Provincial Grand Lodge Of Norfolk.

with agreeable remembrances of the great kindness with which the brethren in this Province had received him . In accepting the office to which he had had the honour of being appointed , he determined to do the duty which belonged to it ; and as he told them in Lodge , this was

the first instalment of it out of London . They had placed him under an obligation to them , which would be further increased if they would have the kindness of meeting him in London on the 9 th of February , when he should have the honour of presiding at the festival of the Benevolent

Institution . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) Having expressed a warm desire for the continuance of harmony in this Province , the noble lord gave " The health of the Most Worshipful Provincial Grand Master of Norfolk , " remarking that the brethren were well aware of what a

good appointment it was of his friend and brother Walpole , who took so warm an interest in Masonry , and all would join him in the hope that he would long live to occupy the chair into which he had the honour of installing him this day . ( Loud cheers . ) The Prov . G . M . ( who was received

with deafening cheers ) , in reply , said : — "Brethren , I thank you for the kindness of this reception . It encourages me . I was wishing rather to postpone the time of returning thanks , thinking to arrange my ideas , but finding no ideas really to arrange , I get up at your call .

It is very difficult to speak on an occasion of this sort . I am sure that when , nearly one-and-thirty years ago , as a midshipman in Her Majesty ' s Navy , I entered into Masonry , I little thought that , in the Grand Hall of Norfolk , I should be installed as a Grand Master . The most Worshipful

Brother on my right hand has spoken of the harmony existing among us . Why , Sir , most of the brethren about me , except our guests , they , at least , that are of Norfolk , I have known from my boyhood upwards . They are men that I meet in daily intercourse . They have been

to me " A little more of kin , if less of kind , " and I feel deeply grateful to them for recommending me to His Royal Highness . Whatever His Royal Highness ' s wishes had been , I should have rejoiced to obey them ; but when I heard that it was almost the unanimous wish

of those Masons , among whom I had worked for years , that I should take this place , I could not but immediately consent to take it . ( Applause . ) Having accepted it , I will engage truthfully and sincerely , to the best of my power , to do my duty in the office ; so that when the time

comes for it to be given to another , neither those who conferred the honour upon me , nor those who by their kindness and their wish had it conferred upon me , shall regret it . ( Cheers . ) Having again thanked the brethren , the Prov . Grand Master said he would now proceed to a livelier

theme than speaking of himself , the toast of " The Visitors . " Suffolk was hardly regarded as a " stranger" or a "foreigner "—( laughter)—it was a " shire "; but it was also a friend and relation . He was grateful to the Prov . Grand Master of Suffolk for the sacrifice he had made in

coming to Norwich to the installation . Lord Waveney , whose health he asked them to drink , had been a hard working Mason , and deserved the heartiest reception at their hands . He also proposed , in connection with this toast , the health of Bro . Lord Henniker . Lords

Waveney and Henniker responded , the former at some length , and very heartily , the latter more briefly . Bro . Bond Cabbell proposed the toast of the Prov . G . Officers , which was acknowledged by Bro . Morgan D . Prov . G . M ., and Bros . Col . L'Estrange and Col . Duff . Bro . J . B .

Aldis , W . M . of Union , No . 52 , the highest Lodge in the Province , responded to the toast " Prosperity to the Lodges in the Provinces . " Bros . Binckes , R . M . I , for Boys , and J . Terry , R . M . B . I ., severally spoke to the Masonic Charities , the latter reminding those present of the near approach of

the 9 th of February , the day fixed for the Anniversary Festival of the Benevolent Institution , when Lord Skelmersdale would take the Chair . The toast of the Ri ght Hon E . K . Knatchbull-Hugessen was greeted very heartily , and very humourously acknowledged . After a few

introductory observations , the honourable gentleman said : "I will not detain you by any long speech to-night . Suffice it for me to say that an Institution like that of Masonry , founded upon the great and inimitable principles of brotherly love and universal charity , must commend

itself to the regard of every man who seeks to lead a Christian life according to those principles which are found in the Book of Holy Writ . ( Cheers . ) Brethren , satisfied that in Masonry is to be found one of the best supports of a Christian life , I for my part support Masonry , and glad I am to

