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490 LOOK OF THE A. AMD A. BETE.
ami surely no one who has looked thoughtfully on the
checkered road through the wilderness of this life, or
who has stood, even for a moment, near the brink of
the cold river of death, would be otherwise than rev
erential in the presence of any shrine to which a fellow
creature may kneel for aid or consolation ;
—
" For we are doomed our native dust
To wet with many a fruitless shower;
And ill it suits us to disdaiu
The Altar, to deride the fane
Where simple sufferers bend in trust
To win a happier hour."
To those who seek in this work a knowledge of t'ne
tenets and inculcations of the Rite, who may peruse
the instructions and formula herein contained, the hand
of sympathetic fellowship is extended, believing that
the result of a careful study, combined with the ambition
of the Enthusiast, will convince each and all that the
Rite of which we essay to teach is replete in all its
parts with the highest morality and fraternal devotion,
leading man to sublimest thoughts and appreciation of
the Present and a Hereafter ; ever realizing in its surroundings
and adornments the truth of that happy
thought of England's youthful poet
" A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass to nothingness." * * •
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