A Masonic Melodrama.

A MASONIC MELODRAMA .

Adventures of a Masonic Apron that made an extended Stay hi Louisville .

A WASHINGTON corespondent of the American Tyler , who made a visit last month to Washington Lodge , No . 22 , Alexandria , Va ., the Lodge of which the illustrious George Washington was a member , tells the following interesting storj : Before the work commenced , however , a pleasinw

episode occurred and mnst be recorded . Bro . Webber had a message to deliver , an errand of fraternal love to perform , and well did he accomplish his mission . Possibly it might be presented as a little melodrama in two acts , the first having four scenes , the second being covered in two scenes .

Act I ., Scene 1 . The interior of a Masonic hall in a town of Northern Virginia dnring the first year of the late civil war , the Lodge in session , the hour that of refreshment , and the members gathered together in the South ,

looking at and commenting npon a handsome case hanging on the wall , in which had been carefully placed a Master Mason ' s apron , covered with the appropriate emblems ; above it tastily inscribed , This apron was worn by onr brother , George Washington . "

Scene 2 . The next morning , war ' s alarm , the village in possession of ancl raided by a passing regiment bound for tho front ; the Masonic hall broken into , the cabinet smashed and cast aside , the apron detached and tied by its strings npon the bayonet of its captor , who resumes his

place in the line without thought of its meaning or value . The colonel , a Mason , recognized the well remembered emblems , and , upon questioning the soldiers , is given the brief history , and , on request , good naturedly presented with the apron .

Scene 3 . Lousville , Ky ., a tailor ' s shop , the old proprietor busily engaged in stitching ; enter the colonel , small package in hand . Tenderly unwrapping the apron , he tells the tailor of the foregoing incident * and requests

that the edges of the venerable relic be rebound over the torn binding , all parts to bo preserved intact ; then , with the promise to call in two hours , just before the departure of his regiment , he leaves the shop .

Scene 4 . Same place , two years after . Tho old tailor , never having been called upon for the apron , has determined to give it to some member of the Craft . He selects one of his customers , a Mr . Grove , to whom , with proper explanations , he presents it , tho treasure being received in trust , with great joy .

Act IL , Scene 1 . Time , 1890 ; place , the offico of Fred Webber , 83 ° , Secretary General Southern Jurisdiction , A . and A . S . R ., at Washington , D . C . Dramatis personaa , Bro . Fred . Webber , Past Master of Compass Lodge , Louisville , and his old friend ancl Lodge fellow , Brother Grove . The

foregoing facts are stated , the apron is produced and passed into the bands of Bro . Webber , with the injunction that he is unable to discover its rightful ownership , tho much prized " white lambskin " shall be placed in possession of the old original Washington ' s Lodge at Alexandria , Va .

Scene 2 . The Lodge room of Alexandria Washington Lodge No . 22 , on the evening of llth February 1892 ; the Lodge in session as before described , Past Master Fred . Webber , of Louisville , Ky ., and Brother Henry Baldrey , of Minneapolis , Minn ., invited guests , and a crowded meeting of interested brethren .

With the statement that he has used his utmost

endeavours to find the Lodge from whom the apron was taken , Brother Webber makes the presentation on behalf of Bro . Grove , of Louisville , Ky . The venerated relic is accepted by the Worshipful Master , and eloquent

speeches of acceptance and pride are uttered by W . M . Chapman , Brother T . A . Anderson and others on the part of the Lodge . A few appropriate remarks are added by Brother Baldrey , and then the work of the evening is proceeded with . —Masonic Home Journal .

HOLIOWAY ' PII . L 8 . —Important for the delicate . It is difficult to letermine which is the most trying to the human constitution , the damp , cold Jays of autumn and winter or the keen , dry , easterly winds of spring . Throughout the seasons good health may be maintained by occasional doses of Holloway ' s Pills , which purify the blood and act as wholesome stimulants

to tbe skin , stomach , liver , bowels and kidneys . This celebrated medicine needs but a fair trial to convince tho ailing and desponding that it will restore and cheer them without danger , pain , or inconvenience . No family should be without a supply of Holloway's Pills and Ointment , as by a timely recourse to them the first erring functions may be reclaimed , suffering may be spared and life saved .

