An Escape Through Masonry.

sailor's death . We were soon brought up from below with our hands securely strapped behind our backs . A plank was rigged up , the pirates with drawn cutlasses stood on either side , with their villainous-looking leader afc the head , a little to one side . It was an awful moment ; seemed like eternity , not a word was spoken on either side until the first of my men stepped on the plank , and I cried out , ' Pray to God , men ; He'll forgive us and receive us . '

" One after another of my poor crew walked out to their doom , I being reserved to the last . I said a mental goodbye to the Lewis and its loved ones . Never so dear as at that hour , and with only the prayer , ' Me , even me also , 0 my father , ' mounted the plank . I will say to the glory of God , that sinner and all as I was , I never before faced death with such calmness ; and balancing myself for a moment on the end of fche plank , quick as a flash , by an intuition of the mind , 1 looked the pirate chief full in the eyes , and gave him the last sign of distress of a Master Mason . Instantly he signalled

to his men to hold off , assisted me down off the plank , whipped out a knife and cut the cords that bound me , grasped both my hands , kissed me on tbe cheek , took me down below , gave me a drink of rum and plenty to eat . He seemed to have a hot time with his men , reassuring them and keeping control . He gave me everything I could carry away with me , some money , and put me ashore at night on the line of passing ships , from whence I again made my way to Hong Kong . That cured me of eastern trade , but thanks to God and to Fortrose Lodge , No . 108 , my dear old Mother Lodge , I am still alive and kicking . "

Fortrose Lodge , in Stornoway , has an old and honourable record , and has enrolled many notables among its members , and many foreign ship captains , who never saw the old town again . Captain Archibald was a picturesque and imposing personality , as guileless as loveable , and the glamour of his name and memory will long linger among Lewis men . He was the friend of

all children , and it was a familiar sight to see him rolling down the street with a toddling child in each hand , and with a never failing supply of good things in his capacious pockets . We have an abiding belief that after life ' s perilous voyage " Tappin Arch , " as the toddlers called him , found at last a haven of perfect peace and everlasting repose .

The Busiest Man In The World.

THE BUSIEST MAN IN THE WORLD .

NO DAY ENTIRELY HIS OWN . THESE are many Brethren in our midst who regret that the many other calls on the time of our Eoyal Grand Master prevent his more frequent attendance afc meetings of the Craft , while there are some who regard his absence in a less favourable

light , and do nofc hesitate to say the English Order would benefit from a more frequent appearance of its chief , and a more apparent interest on his part in the actual work of Freemasonry . A perusal of the following article , which lately appeared in " Answers , " will afford some satisfaction to the one class , and

may perhaps prevent further grumbling on the part of the other . We [ have had a small experience of the strain that is associated with official or semi-official attendance at public functions , and can well understand the severity of the tax imposed on the Prince of Wales by his many public engagements . But despite the trouble it must be to him to fulfil all the appointments he

desires to keep , we think it is generally conceded that his Eoyal Highness never displays any feeling of fatigue or annoyance , no matter how wearisome or long drawn out the meeting may be at which he is present . To one on whom so many calls are made the geniality possessed by the Prince must be a great blessing . Our contemporary writes : —

" Unless , unfortunately , more serious results than are at present anticipated should ensue upon fche Prince of Wales ' s accident , it will , one would imagine , be almost a pleasurable experience to him to be " laid up " for a brief spell .

For albeit he is a Prince of the Blood Eoyal , and Heir Apparent to the throne of the mightiest Empire on which the sun has ever risen , few men work harder than his Eoyal Highness . From daylight to dusk , and often long afterwards , he is busied

with affairs of State . Indeed , it is no uncommon experience for him to attend two , and even three , public functions in one day , remaining afterwards closeted with his secretaries until one and two o ' clock in the morning . To begin with , his daily budget of letters seldom falls below

The Busiest Man In The World.

five or six hundred . And although the vast majority of these epistles are dealt with by his secretaries , and never come under his cognisance at all , there still remains , as a rule , a residuum of several dozens that can only be dealt with by himself personally . The answers to these are dictated immediately after breakfast , which meal , by the bye , consists almost invariably of tea , toast , and an egg .

In ordinary times the Prince answers but very few letters in his own handwriting , this honour being usually reserved almost exclusively for his near relatives and very intimate friends . Nevertheless , that he can be an excellent autographic

correspondent when put to it is shown by the fact that during the week preceding the Jubilee celebrations he actually penned more than two hundred letters , eighty of which were indited on fche day preceding fche Queen ' s visit to St . Paul ' s .

From his letters the Prince turns lo the journals of fche day , which a valet has previously arranged in fche order in which he knows his master prefers to peruse them . His Eoyal Highness reads nofc only the productions of the English , but also of the French and German Press .

Afc one o ' clock a plain luncheon is served , and immediately afterwards the real business of the day begins . It is seldom indeed that the Prince is free from a public or semi-public engagement . Often there are two or three to be attended to , aud occasionally there are even more . For instance , on 23 rd May his Eoyal Highness held a levee at St . James ' s Palace at two

o ' clock , accompanied the Princess to a flower-show at four , was engaged from six till seven in inspecting certain structural alterations afc Marlborough House , and attended the regimental dinner of the Guards' Club in the evening . This sort of thing may be , of course , very enjoyable for a while ; bufc to keep it up day after day the year round must be exceedingly exhausting .

Here is a typical week , selected at haphazard from his Eoyal Highness ' s regular itinerary . On 2 nd July he visited Deptford to lay the foundation-stone of the new buildings of the " Deptford Fund . " The following day , being Sunday , he rested ; but on the 4 th he paid a state visit to York , and on the 5 th he reviewed nine battalions of Militia at Knavesmire . Hurrying south again , he

accompanied the Queen to Aldershot on the 6 th , and assisted her to present a set of new colours to the 3 rd Coldstream Guards . On the 7 th he was present at the grand review in the Long Valley , and attended a military banquet and ball in the evening ; while the two following days were filled up wifch a levee , a garden-party , and a charity dinner .

Altogether , his Eoyal Highness has been present this year , from 1 st January np to the date of his accident , at no fewer than 183 public or semi-public functions , or , excluding Sundays , an average of more than one a day . What this means few people , save those who have had some personal experience of public life , can even faintly imagine . "

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