Royal Arch.

ROYAL ARCH .

DEVONSHIRE .

THE Annual Convocation of the Provincial Grand Chapter will be held at the Masonic Temple , Torquay , on Whit Tuesday , when a new Chapter will be consecrated in connection with the Jordan Lodge , No . 1482 , the Brethren of

which have just erected a Masonic Temple at a cost of a thousand guineas . The Prov . Grand Superintendent Sir Stafford Northcote will be present , and a large attendance is anticipated .

Comp . Orlton Cooper M . E . Z . 483 ( of Tilbury , Essex ) has compiled a short Lecture upon the subject of " The Grand Sanhedrim , " for the purpose of reading in Chapters , in cases

when it may happen that there is no work before the Convocation . He will be happy to attend and read it before any Chapter within the London District , upon receiving a week ' s notice . The subscription is one shilling per copy .

"A Sprig Of Acacia."

" A SPRIG OF ACACIA . "

AMID every demonstration of respect the mortal remains of Bro . Wm . Miles were placed in their last resting place at the Cemetery , at Woodbridge , on Wednesday afternoon , 3 rd inst . Business was suspended at several of the principal establishments , while at private houses blinds were drawn , and the inhabitants generally testified to the high place which the deceased occupied in their affections

and esteem . Bro . Wm . Miles , as a worthy successor to the late Mr . John Grout in the proprietorship of the Bull Hotel , and of the choice stud of hackneys of a class which have made the Bull Hotel stables famous at home and abroad , had done much for the town in which he had resided so long , and

it was fitting that the residents of the town and the neighbourhood should testify to the prominent place he occupied in their affections and confidence . The late Bro . Miles was an ardent member of the Masonic body , and accordingly the members of the Doric Lodge , No . 81 ( of which the deceased was

Worshipful Master in 18 97 ) attended in full regalia , a special dispensation having been granted by the Provincial Grand Master Lord Henniker for the Brethren to attend in Masonic clothing . There was a choral service at the church , the rector , the Rev . T . Housecraft officiating . The remainder

of the service was read by the Rector , who , before pronouncing the Benediction , as Chaplain of the Doric Lodge of Freemasons , addressed the Brethren in terms appropriate to the solemn occasion . He said : Having paid the last tribute of respect to the remains of our departed Brother , it is left

for us to keep in memory his characteristic virtues . Had he lived till to-morrow , it would have been the eleventh anniversary of his membership , and in about eight years he had reached the highest position in the Lodge , a tribute at once of the high esteem and respect in which he was held bv

the Brethren . The same virtues that marked and brought about his success in Freemasonry also characterised his private and public life , and because he had lived up to the principles of a Mason he made himself beloved and highly respected . He was a good husband , kind father , and generous

employer . His acts of charity , carried out unostentatiously , were the marks of a true Mason . His good nature and hospitality were well known , and especially to be admired were his singleness of purpose and- simplicity of character . During his long and trying illness he never failed in his high

purpose , and now we believe that having passed safely under God ' s protection through the valley of the shadow of death , he will finally rise from this tomb of transgression , and shine

as the stars for ever and ever . At the conclusion of the service the Masons' tribute of respect—a sprig of acacia—and sprigs of thyme by the Oddfellows , were dropped into the grave .

A WIDELY respected and a much beloved and promising young Freemason has just passed away in the person of Brother George Hemmens , who entered the Grand Lodge above on Wednesday , 3 rd inst . He was only twenty-four years of age , when " God ' s finger touched him and he slept "

, and it is a matter of sincere regret that he will be known to us no more in this world . His love for Freemasonry began in youth , and at the earliest possible moment he was initiated in the Colston Lodge , No . 610 , in the Province of Bristol ; in which Lodge his late respected father had been initiated

"A Sprig Of Acacia."