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Norfolk.

see that it is so worthily supported in this county of Norfolk . ( Applause . ) Brethren , I am taken by surprise in being called upon my legs to-night , but I live in a county close by the sea , where we are never taken by surprise , oi" , if we are , we always endeavour to be equal to the

emergency . Had I been called upon at an earlier part of the evening , I might , perhaps , have noticed at greater length the observations made by the Grand Master , and if I had done so , I should have reciprocated the kindly feeling which he had expressed towards myself as one of the Opposition ,

and also have expressed the hope that many years would not elapse before I could return the compliment —( laughter and cheers)—and recognise in friendly opposition a countenance which , whether by my side or opposite me , is

always the countenance of an honest and faithful friend . " ( Great cheering . ) The toast of "the Ladies " exhausted the list , and the brethren shortly afterwards went their several ways , highly gratified with the success of the day ' s proceedings .

Masonic Portraits (No. 4). Father Time.

MASONIC PORTRAITS ( No . 4 ) . FATHER TIME .

SPEECH is Silvern , " says the proverb , "but Silence is Golden . " Many a man , who has to lament wasted opportunities and wrecked hopes , secretly blames the license of his tongue for many , if not all , the adverse strokes of fortune . Yet nothing is more difficult than to convince

an impetuous and , perhaps , frank and ingenuous person , that , freedom of speech , although it is conceded by our laws , is virtually interdicted by society . If a man is seeking to get on in the world , he may achieve his purpose by dint of indomitable perseverance and pluck , no matter what his

opinions may be . But if he aspire to be the mouth-piece of his fellow citizens , and to rise by the aid of their suffrages , he cannot keep too close a guard upon his tongue . Sober mediocrity is usually demanded of a candidate by public opinion . A fool , who has sense enough to hide his fo Uy ,

may often succeed in passing for a man of parts and judgment ; but a man of ability and original thought , who gives the rein to his opinions , may rest assured that when the time comes for him to demand the support of his fellows , those opinions will rise up in judgment against him . We

have known men who have made serious things a jest , who have taken pleasure in covering the opinions of the majority with ridicule ; they have had their due meed of praise in the society of the gay or the light hearted , but when the

grave struggle in life came for them , as it comes once for us all , they were unpleasantly confronted with the grim phantom of their wit , and met black brows or bitter smiles and speeches where they had expected cordial support .

The gentleman who is now sitting within easy reach of our literary studio might tell us , if it so pleased him , something anent the ingratitude of mankind . He is as generous as he is gay , and as eccentric as he is generous . His hand has never been withdrawn when the tale of woe

has been told . He has not lacked public spirit , nor does he want talent . As a public man , he is fitted to shine , and in the House of Commons , if it should ever be his fortune to sit for a constituency , he would be popular . Yet , in the sphere where one would think he might have been understood , he

has been passed by , and has learned , by bitter experience , that a prophet is without honour in his own city , if not in his own country . A very different verdict may yet be pronounced by men who have not approached near enough to mark the vagaries of his genius , and who , at a distance ,

see the man in all his just and admirable proportions . Some people require a large stage on which to exhibit themselves , and do not show to advantage when they are compelled to pose themselves before the audience in the full glare of the " foot-lights . " Our hero , Father Time , as

we choose to call him , for lack of a better name , has found mere commercial success easy of achievement . His fame , as a tradesman , has been carried to the ends of the earth , and instruments from the cunning hands of his workmen are measuring out the sands

in the hour-glass of Time in every civilised country in the globe . We can remember his first attempt to take his namesake by the forelock , when the first dawning desire for a conspicuous public career entered his mind . It is some years since that early contest , in which the