Voice of the ages, wisdom ever new,
Speaking to Masons, in simplicity,
Soon thy last sand must leave the glass of time;
For while we contemplate them, they grow less,
And even now still less as yet we muse;
The Hour Glass bids us gauge the unfinished work
That meets the eye, and sum the amount, and so
With double assiduity to toil;
Each grain recorded in celestial scroll,
Demands of all a corresponding deed.

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

VII. BOOK OF THE LAW

THE MIND OF GOD

As when we turn a vessel upward, during a shower of rain, the drops from Heaven are caught therein, so in the written Word have been caught and retained, in the descent from Heaven, the very thoughts, purposes and will of Him who ruleth all. "In keeping of them there is great reward." "The Bible is the lamp which God threw from his palace down to earth to guide his wandering children home."

And can we know the mind of God,
A window to the will supreme?
And is His purpose all exposed
To human eye, so faint and dim?
Look! Open upward broadly lies
The Word of God — the unerring Law,
Threatening and promising by turns,
As Masons yield to fear or love.
Oh, be it ours to walk therein,
And at the end have sure reward!

VIII. ALL-SEEING EYE

SOVEREIGN INSPECTION

That we are never lost to the direct inspection of God is a doctrine as consoling to the faithful workman as alarming to the man servant, the idle and the shirk.

Watch me, oh, Master, at my work,
And note my diligence of zeal!
Through the long day my handstrokes fall,
For thou shalt have my utmost strength;
So in the midnight horror; so
In the worst terrors of the storm;
And midst the assassin's thrust, and in
The hour and article of death,
Thy vigilant Eye will surely note,
Thy Hand avert, Thy Love abate!

IX. CHECKERED PAVEMENT

HUMAN VICISSITUDES

The lesson of human vicissitudes is too obvious to require repetition. Uncertainty and change pervade all the affairs of men.

From purest white to deepest black; —
Despair and rapture, fear and joy, —
Misfortune's gloomy discipline,
The happy troop of good success,
Stern hue of death, sweet hue of life,
Coldness of winter, summer's heat,
Oh, who can walk from West to East,
Along this mystic floor, nor feel
His deep dependence on the
Hand Invisible that guides his steps?

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

X. CABLE TOW

BONDAGE OF DUTY

To the faithful laborer in the speculative Temple, the four-fold cord, which "is not easily broken," is like the wing of the bird, which incumbers, yet uplifts: strong indeed, yet its restraints are altogether wholesome.

A gentle bond, soft as the filmy thread
That strings the dew drops on the sunny morn,
Or gossamer that floats upon the air;
A mighty bond stronger than anchor chain,
Or brazen fetters to the honest soul;
A chain of length, reaching as high as Heaven,
As deep as to the very mountains' roots;
A chain of strength that holds the wayward heart
From drift and danger; admirable bond,
Who would not be constrained with such as this?

XI. ARK

SAFETY UNDER DIVINE SHELTER

In all systems of ancient mythology, the Ark is a type of refuge from danger — the resort in time of impending peril.

Type of serenity, we think of thee
When lightnings flout our unprotected heads;
So, when life's storms whip our unhappy souls,
And wild temptation rages in our hearts,
We turn, oh, Masons' Lodge, we yearn for thee,
Another ARK of refuge, tried and sure,
And in thy halls serene regain our strength;
In vain the storm at thy close portals beats;
Life's discords lag without; the voice within
Is music; doors secure, and keepers strong.

XII. GAVEL

OBEDIENCE

There is no union of men so orderly as a Freemasons' Lodge. Submissiveness to rule is the sine qua non of the Mason. "The King's wrath," declares our first M. E. Grand Master, "is as the roaring of a lion."

As midst the incoherent clash and void
Of the new world, the voice of God rung out,
" Let there be Light, and there was light! " so falls
This gentle monitor, and all is peace
The clangor of debate, the heated breath,
The vow forgotten, and the sharp retort,
Yield sweetly to the GAVE L's strong " Be still!
Reason returns with quiet, and she brings
That fine reaction which the generous heart
Moves to confess and heals the rankling wound.

