The Late Lord Tenterden.

aion of Inquiry into the Laws of Naturalisation and Alleg iance . He -was Secretary to the Joint , High Commission to consider the various questions affecting the relations between Great Britain and the United States of America in February 1871 . The Commission sat at Washington

from that date until May in the same year , when , for his services , he was created a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( Civil Division ) . He was subsequently engaged assisting the Lord Chancellor in the preparation of the case for decision respecting the Alabama claims , and afterwards

acted as Agent for Great Britain at the Geneva Conference on the same subject . He was appointed Assistant Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1871 , and in October 1873 was appointed Permanent Under Secretary on the resignation of the Right Hon . Edmund Hammond

who on his retirement was created Lord Hammond . In 1878 , in further recognition of his civil services , he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath . His lordship ' s Masonic career extended over a quarter of a century , during which period his activit y and zeal in promoting the

interests of the Craft , of which he was so distinguished an ornament , were most deservedly appreciated and recognised . Indeed , it is admitted that the Order could well afford to have " spared a better man , " for his exertions in its behalf were as practically usefnl as they were persistent

and unwearying . He was initiated , as Mr . Charles Stuart Aubrey Abbott , in the Harmony Lodge ( then No . 317 , now No . 253 ) , Richmond , Surrey . Three years later he was elected to the position of Worshipful Master of that distinguished Lodge , an honour which was repeated in 1863 , and

for many years in his capacity of Honorary Secretary of the Lodge he discharged the duties of the office to the entire satisfaction of successive Masters , Officers and brethren . In consideration of the valuable aid he rendered to the then Most Worshi pful Grand Master of England , the

Marquis of Ripon , as Secretary to the Royal Commission for the Negociation of the Treaty of Washington , he was appointed Senior Grand Warden in Grand Lodge of Englaud on the 24 th of April 1872 , and subsequently became the representative in Grand Lodge of the three Grand

Lodges of Berlin . On the death of Bro . Bagshaw , the Most Worshipful Grand Master His Roya ! Highness the Prince of Wales appointed him Provincial Grand Master of Essex , the date of the patent being the 26 th of March 1879 . His installation into that position was the occasion of a

great assemblage of the brethren of Essex and adjoining counties at Chelmsford , on the 2 nd of July in that year , the ceremony being performed by the R . W . Bro . the Earl of Carnarvon Pro Grand Master . Soon afterwards , in the fulfilment of his position as Provincial Grand Master , he

consecrated the St . Andrew ' s Lodge , No . 1817 , at the Cambridge Hotel , Shoeburyness . In all his subsequent ruling of the Province he was most popular , and spared no pains to secure a thorough discussion of all questions which were brought before Provincial Grand Lodge . Indeed

, it is thought on some occasions he evinced a somewhat too ardent a desire to thrash out matters which might have been more expeditiously settled ; but such was his enthusiasm and zeal for the thorough working of the body over whom he ruled so wisely and so well . The Colchester

gazette observes : — " It was only on 3 rd August last that he held bis Grand Lodge at Cbingford , and it was one of the largest and most successful that has been held since his lordshi p ' s installation . It was a sad coincidence that ihe nrst Essex Lodge to meet after his lordship ' s death was

the Ohigwell , No . 453 , under whose banner the last Prov . wand Lodge was held , and which met on Saturday last * ° r its annual festival . At the meeting a resolution of condolence with Lady Tenterden was unanimously passed :

" »>« at tbe banquet table a toast to the ' memory of the late provincial Grand Master' was drank in solemn silence . v \ e arc quite sure that his lordship ' s decease will cause wide-spread regret among the Craft in Essex . " We

ourselves observed , at the last meeting of the Provincial wand Lodge of Essex , thafc the noble lord was nofc in '' is accustomed physical " form , " but there was nothing to denote more than a passing fit of slight indisposition . His b ° rclshi p had been a constant attendant at Grand Lodge , and also presided over one of the recent Festivals of tho

filiation Lodge of Improvement . He took a prominent P ^ t in the organisation of a charity scheme in his pron . ' » and was ever an enthusiastic admirer of the hi gher Principles and tenets of the Craft . On one occasion wo ^ member to have heard him remark that , " Some people y it is because Freemasonry leads to pleasant dinners and

The Late Lord Tenterden.

