We bend to the Queen, to our master we bend; For these are the rulers we're bound to defend : And with such a Queen, such a master, my boys, As Britons, as Masons, we've cause to rejoiee, And since we're bound, &c.

XCIII

Here let no dull face of business appear Farewell till to-morrow hard labour and care; This night shall be sacred to friendship and ease, Each bosom be open to lighten and please. Consider, dear brethren, that Masons grow old, That relish abates as the blood waxeth cold, And if to be happy too long we delay,

Soon as we attempt it, Death cries come away. Let monarchs run mad after riches and power, Fat gownsmen be dull and philosophers sour, While the claret goes round, and the company sings,

We're wiser than sages, and richer than kings.

XCIV.

Hail! mystic science! seraph maid,

Imperial beam of light!

In robes of sacred truth arrayed,

Morality's delight.

O! give me wisdom to design,

And strength to execute.

In native beauty e'er be mine,
Benevolence thy fruit.

Unsullied pearl! of precious worth,
Most grateful to my soul,

The social virtues owe their birth
To thy unmatched control,

Celestial spark, inspired by thee,

We pierce yon starry arch with gaze of ecstasy.

XOV.

Begin, O ye muses, a Free-mason's strain;
Let the numbers be gentle, and easy, and plain;
Though sometimes in concert sublimely we sing,
Whilst each brother Mason joins hand with a
king,

And princes disdain not companions to be

With the man that is own'd for a Mason and free.

Why seek our best nobles our myst'ry to know,
And rather sing here than sip tea with a beau ?
The sweet notes of knowledge more pow'rfully
call,

Than a fav'rite at court, or a toast at a ball;
For truth's sake, a lord is of equal degree
With the man that is own'd for a Mason and free
'Twas heav'n first lighted the glorious flame
Of science that sages Free-masonry name.
From Adam it flow'd to the patriarch of old;
The wise king preferr'd it to coffers of gold;
And Hiram of Tyre join'd with him to be

Of the number of those that were Masons and free.

The Grigs, Antigallics, and others, they say,
Have set up their lodges, and mimic our way;
But frogs claim a curse when they croak from the
fen,

And monkeys a kick when they imitate men.
In vain, shallow mortals, ye rivals would be
To the man that is own'd for a Mason and free.

The wisdom of Greece and old Rome we explore
Nay pass to the learn'd of the Memphian shore.
What secrets Euphrates and Tigris have known,
And Palestine gather'd, are here made our own.
Well may the world wonder what strange things

we see,

With the man that is own'd for a Mason and free.

XCVI.

How bless'd are we from ignorance free, And the base notions of mankind, Here every virtuous moral deed

Instructs and fortifies the mind:
Hail! ancient, hallow'd, solemn ground,
Where light and Masonry I found.
Hence vile detractors, from us fiy,
Far to the gloomy shades of night,
Like owls that hate the mid-day sky,
And sink with envy from its light:
With them o'er graves and ruins rot,
For hating knowledge you knew not.
When we assemble on a hill,

Or in due order in the vale,
Our Master doth with learned skill
The secret work explain and hail.
No busy eye, nor Cowan's ear,
Can our grand myst'ry see or hear.
Our table deck'd with shining truth,

Bears emblems that elate the heart; While each attentive list'ning youth

Burns to perform his worthy part,
Resolving with religious care,
To live by compass, rule, and square.
Our Master watching in the East
The golden streaks of rising sun,
To see his men at labour plac'd
Where works of skill may be begun.
Oh! may his wisdom ever be
Honour to us and Masonry.

Not far from him as Gnonom true,
Beauty stands with watchful eye,
Whose cheerful hints our souls renew,
As each his labour doth lay by;
His kind refreshing office still
Inspires each Craft in Mason's skill.

See in the West our oblong's length,
The brave Corinthian pillar stands
The Lodge's friend and greatest strength,
Rewarding us with lib'ral hands:
Sure this our lodge must lasting be,
Supported by these columns three.

The Roman chiefs did proudly view
Their temples rising to the sky,
And as the nations did subdue,
They rais'd triumphal arches high;
Which got us Masons such a name,
As vies with mighty Cæsar's fame.

Chorus.

Then to each Brother in distress,
Throughout remotest seas or climes,
Charge, Brethren, to his quick redress,
As Masons did in ancient times.

XCVII.

SONG.

(By Robert Gilfillan, Bard to the Grand Lodge of Scotland.)

Again let us welcome this blythe happy day,
That true Scottish Masons will honour for aye;
And though from their country our Brothers may

roam,

This day will awaken up kindred and home!
Oh, this day will awaken up kindred and home!

And where is the desert or surf-beaten shore,
Not traversed by Brothers we fondly adore;

H

Though absent afar, yet their heart we may claim,
For absent or present, they're ever the same.
For absent or present, they're ever the same.

As far as St. Lawrence rolls mighty and deep, To where the blue waves of the bright Ganges sleep,

'Mong the fair groves of Italy, or bleak Zembla's

snow,

"St. Andrew" and "Scotland" in bumpers shall flow!

"St. Andrew" and "Scotland" in bumpers shall flow!

Hail! Land of our fathers-of mountain and glen

Of soft blooming maidens, and true-hearted men,
Oh! long may thy thistle a dear emblem be,
Of Liberty's birth-place, the home of the free!
Of Liberty's birth-place, the home of the free!

And ne'er did the Thistle-fond type of the

brave

More flourish in splendour, or more proudly

wave,

With bosom of purple, and leaves ever green, Than now when it blossoms for Scotland's Fair Queen!

Than now when it blossoms for Scotland's Fair Queen!

Victoria! high princess! oh, where is the band, Through all thy dominions-the length of the land

In devotion more deep, or in service more free, Than the Masons of Scotland are, loved Queen, to thee?

Than the Masons of Scotland are, loved Queen to thee?