Cryptic Masonry.

per Bro . T . Clark . A vote of thanks was passed to Bro . T . Poore for his services . Apologies for non-attendance were received from Bros . Baron deFerrieres , Major Lambert , Captain Williamson , J . P . ; The Rev . W . Lemon , M . A . ; The Rev . W . Mande , M . A . ; Loveland , Graveley , Major Dunbar , F . Davison , and many others .

The council having been closed in the Degree of Select Masteis , the brethren adjourned to the Holborn Restaurant , where the annual festival was held . This very interesting Order is now making great progress not only in the Metropolis , but elsewhere , thanks to the energy of the executive , headed by Bro . Matier , Grand Recorder .

The Theatres.

THE THEATRES .

Mrs . Bernard Beere in her first venture in the dual capacity of manageress and actress has triumphed , On Monday , the 16 th ult ., this clever lady opened the Opera Comique with an adaptation , by Mr . T . C . Grove , of Mr . T . C . Philips ' s novel— " As in a Looking Glass . " This novel has the singular distinction of being published

in journals in France , Germany , and Italy at the present time , so great is its popularity . In England it has become just as well known . The first performance took place in the presence of the Grand Master and the new Junior Grand Warden ( Lord Wolseley ) . If any doubts were entertained of the wisdom of placing Mr . Philips ' s story on the stage , they must have been set at rest after Mrs . Beere's splendid acting . On all sides nothing but the

highest praise has been given of her playing , and it must be to the actress rather than to author or adaptor that this not altogether nice story has become popular . Already , we understand , that booking is going on to the end of the season . Lena Despard is a woman of fashion , who has had two husbands , and clever enough to make the world believe that she divorced Mr . Despard instead of him

being the petitioner , and she has got the case kept out of the newspapers . Her past is a sort of blank to her acquaintances . She is closely connected in her schemes with a black-leg , a Captain Fortinbras , whose chambers in the Albany are the scene of the conspiracies of these two adventurers . Mrs . Despard manages to get invitations to country houses , and mix with nobles and respectable

society generally . In London she keeps her carriage and lives in good style . During one of her visits to a country family she meets with a rich young Scotch laird , Mr . Balfour , who is engaged to be married to a Miss Vyse . Lena resolves upon breaking off this love engagement by her personal charms , and marrying Mr . Balfour herself , as the only thing which can save her from want . She

confides this to Jack Fortinbras , who promises his help in the villainy , for he owes Balfour a grudge , and sees a way to levy blackmail also on the foolish youth . Mr . Balfour and Mrs . Despard have known each otherin days gone by in London ; she seeks an interview with Miss Vyse , and nours into her ears a story of treachery regarding her fiance , and by showing Miss Vyse a

letter—undatedwhich he had written to her ( Mrs . Despard ) years ago , she contrives to arouse Miss Vjse's jealousy , and the young lady is caught in the trap , and breaks off the engagement . This , it will be seen , is very weak , for what woman would believe such a thing of the man she loves on such proofs and without hearing his defence . Lena meets Mr . Balfour at Monte Carlo . He has just read in a society paper the

announcement of Mr . Vyse's betrothal to an officer in the Guards ; partly out of spite and partly from the fascination Mrs . Despard has over him , he asks her to be his wife . But having won that trick all is not plain before her yet . Jack follows her and must have his share of the spoil , present and future—the present being the money she has won at the gaming tables , and the future Mr . Balfour ' s

income . She submits to the former , but to the latter , no Mrs . Despard , the affianced bride of Mr . Balfour , is a very different woman from Lena , the adventuress . Love conquers ; she trapped the man for selfish and vicious ends , but when she finds he is fond of her , her hard heart softens , andshe loves him . Mrs . Despard tells Jack he shall notinjure her future husband . She is temporarily relieved of him by

the arrival of Dromiroff , the head of the Russian police , hut what he is doing at Monte Carlo we are not told , nor do we learn why Fortinbras fears him and takes himself off . The marriage takes place at Balfour Castle , but on the very wedding day Captain Fortinbras re-appears to get money . Lena has none to give him . Then she must get it from her husband or he will expose her . She will not

do the former , and just as Jack is going to do the latter she herself confesses all to Balfour , her past life , and the treachery she used to break off his engagement with Miss Vyse , but implores his forgiveness for her baseness , on the grounds that since he declared his love to her she has come to love him and to lead a better life . The play closes by her taking- poison and dvin ? a painful death . It

js Mrs . Bernard Beere's acting which pulls the play through . It is impossible to have the least sympathy with the chief character , for , however much her nature " ¦ ay change for the better , she shows no wish to make restitution for the wrongs she has done , the cruelty she has enacted , the deceit she has practised . Her lamentation is more that of asking for pity , being close pressed , than of

' "' giveness . It would be a similar case for a person to nmld and endow a hospital with wealth acquired by life-long 'nett . Xhe doctrine that one can do evil that good may come must never be tolerated . The audience must not be ed away to sympathise with Lena when the doom overakes her which she richly deserves , but one cannot fail to farrure Mrs . Beere ' s clever handling- of a verv difficult task

. ' > s b y far away the best thing she has ever done , and that s saying a great deal . Mrs . Beere is one of the finest of " " r emotional actresses , and we think comes the nearest to " " e great Sarah Bernhardt . Bro . Marius , as the Russian in > n gent > nas a S °° d part , and is very clever and effective a w ' * " * ' Standing plays the gentleman villain in such , way as to get well hissed , the best compliment he can

mak ° L *' appreciation of his audience . Mr . Balfour wh v ? mse ^ appear far too young to be wedding a woman Wi ? l " "' two llusbands , oat acts w ' sincerity . Miss sav ? . ' ' pretty ; hut has some rather risky lines to that H , s *^ Sothern has so little to do that one regrets " nin f Part ° ^ *^ 'ss . ^ cou'd n ° t " * made more pro-Unde ri ^ mount ' ng ° f the piece is , of course , excellent yer oro , Marius ' experienced direction .

Masonic And General Tidings

MASONIC AND GENERAL TIDINGS

The presentation to Bro . Frederick Binckes will be made at the Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys' , at the Crystal Palace , on the 14 th inst . 'Ihe Committee of Management of trie Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution will hold their usual monthly meeting at Freemasons' Hall , on Wednesday next , the Sth inst .

The regular meeting of the General Committee of the Boys' School will be held at Freemasons' Hall , tomorrow ( Saturday ) afternoon . Thr Board of Stewards for the Anniversary Festival of the Boys' School will meet at Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday next , the Sth inst ., in order to make the final arrangements for the celebration .

Bro . the Lord Mayor presided at the annual meeting held at the Cannon-street Hotel , on Thursday the 26 th ult ., in aid of the funds of the Royal Albert Orphan Asylum , Collingwood Court , near Bagshot . Subscriptions and donations amounting to £ 1650 , and including £ 210 from his lordship , were announced in the course of the evening .

The Supreme Council will consecrate the Shadwell Clerke Chapter , Rose Croix , at the Masonic Hall , Red Lion-square , on Monday next , at 3 . 30 for 4 o ' clock . Four approved candidates will be perfected prior to the consecration . Dinner at the Holborn Restaurant at 6 p . m ., qualified brethren are invited to the ceremony . The Samuel Morley Wing of the Deaconesses

Institution and Hospital , Tottenham , was opened on Saturday last by the Prince and Princess of Wales , who were accompanied on their visit to the Institution by their three daughters , the Princesses Louise , Victoria ,, and Maud . The Honorable Artillery Company furnished an escort of their light cavalry and guard of honour . The royal party were loudly cheered both on their arrival and departure .

SOUVENIRS OF HER MAJESTY . —In the drawing room of Lady Seton hangs a pen-and-ink drawing by her Majesty the Queen , done in the year 1 S 40 , and signed with the initials "V . R . " and the date . This little drawing , which represents two Dutch peasant-girls , was given to Sir Henry Seton by the Queen . If you are an amateur of Royal souvenirs , Lady Seton will showyou also what is

probably the earliest autograph letter of the Queen extant . Her Majesty must have been still in socks when she indited this little note , for it is in large printed , not written , characters , and consists of the following artless lines : — " How do you do , my dear Sir Henry ?—Your little friend , Victoria . " — From "London Drawing-Rooms and their Chatelaines " in The Lady ' s World for June .

Her Majesty the Oueen , H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , H . R . H . the Duke of Cambridge , and H . R . H . Princess Christian , have been graciously pleased to accept copies of "The Jubilee Souvenir , " illustrated , which is edited by Mr . George Railing , and published by Simpkin , Marshall , and Co . The Right Hon . Viscount Oxenbridge , The Right Hon . Lady Henry Somerset , and other members

of the nobility and aristocracy have expressed themselves favourably towards the little work , which we have already described as an excellent shillingswoith . Lady Somerset says it is a " charming publication . " At the meeting of the Common Council , on the 26 th ult ., the Town Clerk ( Bro . Sir J . B . Monckton ) read the letters received from the Marquis of Salisbury , in which

his lordship announced that the Queen had been pleased to commemorate her recent visit to the City by conferring the honour of a baronetcy on Bro . the Lord Mayor and Alderman Sir R . Catden , and of knighthood on the Sheriffs ( Bros . Alderman Isaacs and Lieut .-Col . Kirby ) . The announcement was received with loud cheers , and the Court congratulated the Lord Mayor , Alderman Garden ,

and the Sheriffs on the honour conferred upon them . Among the latest and best of the numerous securities against burglars which the firm of Chubb and Son have invented for the benefit of the public , are their well-known " Push and Pull Locks , " which , like all really good inventions , possess the inestimable advantage of

being both simple and serviceable . Of the value of the patent there can be no doubt . It has been the subject of an action at law , and people do not . generally quarrel over patents that a worthless . Moreover , it has been decided that the patent right is vested in Messrs . Chubb and Son , whose fame alone is a sufficient guarantee of the excellence of their " Push and Pull Locks . "

Our attention has been called to the very general but erroneous belief which prevails among brethren that , because that the head of Craft Masonry in a province or district abroad is designated Provincial or District Grand Master , therefore the head of R . A . Masonry in a province or district is a Provincial or District Grand Superintendent . The proper title as given in the R . A . Regulations is

"Grand Superintendent , " followed by the name of the province or district he presides over , as in the case of Lord Leigh , Grand Superintendent of Warwickshire , or the Hon . H . T . Prinsep , Grand Superintendent of Bengal . On Thursday , the 19 th ult ., the brethren of the Lodge of Brotherly Lodge , with visiting brethren from several neighbouring lodges , assembled in the lodge room ,

Three Choughs Hotel , Yeovil , to hear a lecture by Bro . VV . J . Hughan , P . S . G . D . England , P . S . G . W . Egypt , & c , entitled " Connecting Links between Ancient and Modern Freemasonry—a retrospect of five centuries . " The lecturer , who is well known to Freemasons from the zeal with which he has pursued the study of Masonic history , was cordially received , and , in the course of an interesting address ,

traced the existence of Masonic lodges in England to the latter half of the 14 th century , and presumptively to a much earlier period , quoting from ancient documents , in which the institution was even then described as old . At the close of the lecture , questions were invited from such

of the brethren as were desirous of elucidating any points of obscurity , and these were treated with careful and courteous attention by the lecturer , to whom a hearty vote of thanks was accorded at the close . The brethren subsequently partook of an excellent repast , provided by the esteemed landlord , Bro . Sharland .

The Hotel Victoria.

THE HOTEL VICTORIA .

There is no doubt that London is rapidly making good the deficiencies in hotel accommodation , which for years has been the subject of complaint among visitors . Till quite recently the London hotel , with a few honourable exceptions , was a place above all others to be avoided . The tariff of charges was outrageously high , the roomsboth bed and sitting—were dingy and stuffy , and the

general aspect largely funereal . But the old order of things has given place to a new , in which brightness and cheerfulness are combined with comfort , and a man may be as much at home in his hotel as in his own house . The latest addition of our best metropolitan hotels is the magnificent pile of building in the Northumberland-avenue , which has been just opened to the public as the Hotel

