Punctuality.

PUNCTUALITY .

FROM THE MASONIC REVIEW . AMONG the littlo things that do great harm to our Fraternity is " want of punctuality . " We could all name Lodges in which the Worshipful Master generally made his appearance in great haste , breathless , excited , from half to three-quarters of an hour late . What is the result ? T ^ Officers and " brethren , noticing the habits of their Master , soon fairinto similar ways , and tho brethren being

summoned at seven seldom put in appearance till after eight . The hour is then late , bnsiness has to be rushed through "holierskelter , " the " work" is abbreviated as much as possible , and thoso attending , instead of enjoying a social , pleasant evening , find all haste and confusion , whilst the candidate is disgusted at the evident hurry there is made to put him through . And thus the beauty of our

ceremonies is marred , and the impressiveness of the ritual destroyed , because the Worshipful Master is regardless of timo , and will not be punctual in his place in . the Lodge . How annoyed we hare seen visiting brethren , and felt ourselves , at waiting in a cold ante-room forty or fifty minutes before anybody but the Tyler made his appearance . It is thorough misery , and

very seldom will a visitor return to a Lodge in which he has been so treated . Now , when it is so easy t 6 be " on time , " and when the effect is so pernicious , no brother has the right to keep others waiting , and thus delay the business and work of the Lodge . Besides it is not well to keep the Lodge open till the " we sma' hours " of the morning appear , or even late at night . Men that work

during the day , ancl have to rise with the dawn , like to retire to their slumbers early ; but what is moro important , the fair sex do not like their husbands and brothers to be " out till all hours at the Lodge , " and brethren , when they find that they cannot get home early , aro apt to drop off in their attendance . Thus the want of punctuality drives many from us ; many a good and enthusiastic

brother is thus lost . Let such a Mason first make up his mind ho will go every . second night , and then once a month—after a little while ifc is every two months , and finally , wearying of the negligence and unseemly haste iu business aud work caused by this want of punctuality on part of officers and brethren , ho loses all interest in the thing , and either asks for his dimit or allows himself to be

suspended for non-payment of dues . The habit of punctuality is one that shonld be cultivated by every person , but it should be especially so by the Freemason . In olden times Lodges were in the habit , ifc is said , of fining members who came late , and it would not be much out of the way if the plan wore adopted in some Lodges at the present

time that wo could name . We havo seen the brethren waiting till past nine for their Worshipful Master , and then havo to send for him . There is no surer or speedier way of " running down " a Lodge than this . It is both discourteous aud ungentlemanly for any brother to thus keep a number of others waiting . Would ho be late if the President of tho United States had notified that he desired him

to wait upon him at a certain hour ? Oh , no ! Bufc , yet , he has the impudence to allow a number of gentlemen to " suck their thumbs " at the Lodge room for au hour or so , while he , perchance in his slippers and dressing gown , is pnffing away at his cigar at home . All business men that ever have succeeded in life have been men of the most precise and punctual habits . Punctuality is as

necessary in Masonry as it is in business , and no brother will succeed in life , or in Masonry , who is negligent regarding it . The want of it is the sure forerunner of slovenly and careless habits , and tends to produce a callousness with regard to the wishes of others that is sure to denote tbe selfish man . No Freemason can be selfish ; it is contrary to the very spirit of our Institution . No selfish man can

ever understand the key-note of Freemasonry , viz .: Charity , and consequently every brother , the moment he notes within himself any characteristics growing upon him that has a tendency to selfishness , shonld strive to correct it as quickly as possible . It is the little things in life that conjointly form ancl create our characters . The following couplet exactly expresses our thoughts upon this subject :

" Little drops of water , little grains of sand , Make the mighty ocean and the beauteous land . " Yes , it is the little grains of sand and the little drops of water that prove the turning point in our life's career , in onr life's history . The want of punctuality may appear a very " weeny little thing . " " Ten minutes late , what difference ? " " It is the firsfc time I have

kept them waiting , and Bro . Smith , the Senior Warden , is always later . I'll just read tho speachof Guitean ' s before I go ; " and thus the brother stills his conscience , and then in a hurry he hastens off , half dressed , and , on arriving at the Lodge , finds himself an hour behind time , and that two or three of tho brethren havo left . He determines then and there to correct tho fault , but next Lodge night

it is very snowy , cold and bleak , and the fire is tempting , and he determines to take one more cup of coffee before leaving , and then the evening paper comes in and ho must take a glance at that , and—But it is the same thing over again , and by-and-bye this becomes a habit with him , and after a timo the brethren notice it , they come late , and the Lodge , instead of closing before ten ( as

Lodges should do ) is frequently not through with its preliminary business by that hour . Late hours destroy the harmony of the Lodge ; good-natured , middle-aged gentlemen begin to grumble ; hard-working artisans , who havo to rise with the sun , express an opinion that " they don't care about being out half the night ; " busy clerks and accountants find ifc breaks upon their routine habits—a

blow has been struck at the Fraternity by a Master of the Lodge , and all through a reckless ancl wanton selfishness thafc is perfectly inexcusable ; for there is no excuse in the generality of cases for want of punctuality . Let brethren , therefore , cnltivate punctuality in all tbo affairs of every-day life . Every man ' s time , if he likes to occupy it , is worth

something , and the loss of time is " ofttimes a pecuniary and a mental intellectual loss , consequently every brother shonld so arrange his time that he would be able to keep his engagements . It is all habit , and it is as easy for a man to bo punctual and prompt on timo as it is to be unpunctnal and an hour or two late . Remember the want of punctuality is a small and sneaking species of selfishness .

