a profound conviction of the immensity which should ever separate the name of Him, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, from the purest and best of mortals—but still I say, it was a holy lesson, and second only to that one, so much more holy, which teaches us to say, "Our Father who art in heaven." We will teach it to our children, and they shall teach it to theirs; and upon that glorious Monument of human hearts, it shall be borne onward until Time shall be no more. We erect not, then, this Monument of marble to enable us, or those who may succeed us, to remember Washington, but we erect it as a mark of our affection, our veneration for the memory of the great and good man whose name it bears; and it shall hereafter be viewed, by an admiring world, as the evidence to all future time that this republic is not ungrateful. We commence here, a great, a patriotic, a glorious work; and when it shall have been completed, who that shall visit this city, but will come to this spot, and while contemplating the Monument of a nation's affection, but will feel his bosom warm, and his heart expand with the holy fire of patriotism? His thoughts will not recur to him alone whose name it shall bear, but also to that galaxy of great names, who not only pledged everything, but risked everything, that we might stand here, this day, in the proud position which we occupy before the world.

Is there, then, a single individual among the millions who hail this as their common country, who, possessing the ability, will refuse the proffered honor of being permitted to contribute his mite to so noble, so patriotic an enterprise? I trust not one!

The fraternity of Freemasons can recur, with proud satisfaction, to our revolutionary struggle, when they remember that every general officer of the American armies, save one, was a Freemason—at least the pen of history has so made up the record, and he, whose eyes never beheld

"That hieroglyphic bright Which none but craftsmen ever saw,"

died a traitor to his country !*

* This portion of the address was extemporaneous, and the language used was such as the speaker's mind suggested at the instant. He ought, perhaps, to have said, traditionary rumor, instead of "the pen of history." Since the address was delivered, he has seen a newspaper statement that Gen. Arnold was a Freemason. He is sure that he has often seen the contrary stated. One rumor may offset the other, until proof is adduced, when no one will more cheerfully bow to the evidence than himself.-B. B. F.

This grand and imposing assemblage is, at this moment, graced and honored with the presence of the Royal Arch apron, owned, and worn by General Joseph Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill, the first heroic martyr of high rank, who poured out his blood in the cause of American liberty.

General Warren was Grand Master of Freemasons in America. The apron, to which I have alluded, is now in the possession of a worthy brother of the craft,* who has journeyed from Boston to this city to join in these ceremonies, and has brought with him that sacred relic of the past, that the name of Warren, immortalized by his patriotism, his valor, and his early but glorious death, might be associated here, in the never-to-be-forgotten ceremonies of this day, with the name of Washington! Wreathe them together in your memories, my brethren, in an unfading chaplet, and wear them in your hearts!

Our most worthy brother, from whose eloquent address on the Masonic character of Washington, I have before quoted, after alluding to his retirement and death, pours out, as it were, from his soul, the following tribute to his memory, which will not be out of place here:

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'He has gone indeed, but the brilliant track of his pathway shall know no darkness. The zodiac through which he took his course shall be bright in the lustre of his greatness; and star after star may go out in every constellation of the political heavens, but where he went the brightness shall be eternal; and the upturned faces of admiring mortals shall catch a reflection of that lustre from the very power of appreciating its purity.

No more Washingtons shall come in our time. Mount Vernon shall not give back its sacred deposit to bless a nation, and that human form has not yet been shaped to receive the ethereal fire to make it another Washington. But his virtues are stamped on the heart of mankind. He who is great in the battle field looks upward to the generalship of Washington. He who grows wise in counsel feels that he is imitating a Washington. He who can resign power against the wishes of a people, has in his eye the bright example of Washington. The husbandman, toiling in his field, is proud in the thought that Washington too was a farmer. The mason, in the midst of his labors, remembers with pride that Washington was a mason; and the man, struck down by misfortune, solitary and unaided, who has no special claim of association with that great one, warms his heart, and strengthens his resolution in the recollection that Washington, too, was a man."

True virtue and true valor never go unrewarded by a virtuous and patriotic people.

* Capt. Josiah Sturgiss, U. S. Revenue Marine.

This republic is proud of her jewels. She forgets not her statesmen and her heroes, but delights to honor them while living, and to commemorate them when dead.

Were the scroll, which contains the record of all the great and good men of the Republic, now to be unrolled before us, at its head, surrounded by a halo of undying glory, would stand, in living light, preeminent above all, the name of GEORGE WASHINGTON.

"He burst the fetters of the land,

He taught us to be free,

He raised the dignity of man,
And bade a Nation be."

MASONIC CEREMONIES IN LAYING THE

CORNER-STONE.

The Grand Master, having concluded his address, descended to the corner-stone, and, having applied the square, level, and plumb to the northeast corner thereof, pronounced it well squared, level, and plumb; well laid, true, and trusty. Then, having deposited in the cavity the several articles furnished, he said:

I shall now proceed to place upon this stone the ancient masonic elements of consecration, the corn, wine, and oil.

This may appear to many an unmeaning ceremony; if such be the case, I can only say to those, who thus view it, that to them hundreds of other ceremonies and emblems must appear equally so. 'The water which is sprinkled upon the face of the infant; the solemn rite by which age comes visibly before the world and announces its faith in the redeeming power of a Saviour; the flag which floats at the head of the military column; the plume that dances amid the charge of warring hosts; the christening of the ship as she glides for the first time into her destined element, without which no sailor could be found to trust himself upon her deck-these are all ceremonies and emblems, but they are such as are solemnly recognized by the world. "The tabernacle in the wilderness and all its holy vessels were, by God's express command, anointed with oil; Aaron and his two sons were set apart

for the priesthood with the same ceremony, and the prophets and kings of Israel were consecrated to their offices by the same rite."

To the reflecting mind all these ceremonies have a deep and abiding meaning.

In placing upon this stone this CORN, I invoke the blessing of plenty to the nation whose monument this is to be. May bread, that great staff of our physical existence, never be wanting to feed the hungry!

In pouring upon it the WINE, permit me to express a hope that the wine of joy may ever be found in our broad land, and that happiness may be a dweller in every hamlet, from the Rio Bravo to the Bay of Fundy, from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans.

In pouring upon it the OIL, I invoke for all who may be in affliction the healing oil of consolation.

This corner-stone is now ready to receive the superstructure which is to rise above it. May no accident attend its erection, and may the cap-stone, that announces its completion, be laid under circumstances as happy and as favorable as this foundation stone has now been placed !

The Grand Master then presented to the architect, ROBERT MILLS, (who is a freemason,) the working tools of his profession, remarking, as he did it:

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I now present to you, my brother, the square, level, and plumb, which are the working tools you are to use in the erection of this monument. You, as a freemason, know to what they morally allude : the plumb admonishes us to walk uprightly in our several stations before God and man, squaring our actions by the square of virtue, and remembering that we are travelling upon the level of time to that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns." Never forgetting this sublime moral lesson, you are here to use them practieally in your profession. Look well to the erection of this national monument; see that every stone is well squared, and that it is placed in its position both level and plumb, that the noble offering of a nation, to commemorate greatness, patriotism, and virtue, may stand until the end of time.

The masonic grand honors were then given, and the benediction was pronounced.

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