Cape Of Good Hope.

o-ood service to the promoters by his advice , and he ( Bro . Bain ) felt sure if the brethren 'would only listen to his teaching they would all become good and zealous Masons . —The W . M ., in responding , said that he could scarcely express to the brethren how deeply he felt the kind and hearty manner with

which they had received the toast , and he could assure them this was a day he had looked forward to for many years , and the brethren might depend upon his doing his utmost to follow in the steps of their late W . M ., whose . ruling , working , and governing the lodge had met wifh-the cordial approval of

all the brethren . The W . M ., in the unavoidable absence of Bro . F . D . Deare , P . M ., gave the health of the retiring W . M ., to which Bro . Bain dul \ responded . Other toasts then followed , interspersec with c ome capital songs and recitations , and alleged t a most agreeable evening was spent , the brethren retiring about eleven o'clock .

Poetry.

Poetry .

C MASONIC SONGS TO POPULAR AIRS . No . 4 . —AIR , " AuldLang Syne . " As through the world our path we take , where ' er that path may lead , It smoothed will be if we but make our own the Mason ' s creed ; If we but hold in simple faith the' truths that we

possess , And do our part like honest men , who act what they profess . Then here's a health to all the Craft , our brethren true and tried , False friend , or foe , no fears we know when standing side by side .

When shines the sun our ranks upon , we bless the power Supreme , And work His gracious purpose while rejoicing in the beam ; And as His love to us is shown may we to others show , A brother's love and tenderness as through the world we go .

Then here's a health , & c . If clouds should come and dim the sun , our faith comes into play , And bids us watch through darkest night to hail the

coming day ; And as the day must surely come , so future time will tell The wisdom of His high design who " orders al things well . " Then here ' s a health , & c . Dublin . J . II . W .

The Wrestle.

THE WRESTLE .

BY BRO . GEOKGE MC AULEY . " And he said , ' Let me go , for the day breaketh . ' "Gene et xxxii . 26 . Though bound to earth by various ties

, Gladly would my spirit rise , And anxious for a sure abode In the blest presence of its God ; Still , still it cries to all below , " See , the day breaks ! ah ! let me go . "

Here sins defile , here cares oppress , And fcirs alarm and foes distress ; Sickness here wastes , here plagues anno ;' , And sorrow darkens every joy . I would forsake this vale of woe , And the day breaks , pray let me go .

If by disease ot doubts distresl , 1 seek , in God , the promised rest ; Faithful and true , He makes the bed On which reclines my weary head , But greater good my God will show—Sec , the day breaks ! ah ! let mc go .

When favoL-rd by my Heavenly King , As in the days of youth I sing , When desert wastes around mc smile , My gladdened heart exults the while . But brighter joys I hope to know — Now the day breaks ! so let me go .

Almighty Lord ! to be with Thee , Thy courts to tread , Thy face to see , Is my soul ' s wish , nnd ns it hies Towawls thy bless'd scat beyond th ; ikies , Still , still it cries to all below—See , the day breaks ! ah 1 let mc go . T" Voiea efMasonry .

The Plain Of Philistia.

THE PLAIN OF PHILISTIA .

BY CAPTAIN WARREN , R . E . ( Continued from page 492 ., ) The villages on the flat plain about Ashdod are as like each other as so many peas , and there is very little of interest to be seen in them , but they had nearly all to bc visited , if it was only for making

sure of their names , as the people were not all inclined to give information . Many of them had been down south working on the Suez Canal , nnd seeingoursurveying instruments , they concluded that the English were going to cut a rival canal through Philistia and the Judean mountains to the Dead

Sea , and to this they strongly objected , as they considered it would be the signal for our retaking possession of our inheritance ; for they told me over and over again that they had taken the land from us . and that we should wrest it back from them again , but then many of them added , " You will

have to fight for it ; wc will not give it up without a struggle . " At El Juseir wc saw a white marble column and efiac d capital , and at Summeil a few levelled stones . The ruins of the ancient towns about here are probably buried only a few feet below the soil .

