A Pcean.

The other when the eyes are dim , and fainter grows each breath , Approaches its completion , and awaits the cajistone—Death . If mystic tools and implements , and symbols pure and bright

, Have served their holy purpose , and have fashioned it ari ght ; The Temple of a glorious life , stands finished and complete , And in that Foreign country , with the Builder we shall meet .

The Temple of King Solomon completed ' neath their hands , The Craft dispersed and wandered forth through earth ' s remotest lands , They heard the Gavel echo , and they saw the Trowel gleam Amid Arabia ' s deserts and by Egypt ' s sacred stream .

They crossed the plains of Syria , the mountains of Jndea , In Asia and in India they were scattered far and near . Within the silent wilderness , and on the desert waste

, The relics of their genius , are amid the ruins traced , They reared earth ' s grandest monuments , her temples and her fames , Alas ! ' neath times unsparing handscarce one of them remains

, Before the Chaldee ' s vengeful ire , the Temple was o ' erthrown , The gorgeous fabric sank to earth—a shapeless mass of stone .

The Temple made of wood and stone may may crumble and decay , But there ' s a viewless fabric which shall never fade away , Age after Age each Mason strives to carry out the plan

, But still the work ' s unfinished which those ancient Three began ; None but immortal eyes may view—complete in all its parts , The Tent ] ile formed of living stones , the structure made of hearts .

Although the Craft for centuries is often lost to v : ew Within the darkest ageJ , they were steadfast , firm , and true ; Despite the dungeon and the rack , relentuess bigots failed

To penetrate the mystery with which our truths were veiled , Within the hidden caves of earth , secure from lurking- foes , The hallowed lights still burned undimmed , the clouds of incense rose .

Neath every form of government , in every age and clime , Amid the world ' s convulsions , and the ghastly wrecks of time , While Empires rise in splendour , and are conquered and o ' erthrown ,

And cities crumble in the dust , their very sites unknown , Beneath the sunny smile ol peace , the threatening frown of strife , Lo ! Masonry has stood unmoved , with age renewed her life .

She claims her votaries in all climes , for none are under ban , Who place implicit trust in God , and love their fellow man , The heart that shares another ' s woe , beats just as warm and true Within the breast of Christianor

Mahom-, medan , or Jew . She levels all distinctions , from the highest to the least , The King must yield obedience to the peasant in the east .

When troubles come , as come they must , and fortune wears a frown , The cruel world will shun a man , the moment he his down , Behold the Mason ' s hand outstretched , his eyes with tears are wet , He'll lift him to his feet againhe is a

, brother yet , The Mason finds what ' er his lot , where ' er his footsteps roam , In every clime a brother , and in every land a home .

Though countless rights and mysteries have sought to sway mankind , To make their impress on the heart , or captivate the mind , Yet Masonry survives them all , the undistinguished crowd , She saw them in her swaddling-clothes

, and in their burial stroud . The new-born truths they fain would teach , and which they build upon , .Where scattered rays from Masonry—the blazing central sun . A 2