The Recent Festival Of The Girls' School.

THE RECENT FESTIVAL OF THE GIRLS' SCHOOL .

EVERY member of the English Craffc must be delighted with the manner in which the Ninety-sixth Anniversary Festival of this deservedly popular Institution passed off on Wednesday , the 21 sfc instant , ancl the success of the preliminary meeting , held the Monday

previous , for the purpose of distributing the prizes to the pupils to whom they had been adjudged . A great result had been achieved afc Bro . Terry ' s Festival in February , and a greater still afc Bro . Binckes ' s in June of last year ; and , as it rarely happens that all three Institutions score

well in succession , it was felt by many that the announcement of Subscriptions and Donations which it would devolve on Bro . Hedges to make , might very possibly , and even probably , show a considerable falling off from the splendid totals announced on the occasions referred to by

his brother Secretaries . Happily , this anticipation was not realised , and the proceeds of our latest Charity Celebration exceed £ 13 , 000 , which , all things considered , must be set down as eminently satisfactory . This , at all events , was the opinion of Lord Brooke , the Chairman of fche day , who

openly expressed the pleasure he had experienced when the result was made known ; the Stewards and their friends who were present , by heartily acclaiming the remarks of the President , made it clear that they also were satisfied

with the Subscription List to which their efforts had so largely contributed ; Bro . Hedges said little , but his countenance betokened the feelings which actuated him , while the rest of the Craffc must have read the

announcement the day after the Festival with almost precisely the same sense of gratification . The School is popular , because its work is done so admirably , and gifts are seldom grudged when it is known they will be appropriated to some useful purpose .

We have found it to be almost invariabl y the case that each of our Masonic Festivals is characterised by some special feature of its own , which distinguishes it from the rest of _ these festive celebrations , and in the present instance this distinctive feature will be found in the very

complimentary remarks of Lady Burdett-Coutts , when she so kindl y distributed the prizes the Monday preceding the Anniversary . It is unnecessary to remind our readers of the prominent part taken by the Baroness in whatever is calculated to promote the happiness and prosperity of

man-Kind , but it may be useful to point out that one result of her numerous philanthropical labours is an intimate acquaintance With the working of philanthropical institutions snch as few pan point to ; and praise , therefore , from her , is praise indeed . As a hilanthropist ifc waa natural that she should

p take an interest in a School supported almost entirely by tne voluntary efforts of kindly-disposed people . It was equall y natural that , as the daughter of one Mason and the Wife of another , she should exhibit a ( mania . ) r ) e > crvP . n nf in .

v v . maMasonic Chai % - But tbe additional interest Which Lad y Burdett-Coutts evinced on this occasion can ° niy be accounted for by the successful working of an InstitIon

r "which was then , beyond what may be justly ascribed in th tW ° circumstances > for the first time brought wifch-« the scope of her personal experience . Hence , when in j ? e passage quoted by Lord Brooke from her letter to Bro . ea S » we find her writing , — " I am glad to have again

The Recent Festival Of The Girls' School.

an opportunity of thanking tho Committee for the personal pleasure of Monday , which will nofc be effaced readily from my memory . I saw the signs of a very important and useful national work which you are carrying out at the Masonic Girls' School , " —we cannot help feeling thafc the

annually-recurring labours of the brethren in support of this School are productive of permanent good , not only to the young people who are more immediately concerned , but likewise to society afc large , of which they constitute only an infinitesimal part . Remarks equally complimentary of

the Girls Institution may have been made by others , but they will not have the same authority with the public as those uttered by this beneficent lady , whose experience of institutions of this kind is so immeasurably beyond that of other people generally . Equally worthy of appreciation are the

words of thanks she offered in the School , for , when addressing the Committee in particular , she said , " . We therefore congratulate and thank you for the blessings you are conferring on the country through the girls you are

sustaining . " We all know the duties of the Committee are of a very responsible character , and ifc must be a pleasure to all of us to learn , from a lady so well qualified to speak , that tho Committee worthily acquit them in the fulfilment of their trust .

The presence of Lady Burdett-Coutts at the prize distribution , the leading part she took in the proceedings , and the important testimony she voluntarily offered to the efficiency of the Institution , constitute , in our opinion , the distinguishing feature of the Girls '

School Festival for the current year . Bufc in our anxiety to show thafc the interest taken in the Charity by this philanthropical lady is very warmly appreciated , we must not lose sight of the kindly zeal exhibited by the Chairman , or the arduous endeavours so

successfully made by the Stewards and Bro . Hedges , to ensure a liberal measure of support for the School during the current year . Lord Brooke won bis spurs as a Masonic Festival Chairman in capital style . It was a pleasure to hear him speak so heartily , and whafc he said was so very

much to the point thafc we shall nofc be surprised to hear of other attempts being made to secure his services in a like capacity afc some future celebration . He had his reward in this respect , thafc his Province loyally and generously supported him . We knew , of course , thafc Essex

would do its best , but we were nofc quite prepared for so liberal a contribution after the £ 400 it raised for Bro . Terry in February , and in face of the losses caused by fche earthquake . To Essex , therefore , as to its Provincial Grand Master , Lord Brooke , the Chairman of the day , we ,

offer our hearty congratulations on the result of the Festival . To the Board of Stewards generally are likewise due the thanks of all English Freemasons . London , with 117 Stewards , raised over £ 6 , 300 , and fche Provinces £ 6 , 737 , there being no less than eighteen three-figure

lists included in the former amount , while twenty-eight out of our forty-one Provinces lent a helping hand in raising the latter . Of the London Lodges which distinguished themselves we may mention No . 1962 , which raised £ 264 12 s , Bro , A . McDowall being its representative ;

No . 1790 , which , per Bro . H . M , Hobbs , sent up £ 221 , and No , 1671 , for which Bro . H . Warden was Steward , handed in £ 200 . The Abbey Lodge No . 2 , 030 , by the hands of its esteemed W . M ., Bro . W . Burdett-Coutts , made a grand beginning by giving in a list of £ 157 5 s , and this