On the evening of the 7 th June we were camped at the foot of Tel es Snfiyct , the Alba Shecula . or Blanche Garde of the Crusaders , probably Gath of the Philistines . It is fifteen miles due south of Ramleh , and twelve miles to S . E . of Ashdod ; the meaning of its name , Alba Shecula , will be

unders ood on reference to the photograph 'No . 265 ) . where the glittering white chalk cliff at S . W . angle is shown , a con » nicuous object which can be seen for many miles to west . To the ea-t the country was surveved , the first range ofthe hill country ; the only villages of

interest visited were Kudna , where there are remains of a castle , ancient walls , and large stones about ; much of it appears older than the time of the Crusades , but there are also pointed arches , casemates , and plenty of modern ruins . It is five miles S . E : of Tel es Safiveh , nnd to its north by two miles

is the village of Deir Duban , where are enormous caves similar to those described by Dr . Robinson a" Beit Jebrin , In one several inscriptions were fo md , cut on the rock and on plaster , apparently ovr a passage which has been built up . The Syrian Bishop of Jerusalem pronounces them to be

Sy iac , and to be the work of Christians who emi-Qra ' ed here from the Holy City at the time of the Per ; an invasion . There is a Byzantine cross over one of the inscriptions . O 1 Jui . c 10 th we left Tel es Safiveh for Ycbneh Port , a distance of seventeen miles in a straight

line N . W . ; passed along the W ; ldy Sumt by Tel et Turmus ( a village with no hill ) and Kurtinch , and then turning off to Al Mesmiych , went due north wor undulating hills past F . mazmnh ( ruin ) to S ' aahmeh , on the north bank of W . ldy Surah . This latter w ; tdy runs N . W . through a gap in lhe hills of

El Mughar and kutrah . passing to the east of Yebnc ' i town , and approaches the ocean about one mile to the north of the ancient port of Jamnia ( Yebnch ) . There are at the mouth of the wddy lagoons and fresh water springs ; but no water in the wddv during the summer months .

I may here make a suggestion with regard to the position of the cave of Makkedah where the five kings took refuge when pursued by Joshua from Gibeon . Joshua x , 5 . We have , Joshua xv . 41 , the towns " Gederoth , Bcthdagon , and Naameh , and Makkedah" placed

together , and wc have nt \\\ c . present day , Kutrah and Mughar close together , Naameh , six miles N . E ., and Beit Dejan about twelve miles to north . I have to suggest that the villege of el Muyhilr ( the cave ) is the modern name of tlie ancient Makkedah , and the desiribiky of making further rcscirchcs at this

p ' ace . It is true that several authorities plice Makkcd ih further to the soirh of this point by several mill's , but the writer ofthe ariicle •' Makkedah , " Smith's " Dictionary ofthe Bible . " appears to establish the fact that it must have been siluate at no great distance from Ramleh . and el Mughar is

less than eight miles from that city . There was little to bc seen at Ycbnch town except the churc ' i now used as n mosque , but excavations would probably uncover the old fortifications ; it is admirably situated as a fenced city . The ancient port is S 01112 four miles distant ; a large plan of it is

given on one of the Admiralty charts of the Syriac seas . The photograph No . 267 gives a view of the southera end of the port , where arc many confused ruins . From this point wc rode up to Jaffa , tci miles , to obtain our letters , the weather extremely oppressive

in spite of the sea breeze . — "As crld witcr to a thristy soul , so is good news from a far co intrv . " June 12 th . Wc left Jaffa for the little village of Surah , twenly- < hrce miles in a stra ' ght line . For 'he first ten nv'es to Neby Ghundch , wc passed remains of walis and terraces on the hills which

The Plain Of Philistia.

