The Jubilee Commemoration.

THE JUBILEE COMMEMORATION .

MONDAY next will be essentially the Jubilee-Day , so far as Freemasonry is concerned . Ere these lines are read a great number of our brethren living in distant parts of the country will have packed up their

portmanteaus and completed their arrangements for a rather more protracted stay in town than has been their wont , for the Commemoration Gathering and the Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys form a " double event" such as has never hitherto been

experienced in the Masonic annals . The latter occasion , we venture to opine , will attract almost , if not quite , as much attention as the splendid pageant to which we are all looking forward with such eagerness at the Royal

Albert Hall ; and , with the two important Festivals following each other on consecutive days , will unquestionably bring to the metropolis such an assemblage of the Masonic Fraternity as was never before witnessed in this or any

other country , nor is it likely will be seen again within tho present generation , if at all . From the four corners of the Empire , north , cast , west , and south , will rally forth good men and true who rejoice to be ranged under the

illustrious banner of Freemasonry , and who gratefully accept as their watchword and landmark " Loyalty to the Throne and Devotion to the Craft . " That motto , though so

frequently employed in our Lodges and Chapters—indeed whenever Masonic matters form the topic of conversation —does not diminish , but on the contrary gathers strength by oft-reiteration .

Ihe deep rooted affection for the Sovereign of these realms and for the Constitution which has done so much

to consolidate the peace , prosperity , and progress of the British Empire is too well known to need reference here . It is as firmly established in our hearts as the sun and stars are in the firmament of the Great Universe , and

amidst all the shocks that may overtake the nations , or sap the foundations of governments , religious and political organisations , or any other of our institutions , the Ancient and Honourable Institution of Freemasonry will remain

fixed and immovable , impregnable against the attacks of its foes , and the buffetting of tbe storms of partisanship that may beat fiercely upon it . Were it possible to assemble in one huge structure the whole of those who desired to

witness the coming spectacle—onl y a shade paler iu colour and grandeur than the momentous Jubilee precession itself , when our beloved Queen will proceed in State to the Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey — the

scene would be one that it is impossible to contemplate without feelings almost akin to awe . But this being impracticable , it was necessary to devise the next best plan

that could be conceived , and we may look forward to Monday ' s gathering as the most representative , most brilliant aud enthusiastic demonstration the world has

ever gazed upon . Not only will the wearers of the blue and purple iu our "tight little island" be there , but we hear of distinguished brethren who havo not thought it too great a task to cross sea and ocean in order to parti- [

cpate in this vast and unprecedented homage to our Queen and Empress . j _ Recollections of the sublime scene witnessed in the same

building twelve years ago , when our Most Worshipful Grand Master His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was installed into the exalted office he soworthily tills to this

The Jubilee Commemoration.

day—and that he may long continue to do so is the fervent prayer of every Mason—are still vividly present in the minds of many who were then tho privileged holders of tickets . The reception given to the Heir Apparent , and

the splendid honours accorded to him amidst such an ebullition of loyalty and enthusiasm , can never bo effaced from the memories of those who took part in the proceedings . Up to this day brethren are never tired of recapitulating

the salient features of that " day of days , " and proudly refer to it as a red-letter one iu their experience . But when we come to consider the gigantic strides that English Freemasonry has made since the year 1875 , and the

enormous number of Lodges and Chapters—to say nothing of the other Masonic organisations—which have sprang into existence in the time that has elapsed , the great difficulty appeared to be—how to cope with the necessarily

greater number of brethren who would be intensely anxious to be present at this glorious Commemoration . Obstacles that appeared to be almost insurmountable , however , disappeared one by one before the judicious administration

, of those who were entrusted with the carrying out of the arrangements ; and so far as it was humanly possible we are assured that those preparations are likely to give general satisfaction . Of course it is futile to attempt to please

everybody—you may as well try to compress the specific bulk of water ; and there will be many hundreds of the brethren tingling with disappointment at their inability to participate in the proceedings of that day . We recollect the same kind of thine ? occurred on the former occasion to

which reference has been made ; it will bo on a much larger scale this time . But we are bound to accept the inevitable , for you cannot " put into a quart pot more than it will hold . "

We recollect some time ago standing amidst a great crowd in the corridor of St . Stephen ' s—an impatient throng , for a tithe of whom it was impossible to find accommodation in the Strangers' Gallery . It was a night

when a great debate was " on , " and red-hot politicians had travelled from remote regions of the country to hear the idol of the hour expatiate on some question that was then deemed a " burning one" in political circles . They

had all come fortified with " orders ' from their respective members , and with nervous twitching reluctantly deposited their papers in the glass basin which was held aloft by

a sturdy custodian , and which , having been " well shaken , " were taken out singly by a perfectly independent personas at a raffle or a draw . Those lucky ones whose names were called out in stentorian tones marched off with

a glance of defiant triumph at the rest in waiting , who were drawn up in the vestibule like the ranks of an awkward squad . But at last the irrevocable announcement came that the Gallery was full , and amidst low muttered

expressions of chagrin and louder demonstrations of vexation , those who felt disinclined to wait an indefinite time for one of the favoured strangers to withdraw—when another order is picked out of the basin—they " wandered

silently away , " to vent their pent-up indignation in some other form of edification—or dissipation . We well remember one rough brawny Scot , who had journeyed all the way from tho Land o' Cakes in full expectation of

revelling in another dose of his Midlothian champion ' s eloquence ; but he fared ill , like many others , and his rage could only find vent in such a tornado of Gallic as we fancy has been seldom heard within the sacred precincts of the Commons House of Parliament .