Holiday Arrangements.

HOLIDAY ARRANGEMENTS .

THE Great Western Eailway Company will , as usual , issue tickets at their principal City and West End Offices , an arrangement whioh cannot fail to be a boon to those travellers who desire to avoid the trouble of obtaining tickets at a crowded railway station . The Booking Office at Faddington Station will be open all day for the issue of tickets on 18 th , 19 th , 21 st , 22 nd , 23 rd and 24 th December . Ordinary tickets obtained in London between 18 th and 24 th December will be available for use on any day between and including those days . Cheap third class tickets at reduced fares will be

issued from London to the Yeovil and Weymouth districts , to stations in the west of England , and to Guernsey and jersey ; similar tickets will also be issued from those districts to London ( except the Channel Islands ) . On Wednesday , 23 rd December , cheap Excursions will be run from Paddington , at 4-45 p . m ., for Belfast , Armagh , Enniskillen , Giant's Causeway , & c , and at 6 * 10 p . m . for Waterford , Limerick , Tralee , Kilkenny , Lakes of Killarney , & c , for a fortnight ; and on Thursday , 24 th December , at 3-35 p . m ., for Cork , for

a fortnight ; 11-10 p . m ., for Bath and Bristol , for 3 days ; 11-35 p . m ., for Oxford , Leamington , Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Shrewsbury , Chester , Liverpool , & c , for 3 or 4 days ; 12-15 midnight , for Evesham , Worcester , Malvern , Hereford , & c , for 3 or 4 days ; 12-30 midnight , for Cardiff , Swansea , Llanelly , Carmarthen Jet ., Tenby , New Milford , & c , for 3 days ; 12-40 midnight , for Cirencester , Stroud , Stonehouse , Gloucester and Cheltenham , for 3 days . On the days immediately preceding Christmas day , several

of the trains from Paddington will be divided , and the first portion of some of them will start five minutes before the advertised time . On Thursday , 24 th December , the 1-30 p . m . Corridor Express from Paddington will convey passengers to stations between Bala and Dolgelly , and the 3-0 p . m . train to Plymouth will be extended to Truro . A special will leave Paddington at 6-15 p . m ., for Bath , Bristol , Exeter , Plymouth , Penzance and other stations , and the 7-0 p . m . to Weston-super-Mare will run to Exeter , and will convey

passengers for Marlboro ' , Tiverton , and for stations on the Barnstaple branch . The 9-0 p . m . for the West of England will convey passengers to Totne 3 and Grampound Road , and also for the Bodmin and Wadebridge and Helston branches . A special fast train will leave Paddington at 10-0 p . m ., calling at same stations between Swindon and New Milford as the 9-15 p . m . ordinary train , with the addition of Newnham and Llantrissant , and a special express will depart at 11-50 p . m . for Eeading , Swindon , Gloucester , Cheltenham ,

Newport , Cardiff , Swansea , & c . The 12-0 midnight express to Penzance will call at Chippenham and Brent , and in connection special trains will run on the Kingsbridge , Wadebridge and St . Ives branches . Passengers will also be conveyed to stations between Maidenhead and High Wycombe . On Christmas day , the usual Sunday service of trains will run , but the 5-30 a . m . train from Paddington will also be run as on week-days , to Oxford , Weston-super-Mare and Swansea . There will be connections to Trowbridge , Frome , Yeovil ,

Bridport , Weymouth , Banbury , Leamington , Birmingham , Worcester , Malvern , Kidderminster , Wolverhampton , & c . In order to meet the extraordinary demands upon the Company ' s resources occasioned by the enormous parcel traffic despatched both from and to London at Christmas time , special fast trains ,- carrying parcels only , and calling at the principal intermediate stations , will run between London and Plymouth , Birkenhead , Worcester and New Milford .

j j j THE Midland Bailway Company , to prevent inconvenience and crowding , have arranged- for the booking offices at St . Pancras and Moorgate Street Stations to be open for the issue of tickets all day on Tuesday , Wednesday , and Thursday , 22 nd , 23 rd , and 24 th December , and tickets to all principal stations on the Midland Bailway can be obtained beforehand at the Midland Company's City and Suburban Offices : —267 Strand , 189 Victoria Street , 38 Cranbourn Street , 101 High Holborn , 5 Charing Cross ( corner of

Northumberland Avenue ) ; 1 Shaftesbury Avenue , Piccadilly ; 10 a New Bond Street ; Gloucester Office , 495 Oxford Street ; 272 Begent Circus , Oxford Street ; 170 Queen ' s Boad , Bayswater ; 109 Tottenham Court Boad ; 15 King ' s Boad , Chelsea ; 33 Cannon Street ; 13 Aldersgate Street ; 10 Commercial Boad ; Catherino Wheel , High Street , Borough ; " Four Swans , " 36 Camomile Street ; 13 Parkside , Knightsbridge ; 122 Mare Street , Hackney . Cook's Tourist Offices : —Ludgate Circus , 415 West Strand , 99 Gracechurch

