The Approaching Festival Of The R.M.B.I.

ingly benefited the funds of the Institution . Why there should ever havo been any difference in matters of this kind between this and our other Charities it is not worth our while stopping to inquire . It is enough that all have , for several years past , equally enjoyed the opportunities of

appealing annually to the Craft for its patronage and support . And this patronage and support has grown amazingly , especially during tho last six years ; nor do we think we shall be exaggerating if wo set down the average annual amount subscribed at the last six Benevolent Festivals at

£ 11 , 000 . Such a figure is well-nigh astounding , but heavy subscriptions aro made absolutely necessary by the heavy demands which are made upon the resources of tho Institution . There are now 150 decayed brethren on the Male Fund , each of whom receives an annuity of £ 40 . The

annuitants on tho Female Fund are 155 in number , each of them being in receipt of £ 32 per annum , while thero are some seventeen widows in receipt each of a moiety of her late husband's annuity . These responsibilities amount to a sum of considerably over £ 11 , 300 , while tho expenses of

management and the sustentation of Building require a full £ 2000 in addition , making a total annual liability of over £ 13 , 000 . This , after all , is nothing very surprising when we bear in mind that the outlay places some 321 poor brethren and widows of poor brethren in fairly

comfortable circumstances ; at all events , beyond the reach of the most pressing demands of poverty . These brethren and these widows of brethren , moreover , have seen better days . They are people of tried character , or their candidature would not have been accepted . In too many

instances they are unable to do anything towards their own maintenance , and some are even so unfortunate as to have neither children nor grandchildren to help them . Here , then , we see the value of so grand an Institution as our Benevolent Fund . By its aid over three hundred decayed

yet honourable members of the great Masonic fraternity , or their widows , are honourably assisted ; and it may be also that the dark prospects of their children and their children ' s children are made lighter . ' Our other Institutions provide for the orphan children of Craftsmen , or of

Craftsmen who , having once been in affluent circumstances , are reduced to a state of penury . The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution has an equal claim , and its Anniversary Festival being now imminent , we are justified in saying it has more than an equal claim upon our support

the consideration of those of the other two being deferred for the present , though not lost sight of . It makes the closing years of a well-spent life secure . The annuities it grants may not be equal to the provision of all those comforts which , in their more fortunate days , the

recipients were enabled to command , but it helps to find some of them . And , in very truth , it strikes us as being a most honourable purpose to make smooth the declining years of those who have borne themselves bravely through life , a purpose not one whit less honourable than it is to start

young girls and boys fairly , so as to give them the knowledge and the strength to make their way in life successful . The object of next Wednesday ' s gathering on behalf of the Benevolent Institution is to continue and , if possible , extend the good work it is doing . We know West Yorkshire will

play its part well , and we are assured that London , and the other Provinces will strive their utmost to emulate its example . But should any special incentive to extra exertion on the part of the Stewards and the Craft generally

be required , it will be found m the fact that , at the annual election to the two Funds , taken together , in May next , there are no less than ninety-eight candidates to fill twenty vacancies . This speaks for itself .-

We beg to remind onr readers that the Annual Ball of the Burdett Coutts Lodge , No . 1278 , -will be hold at the City Terminus Hotel , Cannon Street , E . C , on the

eveningof Monday next , the 21 st instant , dancing to commence at 9 p . m . We trust the Committee of Management and the Lodge generally will achieve as great a success as they have done in previous years .

A slight inaccuracy occurred in our report , last week , of the Fortitude and Old Cumberland Lodge , No . 12 . We stated that Bro . E . E . B . Kidder performed the ceremony

of installation , whereas we should have said that it was Bro . W . B . Kidder who performed the task . Bro . E . E . B . Kidder was appointedS . W ., moreover , he not being a P . M ., the error was doubtless apparent to many of our readers .

In The Region Of Ideas.

IN THE REGION OF IDEAS .

From the KKYSTONE . THOSE who are familiar with only the lowlands of the earth , in tho region of its meadows and morasses , and have never been transported to its hichlands , with their lofty points of view , lack comprehension of both the highest beauty and the greatest utility of the world in which we dwell . A hill-top , a mountain-peak , lifts one in spirit nearer to the Grand Architect of tho Universe . It reveals

a material panorama , miles in length and depth—a resplendent picture , filled with the trnth of life . It enlarges the circle of one ' s vision , unveils the progress of civilisation , and fills the mind of the spectator with ideas . On ono hand are the primeval wood ? , tokens of aboriginal nature ; on the other are oities and towns , hives of industry , devoted to the development of art , and manufactures , and

