About The Mason Poet.

a piece of the iron alarmist , and shall bring it home with me as a memento of the parties and the occasion . But I must leavo Tarbolton , with its historic attractions . Bad seasons and bad luck had so discouraged the poet , that he determined to give np farming ancl go to the West Indies , whore he had been offered a situation as clerk on a large estate ; bufc he must firsfc bid adien to his Lodge , and he did it in that immortal poem beginning with

" Adieu , a heart warm fond adieu , Ye brethren of the mystio tie . " I have no time , my dear C , to give more than one day to Tarbolton , and must hasten on to Edinburgh . I pass Mossgiel , where Burns farmed and failed , and gave up the plow for the pen . The first edition of his poems , published in despondency , aud at a

venture , won the respect of some of the first literary men in Edinburgh , who wrote him to come afc once to that city , and to Edinburgh he went , where I shall follow in his footsteps . The first edition of his poems , crude and unpolished as they were , sent a thrill of excitement throughout the Lowlands of Scotland , whioh waa described by a Scottish writer as follows :

" Had a summer sun risen on a winter morning , it could not have surprised the Lowlands of Scotland more than this volume surprised and delighted the people , one and all . The milkmaid sung his songs ; the plowman repeated his poems ; the old quoted both ; and even the devout rejoiced that idle verse had , at last , mixed a tone of morality with its mirth . ' Keep it out of the way of your children , ' said a

Cameronian divine , ' lest ye find them , as I found mine—reading it on the Sabbath ! ' * * * There was such a brilliant and graceful mixture of the elegant and the homely , the lofty and the low , the familiar and the elevated ; such a rapid succession of scenes whioh moved to tenderness or tears , to subdued mirth or open laughter ; of superstitions to scare , and of humour to delight ; while through the

whole was diffused , as the scent of flowers through summer air , a moral meaning , a sentimental beauty , which sweetened and sanctified all . " With such commendations , the poet started for Edinburgh to revise , enlarge , and publish a new edition of his poems . I find him still true to his Masonio relations . He is at the Lodge , at the festivals ,

responding to toasts , and was finally elected their Poet-Laureate . His Masonio affiliations opened the way to personal friendships , and these to other relations of special benefit fco the poet in his then peculiar condition . Bufc ifc is astonishing , my dear C , how soon the footprints of genius are obliterated in a large and growing city . Here , where Burns was feted and feasted by lord and lady , and was the

observed of all observers , yon rarely hear of him , and see nothing to remind you of him , except a monument to his memory on Caxton Hill ! So I will away to Dumfries , where his last days were spent , and where his honoured dust reposes . But you would be delighted with Edinburgh , a city on the hill-sides . Princes street , it has been said , is the finest street , in Europe ; but while I cannot concede this ,

yet I admit its unequalled beauties , its unique location , its magnificent structures , and its crowning glory—the beautiful monument to Sir Walter Scott . Immediately opposite , the upper town rises abruptly two or three hundred feet , to the summit of a rugged and rocky hill , whioh is crowned by the Fortress , or Tower . Within it is preserved the room occupied by the beautiful " Mary , Queen of Scots , " the

throne room in which I was shown the jewels and sceptre belonging to the crown , and I have not time to tell you of the many unique and interesting objects of historic note . Tho portrait of the beautiful bufc erring Queen is suspended on the walls , and the underlined reminder on tho published prints of the lovely but erratic lady will remind you of human frailties and follies :

If to her lot some hnman errors fall , Look on her face and you'll forgive them all . " But again in the foot-prints of the poet : I can't tell yon in a brief letter ' * all about Burns ; " it would require a volume ; but I will follow him to Ellisland , on the Nith , where soon he lost by farming all he had made by poetry . He then , with failing health ,

removed to Dumfries , where he ended his brief bnt erratic and brilliant life at the age of thirty-seven , on the 21 st of July 1791 . It was while living on the farm at Ellisland that he wrote that beautiful and touching poem , " To Mary in Heaven . " It was a bright starlit night , following the anniversary of the death of his Highland Mary . In the evening he went out and lay down by the side of a corn-rick , where in the chill midnight air his wife found him , and with difficulty

persuaded him to return to the house . But the address to Mary was composed and soon reduced to writing . One of his most beautiful songs was written a short time before his death . ^ He had promised a lady friend , on whom he had called one morning , and who was fond of music , if she would play her favourite air he would write her a song for it . She went to the piano , and after becoming familiar with the tune , Burns wrote :

" 0 ! wert thou in the cauld blast , On yonder lea , on yonder lea , My plaidie to the angry airt , I'd shelter thee , I'd shelter thee ; Or did misfortune ' s bitter storms

Around thee blaw , around thee blaw , Thy bield should be my bosom , To share it a' , to share it a ' . Or were I in the wildest waste , Sae black and bare , sae black and bare , The desert were a paradise

