Annual Festival Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement.

to further the interests of those Institutions . The old people , as they liked to call them , held a most successful festival on the previous Wednesday . The Girls' came next , and they would be succeeded by the Boys ' . He would couple with the toast the name of one who would respond particularly for the Girls '—their old friend Bro .

Col . James Peters , the senior member of the House Committee of that Institution , who was prevailed upon some time ago to accept the office of Trustee of the Royal Masonic , Institution for Girls . Bro . Col . PETERS said he was very sorry that there was not present that evening one of the Secretaries to

return thanks for the Institutions , which more or less the brethren ought to have a regard for . 'As the worthy Chairman had said , the festival of the first Charity was over , and an immense amount of money had been subscribed . He was only sorry that Bro . Terry could not put upon his list of annuitants more brethren and

widows . He had been connected with the Girls' School a long time , and took a great interest in it . If he had not be should not now have been in the distinguished position of Trustee . He hoped every brother would come forward with his list , and bring up large amounts for the Institution , because , although the Boys' School

required help , the Girls' required a little more . The boys could look after themselves more than the girls could . Bro . ROBERT GREY , P . G . D ., President of the Board of Benevolence , proposed " The Working Officers of the Lodge , " and said he could speak with some little

confidence on the toast , and as he was sitting in the lodge room it crossed his mind that on a memorable occasion where they tried to do their duty , and to pay respect to one who was well beloved in that Lodge of Emulation as he was throughout the length and breadth of the Craft who had now passed away , Bro . John

Hervey , the Grand Officers worked that beautiful lecture that had been heard that evening . Around him he saw three or four of those Grand Officers who joined in that work , and therefore he might fairly say he spoke with some little confidence . The present Grand Secretary , Bro . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , was unable to be

present that night through illness , but he took a great interest in the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . At none of the festivals of the lodge that had taken place had the work been better done than it had been that evening . They knew to whom this was primaril y due , the brother who had presided in lodge , whose constant

care and attention were bestowed on the lodge . Under Bro . Fenn ' s guidance the officers had given the brethren the intellectual treat that had been presented that evening . They had shown themselves apt pupils , apt adaptors of that art of perfection that had been committed to them by Bro . Fenn . He coupled that toast

with the name of Bro . Sudlovv , a brother who was no longer a student but a Master of the art , one who had that night shown that he could , at short notice , both with willingness and ability , fill a gap and give that beautiful section of the orders of architecture which the brethren had so thoroughly enjoyed .

Bro . ROBERT CLAY SUDLOW , P . M . 263 and 1965 , P . Prov . G . D . Kent , in response , said , as the mouthpiece of the officers of the lodge , he rose at once to express their thanks for the toast which had just been given , and also for the compliment that had been passed on the work of the night . It was no light task to

undertake a Section at those festivals , and the officers were very proud indeed to think that the prestige of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement had not suffered at their hands . It was not easy to understand how it was that so many Masons who took pains to make themselves more or less perfect in the working of their

beautiful ceremonies neglected altogether the stud y of their equally beautiful Lectures . He ventured to hope that the spirit of emulation was abroad that night , and that many among their followers would feel themselves called upon to make—he was going to say—a daily advancement , but considering that the Emulation

Lodge of Improvement met only on the Friday , he would alter a little the usual phraseology , and say , make a weekly advancement in Masonic knowledge in the direction he had indicated . The CHAIRMAN then asked the brethren to drink to "The Stewards , " a body of brethren without whom

they would have fared but poorly that night . In an assembly of that kind organisation was of the utmost importance , and it had not been wanting from beginning to end . The Stewards had done their work admirably , and he would couple with the toast the name ol Bro . Kentish , who had solved the problem

how to be here , there , and everywhere at the same moment . To Bro . Kentish great thanks were due . Bro . KENTISH , in reply , said the Stewards were extremely indebted to the President for the kindness with which he had spoken of them . On reflecting on the success that had attended their endeavours , he reminded

himself of what he might attribute it to . His own private opinion was that it was the reputation of the lodge which they felt to be in their hands . That was the first and foremost motive in the minds of the Stewards ; the other was more or less personal . The President had already paid a tribute to Bro . Fenn ,

who was the father of the lodge , and round whom the brethren were very , very glad indeed to rally , and do for him everything they possibly could . He would not like to sit down without saying that he attributed a great deal of the success of that festival , and the

exertions on the part of the Stewards arose from a feeling of deep devotion to their most distinguished Bro . Sudlow , who untiringly and devotedly gave his time and attention to the working of the lodge . The success—and he thought he might fairly claim a success —that night of the festival was not the work of one

Annual Festival Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement.

person , it was the work of all the Stewards , who had bravely put their shoulders to the wheel , and he thanked the Chairman in the most hearty manner he possibly could for the kind manner in which he had proposed the toast , and the brethren generally who had responded to it .

The Tyler ' s toast closed the proceedings . Bro . J . H . Maunder played some beautiful voluntaries on the organ while the brethren were assembling in lodge , and also at the conclusion of the business .

Obituary.

Obituary .

BRO . ALDERMAN STONE , P . G . W . Our readers must have heard with sincere regret of the death , which it is our painful duty to announce , of Bro . Alderman David Henry Stone , P . G . W . of England , who , in his time , had achieved almost as great

success in his Masonic as in his civic career . The deceased brother had been a member of the Order for some 35 years , having been initiated in the Tuscan Lodge in 1855 . The following year he was accepted as a joining member of Grand Master ' s Lodge No . 1 ,

and having held the various offices , was in due course elected and installed W . M . He also represented it on the Board of Grand Stewards , and had the honour of being chosen its President . He was also a member of

the Frederick Lodge of Unity , No . 452 , Croydon , and was one of the brethren who signed the petition for the warrant of The Great City Lodge , No . 1426 , in 18 73 , and though , in consequence of other demands upon his time , he did not take up his membershiD of this lodp-e . he was two

years later unanimously elected an honorary member . He was a P . Z . of the Moira Chapter , No . 92 , and a joining member of the Frederick of Unity Chapter , No . 4 ^ 2 . But his greatest successes belong

to the year 18 75 , in which , after having been the principal guest at a grand banquet g iven in his honour , and that of Bro . Sheriff—now Alderman and ex-Lord Mayor—Sir John Whitaker Ellis , Bart ., M . P ., by The Great City Lodge aforesaid in March , he was , at the

memorable gathering held the month following in the Royal Albert Hall , South Kensington , appointed and invested by H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M ., as his first Junior Grand Warden . At the convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter on the Sth May next ensuing , the late Alderman was invested G . Prin . Soj .,

while a tew weeks later he had the honour ot presiding at the Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . He was also a Past G . Officer of the Order of the Temple , and in the system of the Ancient and Accepted Rite had taken the 30 ° , and was 01 otuunonne 01

an nonorary memDer me a ^ napier Rose Croix , No . 6 7 . He was also a Life-Governor of all three Charities , and had served once as Steward for the Boys' School and Benevolent Institution , and twice for the . R . M . I , for Girls . In his civic career , the late Bro . Stone—who was born in 1812—was elected Alderman of Bassishaw Ward in l 86 d . served the

office of Sheriff of London and Middlesex in 186 7 , and was inducted into the chair of Lord Mayor in Nov ., 18 74 , so that his greatest services to Masonry were rendered during his Mayoralty . In 18 77 he was elected Treasurer of St . Thomas ' s Hospital , and it was at his official residence at that institution that death suddenly

overtook him on the 25 th ult . He leaves behind him a widow to mourn his loss , and to her we offer our most respectful sympathy in her bereavement .

BRO . GEORGE J . ATKINS , P . M . 92 . After a short but severe illness , one of the oldest of English Freemasons has gone over to the majority . Bro . G . J . Atkins , the subject of this memoir , held in early life a position of trust in the Custom House , which he resigned in order to devote himself to

commercial pursuits in 1 845 . Joining in that year the hrm of Thurston and Co ., of which he was afterwards , for a very long period , the senior partner , he only retired from the chief management of its affairs in 188 9 . The Drapers' Company he became a member of so far back as 1837 , and was elected on the Court in 1872 , declining

the Mastership in 188 3 ; he , nevertheless kept up a regular attendance at the meetings of the Court , and it was while returning from one of these that he contracted a violent chill , which , developing into congestion of the lungs , resulted in his lamented decease after a brief illness of about a fortnight . Bro . Atkins

passed away very quietly at his residence , Cambridge Villa , Twickenham , on the 24 th ult ., and was interred at Kensal Green , on Friday , the 28 th ult ., in the vault of his father-in-law , the late Bro . John Phillips , a former member of the Fortitude and Old Cumberland Lodge , No . 12 . At the period of his decease he was not only

the oldest member , or " Father , " of the Drapers' Company , but of the Moira Lodge and Chapter also . The Moira Lodge , No . 92 , was his mother lodge , and he was initiated in it on November 17 th , 1828 , and elected W . M . in 1 843 . His connection with No . 92 only ceased with his life , and he was at no time a member of any

other lodge or chapter . He was exalted in the Moira Chapter in 1842 , and served the office of M . E . Z . in 1845 . Although Bro . Atkins had entered upon his 88 th year , his health and strength—prior to his fatal illness—were so little impaired by his great age as to fairly warrant a

conjecture that by the exercise of ordinary care he mig ht live to become the second centenarian , of whom future members of No . 92 would speak with a just pride as having received the light of Masonry in the Moira Lodge . But although Bro . Atkins failed to

Obituary.

reach the remarkable age attained by the late Bro . Sir Moses Montefiore ( initiated in the Moira Lodge before the Union ) , in length of actual Masonic service he far surpassed him . Indeed , it is open to some doubt whether another case can be cited of any Metropolitan lodge at the present moment having on its roll a

brother who has been , without break of continuity , a member of it since the year 1828 . The occurrence of the 50 th anniversary of his initiation the Moira Lodge celebrated very appropriately by presenting Bro ; Atkins with a handsome Past Master ' s jewel , a token of affection which , he reciprocated by a frequent

attendance at the subsequent meetings . At the last meeting of the Moira Lodge—February 25 th—a touching reference to Bro . Atkins was made by the W . M ., Bro . Col . Sir Norman Pringle , Bart , ( though at the time unaware of his decease on the previous day ) . The W . M ., in proposing the Past Masters , said he hoped

it would be regarded as the toast of the evening . First of all he should bring under the notice of those present the name of Bro . Jacob H . Sarratt , W . M . in 1813 In that year the Union of the two Grand Lodges of England then existing was accomplished , the Dukes of Sussex and Kent being at that time the

Grand Masters of the two fraternities respectively . Under the former there were 640 , and under the latter 359 , lodges , and by the Articles of Union the Grand Master of each organisation was to nominate nine worthy and expert brethren , and the whole 18 were to be formed into a Lodge of Reconciliation , for

the purpose of instructing and perfecting the lodges and brethren in the ceremonies of the United Fraternity . The " Moira" was under the Duke of Sussex , and its Master , Bro . Sarratt , was one of the nine brethren selected by that Grand Master from among the 640 lodges within his jurisdiction . In 1817 the Master of

the Moira Lodge was Bro . Lawrence Thomson , one of the most famous of Masonic Preceptors , and who for many years discharged the duties of Prestonian Lecturer . Another eminent Master was Bro . Henry Phillips , who made his mark as a Masonic scholar , and about the year 1832 was elected a member of a

small but influential Committee appointed to reorganise the working of the Royal Arch Degree . Isaac Walton , W . M . in 1840 , was the founder of the Masonic Benevolent Annuity Fund , which remained a separate organisation until 1850 , when it was amalgamated with the Asylum for Aged Freemasons , and

these two Charities constitute what is now known as the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . After this came John Bigg , one of the most eloquent speakers in Grand Lodge , and whose sturdy independence in that assembly won for him the title of " Leader of the Blues . " Later still there was Bro . G . W . K . Potter , J . G . D . in

1850 , whose devotion to his duties as an officer of the lodge approached the sublime . It was while returning thanks as Treasurer at an installation meeting that he was suddenly struck down by paralysis , but his determination was so great , that , on being assisted to his feet , he actually finished the speech he had been delivering .

Sir Norman Pringle said that all the Past Masters he had referred to had passed away , but there was one still living who had been acquainted with them all , ' and who formed a link connecting the present with the past . He alluded to Bro . Atkins , the father of the lodge , upon whom he had called , in company with the

Secretary , Bro . R . F . Gould , on the 16 th February . They were told that he was suffering from congestion of the lungs , and , of course , was confined to his bed . Naturall y , they left their cards , and went away , but had not gone far when they were overtaken by a servant , specially deputed by Bro . Atkins himself , to

bring them back again . They went up to his room , where they remained some time , and the interest taken in the Moira Lodge by Bro . Atkins mi ght be imagined from his expressing a wish that the whole of the members would pay him a visit in the summer . Nothing ,

continued the W . M ., could have been more touching than the way in which Bro . Atkins held his old friend , Bro . Gould , by the hand , and talked with him concerning the welfare of all those still living in the lodge , of which he had been himself for so many years the oldest member .

Bro . Major-General Sir Redvers Buller , Quartermaster-General , has returned to town after visiting the barracks at Dublin and Belfast . The annual supper of the Star Chapter of Instruction will be held on the 28 th inst ., at the Stirling Castle , Camberwell , when Comp . Grummant , P . Z ., will preside , and Comp Voisey , P . Z ., S . E . 1320 , will occupy the vice-chair .

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