Consecration Of St. Mary's Chapter, No. 63.

sight of Him from whom all goodness springs . Therefore , forgetting injuries and selfish feelings , we should be ever anxious to press forward in well-doing , having always in remembrance that we were sent into this world to aiel , support , and mutually assist each other . It behoves us as men , as Masons , and companions to be zealous , then , in the exercise of mercy and benevolence—to save , to

strengthen , to support , to assist a brother of the dust , a companion in misfortune . To be the friend of indigent merit , to wipe the tear from affliction ' s cheek , to soothe the miseries of some deserted , helpless human being , are duties still incumbent upon us all as Royal Arch Masons , to uphold and to practice , whether fashionable or unfashionable in the world around us , and while we avow

them , and while we do them , let us also seriously reflect on the great dapger which awaits all who deviate from the path of rectitude , and always let us endeavour to be true to our trust and profession . The tongue of a companion shoulel be void of offence and without elissimulation . Speaking truth with discretion , censuring with moderation , he should ever be an advocate in the cause of

virtue and brotherly love . To defame a companion—to suffer him to be defamed without interesting ourselves for the preservation of his good name and character—is really without excuse . Defamation , remember , is always wicked . Slander and evil speaking are the pests of civil society , are a disgrace to every degree of moral or religious profession amongst us , ave the poisonous bane of all brotherly love !

Remember that you are brethren . Value , therefore , the reputation of your brother , your companion as your own ; even if he deserves not your esteem and frienelship , he has a claim on your kindness and consideration . Speak not evil of one another . He who speaketVi evil of his brother , judgeth his brother , anil judgment is not the prerogative of man . Thus , then , we see , M . E . and companions , in

conclusion , that the principles of Masonry , as reiterated especially in the Sublime Degree , would make us kind , considerate , gentle , merciful , charitable , and tolerant . Wherever our Order extends its influence , let the orphan cease to wee )) , anil on the sound of our voice let the widow forget her sorrow . Let our conduct at home be the constant happiness of our families . Let our carefulness and

affability be conspicuous in our journey through life , and let charity , toleration , goodwill , and beneficence be the noblest fruits of our Masonic profession . Faithful sojourners and loyal companions , may these worels of some of the eloctors of our Masonic Israel strike a chord on your minds and hearts to-day which shall best accord with this interesting ceremonial , and best advance the interests

of our great common Order , the happiness of the companions , anel the welfare of mankind . You have my hearty good wishes for a prosperous future to St . Mary ' s Chapter . The chapter was then formally consecrated , and dedicated , the Rev . P . M . Holden , nciing as Chaplain in that particular portion of the ccrcn .. ny only wherein the

censer is carried round the chapter . When the ceremony had been completed , Comp . fames Glaisher , P . Z ., was installed Z . ; Comp . F . K . Wendt , H . ; and Comp . George Brooke , J . Comp . V . \ ckland was requested to take the chair of P . S ., and Co .. ,.-. George Kelly the office of Treas . Votes of thanks were then passed to the Consecrating Officers , who were also unanimously elected honorary

members of the chapter . Comp . T . Fenn thanked the Principals and companions for the honour thus conferred on himself and the other consecrating companions , and after Comp . Kelly had read a long list of proposed joining members and candidates for exaltation , the chapter was closed , and the companions adjourned to a choice banquet , provided by Comp . Stanbury . In due course the toasts

were proposed . In giving the toast of " The Pro G . Z . & c , " the most Ex . Z . said that the work of the Grand Officers was highly appreciated by all companionswhoknew what good Masonic working was . It was highly gratifying at the first meeting of the St . Mary ' s Chapter to see one of the newest made Grand Officers , who had been invested only the

night before , present to support the other Grand Officers who performed the consecration . Then there was another Granel Officer present who had elelivered a beautiful oration , whichall the companions had listened to with profound attention , anil weie sorry when it was concluded . Of the performance of the First Principal ' s duty by Comp . Fenn it was unnecessary to say more , and impossible to

say enough . Of another of the Grand Officers , Col . Burdclt , he could not say in his presence everything he would like to say ; but he might inform the companions that he was never absent when a good work was to be done . Col . Burdett in replying said that the M . E . Z ., had alludeel to him as being always ready to come forward when any good work was to be done . Now , not only was

