1. Bro. SW as Free and Accepted
Masons where did you and I first meet,
Upon the Square,
2. Where hope to part,
Upon the Level,
3. Why so,
As Masons we ought always so
to do with all mankind, but more particularly as obligated Brother
Masons,
4. From whence came you,
From the west,
5. Where going,
To the east,
6. What induced you to leave the west
to go to the east,
In search of a Master and of
him to gain instruction,
7. Who are you that want
instruction,
A Free and Accepted
Mason,
8. What kind of man ought Free and
Accepted Masons to be,
A free Man born of a free
Woman, brother to a King, and companion to a beggar if a Mason,
9. Why free,
That the habits of slavery might not contaminate the true
principles on which Masonry is founded,
10. Why born of free woman,
Because the Masons who were
chosen by KS to work at the Temple, were declared free, and exempt from
all imposts, duties, and taxes for them and their
descendants;
they
had also the previlidge (sic) to bear arms. Since the destruction of the
Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, they were carried into captivity with the
ancient Jews, but the good will of Cyrus gave them permission to erect a
Second Temple, having set them at liberty for that purpose. It is since
this epoch that we bear the name of Free-masons,
11. Why brother to Kings or companion
to beggars if Masons,
A King is here reminded that
that (sic) although a crown may adorn his head, and a sceptre his hand,
yet the blood in his veins is derived from the common parent, and no
better than that of his meanest subject;
the
wisest Senator, or the most skilful
[sic]
Artist, is taught, that
equally with others he is exposed by nature to infirmity, sickness, and
disease, that unforeseen misfortunes may impair his faculties, and level
him with the meanest of his species:
men
of inferior talents are here reminded (who are not placed by fortune in
such exalted stations) to regard their superiors with peculiar esteem,
when they behold them divested of pride, vanity, and
external grandeur, condescending in a badge of innocence and
bond of friendship, to trace wisdom and follow virtue, assisted by
those who are of a rank beneath them;
virtue
is true nobility;
wisdom
is the channel by which virtue only can distinguish us as
Masons.
(Preston),
12. Another reason why free born,
It treats of that grand
festival which Abraham made at the weaning of his son Isaac.
--
When
Sarah saw Ishmael, the son of Hagar, the Egyptian
bond-woman, teazing (sic) and perplexing her son, she remonstrated with
Abraham, saying, put away that bond-woman and her son, for such as
they shall not inherit with the free-born;
she
speaking as being endowed by divine inspiration, well knowing that from
Isaac's loins would spring a great and mighty people, such as would
serve the Lord with Freedom, Fervency and Zeal, and she fearing if they
were brought up together, Isaac might imbibe some of
Ishmael's slavish principles, it being generally remarked that the
minds of slaves are much more contaminated than the free born,
13. Why all those equalities amongst
us,
We are all equal by
creation, but much more so by the strength of our OB,
14. Generally speaking from whence
came you,
From the Holy Lodge of St.
John,
15. What recommendation did you bring
from thence,
I greet you well; The
recommendation I brought from the R H (Right Holy), Worthy, and Worshipful
Lodge, of St. John, is to great (sic) you well,
16. Any other recommendation,
A hearty good wish to all brothers and fellows,
17. Since our Brother brought nothing
else, what might you come here to do,
To rule and subdue my passions, to act upon the Square, and make a
farther progress with Masons,
18. By this I presume you are a
Mason,
So taken [ and accepted
among Brothers and Fellows. -- Emulation ].
19. How am I to know that, (I
approve of you),
By being often approved,
(( by the regularity of my initiation, repeated trials and approbations,
and a willingness at all times to undergo an examination when properly
called on. -- Emulation )).
[
Browne answers this question with: By the regularity of my instruction
having been tried proved in sundry Lodges now seek to be proved or
disproved by you worshipful. ].
