Provincial.

Prov . G . Secretary expressed the pleasure it gave him to know thafc tho Craft was in such a prosperous condition in the old town of Macclesfield . Bro . Cockayne then , in concise and suitable terms , proposed that the best thanks of the Lodge be given to the I . P . M . ( Bro . Councillor Edwin Crew ) , for a very handsome present to tlie Lodge , viz ., silver square and compasses , and set of gavels .

Bro . 0 . A . Hordern seconded , and the vote was cordially and unanimously passed . The remainder of the Lodgo business having been transacted , tho Brethren sat down to the annual banquet in thoir Lodge room , afc the Macclesfield Arms Hotel , the Mayor presiding , and the vicechair being occupied by Bro . Charles Stoneley S . W . Bro . J . Crowther catered an excellent banquet . The toasts were duly honoured , being interspersed with songs .

During the evening the Mayor made sympathetic reference to the fact that thafc was the first gathering of fcho kind for many years that they had not been honoured by the presence of their venerable Bro . the Town Clerk of Congleton ( Bro . John Wilson , LL . D . ) . Thoy very much regretted his absence , and their deep sympathies

were wifch him in his affliction . They trusted that he would yet for many years be spared to give them the benefit . of his genial presence at their annual festivals . Ho had received a telegram from Bro . Wilson , convoying " hearty good wishes , " and regretting his inability to be present . o o o

SUTHERLAND LODGE OF UNITY , No . 460 . FREEMASONRY is a close corporation , says the " Staffordshire Sentinel , " and the secrets of the Craft are rigidly kept . Two things , however , the outside public know—that the Brethren are generous , and singularly susceptible to the feelings of sympathy and sociability . In no town are these traditions more worthily upheld than in Newcastle . Ifc is the pleasant custom of the members of the Sutherland Lodge of Unity to hold an annual picnic in which

ladies are included . The proceeds are devoted to Masonic Charities , which are amongst the best managed and most liberally supported of the many which exist in philanthropic Great Britain . Trentham for two years now has been the locale selected . On Thursday , 5 th ulfc ., nearly one hundred ladies and gentlemen made the journey from the old borough . The majority drove over in brakes , passing

through the park and along the Barlaston Road to tho hotel . Arrived at the hotel , many of the male members of the party spent the short interval before tea in playing bowls , while tho rest sought and , under the spreading trees obtained , shelter from the piercing rays of the sun . Mr . Dorrell provided a capital meal in the Assembly room , which was quite filled .

Tho W . M . Bro . Fred Skerrett , who was accompanied by Mrs . Skerrefcfc and Miss Skerrett , presided , and at the conclusion expressed his pleasure at the presence of the Mayor and Mrs . Hyslop in felicitous terms , aud thanked all present for coming forward and making the gathering a perfect success , as ifc was in every respect . He alluded to the distinction—unique in modern times—which

Alderman Hyslop had gained , of serving three times as chief magistrate of the borough , and testified to the zeal and energy which the Mayoress had shown on behalf of the Hospital Saturday Fund . The result was that the record had been broken , and though he hoped it would be again broken he prophesied ( hat it would be a very difficult task .

His Worship , in responding , mentioned that he had been a Mason for thirty-five years , and what was more singular still , during the whole of that period he had been a member of the same Lodge . He was proud to see Bro . Skerrett in the position which he occupied , and proud of the Lodge to which they both belonged . It was a bye-word that no good man should be outside and no bad

man inside the Craffc of Masonry . They were twitted about being a secret Order . There were no secrets but what people were as well acquainted with as he was . They were all contained in the Bible . Freemasonry had been denounced by the Pope of Rome because it was a secret society . But what were they a secret society for ?

Not for tho purpose of conspiring against Governments and against society . They were loyal to the great Geometrician above , loyal to the Queen , loyal to their country , and loyal to the people around . In this tho Mayor pointed out they contrasted most strongly with the secret societies of the Continent , to one of which the President of France—himself a Freemason—had fallen a victim .

Alderman Hyslop expressed a fervent hope that the members of these secret societies would be swept away , and then turning to a lighter subject , said the ladies might perhaps have reason to find fault with the Brethren because they were not initiated into the watchwords and bye-words of the Craft ; but said no doubt they would be satisfied if once a year they wero entertained to a

gathering like the present . They were sometimes asked what good was derived from Freemasonry ? For answer he would refer the questioners to the Benevolent Institutions , which were maintained at an annual cost of £ 60 , 000 from Masonic funds , and which gave assistance to 1 , 250 people . Six or seven hundred children were educated and started in life annually .

