Provincial.

could estimate fcho anxieties attendant upon thafc of W . M . of a Lodge , but in relinquishing that position he had fche satisfaction of knowing that there were many present that night who would fully understand and appreciate him . Bro . Boden W . M . in response , said that it was a gratifying pleasure to him to have been tho first installed Worshipful Master

of ili'i Duke of York Lodgo , more especially as ho could truly characterise tho Brethren by whom he was surrounded as " the boys , " and of these thoy were the best . Bro . Boden indulged in hyperbole , one simile which he made use of being particularly apt . He contrasted the Lodgo and its members , comparing the former to a child in swaddling clothes and only just able to walk , and the

latter to a horse which could run . In speaking of the quick strides which they had made , he announced the gratifying fact that every Lodgo debt had been paid , and that no inconsiderable surplus stood to their credit . Ho said the members were persistent and steady , and would loyally support the Charities , and he felt that he could

unhesitatingly rely upon his new Officers , for , said he , by way of especial emphasis , " they aro some of the boys . " Bro . Boden afterwards proposed the health of the I . P . M ., taking the opportunity of presenting to Bro . Schofield , on behalf of the Lodge , a very handsome jewel .

Bro . Schofield , in a speech brimful of kindly feeling , said he felfc deeply moved by this evidence of their regard for him . He appealed on behalf of the widows , the distressed and the fatherless , and hoped they would be able to follow out the principles which he himself had promulgated . He advised them to accept the ruling of the W . M . even if they thought that ruling was wrong , assuring them that the powers which be would soon step in and see him set right .

Other toasts followed , the same being pleasantly varied by songs , recitations , etc . given by Bros . Howard , Robinson , Marshall , Scarlett , Rushton , Bryce , and Hopkinson . o o o

LONGS 1 GHT LODGE , No . 2464 . THE regular meeting was held at tho Club Rooms , Birch Lane , Longsight , on Wednesday , the 7 th inst . There were present : Bros . Councillor Thomas Uttley W . M ., Henry Grimshaw S . W ., W . Gadd J . W ., Fredk . G . Berry P . M . Treasurer , Councillor John Phythian Secretary , Alderman Lloyd Higginbottom S . D ., Henry Sheard J . D ., E . H . Ritson I . G ., C S . Cotton and H . Wood Stewards , F . W . Lean P . M . Prov . S . G . D ., Edward Roberts P . M . Asst . Prov . G . T . ( FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE ) , George Makin , David Baxter ,

Frederick Grammer , John Adamson , William Arthur Bacon and Andrew Ellor . Visitors : Bros . A . H . Williams P . M . P . P . G . O . 1170 , Councillor Wm . Birkbeck W . M . 1083 , Joseph B . Harrison J . W . 104 , S . Moore P . M . 992 1011 , Councillor Samuel Mills I . P . M . 1077 , Jas . Robinson I . P . M . 1219 , Joseph Selby P . M . 1083 , Richard Ban-on P . M . 1774 , Joseph T . Barr P . M . ( Donemana ) 256 , Jno . W . Maltby 1219 , T . T . Jones 1493 , Ben Walker 2185 , Richd . Hilditch 2368 , Geo . H . Russell 2482 , and others .

After the confirmation of minutes , Bros . Bacon and Ellor were questioned , and duly raised to the sublime degree , the former by the W . M ., and the latter by Bro . Lean . The working tools were presented and explained by the W . M . A ballot was taken for Bro . Tom Tyzack Jones , of Levenshulme , which proved to bo in his favour .

At the festive board which followed , Loyal and Masonic toasts were given and responded to , that of the newly-raised Brethren being proposed by Bro . W . Gadd J . W . In response , Bro . Bacon said that that day would always rank as a red letter day in his life , for it not onlj denoted something great , good , and beautiful , but to him ifc opened up a vista of light and hope , which he earnestly

trusted he should profit by . The beauty and sublimity of the raising surpassed anything thafc he could have imagined or have anticipated , and he felt that the beauty and solemnity of the ceremony had been considerably enhanced by tho religious manner in which it had been conducted by the W . M . and his Officers . A time like that made a man begin to think of his many faults and failings , and if he had a heart at all , must prompt him to try to overcome

them , and with the divine help of thc Great Architect of the Universe , he would endeavour to carry out the grand tenets of Freemasonry , which he felt would not only make him a better man here , but would give him a title to something grander and greater in the sphere above . In conclusion he begged to thank the Brethren for the great kindness and consideration which they had shown towards him since he became a Brother .

Bro . Ellor said that the most beautiful and solemn ceremony which he had just passed through , and which had raised him . to the proud rank of a Master Mason , could bufc leave a lasting impression upon him , and the principles which had been taught , and which he would endeavour to act up to , could not fail to make him a better man in the future than he-had been in the past . He further said ,

"lam only one , but I am ono ; I cannot do everything , But I can do someihing ; What I can do I ought to do , And by God ' s help that I will do for Masonry . " In conclusion he thanked the Brethren most sincerely for the hearty manner in which they had received the toast of his health .

During the evening , Bro . Lean notified that Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master had appointed a Chanty Organisation Committee of Provincial Officers to visit Lodges and explain the working of the Charities . He said he was me of the number , and sincerely hoped that when the Committee tneir

pam visits , the Brethren would be favourably impressed by their advocacy of these very worthy Institutions . Songs , & c ., were rendered by Bros . Maltby , Robinson , Ellor Bacon , Grimshaw , and Walker .

