Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-10-02

field and Abraham Lincoln, executed by Mr. W. R. Freeman, appropriately draped on each side of the chairman. The stand was occupied by the officers and speakers of the occasion, with table provided for the reporters of the press. The plaza was not only crowded with people, but the streets surrounding it were also filled, and the hOusetops adia- cent afforded opportunity for some to witness the proceedings
 THE MASONIC SERVICES.
 Arriving at the gate of Court Park the procession halted, and the societies in advance opened ranks to permit the Ma sonic brethren to pass through, which they did in reverse order, the coffin and pail bearers first and the Tyler last They proceeded to the spot selected for the ceremonies, and formed a circle around the coffin, when the services were resumed by Worshipful Master A. NJ. Bragg, as follows:
 Once more, my brethren, have We as- sembled to perform the last sad and sol emn dutes to the dead. The mournful notes which betoken the departure of a spirit from its earthly tabernacle have again alarmed our outer door, and an- other has been taken to swell the num- bers in that unknown land whither our fathers have gone before us.
 . c life. The brittle thread which bound him to earth has been severed, and the liberated spirit has winged its flight to loosed; the golden bowl is broken; the pitcher IS broken at the fountain; and the wheel Is broken at the cistern. The dust has returned to the earth as 1t was; and the spirit has returned to God who gave it.
 While we deplore the loss of our be- loved brother. and pay this fraternal tribute to his memory, let us not forget, my brethren, that we, too, are mortal; that our bodies, now SO strong and wig orous, must ere long, like his, become tenants of the narrow grave, and that our spirits, too, like his, must return to the God who spake them into existence. Man that IS born of woman IS of few days and full of trouble. He cOmeth forth as a flower, and is cut down; he fieeth also as a shadow, and continueth not The Almighty fiat has gone forth -'Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt | thou return" and that we are all subject ! to that dread decree, the solemn cause ! of our present meeting, the daily obser- vation of our lives, and the mournful mounds which indicate the population i of the dead, furnish evidence not to be 1 forgotten.
 Seeing, then, my brethren, that life is 80 uncertain, and that all earthly pur- suits are vain, let us no longer postpone ! the all-import8nt concern of preparing 1 for eternity; but let us embrace the present moment, while time and oppOr- ! tunity are offered, to provide against 1 that great change when all the pomps and pleasures of this fieeting world will pail upon the sense, and the recollection ' of q virtuous and well spent life will yield the only comfort and consolation. Thus we shall not, unprepared, be hur 1 ried into the presence of that all-wise | and powerful Judge, to whom the se- ! crets of all hearts are known; and on the great day of reckoning We shall be ready to give good account of our stew ! ardship while here on earth.
 With becoming reverence, then, let us supplicate the Divine Grace to insure the favor of that Eternal Being whose goodness and power know no bounds; that on the arrival of the momentOus hour when the iadins taper of human life shall faintly glimmer in the socket of existence. our faith may remove the dark shroud, draw aside the sable cur tains of the tomb, and bid hope sustain and cheer the departing spirit.
 The city of the dead, my brethren, has an overwhelming emphasis m its solemn l silence. It tells Us of the gathering, within its embrace, of the parents fond est hopes: or the disseverance of all earthly ties to the departed ones who gave us birth; of the darkness into which the bright prospects of the loving husband and the devoted wife have sud denly been engulfed; and of the una vailing grief of the affectOnate brother and tender sister; of the dread sleep oi death which here envelopes the subjects of manly an early, many an instantaneous call into eternity, given m the midst oi health, of gayety and of brightest hopes
 And our departed brother, where Is bey All that remains of him here or earth Is now ihclOsed Ill a narrow coffin a Gfeless mass of clay. The deep, tho agoniZing sorrow of those to whom h' was most near and dear-the scaldinI tears which have been shed upon his las
 earthly tenement-the manly and fra ternal grief of his brethren of the Mys tic tle-are all by him unheeded. In
 every faculty has fled: the purple cur
 rent which sustained his life has cease,
 to flow: the tongue, which VAS wont t . give rltterance to the emotions and feel
 ings of the heart, performs no more it
 functions: the eyes, which so late re
 fiected the movements of the intelligen
 principle within, are now closed m death , unfitted to remain longer upon earth
 we lay him reverently beneath its sur
 face. A little, narrow spot IS all that h' . now can fill; the clOd will hide him iron
 our view, and the places which hav' [ known him here will know him no nor
 forever.
 We consign him to the grave-to tn
 long sleep of death; and SO profoun' l; will he that sleep that the. giant tread Q , the earthquake, even, shall not dlsturl
 ii. There will be slumber until the Arch
 Angels trump shall usher in that event
 full morn, when, by our Supreme Gran'
 Masters word, he will he raised to tha l blissful Lodge which no time can re |, move, and which, to those worthy of ad missisn, will remain open during tn boundless ages of eternity. In tha . Heavenly Sanctuary, the Mystic Light | 1inmiupled with darkness, will reign un . broken and perpetual. There, amid. tn
 sunbeam smiles of Immutable Love, m l der the benignant bend of the All-Seein - Eve. in that Temple, not made wit
 hands. eternal in the heavens,
 my brethren, may Almighty God, Of In infinite mercy, grant that we my nhall meet, to part no more.
 The following invocatlons were the rehearsed by the Master, and responde to by the brethren:
 Master-May We be true and faIthtu
 and may we live and die Tn love
 Response-So mote It be
 Master-May we profess only tha o which IS good, and may we always act
 accordance with our professions Response-SO mote it be
 ', Naster-May the Lord bless and pro' per us. and may all our good intention i, be crowned with success !
 II Response-SO mote 1t be
 Master-Glory be to God in the hlgl $ est On earth, peach and good will t'
 ward men
 Response mote it be, now, henc' r. forth. and foreyermore. Amen
 The apron was then taken from tl
 coffin and handedto the Master; and u
 Master continued:
 This Lamb-skin, or white apron, IS a
 emblem of innocence, and tine pecull'
 badge of a Mason. It Is more anclel ,t tban the Golden Fleece or Roman Bag!