Street , 33 Piccadilly , 82 Oxford Street , 13 Cockspur Street . Mr . W . Whiteley ' s ( Westbourne Grove , W . ) . L . B . & S . C . Co . 's Offices :-28 Begent Street , Piccadilly ; 8 Grand Hotel Buildings , Trafalgar Square ; and at " Bedcap , " 6 Camden Boad ; " "Empire" Office , 30 Silver Street , Notting Hill Gate ; 50 a and 52 a Leadenhall House ; Myers' Office , la Pentonville Boad : 11 Onslow Place , South Kensington ; Army and Navy Stores , 105 Victoria Street , Westminster ; Civil Seivice Supply Association , 136 Queen Victoria

Street ; 4-6 Bedford Street ; 69 Old Bailey ; Viaduct Office , 71 Hatton Garden . The tickets obtained at these offices will be available from St . Pancras Station , and will be issued at the same fares as charged at that station , and dated to suit the convenience of passengers . Cheap excursion trains will be run from London ( St . Pancras ) and principal provincial stations to Carlisle , Edinburgh , Glasgow , Greenock , Dundee , Aberdeen , & c , on Thursday , 24 th December , for four , five , eight , or ten days , and 31 st December for four

five , or ten days , by which return tickets will be issued at a third class single fare for the double journey . The single fare tickets issued on 24 th December will be available for returning on any day up to and including 8 th January 1897 , and single fare tickets taken on 31 st December will be available for returning on any day up to and including 15 th January 1897 . Cheap excursion trains will also be run from London ( St . Pancras ) on Thursday night , 24 th December , to Leicester , Birmiflgham , Nottingham , Derby .

Newark , Lincoln , Burton , Manchester , Liverpool , Blackburn , Bolton , Sheffield , Leeds , Bradford , York , Hull , Scarborough , Newcastle , the Lake District , & c , returning 27 th or 28 th December . Cheap excursions tickets will be issued from London ( St . Pancras ) and principal provincial stations on Wednesday , 23 rd December , to Dublin , Cork , Killarney , I Limerick , & c , via Liverpool , available for 16 days , and via Morecambe , available for returning on 29 th or 31 st December , and 2 nd , 5 th , or 7 th January 1897 ; on Wednesday , 23 rd December , to Belfast , Londonderry , Portrush , & c , via

Barrow , or via Liverpool , available for 16 days ; on Tuesday , 22 nd December , to Londonderry , via Morecambe , and on Thursday , 24 th December , via Liverpool ; available for returning 28 th , 31 st December , or 4 th January , via Morecambe , and on 28 tli , 30 th December , 2 nd , 5 th , or 6 th January , via Liverpool . On Christmas Day cheap day excursion tickets will be issued to Southend-on-Sea from St . Pancras , Kentish Town , Walthamstow , Leytonstone , and stations on the Tottenham and Forest Gate Joint Line . The cheap week-end tickets issued on Fridays and Saturdays during the winter , will also be issued on Thursdays , 24 th and 31 st December , from St . Pancras and other

Holiday Arrangements.

Midland stations , to the principal holiday and health resorts , available for returning on any day up to the Tuesday following , except day of issue . On Christmas Eve the pressure of traffic will be relieved by the running of duplicate trains from St . Pancras as circumstances may require . On Christmas Day the trains will run as appointed for Sundays , except the

Newspaper Express , leaving London ( St . Pancras ) at 5 . 15 a . m ., which will run to Bedford , Leicester , Nottingham , Derby , Sheffield , and Manchester , as on ordinary week-days . On Saturday , 26 th December , and on New Year ' s Day , certain booked trains will be discontinued , of which due notice will be given by special bills at the stations .

rriHE Great Northern Bailway Company annour . ca that on Thursday night , JL 24 th December ( for 4 , 5 , 8 and 10 days ) , and Thursday night , 31 st December ( for 4 , 5 , and 10 days ) , cheap excursions will leave London ( Woolwich Arsenal and Dockyard , Victoria ( L . C . & D . ) , Moorgate , King ' s Cross ( G . N . ) , Finsbury Park , & c ) , for Northallerton , Darlington , Bichmond , Durham , Newcastle , Berwick , Edinburgh , Glasgow , Helensburgh , Dumbarton , Stirling , Perth , Dundee , Dalmally , Oban , Fort William , Montrose

