The Level And The Square.

THE LEVEL AND THE SQUARE .

/ " \ UR Masonic poet , Robert Morris , has given us , as from a perennial fountain , ^ more than three hundred effusions in form of odes ancl poems ; but none wear so well with old admirers , none secure so speedil y the favour of the newdy-initiate , as his conception of August , 1854 , whicli has " gone through all the earth" under the name of " The Level ancl the Square . " It is the Masonic song of the age , tending to the immortal .

Eighteen years since , Bro . George Oliver , D . D ., eminent above all others in English Masonry , and the Masonic writer for all time , said of this piece : — " Bro . Morris has composed many fervent , eloquent , and highly-poetic compositions—songs that will never die , —but in ' The Level and the Square ' he has breathed out his depths of feeling , fervency , and pathos , with brilliancy and vigour of language , and expressed his faith in the immortal life beyond the grave . "

We meet upon the LEVEL , and we part upon the SQUARE : What words sublimel y beautiful those words Masonic are ! Come , let us contemplate them—they are worthy of a thought ; On the very walls of Masonry the sentiment is wrought . We meet upon the LEVEL , though from every station come—The rich man from his mansion , and the labourer from his home ;

For the rich must leave his princely state outside the Mason ' s door , While the labourer feels himself a man upon the Checkered Floor . We act upon the PLUMB— 'tis the order of the GUIDE ; We walk upright in virtue ' s way , and lean to neither side ; TH' ALL-SEEING EYE that leads our hearts will bear us witness true That we still try to honour God and give each man his clue .

We part upon the SQUARE , for the world must have its due ; We mingle in the haunts of men , but keep our manhood true ; But the influence of our gatherings is always fresh and green , Ancl we long , upon the LEVEL , to renew the happy scene ' . There ' s a world where all are equal—we are hurrying toward it fast ; We shall meet upon the LEVEL there , when the gates of death are past .

We shall stand before THE ORIENT , and THE MASTER will be there , Our works to try , our lives to prove , by His unerring SQUARE . We shall meet upon the LEVEL there , but nevermore depart : There ' s a MANSION , bright and glorious , set for the " pure in heart ;" There ' s a MANSION and a welcome , and a multitude is there Who in this world of sloth ancl sin did act upon the SQUARE .

Let us meet upon the LEVEL , then , while labouring patient here , Let us meet ancl let us labour , though the labour is severe . Already in the western sk y the signs bid ns prepare To gather up our WORKING -TOOLS ancl part upon the SQUARE . Hands round , ye Royal Brotherhood , close in the Golden Chain : We part upon the SQUARE below , to meet in Heaven again . Each link that has been broken here shall be united there , Ancl none be lost around the THRONE who ' ve acted on the SQUARE .

Periodically published in Masonic journals , quoted in a thousand orations , seen in fragments in innumerable epitaphs , musically wedded to sixteen airs , declaimed by travelling performers , ancl embodied in many " Gems of Reading , " this effusion deserves , best of all , to herald our sketch of The Well Spent Life ,