For e'en a man's cold heart you've pow'r to bless.

CAROL. Such words sound well, indeed, but do not prove That your heart for me ever has felt love;

For if you loved me, nought should you conceal,

To me you should each secret thought reveal,
Nothing should be withheld-No woman can
Love a reserved, proud, or mysterious man.

BAR. Well! every thing I know may now be told,

With one exception, which I must withhold,

CAROL. On me, 't is vain your flatt'ry to bestow,

'Tis that exception that I wish to know. Yes! you may call it folly, if you please, Or curiosity, you won't appease;

Or say it is that passion you despise,

Which drove the human race from Paradise.

I am resolved, whate'er the cost may be,

To know the secrets of Freemasonry.

BAR. What! though our laws command us to conceal The secrets you request me to reveal?

CAROL. A man should brave all laws, and nought deny To her he loves, but with each wish comply.

BAR. Though you despise the laws I have alleged, Remember, that my word of honor's pledged.

CAROL. But the word love is more than any wordThe secret I'm resolved to know, my lord.

BAR. Dear Caroline, relent! not love, not beauty, Requires a man to deviate from duty.

CAROL. My lord, love knows no duties, save its own,

And values those that it requires alone.

BAR. From honor's path I never can depart.

CAROL. Tis well, my lord; for ever then we part.
BAR.-Good heaven! Caroline, is it because

Strict secrecy's required by our laws,

That you for ever would destroy my peace!

CAROL.-EVERY WOMAN HAS HER OWN CAPRICE. BAR.-Well, then-we meet in silence to conceal The good we do to all-which all must feel;

We learn to be sincere to all mankind,

To be benevolent, humane, and kind.

These are our secrets, and in yonder hall

You've told me nothing that I wished to know;
For if you meet to be so kind, so good,
Why have you formed a secret brotherhood?
Why have you mysteries, in words, or signs,
Or why in darkness, cloak you your designs!
I'll know the wond'rous secrets of your art,
Or, as I've said, forever we must part.

BAR.-Love conquers all my scruples, and I'll break
The honor I have pledged; unless you take

Some pity on me, dearest, and refrain

From making me reveal

The candidates for the next grade are few,
Mysteries which I may not, dare not name,
Are to be known by those who dare them claim;
But few to its most hallowed fane repair,

All that's sublime may be discovered there;
We learn on heav'nly hopes our thoughts to fix.

CAROL. I'll press no more, and be content with six,
That is if you will now at once impart

One of these wond'rous secrets of your art;

Teach me to form large diamonds out of small,
Or to make gold, or

BAR.

I might teach you all;

That is, I might with learned words abound,

And all I said with mystery surround;

But the real secrets will I now impart,

For TRUTH REIGNS EVER IN A MASON'S HEART;
The gold which we in Lodge try to procure,

Is true contentedness, which doth ensure
Far, far more happiness to man than gold;
Then the Fraternal Union we uphold
Melts many hearts; like diamonds, they unite,
And form a precious diamond large and bright;
No horde of ghosts our hallowed fane dismays,
It is the wisdom of the dead we raise;
Our philters are, we seek to be improved
In all that makes man worthy to be loved;
Death, which we learn to brave, but not despise,
Makes us invisible to mortal eyes;

Our universal medicine has been

Long since revealed-it is a mind serene.

The man whose mind and conscience are at ease,

May brave misfortunes, and defy disease:
Now I have told you much, and you must see
That there is nought but good in Masonry.
Still does the sev'nth mysterious grade remain,

Which ev'ry worthy Mason should obtain ;
For he who has attained that high degree,
Has man's best lot, whate'er his rank may be.
Yes! 't is a talisman which can command
Bliss and content in every age and land;
Yet would a man alone attempt in vain
This greatest earthly jewel to obtain ;
For true love must assist him ere he can
Become the owner of this talisman-
Its name DOMESTIC HAPPINESS, in life
The greatest joy, unknown without a wife-
Is not this worthy all our toils and pains?
This once acquired, what happiness remains!
So, dearest Caroline, reject not now

The man who dares not break a solemn vow;
For could I yield, you would yourself disdain
The man who basely sought your heart to gain ;
And he who has to Masonry been true,
Will also be most faithful, love, to you.
Then hear me, dearest; earnestly I pray,
Continue not my anguish by delay;

Love has its secret words and tokens too,
Which should no longer be unknown to you.
Let me impart those words and signs of bliss.
CAROL. The word is-

CAROL. You must not think that curiosity
E'er had, my lord, so firm a hold in me,
That I at once could cast you from my heart,
For being true to your mysterious art;
And I should scorn you, if you could reveal
The secrets you have promised to conceal.

