Masonic And General Tidings.

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Bro . Walter W . Hedgcock has been appointed Organist to the Handel Festival at the Crystal Palace , in the place of Mr . Eyre , who has resigned through ill-health . ' Tbe Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and suite witnessed the performance of " Falstaff , " at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden , on Thursday evening .

We are asked to repeat the announcement made in our columns last week that the Cheshire Masonic Benevolent Institution will hold its first annual festival on Wednesday next , at the Prince of Wales Hotel , Southport . The annuual meeting of the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Cheshire , will be held on Saturday , the

23 rd inst ., at the Town Hall , Altrincham . The Hon . Alan de Tatton Egerton , M . P ., Prov . G . Master will preside . The duties of the Star Chapter of Instiuction will be resumed at the Stirling Castle Hotel , Church-street , Camberwell , on Friday , September , 7 th at S p . m ., under the able Preceptorship of Comp . F . Hilton , P . Z ., A . G . D . C .

Brethren are invited to send for the list of Masonic Books published at the office of the Freemason . Many works of interest both to the Masonic student and [ general reader have recently been added , and the publisher will gladly forward a copy to any address on receipt of a post-card .

DORIC LODGE , NO . 2359 , DIDSBURY . —A musical service will be held on Sunday , the 17 th inst ., at Emmanuel Church , Barlowmoor-road . The sermon will be preached by Bro . Hugh Bethell Jones , M . A ., P . P . G . Chap . There will be a full choral service with solos by special artists , and the result of the offertory will be devoted to Masonic Charities .

The Duke of Cambridge presided at the Regimental Dinner of the 17 th Lancers at the Savoy Hotel , when the Earl of Ava , Lord Tredegar , General Sir Drury Lowe , Sir 1 George Wombwell , Sir Francis Burdett ; Colonels Belford , S . Benson , F . Benson , Sir W . Gordon , Lambert , and

Abadie ; Majors Neeld , H . Fortescue , and Purvis ; Captains Herbert , Anstruther , Coventry , and Ricardo , the Hon . H . Lawrence , Wood , Anstruther-Thomson , and Milner ; and I Messrs . Warner , Jessel , Noel , and Pellew were present .

MASONIC LECTURE BV THE DEAN * OF YORK . —Under the auspices of the Humber Installed Masters' Lodge , No . 2494 , a " public night" was given on the ist inst ., to all Master Masons for the purpose of hearing a lecture by the Very Rev . the Dean of York ( V . W . Bro . A . P . Purey-Cust , D . D ., P . G . Chap , of Eng . ) , on the subject of "A Retrospect , Circumspect , and Piospect of Freemasonry . " There was a crowded attendance , presided over by Bro . M . C . Peck ,

W . M ., and the learned Dean delivered his lecture in a highly entertaining and instructive manner , which would hereafter be of incalculable benefit to the students of Masonry and research , as well as greatly strengthen and encourage the brethren in carrying out the tenets of their Order . At the conclusion a most enthusiastic vote of thanks was tendered to the Dean , and in recognition of his services to the Craft during the past 59 years he was unanimously elected an honorary member of ' this lodge .

WEST LANCASHIRE MASONIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION . —On Friday evening , the : st inst ., under the presidency of Bro . John Duncan , P . P . G . D ., a meeting of the General Committee of the above Institution was held at the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool , when there was a large attendance . There were 20 applications on behalf of the children of deceased and distressed Freemasons for

education , maintenance , and advancement in life , and after careful consideration of the cases , the Committee resolved to recommend them for election at the next Court of Governors , the actual annual additional expenditure in the cases being about £ 225 . A vote of thanks to Bro . Duncan for presiding was passed unanimously . This is said to be the largest sum which has ever been voted at any meeting of the Committee .

A phrase much abused , misunderstood , and misinterpreted is that in Masonry the office should always seek the man . When Masons will become different in mind and feeling from other people , then possibly this may be the case , but while we have among us good men , workers in the Craft , who are proud of being members of the Fraternity , so long will these very brethren be ambitious to beccme

officers and Masters of their respective lodges , and Grand Lodge oflicers , and why not : These are the men we want in the east of our lodges , these are the very men we want as our Standard Bearers . We want workers ; we want those who feel honoured by the office , and who are proud to help us in the great work of our good cause , and have already helped us . There need be no electioneering for

