“Thou, O God, knowest our downsitting and uprising, and understandest our thoughts afar off; shield and defend us from the evil intentions of our enemies, and support us under the trials and afflictions we are destined to endure while traveling through this vale of tears.  Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.  He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.  Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee:  Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; turn from him, that he may rest till he shall accomplish his day.  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.  But man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?  As the waters fail from the sea, and flood decayeth and drieth up, so man lieth down and riseth not up till the heavens shall be no more.  Yet, O Lord! have compassion on the children of Thy creation; administer unto them comfort in time of trouble, and save them with an everlasting salvation.  Amen.  So mote it be.”

They then rise, and the conductor says to the candidate, “Brother, in further imitation of our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, let us retire at the South gate.”  They then advance to the Junior Warden (who represents Jubela, one of the ruffians), who exclaims, “Who comes here?” [The room is dark, or the candidate hoodwinked.] The conductor answers, “Our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff.”  “Our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff!” exclaims the ruffian, “he is the very man I wanted to see (seizing the candidate by the throat at the same time, and jerking him about with violence); give me the Master Mason’s word, or I’ll take your life.”  The conductor replies, “I cannot give it now, but if you will wait till the Grand Lodge assembles at Jerusalem, if you are worthy, you shall then receive it, otherwise you cannot.”  The ruffian then gives the candidate a blow with the twenty-four-inch gauge across the throat, on which he fled to the West gate, where he was accosted by the second ruffian, Jubelo, with more violence, and on his refusing to comply with his request, he gave him a severe blow with the Square across his breast; on which he attempted to make his escape at the East gate, where he was accosted by the third ruffian, Jubelum, with still more violence, and refusing to comply with his request, the ruffian gave him a violent blow with the common gavel on the forehead, which brought him to the floor, on which one of them exclaimed, “What shall we do, we have killed our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff?” Another answers, “Let us carry him out at the East gate and bury him in the rubbish till low twelve, and then meet and carry him a westerly course and bury him.”  The candidate is then taken up in a blanket, on which he fell, and carried to the West end of the Lodge, and covered up and left; by this time the Master has resumed his seat (King Solomon