Royal Arch.

officers : Comps . R- Evans , Treasurer ; W . Mellor , Scribe E . ; W . Lyon , Scribe N . ; G . Purver , P . S . ; and W . Houghton , Janitor . Thc balance-sheet was presented , read , ' and declared very satisfactory , showing a handsome balance in thc funds . Bro . James White , I . P . M . 1384 , was exalted to the Supreme Degree of holy Royal Arch Masonry . Bro . George Roberts , ' M . M ., 75 S , was duly proposed as a candidate for thc next chapter meeting . Hearty good wishes were tendered by several companions from other chapters .

South Africa.

South Africa .

CARNARVON LODGE _ ( No . 1735 ) —There arc few towns where Masonry flourishes as it does in Cape Town , and wc have Masonic buildings which can compare with the finest temples of the brotherhood in the world . On Wednesday , the 24 th ult . there was a large Masonic gathering , when the Very Rev . Dean Clarke took his Third Degree . The ceremony was impressively performed by W . M . ' Webster , of the Carnarvon , Lodge , assisted by

the Past Masters . Amongst those present were : Fairbridge , D . G . M . ; Riddlcsdcll , D . G . S . W . ; Inglesby , P . D . S . W . ; Davidson , D . G . S . ; Hawthorn , P . D . G . S . ; Usherwootl , D . G . Org . ; Zuivogel , P . M . A ., Meridian Lodge , P . D . G . Senior Deacon , of the Eastern Division , of South Africa ; James , W . M . and officers of British Lodge ; Stephens , P . M . British Lodge ; Webster , W . M . and

officers of Carnarvon Lodge ; Traviss , P . Z ., British Royal Arch Chapter ; Fairbairn , R . W . M ., Southern Cross Lodge ; Dr . Douglas , J . W . ; W . B . Captain Roebuck , Mary's Chapel Lodge , Edinburgh ; B . Jansen , Provincial Grand Lodge of the Netherlands ; Rev . D . Faure Lotlge , de GoedeHoop ; Douallier , W . M ., Lodge de GoedeTrouw ; M'Intyre , P . M . Lodge de Goede Trouw ; and about 100 brethren of various lodges .

Amusements.

Amusements .

THE GAIETY . —Of the many pretty burlesques which have been at various times placed on the stage , perhaps we are not depreciating any of them when we say lhat none are more full of genial fun than the " Forty 'Thieves , " which Bro . John Hollingshcad brought out atthe early part of this year at the Gaiety , and which has passed its 200 th consecutive representation , and is likely to remain a long time yet on the boards , judging from the success which has

hitherto attended it , the crowded state of all parts of the house attesting to its merits as burlesque , and its popularity as a means of amusing the masses . Of course , it is no secret that its success is in a great measure attributed to Miss Kate Vaughan and Miss Nellie Farren , whose acting and singing are continually encored . We need not relate the story of the " Forty Thieves , " everyone in their days in the nursery had the Arabian Nights read or told to them .

Bro . HolP . ngshead's piece is an excellent burlesque on it . Miss Nellie ' Farren , as Gancm , enters her character with her usual fervour , and keeps the vast audience in roars of laughter with her drollery and pretty singing . Of course , puns are very numerous ; we won't say good , bad , or indifferent , for none are bad , though some are better than others . 'The duets and trios of Misses Farren , Vaughan , and Mr . J . G . Taylor are extremely beautiful . Perhaps Mr . John Dallas' song , "The Puzzle of Fifteen , " is the

most popular of anything sung . We must not omit an allusion to the pretty scenery , dresses , and dancing of the ballet , and particularly the dancing of Mr . J . D'Auban , whicii he has to repeat every evening . In thc ballet is introduced a marvellous and clean skipjiing-ropc dance by Miss Connie Gilchrist . It is only fair to say that the " Forty 'Thieves " is not all the good things Bro . Ilollingshead presents fo us ; anterior to the burlesque is a very amusing farce , called " 'The Fast Coach , " in which Mr . J . G . Taylor creates great mirth .

