Masonic Notes.

Bro . Joseph D . Langton , the Hon . Sec . of the Provisional Management Committee of the R . M . B . I ., informs vis that he has already received several subscriptions towards the Binckes Pension Indemnity Fund from lodges and brethren , in addition to

numerous promises of assistance , a list ot which we print in another column . According to the by-laws of most lodges , notice of motion is required to be given before the amount can be voted , and this will no doubt

account for the delay in many instances . Subscriptions will be received by Bro . J . D . Langton , at 37 , Queen Victoria-street , E . C , or by Bro . F . A . Philbrick , Q . C . ( Grand Regr . ) , Lamb Building , Temple , E . C .

* * * It is proposed that the athletic sports in connection with the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys should take place on the afternoon of Saturday , May 31 st .

Bro . George Everett has kindly consented to act as Treasurer , and a Committee for carrying out the sports is in course of formation . * * *

Seeing that our good friend and brother , Dr . Stewart , P . A . G . D . C , is one of the most prominent members of the Grafton Lodge , it ill becomes us to have omitted his name from our report of the consecration . Dr . Stewart needs no assurance from us that the omission w is accidental .

The installation of Bro . the Hon . Sir Stafford Northcote , C . B ., M . P ., as Provincial Grand Master of Mark Masons of Devon , will take place at Exeter , on the 28 th May , and that of Bro . the Very Rev . E . R . Currie , Dean of Battle , as P . G . M . of Sussex , will be held at Brighton on the 23 rd of the same month .

Correspondence.

Correspondence .

[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving of , the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish in a spirit of fair play to all to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ]

"'TWIXT , BROTHER , THEE AND ME !" To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The accompanying verses have just been sent me by my friend , 111 . Bro . Frederick Webber , 33 ° , G .

Sec . G . Southern Supreme Council A . and A . S . Rite , Washington , D . C , and are , 1 think , well worthy of preservation in the columns of the Freemason . They were written by our late Bro . Dr . Robt . Morris for an association to which he and Bro . Webber both belonged . —Fraternally yours , FRED . I . W . CROWE ,

S . D . and Org . 218 9 . From me to thee , from me to thee , Each whispering leaf a missive be , In mystic scent and hue to

say—1 his green and fragrant spray —• In emerald green and rich perfume , To teach of Faith that mocks the tomb , And links the chain Fidelity 'Twixt , Brother , thee and me !

In distant lands , in olden time , The acacia bore a mark sublime , And told to each discerning eye Of deathless constancy ; So may these green leaves whisper now , Inform the heart , inspire the vow ; And link the chain Fidelity 'Twixt , Brother , thee and mc \

"HEARTY GOOD WISHES . " To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , You are aware that it has been a general custom for brethren visiting other lodges to offer " Heartygood wishes " to the W . M . and brethren . During the past few weeks I have heard that Grand

Lodge is not favourable to this being continued , unless specially voted by the visiting brother ' s lodge . I think it would be convenient to know if Grand Lodge has formulated a rule on this subject , as I am afraid " Hearty good wishes" will not be often expressed if a formal vote must previously be taken . — Yours fraternally , P . M . March , 1800 .

Bro . K . Henn Goddard , the son of a well-known member of the Craft , gave a very successful entertainment at the Barnsbury Hall , Upper-street , Islington , on Wednesday , the 19 th inst . Bro . Goddard has alread y received a reputation for his dramatic recitals , and the selection he placed before his audience on the occasion under notice was happily made , and gave unqualified satisfaction to those who were present . Bro . Goddard possesses a good voice , and keeps it well

under control , while his quiet earnestness of delivery commands the attention of all who may be privileged to listen to him . This young artiste offers a long list of pieces for those who desire his services to make selection from , and we feel justified in saying he is fully capable of affording pleasure to even the most exacting of audiences . Between the recitals songs were given by Miss Florence Thompson and Mr . J . D . Fitzgerald . Miss Amy Fletcher was the pianist of the evening .

