Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

THE IOOTH PERFORMANCE of Bro . Oscar Barrett ' s Drury Lane pantomime " Aladdin " will take place on Wednesday evening , the 24 th inst , and not on the following day , as announced . The advanced booking being so great , it has been found necessary to give an extra matinee on Thursday next , the iSth inst . BRO . THE EARL AND COUNTESS or WARWICK left Warwick Castle early in the week to spend a few days at 50 , South Audley-street , which they have taken for the season .

THE DUKE OF SANE-COBURT GOTHA has been suffering from an attack of influenza , but we are glad to hear his Royal Highness is now progressing favourably towards recovery . THE LADY MAYORESS will hold her first reception at the Mansion House , on Tuesday , the 23 rd inst ., and other receptions will follow on the first and third Tuesdays of each succeeding month until further notice .

THE DUKE OF YORK paid a visit to the Admiralty on Monday , and later in the day , in company with the Duchess , visited Messrs . Reynolds and Co . 's Galleries , 32 , St . James's-street , to view the large picture of her Majesty ' s ship Britannia . A CHILDREN ' S MUSICAL fairy play , entitled "Cinderella , " will be performed under the patronage of the Duchess of Fife , at St . Cuthbert's Hall , Philbeach-gardens , Earl ' s Court , on Saturday , the 27 th inst ., in aid of the Clarence wing of St . Mary ' s Hcspital .

BY DIRECTION OF THE Princess of Wales , two cheques have been sent to the Gordon Boy ' s Home and the British Home for Incurables , being the proceeds of the further sale of Canon Fleming ' s sermon on the occasion of the death of the Duke of Clarence and Avondale . PRINCESS CHRISTIAN OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN has intimated her intention of being present at a grand morning concert which it is proposed , by the kind permission of the Earl and Countess of Ellesmere , to hold at Bridgwater House , St . James ' s , on Tuesday , the 16 th inst ., in aid of the St . Helena Hospital Home .

BROS . LORD GLENESK and W . Hayes Fisher , M . P ., were among those who attended the first portion of the service in St . Jude's , South Kensington , in connection wilh the funeral service in Kensal Green Cemetery , on Saturday last , of Lieut .-Col . Villiers La Touche Hatton , formerly of the Grenadier Guards . PRINCESS CHRISTIAN OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN and suite visited the Haymarket Theatre on Saturday evening last , and witnessed for the second time the performance of "Under the Red Rose . " On Tuesday her Royal Highness and her daughter , Princess Victoria , concluded their sojourn at Buckingham Palace , and returned lo Cumberland Lodge .

THE S 4 TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL of the London Orphan Asylum , Watford , will be celebrated at the Hotel Metropole on Monday , the 1 st March . By way of fittingly commemorating the completion of the Goth year of her Majesty ' s reign , the Board oi Management have resolved on admitting 60 orphan children at the election in June next .

A COLLISION OCCURRED near Stockport , on Saturday evening last , when the Derby train which leaves Marple at 6 . 20 p . m ., ran into the Manchester , Sheffield , and Lincolnshire train from Sheffield to Liverpool , while standing on the line at Brinnington Junction . The guard was hurt and so were several of the passengers , of whom two ladies were taken to the infirmary . THE EMPRESS FREDERICK OF GERMANY crossed over from Osborne to Portsrrouth , on Monday specially for the purpose of visiting the Portsmouth Royal Sailors ' Hi me , her Majesty inspected the whole establishment , but more particularly the cabins endowed by her son , tne Emperor William , and which are respectively named the "Kaiser , " and "Hohensollern . "

THE WILL OF Bro . Stephen Percival Norris , of Bournemouth , who died on December 3 rd , was proved on the 30 th ult ., the value of the personal estate being £ 11 , 485 iGs . id . The residue of his real and personal estate he leaves upon trust to his brothers Charles Norris , Harry Nrrris , and Alfred Norris ; his sisters , Margaret and Maiion ; and his niece Violet Eleanor Norris .

