Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

LORD AND LADY PIRBRIGHT have returned to Pirbright from town . BRO . H . B . MARSHALL , M . A ., C . C , is making rapid progress towards restoraticn to health and strength . MR . J USTICE KEKEWICH has been elected the dean of the chapel at Lincoln ' s Inn in succession to Bro . Sir William Marriott . THE SOUTHEND-ON SEA MASONIC HALL CO ., LIMITED . —An extraordinary general meeting of this company , will be held at the registered offices , Marlborough House , Whjtegate-road , Southend-on-Sea , on Fu'day , the ist prox ., at S p . m .

THE 32 ND FESTIVAL DINNER in aid of the Pension , Medical and General Funds , the Waiters' Provident and Pension Scciety will be held at the Cannon-street Hotel , E . G ., on . Friday , the ist prox ., under the presidency of Bro . Alderman and Sheriff Treloar . THERE WILL HE AN EXUIIVATION at Harrow School on the Tuesday before Easter , 1 9 00 , for 10 or 11 schcdimhips , open to all boys not members of the school , who were bom in or alter the year iSSC . Further particulars may be obtained from the headmaster's secretary .

THE AGENTS-GENERAL for the seven Australasian Colonies have sent , in the name < f their respective Colonies , a telegram of sjnipathy to Lord Salisbury , to which his loidship has sent his grateful acknowledgments . Messages of condolence have also been telegraphed by the Tsar of Russia and the Emperor of Austria . It will be seen wilh great regret that the Marquis is confined to his room by an attack of influenza .

THE QUEEN ins RECEIVED the sad intelligence of the death of her Majesty ' s dear niece , the Prir . ctss of Leiningen , which has caused her deep grief , as the Queen was devotedly attached to the Princess , who hid often visited her Mijesty . anoTwas htlovtd by all who knew her . The Piincess of Leiningen , who was the sister of the Grand Duke of Haden and the Duchess Alexandrine of Coburg , was married to the Oueen's nephew , the Prince of Leiningen .

THE ALLIANCE LODGE , NO . 1 S 27 . —Bro . Colonel T . Davies Sewell , after nine years' useful service has resigned the Secretaryship of the Alliance Lodge , which he , in conjunction with Bros . Sir John B . Monckton and Alderman Frank Green , founded some 20 years ago . Bro . Colonel Sewell succeeded the late Bro . J . E . Turner , and is in turn . 'ucceeded by another Guildhall official , namely , Bro . F . S . Jackson , P . M . In rt crj nition of his valuable services to the lodge the Colonel has been elected an honorary member .

THE DRAMATIC AND MUSICAL BENEVOLENT FUND . — -The 43 rd annual dinner in connection with this fund was held at the Hotel Metropole the evening of the 21 st instant . Bro . Alderman Alliston took the chair , and among those present were Mrs . Allislon , Mr . Alderman Pound , Mr . Alderman and Sheriff Treloar , Mr . Alderman Truscolt , Colrml Probyn , Mr . Deputy Myers , Alderman Sir H . E . Knight , Mr . H . I . owcnfe-ld , Mr . J . Judd , C . C , J . P ., Mr . W . Emden , Mr . Ben George , Mr . T . F . Rider , C . C , and many members of the theatrical and musical professions . The total ol Ihe donations and subscriptions amounted to the very handsome sum of LCoo .

i'OR THE CRIPPLES . —The appeal which Bro . Alderman and Sheriff Treloar is makirg on behalf of the ragged and crippled has met with a generous response , £ 500 having already been subscribed . The claims this year are , however , great and pressing , and Bro . Alderman Treloar is naturally anxious that in the year of his shrievalty lhe subscription should be a bumper one . A few of the livery guilds have come to his aid , notably the Coopers , the Vintner , and the Glass-sellers' Companies , and it is hoped that other guilds will also contribute towards the fund . The annual entertainment , which takes place at the Guildhall on Jmuiry 3 rd , will include many n ; . v anj interesting features .