If thon wert there , if thou wert there ; Or were I monarch o' the globe , Wi' thee to reign , wi' thee to reign , The brightest jewel in my crawn Wad be my queen , wad be my queen ! " Burns was buried in the north-east corner of St . Michael ' s Church , yard , Dumfries , but iu after years his remains were removed to a

About The Mason Poet.

more eligible location . He now sleeps beneath a beautiful monument , while around him lie the dead of many generations . The monument is an octagon of pillars , surmounted by a dome ; three sides , between tho pillars , are enclosed by heavy plate glass . In tho back part is a statue of the Mason-poet , of life size , and of pure white marble . One hand is grasping the handle of a plough , with tho other

he holds his cap , or scone bonnet , as though he had just taken it from his head . Above him is the genius of Scotland , in tho act of throwing her mantle over him , as though for shelter and protection . And now I must close my letter and bid adien to Burns , the princo of Scottish poets , the pillar of beauty in the Masonio temple of his country . But so long as you read his poems , you will appreciate his

worth . Genius may be cramped and fettered , but still it will soar and shine ; and often the more obstacles there may be in its path , the greater will be its achievements when it has risen above them . You may bar the door and fetter the limb , but you cannot imprison the mind , —you might as easily chain the earthquake or fetter the lightning . The glories of tho mind are more highly estimated when

the form thafc enshrouded them has mouldered into dust ; and those who turned away from a star of the first magnitude , though its milder glories illuminated only the cottage and the home-circle , are first to offer their obligations when it has passed beyond the earth's orbit , and taken its place among tho constellations . But the fame of Burns

has been growing brighter with each passing year since his death . The world will continue to love his memory , and do homage to his genius until true poetry shall cease to be admired , and truo genius fails to command a worshipper . But those who love poetry , and those who love Masonry , will remember Burns . In parting from him , I feel , like using the words of his brother poet :

" 0 , Robert Burns ! the man—the brother ! And art thou gone , and gone for ever ? And hast thou crossed that unknown river—Life ' s dreary bound ? Like thee where shall we find another The world around ?

Go to yonr sculptured tombs , ye great , In a' the tinsel trash o' state ; But by thy honest turf I'll wait , Thou man of worth , And weep the sweetest poet's fato Thafc lived on earth !"

Reviews.

REVIEWS .

All Books intended for Beview should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 23 Great Queen Street , W . C . Calandrier Maconnique du Qrand Orient de France , SuprSme Conseil pour la France et les Possessions Frangaises . 109 ° Annee . Paris : Secretariat-General du Grand Orient de France . Supreme Conseil pour la France et pour les Possessions Francaises . 16 Rue Cadefc , 5881 .

THE Calendar of the Grand Orient of France for the' current year contains all the requisite information as to Lodges , Chapters , Consistories , & c , in its jurisdiction . The arrangement is satisfactory , and concise as regards essentials . There is a full nominal list of the members of the Supreme Council and tables of the Lodges , & o ., arranged under their several heads of Paris , the Provinces , Colonies

and foreign countries . In addition , we have a summary of such Lodges , a few brief particulars respecting Grand Lodges and Orients in other States , bufc in respect of these we cannot speak with the same degree of satisfaction . There are discrepancies between the Recapitulations of the Lodges afc pp 209 and 217 respectively , which , though slight , are nevertheless of some little consequence . As to

Grand Lodges , & c , other than the Grand Orient of France , if we may judge of the particulars furnished in respect of fche United Grand Lodge of England , we cannot speak very favourably . The Earl of Carnarvon is set down as Deputy Grand Master instead of Pro Grand Master , the Earl of Lathom Deputy Grand Master is left out , Lord H . Tbynne , M . P ., and Bro . Okeover are named as Grand Wardens , and Bros . S . Tomkins and John Hervey , both of whom havo

been dead some time , as Grand Treasurer and Grand Secretary respectively . It is nearly two months since Colonel Creaton was elected G . Treasnrer for the third time in succession to Bro . Tomkins , and Lieut .-Col . Shadwell-Clerke has been Grand Secretary about eighteen months . We know how , in compilations of this kind , errors are apt to creep in , even with the greatest care and attention ; but a very little such care shonld have sufficed to prevent the occurrence of such mistakes as we have just noted .

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States , offers prizes of £ 100 and £ 50 respectivel y for two essays on the subject of Life Assurance , with special reference to its influence , in promoting habits of economy , thrift , and sobriety ; and the consequent repression o £

intemperance , poverty and crime . Its bearing upon the reduction of the Poor Rate , the cost of repression of crime and in stimulating the productive industry of the country ; and hence the National benefit conferred on the Community taxation

in lessening , while giving increased power to pay ; and finally its influence upon our social surroundings , in strengthening family ties , and in rendering sacred the HOMB . We refer any of our readers who may require further particulars to the office of the society , 81 Cheapside London , E . C .