Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

DEATHS . ADAMS . —On Sunday , the 2 lst , at his residence , Chase Park , Enfield , Bro . Francis Bryant Adams , of Lodge 198 , aged 63 . BREAREY . —On the 21 st inst ., at Simla Lodge , Norwoodlane , Catherine Ballantyne , the wife of Bro . Plummer T . Brearey , P . G . Steward , of Aldermanbury , aged 29 .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

All communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly , on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

S . P . —A Rose Croix Mason , as such , is not eligible to attend a Royal Arch Chapter . He must be regularly exalted , as the English and York Rites do not recognise the superior degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , or of the French or " Modern " Rite .

CHEVALIER . —There are several Red Cross Conclaves in •London , and by applying to the Recorder of any one of them you will , no doubt , obtain every information . HAROLD THE 99 TH . —Your / Vw d ' esprit , although amusing is unsuitable for our columns .

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BOOKS RECEIVED . "My Last Love , " a sequel to "My First Love . " By the author of " George Geith of Fen Court , " & c . London : F . Enos Arnold , 49 , Essex-street . "Freemasonry : An Account of the Early History of Freemasonry in England ; " by Bro . Thomas Lewis Fox , C . S . London : Triibner , 60 , Paternoster-row .

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TheFreemason, SATURDAY , AUGUST 27 , 1870 .

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THE FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . Thc price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; quarterly subscription ( including postage ) 3 s . 3 d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subscriptions payable in advance . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , 2 , 3 , and 4 , Little Britain , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to himbut cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

Help For The Victims Of War.

HELP for the VICTIMS of WAR .

BEFORE the earth emerged from chaos and assumed its present form , there was war . War in its most terrible and sublime aspect —war between the angels—a strife which

shook the heavens , and resounded through illimitable space . The mythical record of this ante-mundane antagonism is wondrously depicted by our great poet , yet

even the almost inspired utterances of a Miltonfail to shape to our minds thesurpassing awe and horror of that celestial conflict . Human intellect cannot grasp the infinite ,

andthemost powerful imagination is unable to conceive more than feeble similitudes of supernatural events . The poet , therefore , in narrating this war of the immortals

is constrained to use images which are familiar to our thoughts and comprehensible to our limited faculties . Thus , he speaks of the heavenly artillery ,

as though the death-dealing engines of earthly warfare had found a place in that Titanic struggle . He sings of chariots swiftly rolling on the foe , of flashingswords

that smite them hip and thigh , and of vengeful strokes that hurl the vanquished spirits into profoundest abysses of darkness . And since the birth of this little speck in

creation—which men can Earth—there have been wars and rumours of wars in ceaseless succession . From the primitive days when

the denizens of huts and tents fought with bows and arrows , down to our present highly-civilised age when men kill more

Help For The Victims Of War.

scientifically with mitrailleuses , the dismal record is substantially the same , and we fear the day is even yet far distant when men will cease to " dig each other ' s graves , and call the sad work , Glory ! "

At the present moment , two great nations —strong in manhood , rich in fame , and with a measureless future of wealth and prosperity spreading before them—are ,

nevertheless , deliberately spilling the best blood of their children like water , as though the advantages of peace and progress had never been preached , or the blessings of

international fraternity experienced by mankind . " Who can be an unconcerned spectator of this terrible contest ? Who can witness , unmoved , this deluge of blood

and tears , which threatens to overflow the fairest provinces of Europe ? Who can even reflect upon the fate of the living vanquished , without a sigh for the anguish

which pierces their hearts core at the speedy overthrow of their sanguine hopes of victory ? And , above all , who can contemplate without dismay the ruin and the

desolation of homes , the speechless sorrow of unnumbered widows and orphans at once bereft of those who are nearest and

dearest to them ; or , to turn to the battlefield itself—with its ghastly harvest of dead and dying , with its miserable burden of mainied and wounded—where is the heart

that does not bleed at the spectacle , and execrate the martial triumphs that are so dearly bought ? We know that an insane ambition is often the cause of war , and that

