THE FAREWELL. [Bro. R. BURNS, P.M.] Adieu! a heart-warm, fond adieu, Dear brothers of the mystic tie ! Ye favour'd, ye enlighten'd few, Companions of my social joy. Though I to foreign lands must bie, Pursuing fortune's slidd’ry ba', With melting heart and brimful eye, I'll mind you still, though far awa'. Oft have I met your social band, And spent the cheerful, festive night; Oft, honour'd with supreme command, Presided o'er the sons of light; And by that hieroglyphic bright, Which none but craftsmen ever saw; Strong memory of my heart shall write Those happy scenes when far awa'. May freedom, harmony, and love Unite you in the grand design, Beneath th' omniscient Eye above, The glorious Architect divine ! That you may keep th' unerring line, Still rising by the plummet's law, Till order bright completely shine, Shall be my prayer when far awa'. And you, farewell! whose merits claim, Justly, that highest badge to wear. Heaven bless your honour'd, noble name, To masonry and Scotia dear! A last request permit me here, When yearly ye assembled are, One round, I ask it with a tear, To him, the bard that's far awa'. BELIEVE ME IF EVERY STRANGE SYMBOL AND SIGN. -[Bro. J. E. CARPENTER, P.M.] Believe me if every strange symbol and sign Which we gazed on so fondly to-night Convey'd not some moral, some lesson divine, We would banish them all from our sight: As they ever have been, may they still be adored, Though the world, un-masonic, condemn, While to us they such precepts of virtue afford, Or our actions are govern'd by them. 'Tis not the mere form of the compass and square That to us does such rapture impart; No! 'tis the deep moral inculcated there That is stamp'd on each Freemason's heart. Oh! a lodge of Freemasons, where'er it may be, Is the dwelling of brotherly love ;There are none who in thought or in action can flee From the all-seeing Eye that's above ! a THREE TIMES THREE. Bro. J. E. CARPENTER, P.M.] { [Music by the late Bro. J. HARROWAY. Come join with me, let the toast go free, three. a a Three times three! is there one would shrink Come join with me, &c. bear, And obedience a Mason show everywhere: Fidelity- virtue the purest, the best, By Providence planted in every breast, While these are combined, in full glasses with me Drink to our Grand Master with three times three! Come join with me, &c. THE NEW ENTERED APPRENTICE'S SONG. And join in the lay, While the temperate glass Is permitted to pass a For, if worthy our choice, Should we not rejoice a To show him our plan As far as we can, Let each strive to vie with his neighbour, And cause him to feel The joys we reveal Perchance he has laugh'd Ere he enter'd the craft At the apron, the square, and the gavel; But now he's found out What they all are about, The world he will view In a different hue, But he doesn't know yet All the knowledge he'll get An apprentice is he, But he'll presently see The wherefore and why The humble may vie With the noble and great of the nation. In a Mason's estate, To be good's to be great, Aljuring the world and all evil. We banish all care, For we meet on the square, And we all of us part on the level, In charity's cause We Masons ne'er pause, – 'Tis our maxim to ser one another; So, all who're distress'd May, if worthy, be bless'd, If those who're in pain Our secrets to gain, He may point to our rules, Our asylums and schools, Then join hands again, One more link in the chain May he long bless the night That he first saw the light, OH! BANQUET NOT IN THIS FESTIVE SCENE. Where craftsmen meet in bright array, Ye think of those who're far away; And while the gen'rous wine we pour, May meet like us in lodge no more. Then, that the cup the sweeter be, Nor thorns beset our festal flowers, Befits a Mason's lodge like ours. If what we give be freely given, And gives not, mocks the truths of Heaven! |