as the First Lieutenant Commander, and the as the Second Lieutenant Commander thereof. ...33d. Before delivering the Book of Gold, the installing officer will write on the first page as follows: We, the undersigned ..... thirty-third, and ........, the Supreme Council of the Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, thirty-third degree, for ...... do declare that we have delivered this Book of Gold to the Consistory of Sublime Princes and Commanders of the Royal Secret thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish rite, at the time of its installation, to be used as a record of its proceedings, the same containing pages, this included. In witness whereof, I do now set my hand to this endorsement, and affix hereto the Seal of my Arms, in the said State of. this, &c., &c.... .... .33d. The Secretary General and the Lieutenant Commanders appointed pro tem., will sign the record of proceedings of the Session of Installation, in the character of Installing Officers. PROTOCOL FOR THE INSTALLATION SESSION. To the Glory of the Grand Architect of the Universe. DEUS MEUMQUE JUS. At the Orient of the Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the thirty-third degree of the Ancient under the C.. C.., near the and Accepted Rite, for B.. B., answering to We, ....... ...... .... N.. L., the .... day of the ....... HEALTH, STABILITY, POWER. ...... thirty-third, and ......, the Supreme Council of Sov.. Gr.. Ins.. General, thirty-third degree, for and the ......" ........ ....... being met and assembled under the order of the said ......, and the Illustrious Brother...... acting as First Lieutenant Commander; the Illustrious Brother as Second Lieutenant Commander; and the Illustrious Brother .... as Secretary General pro tem.; and also the Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, at the city of......, in the State of ......, on the day of. ...... ...... the said Illustrious Brother .... presiding, did announce that he had the letters patent of constitution, granted upon said Supreme Council to the Sublime Princes above named, constituting them the Consistory of Sublime Princes and Commanders of the Royal Secret thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite, in and for ..... And this being the day set and appointed for inaugurating the said Consistory, and for the election and installation of the officers thereof, and the said Illustrious Brother aforesaid, being invested with full power thereto. Thereupon the ...... aforesaid, seated near the altar of perfumes, announces that he is about to commence the labors of the day, by inaugurating the temple, and dedicating it to the Deity of infinite beneficence. The ......, &c., &c. Everything done by the installing officer on the occasion should be stated in the minutes-i. e., his calling the brethren to assemble around the altar, the oath administered, etc., mentioning all the material points of the work; and the same with the other work that follows, up to the time when he yields the chair to the Commanderin-Chief. There being no further business, the minutes are read and approved; all the members of the Consistory sign the copy of the Letters Patent of Constitution in the Book of Gold, and the proceedings of the Consistory after installation. Then the box of fraternal assistance is passed around, and the Consistory is closed in due form. CEREMONY OF BAPTISM IN THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE. The following ceremony, called MASONIC BAPTISM, is frequently performed in Europe, but has not been generally adopted in the United States. It is inserted here as an interesting subject of information, and for use, when required. This ceremony can be conferred only by a Lodge of Perfection or Symbolic Lodge; and when by the former, it works in the Entered Apprentice degree. A child of either sex may be baptized by this ceremony alone, until it has attained the age of twelve years if a boy, and of eighteen if a girl. A boy over the age of twelve years can be baptized only when received a Louveteau, or adopted; and a girl over eighteen only when adopted. The ceremony is particularly intended for infants. It secures to either boy or girl the protection and assistance of the Lodge and the brethren; and, in the case of a boy, the right to be received a Louveteau at the age of twelve years. In any case, the father of the child must be a Mason, or its mother the daughter of a Mason. In the latter case, the child may be baptized, but, though a boy, cannot become a Louveteau. The father or grandfather, as the case may be, must be, if living, or must have been, if dead, at the time of his death an affiliated Mason, unless his non-affiliation is, or was, not attributable to his own fault, indifference, or neglect; and this rule, also, is relaxed where the mother is a ward or adopted child of the Lodge. PRELIMINARIES. It needs no vote of the Lodge to consent to the baptism of a child. Every one that comes within the conditions is entitled to it as of right. If inquiry is necessary, however, to ascertain the facts, a committee may be appointed; and in case of doubt whether non-affiliation of the father or grandfather is or has been, under the circumstances, excusable, the Lodge will decide by a majority of votes. When a child is to be baptized, the Lodge will proceed to select a brother of the Lodge to be its godfather, and the wife or sister of a brother of the Lodge to be its godmother. Vacancies in these offices will be filled by the Lodge, from time to time, as they occur, until the child, if a boy, reaches the age of twelve years; and if a girl, of twenty-one, or until she marries. The Lodge will then appoint a delegation of three members to communicate with the parent or parents of the child—or, if he have none living or competent to act, then with its nearest relatives to obtain their consent to the baptism, and secure their presence at the ceremony. If the child be of such age as that it is proper for itself to be consulted, the delegation will do that also. If it have no father, or if he be unable, unfit, or unwilling to assist at the ceremony, the delegation will, if possible, arrange with one of its nearest relatives, male, to act as its father in the ceremony. If they cannot, they will select a Past Master of the Lodge, or, if there be none, some other past officer, to act in the place of its father. So, if it have no mother or other near female relative, able, fit, and willing to assist at the ceremony, they will select the wife, sister, or daughter of some brother of the Lodge, to act in the place of its mother. They will procure white garments for the child, and, if they be unable to procure them for themselves, garments of black for the father, and of white for the mother. They will also procure a locket for the child, if it be a girl under ten years of age, or a bracelet if over that age; and if it be a boy, a ring, and make whatever other arrangements that are necessary. The ceremony being a public one, public notice may be given. ARRANGEMENT OF THE HALL OR LODGE. The arrangement of the hall is brilliant, hung with garlands and strewed with flowers. CEREMONIAL. When the spectators have taken their seats, the Lodge is opened in the degree of Entered Apprentice or Perfection, in a room adjacent to the hall, and proceeds thither in procession, the members and visiting brethren together, and in due order. Instead of opening in E. A., the Lodge will be opened in the degree of Perfection. The procession will be formed in the following order: 1. Captain of Guard. 2. Members by two's. 3. Officers in reverse order of rank. 4. Celebrant. 5. Sovereign Grand Inspectors General. Every member in the procession must be in regalia. On entering the Lodge, the procession will proceed up the middle aisle, and then file right and left to their seats. The organ will play a march, until all are seated. The greatest decorum will be observed. Then the Master turn, rises and says: which is answered by each of the Wardens in W. M. The solemnity which calls us to meet together to-day is one which most eminently accords with the purposes and spirit of our institution. It is not a mere idle and showy ceremonial, designed to obtrude ourselves upon the notice of the world, or to give an empty title to those who are as yet too young to appreciate and understand. Masonic Baptism was instituted far more for the parents than for the children, while it affords each father an occasion for renewing his own obligations. He, also, by concurring in an act which impresses upon his child of his own sex, in advance, the character of Mason, and which gives it, of either sex, a right to the protection and careful guardianship of the Lodge, obliges himself of |