laws , and whatever tends to lift man from ignorance and want into the broad realms of knowledge—where invention is busy to supply every need , and industry furnishes the means to possess all of the necessaries and conveniences of life . Jnst as one must be lifted out of and above himself to understand the highest and best truths , so he must have experience beyond the place of his birth to be

enabled to grasp the world-idea of a diversified earth , teeming with indnstry and art , and chequered with natural and artificial beauty , and at the same time related to those stupendous spheres in space which sweep with such celerity and majesty through their celostial orbits . No man has ever travelled far without getting in the region of ideas . So , even more emphatioallv , whoever fails to view with his

mind ' s eye the boundless realm of knowledge , and make excursions throngh its flowery meads and cultured fields , and devote days and nights to the acquisition of that learning which constitutes the wealth of wisdom's kingdom , fails to gather ideas that are inestimable in value , fitted to make him wise and successful in this life , and happy in the great hereafter .

There are certain aids that men may avail themselves of m tbia world to get in the region of ideas . They were devised in ages past , by good men and true . They have since been used by hosts of individuals , who have freely testified to their value . At the same time they are not aids that serve as mere crutches , to be taken up and thrown down at pleasure . They must be honestly sought ,

welcomely received , and earnestly used . One must possess a measnro of wisdom before he will feel inclined to seek them , and a measure of uprig htness before we can dare to hope for their bestowal . There is more than one organisation that proffers its hand to the seeker after light ; but the one , high up in the scale of dignity and power , to which we now refer , is the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons .

Freemasonry most emphatically lifts the candidate for its honour , and privileges into the region of ideas . It brings him face to face with the loftiest truths . It touches both the life that now is and that which is to come . Its ideas are at once homely enough for this worka-day world , and holy enough to have come from Sinai ' s monnt . They are God-ward and man-ward .

WheTe else can you find the refined idea of brotherhood so clearly enunciated , or so universally practised , as in Freemasonry ? But , say some faulty thinkers , "Tour brotherhood is a narrow one ; it is confined to yourselves—the few , while the true idea of brotherhood embraces the world . " Not so . In the language of the immortal Goethe , " An idea is not at liberty to be liberal . " Those who are not of one spirit ,

mentally and morally , cannot be fitly united in one fraternity . The " brotherhood of man" is an empty phrase , a glittering generality , that means just nothing . Not only does Freemasonry Tecognise and know no such brotherhood , neither does the world . The degraded , and ignorant , and immoral move , as it were , in a different world from the refined , the intelligent and the upright . The former are in the

world of the latter , bnt not of it—they are a world to themselves , a nether world , to whose depths Freemasonry never descends in search of fitting members for its brotherhood . There is a brotherhood of the liberal minded , the pure hearted , those of good report , those accepted after due examination—and such is the brotherhood of Masonry .

Where else can you find the divine idea of charity more faithfully carried out than in Freemasonry ? The distressed are aided , tho sick are visited , the dead are buried , the widow and the orphan aro succoured . In life the spirit of brotherly love is exhibited in a thousand ways—by the fraternal hand-clasp , the cordial greeting , the smiling countenance , the encouraging word . The right hand of

fellowship is always extended . It is a wide-open hand , betokening a wide-open heart and wide-open pocket . In death the sorrowfnl tear falls , the sprig of acacia is cast into the open grave , and brethren , relatives and friends are cheered with the hope of a happy reunion in the endless hereafter . Where else can yon find faith in God more steadfastly enjoined

than in Freemasonry ? The candidate must voluntarily share in this faith before he can advance a single step towards the Masonic Altar . Afterwards ho renews the confession of this faith at every opening service of his Lodge . Tho Grand Architect of the Universe , who is revealed to us in the Holy Bible—the First Great Light in Masonryis the Freemason ' s God , to whom his prayers are addressed .

Where else can you find the doctrine of the immortality of the soul more clearly and beautifully taught than in Freemasory ? By typo and figure , by word and deed , by precept and example , in tho Lodge and at the grave of a deceased brother , this great doctrine is taught over and over again . How true it is that the Mason is lifted by Freemasonry into tho region of ideas ! Onr Fraternity is ennobling , intellectually and

morally . It places a brother on vantage ground , above the level of selfishness , where his vision takes in the world of Masonry , and where his heart beats in unison with the heart of the Craft . It is not surprising that Freemasonry , being an organisation which is dominated by ideas , should always havo possessed men of ideas—its Goethes , Schillcrs , Washingtons , Franklins , and Lafayettes ! Like produces like , just as out of nothing , nothing comes . Let us cherish our ideas , then , for they are the very life-blood of Freemasonry .