Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

ELECTION OP GBAND TKEASURER .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAU SIR AND BROTHER , —I beg to thank most heartily the brethren who so kindly and warmly supported me on Wednesday last , at the Election of Grand Treasurer , more especially those from the

Provinces who at great personal inconvenience and expense recorded their votes in my favour . Yours fraternally , 2 Pump-Court , E . C . A . F . GODSON .

ANOTHER SCHEME UTOPIAN

To the Editor of the FREEMASON s CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Were it not for the " sorter ironical like " manner—as Artemus Ward would put it—in which you treated Bro . Meiter ' s proposal last week , I intended to submit to you , and probably to Grand Lodge as well , a scheme which I venture to think is quite

as feasible , if not quite as " Utopian . " And now , Sir , at the risk of arousing your editorial ire—or irony , which you please—I may state that I have for some time been cogitating npon a scheme which in my humble view would fitly commemorate the Jubilee year of her Majesty ' s glorious reign , and redound to the credit of the Craft in the

event of its object being accomplished ! To bo brief , Sir , my suggestion is to erect a Masonic Observatory on the North Pole , to be called the "Franklin Jubilee Folly . " My grounds for advocating this scheme are manifold . In the first place , that ancient and honourable institution the North Pole has existed from time immemorial—though

nobody ever seems yet to have reached its precise site , but that does not matter . Secondly , there would be no fear of any conclave held ab the North Pole being intruded upon by cowans or eavesdroppers , curious to learn our secrets ; it would be a rallying point for Masons of " every nation and kindred and tribe" who chose to

hazard the journey to it ; and so the stately and superb edifice would be essentially and to all intents and purposes of a cosmopolitan description . Converging upon the Observatory shonld be telephonic communication from every Lodge in the known world , and a faithful and true record kept of all their doings . See you not what a field of

employment would be opened up for industrious scribes who are willing to work , but who cannot find suitable occupation in these " sunnier climes" and more civilized spheres ? This , in my humble way of thinking , would save , not only this country , but others , a vast amount of money thafc is from time to time expended in fitting out

expeditions in the forlorn hope of discovering the fate of that great and illustrious Mason , Bro . Sir John Franklin . Now , don't you catch the interest , my Dear Sir and Brother ? Those enormous sums , which may just as well have been pitched into Hudson ' s Bay , or any other bay for that matter , could be devoted to the liberal remuneration of the

aforesaid industrious scribes , who , like myself , have a chronic fit of caccethes scribendi . The surplus , if any , might be devoted to the furtherance of Masonic Charity amongst the Esquimaux and other neighbouring tribes . Grand Lodge and every other Lodge should be invited to make a pilgrimage to that frigid Mecca at least once a year ,

which would be a nice—no pun , I assure you—variation of our " sometimes monotonous work in Lodge . " The picture of our Most Worshipful Grand Master , seated on " The Pole , " casting a benign smile of royalty over the wholo of his domain , upon which the " sun never sets" —by the way , I fancy I am rather weak in that point , for the

explorers tell us the sun is not always in its meridian at the North Pole—though that is an item of little consequence in the discussion of this subject—would be an "interesting and pathetic" one . Spread out around him on the glassy fields of ice , what a galaxy of Masonic brilliancy could be concentrated . Why , Sir , the proposed Jubilee afc

the Olympia or fche Albert Hall would sink into insignificance before such an assemblage ! If I had fche temerity of some folks I would propose to the Grand Lodge that a fac simile of the North Polesupposing any worthy Brother could design one—should be carried through all the principal cities and towns in this and other countries ,

after remaining a certain period in London , and all loyal and frigidly disposed Masons should be afforded the privilege of pouring forth their offerings into the coffers of the idol of which I humbly claim the inception . There , Sir , what do you think of my scheme ? You may call it " Utopian , " but after all it is nob much more a " castle in the

air , " as you term it , than sticking up a "House of Prayer for all nations " on the site of King Solomon's Temple . I have now , to use your own phraseology , drawn around myself a web of my own

construction , which may involve me m the position of a laughing-stock amongst all staid and rationally-minded Masons . But what care I ? Have I not the courage of my own convictions ? Thus , like Bombastes Fnrioso , I nail my colours to the North Pole , and exclaim , —

Whoe'er this pair of boots displace Must meet Bombastes face to face ; Thus do I challenge all tho human race !

I remain , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours ironically and fraternally , SLIGHTLY GONE OF I '* .

HOLLOW AY ' S PILLS arc tlio mediciuc most in repute for curing the multifarious mo ladies which beset mankind vlieu dry , sultry weather suddenly gives place to chilly , drenching - days . In fact , these Pills offer relief even if they fail of proving an absolute remedy in all the disturbances of digestion , circulation , and nervous tone which occasionally oppress a vast portion of the

population . Under the gonial , purifying , and strengthening powers exerted by this excellent medicine the tongue becomes clean , the appetite improves , digestion is quickened , and assimilation is rendered pericet . These Pills possess the highly estimable property of cleansing the entire mass of blood ; winch in its renovated condition , carries purity , strength , and vigour to every tissue of the body ,

Reviews.

