Reports Of Meetings.

subscri ptions of one shilling each from forty members , and proves the power of the old proverb that " many a mickle makes a muckle . " The W . M . having received the hearty good wishes of the Brethren and congratulations upon his preferment , the proceedings closed , and tho Brethren adjourned to dinner provided by Bro . Cunningham , and a pleasant evening was spent .

ST . MARGARET'S LODGE , No . 1452 . ON Tuesday evening Dr . F . W . Clark , the Medical Officer of Health for Lowestoft , received a flattering testimonial from this Lodge on the occasion of his quitting Lowestoft for Hong Kong .

There was a supper at tho Crown and Anchor , prepared in Bro . Stebbings ' best style , to which many members of the Lodge and a few friends sat down . Bro . Kerry Rix the W . M . of the Lodge presided , and presented Bro . Clark , in tho name of tho Lodge , with a most artistically-illuminated address , the following being tho text : —

St . Margaret's Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons , No . 1452 , Grand Lodge of England . The Worshipful Master , Past Masters , Officers and Brethren , in open Lodge assembled , desire to place upon record their cordial appreciation of the valuable services rendered by Bro . Francis William Clark during his

membership of the Lodgo , to express regret at his removal from Lowestoft , and to tender to him their hearty good wishes in his new sphere of usefulness , hoping that ho may find in Hong Kong a Lodge of Freemasons where his intimate knowledge of tho antient usages and customs of the Craft will lead to his early Masonic advancement . " KERRY RIX W . M . W . J . ROBERTS Secretary .

CONCORD LODGE , No . 1534 . A MEETING of emergency to pass into the degree of F . C . Bros . J . B . Midgloy jun ., G . H . Niold , and Ashton Whitworth was held at the Lodge Rooms , Prestwich , on Thursday , the 18 th inst . There were present : —Bros . Wm . B . Midgley W . M .. E . S . Done S . W ., John Wardle P . M . Sec ,

H . B . Fawssett S . D ., J . E . Lightbourn Std ., Edward Hilton P . M ., John Walkden P . M ., R . Hothersall P . M . P . P . G . D . D . C , Edward Roberts P . M . 1459 ( FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE ) , J . B . Midgley jun ., Geo . H . Nield , and Ashton Whitworth .

Two of the ceremonies were undertaken by the W . M ., while the other , that of passing Bro . Nield , was performed by Bro . Wardle P . M . At the festive board which followed , Loyal and Masonic toasts were honoured , the health of the newly-passed Brethren beiug proposed by Bro , Walkden , who said he hoped the candidates would follow in the footsteps of

those who had already gone through the various degrees of Masonry . He advised them to be regular in their attendance at the Lodge meetings , and they would find Masonry not only interesting , but of great benefit to them , for it was an institution than which no other in this country can carry such

weight . As a means of emphasising this declaration , he entered into an explanation as to tbe unassuming and unostentatious manner in which its charity is dispensed , showing that tho members who were reci pients of its bounty were made so without an attempt to prove that they were being pauperised .

Mention was made of the recent death of Bro . Allan , and much sympathy was expressed thereon . The evening being far advanced , and many Brethren having to catch their trains , Bro . Whitworth was called upon to respond on behalf of the candidates , which he did with commendable brevity .

OGMORE LODGE , No . 1752 . THE annual meeting was held at the Masonic Hall , Bridgend , on Monday , when Bro . William Francis S . W . was installed as Worshipful Master for the ensuing year . He subsequently invested his Officers , and other formal business was transacted .

After a drive to Southerndown the members and Visitors returned to Bridgend , and sat down to the usual banquet at the W yndham Arms Hotel , the W . M . presiding . An excellent repast was served by Mrs . Jones , and the customary toasts were afterwards given .

INSTEUCTION ,

SYMPATHY LODGE OF INSTRUCTION , No . 483 . A T the usual weekly meeting of this Lodge , which is doing such good work XX . in the cause of Freemasonry under tbe Preceptorship of Brother Hy . Forss P . M ., held at tho Star Hotel , Gravesend , last Monday , Bro . T . H . Lygo W . M . in the chair , the ceremeny of initiation was rehearsed , Bro . J . Watson being the candidate , and Bros . Ingman and Watt occupying the Wardens chairs .

After the Lodge was closed the ele v < nth draw of five guineas in connection with the Lodge Benevolent Fund , which is managed by Bro . J . P . White Secretary , took place , the prize falling to the lot of Bro . J . R . Cork , who thus becomes a Life Member of one of the Masonic Charities .

EOYAL AECH

ALDERSGATE CHAPTER , No . 1657 . THE annual meeting was held on Monday , 15 th inst ., when Comp . Geo . Kenning was installed as M . E . Z . for the year , at the Albion , Aldersgate Street . The meeting was a successful one , a large number of distinguished Companions being present , either as members or visitors .

Sir Stafford Northcote , C . B ., M . P ., has consented to accept the ollice of Prov . G . S . W . for Devon , and will be appointed at the Provincial meeting to be held at Barnstaple on the 31 st inst .