Aberdeen , Inverness , and other stations in Scotland . Passengers by the excursion on 24 th return on Sunday , 27 th , Monday , 28 th , Thursday , 31 st December , or Saturday , 2 nd January , and those by the excursion on 31 st December return on Sunday , 3 rd , Monday , 4 th , or Saturday , 9 th January , according to period of ticket taken . Tickets at a single fare for the double journey will also be issued by above excursions to places named , available for return by one fixed train on any day within sixteen days including days of

issue and return . On Thursday , 24 th December , cheap fast excursions will also leave London ( Woolwich , Victoria ( L . O . & D . ) , Moorgate , King ' s Cross , & c ) , for Cambridge , Bamsey , Huntingdon , Peterboro' , Lynn , Norwich , Cromer , Yarmouth , Leicester , Spalding , Boston , Grimsby , Lincoln , Nottingham , Derby , Burton , Burslem , Tutbury , Stoke , Newark , Betford , Sheffield , Barnsley , Botherham , Huddersfield , Manchester , Liverpool , Doncaster , York , Hull , Harrogate , Bridlington , Malton , Scarborough ,

Whitby , Stockton , Richmond , Darlington , Hartlepool , Middlesborough , Durham , Newcastle-on-Tyne , Shields , Sunderland , Wakefield , Leeds , Bradford , Halifax , Keighley , and other principal stations in the Lincolnshire , Nottinghamshire , Lancashire , and Yorkshire districts , returning on 27 th and 28 th December . On 21 st , 22 nd , 23 rd , and 24 th December , additional trains will be run to meet requirements of traffic . The 10 . 30 p . m . express from King ' s Cross , on Thursday , 24 th December , will not run beyond Berwick on

Christmas Day morning . Thursday , 24 th December , the 5 p . m . express from King ' s Cross will be continued to Melton Constable , calling at all stations east of Peterborough . A special express at ordinary fares will leave London ( King ' s Cross ) at 12 . 0 midnight on Thursday , 24 th December , for Welwyn , Stevenage , Hitchin , Biggleswade , Sandy , St . Neots , Huntingdon , Peterborough , Spalding , Boston , Grimsby , Grantham , Lincoln , Nottingham , Newark , Betford , Doncaster , Wakefield , Leeds , Bradford , Halifax , Selby ,

York , etc . On Christmas Day the trains will run as on Sundays , except that the 5 . 15 a . m . express from King ' s Cross will be run , at ordinary fares , to Peterborough , Bourne , Stamford , Grantham , Lincoln , Nottingham , Doncaster , Wakefield , Leeds , Bradford , and Halifax , stopping at the intermediate stations at which it ordinarily calls , and will be continued to York , Newcastle , Edinburgh , Glasgow , Perth , Aberdeen , & c . A special express conveying parcels only will leave London ( King ' s Cross ) at 10 . 15 p . m . on 19 th , 21 st , 22 nd , and 23 rd December , for Lynn , Norwich , Yarmouth ,

Nottingham , Melton Mowbray , Leicester , Derby , Burton , Lincoln , Sheffield , Manchester , Liverpool , Wakefield , Leeds , Bradford , Keighley , Halifax , York , Hull , Newcastle , and all places in the North of England and Scotland . To prevent inconvenience from crowding at the Company ' s principal terminal station , King ' s Cross , tickets , dated in advance , will be issued at King ' s Cross ( G . N . B . ) , Victoria ( L . C . & D . ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , Holloway , and Finsbury Park stations , and at the Company's ticket offices throughout London .

THE London and North Western Bailway Company have arranged their usual varied and extensive series of excursions for Christmas and the New Year , cheap trips being announced for Ireland , Scotland , and the different parts of this Company ' s widespread system . The Irish trips start on Tuesday , Wednesday and Thursday , to different parts of the Emerald Isle , the tickets being available for return within sixteen days . On Christmas eve , 24 th December , and on New Year ' s eve , 31 st Decemberexcursions will

, start for Carlisle and the chief towns of Scotland , the trips being arranged for 4 , 5 , 8 , 10 and 16 days , while on the former ( Christmas eve ) there will be special facilities for reaching the Midland counties , Lancashire , the Lake District , North and South Wales , & c , & c . Full particulars as to times , fares , & c . may be obtained at the Stations and Parcels Offices of the Company , or direct on application to the General Manager , at Euston Station .

Our contemporary , the " Ereemason , " has made a valuable addition to the Mason ' s portrait gallery in connection with its Christmas number , in the form of a plate representing the different Provincial Grand Masters .

"A Sprig Of Acacia."

" A SPRIG OF ACACIA . "

WE regret very much' to have to record the death of Bro . Henry Tinney P . M . Asaph Lodge , No . 1319 , Musical Director at the Restaurant Prascati , which occurred under painful circumstances . He appeared to be in his usual robust health up to the last , and took his seat at the piano at 6-30 on

Tuesday evening , the 8 th mat ., in the best of spirits . About 8-20 a selection from "Carmen" was commenced , and about 8-35 , when it was nearly finished , and the orchestra was playing the farewell song , after a brilliant run from the bottom to the top of

the piano , Bro . Tinney fell suddenly forward , and expired . Naturally there was an inquest , the verdict was cerebral apoplexy . The funeral took place at Finchley ( Marylebone Cemetery ) on Monday last , at which many dear friends and Brethren were present topay the last sad tribute of respect .