office , but let us respect the manly brother who frankly admits that he would like to be Master of his lodge , or Grand Officer , would like to be advanced , and having served in other positions , has been thoroughly tried and deserves his advancement , but leaves it to his brethren to judge as to his qualification for the office , and who , when chosen to preside , resolutely sets to work and does his best

for the benefit of the Craft , who neither boasts of his own achievements nor complains of the shortcomings of others , performs his duty honestly , faithfully , and manfully , such brother should be elected ; elect no brother , however , merely because he wants the office ; neither refuse him

merely because lie expressed a desire to have the oflice . Observe the golden rule and go to neither extreme ; discard all sentimentality about elections , when the best interests ol the Craft are concerned . One ounce of good hard common sense is worth 10 pounds of idle and foolish sentimentality . —New York Advt .

AN EXCITING GAME OF FOOTHALL gives more real pleasure to the onlookers than is provided in a contest at almost liny other sport . It is amusing to watch the interest displayed in one of the ( treat League matches . How many of the spectators seem as though tliey would delight to participate in tne struggle .

Unfortunately for many of them , active e . erciseof any kind is im possible . In this happy land ot ours ilienmntism , gout , nnd lumbago claim their victims by the thousand . If you happen to be one of their victims , get some Hollo « a ) - ' s Ointment withoul deliiy , and take HoIIoway ' s Pills for complaints of the liver , impurities of the blood , disorders of the stomach , & c .

Masonic And General Tidings.

Bro . Sir Augustus Harris spoke at the midnight meeting the cabmen held on Thursday night at the club and institute . The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire will visit the Warehousemen , Clerks' , and Drapers' _ Fchool , Purley , Surrey , on Prize Day , Saturday , the 30 th inst . The annual Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire will be

held at Wallingford on Tuesday , the 26 th inst . Bro . J . Thornhill Morland , M . A ., Deputy Grand Master in charge , will preside . A Reuter ' s telegram from Victoria ( British Columbia ) to-day ( Friday ) says that Bro . Dr . Sillitoe , Bishop of New Westminster , is alarmingly ill , and very little hope is entertained of his recovery . Amongst the interesting objects on view at the

exhibition the Society of Antiquaries are holding at their rooms , Burlington House , is the charter granted by Philip and Mary to the Vinters' Company . Her Royal and Imperial Highness the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess of Roumania honoured Thomas McLean ' s Galleries , in the Haymarket , with a visit , on

Thursday , to view the picture •"' Royal Ascot , " painted by J . Vincent Gibson . The Directors of Spiers and Pond , Limited , notify that the Transfer Books will be closed from the iSth inst . to the ioth inst ., both inclusive , for the purpose of preparing the

Interest Warrants on the five per cent . First Mortgage Debentures , the five per cent . * ' A " Mortgage Debenture Stock , and the five per cent . " B " Debenture Stock , the five per cent . Debenture Stock , and the four per cent . "C" Debenture Stock of the Company . The warrants will be posted on the evening of the 30 th inst .

A large congregation filled St . Paul ' s Cathedral on Thursday evening , when was held the anniversary service of the London Gregorian Choral Association . The musical arrangements generally were planned upon the usual grand scale , the choir numbering 1300 voices and an

orchestra lending assistance to the tones of the organ . Sir Joseph Barnby conducted the anthem , which had been specially composed by him for the festival , and which resounded through the Cathedral with fine effect . The sermon was preached by the Rev . H . G . Batterson , D . D ., of New York .

A benefit will be given at the Lyceum Theatre on Wednesday , the 20 th instant , in aid of the funds of the Royal Eye Hospital , Southwark . Bro . Irving will recite Hood ' s poem , "The Dream of Eugene Aram ; " Mr . Toole will eive the monologue , " Trying a Magistrate ; " Miss Ellen

Terry will appear with Miss Phillips , Messrs . Bishop and Harvey in Charles Reade's play , " Nance Oldfield ; " and Mr . George Grossmith , Mr . Enes Blackmore , Signor Tito Mattei , Madame Marian Mackenzie , Miss Maud M'Carthy , Miss Grainger Kerr , and Miss Letty Lind will appear .