THE wiu . of liro . Asher Barfield , of 26 , Clarges-street , Mayfair , Past Grand Treasurer , was proved on the 13 th instant , by Mr . Henry Piggott , of 55 , Heaum < ntstreet , Maiylebone , and Mr . David Frederick Norrington , of 101 , Brompton-road , the exccutirs , the value ofthe estate being £ 27 , 124 95 . 5 d . The tesfator bequeaths his Masonic curios and £ 100 to Mr . David Frederick Norrington ; £ 100 to Mr . Henry

Piggott ; £ 200 to his housekeeper , Charlotte Chapman ; £ 50 to h s gardener , White ; ar . d jf . 5 S to Mr . Oliver Asher Daniels . His residuary estate is divided between Mr . David Frederick Norrington ; the children of his brother , Mr . Henry Barfield ; the rhildien of his sister , Mrs . Jane Martin ; the children of his sister , Mrs . Sarah Edwards ; and his Lrother , Mr . Chailes Batfield .

IMPERIAL WAR FI'N D . —At a meeting of the Trustees of the Imperial War Fund , of w ) irh her Majesty thc Oueen is Patron , held on the 21 st instant , at the Banking Ht use ol Messrs . Cox and Co ., the F . arl of Wemyss and March presiding , it was decided lhat a r cilice shtuld be sent lo the Piess to the effect that the Imperial War Fund is pri pared to deal at once with alt cases of distress caused by the death of any soldier , sailor or marine , as the result of either wounds or disease contracted during the South Afiican Campaign . At the present time the Imperii ! War Fund has about £ 5000

in hand , being the balance of capital and accumulated interest remaining over out of Ihe subscriptions for Ihe Fgyptian campaigns of 1 SS 2 and 1 SS 5 . During the last four years , includingupto the present date , the fund has paid out over £ 1300 , while the expenditure in administration was only £ 72 . The grant of £ 10 to each widow made by the Imperial War Fund is supplemented by further grants when required from the Daily Telegraph Fund on receipt of verification form ; Invalided N . C . O . ' s and men

are assisted when discharged from hospital by the Imperial War Fund ; further permanent or temporary assistance being rendered by Lloyd ' s Patriotic Fund in all deserving cases , with which , and the Daily Telegraph , the Imperial War Fund is acting in friendly co-operation . The main object of the Imperial War Fund is to give that immediate assistance , which long experience enables it to do with conlidence , through the proper military channels . Any information , together with balance-sheet and all necessary apfliealion forms , can lie obtained on written application to the Hon . Secretary , 5 < L ~ u-2 o , Bucklersbury , London , ICC .

A VERY IM . BASING and pathetic incident was introduced into the well-arranged programme in connection with the visit of her Majesty to Bristol , on Wednesday in last wet k . It appears that Bro . William Maby played the cornet in the band atthe hot-1 in Clifton , where her Majesty stayed with her mother , the late Duchess of Kent , nearly 70 years ago , and that this incident came within the knowledge of hei Mijesty , err f her advisers , who the arrangements of the order of the day . Atthe halt made at the liiitol Council House , Bro . Maby was presented to his Sjvereign , and was honoured

with a personal conversation , her Majesty greeting him with one of those kind e xpr- ssions for which she is renowned : —I amexceedingly pleased to see you here to-day , Mr Maby . " This pathetic mark ol sympathy with one oi the humblest of her subjects , < vohed a storm of popular applause . Upon the recent occasion Bro . Maby was playing thc comet with the band of the ist battallion of the Gloucestershire regiment . Our veti ran brother has served as trumpet-major in the Gloucestershire Hussars , and has beld Ihe same office to the grandfather of the present Duke of Beaufort , whilst he was

baiiliinster to Ihe present Duke's father for some 23 years . He wears the •Long Service medal of the volunteers , and is SG years of age . Bro . Maby was initiated into Freemasonry in or about the year 1851 , in the Royal Clarence Lodge , No . CS . Hi ii a Maik and Royal Arch Mason , but has taken special interest in the Orders ol Knighthood . Herein probably , there has been more scope for his musical knowledge and abilities , for he has served as ist Grand Herald , and in this capacity heralded H . R . H . the

Princeof Wales when he was madeSupreme Grand Master in the High Grades . Daring hi * long and [ useful life our brother has heralded very many imp jrtant f unctions—M isonie and otherwise—and his services at censecrations and installations are much valued and appreciated . Bro . Maby was many years ago elected an honorary member of the Eldon Lodge , No . 1755 . Last week nearly all the London papers pleasantly alluJed to the favour recently conferred upon him by an introduction to the Queen .

