Then follows the following, or some other appropriate Ode: Ode.--Tune: Old Hundred. L. M. Once more, O Lord, let grateful praise From ev'ry heart to Thee ascend; Thou art the guardian of our days, Our first, our best and changeless friend. Hear now our parting hymn of praise, And bind our hearts in love divine; Oh, may we walk in wisdom's ways, And ever feel that we are Thine. Closing. Worshipful Master: Brother Senior Warden, our recollection of our departed friends has been refreshed, and we may now ask ourselves, were they just and perfect Masons, worthy men, unwearied toilers in the vineyard, and possessed of so many virtues as to overcome their faults and shortcomings? Answer these questions, as Masons should answer. Senior Warden: Man judgeth not of man. He Whose infinite and tender mercy passeth all comprehension, Whose goodness endureth forever, has called our brethren hence. Let Him judge. In ancient Egypt no one could gain admittance to the sacred asylum of the tomb until he had passed under the most solemn judgment before a grave tribunal. Princes and peasants came there to be judged, escorted only by their virtues and their vices. A public accuser recounted the history of their lives, and threw the penetrating light of truth on all their actions. If it were adjudged that the dead man had led an evil life, his memory was condemned in the presence of the nation, and his body was denied the honors of sepulture. But Masonry has no such tribunal to sit in judgment upon her dead; with her, the good that her sons have done lives after them; and the evil is interred with their bones. She does require, however, that whatever is said concerning them shall be the truth; and should it ever happen that of a Mason, who dies, nothing good can be truthfully said, she will mournfully and pityingly bury him out of her sight in silence. Worshipful Master: Brethren, let us profit by the admonitions of this solemn occasion, lay to heart the truths to which we have listened, and resolve so to walk that when we lay us down to the last sleep it may be the privilege of the brethren to strew white flowers upon our graves and keep our memories as a pleasant remembrance. Brother Senior Warden: Announce to the brethren that our labors are now concluded, and that it is my pleasure that this Lodge of Sorrow be closed. Senior Warden: Brother Junior Warden, the labors of this Lodge of Sorrow being ended, it is the pleasure of the Worshipful Master that it be now closed. Make due announcement to the brethren, and invite them to assist. Junior Warden [calling up the Lodge]. Brethren, the labors of this Lodge of Sorrow being ended, it is the pleasure of the Worshipful Master that it be now closed. W. M.: Let us unite with our Chaplain in an invocation to the Throne of Grace. * * * W. M.: This Lodge of Sorrow is now closed. Transcriber's Note: