The Mysteries of Free Masonry / Containing All the Degrees of the Order Conferred in a Master's Lodge

E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Jeannie Howse, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/)
Transcriber's Note:
As the original is not divided into chapters, end of page footnotes have been converted into endnotes.

One rap calls the Lodge to order; one calls up the Junior and Senior Deacons; two raps call up the subordinate officers; and three, all the members of the Lodge.
Prayer.—Most holy and glorious God! the great Architect of the Universe: the giver of all good gifts and graces. Thou hast promised that Where two or three are gathered together in Thy name, Thou wilt be in the midst of them, and bless them. In Thy name we assemble, most humbly beseeching Thee to bless us in all our undertakings, that we may know and serve Thee aright, and that all our actions may tend to Thy glory, and our advancement in knowledge and virtue. And we beseech Thee, O Lord God, to bless our present assembling; and to illumine our minds through the influence of the Son of Righteousness, that we may walk in the Light of Thy countenance; and when the trials of our probationary state are over, be admitted into the temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Amen. So mote it be.
At the first regular communication after the candidate has petitioned for admission, if no objection has been urged against him, the Lodge proceeds to a ballot. One black ball will reject a candidate. The boxes may be passed three times. The Deacons are the proper persons to pass them; one of the boxes has black and white beans or balls in it, the other empty; the one with the balls in it goes before and furnishes each member with a black and white ball; the empty box follows and receives them. There are two holes in the top of this box, with a small tube in each, one of which is black, and the other white, with a partition in the box. The members put both their balls into this box as their feelings dictate; when the balls are received, the box is presented to the Master, Senior, and Junior Wardens, who pronounce clear or not clear, as the case may be. The ballot proving clear, the candidate (if present) is conducted into a small preparation room adjoining the Lodge; he is asked the following questions, and gives the following answers. Senior Deacon to candidate, Do you sincerely declare, upon your honor before these gentlemen, that, unbiassed by friends, uninfluenced by unworthy motives, you freely and voluntarily offer yourself a candidate for the mysteries of Masonry? Candidate answers, I do. Senior Deacon to candidate, Do you sincerely declare, upon your honor before these gentlemen, that you are prompt to solicit the privileges of Masonry, by a favorable opinion conceived of the institution, a desire of knowledge, and a sincere wish of being serviceable to your fellow-creatures? Candidate answers, I do. Senior Deacon to candidate, Do you sincerely declare, upon your honor before these gentlemen, that you will cheerfully conform to all the ancient established usages and customs of the fraternity? Candidate answers, I do. After the above questions are proposed and answered, and the result reported to the Master, he says, Brethren, at the request of Mr. A. B., he has been proposed and accepted in the regular form. I therefore recommend him as a proper candidate for the Mysteries of Masonry, and worthy to partake of the privileges of the fraternity; and in consequence of a declaration of his intentions, voluntarily made, I believe he will cheerfully conform to the rules of the Order. The candidate, during the time, is divested of all his apparel (shirt excepted), and furnished with a pair of drawers, kept in the Lodge for the use of candidates; he is then blindfolded, his left foot bare, his right in a slipper, his left breast and arm naked, and a rope, called a cable-tow, 'round his neck and left arm (the rope is not put 'round the arm in all Lodges) in which posture the candidate is conducted to the door, where he is caused to give, or the conductor gives, three distinct knocks, which are answered by three from within; the conductor gives one more, which is also answered by one from within. The door is then partly opened, and the Junior Deacon generally asks, Who comes there? Who comes there? Who comes there? The conductor alias the Senior Deacon, answers, A poor, blind candidate, who has long been desirous of having and receiving a part of the rights and benefits of this worshipful Lodge, dedicated (some say erected) to God, and held forth to the holy order of St. John, as all true fellows and brothers have done, who have gone this way before him. The Junior Deacon then asks, Is it of his own free will and accord he makes this request? Is he duly and truly prepared? Worthy and well qualified? And properly avouched for? All of which being answered in the affirmative, the Junior Deacon says to the Senior Deacon, By what further right does he expect to obtain this benefit? The Senior Deacon replies, By being a man, free born, of lawful age, and under the tongue of good report. The Junior Deacon then says, Since this is the case you will wait till the Worshipful Master in the East is made acquainted with his request, and his answer returned. The Junior Deacon repairs to the Master, when the same questions are asked, and answers returned as at the door; after which the Master says, Since he comes endowed with all these necessary qualifications, let him enter this worshipful Lodge in the name of the Lord, and take heed on what he enters. The candidate then enters, the Junior Deacon at the same time pressing his naked left breast with the point of the compass, and asks the candidate, Did you feel anything? Ans.— I did. Junior Deacon to the candidate, What was it? Ans.— A torture. The Junior Deacon then says, As this is a torture to your flesh, so may it ever be to your mind and conscience, if ever you should attempt to reveal the secrets of Masonry unlawfully. The candidate is then conducted to the centre of the Lodge, where he and the Senior Deacon kneel, and the Deacon says the following prayer: