District Grand Lodge Of Northern China.

In accordance with bye-law No . io , the brethren then roceeded to ballot for three members to serve on the District Board ol General Purposes , and on the same being l 0 Sid , the following were declared elected -. —W . Bro . Moore , P . M . Tuscan Lodge , 102 7 , D . G . Director of

Ceremonies ; W . Bro . Snort , W . M . Tuscan Lodge , 102 ; , D . G . pursuivant ; and Bro . Johnsfonl , S . W . and W . M . elect Royal Sussex Lodge , coi , D . G . Steward . In the case of the latter it was explained that although not at present ( ¦[ jrible to serve , he would be so before being called on to act , as be was the W . M . elect of the Royal Sussex Lodge ,

( OI . W . Hr ° - Moore , acting D . C . Tre-isurer , now presented [ he accounts for 18 78 , which shewed a balance of Taels 136 . 02 , and on the motion of the R . W . the District Grand Master , seconded by W . Bro . Kingsmill , D . G . Junior Warden , these were received and passed unanimously . The R . W . D . G . Master then said a well-known brother had spoken to him in lodge a few meetings brck , saying

that he failed to see what beneficial effect Masoniy had produced . He did not dispute the excellence of its foundation , but he observed that it did not apparently regulate the conduct of many who hail been admitted to jts privileges . This , brethren , the R . W . D . G . M . observed , ji a matter for our very serious consideration . It behoves us not simply to study our own lives and actions , but also

teaches us to be careful not to introduce any into the Craft who will not conscientiously fulfil the promises they make previous to their admission . Should any one desire to join our lodges , he ought to be told that the institution being founded on the purest principles of morality and virtue , those who enter it are bound to act up to these principles . After the candidate has acknowledged his belief in the

G . A . O . T . U . he is urged lo practise every virtue ; the address ejelivercd to him on conclusion of the initiatory ceremony points out more fully the line of conduct expected from him . 1 ' trhaps brethren , if we look fully into our own conduct , we may find much in it which requires amendment : many of us now present are Installed Masters , and we ought not to lorgetthat when we received the benefit of installation we

were especially warned to impress upon our brethren the dignity and high importance of Masonry—we were seriously to admonU > h them never to disgrace it—we ivere to teach them to practise out of the lodge those duties they were taught within it , so that by amiable , virtuous , and discreet conduct they might prove to the world at large the beneficial effects of our institution . If

every Master would act up lo these precepts , I am perfectly sure we should have an improvement amongst the members of the Craft generally , so that remarks similar to those of the brother alluded to could not be maele with justice . 1 would earnestly ask the co-eiperdliou of all present to the end that wc may elevate the name of M eson to something b : \ ondaii empty title . In closing our lolges in the

Second Degree , we always call upon the brethren to remember that the eye of God is upon them , wherever they are or whatever they do , and if , brethren , we ciny this feeling with us out of lodge , it will regulate our lives in SJCII a manner as to make members of our fiaternity respected by the world at laige . Be especially careful whom you introduce into

Masonry , lest you cause a slur to be cast upon our institution . Before proposing a candidate for initiation , you should ascertain whether he has seriously considered what Masonry really is , and what it demands of its prolessors , and if you find him to be sound on these points , then by all means propose him , but do not propose any one until you have fully explained to him some of our

princi p les ; we should thus raise our Masonic standard , and instead of , as at present , giving the outside world a chance to sneer at our institution , we snail gain the esteem of all ri g ht-min led men . Brethren , I trust you will duly think over these remarks , which 1 commend to your earnest consideration . The R . W . District Grand Master then congratulated the

brethren of the District Grand Lodge on having among them as visitors members of the District Grand Lodge of Japan , and of lodges working under Scotch , American , and German Constitutions , but more especially the former , as there were a Past District Grand Warden , and the District Grand Tieasurer present . W . Bro . Weiller , Past D . G . Warden of District Grand Lodge of Japan , replied , returning thanks for the reception he and his brother visitors had

received . W . Bro . Evans , D . G . Registrar , asked a few questions regarding the knocks given in the various degrees , to which the R . W . District Grand Master replied . There being no further business , the District Grand Lodge was closed in due form , and with prayer , at 6 . 20 luri ., the brcilii'eii separating in peace , harm ony , and brotherly love .

