Fireman Lee.

u « the Metropolitan Fire Brigade , of which it is not too much to say that its equal can perhaps hardly be found in any portion of the civilized avorld . Its motto certainly is at any rate "Nulli Secundus . " We by no means wish in saying this , to undervalue or forget the heroic exertions 0 f other fire brigades in other capitals of Europe

and the East , but we honestly feel , that Captain Shaw has a rig ht to ask and expect from us that hearty eommenelation and that entire confidence which are his just due , after the many proofs hourly before our eyes of the admirable discip line and untiring z * al of his little handful of men , of the gallant exeitions of that ever active Fire Brigade of which he is the energetic head .

A Grave Scandal.

A GRAVE SCANDAL .

We are among those who deeply feel the evil do . ie by the nauseating evidence adduced during the inquiry of the mournful and horrible Bravo case . Anything more detrimental to morality , anything more susceptible of evil influences , anything more likely to cause

widespread demoralization than the details of the evidence , humiliating and painful in themselves , we cannot well conceive or realise . And yet , yvhen yve have said all this , we cannot den that the enquiry yvas absolutely needed , i the interests of justice and society , neithe

can we affirm that all this sifting of the lives of the dead and the living , this opening out of hidden sores and buried secrets , was improper or unfair . Far from it . We do not agree with the " Times" on this part of the case . If there was to be an enquiry , it must be

thorough •if there was to be examination there must be cross-examination ; and we confess that yve do not see , if certain ivknesses were put into the box , how tbey were to be exempted on any principle of law or equity from the inevitable process of cross-examination . Of the case itself ,

however unpleasant , however pressing , or however personal , yve still must speak with proper reserve . Practically , it is yet " sub judice , " and we do not think it right or becoming to express any public opinion , though we probably all have formed a private one , alike as to the different

acts of the " dramatis persona ; , " and a possible solution of the mystery , a reasonable theory both of cause and effect , of the mournful history of this most dreadful crime . What the effect of the enquiry may be remains to be seen , bat yve

shall be sincerely glad if those who have so assiduously perused for some time past , in all ranks of society , the daily details of this extraordinary enquiry , will turn their attention to something else better yvorth reading , and eschew for the future a literature baneful in itself for

every class and condition amongst us , and directly tending to deprave the imagination , and to sap public and personal morality . What a sad spectacle is it for the thoughtful , the serious , and the God-fearing ! What humiliating evidence

it must remain of that under-current of social ill-living which seems to be surging upwards higher and higher amongst us , and which , unless timely checked , threatens to syveep away those barriers and restraints in social life which

prudence and propriety , virtue and piety , decency and religion , have set up for the honour of God and the welfare of man !

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ Wc do net hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in ji spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —EDJ

MASONIC PROFESSION AND PRACTICE . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — The letter signed Zaphon is a credit to the brother who yvrote it , whoever he may be , and I will supplement his remarks upon thc so-called hospitality of some

lod ges b y expressing my surprise at the absence of that Masonic characteristic in most of the lodges in England which I have attended . In India after the lodge is closed it is the custom for the W . M . to invite all visiting brethren to the banquet , and I never heard of such a thing in that eOUntrV AG n vicilin ' i . Kr /\ , l » rti- .. ir / m ( mm « . Mi . lrt /> ol 1 /^/ lr . a

. - — o — —¦» O naving to pay for the hospitality shown him , or his being Paid for b y any individual brother . But in this country I hnd it is the practice , generally , to make the visiting brother , even though he be a foreigner , pay for all he eats and drinks . On two occasions ( one of them being a Provmcial Grand Lod ge meeting ) I have been obliged thus

Original Correspondence.

to buy a ticket for the banquet , although I had on each occasion received an invitation to be present . I beg , therefore , to suggest to the rulers of the lodges where this sort of hospitality is in vogue that they should alter the toast of " The Visiting Brethren " to that of " The

Brethren yvho don't belong to our lodge . " 1 recollect belonging to a mess once as an honorary member , but yvhen I found I had to contribute as much , and even more than the regular members , I always looked upon and called myself a " non-regimental member " and not an "honorary "

one . If a man cannot afforel to entertain , the wisest plan for him to pursue is nut to ask people to his house under the guise of shoyying hospitality . AN- INDIAN P . M . i 2 th August , 1 S 76 .

