People Will Talk.

If your dress is in fashion , don ' t think to escape , For they criticize then in a far different shape ; You ' re ahead of your means , or your bills are unpaid ; But mind your ovm business , and keep straight ahead—For people Avill talk . They'll talk fine before youbut then at your back

, Of venom and spite there is never a lack ; How kind and polite in all that they say ,, But bitter as gall Avhen you ' re out of the Avay—For people Avill talk . Good friends , be advised , and do as you please , For your mind ( if you have one ) -will then he at

ease , Through life you Avill meet Avith all sorts of abuse , But don ' t think to stop them , ' tAvill be of no use—For people Avill talk . —Loomis ' s Musical Journal .

What Is The Good Of Free Masonry?

WHAT IS THE GOOD OF FREE MASONRY ?

Reprinted from "All the Year Round , " by the kind permission of Bro . Charles Dickens . Extolled as the true faith ; denounced as an offshoot of Satan ; praised by ciOAvned

, and banned b y tonsured heads ; dreaded as a subtle policital engine , and admired for its profound indifference to politics ; the essence of goodness according to some men , and the spirit of evil if you listen to others ; Freemasonry is as complete a

mystery to the uninitiated as Avhen the mythical lad y hid herself in the Lodgeclock-caso , or the equally mythical American citizen was slain for tampering Avith the secrets . Listen to the Avoids of Avisdom , according to Bro . StodgersP . M . and you

, , Avill loam that men may be Freemasons for years Avithout penetrating the arcana of the Order ; may attain divers dignities AA'ithout comprehending their true import ; may die in the fulness of Masonic parts Avithout having emerged from Masonic

babyhood ; and often havo spent as much time and labour on the art as Avould , to put it modestly , suffice for the acquisition of every European tongue , yet fall short of the supreme distinction of being " a good Mason . " " AVhether , " as tho elder Mr . AVeller , and the charity-boy he quotes , respectively remarked of the institutions

of holy matrimony , and of getting to the end of the alphabet , " it bo Avorth Avhile going through so much to learn so little , " is , I hear tho cynic Avhisper , entirely a matter of opinion ; but that neither the labour involved nor its reward is under-ostimatod ,

the most superficial knoAvledge of tho subject proves . Brother Steele and myself have some right to our opinion , for AVO are Past Masters , Mark-Masters , and Koyal Arch Companions—are officers of our Chapters

, and Treasurers of our . Lodge . AVhat our mutual andhorseyfriendiTibhinsiiTeA ^ erently calls our " plated harness , " involves medals , jeAvels , ancl ornate ribbons for our manly breasts , aprons for our fronts , and broad collars like those Avorn by Knights of the

Garter ( but handsome ) for our necks . The A ietoria Cross is an ugly excrescence compared to the costly decoration given me as a testimonial to the Brethren of my . mother Lodge ; the clasps to the jeAvels of some of our friends exceed in number those of the

oldest Peninsular veteran , and we calculate that Ave mig ht IIOAV be Sanskrit scholars of some eminence had AVO thought fit to servo that language as faithfully as Ave havo

served tho Craft . Upon sordid money considerations AVO scorn to dwell . Initiation foes , exaltation foes , fees for advancement , emergencies , subscriptions to charities , to Lodges , and for special purposes , make up a pretty sum to look back upon ; and if the upshot of it all Avero but the amusement

and gratification derived , I am not prepared to say that Ave have had full value for our money . Joyous evenings , periodical feasts ( in Avhich something else floAvs besides soul ) , mutual compliment , ancl p leasant friendships , may all spring from other sources

than Avhat Burns calls " the mystie tie . " AVith the AA armest appreciation of the pleasures of Freemasomy , I , for one , should renounce the Avhole paraphernalia of colours , aprons , and gCAVgaAvs , Avere I not satisfied of their practical A alueancl deeply

im-, pressed Avith their usefulness in stimulating to beneA r olent impulses ancl charitable deeds . This is , in truth , the chief virtue I care to claim for the Order , in this country and m these times . Abroad , tho Freemasons , so fiercelcursed bhis Holiness the Pope ,

y y may mix up democratic caballing Avith their ceremonials , and play an important part m the spread of liberal principles , but iu England religious and political discussion