And fill to the dame

From whom we all came,
"The mother of masons," the lady.

Chor. The stewards, &c.

PAST MASTER'S SONG.

[Tune-" Rule Britannia."]

WHEN earth's foundation first was laid,
By the Almighty Artist's hand,
"Twas then our perfect laws were made,
Established by his strict command.

Chor. Hail, mysterious-hail, glorious Masonry !
Make us ever great and free.

In vain mankind for shelter sought,
In vain from place to place did roam,
Until from heaven he was taught
To plan, to build, to fix his home.

Illustrious hence we date our Art,

And now in beauteous piles appear,
Which shall to endless time impart,
How worthy and how great we are.

Nor we less fam'd for every tie,

By which the human thought is bound;
Love, truth, and friendship socially,
Join all our hearts and hands around.

Our actions still by virtue blest,
And to our precepts ever true,
The world admiring shall request

To learn, and our bright paths pursue.

ANTHEM.

"Let there be light!" the Almighty spoke,
Refulgent streams from chaos broke,
To illume the rising earth!

Well pleas'd the Great Jehovah stood;
The Power Supreme pronounc'd it good,
And gave the planets birth!

In choral numbers join,

To bless and praise this light divine..

Parent of light! accept our praise!
Who shedd'st on us thy brightest rays,
The light that fills the mind:
By choice selected, lo! we stand,
By friendship join'd a social band!
That love, that aid mankind!
In choral numbers, &c.

The widow's tear, the orphan's cry,
All wants our hands with speed supply,
As far as power is given;

The naked clothe, the pris'ner free;
These are thy works, sweet charity!
Reveal'd to us from heaven.

In choral numbers masons join,
To bless and praise this light divine.

RULES

FOR THE GUIDANCE OF

CHRISTIAN FREEMASONS.

1. Worship and adore the MoST HIGH, by whose order every thing that exists had its origin; by whose unremitting operations every thing is preserved. Praise Providence, that caused thee to be born in the bosom of christianity, and let none, of its duties go unfulfilled. Let every one of thy actions be distinguished by enlightened piety, without bigotry and fanatacism.

II. Remember always that Man is the master-piece of the creation, because God himself animated him with his breath. Be sensible of the immortality of thy soul; and separate from this heavenly, unperishable being, all that is foreign to it.

III. Thy first homage thou owest to the Deity; the second, to the authority of civil society. Honour the Father of the State; love thy country; be religiously scrupulous in the fulfilling of all the duties of a good citizen. Consider that they are become sacred by the voluntary masonic vow, and that the violation of them, which in a profane man would be weakness, in thee would be hypocrisy and criminality.

IV. Love affectionately all those who, as offspring of the same progenitor, have like thee the same form, the same wants, and an immortal soul. The mother country of a Mason is the world. All that concerns mankind

is contained within the circle of his compass. Honour the Order of Freemasons, which has extended itself as far as enlightened reason, and come to our temples to do homage to the sacred rites of humanity.

V. GOD suffers Man to partake of the unlimited eternal happiness which he found from eternity in himself. Strive to resemble, this divine Original by making all mankind as happy as thou canst. Nothing good can be imagined, that is not an object of thy activity. Let effectual and universal benevolence be the plumb rule of thy actions. Remain not insensible to the cries of the miserable. Detest avarice and ostentation. Do not look for the reward of virtue in the plaudits of the multitude, but in the innermost recesses of thine own heart; and if thou canst not make as many happy as thou wishest, reflect on the sacred tie of benevolence that unites us, and exert thyself to the uttermost of our fruitful labours.

VI. Be affable and serviceable; kindle virtue in every heart. Rejoice at thy neighbour's prosperity, and never embitter it with envy. Forgive thy enemy, and if thou wouldst revenge thyself on him, do it by benevolence. Fulfil by that means one of the most exalted commands of religion, and pursue the career of thy original dignity.

VII. Scrutinize thy heart to discover its most secret dispositions. Thy soul is the rough ashler which thou must polish. Offer up to the Deity regular inclinations and restrained passions. Let thy course of life be without blemish, and chaste; thy soul, penetrated, with love of truth, candid and modest. Beware of the dismal consequences of pride; it was pride that first caused the degradation of man. Study the meaning of our

emblems; under their veil important satisfactory truths are concealed.

VIII. Every Freemason, without any consideration to what sect of religion he belongs, where he was born, or what rank he hoids, is thy brother, and has a claim upon thy assistance. Honour in human society the adopted gradations of rank; in our assemblies we acknowledge only the preference of virtue to vice. Be not ashamed before the world of an honest man, whom thou hast acknowledged as a brother. Haste to his assistance; offer thy hand to lift up the fallen; and let not the sun set before thou art reconciled with thy brother, if thou hadst any difference with him. It is only by unanimity that our labours can prosper.

IX. Be faithful in fulfilling all that thou hast engaged in as a Freemason. Revere and obey thy superiors, for they speak in the name of the law. Keep always in sight the vow of secrecy; shouldst thou ever violate it, thou wouldst find the torturer in thine own heart, and become the horror of all thy brethren.

These are the rules by which every Freemason ought to live; and if he does so, we may with confidence hope, that he will find a happy entrance into the supreme Celestial Lodge, where the ineffable brightness of the great and adorable ARCHITECT of the Universe is the only light, and where the most extatic pleasures are continually flowing for evermore.