Instruction.

iSgS to 17 . 4 . In 1 S 99 't fell to 15 . 3 , and in 1900 to 14 . 2 . The lodge had then been removed to this hotel , and last year the average attendance was 1 S . 3 , and now 23 . 3 , which was a very good attendance for a lodge of instruction . The offices were always givan in rotation , and no favour was shown . Bros . Croke , Weesen , and West replied to the toast of " The Visitors , " and a vote of thanks was accorded to the musical brethren who had contributed to the harmony of the evening , to which Bros . Gibbon and Smith repfied , the other brethren who contri buted to the programme being Bros . Terry , Harlow , Hinchley , G oodwin , Flynn , Ulph-Smith , Perrins , Jones , King , and Holdsworth .

COBORN LODGE , No . 1 S 04 . At the usual weekly meeting , held at the Cuckfield Arms , Wanstead , on Friday , the 22 nd instant , the ceremonies of initiation and passing were rehearsed , and the Preceptor announced his intention of working the installation ceremony at the next meeting , and cordially invited all W . Ms , and P . Ms ., members ofthe lodge , to attend . The usual vote of thanks terminated the proceedings .

LA FRANCE LODGE , No . 20 C 0 . To celebrate the 100 th meeting of this successful lodge of instruction , the members sat down to a dinner on Thursday , the 14 th instant , at the Lyric Club , where Bro , Harry Lunge offered them the club ' s hospitality . The brethren then aijourned to their usual place , the Cafe Royal , Regent-street . Bro . C . E . Hauvette , acting as VV . M ., was assisted by Bros . Lamare and Bri ! as Wardens , and Bros . Garrard and Carre as Deacons . The Precentors present were Bros , lules Oppenheim and St . Barlet . Among the

members were Bros . Dr . E . Pocock , P . G . D . C ; John Broad , 2796 ; L . Joseph , 177 ; Brander , P . M . 1563 ; and many others . The business of the evening consisted in the ceremony of initiation and that of the installation . Bro . Hauvette , after having rehearsed tha first ceremony , vacated the chair in favour of Bro . Oppenheim , who went through the ceremony of installation , Bro . C . E . Hauvette , W . M . elect of the mother lodge , being presented as W . M . elect , duly obligated , and placed in the chair . Bro . Oppenheim then addressed Bro . Hauvette in a few well-chosen words , echoing the unanimous feelings of the brethren , and asked him

to accept , as a token of their esteem , a W . Master ' s apron , with silver emblems of the office . Bro . Hauvette having expressed his sincere thanks , the lodge was called off , champagne was handed round , and success drunk to the Lodge of Instruction La France and to the W . M . elect of the mother lodge . The work being resumed , the Secretary read numerous letters and telegrams of excuse ; whilst Bro . Garrard proposed that a sum of £ 5 5 s . should be placed on the Charity list of Bro . Hauvette , who was going to be the Steward of the mother lodge at one of the Masonic Institutions during the ensuing year . It was nearly midnight when the brethren parted , alter having spent an interesting evening at this young but prosperous lodge of instruction .

Mark Masonry.

Mark Masonry .

St . Barnabas Lodge , No . 97 . INSTALLATION OF BRO . JOHN WILLIAMS . The regular meeting of tbe above lodge was held at Aylesbury , on Thursday , the 14 th instant , and in the unavoidable absence of the Prov . G . Master , Bro . J . J . Simcox occupied the chair . The minutes of the last regular lodge at Linslade were read , confirmed , and signed . The Secretary reported that the removal of the lodge from Linslade to Aylesbury had been sanctioned by Grand Mark Lodge , and by the Prov . G . Master , Bro .

the Rev . Canon Brownrigg . The balence-sheet , not being in a satisfactory stite , was left over to a future meeting . Bro . Folmer , Sec , acting as D . of C , then presented Bro . John Williams , Past G . Std . Br . and Prov . G . Treas . Bucks , as the W . M . elect , and the W . M ., Bro . Simcox , duly installed Bro . Williams into the chiir in a very praiseworthy manner . The W . M . having been saluted , then appointed his officers . Several propositions for joining members were then made , and no further business offering , the lodge was closed . The brethren afterwards dined together .