Reviews

REVIEWS

REGGIE ABBOTT . By Bro . NELSON PROWER , M . A . ( Oxon ) . This work , in one volume , just published by Mr . George Redway , deals with the adventures of an English gentleman holding a commission under the warlike Charles the XII . of Sweden . The character

of that young , impetuous , but brave , monarch is well depicted . The hero exhibits a warm attachment for the prince and zeal in his service . One of the finest drawn characters in the book is that of Oscar Giistafsen , the half-brother of Reggie , a man—almost a geniussingularly endowed with natural gifts and scholastic

attainments . The author , however , is seen at his best in his description of places , and his clever opinions upon individuals and things in general . Some of the passages , by the beauty of their diction , purity of English , and power of thought , are worthy to rank with the efforts of the polished Addison , the erudite

Johnson , and the imaginative Goldsmith . It may here be stated that the book is not one of a sensational order ; candidly it is somewhat dry , not to say in parts pedantic . Curiously enough , it is a novel without a plot . It is also deficient in love passages , there being but three female characters , Madame Giistafsen , Brenda ,

and Zoe , and they are sadly lacking in interest . Bro . Prower has lavished all his energies upon delineating the masculine element . He evidently does not think that le moude est le livre des femmes . The author appears to have desired to give a history of the stirring times of the early years of the eighteenth century in a

readable form . His powers of narration are good , but he has not clothed the language of his characters with an old world tone , such as distinguishes the author of " Esmond . " The speakers adopt the style and use the common-places of to-day . The following passage is a fair examDle of Bro . Prower ' s style : Signor Marelli ,

an Italian , speaks , '' I'm far from claiming for my seven hills , dear to me as they are , all that the one hill yonder can give ( The Acropolis of Athens ) . You will no doubt recollect that in the time of Augustus the phrase ' the city , ' in the mouths of educated men , was still applied to Athens , and what nobler tribute could be

paid to the small place we are now approaching ? Do not think , I beg of you , that I , as a Roman , am jealous of the emotion you and your friends are showing in approaching Athens ; we have too much of our own to boast of to let us grudge our neighbour his due . We have ruled the world , yes ; but captive Greece took

possession of its cruel conqueror , and we copied all that made life elegant , pleasant , and generally worth living from this place that we see now . " In another good passage the invalid Eric , who was the fid us Achates of Reggie , is made to say : "As I sit here , Oscar , knowing that in about a month or so I shall never see

any of you again in this world , I feel that the only abiding or comforting sentiment is affection . What can ambition be when one is about to leave all one has been ambitious about ? What is wealth when one is about to lose it all ? What even is a grand intellect when one is about to go to the land where all that we

see here in a glass darkly shall be so clear , that poor Eric will know more than is now known by Oscar himself ? But the affections , as we may fairly hope and trust , will still be vouchsafed to us in the world beyond , or it were better that there should be none . " In

concluding our criticism , we can confidently recommend the story to those who desire to combine the gleaning of knowledge with pleasure , and who delight in studying works of a contemplative nature . We are inclined to think that the author would shine more brilliantly as an essayist than as a no / elist .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

S 70 ] LORD GEORGE SACKVILLE , G . M . In No . 757 " Masonic Notes and Queries" ( 1887 ) , I drew attention to Bro . Sadler ' s remarks on the failure of the " Atholl" Grand Lodge to secure Lord George Sackville as G . M . of that body . The curious correspondence will be found in his '' Masonic Facts and

Fictions" ( pp . 81-2 ) , and should be carefully noted by all interested in obtaining as accurate a list of Grand Masters of Ireland , as we have for England and Scotland . Lord George stated that he had latel y been chosen Grand Master of Ireland and hence declined a similar compliment from the " Ancients " or " Atholl "

Masons . Bro . Sadler considers ' ' The Sackville incident reads very much like truth , but as I cannot find his lordship ' s name on any list of Grand Masters of Ireland , I presume he was misinformed on that point . " Since the issue of that able volume , I found that in 1751 a work was published in Dublin , entitled "Answer

to the Pope s Bull , " which vvas " dedicated to Lord Sackville , G . M ., " and dated 19 th September , 1751 . This looked like business , and led me to include the name of that nobleman in the roll of Grand Masters , printed in the Freemason for December , ist , 1888 , only

I left the year uncertain ( 1750 :- ) . Bro . M . Furnell in by-laws Prov . Grand Lodge Munster , 1847 , gives Lord Kingsborough as the Grand Master in 1749 , 1750-1-2 ; followed by the Hon . Thomas Southwell ( afterwards Lord Southwell ) in 1753 . The records of that period

Masonic Notes And Queries.

are lost , hence these differences as to dates and omissions of names , & c . Grand Secretary Spratt states that his lordship was re-elected as Grand Master 2 nd July , 1750 , so that disposes of that year , and ends the particulars given in the Constitutions for 1751 . I have now before me a portion of

a work which throws still more lig ht on the subject , and appears to me to settle the matter . Unfortunately all the pages are gone before that of 31 , which begins "A vindication of the Real Principles of Freemasonry , " and is completed at p . 60 . The next page contains "A Prayer to be said at the opening of a Lodge , or making

of a Brother , " concluding with the words "Thiswehumbly beg in the name and for the sake of J ESUS CHRIST out LORD and SAVIOUR . —Amen . " At page 62 is a song called " The Progress of Freemasonry , " five verses are given and completes all the work preserved . At p . 3 8 is a roll of Grand Masters of Ireland from Lord