he , but every Granel Officer of the Grand Chapter was ready to come forward to advance the interests of Masonry . The companions were all perfectly aware that it was not possible for the Grand Principals , Z ., H . and J ., to come forward as the other Grand Officers were able to do occasionally ; and therefore the Grand Officers below the Principals supplied their place , which , as he ( Col . Burdett ) ,

had done , hail been only as far as he was a ble , and he was quite sure that many present had done more for the interests of Royal Arch Masonry than he . He had only torefer to the worthy companions who had consecrated the St . Mary ' s Chapter . The ceremony he had seen that evening had gratified him very much , indeed more than anything else for a long time . He came to the chapter for the

express purpose of seeing the work performed . It was not however only to ^ the Consecrating Officers they had to look for the working . Those who were installed had to take up the work , and he felt confident that those in the chairs and those who woul 1 succeed them would carry out the duties of their respective offices in a manner that would tc creditable to the whole Order . Royal Arch Masonry was now stepping in the right direction ; its work was

Consecration Of St. Mary's Chapter, No. 63.

commencing properly , and for the last two or three years was carried on in a highly efficient way . The M . E . Z ., said , be approached the next toast wish pleasure , but with much fear . The toast was that of the "Consecrating Officers . " The companions who had so readily come forward to consecrate the chapter hael by their readiness and by the

style in which they performed their duties , laid all the promoters of the chapter under a lasting obligation-to them . Not one of the companions was insensible to that . Their Ex . Comp . Fenn by his fluency and impressiveness gave zest and earnestness to every sentence both in the consecration and the installation of H . and J ., but his truly Masonic character was evinced in the correspondence which

took place relative to their consecration , in which Comp . Fenn showed that he was quite ready to take whichever chair he might be asked to fill . Comp . Fenn , replying , said he really did not know how to acknowledge the more than complimentary terms in which the M . E . Z . had proposed this toast . He was sure he might say without exaggeration that all the

companions who had assisted at the consecration had felt with him extremely gratified at being present at the inauguration of a chapter which promised to be so prosperous and such a great credit to the Order as the St . Mary ' s Chapter . He had mentioned in the chapter how grieved he was that Comp . Hervey was not able to be present . It had been Comp . Hervey ' s earnest wish to be present ; in fact they

could all understand that he would naturally wish to instal his companion in office , Comp . Wendt , as one of the Principals ; and one of his stipulations was that if he felt himself unable to come and perform the work , and it devolved upon him ( Comp . Fenn ) to do the other duties , he at least would instal Comp . Wendt . Unfortunately , when he ( Comp . Fenn ) called on Comp . Hervey that evening he

found him too unwell to come ; and much as the companions must regret his absence , and sincerely as he ( Comp . Fenn ) did also , he was sure no one regretted it more than Comp . Hcrvey himself . He saw so many of his friends around him—there were so few in fact among them that he did not know as members of St . Mary ' s Lodge and the Old Union , that he felt perfectly satisfied that if they

observed the recommendation which had been offered to them not to admit any members into the chapter that they did not personally know and could personally approve of , they had the elements there not only of a most select but of a most prosperous chapter . He did not know that he had ever witnessed at a consecration of a chapter the elements of so prosperous , respectable , and estimable a chapter as

this might be expected to be—so sociable and so harmonious ; because he knew the companions of the St . Mary ' s and the Old Union were united in a way which promised the greatest unanimity . He could only hope and sincerely trust that the unanimity which they all desiderated might be consummated in this chapter . He hoped to have the opportunity of occasionally visiting the

companions and observing the progress that they made . Comp . Fenn then proposed "The Health of the M . E . Z ., " but said he did not know how to do so in adequate terms . Comp . Glashier had spoken of him in such terms that he ( Comp . Fenn ) could not hope to excel him in compliments . But he knew it was not necessary to compliment the M . E ., because he was so well known as an earnest Mason , and

one who had the interest of the chapter at heart . Under his auspices the chapter must be prosperous . The M . E . Z ., in acknowledging the toast , said that the companions had soldered another link in the chain of Masonry in addition to those that they had . already soldered . They had chosen him as the first Z ., and he could assure them that he had the prosperity of the chapter at

