The Maruqis And The Mason's Widow.

for me , ancl the still colder bed of the battle-field for my boy . " " Get a substitute—get a substitute , " cried Old Capias , testily ; " they are to be had—get one . " " Whence should I ? " returned the woman ,

fiercely , fronting the speaker . " Whence should 1 ? ' Out of the barn floor , or out of the wine press ?'" " Better dismiss her , my Lord , " said the attorney , quickly , and very indignantly , "her ex ^ pressions are highly disrespectful , ancl border on abuse . "

" They are at all events scriptural , " interposed Ms Lordship , with increasing gravity . The tone , perhaps , of the Earl ' s voice , rebuking one whom she felt to be an antagonist , might have heartened her , or the energy of despair might

have suggestedthe moA ement , and again advancingto his Lordship , she said , faintly : " About a Aveek before he went into action for the fifth time , my poor fellow gave these into my hands , and told me that , should he fall , and I be ever able to reach England , they might , perhaps , be useful to me . "

She handed to his Lordship , as she spoke , a certificate , draAvn up on vellum , and certain insignia —of which a more detailed description would be objectionable—and waited , in bent and hopeless attitude , the result .

He to Avhom Masonry was so dear , whose devotion to its interests never varied , Avho held so high a place in the Order , and in the affections of the Craft , extended his hand , and examined narrowly and deliberately the various insignia ;

the parchment , its tenor , its signatures . The scrutiny , it Avould seem , left no suspicions behind it ; for the Earl , with a smile , said , firmly and cheeringly : —¦ "Your husband , it appears , wasaMasou . Of

that I am sati § fied . He belonged , unquestionably , to a military lodge . There are such in the army , not many , nor perhaps much countenanced by the authorities ; but they do exist . For you it is well . Go , and Avith a light heart . Stephen ! is

that your son ' s name ? Stephen so good a son had best remain Avhere he is . He will not be torn from you . I require no thanks . Go , I can listen to nothing further ; go , and have no fears about the future . " A substitute for Stephen Wardroper was procured .

The Maruqis And The Mason's Widow.

Who provided him ? who sought him ? who paid for him ? ancl who , before the week ' s end , sent a £ 10 note by post to the Mason ' s widow ? The poor woman accurately conjectured , ancl so , methinks , will the reader .

But those , and such there are , Avho delight to represent Masonry as " a holloAV mockery , " " shadow , " " a phantom , " " an after-dinner bond , broken the moment the party separates ; " who contend that " it involves no moral tie , " and is

" productive of no holy fruits , " would do Avell to muse over the moral pointed by this characteristic incident in the life of that generous and nobleminded being , Francis , the first Marquis of Hastings .

"Ease The Orphan's Mourning Cry."

"EASE THE ORPHAN'S MOURNING CRY . "

One of our Scottish Lodges has in its labours of the past year afforded a pleasant illustration of the strength of the Masonic tie . Bro . Allan M Lean , of Lodge St . John , Ingersoll , on 27 th Dec , 1864 , Avrote to the W . M . of Navigation ,

Troon , as folloAvs : — " The late Bro . Alexander Maxwell ( made in No . 86 ) Avas captain of the barque Prince George , sailing from GlasgoAV to Moulmein , East Indies . In February , 1854 , he died on his passage home : in the following month

his Avife also died—leaving three children , tAVO girls and one boy . On arrival of the vessel at Greenock , the OAvners acknowledged to the children that the sum of £ 60 was due to their father

at the time of his death , and jDromised £ 20 more ; but the money has never been paid . The girls are now both of age . " Bro . M'Lean then requested our Master to try whether he could in any way recover this money . Steps were immediately

taken by him , when he found that the firm named as owners was no longer in existence , but ihafe a house in Greenock had had an interest in the ship . After considerable correspondence they honourably promised to pay the amount Avith interest . Bro .

Imrie then sent to Canada and got a power of attorney , when , after more correspondence and formalities , the money was paid ; and on 13 th Sept ., 1865 , Bro . Imrie remitted the famil y £ 118 10 s . Comment on the care for a brother ' s

orphan's thus so signally manifested by the Master of Navigation , Troon , is quite unnecessary— * neutrals and the initiated alike can appreciate the net .