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

XIII. CHARITY

THE GREATEST OF THE THREE

"Now, there abideth faith, hope, charity, these three." This was the expression made, in unusually poetic mood, by a master of the human mind: "these three, but the greatest of these is charity "

The soul serene, impenetrably just,
Is first in Charity; we love to muse
On such a model; knit in strictest bonds
Of amity with spirits like disposed;
Aiming at truth for her own sake, this man
Passes beyond the golden line of Faith,
Passes beyond the precious line of Hope,
And sets his foot unmoved on Charity.
"A soul so softly radiant and so white,
The track it leaves seems less of fire than light."

XIV. LILY

REMOVING THE STAINED

The instinct of self-preservation compels Masons to expel from their Order the "found unworthy." " Put away from among yourselves that wicked person " is a divine injunction.

A wail of sorrowing hearts pervades the Lodge,
And flows and bears a volume of sad sounds;
O purity defiled! oh, soiled and smirched,
Who wert so fair! upon our Pillars twain
We hung thine emblem, gathered from the mead,
A modest flower, the LILY, virgin white,
White like the Apron, modest like the soul
That hides the left hand when the right hand gives.
Tear the smirched LILY from its place defiled,
And cast it out, alas, with bitter tears!

XV. TROWEL

SPREADING PEACE

The fundamental idea of Freemasonry is peace. "He loveth transgression," declares the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem; "he loveth transgression that loveth strife."

Divinest privilege to trowel peace:
Strongest of cement, peace, the bond of Heaven,
Exalted on the everlasting hills:
This makes us fellow laborers with God,
And gives us best assurance of reward.
Peace, holy calm, — it broods within the veil
Where rests the golden Ark, and in the soul
Of gentle Craftsmen, infinite delight;
No sound of Axe discordant breaks the calm
In which the walls of Sion's Fane go up.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

XVI. RULE

UNERRING TRUTH

This emblem — the Rule — teaches that the paths of truth are straight, the portals to her temple are strait, " and few there be that enter therein."

What voice, O simple Rule, hast thou to warn
And guide the willing toiler on his way?
"Better to journey with the humble few
Who walk the path unerring, than to crowd
Along the broad, meandering paths of sin;
Better in steadfastness to fix the gaze
On Truth's fair Temple where the Master sits,
And so, in shortest lines attain the prize,
Than gratify the lawless, roving eye,
In crooked highways ending in despair."

XVII. THE ACACIA TREE

SACRED FOLIAGE

The Acacia, or Shittah, is emphatically the Freemason's tree. The Burning Bush of Moses, the Ark of the Covenant and the Altars of the Temple were all of Acacia. It is sacred to the most affecting traditions of the Order. The sap of this tree is the well known Gum Arabic.

Thy very tears are precious, holy plant,
Dropt in sad recollections of the past;
The olden Builders knew thy merits well,
And prized, above the cedar, olive, palm,
The rare Acacia, offspring of the wild;
His feet the prophet bared before thy Bush,
Burning, and marvelous, and unconsumed;
Thy wood inclosed the tables of the Law,
In peaceful Sanctum resting; and the blood
Of countless victims on thine Altar flowed.

XVIII. EAR OF CORN

BOUNTY OF NATURE

The term Corn, in all Biblical and Masonic passages, is to be read Wheat. This product of nature, in the abounding soil of Palestine, is the finest in the world.

Look, traveler, what name you this, that droops
In wondrous heaviness upon the stalk?
Look, traveler, old Canaan hath no gift
That equals this, to speak its Maker's praise!
Abounding land'. how lost to early truth
When Ear of Corn is made the test of doom
The rapid Jordan makes impetuous course, —
The lily specks the hills where Jephthah dwelt, —
The oleander scents the valley sweet
As in his time, — they wake the gloomy thought
Of Shibboleth, the master key of doom!

