They then rise, and the conductor says to the candidate, "Brother, in further imitation of our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, let us retire at the South gate." They then advance to the Junior Warden (who represents Jubela, one of the ruffians), who exclaims, "Who comes here?" [The room is dark, or the candidate hoodwinked.] The conductor answers, "Our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff." "Our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff!" exclaims the ruffian, "he is the very man I wanted to see (seizing the candidate by the throat at the same time, and jerking him about with violence); give me the Master Mason's word, or I'll take your life." The conductor replies, "I cannot give it now, but if you will wait till the Grand Lodge assembles at Jerusalem, if you are worthy, you shall then receive it, otherwise you cannot." The ruffian then gives the candidate a blow with the twenty-four-inch gauge across the throat, on which he fled to the West gate, where he was accosted by the second ruffian, Jubelo, with more violence, and on his refusing to comply with his request, he gave him a severe blow with the Square across his breast; on which he attempted to make his escape at the East gate, where he was accosted by the third ruffian, Jubelum, with still more violence, and refusing to comply with his request, the ruffian gave him a violent blow with the common gavel on the forehead, which brought him to the floor, on which one of them exclaimed, "What shall we do, we have killed our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff?" Another answers, "Let us carry him out at the East gate and bury him in the rubbish till low twelve, and then meet and carry him a westerly course and bury him." The candidate is then taken up in a blanket, on which he fell, and carried to the West end of the Lodge, and covered up and left; by this time the Master has resumed his seat (King Solomon is supposed to arrive at the Temple at this juncture), and calls to order, and asks the Senior Warden the cause of all that confusion; the Senior Warden answers, "Our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, is missing, and there are no plans or designs laid down on the Tressle-Board for the crafts to pursue their labor." The Master, alias King Solomon, replies, "Our Grand Master missing; our Grand Master has always been very punctual in his attendance; I fear he is indisposed; assemble the crafts, and search in and about the Temple, and see if he can be found." They all shuffle about the floor a while, when the Master calls them to order, and asks the Senior Warden, "What success?" He answers, "We cannot find our Grand Master, my Lord." The Master then orders the Secretary to call the roll of workmen, and see whether any of them are missing. The Secretary calls the roll, and says, "I have called the roll, my Lord, and find that there are three missing, viz.: Jubela, Jubelo and Jubelum." His Lordship then observes, "This brings to my mind a circumstance that took place this morningtwelve Fellow Crafts, clothed in white gloves and aprons, in token of their innocence, came to me and confessed that they twelve, with three others, had conspired to extort the Master Mason's word from their Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, and in case of refusal to take his life; they twelve had recanted, but feared the other three had been base enough to carry their atrocious designs into execution." Solomon then ordered twelve Fellow Crafts to be drawn from the bands of the workmen, clothed in white aprons, in token of their Innocence, and sent three East, three West, three North, and three South, in search of the ruffians, and, if found, to bring them forward. Here the members all shuffle about the floor awhile, and fall in with a reputed traveler, and inquire of him if he had seen any traveling men that way; he tells them that he had seen three that morning near the coast of Joppa, who from their dress and appearance were Jews, and were workmen from the Temple, inquiring for a passage to Ethiopia, but were unable to obtain one, in consequence of an embargo which had recently been laid on all the shipping, and had turned back into the country. The Master now calls them to order again, and asks the Senior Warden, "What success?" He answers by relating what had taken place. Solomon observes, "I had this embargo laid to prevent the ruffians from making their escape;" and adds, "you will go and search again, and search till you find them, if possible; and if they are not found, the twelve who confessed shall be considered as the reputed murderers, and suffer accordingly." The members all start again, and shuffle about awhile, until one of them, as if by accident, finds the body of Hiram Abiff, alias the candidate and hails his traveling companions, who join him, and while they are humming out something over the candidate, the three reputed ruffians, who are seated in a private corner near the candidate, are heard to exclaim in the following mannerfirst, Jubela, "O that my throat had been cut across, my tongue torn out, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea at low-water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, ere I had been accessory to the death of so good a man as our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff."