Puns.

PUNS .

" None despise puns bufc thoso who cannot make them . " —Old Saying . A PUN is generally defined as " a play upon words , similar in sound , but different in meaning , " the word being derived from the Anglo-Saxon " punian , " to toss , or throw about .

Addison has adduced an excellent test by which a piece of real wit may be distinguished from a mere pun : wo are to endeavour to translate tho doubtful production into another language , and if it passes through this ordeal unharmed , it is true wit , if not , it

a pun Tho Hon . Henry Erskino was once reproached with his propensity for punning , being told that puns were tho lowest kind of wit . " True , " said he , using a brilliant enthymeme , " and therefore they aro tho foundation of all wit . "

Perhaps the most ancient instance of this system of paronomasia which we have recorded , is found in the works of Cicero , whom Isaac D'Israeli , in his " Curiosities of Literature , " characterises as " an inveterate punster . " Cicero once said of a man who had . ploughed up the ground in which his father was buried , " Hoc est vere colore monumontum patris . " " This is really cultivating one ' s father ' s memory . "

In the reign of that noted punster King James the First , whom Sully , tho French Minister described as " the most learned fool in Christendom , " we find that the individual who could , by a humorous conceit make a happy play upon words , would reap the benefit of it in a rich living or even an Episcopal See . Ifc may have been the

prospect of future advancement which caused one of this king ' s chaplains , preaching before the Court at Whitehall , to make use of the following puns in his discourse . Touching upon tho depravity of the age , ho thus expressed himself : " Almost all houses wero made ale-houses ; men made matrimony a matter of money , and placed their paradise in a pair of . dice . "

The lectures of a Greek philosopher were attended by a young girl of rare and exceeding beauty . One day , a grain of sand happened to get into her eye , and , being unable to extricate ifc herself , she requested the assistance of her tutor . As this gentleman was observed to perfonn the little operation with a zeal which , perhaps , the circumstances might have wan-anted , somebody wittily called out to him , " Do nofc spoil the pupil . "

Milton perpetrated a pun in the " Paradise Lost , " where he says , " The small infantry , warr'd on by cranes . " A college student while walking in tho forest of Shotover , near Cambridge , was so intent upon tho pages of Aristotle , that he did nofc notice tho advent of a wild boar until ifc was close upon him .

The animal made a sudden attack upon tho youth , whose presence of mind , even in such a grave situation as this did not desert him , for he dexterously rammed the volume into the open mouth of the boar , exclaiming as he did so , " Gnecum est , " and Greek ifc would undoubtedly prove to his enemy of the porcine species .

Aristotle is said to have died with a pun in his mouth . Nofc being ablo to discover why the Euripus ebbs and flows seven times every day , he threw himself into its waters with these words , " Quia ego non capio te , tu capias me . " —" Because I have not caught thee , thou catch me . " Sir Thomas Browne , however , in his celebrated work , " Vulgar Errors , " doubts the truth of this story .

Rabelais also died punning . A few minutes before he expired , he called for a domino , and wrapping ifc around him , said , " Beati qui in domino moriuntur , " " Blessed are they who die in the Lord . "

A distinguished gourmet is said to have been the cause of a classic pun . It was suggested to him thafc an admirable meal might be provided from a dish composed of all fins ( turbot ' s fins ) , which suggestion he immediately fell in with . " Capital , " was the answer given to his friend , " dine with me to-morrow and you

shall have your desire satisfied . " His friend accepted fche invitation , but when the fare was produced and the cover removed , " would you believe it , " says the narrator , " the sacrilegious dog of an Amphytrion had put into the dish , ' Cicero , Do finibus ! ' ' This is a work all fins , ' said he . "

A punster being asked to givo a specimen of his art , asked for a subject . That of the king was suggested , to which he wittily replied , " The king is not a subject . " This reminds me of another good pun , made by a learned scholar , " What , " [ queried he , " is majesty , when deprived of its externals , but a jest ? " The following is related in " England ' s Jests Refin'd , " published in 1 G 93 , a work which , in its day obtained no small amount of

popularity . " Old Fuller , the writer of the 'English Worthies , ' tells a quaint story of himself and a Justice Woodcock , with whom , saith he , ' I one evening walked in the fields , when we did hear an owl . ' ' What pretty bird can that be ? ' saith he ; 'is it the nightingale ? ' ' Nay , ' sayeth I , ' it is a woodcock . ' ' No , ' retorted he sharply , ' it is fuller in the head , fuller in the body , and fuller all over . '"

Dibdin had a cottage near Boxhill , to which , after his theatrical labours , he retreated . One stormy night , after he and Mrs . Dibdin had been in bed some time , Mrs . D ., being kept awake by the violence of the weather , aroused her husband by exclaiming ,

" Tom , Tom , get up 1 " " What for ? " asked he . " Don't you hear how very bad the wind is ? " " Is ifc ? " replied Dibdin , half asleep , though he could nofc help punning , " put a peppermint lozenge oub of the window , my dear , it is the best thing in thc world for the wind . "

Early in the year 1766 , Samuel Foote , the comedian , paid a visit to Lord Mexborough in company with the then Duke of York , Lord Delaval , Sir F . B . Delaval , and several others . He was induced to go out with the hounds , but was thrown from his horse , and his leg being fractured in two places , amputation became necessary , and he afterwards acted with the aid of an artificial limb . Of his cork leg Foote himself observed " that he had no fears of corns , sores , or gibed heels , and that he would not change