BAR.-But since I have been able to withstand

All your attempts, may I now claim your hand?

CAROL. Patience, my lord—and let me now teach you ; Love has its mysteries and secrets too.

In the first grade, love has expressive sighs,

And in the next, converses with the eyes;

In the third, may the candidate express

His love in words; in the fourth, gently press

The loved one's hand. Then in the fifth he may

Beg for a kiss; but after much delay,

In the sixth, he proposes for her hand;

She smiles-and blushes-gives no answer-and-
"Then does the sev'nth mysterious grade remain,
Which every worthy Mason should obtain ;"

And if successful, and possessed of this,
He then has gained

BAR.

The greatest happiness.

Well, in the Lodge, when 't is the Master's will,
And candidates show courage and great skill,

They climb at once through several degrees;

COUNT. (Aside to CAROL.) What! in so short a time, I can't believe

CAROL. (Aside.) And very soon the sev'nth I shall receive;

I learned them easily they are so clear.

COUNT.-(Aside.) And very horrible, I'm sure, my dear.

CAROL.-Oh! no.

COUNT.-(Aside to CAROL.)
CAROL.-(Aside to COUNT.)
COUNT. (Aside to CAROL.)
CAROL. (Aside to COUNT.)
COUNT. (Aside to CAROL.) And led you to the Fatal Room?

Then tell me all without delay.
Since you desire it, uncle, I obey.
He bandaged both your eyes-eh?
It may be.

CAROL. (Aside to COUNT.)

It seemed a room blazing with heav'nly light,

Wherein dwelt ev'ry pleasure and delight;

Like eastern garden, or like spicy grove,

The Mallet, you must know, was held by Love.

To me

COUNT.-(Aside to CAROL.) You are not speaking of Freemasonry? CAROL.-(Aside to COUNT.) Free-masonry? I am no longer free.

COUNT. I thought so; for this dev'lish Craft must bind

By wicked sorcery the human mind;

Else long since would its secrets have been known,

And all its mysteries have been overthrown;

Dearest, since you for me your love avow.

Yes! Count, your niece is a Freemason now:
The Lodge wherein she learned Freemasonry
Was, you'll admit, a Lodge of purity;

Love in the Lodge as Master took the chair,
Reason and Constancy our Wardens were ;
True Confidence was Orator, and told
The mysteries which I cannot unfold;
Hope was our Treasurer, and Order, too,
Was Secretary, to their duties true;
Our Master of the ceremonies there,
Indulgence, bid us for all joys prepare.

COUNT. It all sounds pretty-And yet with all this-
I do not know what a Freemason is.

BAR.-And why not know? and why do you not ask?
The answer is indeed a pleasant task;
A Mason is a man whose sole delight,
Is to be honorable and upright;
To be a really honest man's his aim ;
He sees but vanity in rank or name;
'To all who 're in distress, in ev'ry land,
He is a friend, and gives a Brother's hand;
His word 's a sacred pledge of truth, and he
Ne'er utters, e'en in jest, a falsity;
His life in charity he seeks t' employ,
And finds in doing good a heavenly joy;

And when cold cares this worthy man oppress,
His trust in Heaven makes him feel them less;
He fears not, neither deems he death a foe,
'But a deliv'rance from this world of wo;
From every superstition is he free,
And hateful to him is idolatry:

Yet is he not an infidel, because

He honors God, his sov'reign, and the laws;
And if blessed with a loving wife, why, then,
He may become the very best of men.

CAROL. One question I would ask.
ВАК.

CAROL. Are all so good?
BAR.

Speak Caroline.

To answer I decline.

KNIGHTS TEMPLARS' PROPERTY BESTOWED ON KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN.

In the seventeenth year of the reign of King Edward the second, A. D. 1324, in a Parliament holden at London, "The lands, lordships and possession of the Templars, were given to the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, through the whole realm, to be by them possessed forever, for the defence of Christendom against the Infidels."-Stow's Annals.