The second, Jubelo, "O that my left breast had been torn open, and my heart and vitals taken from thence, and thrown over my left shoulder, carried into the valley of Jehosaphat, and there to become a prey to the wild beasts of the field, and vultures of the air, ere I had conspired the death of so good a man as our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff."
The third, Jubelum, "O that my body had been severed in two in the midst, and divided to the North and South, my bowels burnt to ashes in the centre, and the ashes scattered by the four winds of heaven, that there might not the least track or trace of remembrance remain among men or Masons of so vile and perjured a wretch as I am. Ah, Jubela and Jubelo, it was I that struck him harder than you bothit was I that gave him the fatal blowit was I that killed him outright."
The three Fellow Crafts who had stood by the candidate all this time listening to the ruffians, whose voices they recognized, says one to the other, "What shall we do, there are three of them, and only three of us?" "It is," said one in reply, "our cause is good, let us seize them;" on which they rush forward, and carry them to the Master, to whom they relate what had passed. The Master then addresses them in the following manner (they in many Lodges kneel, or lie down, in token of their guilt and penitence): "Well, Jubela, what have you got to say for yourselfguilty or not guilty?" A. "Guilty, my Lord." "Jubelo, guilty or not guilty?" A. "Guilty, my Lord." "Jubelum, guilty or not guilty?" A. "Guilty, my Lord." The Master to the three Fellow Crafts who took them, "Take them without the West gate of the Temple, and have them executed according to the several imprecations of their own mouths." They are then hurried off to the West end of the room. Here this part of the farce ends. The Master then orders fifteen Fellow Crafts to be elected from the bands of the workmen, and sent three East, three West, three North, three South; and three in and about the Temple, in search of their Grand Master, Hiram Abiff [In some Lodges they only send twelve, when their own Lectures say fifteen were sent], and charges them if they find the body, to examine carefully on and about it for the Master's word, or a key to it. The three that traveled a Westerly course come to the candidate and finger about him a little, and are called to order by the Master, when they report that they have found the grave of their Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, and, on moving the earth till they came to the body, they involuntarily found their hands raised in this position [showing it at the same time; it is the due-guard of this degree], to guard their nostrils against the offensive affluvia which arose from the grave; and that they had searched carefully on and about the body for the Master's word, but had not discovered anything but a faint resemblance of the letter G on the left breast. The Master, on the receipt of this information (raising himself), raises his hand three several times above his head (as herein before described), and exclaims twice, "Nothing but a faint resemblance of the letter G! that is not the Master's word, nor a key to it, I fear the Master's word is forever lost!" [The third exclamation is different from the othersattend to it; it has been described in pages 40 and 41.] "Nothing but a faint resemblance of the letter G! that is not the Master's word, nor a key to it." "O Lord, my God, is there no help for the widow's son?" The Master then orders the Junior Warden to summon a Lodge of Entered Apprentice Masons, and repair to the grave to raise the body of their Grand Master, by the Entered Apprentice's grip. They go to the candidate and take hold of his forefinger and pull it, and return and tell the Master that they could not raise him by the Entered Apprentice's grip; that the skin cleaved from the bone. A Lodge of Fellow Crafts are then sent, who act as before, except that they pull the candidate's second finger. The Master then directs the Senior Warden [generally] to summon a Lodge of Master Masons, and says, "I will go with them myself in person, and try to raise the body by the Master's grip, or lion's paw." [Some say by the strong grip, or the lion's paw.] They then all assemble around the candidate, the Master having declared the first word spoken after the body was raised, should be adopted as a substitute for the Master's word, for the government of Master Mason's Lodges in all future generations; he proceeds to raise the candidate, alias the representative of the dead body of Hiram Abiff. He [the candidate] is raised on what is called the five points of fellowship, which are foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear. This is done by putting the inside of your right foot to the inside of the right foot of the person to whom you are going to give the word, the inside of your knee to his, laying your right breast against his, your left hands on the back of each other, and your mouths to each other's right ear [in which position you are alone permitted to give the word], and whisper the word Mah-hah-bone. The Master's grip is given by taking hold of each other's right hand, as though you were going to shake hands, and sticking the nails of each of your fingers into the joint of the other's wrist, where it unites with the hand. In this position the candidate is raised, he keeping his whole body stiff, as though dead. The Master, in raising him, is assisted by some of the brethren, who take hold of the candidate by the arms and shoulders. As soon as he is raised to his feet they step back, and the Master whispers the word Mah-hah-bone in his ear, and causes the candidate to repeat it, telling him at the same time that he must never give it in any manner other than that in which he receives it. He is also told that Mah-hah-bone signifies marrow in the bone. They then separate, and the Master makes the following explanation respecting the five points of fellowship. Master to candidate, "Brother, foot to foot teaches you that you should, whenever asked, go on a brother's errand, if within the length of your cable-tow, even if you should have to go barefoot and bareheaded. Knee to knee, that you should always remember a Master Mason in your devotion to Almighty God. Breast to breast, that you should keep the Master Mason's secrets, when given to you in charge as such, as secure and inviolable in your breast, as they were in his own, before communicated to you. Hand to back, that you should support a Master Mason behind his back, as well as before his face. Mouth to ear, that you should support his good name as well behind his back as before his face."