20. Those brothers having given me
convinceing (sic) proofs, they are Masons, how do you know yourself to be
such,
By Ss., Ts., and perfect
points,
21. What are s . . . s,
All Ss., Ls., and Ps., are
true and proper s . . . s, to know Masons by,
22. What are Ts.,
Certain regular and friendly
Gs., whereby we know Masons in the dark as well as in the light,
23. Will you give me the p . . . of your en . . . . ,
Of, At, and On,
24. Of, At, and On what,
Of my own free will, At the
door of the Lodge, and On the P. of a . . . . . or some s . . . . l . . . . . .,
25. When was you made a Mason,
When the Sun was in its due
meridian,
26. This seems a paradox, how do you
reconcile it,
The earth being globular,
the Sun is always in its meridian on some part thereof,
27. Where was you made a Mason,
In a just and perfect Lodge
of Masons,
28.
What is a Lodge of Masons,
An assemblage of brethren
met to expatiate on the mysteries of the Craft,
29. When met, what makes them
just,
The Holy Bible,
30. What perfect,
B . . . or more regularly made
Masons,
31. Who made you a Mason,
The Master, with the Wardens
and Brethren,
32. In what part of the Lodge,
In the East,
33. For why was you made a Mason,
For the sake of the Ss., and
to be brought from darkness into light,
34. Have Masons and Ss.,
They have; many valuable
ones,
35. Where do they keep them,
In their hs,
36. To whom do they reveal them,
To none but Brothers and
Fellows,
37. How do they reveal them,
By Ss., Ts., and many
Ws.,
38. How do they get at them,
By the help of a Key,
39. Does that Key hang or lie,
To hang, and not to lie,
(sic)
[
In Browne, the question is more in conformity with the answer:
Is that key said to hang or lie?
It is said to hang and not
to lie. -- A. H. ]
40. Why is the preference given to
hanging,
It ought always to hang in a
Brother's defence, and never to lie, to his prejudice,
41. What does it hang by,
The thread of Life, or 9 I .
. . . . or a S . . . . the
distance between the Gtl. and Pctl.,
42. Why so nearly connected to the
heart,
That being the index of the
mind, ought to utter nothing, but what the heart truly dictates,
43. This seems to be a curious kind a
of (of a) Key, can you inform me what metal it's made of,
No metal whatever, but a
tongue of good report, which ought always to treat a brother in his
absence as in his presence, and when that unfortunately cannot be done
with honour and propriety, to adopt that distinguishing virtue of our
science, [ which is silence. --
Browne ].E.A.
1. Bro. SW where was you first p . .
p . . d to be made a Mason,
In my H.
2. Where next,
In a room adjoining the
Lodge,
3. Who brought you there,
A friend, whom I afterwards
found was a Brother Mason,
4. What did your friend cause to be
done unto you,
For
further particulars on this head the inquisitive Mason is referred to our
regular Lodges,
5. Why divested of m.,
That I might bring nothing
offensive or defensive into the Lodge, to disturb the harmony
thereof,
6. Second reason why,
As I was then in a state of
p.v.y., it was to remind me to Relieve all true worthy of my fellow
creatures without injury to myself, or connections,
7. Third reason,
At the building of KST there
was not heard the sound of any Axe, hammer, or m . .c tool, throughout
that whole building,
8. Is it possible so stately and
superb an edifice could be finished without the sound of any m . . .
l tool,
It was for the stones were
hewn in the Quarry, there carved, marked, and numbered, the Timber was
fell (sic) and prepared in the Forest of Lebanon, there carved, marked,
and numbered also, from thence floated down to Joppa, from thence conveyed
to Jerusalem, and there put together in this wonderful manner,
9. Why were m . . . . l tools prohibited,
That the Temple should not
be polluted,
10. Why prepared at so great a
distance,
The better to distinguish
the excellency of the Craft, for although prepared at so great a distance,
yet when put together at Jerusalem each part fitted with that perfect
exactness as to make it reasonable more the work of the Grand
Architect of the universe, than that of human skill,
11. Why was you h . . . -w . . .
,
If I had refused to have
experience((d)) the usual ((method)) of initiation I might be led out of
the L. without being able to discover its form,
*
* * Items 12 through 25 (page
6) were not in the copy of the MS used for this retyped edition * * *
It may be assumed that the missing items closely approximated the
standard Ritual.
26. Was you admitted,
I was,
27. On what,
On the P. of [ a sword ] or
some S. I. [extended to my n.l.b. -- Browne ].
28. For why was this so applied,
Not only to intimidate but
likewise to intimate to me that I was engaged upon what was serious,
solemn and awful, [ Browne here adds: -- likewise to distinguish the sex.