CRITERION . —At this pretty little theatre Bro . Sims ' s " Flats " has been revived , and is again attracting large audiences . It is one of thc funniest jiieccs on any stage at the present time . Bro . Sims is particularly fortunate , no less than three of his pieces being played just now in London , and another , " Don Juan Junior , " in the provinces . He has been styled the only original play-writer of the day . We anticipate for " Flats " a great run , judging

from the audiences it draws , and has drawn for so long . The most fastidious will have nothing to find fault with , as there are neither bad words , nor actions , not * moral . The Daily A ' cws lately contained an article on the drama , we cannot help thinking the writer had in his mind Bro . Sims ' s " Flats " when he said " We fear it must be confessed that the art of acting , and the no less important act of playwriting does not develope at the same extraordinary pace ,

but even here there are visible signs of improvement . We have at least one or two original writers who can now and then produce pieces that will interest audiences . " Our readers had better jiay a visit to the Criterion , and they will there find a piece that will interest audiences of all classes . Mr . Hill as the Gigglethorf , Mr . Blakely , as Jeremiah Deeds , and Mrs . Mellon ( Mrs . Gigglel ' horp ) arc , perhaps , the most amusing - characters . 'The first-mentioned

is droll in his very figure . 'The following anecdote of Dean Stanley is worth repetition , as it has never .-ipjicarcdin print . A few weeks before his death he was invited to dine with a body of clergymen in the City , nnd , in responding to a toast , the Dean took occasion to again allude to the sore which had irritated him for two ycars respecting the Prince Imperial Memorial in the Abbey . That the good old Dean never got over- But it was all re-opened at the death of

thc Earl of Beaconsfield . It will be recollected the Dean at once offered the Abbey for the Earl's jilace of burial . A question was put in the House of Commons respecting this , and Sir Staff ord Norlhi - < itc . in alluding to it , expressed a hope that the late Premier ' s body would not be buried in a " certain jilace of iioloritly--Westminster . " The Dean felt this keenly , and seized the first opjiorlimily he could to cxnie-s his indignation with ironv . " When

I read in the newspapers Ihe other tlay , " said the Dean , " of a certain jilacir of notoriety in Westminster , I wondered what it meant . 1 asked myself , Can it be the Houses of Parliament ? and 1 thought no ; lhat can ' t be it . Can it be Westminster Abbey ? No , that can ' t be it either ; and the conclusion I came to was that Sir Stafford Northcote meant the Westminster Aquarium . " This is so characteristic of the Dean that it is too good to be lost .

Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

Wc are pleased to announce that Bro . Colonel Lloyd Philipps , Provincial Grand Master for Wales , Western " Division , has consented to take the chair at thc next festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . We offer our congratulations to Bro . Terry on having secured the support of such an excellent and influential Mason . Bro . \ V . Malthousc , C . C , was installed W . M . of thc West Smithfield Lodge , No . 1 G 23 , on Thursday , the 15 th inst .

The Grand Lodge of Ital y has opened a subscription to erect , in thc cemetery at Rome , a monument designed to perpetuate the memory of its former Grand Master . The annual meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge of Cheshire , under the presidency of Bro . Lord de Tabley was held at the Drill Hall , Chcstergate , Macclesfield , on

Wednesday last at noon . A full report will appear in our next issue . Bro . J . -Atkinson will be installed W . M . of the Liverpool Dramatic Lodge , at the Masonic Hall , Hopestreet , on Tuesday next . LODGE OF ISRAEL , NO . 1502 . —A most interesting meeting of the members of this lodge was held last

Monday evening at the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool , when a valuable presentation was made to Bro . S . J . Henochsberg , W . M ., on the occasion of his marriage . A report will appear in our next . Bro . the liev . Dr . Cox , vicar of St . Helen , Bishopsgate , we regret to learn , has been very ill since he

left England in August . He has now returned , but is still suffering from weakness . Bro . George Sims ' s " Li ghts o' London" is said to have raised the receipts at the Princess's Theatre to an amount beyond any recorded since the opening of thc new house .

Thc Emblematic Lotlge of Instruction No . 1321 , meets at the Goat and Star , Swallow-street , Regent-street , every Wednesday at eight p . m .

The vigour of the free library system in Ijimingham and its neighbourhood is indeed in curious contrast with its feebleness in London . The issues at the Reference and Central lending libraries in Birmingham reached last year a total of 640 , 845 volumes . ERRATA . —In the report of thc Mount Edgccumbe Lodge , in our last , the name of Bro . C . A . Wilks ,

P . M ., & c , should have been Bro . R . Sindall , P . M ., & c , and instead of Bro . Black , P . M ., it should have been Bro . P . M . Black . With thc consent of Lad }* Brassey , Messrs . Longmans and Co . have issued an edition of the " Voyage in the Sunbeam " at the low price of sixpence . This edition is in magazine form , and contains sixty illustrations .