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

XIX. SPANGLED ARCH

NOCTURNAL SPLENDORS

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou bast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him?" In Palestine the stars shine with a brilliance unknown to more northern heavens.

Not stars alone, but windows unto Heaven, —
Not lights, affixed in glittering concave,
But chandeliers hung from invisible chains
Held by angelic hands beside the Throne!
O spangled roof, O feeble thought of Heaven,
How grand the night curtained so gloriously!
The watchers of Old Tyre beheld them thus,
And worshiped God; sages of Babylon
Grew old, in study of thy splendors, and
The Bard of Israel sung, from palace roof, thy blaze!

XX. SQUARE

IMPLEMENT OF PROOF

The emblem of morality, in Masonry, is the implement of proof. "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good," is an injunction cheerfully accepted by the Craft.

And who is this, — grave, reverend man, — who brings
With high command The Square! whose practiced eye
Takes warily in the length and breadth and depth
Of the offered stone! how, with this implement,
He proves the angles, tests the corners each,
Sternly rejects the ashlar reprobate,
Cheerful accepts if, to his scrupulous care,
The block responds! not strange, if in the shock
Of earthquakes and the jarring elements
This wall, built up with such precision, stands!

XXI. BROTHERLY LOVE

THE SPIRIT OF THE CRAFT

"Bear ye one another's burdens"; " Let brotherly love continue"; "Tychicus, a beloved brother."

To suffer long, and yet be kind and true;
To bear the slight and yet retain the love;
To hope, whate'er betide, and still to hope
Through all the gloomy days that life may yield, —
This is the love of Masons, — Brotherly Love;
This binds the old fraternity with brass
And iron fetters; — while such Love endures,
The rage of foes assaults our fort in vain;
The bigot's hate recoils; palsied the arm
Which strikes a Brotherhood knit by such ties.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

XXII. COMPASSES

BOUNDARY OF PASSION

The limit, within which the exercise of the passions of man is allowable, is clearly marked in the use of the ancient emblem, the Compasses.

The grace of God directs this implement;
His gracious hand so separates its limbs
As to inclose a gracious boundary;
He gives us ample scope for every bliss
Of which our nature is susceptible;
Let us, then, Craftsmen, keep within the sphere
His wisdom marks, nor contravene his will
Lust and intemperance, the greed of gain,
Anger and malice, envy, villainy, —
All these outside the Compass' points are seen.

XXIII. G

SUGGESTIVENESS OF DIVINE PRESENCE

This constant reminder to all Lodge attendants cannot fail to work happy effects in our age, so profane that the words of the prophet Jeremiah are literally verified: "Because of swearing, the land mourneth."

As through an open window into Heaven,
Through this strange symbol, golden, bright, we look,
And muse upon celestial chamber; where
"Upon His glorious throne God sits alone,
Hath ever sat alone, and shall forever sit,
Alone, Invisible, Immortal One!"
The Master, o'er whose head the type impends
Names it, awestruck and reverently, God!
Then humbly as the creature should, the
Craft In silent adoration, lowly bows.

XXIV. CLAY GROUNDS

FOUNDRIES OF THE BRAZEN PILLARS

"In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan."

How once the furnace fires were heated here!
Here the soft cooing of bright Jordan's dove,
And nightingale's sweet song were silenced all
By roar of Hiram's cupolas! the scent
Of oleander buds, so exquisite,
Lost in thick smoke and soot of molten brass!
Now all is desolate; the poisonous thorn
In matted thickets, guards the gloomy place,
And Hiram's masterpieces are a myth.

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

XXV. MOON

NOCTURNAL RULER

The meetings of Lodges in hilly, woody, and unfrequented places, are mostly arranged with reference to the changes of the moon.