After the candidate is through with what is called the work part, the Master addresses him in the following manner: "Brother, you may suppose from the manner you have been dealt with to-night, that we have been fooling with you, or that we have treated you different from others, but I assure you that is not the case. You have, this night, represented one of the greatest men that ever lived, in the tragical catastrophe of his death, burial, and resurrection; I mean Hiram Abiff, the widow's son, who was slain by three ruffians at the building of King Solomon's Temple, and who, in his inflexibility, integrity, and fortitude, never was surpassed by man. The history of that momentous event is thus related. Masonic tradition informs us that at the building of King Solomon's Temple, fifteen Fellow Crafts discovering that the Temple was almost finished, and not having the Master Mason's word, became very impatient, and entered into a horrid conspiracy to extort the Master Mason's word from their Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, the first time they met him alone, or take his life, that they might pass as Masters in other countries, and receive wages as such; but before they could accomplish their designs, twelve of them recanted, but the other three were base enough to carry their atrocious designs into execution. Their names were Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum.
"It was the custom of our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, every day at high twelve, when the crafts were from labor to refreshment, to enter into the sanctum sanctorum, and offer his devotions to the ever living God, and draw out his plans and designs on the Tressle-Board for the crafts to pursue their labor. On a certain day (not named in any of our traditional accounts), Jubela, Jubelo and Jubelum placed themselves at the South, West, and East gates of the Temple, and Hiram having finished his devotions and labor, attempted (as was his usual custom) to retire at the South gate, where he was met by Jubela, who demanded of him the Master Mason's word (some say the secrets of a Master Mason), and on his refusal to give it, Jubela gave him a violent blow with a twenty-four-inch gauge across the throat; on which Hiram fled to the West gate, where he was accosted in the same manner by Jubelo, but with more violence. Hiram told him that he could not give the word then, because Solomon, King of Israel, Hiram, King of Tyre, and himself had entered into a solemn league that the word never should be given, unless they three were present; but if he would have patience till the Grand Lodge assembled at Jerusalem, if he was then found worthy he should then receive it, otherwise he could not; Jubelo replied in a very peremptory manner, "If you do not give me the Master's word, I'll take your life;" and on Hiram's refusing to give it, Jubelo gave him a severe blow with the Square across the left breast, on which he fled to the East gate, where he was accosted by Jubelum, in the same manner, but with still more violence. Here Hiram reasoned as before; Jubelum told him that he had heard his caviling with Jubela and Jubelo long enough, and that the Master's word had been promised to him from time to time for a long time; that he was still put off, and that the Temple was almost finished, and he was determined to have the word or take his life. "I want it so that I may be able to get wages as a Master Mason in any country to which I may go for employ, after the Temple is finished, and that I may be able to support my wife and children." Hiram persisting in his refusal, he gave Hiram a violent blow with the gavel on the forehead, which felled him to the floor and killed him; they took the body and carried it out of the West gate, and buried it in the rubbish till low twelve at night (which is twelve o'clock), when they three met agreeably to appointment, and carried the body a westerly course, and buried it at the brow of a hill, in a grave, dug due East and West, six feet perpendicular, and made their escape. King Solomon coming up to the Temple at low six in the morning (as was his usual custom), found the crafts all in confusion, and on inquiring the cause, was informed that their Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, was missing, and there was no plans or designs laid down on the Tressle-Board, for the crafts to pursue their labor. Solomon ordered search to be made inland about the Temple for him; no discovery being made, he then ordered the Secretary to call the roll of workmen to see if any were missing; it appearing that there were three, viz.: Jubela, Jubelo and Jubelum, Solomon observed, "This brings to my mind a circumstance that took place this morning. Twelve