Ordeal By Fire.

ORDEAL BY FIRE .

rpO say that we sympathise with our brethren of the JL oldest Lodge in South Africa in tbe unfortunate destruction of their magnificent Temple of De Goede Hoop , is but an imperfect way of expressing our feelings on the matter . The loss is only in a slight degree more theirs than ours . The Temple of De Goede Hoop

in a sense belonged to the South African Craft , whether Dutch , English or Scotch , and there was not a Mason amongst us that did not feel proud in the possession by his country of one of the structural wonders of the world . Such indeed it was . The testimony of numerous

Masons from other countries has placed it in the very front rank of bnildings used for Masonic labour . Some time ago we printed an extract from an American contemporary , in which the writer , an American , who had been almost all over the world , named as the three finest existing Masonic

Temples , De Goede Hoop , Malta , and Philadelphia , and many other impartial observers have not hesitated to give our own Capetown Lodge a clear precedence over both the white marble Temple of Philadelphia , and the magnificent edifice in the home of the Knights of St . John . This , of

course , refers to its internal construction . The exterior was decidedly inferior to many other Temples . But once inside , it was a thing of beauty and a memory , if not a joy , for ever . All the details of Masonic construction were so completely carried out , and all provisions for Masonic work

so carefully made , that one conld only gaze and wonder , and it possessed over many of its rivals the added charm that nothing but the halo of antiquity can give . It is fortunate that some three years ago we published a detailed description of the Temple , which has been taken over by

sundry Masonic papers in various parts of the world . A record , feeble enough doubtless , but still valuable , has been preserved of what the Temple looked like from a Mason's point of view . It is a very fortunate circumstance also that throngh the energy of Brother W . H . Tiffany ,

Secretary of the Lodge , the priceless archives , without which it would be scarcely possible to write a history of Freemasonry in South Africa , have been saved , as has likewise tho warrant . But much that no money can ever replace has gone . The curious statuary of plaster ancl

brick , the series of portraits of Past Masters , and tho old time decorations are lost for ever . Such a loss is deplorable . Masonry , moro perhaps than any other Institution , dwells in the past , and everything consecrated by antiquity acquires enhanced value in a Craftsman ' s eyes . One lesson

this great loss teaches us , and that is the importance of all the older Lodges in tho Colony preparing records of their history . As we havo said of yore , we are prepared to give them every assistance . We will put the materials into shape and publish them , but we cannot provide tho

materials themselves . Once get all the historical facts contained in the archives of an old Lodge published , and they are safe from the ravages of either fire or any other enemy . One American Grand Lodge , with a moat praiseworthy eye to the benefit of futurity , compels every Lodgo

to write up its annals every five years . As we said before , had the archives of the oldest Lodge in the Colony gone , where would have been the materials for any history of Masonry in the Cape Peninsula . Aa it is , tho loss is irreparable , and we can only submit to it jwith all the resignation at our command . —Sonth African Freemason .

On Wednesday , the 16 th ult ., at the Golden Lion Hotol , Rayleigh , Bro . G . R . Dawson was installed as W . M . of the Kayleigh Lodge , No . 1734 , the ceremc y boing performed by Bro . F . D . Grayson P . P . G . S . D .

LIQUEUR BRANDT . —There is no finer liqueur than genuine and well matured brandy , since it contains hardly any grape sugar , and possesses digestive qualities of a high order . It stimulates the secretion of tbe gastric juices , while the ethers upon whioh it depends for flavour renders it eminently palatable . Thus the gourmet who respects his constitution will be found preferring a small glass of old cognac after dinner to everything else . It may bo

added also that in many cases of disease such a brandy , as all medical authorities admit , is often of the greatest benefit to ihe sufferer . A brandy of this character , twenty-soven years old , fully matured and of exquisite flavour , is now offered to their customers by Messrs Spiers and Pond , and thoso who care to possess a really high-class liqueur should lose no timo in making application for some of it .