Candidates At The October Elections.

them . Altogether there are ninety approved candidates , but as I understand there are two who have been withdrawn from the Boys ' list , thus leaving eighty-eight , to go to the poll . Of this number fifty-three are to be elected , sixteen girls and thirty-seven boys , a very good proportion , ! think , considering the heavy calls which are

continually being made on the benevolence of Freemasons . The particulars given on the balloting papers , brief as they are , give evidence of an amonnt of grief and distress which it shonld be our constant endeavour to relieve to the best 01 our ability . I will not attempt to go over the same ground as yon have traversed in

yonr editorial remarks , but there are a few features which will bear being placed before your readers in a manner distinct from that in which you set them forth , and if anything I say induces even one brother to take a greater interest in the Masonic Charities than he does already , I shall be amply repaid .

In the first place , there are no less than ten of the candidates who have lost both of their parents . I sincerely hope thafc not one of these ten children will be sent away next month unentitled to the benefits which the Masonic Schools are able to afford . Can nothing be done to relieve them withont tho anxiety entailed by a

severelycontested election ? I suppose not , and unreasonable as my desires may be , I even hope that a lime may arrive when such a blessing may be possible . It would indeed be a grand and noble work for Freemasonry to fulfil , if it conld ever be arranged that such cases as these ten I have just referred to conld bo provided for by the Fraternity ,

simply on the plea that t hey were worthy of relief . I may next refer to tho lasfc application cases . I admit you have said all that is needed of each of them , but if I place them in conjunction with the ten cases referred to above , I may be able to present a picture which shall touch the heart of any of your readers not

already supporters of onr Schools . There are two girls and six boys on this , I may say , fatal list . Each of these children—or their friends on their behalf—have been led fco expect something from Freemasonry . If this was not so they would never have been put forward as candidates and what is the prospect which they have to

look forward to now ? One of the girls ( Maude Emily Fitt ) stands a fair chance of success , having 1403 votes already polled on hor behalf , while the other ( Emily Hannah G . Campbell ) is a new applicant . Of the boys , No . 1 ( F . T . Davis ) looks like a forlorn hope ; No . 3 ( Arthur Warner ) will need very strong support , No . 12 ( Harry

E . Henshaw ) stands well , No . 13 ( Alfred E . Astington ) is backward , while No . 25 ( Josiah Martin ) and No . 34 ( William H . G . Smithers ) are new candidates .

A consideration of these eighteen cases is , I think , sufficient to open the hearts—and if need be the purses—of all who give the matter a moment ' s thought . Distress prevails in connection with each of them , but I sincerely hope only for a time . I am , & c , yours fraternally , A LIFE GOVERNOR .

The Theatres.

THE THEATRES .

Drui'y Lane . — Mr . Harris has announced that Drury Lane shall appeal to tho public from its own stage , and no longer jostle tipsy Hottentots or soap-devoted nymphs upon the hoardings . The complete and well-deserved triumph of the first night of " Unman Nature , " with its overflowing house and genuine enthusiasm , may

lead us to hope that ere long our tragedians need nofc agonise , nor our beloved comedians advertise sticking plaister in effigies that sadden their discreet friends . "Human Nature" is an excellent title , if only we have live men and women in the play , and Messrs . Pettitt and Harris have provided a really good story , with people in

whom we can feel an honest interest . We have for hero a Captain Temple , a fine , manly fellow , devoted to his wife , bnt who afc somo earlier period has had questionable relations with a certain Cora Grey . This person , during the Captain ' s temporary absence , has secured a footing in his honso ns his wife ' s companion . On

discovering the state of affairs he commands Cora to leave . She tells him he shall bitterly rue this treatment . With the unconscious aid of a certain Paul de Vigne , the trusted friend of Temple , she fixes . the seeming guilt of an intrigue on the Captain ' s devoted wife . Ho returns home , to find bis false friend in his wife ' s room

