Q. Why have you a sun on the jewel of perfection?  A. To show that we have received the full light, and know Masonry in its perfection.

Q. Who destroyed the second temple which was finished by the Princes of Jerusalem?  A. Pompey began its destruction, and King Herodes the Great finished it.

Q. Who rebuilt it again?  A. King Herodes repenting the action he had unjustly done, recalled all the Masons to Jerusalem who had fled, and directed them to rebuild the temple.

Q. Who destroyed the third temple?  A. Tito, the son of the Emperor Vespasian.  The Masons, who with sorrow saw the temple again destroyed, departed from Rome, after having embraced the Catholic religion, and determined never to assist in constructing another.

Q. What became of those Masons afterwards?  A. They divided themselves into several companies, and went into different parts of Europe, but the greatest part of them went to Scotland, and built a town which they called Kilwinning; at this time there is a Lodge there, bearing the same name.

Q. What happened to them afterwards?  A. Twenty-seven thousand of the Masons in Scotland determined to assist the Christian Princes and Knights, who were at that time at Jerusalem, in a crusade for the purpose of taking the Holy Land and city from the infidels, who were then in possession of it; and they accordingly obtained leave of the Scottish monarch.

Q. What happened most remarkable to them?  A. Their bravery and good conduct gained them the esteem and respect of all the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.  The general of that order, and the principal officers, took the resolution of being admitted into the secrets of Masonry, which they accordingly received; and in return they admitted them into their order.

Q. What became of those Masons afterwards?  A. After the crusade they returned and spread Masonry throughout all Europe, which flourished for a long time in France and England; but the Scotch, to their great praise be it spoken, were the only people who kept up the practice of it.

Q. How came it again in vogue in France?  A. A Scotch nobleman went to France and became a resident at Bordeaux, where he establishes a Lodge of Perfection, from the members of the Lodge in 1744; in which he was assisted by a French gentleman, who took great pleasure in all the Masonic degrees.  This still exists in a most splendid manner.

Q. What means the fire in our Lodge?  A. Submission, purification of morals, and equality among brethren.

Q. What signifies the air?  A. The purity, virtue, and truth of this degree.

Q. What does the sign of the sun mean?  A. It signifies that some of us are more enlightened than others in the Mysteries of Masonry; and for that reason we are often called Knights of the Sun.

Q. How many signs have you in this degree of Grand Pontiff, which is Grand Master of all Lodges?  A. 1st, The sign of the earth, or Apprentice; 2d, of water—­Fellow Craft; 3d, of terror—­the Master; 4th, of fire; 5th, of air; 6th, of the point in view; 7th, of the sun; 8th, of astonishment; 9th, of honor; 10th, of stench, or strong smell; 11th, of admiration; 12th, of consternation.  End of the Lecture.