The Poetical Works of James Gates Percival :: :: University of Virginia Library

In harmony the social band
Are met around the fount of light,
To spend beneath the Master's hand,
In decent joy, the festive night;
Let each, in truth and honor bright,
Be present at the secret hall,
And on his heart in silence write
The sacred word that binds us all.

Beneath the blue and starry zone
Whose arch, high-swelling, girds the pole,
The Master, on his orient throne,
Unfolds to view the mystic roll;
At once the pure, fraternal soul
Bends to the sign, with sacred awe,
And reads upon the lettered scroll,
In words of light, the unuttered law.

Let us our hearts and hands entwine,
And form one perfect wreath of love;
Then, kneeling at the voice divine
That spake to mortals from above,
Put on the meekness of the dove,
And the white robes of charity,
And, in unerring wisdom, prove
Our brethren with the single eye.

Be there no darkling scowl of hate
Upon the calm, unruffled brow;
But each, in innocence elate,
To virtue's brightness only bow:

382

Blest guardian of all pleasures! thou
Be ever at our Master's side,
And mark, with radiant finger, how
Thy words can be our only guide.

By thee conducted, we ascend
The steps that lead above to Heaven;
And where the mounting arches end,
To each the sign of worth is given;
Then, mantled by the shades of even,
We meet beneath the unclouded sky,
And bind the links no power hath riven,
In which we swear to live and die.

Let us these favored hours employ,
These moments of the social night,
To sing the silver song of joy,
And make the chain of union bright;
So may we ever here unite
To spend the hours in mercy given,
Led by the tokens which invite
Alone to happiness and Heaven.

II.
ROYAL ARCH SONG.

BY A COMPANION.

Joy! the sacred law is found,
Now the temple stands complete;
Gladly let us gather round
Where the Pontiff holds his seat.
Now he spreads the volume wide,
Opening forth its leaves to-day,—
And the Monarch by his side
Gazes on the bright display.

383

Joy! the secret vault is found;
Full the sunbeam falls within,
Pointing, darkly underground,
To the treasure we would win:
They have brought it forth to light,
And again it cheers the earth;
All its leaves are purely bright,
Shining in their newest worth.

This shall be the sacred mark
Which shall guide us to the skies,
Bearing, like a holy ark,
All the hearts who love to rise;
This shall be the corner-stone,
Which the builders threw away,
But was found the only one
Fitted for the arch's stay.

This shall be the gavel true,
At whose sound the crowd shall bend,
Giving to the law its due;
This shall be the faithful friend;
This the token which shall bring
Kindness to the sick and poor,
Hastening on an angel's wing
To the lone and darksome door.

This shall crown the mighty arch,
When the temple springs on high,
And the brethren bend their march,
Wafting incense to the sky;
Then the solemn strain shall swell
From the bosom and the tongue,
And the Master's glory tell
In the harmony of song.

Here the exile, o'er the waste
Trudging homeward, shall repose;
All his toils and dangers past,
Here his long sojourning close;

384

Entering through the sacred veils,
To the holy arch he bends;
Then, as sinking nature fails,
Hope in glad fruition ends.

III.
SELECT MASTER'S SONG.

BY A COMPANION.

The vault arches o'er us, and night broods around;
Not a whisper is heard through the depth of the cave;
All hearts, in the silence of secrecy bound,
Are reading the words the Great Architect gave:
United they listen the voice of the law,
The guide to our reason, the spur of the soul,
And they feel in the sounds a sweet mystery draw
Their hearts to the Spirit who uttered the whole.

Now the work is completed, and all are combined,
To close in the secret and deep-hidden cell
The words which are treasured as light to the mind,
Like the waters of truth in their close-covered well;
Here safely secured, they shall live in the rock,
When the storm rages o'er it and levels the wall,
And still, in the rage of the conqueror's shock,
The arches shall neither be shaken nor fall.

We have laid in its secret and silent retreat
The treasure that kings shall exult to behold;
And the pilgrim shall hasten with ardor to meet
This gift, valued higher than jewels or gold:
Ages roll on their way, and no foot shall be heard
In search of this scroll to enlighten the world;
But a hand shall be found to recover the word,
And then shall the standard of truth be unfurled.

385

We are seated in silence, and nothing can find
Its way to our distant and mystical cave;
And the watchman who guards not, our mandate shall bind
In the deeper concealment of death and the grave:
Be faithful and true, ever firm to your trust,
Is the lesson we give in the council of light,
And the herald shall summon you forth from the dust,
Above in the meeting of souls to unite.

University of Virginia Library

MASONIC SONGS.

I. MASTER'S SONG.

BY A BROTHER.

II. ROYAL ARCH SONG.

BY A COMPANION.

III. SELECT MASTER'S SONG.

BY A COMPANION.

I.
MASTER'S SONG.

II.
ROYAL ARCH SONG.

III.
SELECT MASTER'S SONG.