REVIEWS .

AU Books intended for Review should bo addressed to th © Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , Belvidere "WorkSi Hermes Hill , Pentonville , London , N " .

— : o;—Wiltshire Masonic Calendar . Edited by Bro . W . Nott P . M . 663 P . P . G . S . W . Wilts , and Prov . Charity Secretary . Devizea : W . H . Bush , Wine-street . WE have before us the seventh annual issue of the Wiltshire Mas'nio

Calendar , and Official Directory of the Province , which is published with the sanction of Lord Methuen Prov . Grand Master and the Provincial Grand Lodge . Bro . Nott , whose reputation as a thorough working Mason extends very far beyond his own immediate circle , haa laboured successfully in developing and improving this handy little

work , which has proved so useful , and been so much appreciated by brethren in the Province , and it is now one of the moat complete and well-aranged of all the Provincial Calendars thafc we have seen . The issue appears rather late , in consequence of accidental circumstances which the editor explains , but it will be none the less acceptable ,

seeing that all the information up to date has been collated and is here supplied in its entirety . Besides the Calendar proper , in which are given the dates of all the principal events wherein fche Wiltshire brethren aro especially interested , lists are given of the Officers of Prov . Grand Lodge Present and Past , with a record of the dates and

places of meetings of Prov . Grand Lodge during the last decade , followed by a list of Craft Lodges , with the dates afc which their warrants were granted ; the places and dates of the meetings of the various Lodges , whose Present and Past Officers are enumerated . Tha same remarks apply to the Eoyal Arch Chapters and Mark Lo iges of

the Province 5 and lists are appended of the Wiltshire Stewards for Masonio Charities from the year 1870 , and the amounts taken up by each respectively . Interesting information is given respecting the Provincial Benevolent Fund and Charity Organisation Committee , and the number of votes belonging to the various Lodges in the

Province and to voters connected therewith . The little work is got up in excellent style , bound in blue and gold , and is of handy size for the pocket . The editor desires to tender his thanks to the editors of various Prpvincial Calendars who have sent him copies thereof , and to say thafc he will be pleased to receive copies of any other such Calendars that may be issued , and to reciprocate the compliment .

The Problem Art . A Treatise on how to Compose and how to Solve Chess Problems . By T . B . and F . F . Kowland . Dublin : 9 Victoria Terrace , Clontarf . London : W . W . Morgan jun ., 17 Medina-road , Holloway . IN this neatly got up little book Messrs Rowland have strung together

in handy form a series of articles contributed by them to the Illustrated Science Monthly and other publications , the chief aim of the work being to impart to beginners , in as clear and comprehensive a manner as possible , primary instrnction on how to compose and how to solve Chess Problems . The compilers are stimulated to this effort

by the hope that young chess players may be induced , by a perusal of tbe articles , to cultivate the problem art , and so sustain one of fche most ennobling , intellectual , and attractive branches of chess . Ifc not unfrequently happens tbat students of this fascinating game are pre * eluded from spending an enjoyable hour or two by the absence of au

antagonise of sufficient calibre to save the play from being altogether one-sided , in which case the game soons become wearisome aud unin . teresting . At such a moment a work like thafc before us serves fche purpose of a clever , though invisible opponent ; and supplies all that is necessary for intellectual enjoyment and instruction . The articles

are carefully written , and give the reader a vast amount of matter for reflection and working out , tho various sides of different questions being enlarged upon in a way that must prove of interest as well aa value to all students of this scientific and favourite game . The authors have also ventured to decide , for the benefit of adepts , several moot

points , and have laid down rules for their guidance in the art of composing . In doing so they admit having trodden " an unbeaten path , " and express the hope that they have not " ventured too far . " In thafc modest hope they may rest assured that , in reaching forward beyond the ordinary scope and grasp of the players with whom they

deal , they do but incite men to study and inquire , thus promoting an interchange of thonghts ancl i . leas which must prove favourable to all who feel an interest in the game . The little work is admirably got up and should find its way extensively into the hands of both young and old chess players .

" Society Types , drawn by Pen and Pencil , " will form the subject of a series of articles in " The Lady ' s World . " The first paper , " The Parisienne , " appears in the March number . An article , giving directions to children about the making of paper

dolls , with illustrations of historical dresses , will appear in Little Folks " magazine for March . The same number will also contain the second of the series of papers on " Some Curious School Customs . "

Some farther " Eeminiscences of John Hullah , LL . D ., " will be contributed to the March number of " Cassell ' s Magazine , " by one who know him well .

The Stock Exchange is the subject of an article thafc , under the title of "' Bulls ' and'Bears ' on'Change , " will appear in the March number of "Cassell ' s Magazine , " with an illustration of "The House , " by Mr . Sydney G . Hall .