OWING TO A serious and extensive slip of rock at Shakespeare ' s Cliff , Dover , the Coastguard Station in that neighbourhood has had to be abandoned , and in all probability will be removed to the end of the Admiralty Pier . There have also been several similar slips between Margate and Ramsgate , huge masses cf the cliff have been falling along the foreshore , while the picturesque footpath between Broadstairs and Ramsgate has disappeared entirely .

H . R . H . THE PRINCE OF WALES , attended by Major-General Clark , visited the Winter Exhibition at the New Gallery on Saturday morning last , for the purpose of inspecting the works of Mr . G . F . Watts , R . A . The Duke and Duchess of York having concluded their visit to the Queen , left Osborne on the same day for York House , St . James's , crossing over to Portsmouth on board the royal yacht Alberta . The young Piinces of York are remaining with Her Majesty at Osborne .

BLOCK E of the depositories of Messrs . Maple and Co . at Camden Town was discovered to be on fire about 12 o ' clock on Saturday night last , and so fierce was the conflagration that the Fire Brigade failed to obtain a mastery over the flames until late in the morning , notwithstanding that some 150 firemen with 40 engines were engaged . The upper part of Block F was dest oyed , while the whole of Block E , where the fire originated , and its contents were consumed , as well as many small properties in the neighbourhood .

"THE FREE PARDON "at the Olympic Theatre having received that necessary " pulling together , " the want of which is always more or less observable on first nights , is now attracting enthusiastic audiences . The sensation scene of the escape from Dartmoor in a downpour of real rain causes almost as much excitement as did the actual thing itself last Christmas . It is evident that tie judgment of the new manageress , Miss Vane ( Mrs . Chaiks Sugden ) , that good wholesome melodrama will always attract , is being more lhan justified by the s , teadily growing success of this excellent play , which bids fair to biing back all the Olympic's old-time popularity .

RARE VOLUMES . —Towards the end of the month , commencing on the 22 nd inst ., a five days' sale of valuable libraries will attract the book-hunter to Sotheby's auction rcoms . Amongst many precious things in tre catalogue may be noted the rare Kil . marncck edition of Burns , first editions of Walton's "Compleat Angler" ( a copy of which recently sold for £ 415 ) , and Goldsmith ' s "Vicar of Wakefield , " and the four parts of that little paper dear to admirers of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood , " The Germ , " started in 1 S 50 , and containing contributions by the Rossettis , Holman Hunt , Madox Brown , Coventry Patmore , J . Colinson , and others .

Bv WAY OF COMMEMORATING the Goth anniversary of the Queen ' s reign , a Prince of Wales' Hcspital Fund for London has been commenced at the " suggestion of H . R . H . the Prince of Walts . The Fund is intended to provide , by annual subscriptions , a sufficient sum to make good the deficiency of income which is required to keep pace with the expenditure . A strong and influential committee has been formed , and great hopes are entertained that the project will be succes > ful . The Daily Telegra : h , with a view to supporting it , has opened a "Shilling Branch , " which ' is headed by Mr . Henry Lowenneld , of the Prince of Wales Theatre , with a subscription of 100 , 000 shillings , our respected contemporary being set down for 20 , 000 shillings .

THE WILL OF Bro . Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson , of 25 , Manchester-square , M . D ., F . R . S ., a native of Somerby , Leicestershire , who died on the 21 st November last , aged G 8 years , bears date January ist , 1 S 7 S , with codicils of the 25 th July , 1 S 95 , and 19 th August , 1896 . His widow , Dame Mary Jolley Richardson , is the sole executrix , and to her the testator bequeaths such of his personal chattels as she may select . He bequeathed to Mrs . Caroline Susanna Berkeley , of Leicester , £ C > per quarter during

her life , and he bequeathed his patents , apparatus , manufactures , and substances of an inventive character to his son Bertram . Bro . Sir Benjamin Richardson left the residue of his property to Lady Richardson during her life , and subject to her life interest as to one-third to his son Bertram , as to one-third to his son Aubrey , and as to the remaining one-third in trust for his daughter Stella . The testator ' s personal estate has been valued at 17970 14 s .

Masonic And General Tidings.