social gatherings ; but in the days when conviviality , singing Bacchanalian choruses , and drinking endless toasts , were the fashion , and the popular idea of a Freemason , as illustrated by Hogarth , was a man in a fantastic apron staggering home at early morning , Freemasonry made

comparatively little progress . Others , again say—It is because it is a great Charitable Institution ; and this is the true answer , although we mnst not take the expression in its narrowest sense . It is a Charitable Institution , because it inculcates Charity in its noblest , in its widest aspect . Not

only must a Freemason have ' a tear for pity , and a hand open as day for melting charity , ' but he is bound by his Masonic obligations to exercise the spirit of charit y in brotherly love towards all mankind , and especially towards his brethren in Freemasonry . It is often very much easier

to give a sovereign than to forgive an injury . Freemasonry teaches us not only to succour the distressed , but to exercise universal toleration , and to receive and treat as brethren men of all races and creeds who join with us in recognising the landmarks of our Order , the duties we owe

to the Most High , to oar Fraternity , and to the Queen . This is the true secret of Freemasonry , and it is in this respect that Freemasonry may be said to be the handmaid of religion and the support of social order . " This was the spirit which ran throughout the whole of his

utterances , and there can be no donbt but that the brethren whom he addressed fully caught the inspiration of his admonitions . In many other ways he gave practical exemplification of his thorough heartedness in all matters of Masonic interest , and his loss "will occasion a

considerable amount of sympathetic regret amongst all with whom he had been brought into contact . He had been staying with Lady Tenterden and his family for three weeks at Neilson Cottage , Lynton , North Devon , and was apparently in the enjoyment of moderately good health , as

only two days prior to his death he was out fishing in the river Lyn , in company with several other gentlemen . Here , however , he was taken with a fit of apoplexy , and was at once removed to an hotel , where medical assistance was obtained , but from the first it was evident that the

case was hopeless , and his Lordship lingered almost unconsciously until Friday morning , when he died , to the inexpressible grief of his family and friends . The deceased peer is succeeded by his only son , the Hon . Charles Stuart Henry Abbott , who on the 30 th of October will have attained the seventeenth year of his age .

"Ye Antiente Fraternitie Of Ye Rahere Almoners."

"YE ANTIENTE FRATERNITIE OF YE RAHERE ALMONERS . "

UNDER the above quaint appellation , a little more than a year a « o two residents of South London , interested in the Parish of St . Bartholomew in the City of London , were mainly inatrnmental in forming a oharitahle society which is now , to quote the expressive words of the Lord Mayor of London , " doing good and useful work . " Possessing a fair share of influence in their respective districts these

two residents in our locality ( Mr . Thomas Sangster , of Kennington , and Mr . James Stevens of Clapham ) , succeeded in attracting to tho Society a large adhesion of South London subsribers and donors . As these latter will doubtless be much interested in some forth , coming events of interest to the Society , and many of our readers may be naturally curious to learn what a " Rahere Almoner" is

and how he comes to be part and parcel of a " Fraternitie , we venture to put on record in our columns a few details gathered from " Ye Legende , " and certain historical facts , which have been prepared and published by Mr . Stevens , who holds the position of Grand Counsellor to the Fraternity . It appears ,- then , that in ov about the year 1123 , there was a

certain minstrel or jester to King Henry I ., who was named Rahere . Throngh circumstances , which are narrated in " Ye Legende , " he became Prior Rahere , building the church of St . Bartholomew , at Smithfield , founding St . Bartholomew's Hospital , instituting Bar . tholomew Fair ( many years since discontinued ) , and doing much charitable work , through a fraternity of pious men , whom he

governed . He died in 1143 , was buried in th 9 north chancel of his own chnrch , and his fine monument may still be seen there , in good preservation , and bearing the inscription , Hie jacet Ranerus primus canonicus el primus prior hujus ecclesice . The winter of 1881 , especially memorable for the gale and snowstorm of the 18 th January , caused great distress in the parish of St .

Bartholomew , as well as elsewhere , and the gentlemen above named associated themselves with several parishioners to endeavour to afford some relief to many sufferers . It was then determined to con . stitnte a permanent society , and the connection of the past good deeds of the pious prior Rahere with the then present desires and

intentions of the originators of the new charity , was happily thought of . By the " Rules and Regulations , " which we have perused with ; 'ieat interest , we observe how closely this connection has been entertained in the construction of the ' new , or we should , perhaps , more properly say , the resuscitation of the olden almonry , to which reference is made in " Ye Legende . " As the corollary in the brief