Freemasonry.

FREEMASONRY .

( BY A WOMAN . ) THE fol ' ow ng appeared in a recent number of the Hawk . —

From my earliest daya , the cult of Freemasonry , Ha Grand Festivals , and its wonderfully organised charities , its meetings either for bnsinesa or pleasure , and its outward and visible signs have been familiar to me . When I could but scarcely toddle , I have painfully climbed the flight of nursery stairs to show myself to Mary or to Jaoedecked iu all the panoply of collar and apron , and my white

, p inafore p lentifully be-struck with Masonic jewels . When I grew a little older it peemed as proper to me that my male belongings should devote so many evenings in a month to attending Lodge meetings as that they should go to churoh on the Sabbath , while , as my brothers successively grew up and were initiated into the Brotherhood , it was as inevitable in my eyes that they should possess leather cases for

their silk nprons as that they should set up a complete smoking apparatus . I am at heart a thorough-paced Freemason , and honour aud admire tbe Craft as muoh as though I were myself , a man and a Brother . Ita extraordinary immutability appeal 8 to me . The knowledge that from the days of Solomon and the building of the Temple of Jerusalem a certain body of men , ever ohanging , dying

out , growing up , have been banded together under a certain code of laws and regulations , preserving among themselves and unto themselves the forms and signs of the faded past , holding staunchly to paiticulur beliefs , even keeping inviolate the mysteries of the ceremonies , baa a strange fascination , whioh ia born more of

reverence than curiosity for me , aa the knowledge that this ia so savours more of the immortality of religion and the soul than of the mere earthly existence of men and things . See how the secret aooietiea of all ogea have had their day and died the death . The very edifice whose foundation stones bore oarven on their surfaces the emblems of Freemasonry has long been raised to the ground .

" And like the baseless fabrio of a vision , Leaves not a wrack behind . " Fellowships of all kinds hav 9 been started , from the grand day of the Knight Cruaaders downwards , but their shrift haa been ahort , their extermination complete . Cliques have fathered internal quarrels , factions have bred discord , while as often as not the iron

heel of persecution has trodden the flower of freedom into the mire of forgetfnlneaa and obliteration . Betrayal haa broken up one sooiety , jealousy haa brought another low , but the " Craft" haa through the ages shaken prejudioe from its shoulders and persecution from its skirts , and has walked , tiiumphant and indestructible , through the world , and owing to its very natnre of grand universal love and

oharity must continue to do so until the very end . I , whose veneration for this great Brotherhood haa entirely submerged within me all traces of feminine curiosity concerning it , though all this as I leant over the edge of the gallery which fills one end of the big room at tbe Freemasons' Hall , tbe other evening , and gazed down through the yellow haze of a thousand gaslights at the long lines of tables set

forth for the barquet that is one of the featurea of a Masonio Grand Festival . Far away at the top table were the throne-lik"e chairs for the ruler of the feast and of the high Officers of the Order . And aa tbe precession wond ita way among the long tables to the upper places , I rememtared tha- In the heginning all Freemasons are equal . No birth , nor money , not even Royal blood gives nn initiate any

advantage over his fellows . All are bound together in a common , indissoluble bond of brotherhood , and nothing bnt work brings tbe reward of hish rnk , of glittering jewels , and of the coveted " pn . ^ le . " Freemaaor-y ia a strange anomaly , at once the most coi lervative body iid the most levelling institution in the world . Nothing 5 » j it changes ' , save to make ao ever-progressive

impiovement , and yet all men aie equal when within its jurisdiction . Now tbe great assemblage is seated , and tbe brilliant red of certain collars and aprons flod a legal background in the gorgeous purple and gold , wb le the pale blue of others lends a celestial tenderness of colour to tbe a jne . The sight is impressive , and contrasted against the sombre tints of orr L .-ey and neutral tinted modern life , savours of a

splendid barba ity , which . s picturesque to a degree , and retrospective of an Eastern past . Slowly the women file from the gallery , and after a time flock bird -like down the wide staircases to " The Temple . " Here , nnder the bayed and gilded roof , studded with a thousand signs of the Great A"cbiteot ' s works , between these picture-hung walls , are

conducted the meetings of those whom long end faithful service have placed at the head of Masonic ntfairs . The apartment is a magnificent one , and stately for all its [ gilding aid electiio light . Either side of the bright purple carpet intei woven with the arms of Grand Lodge and the feathers of Grand Master of England are linea of seats , only broken in the ' ' stiffness by the fixed chairs of purple

velvet t id gold , which will be occopied in due time by certain high Officers . The other women flock together and chatter in little groups round the j straits or tho piano , or a wonderful silver model of apocryphal value and proportionate ugliness presented by a defunct Mason to the Craft . But I sink into a quiet coiner and dream once more of dimly . lit apartments in the great Jewish temple , where the

blazing Eastern sunlight filtered through the thick murble walls and fell iu shafts of quivermg light on the floor , spaced out into careful squd . es . I picture the swarthy-faced Orientals , stein of face and cat-like of tread , pussing through a curtained doorway ; the whiteness of their linen ro ' siea splashed only by the brilliant colours and the blazing Eastern sunlight filtered through the thick murble walls and fell iu shafts of quivermg light on the floor , spaced out into careful squd . es . I picture the swarthy-faced Orientals , stein of face and cat-like of tread , pussing through a curtained doorway ; the whiteness of their linen ro ' siea splashed only by the brilliant colours and the

Hashing metal-woik of their Masonic clothing . I see the great K ng himself , the masttr of tbe Order , most wise and most beneficiont , seated upon the throne of royal purple , and an instinct tells me that the ceremony of to-day and of next year is as solemn , and piCuuresque , as truly sincere and heartfelt as was that which took place what we , with a fine scorn that i 3 only equalled by our BUD-