Bro . Dr . Wynn-Westcott , so well known as a student and expositor of the Occult Degrees in Freemasonry , has been elected Coroner for the North-Eastern District of London , vacant by the death of Dr . Macdonald . There were 49 applicants for the appointment , which number were reduced to three b y the Committee . AH three gentlemen were hiuhlv qualified , but Dr . Westcott's experience as Deputy

Coroner for the Central and Western District was considered to be greatly in his favour , and the Committee recommended that he be appointed at a salary of £ 1150 per annum . Dr . Wynn-Westcott was accordingly elected . We heartily congratulate our esteemed brother on his wellearned preferment . Princess Christian attended the annual meeting of the

National Health Society in the Rubens Gallery , Grosvenor House , which was crowded by members and friends . The Duke of Westminster presided , and during the course of the proceedings , at the desire of the council , asked the Princess to accept the society's first gold medal for the distinguished services her Royal Highness had rendered to the promotion of sanitary and hygienic knowledge

among the people . Princess Christian thereafter handed the medals , diplomas , and certificates to the successful students and pupils who had passed the society ' s examinations . Sir Henry Roscoe , Sir James Crichton Browne , and others bore warm testimony to the value and great practical usefulness of the work done . The Duchess of Westminster , the Duchess of Bedford , Lady Duckworth , Lady Priestley , and many others were upon the platform .

At the Mansion House , on Thursday evening , the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress held a conveisazionein connection with Hospital Sunday , which anniversary occurs on the ioth inst . The chief attraction consisted of a number of very fine dissolving views , illustrative of hospital life , introduced in attractive tashion by Mr . Henry C . Burdett . The City Police Band was in attendance , and a concert was given

under the auspices of Mr . William Coates . Among the guests present were the Dean of St . Pauls and Miss Gregory , the Chief Rabbi ( Or . Adler ) , Bishop Eldrige , Sir Sydney Waterlow , Mr . R . B . Martin , M . P . ; Mr . G . W . Hulke ( President of the Royal College of Surgeons ); the Rev . Prebendary Whittington , the Rev . Prebendary H . W .

P . Richards , the Rev . L . C . and the Hon . Mrs . Walford , Sir Henry Knight , the Rev . Canon Ingram , the Rev . Charles Voysey , Mr . Gerard Laing , Mr . Thomas Wakley , Sir David Evans , and a large contingent of nurses from St . Bartholomew ' s and other hospitals in their neat and becoming costumes .

The Annandale Chronicle of the Ist inst ., in a report of the laying of a ioundation-stone with Masonic rites , says " The Masonic lodges of the present time are the direct successors of the operative lodges that preserved the art of Masonry during the dark ages when the light of civilisation was so leeble as only to make darkness visible , and that handed the art down unimpaired to brighter times . Modern

Freemasonry in its turn has preserved the traditions and formulas of the ancient Craft and symbolised them . All Masonic ceremonies have symbolical meanings , and that of Saturday implied , among other things , that the work was one with which the spirit of Masonry—which is simply an aspiration that more or less finds a place in the breast of

every man—a yearning for the progress and happiness of the human race , thoroughly sympathised . In this sense , the stone was not laid by an individual , but , through its local representatives , by the Craft at large , embodying as the Order does in a visible and spectacular form the universal principle of beneficence and good will . "

Masonic And General Tidings.

Bro . Cuthbert E . Peek has been elected a member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain . Bro . Alderman Treloar has consented to preside at the annual banquet of the Central Criminal Court Brotherhood in January next .

Bro . Archdeacon Sinclair , P . G . Chap ., occupied the pulpit of St . Martin ' s-in-the-Fields , Charing Cross , on Sunday morning last . Bro . Professor Shuttleworth , of St . Nicholas Cole Abbey , is announced to preach at Christ Church , Greenwich , on the evening of Sunday , the 24 th inst .

Mr . C . E . Tritton , M . P ., presided at the Crystal Palace on Monday at the distribution of medals by Princess Christian to the members of the Norwood Centre of the St . John ' s Ambulance Association . The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress are extending their patronage to a musical and dramatic matinee Mrs . Bascomb ( wife of Bro . Bascomb ) intends to give in the private theatre of the Prince of Wales Club , Coventrystreet , next Wednesday .

In connection with the Hospital Saturday Fund , a course of Fir ? t Aid lectures has just been started at the offices , Farringdon-road , by Dr . F . J . Warwick , the honorary surgeon of the St . John ' s Ambulance Association . In all there are upwards of 150 members attending the lectures .