Jordan Lodge , No . 319 . INSTALLATION OF BRO . JOHN GLANFIELD . The above , lodge held its quarterly meeting , at Torquay , on the iSth instant , when Bro . John Glanfield was duly installed M ister for the ensuingyeir . He invested the following as his officers : Bros . J . G . Turle , I . P . M . j VV . E , Thomas , S . W . ; C . Hill , J . VV . ; A . G . Thomas , M . O . ; W . Grist , S . O . ; Stanley N . Lane , J . O . ; Rev . Jas . Henning , Chap . ; S . Wills , Treas . ; John Taylor , Sec . ; H . C . Goss , Reg . M . ; R . D . Scholes , S . D . ; Tom Berry , J . D . ; J . Dodge , D . C ; P . Moignard , Org . ; W . H . Johnson , I . G . ; VV . Gresham , Stwd . ; and J . E . Newton , Tyler .

Following the above , the Jordan Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners held its meeting , when Bro . J . T . Turle was installed as VV . C . N . He invested his officers as follow Bros . J . Glanfield , | . j VV . E . Thomas , S . ; J . Dodge , Treas . ; J . Taylor , Scribe ; C . Hill . S . D . ; F . ' J . W . Crowe , J . l ) . ; A . G . Thomas , D . C . ; VV . Grist , Org . ; S . N . Lane , Guard ; IL C Goss , Stwd . j and J . E . Newton , Warder . Afterwards the brethren sat down to a cold collation supplied by Bro . VV . H . Johnson , and presided over by Bros . J . Glanfield and J . G . Turle . The usual loyal and Masonic toasts were given and duly responded to , and a very pleasant evening was spi- it .

Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

THE STRUCTURE AND ORIGIN OF JET . The hard jet of Whitby appears to have been used in Britain in pre-Roman days ; it is alluded to by Cu'dmon , and mentioned in 1350 in the records of St . Hilda ' s Abbey . It was formerly extensively mined in the cliffs of ihe Yorkshire coast , near Whitby and elsewhere ; in Eskdale , Danby Dale , and in several of the dales that intersect the East Yorkshire moorlands . The hard jet occurs in the ammonites serpentinus zone oi the

Upper Lias , frequently in thc form of flattened masses or layers , which in rare cases have been found to reach a length of six feet . Parkinson , in his "Oceanic Remains of a Former World" ( 1811 ) , speaks of jet , in some cases , as pure bitumenised vegetable matter , and the majority of writers regard it as having been found as a product of alteration of plant tissues . On the ether hand , it has been described ( "Tate and Blake" ) , "The Yorkshire Lias " ( 1876 ) as " the result of the segregation of the bitumen "

in the intervals of the jet shales , which has sometimes formed pseudomorphs _ after blocks of wood . The examination of several sections of Yorkshire jet in the British Museum demonstrates the origin of this substance from the allerationof coniferous wood , and , in part at least , of wood of the araucarian type . The occurrence of specimens of silicified wood having a covering layer of jet is spoken of by Young , in his " History of Whitby " ( 1817 ) . Sections cut from specimens which consist h part of petrified wood and in part of jet , enable us to trace a gradual passage from , well-preserved

Science, Art, And The Drama.

Araucanian wood to pure jet , which affords little or no evidence of its ligneous origin . The conclusion arrived at is—that the Whitby jet owes its origin to the alteration of coniferous wood . The fact that jet frequently occurs in the form of flattened blocks of wood , in all probability admits of the natural explanation that the jet has been derived from the wood , the form of which it has assumed , and not that jet was formed elsewhere , and permeated the tissues of the wood as a fluid bitumen .

ARTIFICAL INDIGO . That the competition of , and the talk about , artificial indigo has injuriously affected the markets lor the real dye there can be no doubt , and planters have been stimulated thereby to make additional efforts in reducing the cost of production . Economies of various kinds have been effected , and endeavours have been made , and are being made , to increase the yield of the plant , and simultaneously to improve the quality of the produce ; but

with what measure of success remains to be seen . Critics tell planters that they have done nothing for years past to improve their methods , whilst others , perhaps , with more knowledge , see that in reality the old fashioned processes extracted from the plant nearly all that is worth having , and for the rest , the application of scientific methods to its growth and manufacture , greater care and cleanliness , with

some improvement in mechanical appliances which have been adopted lately , will do nearly all , if not quite all , that is to be done . It is certain that former experiments in the application of chemicals to assist fermentation , and so on , have not been the success anticipated . Good may be done by manuring the crop , but will not reduce the cost of production , unless the results are very marvellous . These things are now having the scientific care they deserve .