Bro . Sir Knig ht Rev . Otis II . Tiffany 33 ° , the eloquent orator and preacher , Pastor of the Broad and Arch M . E . Church , Philadelphia , is now in London as a representative to tlie Ecumenical , Council , which is being held in thc City Road Chapel . Bro . Byron is writing - a new p iece for thc Adelphi , thc title of which will be " London . "

A fire occurred last week at 10 S , Lnncaslergate , Bayswater , the residence of Bro . J . D . Allcroft , F . R . A . S ., F . R . G . S . By thc death of Prince Frederick the Jews in Holland have lost a warm friend , antl a generous patron and benefactor of their charities . One of his last public acts was to preside , as Grand Master for the Netherlands ,

at a Freemasons' lodge , where resolutions were passed condemning the anti-Jewish agitation in Germany . —Jewish Chronicle . Thc J , ord Mayor and Bro . Sheriff Waterlow , who arc officially connected with the International Potato Exhibition , attended in state on Tuesday last at the Crystal Palace , and thc Lord Mayor presided at thc luncheon .

The Sanitary Committee 01 thc Commissioners of Sewers , at their meeting yesterday , had under consideration the propositions of Bro . Malthousc to appoint an additional assistant inspector at the Central Meat Market , and also to provide a suitable ofiice for the use of all the inspectors at the market . The latter is undoubtedly much required , and would greatly facilitate the officials in question in the discharge of their important and onerous duties . —City Press .

Bro . Captain Bedford C . T . Pun , writing from 2 , Crown Office-row , Temple , to the daily jiapcrs , observes that the intelligence just received to the effect that Lieutenant Greeley's exjiloring party was landed safely at Discovery Bay , and that there , was then open water to the northward as far as the eye could reach , is conclusive evidence of the forethought and grasj ) of the subject which Bro . Captain Chcyne has shown throughout his wonderful persevering efforts to inaugurate another attempt to reach thc North Pole .

The Countess of Bective , wife of the Prov . G . M . of Cumberland and Westmorland , through whose exertions an association has been formed for the encouragement of British woollen manufactures , is at present on a visit to Bradford for the purpose of examining the processes of the worsted manufacture . The Earl and Countess of Bective left their residence at Kirby Lonsdale on the 20 th inst . for

Bradford . I hey visited the works at Saltaire , and were entertained at luncheon . At Bradford they were received by a large number of gentlemen in the room of the Chamber of Commerce , mid a suitable address was presented to Lady lit clive , who was tlressetl in material of Bradford manufacture . 'They afterwards visited the warehouses of . Messrs . A . antl S . Henry antl Co ., antl were subsequently

entertained by the Mayor ( Alderman llulden ) with a select party at dinner at the town-hall . During the night they were the guests of Mr . William Foster , tlie High Sheriff of Lancashire , al his resilience Harrowins , Oueensbury . On Tuesday thc Karl and Countess visited other manufactories at Oueensbury and Manningham . At Bradford tbe event was ~ observed by an immense display of bunting and the gathering of large crowds in the streets .

Masonic And General Tidings.

We have much pleasure in stating that Bro . D . A . Davis , P . M . of the Devonshire Lodge , 625 , Glossop , who was a Steward at the last Boys' School Festival , has handed in his list for £ 20 ios , instead of £ 16 ios ., as previously announced . On Wednesday , the 28 th inst ., the ceremony of installation will be rehearsed in the Finsbury Park Lodge

of Instruction , No . 12 SS , held at the Alwyne Castle , St . Paul's-road , Cannonbury , N ., at 8 . 30 p . m . The Heir Apparent has announced that he has every day for the next two j * ears booked . —Life . Bro . Edmund Yates was present on Thursday week at the banquet given b } ' the Mayor of Manchester , Mr . Alderman Baker , to Mr . Harrison Ainsworth , the eminent novelist .

Bro . Sir Francis Wyatt 1 ruscott is the President , and Mr . Deputy Nind and Mr . Deputy Brass are Vice-Presidents of thc C - . y of London Bicycle Club . Bro . G . C . Boor , C . C , who for five } ears past has been the able and zealous chairman of the South Hornsey Local Board of Health , bringing to the discharge of his duties a knowledge and experience gained during

long service , Said the memorial stone of the new buildings which are in course of erection forjthe Board on Thursday week , near Seven Sisters' -road , N . Bro . J . C . Dwarber presided at the meeting of the City of London Tradesmen Club on Thursday week at tbe Portugal Hotel , Fleet-street . Bro . S . C . Hall , who recently retired from the

editorship of the Art Journal , after holding that position for nearly forty ycars , has accepted a pension of £ 300 per annum from the proprietors . Bro . F . J . Sheppard will be installed W . M . of the Fidelity Lodge , No . 445 , at the next meeting of that

lodge , which will be held at the Pomfret Arms Hotel , Highstreet , Towcester , on Friday , October 7 th . Bro . the Earl of Rosslyn , Past Grand Master of Scotland , has left Doncaster for Scotland . Bro . Sir Thomas Brassey and Lad y Brassey are making a cruise through the Shctlands in the yatch Sunbeam .