ANNHXING THE IRANSYAAI .. — What will be the fate of the Transvaal after the war it is difficult to forsee , but one thing may be considered certain , and that is that every one who can will take care to annex a case of that delicious liqueur , Grant ' s Morella Cherry Brandy , which is so great a favourite at home and abroad . Sold everywhere ; also Grant ' s Cherry Whisky .

Masonic And General Tidings.

THE PRESENTATION COPY lo Charles Dickens by the Queen of her " Lcavcsfiom Ihe Journal of our Life in the Highlands . " which was sold by auction last Wednesday for £ 100 , was bought by Henry Fielding Dickens , Esq ., Q . C , son of the novelist . PRINCESS HENRY OF BATTENBERG has promised to be present at a concert to be given at the Royal Victoria Hall , Waterloo-road , on Wednesday , the 6 th prox ., in aid of the Fund for helping the wives and children of the Reservists now serving in South Africa .

THE TRANSVAAL WAR FUND at the Mansion House reached , on the 23 rd inst ., the handsome sum of £ 307 , 500 . This included a first instalment of £ 6033 iSs . 3 d . from the Wine and Spirit Trade , and a first instalment of £ 1000 from the Fruit , Flower , and Vegetable Trade . THE KING OF DENMARK intends leaving Copenhagen for Gmunden in the course of next week on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland , which will probably extend over Christmas . The Dowager Empress of Russia , who is at present at the Danish capital , will return to Russia at the same time .

THE NEW SOUTH WALES GOVERNMENT STATISTICAN reports that the returns received , although necessarily incomplete , indicate that there is a larger area under wheat in New South VVales than last year , and that the production will probably bs double . While some districts have suffered from drought , the general average yitlJ shows a large increase per acre .

THE New York World announces that Mr . C . O . Iselin departs for England on the Gth prox ., for the purpose of discussing with Sir Thomas Lipton the feasibility of arranging another series of races between the Columbia and the Shamrock , to _ be sailed in European waters . Mr . Iselin will also make arrangements for the Columbia to sail in the Mediterranean regattas in the soring of next year . —Laff ' au .

LADY WHITE ' FUND . —Lady White wishes it to be known that it is impossible to publish a detailed list of subscribers to the fund , as | was originally intended , owing to the newspapers being unable to find space for them . Acknowledgment will be sent , as before , by post to each contributor . It will be a source of satisfaction to those who have already contributed to learn that the success of the fund is now assured .

BRO . MELTON PRIOR , th « veteran wir artist of the Illustrated London News , has managed to send over his first sketches of the war . In the Daily Mail of Tuesday last one of the incidents of the seige of Ladysmith was depicted the bursting of a shell close to Sir George White and his staff . Bro . Melton Prior is shut up in the beleaguered town , and his friends and brethren rejoice to note by his pencil that as yet all is well with him .

THEIR MAJESTIES THE QUEEN AND THH GERMAN EMPRESS went out on Wednesday morning , accompanied by their Royal Highnesses Princess Henry of Battenberg and the Duchess of Connaught . Countess Feodore Gleichen visited the Queen on Thursday and remained to luncheon . The name of the Right Hon . Sir Henry Fowler , G . C . S . I ., M . P ., was inadverdentty omitted from the list of those invited to her Majesty's State banquet on the 21 st instant .

PRINCESS CHRISTIAN , who is President of the Windsor and Eton branch of thc Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association , has , with her daughter , Princess Victoria of Sehleswig-Holstein , consented to sing on its behalf at a performance of Mendelssohn's " Elijah , " which is lo be given on Saturday afternoon , the 9 th prox ., by the Windsor and Eton Amateur Madrigal Society in the nave of St . George ' s Chapel , Windsor Castle . Madame Albani has also promised to assist .

