Masonic Fete Champetre.

The weather was charmingly suitable to the occasion , and the grounds were in excellent order , and , with a social company present , the . day was devoted to enjoyment and the interchange of courtesies . It was four o ' clock before any considerable number of the picnickians were at the grove , but from that hour until nine o ' clock at night they came " afoot , " in buggies , and by the

street railroad cars . At six o'clock about four or five hundred pleasure seekers were hard at work enjoying themselves at clam counters , restaurant tables , in . " swinging boats , " on the turf ' neath the leafy trees , anel lastly , though to a decidedly predominating extent , in dancing on the floor of the pavilion devoted to the votaries of Terpsichore . The company present was , with

few exceptions , very respectable and precise in their deportment , and while displaying in a majority of cases evident attention in the matter of their attire , to the latest fashion bulletins , there were also a number of " old jokers" present who had evidently outlived the age they were intended to flourish in , and ( without intending any sarcasm ) appeared like " the light of other 1

days , ' though perhaps not quite so far agone as " the dark ages . " They were all men in tight-sleeved coats , of a greenish brown variety of shade and colour , with hats that would have concealed the wearer ' s ears if those organs would have submitted to be "hid under a bushel , " and these old gents shuffled round among the throng with sun-faded umbrellas under their arms and

were indiscriminately greeted by the patriarchial appellation of " pop " or " uncle . " A number of these fogies had their conjugal partners with them , attired in the plain old costume of the grandmothers of this generation , with bonnets of undoubted coal-scuttle proclivities and proportions . The later editions of these antique

works were also on hand , exquisitely gotten up in calf , cloth , and morocco , with occasional patent leather finishes and illuminated with gold . They were represented in almost every shade and tint , from the sombre black to the deep olive , with the blood flushing richly beneath the semi-transparent skin and the pale white that showed the blue veins traversing the cheeks and temples . Men

who might have been Othellos , had not " the accident of birth" made them American citizens , flirted with and cavaliered women who might have bamboozled a Mark Antony into fighting Caesar ' s navy with a fleet of sixty sail of Egyptian war vessels , as Cleopatra did . Fortunately , however , for ordinary mortals , the world is not now held by a Cassar , a Pompey , or an Antony , and

these courtly ladies , whose "infinite variety" perchance " age could not wither nor custom stale , " content themselves by enslaving the hearts of modern "Augustuses " and the " George Washingtons " of to-day ; and , instead of picknicking on the Nile in a sixty-oared galley , with a poop of gold , and sails whose perfumed surface the winds loved to kiss , were pleased to go to Boulevard

Grove for a day ' s amusement aba , fete eliamvpUra . But , though those who had assembled yesterday were not immortalized by Shakspeare , they were doubtless as happy , being devoid , apparently , of anxiety concerning kingdoms and crowns , and filled places in the community much more consonant with this progressive age and its institutions . They troubled no one , and enjoyed

themselves to the fullest extent , and to the music of " Champagne Charlie " and " Captain Jinks " " chased with flying feet the silver hours , " until near midnight , ab which seasonable time they betook themselves to their homes with pleasing recollections of a day harmlessly and enjoyably spent . —[ Neio York Herald- ]

PAKIT spirit consumes in idle contests that energy which the whole fraternity and humanity need ; . By the perpetual interchange of hard names , it makes the brethren suspicious and uncharitable ; or it makes them think lightly of tbe kind of offences which they hear so often charged against our most eminent brothers .

Poetry.

Poetry .

DAWN AND DEATH . By Bro . J . 0 . MANNING . Tho sobbing winds of winter Lingered sadly round tbe door , Then ran , in mystic meanings , Tbrougb tho dark across tbe moor . The window-panes were streaming

With tbe tears which Heaven wept , And a mother sat a-dreaming O ' or an infant as it slept ; Its little bands were folded , And its little oyos of blue Wore clothed in alabaster , With the azure peeping through . Its woowan faceso stariike

, , , Was as whito as maiden snow , And it breathed in faintest ripples , As tho wavelets come and go . Tho morn , in golden beauty , Through the lattice fairly peept , But muffled was tho window Of tho room wboro Darling slept 1

Tbe mother ' s heart was breaking Into tears , like summer cloud , For a starry face was circled With a little lily shroud ; And a soul from sunny features Like a beam of light bad fled ; Before hor , like a snowdrop , Her miracle lay dead I

Ab ! 'twas cruel thus to chasten , Though her loss was Darling ' s gain , And her heart would rifle hoaven , Could she clasp her babe again .

Metropolitan Lodge Meetings, Etc, For The Week Ending October 10th, 1868.

METROPOLITAN LODGE MEETINGS , ETC , FOR THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 10 TH , 1868 .

MONDAY , October 5 th . —Lodges : Robert Burns , 25 , Freemasons' Hall . Unity , 69 , London Tavern , Bishopsgate-sbreet . Royal Jubilee , 72 , Anderton ' s Hotel , Fleetstreet . St . Luke ' s , 144 , Pier Hotel , Cheyne-walk , Chelsea . Joppa , 188 , Albion Tavern , Aldersgate-street . Chapters : Old . King ' s Arms , 28 , Freemasons' Hall . Victoria , 1 , 056 , George Hotel , Aldermanbury .

TUESDAY , October 6 oh . —Colonial Board at 3 . Audit Com . of Female School at 2 . 30- Lodges : Albion , 9 , Freemasons' Hall , Temple , 101 , Ship and Turtle Tavern , Leadenhall-street . St . John ' s , 167 , Holly Bush Tavern , Hampstead . Old Concord , 175 , Freemasons' Hall . La Tolerance , 538 , Freemasons' Hall . St . James ' s , 765 , Leather Market Tavern , New Weston-streeb ,

Bermondsey . Chapter : Temperance , 109 , White Swan Tavern , Deptford . WEDNESDAY , October 7 th . — Lodge : Stability , 217 , George Hotel , Aldermanbury . Chapter : Prince Frederick William , 753 , Knights of St . John Hotel , St . John ' swood . THURSDAY , October 8 ch . —Quarterly Gen . Court Female

School , at Freemasons' Hall , ab 12 . Lodges : Lion and Lamb , 192 , George Hotel , Aldermanbury . Friendship , 206 , Ship and Turtle Tavern , Leadenhall-street . Lily Lodge of Richmond , 820 , Greyhound , Richmond , Surrey . Dalhousie , 860 , Anderton's Hotel , Fleet-street . Capper , 1 , 076 , Marine Hotel , Victoria-docks , West Ham . Chapters : Mount Lebanon , 73 , Bridge House Hotel ,

Southwark . Hope , 206 , Globe Tavern , Royal Hill , Greenwich . FRIDAY , October 9 th . —Lodge : Domatic , 177 , Anderton's Hotel , Fleet-street . Chapter : Britannic , 83 , Freemasons' Hall .

To Correspondents.

TO CORRESPONDENTS .

Dr . P . —We have received your letter , which we shall answer privately in a day or day .