We have great pleasure in drawing attention to the balance-sheet of the Second Tottenham , Enfield , and Edmonton Masonic Charitable Association , with copy of which we have been favoured by Bro . James Garrod W . M . 754 , the Hon . Secretary . From this ifc appears

that there was a balance brought forward from last audit of £ 63 5 s lOd , which together with the aggregate of receipts during the year—namely £ 203 15 s 6 d , made up a total of £ 267 10 s 4 d . Out of this the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution has benefited to the extent of

fourteen Life Governorships , ten guineas each , or £ 147 ; the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls has received five Life Governorships , equal to £ 52 10 s ; and the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys the same number , and consequently a like sum . Thus , during the year that is past this Association

has contributed twenty-four Life Governorships , or £ 250 for our Charities , the cost incurred—for printing , postages , & c . being the very trifling sum of £ 4 5 s . The balance in Treasurer ' s hands is £ 10 6 s 4 d . We have also received copy of prospectus—the " Third Tottenham and

Enfield Masonic Charitable Association , which will be carried on in connection with the High Cross Lodge of Instruction , No . 754 , held afc the Coach and Horses , Highroad , Tottenham , and of which Bro . John Mailer P . M . 754 , Bro . Ebenezer Poore W . M . 1237 , Bro . J . H . Thompson

P . M . 1237 1707 P . P . G . S . B . Middlesex , and Bro . A . G . Fidler Senior Deacon 754 and Junior Warden 1237 , are respectively President , Vice-President , Treasurer , and Honorary Secretary ; the Committee , consisting of Bros . J . Garrod W . M . 754 , H . V . Clements P . M . 754 H . 1237 , E . J . Everdell J . W . 1579 , W . M . Tegg S . W . 754

E . J . Lewis J . W . 754 , G . Tegg J . D . 1579 I . G . 1237 , A . Bryant S . W . 1237 , C . Droscher W . M . 212 , W . J . Meek D . C . 754 , J . D . Birkin 754 , E . F . Day 534 and 1237 , J . Steer 1579 , G . Rowe J . D . 754 , and J . M . Rudd S . D . 1579 . The rules of the newly- incorporated body are similar

to what are usually framed for the regulation of these Associations , and need no comment ; bufc if any one doubts of the expediency of establishing such organisations for the purpose of raising funds for our Institutions , let him bear

in mind this plain fact , that the * ' Second Tottenham , and Masonic Charitable Association , " now closed , during fche four years of its existence subscribed no less than £ 685 13 s 6 d . We are sure this will be accepted as sufficient testimonial on their behalf .

We extract the following from a paper forwarded to us from the Mauritius : — Some years ago , the Grand Orient of France was on friendly terms with all the great Masonic powers of the globe . Since the mo'Jification wrought in Article I . of the Constitution of 1877 , the situation has experienced a change ; the Grand Lodge of England , the Grand Lodges of the TJ nited States of America , those of Canada , New

Brunswick , Scotland , Ireland , Sweden , Denmark , & c , & c , have severed all relation with us . The Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , Ireland , aud United States have done more ; they have ordered their Lodges to be closed to French Freemasons . To these anti-brotherly ancl anti-Masonic defences the Grand Orient of France has recommended , ancl still recommends , to its Lodges to reply by a contrary process . These great powers do not receive our Masons ; we do receive theirs .

Whilst we expoct this happy moment , let us not lose sight of the fact that the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , aud Ireland still close mercilessly tho doors of their Lodges—in number 2 , 600—and that the different States of North America , where they number 0 , 800 , follow their example , making a total of 12 , 300 Lodges iuto

which French Masons cannot get admittance as visiting brethreu ; without taking into account tho Lodges of Canada , Sweden , Denmark—and wo mi ght add those of tho German Empire ; but we should not forget that if theso have not parted with us , we have had the dignity of parting officially with them .

How is it tho English , Irish , and Scotch Lodges in the Mauritius are not compelled to follow the example as above ?

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RHEUMATISM . r jPHE only real remedy for this complaint is tho Northern Cure L ( patent ) . In bottles Is l ? d each , to ho had of all Chemists . Proprietors aud Manufacturers , Edwards and Alexander , 29 Bla ? kott-street , "Newcastle-on-Tyne .