Next Week's Festival.

NEXT WEEK'S FESTIVAL .

WITHIN a few hours the members of the Order will know the result of the efforts made throughout the country to ensure the success of the 103 rd Anniversary Festival of the Girls' School , and

we can only hope the announcement to he made on Tuesday" will be of so satisfactory a nature as to satisfy and please all who take an interest in the working of the Educational Institutions . We referred

last week to the various points which call for consideration in connection with this celebration , and there is little to add to-day . There is an influential Board of

Stewards working in support ol Lord Carrington as Chairman of the Festival , many of whom are old friends of the Charity . Masons who may be relied upon to do all that lies in their power to seciu * e

success in their own efforts , and set a brilliant example for their fellows . Looking at the state of the case in its entirety , it is but fair to anticipate a satisfactory result for the Festival , although the Craft will have to

rest satified with a total which , under other circumstances , would have been received with disappointment . The counter attractions , in connection with the Festivals of the other two Institutions—the special

effort of a new Secretary , with the Pro Grand Master as Chairman in the one case , and the early celebration of the Jubilee of the Institution in the other—must make themselves felt , and allowances must be made

m reviewing the prospects of our Girls for these special drawbacks . It is satisfactory to know , however , that the older charity of the three still retains a first place in the affections of a large section of the Craft , and whatever may be done in other directions there is no fear of the Girls being neglected or

forgotten . Once more Ave express our sincere hope that next Tuesday ' s celebration may prove worthy of being ranked in a foremost place among the long record of past successes of this Masonic Institution .

The Masonic Female Orphan School.

THE MASONIC FEMALE ORPHAN SCHOOL .

THE ninety-ninth annual report of the Governors of the Masonic Female Orphan School of Ireland , which has just been sent out to the subscribers , is of a very favourable character , and must Drove hiehlv interastino- tr >

the members of the Order , who are naturally very proud of the Charitable Institutions connected with the Craft . -There are at present eighty pupils in the establishment at Ball s Bridge , and this is the full number which the School

can accommodate . The income for the year , exclusive of a special donation of £ 100 from Dr . Hime , of Londonderry , amounted to £ 2 , 837 7 s lid , being £ 53 4 s 5 d less than the income of the year 1889 . The economv with whio . h the

institution is managed is shown by the fact that seventysix pupils in the present new buildings actually cost less than thirty-five in the old School . The total current expenditure for the year 1890 amounted to £ 2 , 351 10 s lid ,

The Masonic Female Orphan School.

being £ 25 lis 2 d for each orphan receiving benefit . The average expenditure upon each of the outgoing and former pupils , for outfits , fees , travelling expenses , and other assistance , was £ 16 lGs 4 d . The expenditure upon board , lodging , clothing , and education , with the maintenance of

the premises and staff , was £ 25 for each pupil resident in the School throughout the year , an outlay which affords a convincing proof of the excellence of the management , of the conspicuous efficiency of the matron , and of the extent to which the complete equipment of the School , and the

practical training of the pnpils in household work , contribute to save expense . The educational progress of the pupils during the year has been most satisfactory , and their success at the intermediate examinations was very remarkable . Fifteen of the pupils presented themselves , of

whom eleven passed . One won an exhibition of £ 20 for three years ; two won first-class prizes of £ 10 each ; eleven obtained " honour marks " in French , and in ether subjects also the answering was very good , twenty-four honour marks being obtained . At the science and art examination ,

the School was again classed as " excellent , " and three girls obtained " first class " in grade II . for freehand drawing , and one obtained " second class" in the same grade and subject . At the examinations in religious knowledge , a remarkably large number of the pnpils passed with credit

At the diocesan examination seventeen prizes were gained , with seven first class and eighteen second class certificates . At the Presbyterian examination the seven pupils who presented themselves all passed , three obtaining first class certificates . The School examinations were very

satisfactory . During the year no case of preventable or contagious disease occurred in the School , which , is now the absolute property of the governors , and free from debt . The report concludes with some allusions to the grand Centenary celebration which is to take place next year , and

the preparations for which are now in active operation . It states— "Next year ( 1892 ) will be the Centenary of the Girls' School . Founded on a small scale , and in an obscure part of Dublin , with the object of giving but a limited education to a few children , it gradually extended its benefits and raised its aims . Under the care of the late

Duke of Leinster , the School at Burlington Koad was built , the number of pupils was increased , and the high standard of education was adopted . Since the completion of the School at Ball ' s Bridge it has become one of the most efficient and beneficent of Irish charities , and the governors desire to celebrate its Centenary in

a manner worthy of the School and of the Masonic Order . They have already received ready promises of help from many quarters . The Prince and Princess of Wales , the Duke and Duchess of Connaught , and the Countess of Zetland are among the first to honour the

Centenary celebration with their distinguished patronage . The buildings and grounds of the Royal Dublin Society at Ball ' s Bridge have been engaged for the week commencing 16 th May 1892 . The Duke and Duchess of Abercorn have graciously offered their personal assistance . It is expected

that the success of the celebration will even exceed that of the great Masonic Bazaar of 1882 , from which the sum of £ 6 , 601 was realised for the completion of the School and the purchase of its site . It is proposed , as the first object

of the Centenary celebration , to raise a capital sum , tha income of which will be applied to aid and advance the most deserving and necessitous of the pnpils during the two or three critical years after they leave the School , and