Freemasonry.

lime ignorance , stigmatise as the dark ages . Through the red curtains and over the dark blue carpet come the men . In pale blue aud white , silver and gold , crimson , red , and dark blue , bejewelled and bedecked , and yet to my mind , at least , not ridiculous . To a woman's eye it is a little strange , perhaps , to see so muoh " dressing up " among the sterner sex , bnt there is so muoh dignity in the

clothing , so muoh intention in the various jewels , that all idea of frivolity is at once dispelled . Then , again , the demeanour of each a large number of men is quite different from that which they assume on other occasions . At a private house , for inatanoe , half the men look utterly bored by their surroundings , while tbe other halt contribute to tbe boring process . At a public gathering the men are either

supercilious or inclined to be quarrelsome . But here all is amity and good fellowship . Every one knows every one else , the work of tbe past or of tbe coming season is discusse I , the condition of the varioua charitable institutions supported by the Freemasons is cauvassad . New interests are propounded , new ideas are started . Help ia offered and accepted , invitations are given and taken , aud all this by

a body of men whom many women eye with suspicion , and in an apartment whioh most of my sex regard with the same foolish and unreasoning abhorrence as , according to Thackery , they once looked npon clubs . For those who consider Freemasonry aa being merely a vehiole for much dining out and many late nighta , I should like to organise a

party to one or other of the educational and charitable Institutiona founded and supported entirely by Masons . I should like , for instance , personally to conduct a few fine ladies I wot of to the Girls' Masonio Schcol at Battersea I should like them to aee how young ladiea can be taught to be something more than ornamental dolls without loss of either oaate or dignity . I shonid like to mix

with my fine ladiea a few of the proprietors of " sni 2 . it ' schools , where " everything" ia supposed to be imparted topupilaat the rate of a couple of hundred guineas a year , and where , aa a matter of fact a sprinkling of frivolous knowledge is thinly scattered over a solid substratum of vioe . Parents who boast of their sons' presence at Eton and Harrow would be somewhat astonished , I fancy , at the

bearing and knowledge of the Boys' Masonio School at Wood Green , and I know whioh of two youths , so differently educated , will make the better man of the two . But now Lord Lathom leaves hia seat , and the concert being at an end , the glittering throng slowly molts away , doffing their finery aa they go ont into the oh U air of a

wet evening . I , too , go home , wiih my eyea foil of picturesque colour , and my brain alive with thn survival of ancient rites er I the ) fascination of old-time ceremonies . Were I a ma J , I won' be a Freemason ; being only a woman , I can bat respect and re- erenoa Maaons and their worka aa I do my religion .

The 41 st annnal meeting of the Birkbeok Building Sooiety waa held on the 6 th inst ., at the officds , 29 and 30 Southampton Build , ings , Chancery Lane . The report adopted states that the rraeipta during the year whioh ended 31 st . March laBt remhed £ 9 , 382 , 005 , making a total from the commencement of the society of more than one hundred and fifty millions ( £ 151 , 128 , 183 ) . The deposits re .

ceived we . e £ 8 , 570 , 062 , and the sn ' ovriptwia £ 230 , 052 . The gross profits amounted to £ 300 , 406 . Tbe surplns funds he . ve been augmented by £ 505 , 573 , and now afaud at £ 5 , 544 , 530 , of whioh £ 1 , 638 , 090 is invested in consols and other securities guaranteed by the British Government , upwards of two mi "ions ( 2 , C 0 f 5 , 305 ) registered in the books of the Governor and Company of the Bank of

England , while tbe cash in the hand * of tho banters is £ 258 , 378 . The permanent guarantee fn . id stL idsat . £ 15 O , O 00 , Fidthebal- 'ice £ 15 O , 406 makes together £ 300 , 406 in excess of the '' abilities . Tbe whole amount being invested in consols . The subsciptiuns and deposits withdrawable on demand amount to £ 5 , 674 , 713 . The suiplas funds ( which are invested in readily convertible securities ) are sufficient to

pay the depositors 113 $ per cent , on the amount , of their d' p dits . The new accounts opened dnriug the year were 10 , 545 , aud there are , altogether , 63 , 145 shareholders and deposit va on the br > ks . Siur-3 its establishment , the society has retm ned to the shareholders and depositors more than one hundred and a quarter trillions ( £ 125 , 444 , 436 ) , tbe whole amount having been rep * d upon demand .

The summer outing of the Wbittington Lodge , No . 862 , took place in gloriona weather on Thursday , the 7 th inst ., when the W . M ., Brother Day , aocompanied by 50 brethren , ladies , and friends , left Waterloo Station in saloon carriages for Staines . Well-appointed carriagea were in waiting to convey the party for a lovely drive to the Pack Horse Hotel , Staines , which was reached at half-past one . Luncheon was served , and then the party boarded the beautiful

steam launch , " Her Majesty , " for a delightful three bourn' trip to Windsor and back , returning to the Pack Horse Hotel at six o ' clock , wheu tea was enjoyed ; dancing and music theu being indulged in until it was time to leave again forthe station en route for home . Excellent arrangements prevailed , aud , aa a oonsequence , the day ' s proceed , ings , from first to last , were moat enjoyable , not ao much aa a single hitch occurring .

HUXL MASONIC CLUB . —The second annual meeting waa held on the 6 th iust ., in the club bouse , Bro . F . Blackburn , V . P ., iu the chair . The Secretary ' s report and Treasurer ' s statement of accounts were submitted and unanimously adopted . The prngress of the club ia

remarkable , and in all respects satisfactory . The membershi p haa increased , and there is a balance of funds to meet the wishes of the shareholders . The retiring Oflicers and members of Committee were re-elected , Tbe usual voiesof thanks for past services concluded a p leasant evening ' s proceedings .