Lectures In Lodges.

that no ignoramus shall desecrate it , and your Lodge will cease to be seriously in debt to its members . — Constellation .

Freemasonry And Religion.

FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION .

FREEMASONS ought to be interested in the ceremony which is reported to have been performed at Segovia . The Bishop of that diocese discovered that his denn , Don . Andres Gomez , a very learned man , and a prolific author , was not only a Republican but even a Freemason . This was , indeed , horror upon horror ' s head . Who cannot picture the episcopal emotions over this staggering revelation ? When the bishop in " Les Miserables" discovers that

Jean Valjean has stolen the candlesticks in return for his hospitality , he shews a merciful foibearance which melts the heart of the fugitive from the galleys . But burglary is a trivial efft nee compared with Republicanism ancl Freemascnry in a dean . The Bishop of Segovia knew his duty , and he performed it without flinching . First he took the culprit to task , and made him see the inrquitv of

having belonged for thirty years to a local Lodge . Don Andres seems to have been very penitent , and we trust that no cjnic will say that he made the best of a bad job . Henri Quatre said that Paris was worth a mass , and so he turned Roman Catholic ; and Don Andres may be reported by malicious gossips to have come to the conclusion that a deanery was worth un abjuration of the local

Lodge . At all events he recanted , and was received again into the besom of the Church with an effecting ritual . \\ hen he had sworn repentance and absolute submission , he was conducted to an inner room , where his " upper garments " were taken off , and thc Bishop flogged him , while the priests chanted " Miserere Mei . " It is a pity that the members of this local Lodge could not bave been

invited to witness this edifying penance . It might have moved them to contrition , in which case the Bishop would doubtless have been chaimed to flog them all round . Theie is evidently a mediaeval simplicity at Segovia , at all e \ ents amongst the clergy , and it makes us feel how poor and prosaic a world it is in which we who are not Segovians are doomed to live . The Freemason in this

island is in no humour for submitting to flagellation . He holds up his head in presumptuous indifference to ecclesiastical opinion . We are afraid that even Catholic bishops in England would hesitate to whip their deans for the errors of Don Andres Gomez . When Professor St . George Mivart humbly submitted to the authority of the Vatican there was no talk of taking off his " upper garments . " This was a serious oversight . —Eastern Ituity Tress .

The woodwork of the old Masonic Lodge for Mother Kilwinning , which was demolished recently , is said to have been oak which formed part of the Spanish Armada , wrecked between Ardrossan and Stevenston . Portions

of this wood have been distributed among the brethren of the Craft throughout the country , and are much prized by them as souvenirs of the ancient Lodge-room .

o o o Everybody interested in correct working in Freemasonry will , says the Evening Tsiews and Post , hope that

with H . E . H . the Grand Master ' s selection of the Grand Officers of the year . Bro . Samuel Pope , Q . C , although a strong United Kingdom Alliance man , is the most genial ol Masons , and that rare bird on the Freemasons ' earth , the strictest of teetotalers . He is none the less

Bro . S . Pope , Q . C , will be well enough to preside at the annual festival of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . The working of this Lodge , which meets weekly all the year round , and its high state of excellence , is mainly due to Bro . Thomas Fenn , who is , indeed , a power in Masonry , and has as much as anyone to do

as popular at Freemasons' Hall as he is in the Parliament Chamber of the Middle Temple , where he has his Eoyal Grand Master as a brother bencher . Mr . Pope is Eecorder of Bolton , and , not without allusion to his commanding presence , is affectionately known as Bolton ' s Baby . He used to try to get into Parliament , but he is Wiser now . vvhp . n thp . rp . tirp . mpnfc nf 1 , nrf \

Grimthorpe has left him and Mr . Littler , Q . C , to fight for the leadershi p of the most lucrative branch of the profession , the Parliamentary Bar , for no M . P . may appear as counsel before a Parliamentary Committee .

CAN YOD SWIM , is a query we often see as the heading of many newspaper articles . In these days it is the duty of everyone to oecome acquainted with this very necessary accomplishment , not merely as a means of its being a source of self gratification , but Because it may help us in a sudden emergency to save life . For ine

same reason it is also of importance that we should try and teamthe best remedies to employ in case of sudden illness , inis knowled ge is soon gained , as the fame of Holloway ' s Pills and ointment , as the best means of cure for all complaints , has travelled mroughout the world . They save many thousands of lives annually .

Freemasonry And Religion.

Terry ' s Theatre . —Mr . Weedon Grossmith has taken the management of this theatre "for a short time , for the purpose of producing a bright , merry , rollicking farce by Mr . Arthur Law , entitled " Tho New Boy , " but it is possible that the term of his agreement may become extended . Given that a man of thirty years can pass muster as a boy of fourteen , the story is feasible

enough , though it is hardly fair to expect or look for probability in farcial comedy . A widow of massive proportions finding herself in straightened circumstances on the death of her husband , marries a diminutive little fellow who loses his money in a bubble company , and as a last resource pays a visit to Dr . Candy , LL . D ., not M . D ., a former admirer . Here they learn that the Doctor has left all

his fortune to the lady , under the impression that she is still a widow ; and proposes that she shall become matron of the school ; while mistaking the husband for the son , he accepts him as the new boy . Then the fun commences . Taken out by the French Master , an enthusiastic football player , Archibald Rennich is well nigh killed in a Rugby game . His sufferings under the school

bully culminate in his being marched of ! to jail for stealing apples , and sentenced to receive a dozen strokes of the birch , lhis last indignity is spared him , however , and their plot being discovered the Doctor generously smothers his passion for his old love , and " the happy ending " is arranged . Mr . Law is fortunate in having such capital exponents of his characters , for a slip might have been

fatal . A more comical figure than the husband school-boy , as played by Mr . Weedon Grossmith , has not been seen for many a long day . Ihe narrative of his troubles in the school dormitory is intensely funny , and secured the applause it so well deserved . The magnificent Gladjs Homfrey forms a splendid contrast to little Archibald , aird renders the pait of the sorely tried wife exceedingly well . Mr . J . Beanchamp acts the old pedagogue to

the life , and Mr . Kei neth Douglas is also most excellent as the "bully . " Messrs . J . D . Beverioge and Sydney Warden give two capital character parti-, end Miss Maj Palfrey must receive credit for her cbarming j ortiail of Nancy Roach , who flirts with the school bojs and loves the French teacher . A very neat one act play entitled " The Gentleman Whip " preceeds the farce , and is well worth seeing , on account of the admirable acting of Mr . Fred . Volpe , Mr . J . R . Hatfield and Miss Esme Beringer . o o o

Our brethren of the Clones Lodge , No . 881 ( I . C . ) , one of the oldest Lodges in Ireland , contemplate the erection of a Masonic Hall in the town , and have already secured several promises of support .

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GAIETYRESTAURANT, ST RJLJZTJD . THE ¦VIENNESE STRINGBAND WILL PLAY DURING 3/6DINNERS,5/-6to830. SEPARATE TABLES . NO CHARGE FOR ATTENDANCE