At the forthcoming sale of the effects of the late Bro . Deputy Manners , F . S . A ., by Messrs . Hooker and Webb , one curious item will be put up to auction in the shape of an oaken spirit stand constructed from a beam of oak taken from old Temple Bar . Bro . the Earl and the Countess of Jersey will open on Wednesday next a bazaar to be held at Shaftesbury House , Shaftesbury-avenue , in aid of the Jubilee Fund of the National Refuges for Homeless and Destitute Children .

Lady Jeune has consented to officiate at the inaugural ceremony on the second day . The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , Lord Charles Beresford , Bro . Sir Reginald Hanson , Sir Thomas Sutherland , K . C . M . G ., M . P ., and Mr . Alban Gibbs will be the principal speakers , on Wednesday , the 13 th inst ., at a meeting to be . held at the Mansion House for the benefit of the Royal National Life-Boat Institution .

Silence , secrecy , and calmness of temper are the unmistakable marks of a true Mason . He who incessantly boasts of his knowledge may be set down as an empty chatterer . Noise is not wisdom . Those who ostentatiously proclaim their own merits , may , for a time , enjoy the satisfaction of deceit , yet in the end their pretentions are sure to be exposed . —Keystone .

Fraternity can only be created or exist by intimate association , by personal contact . Attend the meetings of the lodge t - which you belong , know your fellow-members , extend to them that att . ntion and sympathy that you would be glad to receive from them , and rest assured that when you want a friend you will have one . Realise that you are but a part , a very stmall part , of your lodge , and that it is your duty to assist in creating that spirit of fraternity you would enjoy . —Keystone .

Many thousands of school children were present at the Crystal Palace on Saturday to witness the distribution by the Duchess of Fife of the prizes given by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the best essays written by the children of London schools on

the subject of kindness to animals . There were no fewer than 2300 prize-winners , representing 1133 schools . The number of essays written was 83 , 469 . The Baroness Burdett-Coutts , Lady Ellis , and Lady Nottage were amongst the company .

Among those expected to support Mr . W . Holman Hunt ( the President ) at the 19 th public annual meeting of the Sunday Society to-morrow ( Saturday ) , at St . Martin ' s Town Hall , are the Duke of Sutherland , the Earl of Carlisle , Lord Dorchester , the Lord Mayor ol Liverpool , the Mayor of Wolverhampton , Sir James D . Linton , P . R . I ., Sir B . W . Richardson , F . R . S ., Sir Henry Thompson , F . R . C . S ., Prebendary Rogers , Mr . Moncure D . Conway , M . A ., Mr . H . Beerbohm Tree , and Mr . G . H . Watts , R . A .

We regret to announcs that Bro . T . Eccleston Gibb died at his residence , Lady Margaret-road , Kentish Town , on Wednesday last , from acute inflammation of the brain . Bro . Gibb was considered to be one of the greatest authorities on local government and the various and complex laws relating thereto . He was elected an alderman by the first London County Council , and represented East St . Pancras in ui

the Parliament ot 1 SS 5-0 , and was an active supporter -= various charitable societies and organisations of St . Pancras . He will be greatly missed by the inhabitants thereof . Bro . Gibb was a founder and first W . M . of the Hamp den Lodge , No . 2427 .

The Agricultural Hall , big as it is , cannot hold everybody who wants to see the Royal Military Tournament , and on Thursday night hundreds of people were turned away . The Royal Scots Greys took the place of the Lite Guards in the musical ride . Whether the fine contrasts ot colour between their scarlet coats and their grey steeds is the cause or not , certain the fact is , the ride has lost nothing in attractiveness or popular favour . Indeed , it

has probably gained in both respects . The bare-bacK riding and jumping by the troopers from the Canterbury Cavalry School shows how thoroughly training is carrl f * out in the Army nowadays . Their Royal Highnesses tne Duke and Duchess of Connaught have signified their intention of attending the Tournament to-day ( Friday ) .

Lady Carrington will to-morrow ( Saturday ) P . f ? medals to a number of firemen who have distinguisheo themselves during the past year for extraordinary bravery or for good conduct spread over a long period of service-The ceremony , which takes place in Battersea Park , wu be made the occasion of a display bv the Metropolitan 1 " ^

Brigade , including a procession of six hose-vans , 11 m * " ~ . fire engines , 11 steam fire-engines , and about 200 otneer and men , followed by the passage up the Thames or flotilla of the river fire-extinguishing appliances , consistin- , of four tugs and four rafts containing powerful st £ "( i pumps and a force of about 50 officers and men . A »" composed of County Council musicians will perform betwec three and five o ' clock .