SISTER ALDWORTH . To lhe Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — There is a portrait and an account of the history of Elizabeth St . Ledger in the Royal Military Lodge , No . 1449 , at Canterbury , which is certified by a brother ( one of

her descendants ) , yvho presented it to the lodge as being the only authentic portrait and history of her life . If Bro . Blackburne should be ever at Canterbury he can see the portrait at any time in the lodge . I am , dear Sir , yours faithfully , W . M . 1440 .

To lhe Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Several of our Leicester brethren being of opinion that the pic-nic party referred to in the enclosed report should not pass yvithout special notice , I have to request that you yvill kindly oblige by inserting those feyv remarks in your next issue . In consequence of some misunderstanding the report has been delayed an unusual time . I am , yours fraternally , P . M ., Mark Lodge , NJ . ig .

ath August , 18 / 6 . [ The report appears on page . 364 ] .

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

A LITTLE FRIENDLY GOSSIP ON SOME OF THE TOPICS OF THE DAY .

BV PHII . ANTHROl'OS . (/ Frit / en Espec ' nlly fur the " Freemason . " )

No . 1—EDUCATION . It is very remarkable how men differ , and differ greatly on this apparently simple question . On no subject are opinions so various , vieyvs so

contrasted , discussions so vehement , or controversies so bitter . Why is it , yvhy should it be so ? " A priori , " yve should have thought that the problem of education yvas one not so very difficult to solve . The old saying would seem to be of universal application still , " educat nutiix , instituit paidagogus , " and the "homo ingenuus et liberaliter educatus " would appear to

be a proper representative of the genus man . Indeed , the " educatus , " thc " Ekpaideutheis , " the truly educated person , might be taken to be a necessity alike for the happiness and yvell being of the individual , of the family , of the nation , of mankind . But , strange to say , moic fallacies from the very first seem to have surrounded this apparently simple proposition than any other

knoyvn matter of human discussion . Most strange it should be so , but that it is so is a proof , if pioof indeed be ever needed by any of us at all , of the inborn yveakness , perversity warped instincts , and marred sympathies of our race . The greatest enemy to man is man . Is it not curious to note and to remember that in all ages of the yvorld , at any rate during the historic ages ,

education has , so to say , been " in difficulties ? " It has always encountered obstacles , met with antagonists , and has been alternately ridiculed and depreciated , slandered and suppressed , and still it has survived both the struggles of men and the lapse of time . Teachers and taught , thc " pa > dagogus " and his pupils , have all been thc subject of fierce contests , many philippics ,

and blind anathemata , and that despite the " , counter irritation , " so to say , of the yvorld and of men education has still held its oyvn , is alike the most hopeful sign for humanity itself , and thc most " remarkable outcome , " perhaps , of the dead and butied ages of the past , of those

mighty centuries yvhich have rolled ayvay from time , carrying yvith them the dreams and plans , the hopes and aspirations , the struggles and the logomachies , the wisdom and the folly of mankind . Yet , as yve said at the outset , in itself the proposition is a very simple one in the abstract , and not more difficult , apparently , in the

concrete . To educate the youthful mind to drayv out its latent powers , to train up its moral sense , to direct it in its yearnings after something tangible and truthful , to enlighten , to unfold , to develope , and to elevate , would appear a noimal duty on the one hand , and an inherent right upon the other .

Whether we throw the blame on the parent , or the municipality , or the province , or the nation , there is blame attaching to some one , when any unit of the mighty aggregate grows up in ignorance of himself , and of others , in ignorance of the needful and improving realities of science , of the social duties he owes to his fellow citizens in blind , dull , crass , dead ignorance of all that constitutes

both the intellectual and moral character of a sentient , intelligent , immortal being . We may surround the question with as many sophistries as yve like , we may spinas many webs as we choose of the finest network around what is plain , simple , and straightforward , we may raise as many difficulties as we can , invent as many "burning questions , " propound as many hopeless " cases of conscience "