before him . So early was his entrance into Freemasonry , that if our memory is accurate , we believe the twenty-first anniversary of his birth came between the time of proposition and the day of initiation . The appreciative regard he inherited and evinced for Freemasonry amounted to a loving

veneration , for he found its teachings congenial to his mind , and its principles suited and adapted to his nature . He delighted in Craft Masonry , and was a regular attendant as far as health and circumstances would permit . He was particularly fond of the working in the Mark degree , to which

he was advanced in Lodge Lyegrove , No . 218 , in the Province of Gloucestershire . During the short time he worked in the latter degree he rose to some distinction , and held the office of Deacon at the time of his death . Young , active and energetic , he became a good all-round athlete , and

was a smart and successful figure in the football and cricket fields , and the winning of more than one match has been indebted to his aid . In politics , he was a staunch Conservative , and his father and Bro . Sir Edward S . Hill Provincial Grand Master for South Wales were fast friends . He

found , or rather made time to become an efficient member of the Artillery Volunteer Corps , and here his genial manner was much appreciated by his comrades . He was a sound Churchman , and evinced a lively interest in the church of his parish , where his father had served as warden for many

years . By the early departure of our Brother we are reminded that no sooner do we begin life , than death begins to follow us , borne on the wings of time , whose scythe is ever cutting short our strings of moments . Bro . Hemmens was in the skilful professional hands of Dr . Wallace and Dr .

Mitchell-Clarke , and on his proceeding to Bournemouth some months ago he was attended by Dr . Love . There he stayed with Bro . Evans , at the Granville Hotel , and there he received every kindness and every attention that was possible . At Bournemouth he passed away . The insiduous disease ,

tuberculosis , had marked him for her own , and we only know that he lived respected and died regretted—died as all nature dies and lives again , showing that this world is but the tilling ground of Heaven . " The briefer life the earlier immortality ! " Let the sprig of acacia which has been placed in the right

hand of our Brother , who has gone before , tend to remind us as our Masonic teachings ever do , of the frailty of man , and the humanity of all things . Among the Masonic jewels of our departed Brother were to be found friendship , morality and brotherly love , and by these pure eminations of earthly

goodness he will be long and affectionately remembered . It has been the pleasure of the Almighty Architect to call him hence , and he has become '' Like the stars by day , withdrawn from mortal eye ; but not extinct , he holds his way , in glory through the sky . " Let our compassion and condolence , like

the acacia , drop tenderly and sympathetically towards the mother of our good friend , and to his sister , and to that dear sister who was to have been his wife ; may they and other near and dear relatives receive that comfort and consolation which it is not in the power of earthly hands or minds to

bestow or impart . The tolling of the bell of St . Paul ' s , Bedminster , on Monday afternoon , announced the sad intelligence that the mortal remains of our young Brother were about to be laid to rest . The first part of the ceremony was held at St . Paul ' s , Bedminster , where the procession was

met at the Church door by the Rev . J . H . Ellaby ( the officiating clergyman ) , Mr . C . Ball ( ex-churchwarden ) , Mr . Churchwarden Gardiner , Mr . Churchwarden Evans , and other officers . A large number of people had gathered both in the body and gallery of the Church . After the solemn

strains of the organ had died away , the beautiful hymn " Brief life is here our portion , " was sung , and the first part of the Church service was impressively gone through . The procession re-formed and proceeded to Arno ' s Vale Cemetery , where the Rev . Ellaby with much feeling conducted the

concluding part of the service . The removal of the violet embroidered pall disclosed a coffin of polished oak , with a brass breastplate bearing the inscription : — "George Henry Hemmens , died 3 rd of May 1899 , aged twenty-four years . " After the body had been consigned to the grave , numerous

Brethren , in passing to view the coffin for the last time , dropped in their sprig of acacia , among them being Bros . Ireland , J . W . Stone , H . J . Savery , A . E . Denby , T . Neale , C . H . Harding , J . Owner P . M . 610 . Not only was the coffin covered with wreaths , crosses and other emblems in

choice white flowers , but the top of the open funeral-car was also covered , and these must serve in some faint measure to express the esteem in which Bro . Hemmens was held . They were sent from , among others , the Lj'e Grove Lodge of Mark Masons , No . 218 .