have now a coating of drift sand over them . We passed next through olive groves and gardens past Zernuka , until crossing over some undulating hills we came across the village of Akir , the ancient Ekron ; with no remains of its fallen greatness . The people are very civil , and one old man came out and babbled forth a story about the villagers being

descended from Jews . As it is five miles from Yebneh town , the great seat of learning in the time of the Maccabees , there may be some foundation for the story . Ekron is on a swelling mound only about two miles to the north of the Wddy Surah , the valley up which the milch kine probably conducted the ark to Bethshemesh . and during harvest time

there is a good road all the way . From here we gradually ascended the hills by Mansurah and Kuldah , and passing the ruins of Beit F'ar to our right , arrived at the 'Ainof Surah by night-fall , 870 ft . above the sea . We had now a chapter of accidents ; the dragoman , who had heard of his father ' s death that morning , forgot what he was

about , and losing sight of us , wandered over tie country , leaving us to find our own wav . He did not arrive at camp till some time after us , and when he saw me he exploded in sobs , declaring that to have lost us on the road was a far greater grief to him than to have lost his father ; he forgot to tie up his horse or give it a drink , and so the poor beast

tried to satisfy himself and tumbled into the well , whose waters were nearly 4 ft . from the surface . On our way in the dark the observation book had been dropped , and add to this our head muleteer was taken ill with strong fever , and Musa , his second , wis stung by a scorpion on the big toe . The poor follow was brought into my tent in a very exhausted

slate , and on finding that the application of strong liquid ammonia to his toe had no effect , 1 applied it to his nostrils , saying . "Musa , smell this . " H " sniffed , but it had no effect . " Try again , Must . Again he sniffed , but his agonised writhings prevented his nose touching the bottle . " Sniff as strong as you can , Musa , " and this time he regularly

inhaled the blistering vapour , and fell back motionless as though shot . We had hardly time to think what to do next or to listen to the growing plaint that Musa had been killed , when a loud splash was heard , and a cry th t the dragoman ' s horse had tumbled into the w < II . The poor beast was swimming , but had no chance of getting out by himself . The guy ropes of the tents were quickly on the

spot , one we tied round his head and shoulders , and the other tight to his hock , and soon we were all lugging away at the animal . By some desperate efforts we at last got him on dry land somewhat worried by the ropes , but not permanently the worse for his rough usage . Among the most energetic of the party I though I perceived Musa working awa , and sure enough it was he , come to life again . Aftci it was all over I asked him how his toe was , but he

had forgotten all about it ; either the ammonia or the excitement of getting out the horse , had effectually cured him . In the morning our observation book was found ; the head muleteer was , however , very ill with fever , so we had to make this spot our headquarters until 15 th June , when he recovered sufficiently to move ;

it was astonishing how he would swa'low strong doses down without their affecting him in the least . A sirocco wind was blowing at the time , when the heat was between 80 ° to 90 during the nights , and made us all very uncomfortable . In th »» . survey of the country to the north of our camp nothing of importance was observed .

The village of Surah ( the ancient Zorah ) stands about 1150 ft . above the sen , and is situated on the southern end of the hill crest overlooking the valley of the same name . On the opposite side of the valley low down ih the ruin of ' Ain Shems ( the ancient Bethshemesh ) , and from our stand-point it is easy to sec the line which the milch kine wou'd

have taken in coming up from Ekron , and also the valley which the men would have ascended in carrying the ark up to Kirjath-j . \ arim . Looking across the valley to the opposite crest we can sec the ruin of Tebneh ( the ancient Timnath ) , where dwelt Samson's betrothed ; it is 740 ft . above the sea , and therefore not in the plains , as some writers have stated . Samson in going down to it would descend

700 ft . into the valley and then ascend again 350 ft to Timnath . It is apparentfromthesacred narrative , Judges xv ., that the corn was growing in the valley , as it docs at present , with the vineyards and olives lining the side ofthe hills ; for wc arc told that the Philistines came up to Timnath and burnt Samson ' s wife and her father with fire . Tibneh lies between El Bureij and Ammurieh . ( To be continued . )

"MORE than a year ago one of my children was attacked with bronchitis , and , after a long illness , was given up by my physician as ' / jasl cure . ' 1 was then induced to try your Vegetable , Pain Killer , and from the time I began lhe use of it the child rapidly got better , and is now strong and heallhv . — J WINSTANUIY , IO , Whittle-st , L'pool , ' 7 au . i 860 . —To P . D . & Son , "