Kingston to Lord Kingsborough , which is in exact agreement with my list before noted . Then follows the important paragraph " June the 24 th , 1751 . The Rig ht Honourable Lord GEORGE SACKVILLE vvas unanimously chosen Grand Master in Ireland , the Honourable Thomas Southwell ,

Esq ., Deputy G . M , the Hon . Roderick Mackenzie , Esq ., Senior Grand Warden , and the Honourable Brinsley Butler , Esq ., Junior Grand Warden . " So that Lord George Sackville was elected on 24 th June , 1751 , as Grand Master of Ireland , and had for his Deputy Grand Master the Hon . Thomas Southwell , who succeeded to the chair in 1752 or 1753 . I hope

some brother in Ireland will be able to identify the work , and thus be able to furnish me with the title-page and other particulars . Lord George Sackville vvas the first Master of that remarkable lodge , the " Minden , " No . 6 3 , in connection with the 20 th Regiment ( of which he was Colonel ) , chartered in December , 1748 , and which only collapsed quite recently . W . J . HUGHAN .

871 ] AN OLD MASONIC JUG . A very old Masonic jug has just come into my possession , which is said to have come into this country with a family from Liverpool over a 100 years ago . It stands 13 inches high , and measures 5 . V inches across the mouth , and 8 J- inches in bulge . It bears out its age

when we examine the texture and finish of the crockery and its battered and cracked , chipped and stained appearance , together with the fact that every design on it has been engraved ( and beautifully done , too ) , lead us to conclude that it vvas a costly ornament when first bought , although it has now lost the freshness of its

early days . In front , under the lip , inside a circular wreath of leaves , are the " two pillars , " standing on a " square pavement . " These pillars are about 2 i inches apart , and across the pavement is written " Holiness to the Lord . " A ladder with 14 steps leans diagonally from one pillar to the other , leaving the base of the

right hand pillar to the top of the pillar on the left . Around through the circle are distributed the working tools of the E . A ., the three " great lights , " also on the E . A ., the sun , moon , and stars , and surmounting all the " eye , " and underneath , outside the circle , is the square and compass arranged as F . C ., with the letter

G ( inside a triangle ) enclosed . On the right-hand side of the jug , inside a peculiar and beautiful wreath , in which are intermingled Masonic emblems , are again the two pillars and pavement , with a compass extended , the points resting on a semi-circular graded disc of 90 , beneath which are the emblems of mortality , the

V . S . L ., and the working tools of M . M ., all of which are surmounted by the " eye" and seven stars , enclosed in a scroll , which bears the inscription deum time et regem honora . On the left side of the jug is a most elaborate design , inside a similar wreath to that on the right . Here again the pillars and pavement appear as a

centrepiece . On the outside of each pillar stands the figure of a man on a cube , in clothing such as one sees on men in Ben Johnson ' s time , both have aprons on , and one bears a W . M . jewel . Round their feet are working tools , ballot boxes , ashlars , and a beehive and seven bees , and beneath these the inscription sit lux et lux

fuit . Between the pillars are three little castles , and above them an arm holding a trowel , immediately above which is a scroll , on which is engraved amor honor et justitia , and resting on this scroll is the figure of a man sitting in front of a sun dial pointing XII . Above his head is the eye and three stars , and outside the wreath

is the inscription , in large letters , " A heart that conceals , and the tongue that never reveals . " Round the top and bottom ot the jug are scrolls of designs , and the whole engraving is as distinct as the day it was first put on . If any brother can throw any light on the early history or probable age of this jug I will feel obliged . J . L . CARSON , 891 ( I . C . ) .

872 ] SALE OF MSS . The Academy states that there is a probability of the " world-renowned , but almost inaccessible Middlehill Library at Cheltenham , which vvas formed early in the present century by Sir T . Phillips , " being sold ere long , and that the British Museum and the Universities are making arrangements for the purchase of certain

MSS ., amounting in value to about , £ 20 , 000 . Is this the collection that contains the three Masonic MSS seen by Bro . G . W . Speth , and described b y him ? If so , would in not be well for the Grand Lodge or the " Quatuor Coronati" Lodge to be in touch with this

great sale , so as to secure any Masonic documents , especiall y the three noted ? If it is another collection , there may be Masonic MSS . still unknown , and I hope Bros . Speth , Hughan , and others , will be on the look out ! CHISHOLM .