Victoria . It stands immediately opposite the Constitutional Club , has a frontage of 300 feet , and rises to a height of 122 feet , there being , besides the basement , no less than nine floors . The entrance is beneath a noble arch leading into a vestibule , from which rises the grand staircase , while , by means of corridors running from the right and left , the visitors obtain access to the principal apartments . Passing

by the left hand corridor you come first to some private dining rooms looking out on the avenue , and then successively to the reception room , the boudoir , and drawing room , all most exquisitely furnished and upholstered , the three forming a splendid suite of rooms upwards of 100 feet in length , l'he Salle a Manger is probably the finest room in the hotel , being upwards of too feet long by 60 feet

wide , and being easily capable of accommodating 300 guests . Passing through the Coffee room which is both large and commodious , and by a passage having cloak rooms and lavatories on either side , the banqueting hall is reached , and thence by the main corridor again into the Smoking room ; and in addition there are other private sitting rooms , with library and reading room , and some single

bedrooms for visitors . The upper floors which contain separate bedrooms and sitting rooms as well as conveniently arranged suites of apartwents offer sleeping accommodation for about 700 guests , many of the principal and state bedrooms being beautifully furnished and appointed . In fact

, from top . floor to basement the Hotel Victoria is the model of what such a house should be , and with its artistic decorations by Mr . R . M . Boekbinder , its handsome furniture from Messrs . Maple and Co ., of Tottenham Court-road , and its admirable sanitary arrangements is unsurpassed by any other of our metropolitan hotels .

General Life And Fire Assurance Company.

GENERAL LIFE AND FIRE ASSURANCE COMPANY .

No excuse is needed for mention in these columns of the work of a Society which offers so many advantages tothe thrifty and independent as the General Life and Fire Assurance Company . Founded in the year of the accession to the Crown of the Queen , it is consequently celebrating

its jubilee in the present year . It must have been with no ordinary feeling of satisfaction that the Chairman , Sir Andrew Lusk , announced at the recent annual meeting that the assets of the Company had attained the long wished for amount of a million . From the report of the Directors and the appended accounts , which fully detail the particulars of the transactions of the period

under review , it would appear that a prosperous career of 50 years augurs well for its future . B y providing the machinery for saving and accumulating small sums of money companies of this description , and in an eminent degree the General Assurance Company , confer an incalculable boon upon those who avail themselves of the opportunity , and take out a lile or endowment policy . Very

caretul selection of the lives assured seems to be a special feature , and secures the noteworthy result of a mortality which falls considerably below that on which the tables of premiums are based . Ihe remark of Sir Andrew that " the same liberality in dealing with genuine claims which had always been specially an object with the Board and the Fire Committee would continue to distinguish

the Company " cannot fail to have the desired result—the acquisition of the best class of risks in the fire department . All the investments have been made in Great Britain , and are readily convertible . Through personal inspection of the securities at the bankers the auditors have satisfied themselves of the bona fides ot the balance sheet . With the falling rate of interest which has of late become so

marked , the average of £ 4 7 s . 6 d . which has been obtained on investments , all of the first class , isaninstanceof thesagacity displayed in the managementof the Institution . In their Chairman the Company no doubt is exceptionally fortunate in having the benefit of his long experience and great business ability . The genial and courteous way in which his annual address is delivered must have almost as great

an influence over his auditory as the sound common sense which has always distinguished his public life . By the death of the late Secretary , Mr . George Scott Freeman , the Directors lost an able and hard-working officer , whose efforts largely conduced to the present prosperity of the Company . Bro . Henry Ward , however , who has been 31 years in the service , is likely to prove a worthy successor ,

it his record as manager of the Fire Department can be taken as any guide . Much regret nas expressed at the meeting at the absence , in consequence of temporary indisposition , of the Right Hon . C . P . Villiers , M . P ., who for the whole 50 years ot its existence had sat at the Board and aided so much in the establishment of the Society on

its present sound footing . Thorough financial stability , liberal conditions of insurance , and , above all , liberal treatment by intelligent managers , are the requirements of the lile and fire insurer of the present day . The Company whose success we have had much pleasure in noting would appear to offer these advantages , and to deserve well at the hands of its clients , the public , and the Craft .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

BIRTH . GARDENER . —On the 31 st ult ., at High-street , Egham , the wife of William Henry Gardener , W . M . Montague Guest Lodge , 1 9 00 , of a daughter , stillborn . DEATH . PRICE . —On Tuesday , the 24 th ult ., Mary Ann , the wife of Bro . Captain Henry Ernest Price . Interred at Norwood Cemetery on Saturday , the 28 th ult ., at 12 . 45 .