heart . To the utmost of his ability he would endeavour to promote it . Comp . Fenn had indicated what the chapter ought to be ; he ( Comp . Glashier ) trusted it would be—a crcelit to the Craft and a great benefit and pleasure to the companions . The M . E . Z . afterwards proposed "The Health of the II . and J . " They were his two colleagues in office : upon them he should be much dependent ; but

they hail plcelged themselves to act and co-operate with him , anel sure he was from his experience of them that they v . uld do so . Comp . Brooke said it was more than twelve months since the subject of this new chapter was first mentioned —at Grand Festival in 1877 . Those first words passed between himself and a companion whose absence to-night

occasioned the only regret there was at that meeting . That was Bro . Hollingworth , who wished to become a Royal Arch Mason , and a member of the St . Mary ' s Chapter very soon . He ( Comp . Brooke ) regretted that Bro . Hollingworth did not that evening fill the chair which he ( Comp . Brooke ) filled . It was a great gratification to him that the subject which he and Bro . Hollingworth

broached at the Granel Festival , in 1877 , had been carried out , and that the chapter had as its M . E . Z . the worthy Comp . Glaisher . He ( Comp . Brooke ) hael experienced great pleasure in the performance that evening of Comp . Fenn , to whom he was indebteel for almost all he knew in Masonry . Comp . Fenn first gave him an interest in Masonry , as it was from the time of his attenelance at the Emulation

Lodge of Improvement that he dated his interest in Masonry . He was also very much gratified with the support he had received from Comp . Kelly , who had acted as S . E . that evening , whose support had kept together St . Mary ' s Loelge , and would make St . Mary ' s Chapter a chapter that would hold its own with many older chapters . He trusted that this youngest of Royal Arch Chapters would one day

distinguish itself ; and if it did it would be mainly indebted to the way in which it had been brought about by Comp . Geo . Kelly . The M . E . Z . next proposed " The Visitors . " Comp . C . C . Dumas in reply said the Old Union received great pleasure in seeing St . Mary ' s Chapter established . The Old Union Lodge had had for one of its P . M . ' s the esteemeel Secretary of St . Mary ' s Lodge . The Old Union woulel welcome itf . its next meeting their old

Consecration Of St. Mary's Chapter, No. 63.

member , the S . E . of the St . Mary ' s Chapter . No one knew better than he ( Comp . Dumas ) the high services , the kindness , the most satisfactory business that could possibly be conceived , that had been rendered by Bro . Kelly to the Old Union Lodge , and he doubted not that S . E . Kelly would fulfil in the chapter everything he had fulfilled in the Old Union Lodge , and would also bring to t all the

energies he had brought to the Old Union Lodge . That lodge was largely represented at this meeting . He had hoped that some one else would have responded to this toast , but no one could wish greater success to the St . Mary ' s Chapter than the members of the Old Union , and as representing in some sort the Old Union Lodge , and in some way the Old Union Chapter , various circumstances had led him to wear the collar of Haggai at the

consecration of St . Mary ' s Chapter , and he should ever remember it with pleasure . ~~' : l , ' .- ' - _^ Comp . Montague Gosset also replied . Comp . Kelly , S . E ., replied for "The Officers , " after which the companions returned to town . The ceremonies in chapter were musically accompanied by Comps . Marcellus Higgs , J . Large , G . T . Carter , and Theodore'Distin ; the same companions also performing an excellent selection of music after the banquet .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Cambridgeshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE .

The installation meeting of the Lodge of United Good Fellowship ( No . 8 og ) was held at Wisbech on Thursday , the 25 th ult ., when Bro . George Carrick , the I . P . M ., was again installed W . M . for the ensuing year . Additional interest was given to the occasion by the holding

of a Provincial Grand Lodge at the same time . The use of the Town Hall was kindly granted by the Mayor , and the Council Chamber metamorphosed into an imposing lodge room . At four o ' clock the Craft Lodge was opened by the W . M ., assisted by the following officers : —Bros . A . W . English , S . W . ; Thos . Squire , J . W . ; W . Exley , P . M ., Treasurer ;