Thy gentle face calls up the parted years,
Guide of the evening, Moon, the Mason's sun.
Led by thy light, the woodland paths were filled
With cheerful voice — the stilly night was moved
With feet fraternal, thronging to the Lodge.
Sweet Moon, thou peered upon our mysteries,
But saw no motion but what God could bless;
Bending toward the West thy silver light
Admonished of the midnight hour, and led
The happy Craftsmen to domestic joys.

XXVI. NETWORK

INTERWOVEN FRIENDSHIP

The world observes the union of Masons, and marvels thereat. "A friend loveth at all times," observes the most shrewd observer of antiquity, "and a brother is born for adversity."

This Net so strong, of thirty centuries,
That gleams on high, in brazen imagery,
Shows an artistic knot at every joint.
Wonderful Network! whose the hand that first
Taught us to tie thy fastenings intricate?
The wants, and woes, and joys, and cares of men,
So shared, so equalized, — whose work is this?
None other than the Artificer's divine!
'Tis the same Unity that reigns in Heaven,
Binding the angels to the throne of God.

XXVII. OBLONG SQUARE

TRUE TO PERFECT ANGLES

The form of Solomon's Temple, an oblong square, with no circular projections suggests a whole class of symbolisms in the moral architecture of Freemasons.

Blessed the man who walks not by advice
Of the ungodly, and who standeth not
In the way of sinners, nor in scorner's seat
Doth sit; but in the law of God delights,
And meditates thereon, both day and night;
He shall be like a fruitful, spreading tree,
Planted on river's brink; his fruit shall come
In season, and his leaf shall never fade;
Such are the blessings promised in the Law,
To those who duly form the Oblong Square.

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

XXVIII. PALM TREE

WATER, SHADE, FRUIT, GRACEFULNESS

This far-famed tree, from which the land of Hiram, Phœnicia, was named, has many rare qualities. At its roots is water; its shaft is the image of gracefulness; its sluule is inexpressibly grateful to the desert dweller; its fruit is the most nutritious grown in the Orient. On the walls of the Temple the palm tree was engraven.

Thou sealest up the sum of nature's gifts,
O grateful shaft, that send'st thy shade afar!
The royal sage adorned his olive gates
With thy fair image; for it told of food
Delicious to the taste; and grafeful shade
Made by thy thickened foliage, while the sound —
No music in those eastern lands so sweet —
Of trickling water echoed at thy roots.
Perfect in beauty, and with bounty full,
Thou art the chief of Masons' imagery.

XXIX. ROUGH ASHLAR

UNFORMED CHARACTER

"The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep."

What changes must this quarry stone receive,
Ere the fair statue from its folds looks out!
Shapeless, unsightly — who can tell the form
May yet delight the eye from this rude block?
So with the soul that comes beneath the edge
Of moral implements; we cannot know
What treasure's hidden in that Ashlar Rough,
Until the forming, skillful stroke shall fall,
Divesting of all superfluities,
And leaving just the image God designed.

XXX. FORTITUDE

SAFETY OF ESOTERY

The coward merits no confidence, nor should he be made a Mason. Under the influence of terror he evinces the openness of the child.

In some far oriental land, they tell
Of one, a brave old man, who fairly died
His honor to maintain; rude, violent hands
On him were laid in unexpected hour
And secret place, and he was given to choose
'Twixt vile dishonor and a cruel death.
He died; in Fortitude he gave his life,
Redeeming thus the pledge made long before.
His high example for three thousand years
Has formed the model of true courage here.

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XXXI. FAITH

APPREHENSION OF UNSEEN THINGS

"So it was with all the mysteries of faith; God set them forth unveiled tc asked him to investigate them." Our faith in God rests alone in the promises contained in his word.

Book of all Books, thou volume most profound,
Whose very words, majestic and sublime,
Excel all others! see, we humbly lay,
And hopefully, undoubted Faith on thee!
These good right hands we gladly rest on thee;
If thou art false, there is no truth on earth,
No God, no Heaven, no Hell, no lasting hope.
By Faith we lightly pass beyond the grave,
O'erleap all present evils, and enjoy,
In fond anticipation, boundless good.