Lodge Suppers.

LODGE SUPPERS .

Three times a day the world is happy—at breakfast , 'inner , and supper—the only exceptions being in the cases let those persons who have nothing to eat . It may not insist with our idea of the intellectual and spiritual dig"" y of man to derive his most frequent and pronounced na Ppiness from the gratification of his appetite , but it

consists with facts as they exist , and have always existed . telling and drinking , somehow or other , fill a man with ^ ryiucss , with good humour , and also , not ur . frequeutly , with good sense . After bieakfast he is ready for business , a 'et dinner lor business or pleasure , and after supper for pleasure , and sleep . Freemasonry , with its sagacious

jj'actical character , takes a man as it finds him , and , Hiding ninl to be in a laige sense a Ice ling animal , it r'tnieles for filling him with good things material , as well db 1 guejd things moral and intellectual—m other words , in J ' tddnce . with the traditions and usiges of the Craft , k banquet or supper has ever been eonsilcicd an integral

Lodge Suppers.

part of Masonry . The wisdom of this provision is apparent , for it grows out of the nature of man . Tncre is nothing merely fanciful or theoretical in Mas jury—its purposes are all practical . It aims to mouU its me . ubcrs nto a true brotherhoo . l , and 10 supply t > e -ch the means to gratify his moral , intellectual , and physical want-. The Holy ' Bible is the fountain-head of its moralitv , th :

sciences and arts the sources of i's intellecturi t ; ieliiue ; -e , and the banquet-uble the seat of its pleasures , physical and mental . And Freemasonry has never been con-pi . cuously prosperous , gathering together ttie 1 irge body eel its membership at regular m ; eiiiii > s . except wli .-n l . i ' io-jr and lefreshment were statedly combined . It is a great mistake to omit the supper or colUtionfrom

the regular proceedings of a l . ielge ; it does out piy to omit it . Neither work , nor a lecture , nor even a Grand Visitation , will attractlike a banquet . It may be humiliating in some respects to make the statement , but it is true . Men love to eat and drink , and to chat over it , and enj jy good fullowship , and make new acquaintances . While in the lodge they are required to be distressing ly orderly , bui

in the banquet-hall they may talk at will , laugh until they grow fat , sing a song or make a speech , and all in the intervals of tickling their palates with toothsome solids and inspiring liquids . If the reader has not discovered it before we inform him now , that we are pronouncedly in favour of the supper ur banquet in Masonry , and for the same reason that we are * in favour of supper at home in the circle of the

family—it attracts all " anund the mahogany , ' and unites all into a loving throng . We do net know whether King David , when he made the declaration , " Behold how good anel how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity , " had in his mind ' s eye a host of brethren whose minds and hearts formed , as it were , one great unit , ami the contents of whose stomachs

were precisely the same , because they had filled them from the same bounteous table ; but we elo know that disagieement at a lodge table is impossible . When the stomach is full of good things the bead is empty of all bickerings , anel especially when sentiment , jest , and general good-fellowship accompany and fei . luw the liquids and solids . If a serums difference of opinion

should ever arise in a lodge , let it be tiniered t- > lie 011 the table—the supper tabic—lor suieare we thai it will never be taken up Irom there . Atabanqret no one wishes to taste of that dish . While there , every brother realises that grand saying of our tradi . i-jual Grainl Mister , King Solomon : " He brought me to the baiii | uetiiig-hous-. ' , and his banner over mc was love . " When Ibe br thren are

enjoying a lodge supper ihcy arc in thee Ciaiis b unhiding house , the very atmosphere of which is an atmosphere of love . We breathe it with every bre-aib , and it ( ills u , with good thoughts , goo-1 feelings , and gouel humour . One of the widest known traditions of antiquity , haiielcel dojvn to us in mythology , is the story of a ceitain baoqu-. t of the gods in Olylnpia . Tncre was a Royal roainagc in