John Leach , P . M ., Secretary ; the Rev . Walter E . Browne , Chaplain ; R . A . Douglas Lithgow , M . D ., S . D . ; William Bray , J . D . ; Jas . D . Collins , P . M ., acting as I . G . ; C . K . Ellis , Organist ; and J . P . Holmes , Tyler . The minutes of the last regular lodge having been duly read and confirmed , Bro . the Rev . C . Cecil Sumner , of Lodge 44 , was unanimously elected a joining member . An anouncement was then

maele that the W . Deputy Prov . Grand Master , Bro , Deighton , P . G . Deacon of England , and the Prov . Grand Lodge of Cambridgeshire demanded admittance . The brethren having been duly marshalled in procession by Bro . Bothamley , P . M ., M . C ., re-entered the lodge and the D . P . G . M . and his officers were received in proper form . The customary salute having been given , Prov . G . Lodge was

duly opened with prayer , the roll of lodges called over and other general business transacted . The D . P . G . M . ( in the unavoidable absence of the Prov . G . M ., the Earl of Hardwicke , who was still suffering from the effects of his late accident ) then appointed and invested his officers as follows : George Carrick , P . M . 809 Prov . S . G . W . A . M . Robinson , P . M . 441 Prov . J . G . W .

Rev . C . Cecil Sumner , 809 Prov . G . Chaplain Rev . D . Hall , 441 Prov . G . Chaplain Thos . Nicholls , P . M . 441 Prov . G . Treasurer W . J . Basham , P . M . 88 Prov . G . Reg . Edward Haggis , P . M . 441 Prov . G . Sec . R . Fairbairn , 859 Prov . G . S . D . J . Taylor , 441 Prov . G . J . D . W . Bray , 809 Prov . G . S . of Works

W . H . Jarrold , 88 Prov . G . D . of C . F . Jackson , 859 Prov . G . A . D . C . C . R . Ellis , 809 Prov . G . S . B . W . J . Dewberry , 441 Prov . G . Organist W . J . Goulding , 859 Prov . G . Purst . Thos . Wood , 88 Prov . G . Tyler The Prov . Grand Lodge was then closed , and the Craft

Lodge having been opened 111 the Second Degree , Bro . Carrick was for the second time installed into the chair of K . S ., the ceremony being most carefully and impressively performed by the W . D . P . G . M ., assisted by Bros . Jas . Neal York , P . M ., P . P . S . G . W ., and J . R . Ling , P . M ., P . P . J G . W ., acting as S . and J . Wardens . The W . M . then appointed and invested his officers in the following order : —

Thos . Squire , S . W . ; R . A . Douglas Lithgow , J . W . ; Rev . Walter E . Browne , Chaplain ; William H . Exley , P . M ., Treas ; John l . each , P . M ., Secretary ; William Bray , S . D . ; C . R . Ellis , J . D . ; Arthur Chas . Thacker , Organist ; Charles Parker , I . G . ; A . Bothamley , P . M ., M . C . ; J . P . Holmes , Tyler ; and A . H . Ward , W . H . Exley , H . G . Wigmorc , and R . J . Weaver , all P . M . ' s , Stewards .

A hearty vote of thanks was accordetl to the Installing Master , and ordered to be entered on the minutes-Bro . Patrick , P . M ., in a few well chosen words presented the W . M . with a handsome P . M ' s . jewel , unanimously voted by the lodge at their last meeting . The W . M . in acknowledging the same observed that this added one more to the many kind favours he had received from the lodge ,

and begged to thank the brethren most heartily for the kind feeling which had promptcel them to bestow upon him so handsome a gift . The lodge was then closed , and the brethren adjourned to the Rose and Crown Hotel , where a really superb banquet was provided by Host Bro . Tidnam . The following brethren of 809 were present in lodge or at the banquet in addition to those already named , viz . —

Bros . Augustus H . Ward , P . M ., P . P . J . G . W . ; Thos . Pattrick , P . M ., P . P . S . G . W . ; Capt . Aveling , P . M ., P . P . J . G . W . ; G . F . Phillips , P . M ., P . P . J . G . W . ; H . J . Wigmore , P . M . P . P . S . G . D . ; Jas . D . Collins , P . M ., P . P . G . Regr . ; W . Welchman , Charles Parker , J . P . Broadhurst , James L . Rae , F . J . Wise , W . A . Peck , W . Poppleton . Henry Hudson , Geo . F . Young , Leonard Ham pson , S . J . Miller ,