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: 

“Vouchsafe Thine aid, Almighty Father of the Universe, to this, our present convention; and grant that this candidate for Masonry may dedicate and devote his life to Thy service, and become a true and faithful brother among us!  Endue him with a competency of Thy divine wisdom, that by the secrets of our art, he may be the better enabled to display the beauties of holiness, to the honor of Thy holy name.  So mote it be.  Amen!”

The Master then asks the candidate, “In whom do you put your trust?” The candidate answers, “In God.”  The Master then takes him by the right hand, and says, “Since in God you put your trust, arise, follow your leader, and fear no danger.”  The Senior Deacon then conducts the candidate three times regularly around the Lodge and halts at the Junior Warden in the South, where the same questions are asked, and answers returned as at the door.

As the candidate and the conductor are going around the room, the Master reads the following passage of Scripture, and takes the same time to read it that they do to go around the Lodge three times.

“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that went down to the skirts of his garment; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.”

The candidate is then conducted to the Senior Warden in the West, where the same Questions are asked, and answers returned as before; from thence he is conducted to the Worshipful Master in the East, where the same questions are asked, and answers returned as before.  The Master likewise demands of him from whence he came, and whither he is traveling.  The candidate answers, “From the West, and traveling to the East.”  Master inquires, “Why do you leave the West and travel to the East?” He answers, “In search of light.”  Master then says “Since the candidate is traveling in search of light, you will please conduct him back to the West from whence he came, and put him in the care of the Senior Warden, who will teach him how to approach the East, the place