The True Accepted Masons.

to by it . They seek work under one Masterbuilder who understands the secret abilities of the most hi g hly advanced , and who is ready to appoint to each the work he is fitted for , and that work he is bound to do hy the laws of the Craft .

each must hew and polish his own stone to be built into the true Temple of God , and if by diligence and talent he attain to high proficiency , that stone may he some notable pillar in the Church . But one thing is common to all , it matters not of what grade in the profession , or in what worldly circumstances , or to

what dialect or province the traveller belongs , if onlylie can give the common sign—he is , as ' accepted , ' entitled to the help and hospitality of his brethren , and they will try to help him to work under the Great Master builder .

" This parallel mi ght he drawn out to great length and perhaps to profit . Let those who are fellowworkmen in building the Church of God amplify it for themselves , and show to the world a higher Freemasonry even than that which served its ends so well in the middle ages , taking all care that it do not

degenerate into empty forms and names , under which the true ' craft' and calling is forgotten . " —BETA . We may here be permitted to say , that among Christian Masons , the Christian degrees of Freemasonry , viz ., Knights Templar , Red Cross of

Constantine , and the Rose Croix , embody and enforce upon our minds all the mysteries of our most holy faith , and all its graces , and all its means of salvation-There are golden threads in that cordage Avhich binds our hearts together . Upon these principles we rest in our Christian Lodges , as upon a rock which cannot he moved—the hope of the Christian faith , the foundation stone now " the head of our corner , " is

that upon which we build for eternity , and AA e know no other blood , as an atonement , than " the blood Avhich speaketh hetter things than that of Abel . ' We are bound to the word of God , and wo dare not go one step beyond it ; if that brilliant light were removed from among us , we must grope on still in

darkness , and enter the dark valley of the shadow of death , ivith a shiver , unmitigated by one warm beam of hope ; Avith an uncertain stumbling of the feet , Avith no Divine arm upon which to lean , Avith no shield between us and the King of Terrors . At the same time we do not repel from our community those

who have not this comforting , and , to us , life-giving faith ; there is a point in our science to which we may all travel together , and they Avho hold those eternal truths , which are common to Jew , Mahomedan , Parsee , or Hindoo , are embraced in the arms of fraternal love ; for them we feel the affection and sympathy of a common humanity—to their wants

we open the ungrudging hand ; with them we unite in the common offices of charity ; them we lvelcome under the same roof , and with them we practise the same common virtues ; for we cannot forget who it was said , " Go thou and do likewise . " Brethren , "Let not your light be darkness . ' -

There are unworthy Christians , but though they stab Christianity by their evil deeds , they cannot destroy it , or their own responsibility ; there are unworthy Masons , who weaken Masonry by their misconduct , and bring it into disrepute . We do not say that Masonry of itself gives a man the power of

overcoming the sinful and base corruptiou of his nature , that is the A-fork of God ' s Holy Spirit alone ; but God has shed abroad His marvellous light , in Hi s Revelation , in His Holy Word ; and the rays of that light we collect into one focus , so that it may shine gloriously into our hearts and upon our conduct

That is our profession—to work out religious truth . Perhaps there are not many of the brethren who have the time , or tbe gifts of intellect to pursue the science into its highest regions ; but no man can be so blind , or so feeble , as not to learn the first principles , and to practise them . Our secrets are such

as guard the fraternity from imposition ; they are intertwined like the Gordian knot , you may cut them through , but you cannot untie them ; their strength

is not in one single observance , but in many ; and though vulgar curiosity may obtain possession of one or two , it cannot pry into the system , it cannot lay unhallowed hands upon that subtle tie , ivhich unites our hearts and hands together in love and charity . Notwithstanding the wicked attempts of those

apostates who , from mercenary motives , published books professing to expose the mysteries of Freemasonry , Ave do not knoAV one instance in the boundless range of Masonry , that the uninitiated have ever associated Avith the initiated , in the tyled recess of the Lodge-room , though we have heard of several instances where the

cowan has attempted to gain admission , but he was soon plucked of bis borrowed plumes , and turned back to be the laughing stock of the outer world . No doubt Masonry has been degraded by men of debauched habits , of unprincipled characters ; doubtless it has been soiled by intemperance and impiety ; but

whatever defamation and insult it may have thus received , let us remember , God ' s holy religion , through it , has at the same time , and hy the same breath , heen polluted and trampled upon . And as religion teaches us to expect an irrespective judgment for all our deeds done in the flesh , so Masonry bids its children

beware , while it inculcates that aAvful truth , delivered to it by religion , lest they fail of their reward , and incur the sentence of eternal wrath . "Let your light shine before men , " as you wouM