Types Of Masonic Character.

wrong that he loves . He is always a bore , but , perhaps , for pure boredom , he is surpassed by the brother who does not possess two ideas to rattle against each other in his vacant upper story , but who insists upon taking part in every debate . This gentlemen never expresses an

original opinion , and his speeches are always rehashes of the views of the speakers who have preceded him . He invariably rises late in the discussion , and then gives a masterly summary of the ideas of others . The brethren dread his monotonous drone , but he is not to be put down

by any of the artifices which are usually employed by impatient hearers to cut short a prosy speaker . The drumming of impatient feet upon the floor only serves as a sweet and appropriate accompaniment to his dull flow of talk , and when he has finished he sits down with the

air of a man who has added important thoughts to the stock of information before the Lodge . He , however , gives way like an Englishman to the will of the majority , and accepts its decisions with perfect loyalty . Such a man , if he knew the virtue of silence , might be a valuable

addition to the strength of the Order . He is usually a good Mason , punctual in the performance of his duties , ready with his purse , and a good worker . His speeches are , however-, trying in the extreme , and it is marvellous

that he can find men patient enough to swallow such an "intolerable deal of sack , " which is never tempered by anything solid . If he could hold his tongue he might pass for a wise man , but the unruly member tells the story of his mental vacuity , and every one votes him a bore .

Our ideal type of a Mason is the man who , although not a constant attendant at Lodge , yet contrives , by his wisdom and personal worth , to carry enormous weight in its councils . His proposals are always carried , and his speeches are characterised by a quiet dignity and grace

"which gives them a peculiar charm . When he rises to address the brethren you may hear a pin drop , and he concludes his pithy orations amid general regrets that he has said so little . Yet he possesses the rare art of saying mueb in a few words , and has thoroughly learned

how to influence the minds of thoughtful men . He never deals in flights of oratory , or in that species of bunkum which passes for eloquence , but carries his point by the aid of well arranged facts and cogent reasoning . A man of this stamp is always a pillar of the Lodge which is so

fortunate as to claim him as a member . He would , probably , shine in any station in life , and is as highly respected in the city for his probity and good judgment as he is in the Order for his studious regard for the true interests of Masonry .

Lastly , we must touch briefly upon the characteristics of the Mason who is conspicuous for benevolence . Happily , this type is common enough , but we have in our mind ' s eye , as the most perfect embodiment of the character , the brother who seldom makes speeches , but who works silently

and steadily at the task he has set himself . We shall not chronicle the long roll of his good deeds , since a man of this stamp generally does good by stealth , yet when duty calls him to a prominent place , and he becomes one of the Stewards of the annual banquet in aid of the funds of

the Asylum or Schools , he is always conspicuous for the large sum which he manages to collect for the Institu - tions . But his goodness is never one-sided , and he always remembers that true charity begins at home . His first

care is for his wife and family , his second is for the Order , and his last for the world . When such a man dies , he requires neither panegyric nor epitaph . The good he has done lives after him , and is the most fitting monument of his fame .

East, West And South.

EAST , WEST AND SOUTH .

BY A WANDERING FREEMASON . II .

THE scene changes witb a stroke of Memory ' s magic wand : and as clocks strike eight , over a populous city , darkness is spreading her brooding wing . In an open space is grouped an orderly multitude of various types .

There , in light-checked summer suit , lounges the observant Briton ; blue-eyed Germans puff the silent pipe , Frenchmen and Italians , oiled and curled , exchange compliment or badinage ; Mestizos , Zambos , Indians and Negroes of every

East, West And South.

shade from pale olive to shining black , lounge and stmt iiiud the shadows which quiver under the flaring rays of the street lights . In front , the facade of a venerable Church rears two towers into a . starlit sky ; on the pavement before it under festoons of coloured lamps , the

restless crowd shifts to and fro . To tho right , loom overhanging balconies from massive walls ; on the left , an arch spanning over the street l'eveals a glimpse of the old bridge beyond . Groups of laced and moustachiod officers stand here and there , admiring and saluting many a Senora

whose flowing skirts and seductive mantilla float daintil y by . Their arch glances and restless fans display the practised wiles of native coquetry and grace : with those flashing eyes and rich braided tresses , not even the hmris of the Musulman could hope to vie .

The crowd parts suddenly near the bridge , and through the throng of gazers the night patrol in long array , dash sparks from under sounding hoofs ; the black cloaks thrown back show the steel breast-plates and crimson linings . As their plumes of red and white dance away in

the distance , the crowd closes behind them . Hark soaring gently upward , a tremulous music steals upon the ear , rising and falling as with a rustling breeze and

fluttering as from a host of angels wings ; now it rises in continuous symphony , winding round and round , anon ascend ing as on a graduated scale . Every other sound is hushed amid the thousands listening round Draw back ! The

strain is ended ; while its dying cadence yet quivers in the still night air , rises clashing and resounding from cymbal and cornet a martial inspiring strain . Waking as from trance , eyes that had been veiled in mute attention glance startled up , hand and foot beat involuntary time to the

reverberating tune . Next , to measured tramp , with standards waving over bayonets and shakos it moves loudly along . The band has passed and the white uniforms of

the following battalion glide out of view ; every heart beats high and every hand is clenched as the pavement trembles beneath their echoing tread . Then , coming from the other side , threading through the attentive crowd their even

way , to the sound of the anthem caught up and continued by band after band , marches another regiment , and another , and another . As the sounds go ringing in the distance , the dark horseman in slouching hat and poncho inclines over the main of his motionless steed , the Padre on

his fine sleek mule clutches tightly at the rein and listens with suspended breath ; losing for brief moments present consciousness of worldly cares , until waking as from a reverie of heaven and truth , they realise that , like visions on a mirror , it has passed awav .

Such were the impressions made by a scene which now , after varied experiences , might seem trite and tame . Something must be allowed for tho enthusiasm of youth

and the full zest of active health ; something for the charm of novelty ; something for an ardent imagination and a sudden plunge into luxury , pleasure and excitement , which threw over all a halo of romance and made the months

I spent in Lima among the happiest of my life . Arrived at the age of twenty-one , I had that day been raised a Master Mason in the Duke of Leinster ' s Lodge ( No . 151 under the Irish Constitution ) , emerging at about 5 p . m . in rather a dazed condition from its solemn ordeal .

Fortified with a dinner which only those cities can afford where excellent French cooks beatify native terrapin and venison , where vino del pais emulates the best Sauterne , where fragrant Hnanuco Coffee is accompanied by the cigarillo , and the chasse of " Italia " by the new " puro "

( not dried up as we get it in Europe ) , I had strolled out to listen to the military music which soothed the Limenians twice a week by the Palace stairs . Tho native ear and taste carefully trained by German bandmasters , made these concerts not to be despised ; combined witb the chance of

greeting pleasant acquaintances , perhaps of exchanging whispers with some fair inamorata , they wero a treat looked forward to . But how can I describe the tranquil languor of the temperate yet tropical evening , the weird nooks and

shadows beyond the fairy glimmer of coloured lamps , the fragrant air at the foot of the Andes ; which aided the insidious swell of melody to steep the senses in delicious appreciation , like the

" languido encanto del rnido del mar " that Zorilla sings of . O ' Scarum , a brother from the Lodge , accompanied me . We traversed the Plaza de Armas , noting the illumination of the Cathedral and tbe Colonnades over the marble