Masonic Reminiscences.

MASONIC REMINISCENCES .

NO Mason in this country , or perhaps any other , during the past forty odd years , at least , kept himself so prominently before the Masonic Fraternity as did Rob Morris , and , therefore , a brief sketch of his somewhat eventful career as a Masonic author and lecturer may not be without interest to the old-timers , and especially to those who may have become oonnected with tho institution since he passed away to another state of

existence . He was born in Mississippi , 31 st August 1818 , and was made a Mason in Oxford Lodgo , that State , in July 1846 . Ho became interested at once in the study of the principles and literature of the Order , and devoted all his spare time in preparing himself for whatever duties might devolve upon him as a

student and teacher of Masonry . In his youth he received a liberal education and fittod himself as a geologist , but was unable to establish himself in that occupation , and followed othor pursuits . In 1850 he failed in business and all his hopes for tho future were blighted . The immediate cause of the disastor which overtook him , as related by himself , was on account of a crisis

in the monetary system of the country , short crops , bills payable that must be paid , and bills receivable that could not bo collected , false friends andbankruptcy I He gave up all , and with a large family , clean hands , and a resolute heart , he set out to find a spot in which to commence life anew . After trying various things without success he decided to become a Masonic

lecturer . From this date on until his death his entire time , talents and energies were devoted to the preparation and dissemination of the Webb Ritual heretofore referred to , the compilation and publication of a Univcral Masonic Library , embracing in thirty large volumes the standard works on Masonry ; the publication of a Masonic magazine : the writing of Masonic

addresses , sketches , stories , and a volume of Masonic poems ; the preparation and publication of annual Masonic almanacs ; a republication of Webb ' s Monitor ; an elaboration and systemization of the Adoptive Degrees of the Eastern Star , and in the discharge of other duties in the same direction too numerous to mention .

He was tall and slender of build ; full dark beard trimmed short ; sparkling grey eyes ; and that he was a man of great intelligence , a clear , keen and incisive writer on every subject he attempted to handle , an indefatigable

worker , and a most genial , entertaining companion and associate , all can truly testify who were so fortunate as to know him personally . During one of his lecturing tours , shortly after he entered upon that occupation , a local paper made of him the following excellent pen picture :

" Lank as a rattlesnake , and quiet as swift to strike ; nervous as a silver poplar leaf , and almost as pale ; dyspeptic to the last degree of indigestion ; full of wit as an egg of meat ; devoted to the science of Masonry , yet equally ready upon all subjects of science , from a star to a fossil star fish ; a devourer of books , fluent as Niagara Falls and generous as the sea I "

Masonry was his sole occupation . Out of it he was compelled to secure a sufficiency to support himself and family . Some who did not understand him thoroughly , or were not conversant with his surroundings and environments , were inclined to charge him with making use of Masonry for the money he could get out of it . Knowing him personally and through a

correspondence covering several years , the writer does not believe that he cared for money beyond what was necessary to provide a lhing for himself and family , and meet the obligations of his publication schemes . That he made no money out of his great services to the Institution is evidenced from the fact that he died penniless , everything—his library , Masonic collections ,

books , cjpyrights and electrotype plates having been swept away to secure money to pay debts incurred in pushing forward his various Masonic enterprises . Money with him came easy and went easy , and so long as creditors were not pressing him and he had enough to live on , he was as happy as a lord .

In reply to criticisms in regard to his making money out of Masonry , he wrote during the latter years of his life : " As a matter of history , I must declare that I did not enter the Masonic pursuit from mercenary motives , and that it has been anything but a source of profit to me . During my life as a Freemason I have published the first work ever issued on Masonic law ;

the first Masonic history m this country ; tho first work upon Masonic Belles Letters in any country , and three editions of Wobb ' s Monitor . I have composed or compiled nearly seventy works of a Masonic character ; written a scoro of Masonic addresses ; hundreds of Masonic odes and poems ; visited more than two thousand Lodges , and delivered lectures innumerable ! In all

these labours would it be strange if I had made some mistakes ? For all of my services as a Mason I have made but the poorest and most inadequate support for myself aud family . I have necessarily neglected the education of my children and all my home interests . At my time of life , when I ought to think of rest , I have the world to begin over , as I began it twenty-seven years a"o . This is the pecuniary reward of my labours . "

Ho was broken in health , without money , or apparently friends , and it is not much to be wondered at that he became pessimistic , and in one of his gloomy moods wrote the following : "The future of Masonry in this country is gloomy . The times indicate great changes . Masonry for this generation has passed its meridian , and it

demands the best wisdom and strength of its votaries to preserve it from a serious decline . We look for the dissolution of most of those additions to Masonry ( excrescences we fear they have proved ) , called the ' Higher Bodies , ' and shall be mistaken if some of the Grand Lodges themselves are not dissolved for want of interest and support . " In regard to the " Cryptic Degrees , " as he called them , he wrote :