XXXII. WATER-FORD

REMEMBRANCES OF THE EXPLOIT OF

The swiftness of the traditional river of Freemasonry explains the cataract where fell at that time, of the Ephraimites, forty and two thousand."

So when we end this dreary tale of life,
And stand upon the river's edge, river of death,
Safe passage, needful aid, good cheer are all
Assured to him who has the needful word.
Dark stream! we shudder at thy gulf profound
Bitter thy waters to sin's votary;
All that a man hath he will give t' escape.
But to the righteous there awaits a guide,
Strong to uphold and gentle to console,
To him who, whispering, safely yields the word.

XXXIII. ANCHOR

CLINGING TO ASSURED TRUTH

A true Mason may veer amidst tides and storms the length of his cable, but he will never drift.

Good anchorage our Master hath secured, —
Strong cable to the Master's bark is fixed, —
Brave Anchor, rooted firmly in the rock, —
What wreck, what peril can befall us now?
The storms may break, — they enter every life;
Foes may assault, — all good men live at war;
Time may install harshest vicissitudes,
And threaten all that timid souls can fear; —
Yet our good Anchor holds, will ever hold,
And we shall close our voyage in peace at last.

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XXXIV. HERMON

MOUNT OF COOLING DEWS

The elevation of this grand mountain, securing a cap of snows all through the sultry months, makes it a regulator of the atmosphere through its cooling dews. The expression "the dew of Hermon," in the opening of the Entered Apprentices' Lodge, is therefore an exquisite suggestion of Brotherly Love.

In sultry eve, oppressed with dust and toil,
The burning earth conspiring with the air,
The pilgrim waits, in deep suspense, the fall
Of Hermon's dews. It comes; like angel guest,
The cooling mist, down from the snowy crown,
Brings tone and gladness. The wanderer sleeps,
Devoutly grateful for the mountain joy;
So in the heat and dust of mortal strife,
The influence of Brotherly Love is seen,
Cooling and calming the o'erheated soul.

XXXV. BROKEN COLUMN

SUDDEN AND VIOLENT DEATH

The application of this emblem is trite to every Mason.

Too soon, too soon, alas! for earth and us,
The temple yet unfinished, he is gone;
Weep, Craftsmen, not for him, — is not his fame
Secure? — but for the stricken mourners left.
Who, now, on tracing board, shall wisely draw
The strange device that binds the finished work
With the undone, making a perfect Fane,
By closing up in one the Grand Design?
Fallen the stroke, the inexorable blow,
Too soon, too soon, alas! for earth and us.

XXXVI. BOAZ

THE LEFT-HAND PILLAR

"He reared up the pillars before the Temple, and called the name of that on the left, Boaz." The terms right and left being reckoned from the position of a person looking east, Boaz was on the north side of the porch. The word Boaz denotes strength.

Not strength for slaughter, strength to desolate
And strew the earth with legions of our race;
But strength to uphold the falling, strength to check
The erring, strength to build and not destroy.
In this our Craftsmen are confederate, —
Like network knotted, they're a web of strength,
Grand Pillar, next the heart, thy gleaming cap
Looked out in glory toward the rising sun,
Bidding our souls be strong! "Boaz, in strength
God will establish all His promises!"

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

XXXVII. SPADE

TILLAGE AND INTERMENT

The same implement that opens the bosom of mother earth in the operations of the husband-man turns up the sod for the interment of the dead.

Are graves of man indeed a hopeless night,
That has no morn beyond it, and no star,
Wherein life's music ends forevermore?
Then, whence these transformations? Lo, the root
And tiny seed cast in the self-same earth,
Escape entombment! see them burst above,
With power irresistible, and clothe
The conquered earth with leaves and blossoms fair!
Have comfort, then, ye sons of heavenly hope,
The voice of God shall call our buried up.