heaven , and all the deities were invited to the nuptials except Discordia . Enraged at this sight , she who was ihe friend of Mars , the god of war , and the sister of Death , and who had been dismissed by Jupiter from heaven because of her continually fomenting quarrels in the supernal household—this Discordia , at the banquet of the gods consequent upon the marriage , threw a golden apple

among the guests , bearing the inscription , " to be given up to the fairest . " Theieupon Juno , Venus , and fllinerva each claimed the apple for herself . Jupiter ordered the three goddesses to Mount Ida , to submit their claims to the judgment of Paris—who decided in favour of Venus . The Trojan war followed , in the human world , when Venus naturally took the side of Paris , and lur rivals , Juno and

Minerva , that of his opponents , and thus did gods on both sides fight with men , and hence the ruin of Troy , and the infinite misfortunes of the Greeks . But all this occurred in an imaginary world , among the imaginary beings . In the real world , with which we have to do , no apple of discord ever appears at our banquets . Another of the legends of Olympia tells of a feature of

the banquet of the gods thai is no less unknown upon earth , and especially in Freemasonry . It hoiribly relates , that Tantalus , preparing to feast the gods , had boiled the mangled body of his son . The frightful banquet had begun , when tbe ciime was detected , and the Goddess of Fate drew from the cauldron the revivified body of Pelops . One shoulder only was missing—Cere ; had unfortunately

swallowed it I but the place of the absent limb was ingeniously supplied by an artificial one of ivory . And Tantalus was hurled to his merited doom in Tartaius . Now , Freemasons do not prey upon each other in any manner—we have heard of " roast missionary , " but never of roast Freemason , Backbiting is forbidden in Masonry I Brethren , let us rightly estimate ami wisely use the

banquet , for it belongs to Masonry as truly as our daily meals do to the regime of our families . There are in it the elements of sociability , conviviality , and fraternity , and in its absence there is nothing else that can take ils p lace . There is no better antidote to non-affiliation , no surer source ol attraction to the entire membership of a lodge , and no greater pacirur and harmoniser in the Masonic world than a lodge supper I—Philadelphia /) Keystone .

We are g lad to hear that Bro . Thomas , who is as celebrated for his poetry as his hats , has taken extensive premises at 167 , Fleet-street , where we hope he will bo as successful as he is energetic . Sir Frederick Leighton , P . R . A ., has accepted

the presieiency of the Birmingham Society of Artists for the ensuing year . The Brussels Gothic Museum have purchased for £ 8000 the picture of the Holy Family , by Wueiityu Matsys , from the cleigy ' . 'I Si . I'teiic at Lemvain .

Notes On Art, &C.

Notes on Art , & c .

At the : ordinary meeting of the Royal Society on Thursday week last , the Right Hon . R . A . Cross was elected a Frllow , and ihe following were elected as foreign membeis : —Arthur Auwers , Berlin ; Lui gi Cremona , Rem- ; J . L . A . de Q-e . atrefa . jes , Paris ; Georg Hermann Qrincke , Hei ' e-lberg ; Theud . ir Schwann , Liege ; Jean ejervais St is , BeUSs-. ls .

The next concert eif the Royal Albert Hall Amateur Orc'iestial S' cicty will be given on Saturday evening , A . iil 19 th , in aid e . f the funds of the Royal Seamen and Al-trine .- , O . p . ian Schoe . l at Poitsmouth , under the patronage of the Duchess of Edinburgh , who has signifieil her intention to be present .

TUB TURKISH LANGUAGE . —The Turkish Commission on the alphabet propose , we learn , to go even further th in we lately stated . Besides applying the Arabic alphabet phonetically to maps , they are preparer ! to recommend feir staff military maps that , while Turkish orthography is preserved , the Roman alphabet shall be used .

This is supported by the plea that the Arabic alphabet does not allow so many names to be put en a map in the same space as the Roman . This , of course , is a step by Mudif Effendi towards Romanising the Turkish language and increasing the Romanised area in Europe—Athenwum .