at night , whilst she , iu wild terror , seeks safety in her fansband . ' s arms ; he , however , thrusts her aside in horror , whilst he tut . ns to de Vigne , exclaiming , " My reckoning is with yon . " It was iu this scene that Mr . Neville ' s splendid sincerity of emotion held the house breathless , till the silence was broken

by a grea , * - storm of npplanse . In the second act the author .- * indulge in a daring legal four de force . Captain Temple has applied to his lawyei " . Matthew Hawker , to procure a separation , mensd ct thoro , before leV v > Dg for Egypt , and Hawker , to serve his own ends , applks for and obtains a divorce . He next , as trustee , secures

possession of Tem j " > le s little hoy , nnd entrusts him to the Lambtons , a pair of gnonlisb b . ^ b y-rearers , living at Stonefield Farm . Here we had portrayed a neeo lessly harrowinsr scene of childish misery , which doubtless Mr . Harris bas had toned down nnco the first night . Mr . Fred . Thorne , as Jr . Lambton , and Miss Lizzie Claremont as his

wife , have never acted getter ; but tho unrelieved brutality of the parts is certainly to he n fretted . Little . Katie Barry gives a most touching picture of poor lit . *' t' Dick , the waif , drudging and starving at tbe farm : while little I . 'nnd Fishu * was charming ns Frank Temple ; his childish bewilde . "metit and terrified indignation at the

rouizh treatment he meets witi "• was a '>' y rendered . There is here displayed a delightful bit of hun 'an nature , where the two children sit down on a log , nnd the fine 1 . ' ' gentleman in velvet shares a crust with his ragged brother in no versity . Miss Isabel Bateman , as the distracted mother seeking her ct , *' * ' * a ^ opportunity . She played with no less force than tenderi , ess * ^ recalled when the

The Theatres.

curtain fell agam and again . In the third act wo have a delicious bib of comedy by Mr . Harry Nichols , as Spoffins , the poetical and genial clerk of our rascally lawyer Hawker . How this gentleman makes impromptu rhymes , and how ho makes lovo to pretty , saucy Lucy ( Marie Illington ) , Mrs . Temple's faithful maid , all London will laugh

at seeing and long to see again . In Act IV . Mr . Harris has achieved greater scenic wonders than even he has yet given ns . We are in Egypt—in the desort—with its cruel sands , its pitiless sky , its herbage a mockery . Captain Temple is here seeking death , in vain . The scene of the desert city , with Do Vigne—now a confederate of the

Mahdi—inciting the peoplo to renewed efforts against the English , is magnificent in its reality and reproduction of the picturesque character of Eastern life . But the succeeding picture—at the Wells —within a rift in the rocks , is perhaps a still greater marvel of scenic effect . It is here that De Vigne—now flying from his native

foes—suddenly finds himself in the presence of the man whose life he has wrecked . Mr . Grahnme rises well to tho demands of the occasion , and his presentation nf the misery and terror of the famished caitiff is very powerful . Tho authors have been well inspired in dealing justice to his crimes by the hands of his Egyptian pursuers .

Ho falls at Temple's feet , confesses his crime , asserts the innocence of Temple ' s wife , and craves forgiveness . Tho soldier hesitates a moment , and then exclaims , " Forgive you ! Ah , may God forgive me ! " The curtain has scarcely fallen when it rises to show the scenic marvel of tho night—Trafalgar Square , with Nelson ' s

column , the lions , and the whole background of hotels and tall buildings , with what seems an unnumbered multitude thronging every inch of roadway , and striving for every coign of vantage , while pressing through them in tho passage forced by tho police we have onr heroes back from Egypt—Guards , Camel Corps , military band—all

as real as reality can make it , whilst the central point of interest is our well-beloved hero , Captain Temple , on his gallant war horse . The scone rouses the house to wild enthusiasm ; stalls and boxes vibrating with infectious emotion . Of course , after this act V . has only to bring the scattered and sore-tried Temple family to reconciliation