BRO . HOZIER , M . P ., who succeeds Lord Saltoun as Grand Master of Scotland , is the eldest son of Lord Newlands . and was at one time assistant private secretary to Lord Salisbury . At Eton he distinguished himself by his mastery of foreign languages . He married a daughter of Lord Exeter , and he won the seat he now occupies in Lanarkshire originally from his neighbour , Lord Hamilton of Dalzell , who was then raised to

the peerage . Maudslie Castle , Lord Newland's seat in Lanarkshire , is magnificently situated on the banks of the Clyde , surrounded by the country which is so splendidly described in " Old Mortality " as the scene of the struggle of the Covenantersind the battle of Hothwell Bridge . Lord Newlands is an accomplished four-in-hand whip . The youngest daughter of the house is the wife of Lord Lamington .

To CELEBRATE the enlargement of the banqueting room and other improvements which have been wade in the York Lodge , No . 23 G , Duncombe-place , Vork , a banquet was held on the 20 th instant , presided over by Bro . F . W . Laughton , W . M ., who was supported by a large number of the members of the lodge and many prominent brethren of the city and district . The following was the toast list : "The Queen and

the Craft ; " ' * H . R . H . the Prince of VVales , M . W . G . M . of England and the Grand Lodge ; " " The Most Hon . the Marquis of Zetland , P . G . M . North and East Ridings , the Rt . Hon . Lord Bolton , D . P . G . M ., and the Prov . G . Lodge ; " " The W . M . of the York Lodge ; " " Bros . J . Sykes Rymer , P . P . G . R ., Lord Mayor of York , and Arthur Jones , P . P . G . T ., Sheriff of York ; " " Success to the York Lodge ; " " The Visiting Brethren ; " and " The Officers of the Lodge . "

Annual Supper Of The Fulham Lodge Of Instruction. No. 2512.

ANNUAL SUPPER OF THE FULHAM LODGE OF INSTRUCTION . No . 2512 .

The second annual supper of the above lodge was held at the Princess Royal > Moore Park-road , Fulham , on Friday , the 17 th instant , when the Preceptor of the lodge , Bro . T . Blanco-White , occupied the chair , and Bro . Tom Green the vice-chair . About 40 brethren were present , including Bros . Frank Adams , Asst . Preceptor ; J . C . Jackson , Asst . Preceptor ; P . Cronin , W . Ham , S . J , Parker , E . G . Easton , L . C . C . ; Dr . Ivor Davis , W . J . H . Denselow , Sec . ; and others .

The principal feature of the gathering was a presentation to Bro . Frank Adams , P . M . 1259 and 1702 , W . M . 2512 , Asst . Preceptor , of a handsome solid silver dining cup , bearing the inscription : " Presented to W . Bro . Frank Adams by thc members of the Fulham Lodge of Instruction , No . 2512 , 17 th Nov ., 18 99 . " Also an illuminated address giving the names of the subscribers .

The CHAIRMAN , in making the presentation , spoke in the highest terms of the valuable servies Bro . F . Adams had rendered the lodge since its formation , and congratulated him upon the respect with which he is held by all the members . Heasked Bro . Adams to accept thecup and address in the names of the members of the lodge in token of their sincere regard and esteem .

Before Bro . F . Adams responded , the cup was filled by the Chairman , ani each brother in turn heartily drank the health of the recipient . Bro . ADAMS , in accepting the present , said it was very gratifying to him to know that any services he had rendered the Iodge were appreciated , but he feared he did not deserve such a solid and tangible form of their expression of esteem

with which he appeared to be held . He most sincerely thanked the Chairman from the bottom of his heart for his kind remarks in making the presentation , and the brethren for the kind thought that prompted the gift , and the generous support it must have received to have enabled them to secure such a handsome and valuable cup .

Bro . Tom Pollard sang 'Soldiers of the Queen , " after which the CHAIRMAN suggested that a small collection should be made , limited to 2 s . per head , on behalf of the Transvaal Fund forthe widows and orphans of those soldiers of the Queen who will never return to this country , having given their lives to uphold the credit of the Empire . The Chairman afterwards announced the result of the collection to be £ 2 ios ., and the Secretary was requested to send this sum to the Freemason ' s fund at the Mansion House .

During the evening the usual toasts were drunk with enthusiasm , and Bros . Tucker , T . Pollard , B . Pollard , Humphrey , and McIIwraith sang appropriate songs with much appreciation , Bro . F . L . Schneider presiding at the piano . The meeting proved an exceedingly enjoyable one .