Masonic Government.

and opinions are treated with somewhat scant ceremony , and by whom we have sometimes seen the new , ancl , perhaps , somewhat flurried W . M ., ordered about , with as little respect as is shown to a bridegroom by a parish clerk at a wedding ! or

to the stage king , by the swell actor , who is " starring it" in the provinces as Cardinal Wolsey in Henry the Eighth . Let the lodge elect the brother the members think best fitted to take charge of the Craft , and let him p ick his own crew . Of course he will consider the services of those brethren who have

held office during the past year , but it is not improbable that they have , some of them , onl y displayed their unfitness for further advancement . The same argument applies also in a different degree to the desirability of retaining a G . M . or

Prov . G . M . long iu his post , or of frequentl y changing him . We certainly are in favour of the former p lan , a man then can take a certain line , and carry it out : steadil y persevering till he has accomplished his purpose . Were he so frequentl y

changed , we should see the seed sown by one man , rooted up to make way for another crop , and should always be met with the reply , "You see I go out next year and do not know what my successor might think of it . '' No ; the princi ple

that , when a man can no longer attend to the duties of an office , he should , in honour , resign it , should apply also to such appointments as these ; but , when we have the ri g ht man in the ri g ht p lace , we should be very foolish to turn him

out simpl y to gratify the inordinate vanity of certain brethren , who want to wear the compasses , as in Scotland , instead of considering that that instrument should teach them to keep their ambition , as well as other things , within due bounds .

Chips Of Foreign Ashlar.

CHIPS OF FOREIGN ASHLAR .

By J . A . H .

LES BRAVES BELGES . The Brave Bel gians are in many respects the most devoted and enthusiastic allies of the English . While we write our Volunteers are displaying their accomplishments , and drinking Ba-risch beer at

the fetes of the Tir Nationale at Liege , and doubtless thousands of throats are hoarse with shouting " Vive le Boi Lcojiold and Vivent Les Anglais . " A trip to Belgium is not onl y one of the most economical but also one of the most interesting an

Englishman can enjoy . Landing in Antwerp , John Bull , finds himself in one of the quaintest cities of the Continent—a rich storehouse of antiquities , every turn and corner of which , reveals something to awaken his curiosity , and recall

traditions of the Past . In Bruges he thinks of Longfellow and is glad that still : — "In the market place of Bruges stands the belfry old and brown , Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded , still it watches

oe r the town . And as a flood of historic legends come to his memory he recalls : — "All the foresters of Flanders—mighty Baldwin Bras de Fer , Lyderick du Bucq and Cress } -, Philip , Guy de Dampierre . And awakening to the nineteenth century he

can say : — " 1 beheld the pageants splendid that adorned those days of old , Stately dames like Queens attended , knights who bore the Fleece of Gold . Lombard and Venetiau merchants with deep laden

argosies , Ministers from twenty nations ; more than royal pomp and ease . I beheld proud Maximilian kneeling humbly on the ground—I beheld the gentle Mary hunting with her hawk and

hound ; And her lighted bridal chamber where a Duke slept with the Queen And the armed guard around them and the sword unsheathed between . I beheld the Flemish weavers with Kamur and Juliers

bold-Marching homeward from tho bloody battle of the Spurs of Gold ; Saw the fight at Miunewater , saw the White Hoods moving "West , Saw great Artevelde victorious scale the Golden Dragon ' s

nest . And again the whiskered Spaniard all the land with terror smote , And again the wild alarum sounded from the tocsin ' s throat—Till the bell of Ghent responded o ' er lagoon and lake of sand , ' I am Koland ! I am Boland' ' there is victory in the land ! ' —

Then indeed would the soul he dull that could not feel : — " Hours had passed away like minutes , and before I was aware , Lo . ' the shadow of the Belfry crossed the sun-illumined square . " In Ghent the Englishman sees a great commercial city peopled with worth y descendants of