The artist Couture has died in France at the age of s ^ xty-four . His •aios" . celebrated painting , " Les Romains de la Decadence , " hangs in the Paris Luxembourg , and his " Baptism of the Prince Imperial" is also wellknown , while his works in general were remarkable for the immense amount of labour and finish bestowed upon them .

SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS . —Dr . Jules Crevaux has brought his second journey through Guiana and across Ihe Tuiiuc Rutnac range into Brazil to a successful termination , hiving reached Para in the middle of January . He has pud special attention to the geology of the region traversed , and is bringing home with him numerous observations lakeu on the rivers Oyapock and Paru . We hear that Dr . Olio Fin ch will shortly start on his expedition

among the i-lands of the North Pacific , but Captain H . Seiigseake will be unable to accompany him , as he has uneleitakcn to lead an expedition [ or the relief of Professor NoidenskiOll . Dr . Bastini , who started on a . scientific expedition in Persia , India , and the Eastern Archipelago in Ihe early part of last summer , has written from Calcutta In the Berlin Geographical Sjciety staling that he is about to leave that place with the view of pursuing his et . iiiologic-il studies in Assam and Java . —Academy .

The Obei-Atiiiiieigeiu Passion-Flay has beeu pcifeiinied lecently at San Francisco , where a storm of indignation has been aroused by its representation . Tne manager , however , refuses to withdraw the play , and points to ttie txireme decorum and reverence which has prevailed amongst the audience as a proof of the propriety of the production . Tne acting is hig hly spoken of , and Bach's P ission Mmic accompanies the play .

Sir Joshua Reynolds ' s chair , in which so uuuy of his sitters were painted , will piobably be presented to the Royal Academy by Sir Frederick Leighton . The chair was last in possession of Sir Francis Grant , and at the sale of the remaining woiks of the late President it was bought for 7 , ? guineas by Sir F . Leighton , who at the same time acquired a sketch by Sir Joshua foi a picture of Edmund Burke and Lord Rockingham , in which the chair appears .

The statue of Harvey , to be erected in commemoration of the discoverer ' s tercentenary , is to be executed by Mr . Bruce Joy , who is the artist of Model B in the exhibition of the competitive designs at South Kensington . Mr . Joy's design shows Harvey in his doctor ' s gown , staneling upright , with head erect ami his right hand placed on his breast to feel the pulsations of the

heart , while in his left hand is the heart of some creature . The features—as in the other designs—are copied from the portrait by Jansens in the Royal College of Physicians . The statue will be of bronze on a granite pedestal . It is announced in the London Gazette of last week that the Queen has been graciously pleased to confer the Albert Medal of the First Class on Captain Peter Sharp

and John Mcintosh , A . B ., of the Annabella Clark , of Ardrossan . The following is an account of the services in respect of which these decorations have been conferred : — On the 20 th November , 1878 , at about 5 , 45 p . m ., a fire suddenly broke out on board the French ship- Meilanie , which was lying in the River Adour , at Boucan , near Beiyonne , loaded with 500 barrels of petroleum , of which

40 were on deck . A mass of name shot up from the main hatch , ani the ship quivered all over from the explosion of some of the bariels . The ship's seams opened at once , and the petroleum pouring through spread a belt of flame around the ship . The master and a seaman then jumped overboard , but the mate remained to try to save his son , who was lying helpless under some heavy objects which

had fallen on him . Captain Peter Snarp , master of the Annabella Claik , of Ardrossan ( which was lying close by in tin- river ) , accompanied by a seaman named John Mcintosh , came-at once to his assistance . They rowed their bjat through the fUmes , pickcil up the seaman who had jumped overboard , and Uok the mate from the blazing vessel . Caplain Sharp and Mcintosh both

sustained severe injuries . It was feared at first that Captain Sharp would lose the : sig ht of one eye anel John Mcintosh the use of his hands . Mr . Alfred P . Newton has been elected a member of the Society of Painters in Water Colours ; an 1 Mis . Helen Coleman Angell anil Mr . Herbert M , Marshall have been elee ' ed associate exhibitors .