XXXVIII. CORN

EMBLEM OF NOURISHMENT

The wheat of Palestine is the heaviest and most productive that is cultivated. It was, therefore, one of the three conservating elements of Solomon's Temple, chosen as a representative of the country's best products.

We feed and worship, Author of our life,
Nourished by Thee. All through the changing year
Thou guid'st the seasons that we may not want.
The yielding furrow Thy command obeys,
And gives its Corn to consecrate our Lodge.
Oh, bounteous source of food, this precious grain,
Thus scattered on our altars, let it bring
Blessings of nourishment to after years,
Strength'ning the generations that shall fill
These chambers, when our pilgrimage is done!

XXXIX. WINE

EMBLEM OF REFRESHMENT

The grapes of Palestine form the heaviest clusters of any known, and their wine is extremely sound and wholesome. It was, therefore, with corn and oil, one of the three conservating elements of Solomon's Temple, chosen as a representative of the country's best products.

We drink and worship, Author of our life,
Refreshed by Thee. All through the changing year
Thou guid'st the seasons that we may not want;
The stony hillside Thy command obeys,
And gives its Wine to consecrate our Lodge.
Oh, bounteous Source of good, this precious Wine
Thus sprinkled on our altars, let it bring
Refreshment's blessings to the coming years,
Gladdening the generations that shall fill
These chambers, when our pilgrimage is done!

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THE POETRY OF FREEMASONRY

XL. OIL

EMBLEM OF JOY

The olive oil of Palestine is of the heaviest and purest. It was, properly, one of the three conservating elements of Solomon's Temple, chosen as a representative of the country's best products.

With Oil anointed, Author of our life,
Joyful we worship; through the changing year
Thou guid'st the seasons that we may not want;
The rocky cleft Thy great command obeys,
And gives its Oil to consecrate our Lodge.
Oh, bounteous Source of good, this precious Oil
Thus dripping on our altars, let it bring
Blessings of joy to all the coming years,
Cheering the generations that shall fill
These chambers, when our pilgrimage is done!

XLI. PLUMB LINE

UPRIGHTNESS

The duty of rectitude, "Upright standing in the presence of God and man," is strongly suggested by this emblem: "Walk honestly toward them that are without."

We cannot hear His voice or see His face,
Yet, looking up along the unerring Line,
We see it points Him on His radiant throne.
Earth's center is beneath the foot of God,
And they will please Him best who bear the head
Erect, and walk uprightly on the earth.
'Twas thus with Hiram, widow's son, — he stood
Among the Builders like a polished shaft,
Along whose sides the Plumb Line vainly sought
A trace of deviation from the proof.

XLII. POT OF INCENSE

OVERFLOW OF GRATITUDE

The ascending smoke, composed of the exquisitely compounded spices require, by the Jewish ritual, afforded the best type of grateful prayer ascending from pious hearts.

"For He is good," — went up the exultant cry
Of Israel's millions on their faces bowed.
"For He is good," — our grateful hearts respond,
When at the morn we pray, and at the eve.
What dues we owe Him, creatures of His care!
What treasures from His liberal hand we take,
Of Corn and Oil and Wine! oh, at the close
May our enraptured tongues in Heaven be heard
At God's right hand, in glory evermore,
Hymning forever the Creator's praise!

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SYMBOLICAL MASONRY

XLIII. CEDAR TREE

EMBLEM OF ENDURANCE

So enduring is the wood of the Lebanon cedar, that it is not extravagant to assert, "had not the Temple of Solomon been burned, its cedar beams would yet be found undecayed, after three thousand years."

Type of endurance, child of the mountain tops,
Companion of the eagle, born midst snows
And desolation, tree of Lebanon!
With toil and weariness thy trunks were brought
Seaward, by Joppa, to this honored site.
Here, with the olive and acacia strong
Wedded to marble, gold, and precious gems,
Thy wood was consecrate in work divine.
Time spared thy glory, time and gnawing worm
But left thee victim to the foeman's torch.

XLIV. TRUTH

FOUNDATION OF EVERY VIRTUE