The Late Duke Of Albany.

THE LATE DUKE OF ALBANY .

AS we write , the arrangements for the reception of the remains of the late Dnke of Albany may he said to be complete , and to-day ( Saturday ) they will be deposited in the Royal Vanlt beneath the Albert Chapel at Windsor .

The suddenness of the death of onr gifted brother has caused a deep impression , and bnt one feeling pervades society ; a feeling of the most profound regret that the

Nation has lost the services of a gentleman and a scholar whose public life , short though it has been , has been devoted to the task of studying how to ameliorate

distress , and to promote the welfare of his fellow creatures . At the present time , when the daily journals are devoting so much space to details of every incident

associated with the last hours of our late Royal Brother s existence , we feel it would be out of place for us to say much . Still , all Craftsmen who knew the Duke of

Albany are aware how enthusiastic he was , and how willing to advance the best interests of the Order we love so well . We feel assured no section of Her Most

Gracious Majesty's subjects will be more sincere m tendering their condolences to the afflicted Widow and the other members of the Royal Family than the Brethren of the Mystic Tie .

The Girls' School Election.

THE GIRLS' SCHOOL ELECTION .

IT has long been the wish of many , if not all , of the brethren who interest themselves in our Schools that the day might come when every deserving candidate should be received into the Institutions without the trouble , expense , and anxiety of election , but such a condition of

affairs , however desirable , is far from possible , and we fear that suffering and distress will never so far diminish as to allow the good things provided at our Schools to go begging . The case of the Girls' School , however , is as near an approach to equality of supply and demand as perhaps

is good for all concerned . Whether the number of girls needing such support as is there offered is smaller than used to be the case , or whether greater care of selection or a hi gher standard of examination is in force , we will not attempt to decide , but certain it is that for some time past

the number of candidates has not been so vastly out of proportion to the number of vacancies as is the case with the Boys' School , or as was the case a few years back with the Girls . It is certainly true that considerable additions

have been made to the numher of inmates of the Girls ' School , but that cannot wholly account for the present state of affairs , as sufficient time has since elapsed to . have Provided a whole regiment of candidates if some strong check had not been placed on them . For the coming

The Girls' School Election.

election , which takes place on Saturday , the 10 th instant , there are thirty-five candidates to compete for twenty-three vacancies , so that two-thirds of those who go to the poll will be returned as successful . This is as it shonld be , and it is a most gratifying state of affairs to all concerned in the promotion of the welfare of the Institution .

As usual , the list shows varied and , in most cases , urgent need for that friendly aid which the Craft provides for the less fortunate of its members , and , as usual , it is very difficult to say which of the thirty five girls is the most deserving of support . We shall , therefore , devote our

attention to the candidates in tarn , adopting the precedence which we have often followed in the past . Such a course brings us first to No . 32 , Lilian Edith Thomas , one of a family of four children left parentless and unprovided for . We have previously urged that candidates so

circumstanced have the strongest claim on pur benevolence , and we see no reason to alter our opinion . It is bad enough for a father or a mother to die , but when both are called away , and their offspring left to the care of friends , the case is sad indeed . All that we hold dear in famil y

ties , and tbe dear name of " home , " must then be all but unknown ; for it seldom happens that any other course can be adopted than for the orphans to be distributed among the friends of the family , perhaps never to meet again for years , even if at all . We are pleased to find that this girl is

the only one on the list so situated , and we trust sufficient votes will be polled for her to secure her one of the coveted twenty-three vacancies . Her father was a member of No . 1429 , Monmouth , and died in November of last year . Nos . 3 , 18 and 33 are last applications . The

former , Annie Lucie Ochsenbein , who now appears on the list for the third time , is one of three fatherless children , and brings forward 169 votes . Her father was a member of the Grosvenor Lodge , No . 1257 , London . No . 18 , Emily S . J . Hall , has both parents living , and is accredited to the Province of Gloucestershire—this is her second

election , and she has 3 votes already to her credit . Being the only Gloucestershire case on the list , there should be little doubt as to the ultimate result , which we have reason to believe will be for her benefit . No . 33 , Marion Anita Warner , a first application case , is one of four children

dependent on a widowed mother . Her father was P . M . of a Derbyshire Lodge , and also held office in the Grand Lodge of that Province during his lifetime . No . 21 , Rose Ethel Vowles , one of a family of eight left to the care of their mother , polled 937 votes in October last , and

therefore stands a very good chance of success at the coming election . No . 23 , Beatrice Elizabeth Wright , is also one of eight fatherless dependent children ; this is her first application , and we can but hope , for the sake of the poor widow left with so large a family , that it will be the last needed before her admission to the Institution is secured .

No . 9 , Hilda Sophia Lyon , a first application case , is one of a family of seven left to the care of their mother ; . the present is her second application , and she comes to the poll with 183 votes to her credit . Her father was a member of a Cheshire Lodge , and on that account we shall expect to

find her child among the successful . No . 14 , Maude Mary Bromley , also a second application , and also one of a famil y of seven fatherless children , was more successful at the last election , as she secured 355 votes on that occasion . No . 16 , Francis Alice Searle , is yet another candidate similarly circumstanced as regards family and number of