Ad00902

THEFREEMASON'SGHROMICiE, A Weekly Record of Masonic Intelligence . Sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of England . Price—13 s 6 d per annnm , post free . THE FREEMASON'S CHRONICLE will bo forwarded direct from the Office , Belvidere Works , Hermos Hill , Pentonville , N ., on receipt of Post Office Order for the nmonnt . Intending Snbscribera shonld forward their full Addresses to prevent mistakes . Post Office Orders to be raado payable to W , W . MORGAN , at Penton-street Office . Cheques crossed " London and County . " Advertisers will find THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE an exceptionally good medium for Advertisements of every class . SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS . Per Page £ 8 0 0 Back Page £ 10 0 0 Births , Marriages and Deaths , Is per line . General Advertisements , Trade Announcements , & c . single column , 5 s per inch . Double Column Advertisements la per line . Special Terms for a Scries of Insertions on application . Agents , from whom copies can always be had : — Messrs . SPENCER and Co ., 23 A Great Qneen-strcet , W . C . Messrs . CURTICE and Co ., 12 Catherine-street , Strand . Messrs . KENT and Co ., Paternoster-row , E . C . Mr . Encmi } , 6 Red Lion Court , E . C . Messrs . SIMFSON BKOS ., Shoe Lane . Mr . H . SIMPSON , 7 Red Lion Court , E . C . Messrs . SMITH and SONS , 183 Strand . Messrs . STEEL and JONES , 4 Spring Gardens , Charing Cross . Mr . G . VICKERS , Angel Court , Strand . j Mr . H . TICKERS , 317 Strand . J

Ad00903

RICHARDPEARCY, WATCHMAKERANDJEWELLER, 31 PACKINGTON STREET , ISLINGTON , LONDON , N . Watches Made and Repaired in the verybest manner . HAS0HICJfHWaScS.

Ad00904

PAUL&BURROWS, MANUFACTURERS OF SODA WATER AND SELTZER WATER , LEMONADE AND GINGER BEER , GINGER ALE AND POTASH WATER , & c . & c . FIRST CLASS QUALITY ONLY . WILSON and ENDELL STREETS , LONG ACRE , LONDON , W . C ESTABLISHED EIGHTY YEARS .

Ad00905

BRO . R . HIRST engages to provide , at short notice , an efficient Banc ! for Annual Banquets , Dinners , Excursions and Quadrille Parties . For terms apply to " B . Hirst , The Three Crowns , 237 Milo End Road , E . "

Ad00906

RHEUMATISM. THE only real remedy for this complaint is tho Northern Cure ( patent ) . In bottles Is ljd each , to bo had of all Chemists . Proprietors and Manufacturer , Edwards and Alexander , 20 Blaekctt-street , Nowcastlc-on-T . yno .

Ar00907

A "Happy New Year."

A "HAPPY NEW YEAR . "

OLD Father Christmas , with bis traditional smiles , Iris flowing beard and lapful of blessings , lias once more glided past ns , gathering up in the folds of his royal robe

tho last remaining moments of the old year , with all its achievements and disappointments , its failures and successes . Wc have now entered upon a new cm , as it were , and whilst we look back upon the year that has gone with mingle il feelings of relief aud regret , the stronger tendency ]

within us is to peer into the future with cheerful hopeful- ; ness , that this year may he bettor and more prosperous j than that which we have left behind . That time is fleeting ' , i and that wo are growing older , our annual bills and grey I hairs sufficiently remind us j yet , amidst " all the ills that

A "Happy New Year."

flesh is heir to , " there are bright spots and felicitations which shine hopefully through the dim vista of tho future . We will not enter into any speculation as to the " good time coming / ' nor a sentimental retrospect of departed days ; our object is to acknowledge the kindness and

support which we have continued to receive at the hands of onr numerous friends in the Craft , and to express onr hope that we may continue to deserve even a lam-er share in the future of that confidence which has been extended to us in the past . True , the New Year has come in tearfully and

sullen ; there is no crisp , frosty ring , as in " ye olcW time , " in the sound of the " wild bells , " such as we have have been wont to hear clanging forth a welcome to the new-born year . The wild bells have rung out to a " wild sky " indeed , but it was a wildness we only expect when the

equinoxial gales are fighting in their fury , carrying death and desolation along our coasts , and sorrow into many a parental heart . Instead of the stars glistening out from a pellucid sky , rendered all the more beautiful by the sharp , bracing frost , they were obscured by rain-laden clouds ,

whose contents sadly marred the festivities of friends whilst wishing to each other " the compliments of the season . " Holiday keepers took their pleasures sadly out-ofdoors , for the streets were bespread with mud , ancl the

footpaths rendered dangerous by their being coated with a greasy , slippery compound ; whilst the fog and rain continued to enforce the advice given us by the nondescript rhymster , who

said—Now , mind , a respirator buy , A reaterprcof also , So mnch depends on keeping dry , And catarrh ' s all the go . Still the brightness of indoor life has compensated , in a great

measure , for the meteorological miseries which have so marred the " merry " season , and there does not appear to be any diminution in the gaieties and soothing influences of home life which invariably accompany Christmas and the New Tear . We sincerely hope our friends have done

ample justice to the toothsome geese , turkeys and prime joints , erewhile decorated on the butcher ' s boards ; that the young folks have enjoyed their frolics under the mistletoe and amidst the holly and all their suggestive accompaniments , •that the little ones of all have realised the pictures

conjured up in this "Land of Dreams , " by the timely arrival of Santa Claus . Let us hope that they have been taken to the pantomimes , and learnt the origin of fairies and wicked sprites ; opened their little eyes with rapture at the gorgeous transformation scenes , and laughed gleefully at

the merry antics ot clown and pantaloon . These are among the many pleasantries which accompany the great festivals which have just passed us , and it is not necessary for us to reverse the picture by any reference to the little obligations which will he reserved to Paterfamilias in consequence of

the enjoyments he may havo so considerately provided for his family and friends . The social aspect of the Christmas and New Tear "tides" is a pleasant feature of English life which , we trust , may ever be sustained , for it brings into closer union those sentiments of love , friendship and

amenity which it is most desirable should be cultivated in every grade of society . Moreover , it stirs into fresh activity the great principles of Charity which Freemasons , above all others , strive to inculcate and practise in their daily lives . It is a time when they who are warmly clad , with

comfortable firesides and well-lardered kitchens , whence proceed odours of dainty creature comforts , are reminded of others who are less highly favoured , and Heaven only knows there are many such iu our midst . We carry our thoughts to homes where fuel is scarce , food not

much more plentiful , and clothing but ill-adapted to meet the chill blast ; aud when we talk about the " unseasonable" weather , we are apt to think whether that which would be otherwise welcomed as a good old-fashioned winter" might not , in such

cases , mean filling to the brim the cup of misery . We do not doubt that charity has been at work this Yuletide , ns of yore , so that none shall pino—if it be avoidable and the case deserving—in misery and want in a time of festivals whose chief characteristics are feasting and joy .

We are glad to know that iu this specific feature of tho festive season the brethren of the mystic lie havo been by no means lap'onng in their efforts , and we have heard with

pleasure some gratifying accounts of benevolence on the part of our brethren in various parts of fc ' iio country towards the necessitous poor . True , Masonic charity is not spasmodic , but Hows along iu the even tenor-- of its