Page:George Washington National Monument.djvu/52

48 This republic is proud of her jewels. She forgets not her statesmen and her heroes, but delights to honor them while living, and to commemorate them when dead.

Were the scroll, which contains the record of all the great and good men of the Republic, now to be unrolled before us, at its head, surrounded by a halo of undying glory, would stand, in living light, preeminent above all, the name of.

"He burst the fetters of the land, He taught us to be free, He raised the dignity of man, And bade a Nation be."

The Grand Master, having concluded his address, descended to the corner-stone, and, having applied the square, level, and plumb to the northeast corner thereof, pronounced it well squared, level, and plumb; well laid, true, and trusty. Then, having deposited in the cavity the several articles furnished, he said:

I shall now proceed to place upon this stone the ancient masonic elements of consecration, the corn, wine, and oil.

This may appear to many an unmeaning ceremony; if such be the case, I can only say to those, who thus view it, that to them hundreds of other ceremonies and emblems must appear equally so. The water which is sprinkled upon the face of the infant; the solemn rite by which age comes visibly before the world and announces its faith in the redeeming power of a Saviour; the flag which floats at the head of the military column; the plume that dances amid the charge of warring hosts; the christening of the ship as she glides for the first time into her destined element, without which no sailor could be found to trust himself upon her deck—these are all ceremonies and emblems, but they are such as are solemnly recognized by the world. "The tabernacle in the wilderness and all its holy vessels were, by God's express command, anointed with oil; Aaron and his two sons were set apart