THE INDIAN FAMINE FUND . —Down to Thursday n'ght the Lord Mayor ' s Fur . d at the Mansion House amounted to £ 265 , 000 , including a donation of £ 21 from Prince and Princess Charles of Denmark . IT HAS BEEN definitively arranged that the Queen and C ourt will remo / e from Osborne to Windsor , on Monday , the 15 th inst . BRO . THE BARON DE RUSH has been elected a member of the British Commissi of the Brussels International Exhibition this year .

BRO . ALDERMAN SIR DAVID EVANS , K . C . M . G ., and Lady Evans have left London for the South of France , and will be away for about a month . TUB EARL OF STAMFORD will preside at the annual meeting of the Society for the Protection of Birds , which will be held at theWesiiivnster Palace Hotel , on Tuesday , the 23 rd instant . THE LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND ( Bro . Lord Ashbourne ) will give a ball in Dublin on Tuesday , the iGth inst ., when their Excellencies ths Lord Lieutenant and Countess Cadogan will be present among the guests .

BKO . LORD CHARLES BERESFORD . who entered the Royal Navy 37 years ago completed his 51 st year on Tuesday . It is expected that his lordship will return shortly from Egypt where he has been sojourning since Christmas . THE OUBEN ' DIAMOND J UBILEE . —The Goldsmiths' Company have determined to set aside the sum of £ 20 , 000 to found a charity for the relief ot needy persons engaged in the gold and silver trades in the Metropolis .

IN OUR REPORT last week of the meeting of the Robert Burns Chapter , No . 25 , the name of the Scribe E . was given as "Sand . " It should have been " Land . " We regret the error and have much pleasure in correcting it . THE STAFF of the Intelligence Department , Secretary ' s Office of the General Post Ofiice , held their sixth annual dinner at Anderton's Hotel , Fleet-street , on Saturday evening last , under the presidency of the Superintendent of the section .

BRO . S . B . BANCROFT will give a reading on behalf of the Chelsea Hospital for Women at Stafford House—kindly lent for the purpose by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland—on Tuesday , the 16 th inst . Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar will preside , H . R . H . THE PRINCE OF WALES , attended by Maj .-Gen . Clarke , presented the certificates to the scholars and exhibitioners appointed by the Technical Education Board of the London County Council , on Friday , the 5 th inst ., in the Queen's Hall , Langhamplace .

BRO . W . R . MCDONNELL , Q . C , Chairman of the London County Sessions , was on Saturday night entertained at dinner at Liverpool by the officials , overseers , and agents of the City Revision Court , over which Bro . McConnell had presided for aS years . AT THE INSTALLATION MEETING of the Covent Garden Lodge , No . 1614—Bro . John Mayo , VV . M . —held at the Criterion , Piccadilly Circus , W ., on Tuesday , the gth inst ., £ 5 5 s . was unanimously voted to the M . W . Grand Master ' s Hospital Fund and £ 5 5 s . to the Lord Mayor's Indian Famine Fund .

DR . NANSEN , the Arctic explorer , dined with the Savage Club on Saturday evening last , and met with a very hearty reception , it being the largest gathering of members ever held , with the exception of the meeting which was attended by H . R . H . the Prince of Wales in 1 SS 2 , when he was elected an honorary life member . AMONG THOSE present at the memorial service for the late Sir Henry Edwards , formerly M . P . for Weymouth , which was held at St . George's Hanover-square on Tuesday , were Bros . Sir F . Dixon-Hartland , Bart ., M . P ., Sir Thomas Sutherland , M . P ., and Lady Sutherland , Bros . Sir Frederick Edridge , Sir John Puleston , Sir Eyre M . Shaw , and Sir Gabriel Goldney , Bart .

NEWSVHNDORS' BENEVOLENT AND PROVIDENT INSTITUTION . —We are glad to see that the Newsvendors' Benevolent Institution intends to commemorate the present jubilee of the Queen ' s reign by placing the entire donations received dunne the year to the Royal Victoria Pension Fund , inaugurated by the Queen in 1 SS 7 , for the benefit of the widows of newsvendors . The festival will be held on Wednesday , April 28 th , at the Holborn Restaurant , ar . d Lord Crewe has kindly consented to preside .