ART AS AN AID TO EDUCATION . Before we enter upon the subject , let us clearly understand what we wish to convey by the title . Art is a most comprehensive term , hiving many phrases . In this place we mean the painter ' s art , who by his skill can achieve so much . By education , we do not mean the knowledge that is obtained ( much of it very useless , if not pernicious ) , at schools , colleges , & c . We here would consider education as something literally " drawn out

of us , " to be cultivated under judicious training for our future intellectual improvement . We lay great stress upon cultivation ; the mind must be trained so as gradually to receive , understand , and appreciate the first principles of education . As has been said of port wine , it is an acquired taste — this taste for' educational principles is slowly , yet surely , acquired in the earliest psriod of mental existence—its development , at first , is very sio * , and , oft times ,

progress seems so slow as to be almost hopeless . This , of course , varies in individuals , but even in those of low mental capacity patience and judgment will attain its ultimate object . Let the taste for learning be once acquired , and , under fostering care , it will develop in a most extraordinary way , gathering , like the snow-ball , dimension and power as it rolls onward in its course . What we have said of education applies-equally to the

painter's art ; the principles and power of Art must be carefully studied before they can be appreciated . Cultivated genius can achieve won aers , but untaught genius is of little value , and , in many cases , harmful to its possessor , inasmuch as he is led to suppose that possessing genius , training and experience is not required ; many cases are recorded in the history of Art of the futility of Genius , undisciplined and sjlf-reliant . We will not

dilate further on this point , but let us consider haw it is that " Art is an adjunct to Education . " How much of our knowledge we derive through the medium of our senses—that of vision especially—the lessons we learn from the use of our eyes make a deep and lasting impression . As a practical illustration we will imagine two men looking at the same picture—the

one uneducated , the other fairly conversant with history , as it has bsen taught him ; the artist has depicted some stirring historical incident . To the uneducated man it possesses no interest , but to the well-informed mil what he beholds rivets anew his attention , his interest is awakened , and hi again learns the lessons through his eyes , never to be forgotten , which hi acquired at school .

SHAFTESBURY THEATRE . It is a very amusing piece now playing at this theatre . It is entitled " Are You a Mason ? " a translation and adaptation from the German of Laufs and Kratz . The two chief characters are Amos Bloodgood ( Mr . G . Giddens ) and Frank Perry ( Mr . Marsh Allen ) . Frank Perry has an aunt , Mrs . Amos Bloodgood , who has a great wish that her nephew should become a Freemason ( a most unusual desire on the part of the lady , the fair

sex , as a rule , being adverse to Freemasonry in any shape or form whatever ) . It may be mentioned here that Mr . Bloodgood , in order better to obtain freedom of action in pursuit of objectionable pleasure , has induced Mrs . Bloodgood to believe that he is a veritable member of the Craft . Frank Perry the better to ingratiate himself with his aunt and obtain her consent to his marriage with her niece ( which has already really taken place

secretly , but of which the aunt is ignorant ) pretends to be a Mason . The uncle , Mr . Bloodgood , and his nephew , Frank , are in an awkward fix , each one fully believes the other to be a Mason and carefully watches and copies the signs made by each . It may easily be imagined what cottiplications and embarrassments take place ; the scene is very cleverly conceived and

affords much amusement . We can only regret it is not more fully developed instead of the thread bare device of one of the characters masquerading in woman ' s clothes , which only reminds us as a feeble imitation of " Charley ' s Aunt . " However , the piece as a whole is worth seeing , and the Craft may rest fully assured that nothing is divulged .

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ARE YOU A MASON ? EVertf Evening at 9 . Wednesday & Saturday Matinees at 3 . % SHAFTESBURY THEATRE .