He congratulated the Province of Staffordshire on standing second on tho list of counties , and in conclusion urged gentlemen to join the Craft , and help on a great and noble work . During the evening a short programme of vocal and instrumental music was performed , under the direction of Bro . Edwards , Mrs . Brandon Jones and Miss Godfrey being the principal vocalists , and a string band afterwards played for dancing . o o o

FAITH LODGE , No . 581 . THE Annual pic-nic of this Lodge , writes our representative , took place on Wednesday , the 25 th ult ., the place selected being Worksop , Nottinghamshire , which thc Domesday Book of William the Conqueror mentions as having been owned by Elsi , a Saxon ,

Provincial.

the manor then being styled Werchesopo . The party , which consisted o £ over sixty Brethren aud friends , left Cottonopolis by saloon carriages at 8-32 a . m ., arriving at the Station Hotel after a journey of about two hours . Having partaken of lunch , a number of

carriages provided for the party were soon filled , and a long drive of twenty-seven miles commenced through the estates of Clumber , Thoresby , and Welbeok , owned respectively by the Dukeof Newcastle , Earl Manvers and the Duke of Portland , and popularly known by the collective name of the " Dukeries . "

Tlie three estates mentioned are within the ancient and historical Forest of Sherwood , known to every schoolboy as the home of tho famous outlaw Robin Hood and his merry men , of Little John , Will Scarlett , Friar Tuck , Allan-a-Dale , and tho lovely Maid Marion , thus described in language of the day : —

" Sich utlauz an' his men Vil England never see agen . " The present famous mansion of Clumber , built by the second Duke of Newcastle ( circa 1770 ) , is about four miles from Worksop ,

and for magnificence is said to be second to none in England ; its great central hall , 90 feet by 45 feet , its marble columns , floor of mosaic and tesselated work , its magnificent works of art , its beautiful gardens , and fine extensive lake , all combine to raise an envious feeling in the breast of the visitor .

The handsome mansion of Thoresby was built by its present owner , in place of the former structure of red brick , erected by the second and last Duke of Kingston , which in its turn had risen phcenix-like from the ashes of its predecessor—a victim to the ravages of fire in 1745 . Lovers of literature will associate with the

name of Thoresby House that of a brilliant and witty celebritythe British epistolary rival of that " spirituelle" Frenchwoman , Madame de Sevigne , —we mean Lady Mary Wortley Montagu , who was born hore in 1690 , and who flourished during the first half of the eighteenth century .

In the library of Thoresby is an elaborately carved chimneypiece of oak , 14 feet high and 10 feet wide , which represents a scene in Sherwood Forest , introducing the "Major Oak , " a herd of deer , Robin Hood and Little John , with other details . About midway on the drive through the " Dukeries" is the village of Edwinstowe , where a long halt is usually made for the purpose of feeding and resting the horses . Our party , however , did not call here , as other arrangements had been entered into .

With regard to the tree which bhakspeare calls the " unwedgeable and gnarled oak , " the ancient Gaelic proverb says : — " Thrice the age of a dog is that of a horse ; thrice the age of a horse is that of a man ; thrice the age of a man is that of a deer ; thrice the ago of a deer is thafc of an eagle ; thrice the age of an eagle is that of an oak . " On the Thoresby demesne there are some very wonderful

specimens , one of which is estimated to be about sixteen hundred years old . This is the " Grcendale Oak , " sometimes called the " Methuselah " of trees . In 1724 , as the outcome of a bet , an opening was cut through the trunk of this tree , wide enough to admit the passage of a carriage , or three horsemen abreast . Tho most remarkable tree , however , is the " Major Oak , " sometimes

called the " Queen Oak , said to be over a thousand years old . Viewed in the distance , its magnificent foliage , which covers a space of 240 feet in diameter , would hardly induce a stranger to suppose that in its trunk is a fissure which leads to a great hollow 15 feet high , easily capable of holding a dozen full-grown people . Indeed , ifc is asserted that sixteen persons have actually squeezed themselves into the boll .

Welbeck Abbey ( although from some inscrutable reason its portals seem ever jealously closed to visitors ) , is brimful of old historical associations , but as space will not allow us to touch upon them , we will merely mention some of its modern wonders , which cost the late Duke of Portland between two and three millions

sterling—called by a writer in London Society " fads , " but to which local tradition assigns a more potent reason . Besides a subterranean carriage-way , the grounds are literally perforated by miles of tunneling , through which three people can walk abreast ; then there is the underground picture gallery , lighted by eleven hundred gas burners ; the glass-roofed tan gallop , 1 , 270 lectin length , and the riding school , said to be the finest in the kingdom , being 385 feet in length , 104 feet in width , and lighted by 8 , 000 gas jets .

A very substantial dinner had been provided at the Hotel in Worksop , which the party , on their return , partook of . This over , a few toasts were submitted , and cordially received . Bro . William Kay P . M ., in proposing the health of fche Worshipful Master , referred to the success of the pic-nic , which he said was mainly due to his untiring efforts . The toasfc was enthusiastically drunk .

Bro , H . B . Brown W . M ., in responding , said that they could consider that day as one entirely apart from business . During his term of office the Ladies had twice had the opportunity of mixing with the Brethren of the Faith Lodge , once at the Soiree , and upon the present occasion . It was a fortunate circumstance that the weather , which afc the commencement of their journey had seemed

dull and gloomy , had turned out in their favour , and if his listeners had been pleased , they had much to thank the Committee of Management for . Bro . Brown regretted thafc some Brethren who usually accompanied them were away on account of sickness , notably Bros . Lloyd and Painter . Songs were rendered by Bros . J . G . Hewson , Harry Crellin , and Ed . Roberts P . M ., Bro . Dr . E . E , Jones presiding at the pianoforte .

The party left Worksop upon the return journey at 8 o'clock , arriving in Manchester shortly after 10 p . m ., all having been impressed by the lovely drive amidst " the silent majesty of those deep woods . " 0 0 0

EARL ELLESMERE LODGE , No . 678 . THE members held their Annual pic-nic on the 18 th ult . The party , which included a few friends from thc Lodge of Charity