THE GREATEST RAILWAY TRAVELLER IN THE WORLD . —At Birmingham on Wednesday the presentation of a purse of 100 guineas and an address was made to Guard Jennes , described as the greatest railway traveller in the world . Jennes had been in the employ of the Great Western Railway Company for 40 years , and had travelled upwards of four million miles . During the whole of his career he never had an accident . The address was signed by several noblemen and many prominent gentlemen .

WHILE A Kings Cross and Camberwell Green omnibus was proceeding alonff the Gray's Inn-road on Tuesday night and was close by the King ' s Cross Metropolitan Station , the axle-tree broke and the outside passengers were thrown violently into the roadway . The injured were conveyed to the Roval Free Hospital close by and had their wounds dressed , one of their number—Bro . W . J . Fitch , P . M ., Sec . 448 , P . Prov . G . D . Herts—being so seriously hurt about the head that it was found necessary lo detain him ; the others , however , were enabled to return to their homes .

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN ' S DIAMOND J UBILEE . —There is every reason to believe that the claims of H . R . H . the Prince of Wales's Hospital Funi will be brought before all the Masonic lodges in the Metropolis as the meetinjs are held . The inhiat'O . i of this development is to be credited to the Drury Lane Lodge , No . 2127 , whose members , at the suggetsion of Bro . Oscar Barrett , collecied 105 shillings which were sent to the office of the Daily Telegraph , through Bro . Hirry Nicholls . This example was speedily followed by the Doric and Warner Lodges , numbered 933 and 2257 respectively .

BRO . THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF ARRAN left Dublin Castle for London on Sunday last , on the conclusion of their visit to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and the Countess Cadogan . Bro . the Earl and Countess of Portarlin » toa have also arrived in town from the Irish capital . Bro . Viscount Wolseley , we are happy to say , has reached such a stage of convalescence that he has been able to visit Bright in in order to recruit his strength . We are sony to hear that the conliion of Bro . the Eirl of Hirdvicke ii such as to cau > e the gravest anxiety to his friend ; . His lordship , it will be remembered , was Prov . Grand Master of Cambridgeshire for abojt 19 years , having been appointed to that office in 1 S 72 , and having resigned in 1 S 91 .

THROUGH FIRE AND WATHR . —The disastrous accident to the Orient liner , s . s . Orotova , which sank in Tilbury Docks whilst coaling 0 . 1 the I 4 ' . h December , 1896 , unfortunately entailing the loss by drowning of seven men , will be fresh in the remembrance of our readers . The vessel was raised on the 21 st December , 1896 , having been eight days under water . While , of course , a great proportion of the contents were ruined , several hundred bottles of " Johannis" water—all of which were loose and not in cases

—in the vessel , were found to be in excellent condition and as lively as when bottled . We have often heard of "Johannis" going successfully through fire and opening crisply , clearly , and sparkingly in the blaz : of the tropics , but this is the first time we have heard of it going through TO iter as well . One , if not two , other natural waters have achieved a fur amount of success in the United Kingdom . "Johannis" has met with great success . We can but conclude that where all other things are equal , great success is due to the superior excellence of " Johanais " over its rivals .

THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSRS the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York were present at the private dinner which was given at the Imperial Institute on Monday to Dr . Nansen and Lieut . Scott-Hansen . Among the other guests were Lord Belhaven and Sturton , the Earl of Scarborough , Bro . Lord Loch , Sir G . Baden-Powell , Bro . Sir Leopold McClintock , Bro . Sir Frederick Abel , the Hon . George Curzon , Bro . Admiral Markham , and Sir Clements Markham , who presided as Chairman . Afterwards the party adjourned to the Royal Albert Hall to the meeting of the Royal Geographical

Society , the Duchess of York being also present . The vast hall was crowded , and Dr . Nansen read a paper recording his experiences during his recent expedition . When the applause which greeted the explorer at the close of his address was over , H . R . H . the Prince of Wales rose , and , in a few graceful words , presented , on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society , Dr . Nansen with the spec ' ul gold m . 'dal which had been struck in his honour , and to Lieut . Scott-Hansen a silver replica of the same . A vote of thanks to the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York for 11 mouring the Society with their presence brought the proceedings to a close , the meeting then breaking up .