"Across The Walnuts And The Wine."

"ACROSS THE WALNUTS AND THE WINE . "

AMONGST the very many popular errors which in years gone by prevailed concerning our Masonic " mysteries "—errors which havo happily been improved off tho

public mind in these later times—was that the brethren of the Craft were a jovial crew of gluttons and wine-bibbers , whose whole " secret , " apart from the proverbial poker and gridiron , consisted in making themselves intensel y happy and comfortable under all manner of circumstances . The

outside world , founding their own opinions of our Order , pretty much as they do now-a-days on what they know nothing at all about , pictured to themselves , in a Lodge of Masons , tho very ideal of tho feast of reason and tho flow of soul . Beyond this they cared not to inquire ; but staid old

sceptics , and ladies of the Mrs . Caudle ilk , were wont to hold up their hands in pious horror at the very name of Masonry as one redolent of nothing but a surfeit of fat things and the cup which cheers and does inebriate . And if we were to rake amongst the dusty records of the ' past very likely we could

a tale unfold of roystering and carousal such as old Chaucer loved to delineate in quaint verse—of aldermanic hospitality , and that hilarity which would seldom " bear the morning- ' s reflection . " But with the growth of civilisation and enlightenment this old fallacy has exploded , and the popular

impression is that modern Masons have very materially mended their ways , and that Bacchus is by no means hold in the all-absorbing reverence which was once paid to him . Of lato years it has been satisfactory to note a vast improvement in this particular ; and , although it would be fulsome

to say that in the enjoyment of social amenities Freemasons are a pattern of all that is excellent , yet those best qualified to judge will admit with us that the festivities in which the brethren feel they are at libert y to indulge after labour are , as a rule , tempered with a considerable

amount of prudence and discretion . There are grumpy malcontents in even the "best regulated" societies who lift the eyebrows and shrug the shoulders whenever the rigour of business relaxes into the mirthful smile of leisureable enjoyment . But in the ordinary avocations of life our

experience is that , entre nous soil dit , a good dinner does not hinder , but rather lubricates , tho machinery of any good movement . Thus , when "friends in jolliest friendshi p meet , " after perhaps hours of arduous toil , when visitors travel from a distance to participate in , and assist with , the

labours to be executed , we see no other than a good result likely to follow the call of the J . W . to those regions over which he acts tho part of major-domo . It is around the festive board that new acquaintances are formed and old friendships cemented . There the social rusts which are

inevitable amongst members of society when on terms of bat distant acquaintanceship are rubbed off , and all rough angles and excrescences are smoothed away by the judicious application of the gavel and chisel . The fusion of men of different grades for friendl y intercourse and mutual enjoyment

is recognised as a most salutary law in the building up of all institutions which have for their object the wcllboino- of society . And especially in a Masonic sense , where bodies of men , casting aside their normal differences of creed and

politics , meet in good fellowship upon neutral ground , this interchange of fraternal greeting , regarded in its proper light , must be productive of excellent practical results . A poet said

that" Sweet ; recreation barr'd , what doth enauo But moody and dull melancholy , Kiusmaa to grim and comfortless despair ?"

"Across The Walnuts And The Wine."

but such a catastrophe is not likely to ensue whilst brethren clasp the hands of friendship , and hearts beat in unison in the one great bond of universal brotherhood . The Scythians of old were famous for quarrelling over their cups , and fighting with their platters ; but we are in no danger of finding

instances of such diversion amongst the brethron of tho " mystic tie . " Expanding into a warmth of benevolonce , induced by the flow of generous sentiment , there is generated a true and lasting sense of companionship and unity in furtherance of beneficent designs . All Lodges , just as much as

any other centres of human concourse , or haunts of civilised recreation , have their special field days , thoir eventful evenings , and their grand periods . And he would be a cynic indeed who would put a veto upon such a rational and conventional method of commemorating " red letter " days .

One thing to be said of our occasional entertainments is , that they are unselfish and disinterested . Scarcely au occasion passes but some deserving cases are relieved , tho load of some depressed heart lightened , or some substantial addition is made to the funds of our noble Charities . However

exuberent may be the current of joviality , there is sure to be some " sturdy beggar " hovering round , launching forth in ardent appeal for the necessitous and the sad , and calling upon the brethren to practise that essential virtne ^ of which they were reminded very early in their Masonic

experience—Charity . And seldom is the appeal uttered in vain . The shadow of selfish indulgence cannot exist in the all-pervading light of Masonic benevolence ; and thus we find that invariably there is some tangible acquisition to our charitablo exchequer after the happy meetings which we chronicle in

our weekly reports . There aro , however , some points in which these gatherings of truest friends might be improved and made a greater source of profit and edification than is apparent in the average of such assemblies even in our time . As a rule Masonic banquets , from a post-prandial aspect , aro

somewhat dull and vapid . The bare fact of having a stereotyped toast list is calculated to make the after-dinner speeches monotonous . To ring the changes on half-adozen toasts requires an amount of tact and adroitness that is not given to all who are called upon to face the

ordeal . We do not need to be continually reminded that " the first toast in every assembly of Englishmen is that of the Queen , " or that " in her Majesty we possess a monarch who is the embodiment of every social and domestic virtue . " We are already aware that in the

person of our M . W . G . M . and his Royal brothers the cause of Masonry is brilliantly reflected , and that its stability and progress have received a wondrous impetus through their connection with the Craft . Equally trite are tho reiterated observations that our Masonic rulers are

iruljfatigable iu their exertions to promote the best interests of our Order , and that " Lord Skelmersdale is much appreciated in his own Province . " Yet all these platitudes aro served up at every recurring festival , until onr reporters might almost venture on their description of the ordinary

run of banquets without being present at them in tho flesh . In the order of seniority tho Past Officers take precedence in the seats of honour , and exercise tho prerogative of speaking upon the leading toasts ; and instead of improving with age , like good wine , there is often a lack of

pith or variety in the observations they have to offer on so many consecutive occasions . Moreover , the complimentary utterances are invariably fulsome—we were almost going to say necessarily so . For instance , after an installation the I . PM . is adulated as the most gifted and expert workman who ever wielded the sceptre of power in his Lodge—save and except the newly elected WM ., we