The American small boat , Little Western , has arrived at Gloucester , Massachusetts . Bro . Sir Michael Hicks-Beach , M . P ., addressed his constituents of the eastern division of the county of Gloucester , at Moreton-in-the-Marsh , on Tuesday last . Bro . the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , P . G . M . Cornwall , has left the Alexandra Hotel for Mount Edgcumbe .

The Duke of Saxc-Meiningen has decorated Bro . H . Irving with the Knight Cross of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order in recognition of his great services to the dramatic art . Mr . Thomas Hughes has written his reminiscences of the late Dean Stanley , especially with reference to his Rugby life and his work as a pacificator in the Hi g h Church difficulties at thc East of London . 'The paper will appear in Harper ' s Magazine .

A new chapter , attached to the ' Longleat Lodge of the Royal Arch Freemasons , and named the Thynne Chapter out of compliment to Bro . Lord II . Thynne , M . P ., was consecrated at Warminster on Thursday , the 15 U * inst . Bro . Lord Thynne was the first Master of thc Longleat Lodge , and the Provincial Grand Superintendent of Wilts .

1 he season at Sadler s \\ ells I heat re will commence ( under the management of Bro . F . B . Chatterton ) on October Sth ., with a new drama in seven tableaux , entitled "Thc Foundlings , " adapted by Leopold Lewis . Bro . Sir Frederick Roberts has returned from Germany , where he witnessed the _ , autumn military maniT'tivres .

Bro . Dr . Jabez Hogg , writing from I , Bedfordsquare , on the increased charges by London Water Companies , says the iniquitous anomaly exists of having to do with trading bodies that arc empowered to dictate to their customers terms on all points—price , quality , and quantity , and when , where , antl how they ( thc customers ) shall receive one of the most important necessaries of life .

Bro . T . J . Barnes , the veteran Preceptor , of the Doric Lodge of Instruction , No . 933 , will work the Fifteen Sections on Friday next , the 30 th inst ., at the Duke ' s Head , 79 , Whitechapel-road ( to which house the lodge has now returned , having been temporarily removed during rebuilding of the premises ) . As Bro . Barnes will be

supported by many of the leading Past Masters and workers in thc East-end , a highly-instructive and numerously attended meeting is anticipated . Bros . ' !' . J . Barnes , P . M . 554 and 933 , W . AI , ; Cundick , P . AI . 1421 " , S . W . ; Cohen , P . M . 205 , J . W . * , and Myers , P . M . S 20 , I . P . M . The following is a list of the brethren who will work the Sections : —

FIRST LECTURE . ist Section ... Bro . Shingfield , I . G . 554 . 2 nd ,, ... ,, Macgregor , J . D . i . ) . | S . 3 rd „ ... ,, Loone , W . S . 1421 . 4 th ,, ... ,, Hojikins , 749 . * > th „ ... ,, Stephens , S . D . 1 G 23 . Gth „ ... „ McDonald , J . W . 1 445-7 th „ ... „ Durell , W . AI . 1349 .

SECOND LECTURE . ist Section ... Bro . Wooding , S . W . 130 G . 2 nd „ ... ,. Musto , P . M . 1349 . 3 rd ,, ... „ Fenn . 4 th ,, ... ,, Cundick , P . M . 1421 . 5 th „ ... „ Moss , S . D . 1275 . T / tiKD LECTV ¦•¦ ¦ :.

ist Section ... Bro . Cohen , P . M . 205 . 2 nd ,, ... ,, J S . W . 107 G . 3 'd , , J . 'Taylor , J . D . 554 . Bro . James Glaishcr , F . R . S ., presided nt the

half-yearly meeting of the Harrow District Gas Company , held at the Guildhall 'Tavern on Alonday , at which , on the motion of the chairman , seconded by Mr . J . Chapman , a dividend at the rate of 6 * S per cent , per annum was declared , and it was announced that gas would be reduced 3 * - ' per zooo feet .