and happiness . To circumvent the remaining villain , Hawker , and his confederate Corn , we have , however , to encounter some very painful incidents , in the " Waif's Last Homo , " whero Dick fche waif expires at last under his tyrant ' s ill treatment . We saw tender , hearted women—aye , and men too—turn their eyes away from the

ghastly scene of suffering . But we at length escape , to the lovely parsonage garden , where the reconciliation takes place . The sore-tried wife has secured a home there , with the kindly vicar ( Mr . Lyons ) nnd his yonng wife , the latter finding a delightful exponent iu Miss Amy M'Neill . Among tlio cast we rejoice to welcome

back Mr . Leathes , but his wicked lawyer is surely too much wanting in plausibility to have secured tho confidence of any client , unless for an Old Bailey case . Wo trust to seo this rendering gain in smoothness . Mr . Clynds was too much in the Eccles vein , but then his is a part not fitted to his powers . Miss Ormsby , as the traitorous Cora ,

looked handsome , and wears some delicious gowns . Miss Illington is a perfect souhrette , delightfully port , bnt always well within a selfrespecting " superior " nurse ' s limits . Miss Isabel Bateman has fine opportunity for her emotional gifts , and cleverly holds tho house through each of her scenes . In conclusion , we heartily congratulate

Mr . Harris on this great success , and on his talented company ; they make each part , with scarcely an exception , a factor in the triumph . The changes of scene take placo before the eyes of the audience , but it is as though a magician's rod wero waved tlie pictures fade and

loom ont again under a spell ; not from the combination and movement of vulgar frames and canvas : all is conducted smoothly , silently , and with such perfection of eas <** , it is impossible to realise the mechanical power and marvellous ingenuity which must be exorcised to work these miracles .

Vaudeville . —This fbeah * e reopened its doors , after the summer vacation , lasfc Saturday , with a programme furnishing abundance of amusement . Originally produced at a morning performance at this theatre , in January lasfc , "Loose Tiles" has since become very popular , and the reproduction of this merry piece will be again

welcomed by playgoers as a means of providing laughter for a couple of hours . Mr . Thomas Thorne once more caused tho droll misapprehensions of tho nervous Bob Twitters to provoke laughter , and , well backed by the members of his company , he depicted his numerous embarrassments in tho most humorous way . The cast is

considerably strengthened by the appearance of Miss Kate Rorke as Laura Myrtle , and with Miss Kate Phillips as the mysterious ward in Chancery ; Miss Sophie Larkin as the spirited spinster Maria Snatters , Mr . E . W . Gardiner as Charlie , and fhe efficient , aid ren . rh red bv Misses M . A . G . ffard and Louisa Peach , with Messrs . F .

Grove , E . M . Robson , and W . Lestncq , a thoroughly enjoyable evoniii" is secured . " Loose Tiles" is preceded by an effective liitlo ono Act drama by Mr . J . P . Hurst , entitled " Nearly Severed . " This sketch shows how a worthy countryman ' s wife becomes jealous of her husband on his befriending a governess , who is

rlismissed through attentions being openly shown her . The countryman is an oddity in himself , and his quarrels with his wife have a touch of hom" ] y nature in them . After three qnsirters-of nn-hou ** the piece ends , the governess agreeing to marry the tich young man , whose admiration for Iter brought abont her dismissal , while the married couple

vow never to call each other names again . The weakest pai t of this piece is making the governess a worldly lirtlo person , in order that she niav say smart , things when courted . Miss Rorke p ' aved the part with all graoe nlr . ess , while Mr . Lestncq was very amusing as * the countryman . Mr . Gardiner was the love :- nnd Miss Giffird the wife .

Marriage

MARRIAGE

GILBERT-SIMS . —On the 25 th ult ., afc St . John ' s Church , Tipper Holloway , . Urn . Tno :. . is GUBKUT , Metropolitan Lodge , No . 1507 , of Pentonville Road , to Lizzii ; , daughter ot"VViLi , nit SIMS , Esq ., Cedras Hou-ie , Crouch Hill .