Fellow Crafts came to me, dressed in white gloves and aprons, in token of their innocence, and confessed that they twelve, with three others, had conspired to extort the Master Mason's word from their Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, and in case of his refusal to take his life; they twelve had recanted, but feared the three others had been base enough to carry their atrocious designs into execution." Solomon immediately ordered twelve Fellow Crafts to be selected from the bands of the workmen, clothed in white gloves and aprons, in token of their innocence, and sent three East, three West, three North, and three South, in search of the ruffians, and, if found, to bring them up before him. The three that traveled a westerly course, coming near the coast of Joppa, fell in with a wayfaring man, who informed them that he had seen three men pass that way that morning, who, from their appearance and dress, were workmen from the Temple, inquiring for a passage to Ethiopia, but were unable to obtain one, in consequence of an embargo which had recently been laid on all the shipping, and had turned back into the country. After making further and more diligent search, and making no further discovery, they returned to the Temple and reported to Solomon the result of their pursuit and inquiries. On which Solomon directed them to go again, and search until they found their Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, if possible; and if he was not found, the twelve who had confessed should be considered as the murderers, and suffer accordingly.
They returned again in pursuit of the ruffians, and one of the three that traveled a westerly course, being more weary than the rest, sat down at the brow of a hill to rest and refresh himself; and, in attempting to rise, caught hold of a sprig of cassia, which easily gave, and excited his curiosity, and made him suspicious of a deception; on which he hailed his companions, who immediately assembled, and, on examination, found that the earth had been recently moved; and on moving the rubbish, discovered the appearance of the grave, and while they were confabulating about what measures to take, they heard voices issuing from a cavern in the clefts of the rocks, on which they immediately repaired to the place, where they heard the voice of Jubela exclaim: "O that my throat had been cut across, my tongue torn out, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea at low-water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, ere I had been accessory to the death of so good a man as our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff"on which they distinctly heard the voice of Jubelo exclaim, "O that my left breast had been torn open, and my heart and vitals taken from thence, and thrown over my left shoulder, carried into the valley of Jehosaphat, there to become a prey to the wild beasts of the field, and vultures of the air, ere I had conspired to take the life of so good a man as our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff"when they more distinctly heard the voice of Jubelum exclaim, "O that my body had been severed in two in the midst, and divided to the North and the South, my bowels burnt to ashes in the centre, and the ashes scattered by the four winds of heaven, that there might not remain the least trace of remembrance among men or Masons of so vile and perjured a wretch as I am, who wilfully took the life of so good a man as our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff. Ah, Jubela and Jubelo, it was I that struck him harder than you bothit was I that gave him the fatal blowit was I that killed him outright!" on which they rushed forward, seized, bound, and carried them before King Solomon, who, after hearing the testimony of the three Fellow Crafts, and the three ruffians having pleaded guilty, order them to be taken out at the West gate of the Temple, and executed agreeably to the several imprecations of their own mouths. King Solomon then ordered fifteen Fellow Crafts to be elected from the bands of the workmen, clothed with white gloves and aprons, in token of their innocence, and sent three East, three West, three North, three South; and three in and about the Temple, in search of the body of our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff; and the three that traveled a westerly course found it under a sprig of cassia, where a worthy brother sat down to rest and refresh himself; and on removing the earth till they came to the coffin, they involuntarily found their hands raised, as hereinbefore described, to guard their nostrils against the offensive effluvia that 'rose from the grave. It is also said that the body had lain there fourteen days; some say fifteen.