proposed and accepted in regular form.  I therefore recommend him as a
proper candidate for the mysteries of Masonry, and worthy to partake of
the privileges of the fraternity; and in consequence of a declaration of
his intentions, voluntarily made, I believe he will cheerfully conform to
the rules of the Order."  The candidate, during the time is divested of
all his apparel (shirt excepted) and furnished with a pair of drawers,
kept in the Lodge for the use of candidates; he is then blindfolded, his
left foot bare, his right in a slipper, his left breast and arm naked, and
a rope, called a cable-tow, round his neck and left arm, (the rope is not
put round the arm in all Lodges) in which posture the candidate is
conducted to the door, where he is caused to give, or the conductor gives,
three distinct knocks, which are answered by one from within.  The door is
then partly opened, and the Junior Deacon generally asks, "Who comes
there?  Who comes there? Who comes there?"  The conductor alias the Senior
Deacon, answers, "A poor blind candidate who has long been desirous of
having and receiving a part of the rights and benefits of this worshipful
Lodge, dedicated (some say erected) to God and held forth to the holy
order of St. John, as all true fellows and brothers have done, who have
gone this way before him."  The Junior Deacon then asks, "Is it of his
own free will and accord he makes this request?  is he duly and truly
prepared?  Worth and well qualified?  And properly avouched for?"  All of
which being answered in the affirmative, the Junior Deacon says to the
Senior Deacon, "By what further right does he expect to obtain this
benefit?"  The Senior Deacon replies, "By being a man, free born, of
lawful age, and under the tongue of good report."  The Junior Deacon then
says, "Since this is the case you will wait till the Worshipful Master in
the East is made acquainted with his request, and his answer returned"
The Junior Deacon repairs to the Master, when the same questions are asked
and answers returned as at the door; after which , the Master says, "Since
he comes endowed with all these necessary qualifications, let him enter
this worshipful Lodge in the name of the Lord, and take heed on what he
enters."  The candidate then enters, the Junior Deacon at the same time
pressing his naked left breast with the point of the compass, and asks the
candidate, "Did you feel anything?"  Ans. "I did."  Junior Deacon to the
candidate, "What was it?" Ans. "A torture."  The Junior Deacon then says,
"As this is a torture to your flesh, so may it ever be to your mind and
conscience, if ever you should attempt to reveal the secrets of Masonry
unlawfully."  the candidate then conducted to the center of the Lodge,
where he and the Senior Deacon kneel, and the Deacon says the following
prayer:

"Vouchsave thine aid, Almighty Father of the Universe, to this our present
convention; and grant that this candidate for Masonry may dedicate and
devote his life to thy service, and become a true and faithful brother
among us!  Endue him with a competency of thy divine wisdom, that by the
secrets of our art, he may be the better enabled to display the beauties
of holiness, to the honor of thy holy name.  So mote it be.  Amen!"

The Master then asks the candidate, "In whom do you put your trust?"  The
candidate answers, "In God."  The Master then takes him by the right hand
and says, "Since in god you put your trust, arise, follow your leader, and
fear no danger."  The Senior Deacon then conducts the candidate three
times regularly round the Lodge, and halts at the Junior Warden in the
South, where the same questions are asked, and answers returned as at the
door.

As the candidate and the conductor are passing round the room, the Master
reads the following passage of scripture and takes the same time to read
it, that they do go round the Lodge three times.

"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity!  It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon
the beard of Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garment;
as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of
Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for ever more."

The candidate is then conducted to the Senior Warden in the West, where
the same questions are asked and answers returned as before; from thence
he is conducted to the Worshipful Master in the East, where the same
questions are asked and answers returned as before.  The Maser likewise
demands of him, from whence he came, and whither he is traveling.  The
candidate answers, "From the West, and traveling to the East."  Master
inquires; "Why do you leave the West and travel to the East?"  He answers,
"In search of light"  Master then says, "Since the candidate is traveling
in search of light, you will please conduct him back to the West from
whence he came, and put him in the care of the Senior Warden, who will
teach him how to approach the East, the place of light, by advancing upon
one upright regular step, to the first step, his feet forming the right
angle of an oblong square, his body erect at the altar before the Master,
and place him in a proper position to take upon himself the solemn oath of
obligation of the Entered Apprentice Mason."  The Senior Warden receives
the candidate, and instructs him as directed.  He first steps of with his
left foot and brings up the heel of the right into the hollow thereof; 
the heel of the heel of the right foot against the ancle of the left, will
of course form the right angle of an oblong square; the candidate then
kneels on his left knee, and places his right foot so as to form a square
with the left, he turns his foot round until the ancle bone is as much in
front of him as the toes on the left; the candidate's left hand is then
put under the Holy Bible, square and compass, and the right hand on them.
This is the position in which a candidate is placed when he takes upon
him the oath of obliga-