].
29. Having gained your admission in
the L., what was the first thing the Master requested of you,
To K. d . . . and receive the benefit of a p . .
. r,
30. Please to repeat it,
Here follows the p . . . r,
31. After so doing, what was next
requested of you,
In whom I put my trust,
32. Your answer,
In God,
33. The Master's reply to you,
As I relied on this grand
pillar I might safely rise, follow my leader, and fear no danger, for one
whose faith was so surely grounded could have nothing to fear,
34. How did your leader then
proceed,
Being neither naked nor clothed, . . . barefoot nor shod, but in a right
humble, halting, moving posture, the JW friendly took me by the right
hand, led me up the N., past the Master in the E., down the S, and
delivered me over to the SW in the W.,
35. Why was you led round the L. in so
conspicuous a manner,
It was figuratively to point
out to me the seeming state of poverty (in?) which I was received, on the
real miseries of which state if realized, if I did but for one moment
seriously reflect, it could not fail to have that impression on my mind as
to induce me never to shut my ears unkindly to the cries of the
distressed, but listening with attention to their sufferings, pity would
flow from my heart, attended with that relief their necessities required,
and my own abilities would admit.
It was likewise to convince the Brethren that I was the Candidate
who had been well and worthily recommended, regularly proposed, properly
prepared, and then came as a fit and proper person to be made a
Mason,
36. This naturely (sic) induces me to
inquire who are proper persons to be made Masons,
Free men of mature age,
sound judgment and strict morals,
37. Why Free Men,
That the vicious habits of
slavery might not corrupt the principles of the free-born,
38. Why of mature age,
To be better enabled to
judge for themselves as well as the fraternity at large,
39. Why of sound Judgment and strict
morals,
That both by precept and
example they might be the better enabled to enforce a due obedience to all
our excellent rules and orders,
40. Being thus delivered over to the
SW in the W, how did he next proceed,
He taught me to advance by t
. . . irregular s . . .
s pointing out t . . . more regular,
41. What do these s . . . s consist of,
Right lines and angles,
42. What do they morally teach
us,
Upright lives and well
squared actions,
43. Being brought before the Master in
the E what did he request of you,
What I came there to
do,
44. (Your) Answer,
To be made a Mason,
45. Did he make a Mason of you,
He did, and that in due
form,
46. Please to describe that due
form,
L. k. b. b., B. e. within
the S., R. H. on the H. B. while my l. was employed in supporting a p.
(of) C. extended to my n. l. b. in the form of a S.,
47. Why your B. erect,
Because I was t---- a----
[
Neither Browne, Vancouver, nor Emulation gives any
clue to this. "Taught always" may perhaps be suggested, or "then
about". -- A. H. ] to be Obligated within the same,
48. Why l. k. b. b.,
That being the weakest part
of the body was to represent the most superficial part of the Craft,
49. Why did you k. at all,
On my b. k. I was first
taught to ((address)) my ((Creator)), and in that ((posture)) the Craft
thought proper to receive me amongst them,
50. Why was your l. h. supporting the
Cs,
As they were then an emblem
of torture to my body, so might the recollection prove to my conscience,
if at any time hereafter I should ever so far forget the (pledge?) of my OB as to violate the s
. . . s,
51. Why was the r. h. on the H B,
As a pledge of my fidelity
and unshaken faith of these holy doctrines,
52. In this solemn attitude of (body?)
what was you then engaged in,
To take that G. and solemn O. of an
EAP,
53. Please to repeat that solemn
O,
Here follows that great
and solemn O.,
54. What was not (next?) requested of
you,
He desired me to confirm the
same in the usual manner, etc.
55. What did the Master then do,
He friendly took me by the
l. h. and said, Rise, newly O. Brother, etc,
56. What (did he) next desire to know
of you,
What I required most in that
situation,
57. No doubt you told him,
To be brought to L.
58. Was that complied with.
It was.
1. Bro. SW, being O. as a Mason, was
you entrusted with anything,
I was,
2.
With what (deliver them in due form),
TT, --((S., T., and W.,
of an EAP. - Browne)),
(complied with in due form),
&n