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

as fancy suggests , or a mistaken sense of duty seems to prompt , but the simple fact amidst all this remains clear and incontestable , that a great crime is committed against society and humanity , a great social wrong is perpetuated , when any little mind among us is alloyvcd to run riot in ignorance , when undying " atoms " are permitted to grow up among living men , but little

above in respect of education , the beasts that perish . And in saying this we blame no one . We are all equally to blame in the matter . We have so accustomed ourselves either to the plausible utterances of the " schools , " or the sophistical difficulties of the denomination , that we have at times lost sight seemingly of the great end of education namely , the education of the intelligent and

immortal being . We do not deny that there are some denominational difficulties which require careful consideration and respectful treatment ; but yve will allude to these later on , and in saying what yve have just said , we must not be supposed to be at all insensible to the bonS fide scruples of many excellent persons , or above all , to the layvful claims of

religion 111 respect of this most important of subjects . But yvhat we are anxious to point out is simply this , — Education is both a duty and a ri ght , and as such demands from all thinking persons , sympathy , approval , and support . We have long outlived happily the time yvhen ignorance was positively considered preferable to education for

a very large portion of our felloyv creatures . But yve have not quite got the better of that " hesitation " about education per se , yvhich still seems to fill the minds of many with doubts , and fears , and colours so many depreciatory arguments and so many mournful vaticinations . We admit the value of education , the propriety of education , the utility of education , even the need of education ,

but we qualify our admission of these indubitable truths by the limits yve seek to impose , and the controlling power we claim to exercise over the progress and " curriculum " of education itself . We do not see , and apparently will not see that education to be education in its true meaning and interest , must be " thorough , " that it cannot be offered in stinted measure ,

that it cannot be accommodated to suit preconceived opinions of what it ought to be , ( and yvhich are generally emphatically what it ought not to be ) , and least of all can it be as it were appropriated specifically to various classes and ranks of society amongst us . There is no royal road to learning , or to education , yve must all travel along the same pathway , at any rate for

a certain distance , though some may go further than others and some may step short , and some may even lag behind . But thc moment we seek to clip dr carve the great foundation principles of education , so as to have , as it were , a graduated education for different classes amongst us , we do despite to the great and sound cause of education itself . For in our opinion , we cannot over-educate , we say it

boldly , and we have attended carefully and closely to the subject for years . All yve can say is , that some make a better one of their education than others , that some pervert education , just as they misuse talents , and waste opportunities , but we prefer to have to deal yvith an educated rather than an uneducated person at all times , and so ere long yvill all classes

amongst us , whether in manufacture or agriculture , in every lot and condition of life assuredly prefer also . The difference between skilled and unskilled labour , for instance , is already infinite , as many of our readers know . But again wc do not wish to be misunderstood . We may leave out here all sensational tales of

over-education , because they lack , in our opinion the essential and important condition of verity ; and though they may lend a zest to a dull speech , or afford a fair subject for innocent chaff , they cannot be made use of as a serious argument , on a most important and vital question . But yve admit , that of course in a national school , exempli gratia even pf the best , wc do not profess to give or

seek to impart the education of our higher class schools for the richer portions of the community , nor do we , in any yvay compete , we yvill not say , yvith the " private venture schools , " but at any rate yvith home instruction . But yve do profess to give an elementary education , and we con tend that yve are to give the . very best of elementary education , not merely in the three R ' s , but in

geography , music , drayving , mental arithmetic , dictation , grammar , history , and all kinds of needlework for our girls . And if to these be added , for our girls especially , needful instruction in the simpler and leading principles of cookery , and there is cultivated among our boys a taste for industrial occupations , and the various active branches of a

technical instruction , yve should certainly not err . Nay , yve should act both wisely and yvell . After all we must alyvays bear in mind that school education is a very little portion of the . educationalprocess , in us all , and acts only for a very short period . Self-education is the best , perhaps , of all education , and that must come from the intellectual tastes and ^ well-used opportunities of after years , by thc class , by

the library , by the institute , by the social meeting , by mental thought , and , above all , by much hard individual study . But to start all our young people in life , for yve assume that elementary education is universal , we must give them a good elementary education , hoping and trusting that as years pass the great mass of our pleasant

little ones will seek day by day to educate themselves , as young men and young women to fight the rough battle of life , or fill its marts , or occupy its laborious callings . But we yvould not stop here . In all se ' iooU some children are of more promise than others , more quick at learning , more ready of apprehension , more willing to acquire information , more happy in application , and these , when their elementary term of edu .