aphs of celestial wing,
To our funeral altar come,
Waft our friend and brother home.

Lord of all! below--above--
Fill our hearts with truth and love;
When dissolves our earthly tie,
Take us to Thy lodge on high.

Hark, From the Tombs.

Hark, from the tombs, a doleful sound,
Mine ears attend the cry:
"Ye living men; come view the ground
Where you must shortly lie.

"Princes, this clay must be your bed,
In spite of all your towers;
The tall, the wise, the reverend head
Must lie as low as ours."

Great God! Is this our certain doom?
And are we still secure?
Still walking downward to the tomb,
And yet prepared no more?

Grant us the power of quick'ning grace,
To fit our souls to fly;
Then, when we drop this dying flesh,
We'll rise above the sky.

At the conclusion of the singing, the Master, displaying the apron,
continues:

The Lambskin, or white leathern apron, is an emblem of innocence, and
the badge of a Mason; more honorable than the crown of royalty, or the
emblazoned insignia of princely orders, when worthily worn.

The Master drops the apron into the grave.

Our brother was worthy of its distinction, and it shall bear witness to
his virtues, and our confidence in the sincerity of his profession.

W. M.: (Taking off his white glove and holding it up.) This Glove is a
symbol of fidelity and is emblematic of that Masonic friendship which
bound us to him whose tenement of clay now lies before us. It reminds us
that while these mortal eyes shall see him not again, yet, by the
practice of the tenets of our noble order and a firm faith and steadfast
trust in the Supreme Architect, we hope to clasp once more his vanished
hand in friendship and in love. (Deposits glove.) Those whom virtue
unites, death can never separate.

The Master, displaying an evergreen sprig, continues:

The Evergreen is emblematic of our Faith in Immortality.

This green sprig is the symbol of that vital spark of our being which
continues to glow more divinely when the breath leaves the body, and can
never, never, never die.

The Master drops the evergreen in the grave, and the Brothers each make
a similar deposit, with as little confusion as possible.

If the place is convenient, they march around the grave in a line. When
all are again settled in their places, the public Grand Honors are given
by three times three.