continue. May you long enjoy every satisfaction and delight, which disinterested friendship can afford. May kindness and brotherly affection distinguish your conduct as men, and as masons. Within your peaceful walls may your children's children celebrate with joy and gratitude, the transactions of this auspicious solemnity. And may the tenets of our profession be transmitted through your lodge, pure and unimpaired, from generation to generation.

After the delivery of the foregoing charge the grand master will pronounce as follows:

In the name of the right worshipful grand lodge of Pennsylvania, and masonic jurisdiction thereunto belonging, I now constitute and form you, my good brethren, into a lodge of free and accepted masons. From henceforth, I empower you to act as a regular lodge, constituted in conformity to the rites of our order, and the charges of our ancient and honourable fraternity: and may the supreme Architect of the universe prosper, direct and council you in all your doings.

Response by the brethren.

Amen! So mote it be!

The grand marshal will then make proclamation three times in the following manner:

In the name of the right worshipful grand lodge of Pennsylvania, and masonic jurisdiction thereunto

belonging, I proclaim this new lodge, by the name

of

No. - duly constituted.

[Music.]

The ceremony of closing will now succeed; the following prayer intervening between the first and last parts of the ceremony.

Supreme Architect of universal nature, we render thee our thanksgiving and praise for the masonic institution, as members of which we have at this time been assembled, and for the protection and aid afforded us in the important work we have just completed.

We thank thee that the occasion of solemnly consecrating and installing this new branch of the masonic family, has afforded us fresh inducements, and laid us under stronger obligations, to the practice of virtue and morality, and to the observations of all thy precepts and commandments.

May these obligations, Oh! blessed Father, have their full influence and effect upon our minds.

Teach us, we pray thee, the true reverence of thy great and mighty name; inspire us with firm and unshaken resolution in every virtuous pursuit.

May the solemnities of this day increase our love of masonry and have a beneficial tendency to the improvement of our conversation and conduct in the lodge, and in our walk through life.

And Oh! as thou didst aforetime appear unto thy

servant Moses in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush, enkindle, we beseech thee, in our hearts a flame of devotion to thee, of brotherly kindness to each other, and of charity to all mankind.

And now to thee, King immortal and invisible, the only wise God, be everlasting glory and honor. Amen.

Response by the brethren.

Amen! So mote it be! Amen!

Sec. II.

The ceremony observed at laying the foundation stones of public structures.

This ceremony must only be performed by the grand lodge, in general communication. The chief magistrate, and other civil officers, of the place where the building is to be erected, generally attend on the occasion. The ceremony is thus conducted:

At the time appointed, the brethren are convened at some convenient place, approved of by the grand master. A band of music is provided, and the brethren appear in the insignia of the order, well dressed, with white gloves and aprons. The grand lodge is opened, in the first degree, by the grand master, and the rules for regulating the pro

cession, to and from the place where the ceremony is to be performed, are read by the grand secretary. The necessary cautions are then given from the chair, and the grand lodge is adjourned; after which, the procession being arranged by the grand marshal, sets out in the following order:

The grand marshal attends on horseback to regulate the procession. A triumphal arch is usually erected at the place where the ceremony is to be performed. The procession passes under the arch, and the brethren repairing to their stands, the grand master and his officers take their places on a tem'porary platform, covered with carpet. An ode on free masonry is sung. The grand master commands silence, and the necessary preparations are made for laying the stone, on which must be engraved the year of free masonry, the name, &c, of the grand master. The grand chaplain offers a short prayer. The grand treasurer then, by the grand master's command, places under the stone various pieces of coin and medals of the present age and country. Solemn music is introduced, an anthem sung, and the stone laid in its proper place by the grand master. He then strikes the stone three times with his hiram, amidst the acclamations of the spectators, and delivers over to the architect the various implements of his profession, entrusting him with the

superintendence and direction of the work. The grand master then re-ascends the platform, and an oration suitable to the occasion is delivered. A song in honor of free masonry concludes the ceremony, after which the procession returns to the place whence it set out, and the grand lodge is closed with the usual formalities.

Where the site of the intended building is too remote for the grand lodge to attend, a dispensation may be obtained by the nearest subordinate lodge, to perform this ceremony, as near to the customary form as circumstances will admit.

Sec. III.

Ceremony observed at the dedication of free masons' halls.

On the day appointed for the celebration of the ceremony of dedication, the brethren are convened in a convenient room, adjoining to the place where the ceremony is to be performed, and the grand lodge is opened in ample form in the first degree. The order of procession is read by the grand secretary, and a general charge respecting propriety of behavour given by the grand master. The grand