resistance to lawless invaders is the first duty of a good citizen . We acknowledge that some wars have been just and necessary , because they were waged in the sacred

cause of liberty and truth . But to see neighbouring peoples , upon small provocation , drunken with rage , eager for thc fray , and thirsting for mutual slaughter , is beyond

all dispute a disgrace to the era in which we live , and to civilisation in general . Thc only gleam of comfort in this portentous gloom is one which will be hailed by every

lover of his kind . Great as may be the discord and fatal thc strife , the spirit of thc true Samaritan does not shun the scene ; the ministering hands of tenderness and

compassion appear to bind up thc warrior ' s wounds , to console the last moments of his swiftly-ebbing life , and to decently inter the shattered relics of frail humanity . Truly ,

this is a godlike cause , for , if we cannot stay thc ravages of war , let us at least endeavour to diminish its evils ; and this noble object can be best achieved by

supporting the efforts of those who , self-dcnyingly and at great personal risk , devote themselves to thc work of helping thc sick and wounded .

Fortunately , and to the credit of our common humanity be it said , an organisation exists in England , as yet only in its infancy , and perhaps somewhat tentative

in its movements , but which promises to become a great institution in thc State . We allude to the " Society for Aid to thc Sick and Wounded in War "—on whose

Help For The Victims Of War.

behalf a brief but eloquent appeal was made in our columns last week by Bro . BURGESS , who is one of its Honorary Secretaries , and we need scarcely add that the cause which he advocates commends itself to the

approval and ooperation of every man whose heart is open to the cry of distress . To Freemasons the appeal strikes home with especial force , because the ritual of the Craft overflows with injunctions to assist

and console our fellow-creatures in the hour of their affliction , and to perform those deeds of kindness and mercy which are the essence of genuine charity . Who can be deaf to such a call , or who take refuge in the

selfish reflection that , as Englishmen have nothing to do with the present war , they need not concern themselves about the sufferings which so inevitably follow in its wake ?

The Society which Bro . BURGESS represents embodies broader and more cosmopolitan views . Wherever war exists , its agents will find their field of operation wherever the healing art can soothe or save

will he their active sphere . They will not inquire whether this man fought in the Gallic host , or that man in the Teutonic legions ? Whether he be a fair-haired Saxon or a swarthy Zouave will be no additional recommendation to their aid . It will

suffice that heiswounded or prostrate through sickness—that he prefers to them the supreme suit of misfortune—and they will recognise without hesitation the unanswerable claim of helpless affliction .

To accomplish this work , however , on a scale of befitting magnitude money is required , medical comforts must be obtained , efficient assistance secured , and the resources of science brought to bear for the

speedier alleviation of pain and the more effectual repulse of disease and death . In this sublime crusade of charity all may share ; in this brigade of benevolence all may be enrolled—if not for service at the

actual seat of warfare , yet as a corps of reserve to strengthen the hands of those who have undertaken the toils and dangers of this mission of mercy in the hospital and the field . Let us all , therefore ,

contribute our mite in aid of the sick and wounded ; let us all participate in the unmixed delight of doing good , and rejoice in the triumphs of universal fraternity even amidst thc deadliest scenes of carnage and

ruin . To thc English Craft we appeal with confidence in such a cause as this , and we are proud to record that the initiative in the movement has been taken by some of the most prominent members of the Masonic

Order in England . A glance at the list of the Central Committee will show , amongst others , thc names of the Duke of Manchester , Lord Leigh , thc Rev . G . R . Portal , the Marquis of Kildare , Lord Eliot , Sir E .

A . II . Lechmere , Julius A . Pearson , LL . D ., and Captain C . J . Burgess . This is as it should be . Freemasons should ever be foremost in the support of these and similar praiseworthy objects ; and when we add

that the small sum of five shillings , contributed annually , constitutes membership in the Society , we have said all that is

necessary to induce our readers to come forward with one accord and pour their subscriptions into thc coffers of this truly noble confraternity .