Provincial.

of the world , all are brothers in a deeper , clearer sense , and Christ our Heavenly Grand Master is our elder brother . He is the sure foundation , other than which can no man lay ; He is the hidden corner stone , which the level of His own divine love has so placed , as will one day unite , anel thenceforward for ever support the whole building of His Father ' s mercy in indivisible and eternal unity . " Onr entrance into Freemasonry is an emblematical entrance

into this our mortal existance . AVe come into the lodge as we come into this world , poor , blind , doubting , halting , helpless beings , and the first thing we are invited to do is to kneel anel ask for help from God , and to avow our sole hope and trust is in Him who hath said— 'Ask . and ye shall hive ; seek and ye shall find ; knock anel ifc shall be opened unto you . ' The hand that grasps our own is that of a friend in whom we find a brotherwho leads ns doubting onward to the liht where that

, g which was secret is revealed , and that which was dark becomes as clear as the day . AVe receive a most solemn and wholesome lesson in the active principles of universal beneficence and charity , and are taught to seek the solace of our own distress , in affording relief to our fellow-mortals in their hour of affliction , and to dedicate our hearts thus purified from all that is selfish anel bad to the glory of God and to the welfare of our brethren in the world . The lessons thus inculcated underlie

all thafc follows after . We are invited , indeed , fco extend our researches into the more hidden mysteries of nature anel science . Learning and art may unfold their treasures beneath our hands , making us more useful in our day and generation , but but they are but the goodly ornaments anel decorations of the temple , not the temple itself . Many a plain workman has done his work well and received his full reward , anel many a more accomplished Mason , who has thought too much of these decorations and too little of the work itself has , when his allotted

time was over , and the Master came to inspect tho work , been covered wifch shame and confusion to find that which should have been a meet abode for the King of Kings , an unsightly heap of disorderly materials , nofc half prepared . Even when , proceeding onwards , we receive the most solemn lesson of all , that teaches us the instability of all things here below , tho same voice that bids us be careful to perform our appointed task while it is yet day exhorts us to lift our eyes to the Briht

g Morning Star , the truest , purest pattern of all love . "Nothing around us lingers ; time is fleeting by ; the world is passing from us ; eternity is hastening on ; judgment is drawing close ; the Master ' s step is nigh , even at the door . When He enters all the earthl y wisdom and works of man must dissolve and leave not a wreck behind . What think you , in that day , will be the badge of His disciplcship and the tokens

He will own—the marks of your fellowship with Him on earth ? Not , the achievements of human industry , for the fire will try every man ' s work of whafc sort it is ; not learning , and science , and art , for they , apart from Him , are vanity and vexation of spirit ; not wealth got by selfish moans and spent for selfish ends , for it shall eat its owner's flesh as fire ; not anything that is of the earth earthy , for the world passeth away

and the lusts thereof . This only shall endure , tbe fine gold of charity and the precious stones of faith , hope , and love , built upon Him , the Rock of our Salvation . No need then of sign , token , or word ; wc shall know even as we are known ; anel even of the three things that abide one only will remain wholly unchanged ; for faith and hope will have altered , not indeed their naturebut their nameand faith will then be called

, ; knowledge and hope fruition ; but love will have altered neither in nature nor in name , but will only reflect more brightly the image of Him from whose bosom it first started on its angel message to the tempest-tossed sufferers on tho ocean of this troublesome world .

" Since love will thus continue when all other things shall have passed away , elo your diligence , my brethren , to practise brotherly love while they yet endure . If the outer world asks how Masons manifest their love one to another , be able still to say , ' We are bound by a solemn pledge to be forward in all loving offices to all mankind , and especially to our brethren in the Order . ' Men in peril , preserved ; wanderers sheltered and brought on their way home ; tire widows anel destitute provided

with a home ; the orphans feel and clothed , protected and taught ; these can bear witness how we understand the precept , ' Let brotherly love continue . ' I fear not to say , my brethren , that Masonry , rightly understood and honestly carried out , is oil to the lamp of faith , a cable tow to the anchor of hope , fuel to the fire of love .

These are brave words , beloved ; anel it behoves us to give heed that they may be borne out by consistent lines . And you , especially , brethren of our newly dedicated lodge , bear with me if I remind you that Masonry is here on its trial . If your fellow townsmen see you gentle anel humble , kind , temperate , and courteous , your lodge will be an honour to yourselves , and will make the name of our Craft a word of praise wherever ifc may be mentioned . Bufc if , on the contrary , you be found

wrathful and vain , harsh , and sensual , and selfish , neglectful husbands anel fathers , anel bad neighbours , your association with the Craft will spread the mischief far beyond yourselves ; for what can men say in that case , speaking as they find , but that Masonry is in word truly weighty anel powerful , but in deed weak anel contemptible ; anel so tho things that should have been for our mutual wealth , shall be to us an occasion of falling .

"My beloved brethren in Freemasonry , one anel all , our Divine Grancl Master , ou the tracing board of the three and thirty years of His earthly life , laid down a perfect design of tbe temple which He would have us to build ; and it is a humbling , bufc most salutary , discipline to contemplate , from time to time , the heavenly original and the earthly copy , the perfect design to our manifest failures . See Him in His sinless childhood , obedient to Joseph anel Mary , contentedly

performing the duties of his humble trade ; see Him in His sinless manhood , without a home wherein to lay His head , getting a few lowly persons , fishermen , taxgatlierers , and suchlike fco listen to what He had to say ; see Him , bearing so patiently with their unbelief , their ignorance , and their jealousies ; see Him in His sinless suffering for us men and for our salvation , forsaken by all , mocked , scourged , crowned with thorns , and crucified ; yetin the midst of all His agonypraying' Father

, , , , forgive them ; they know nofc what they do . ' Think of all this obedience , forbearance , patience , and love , and then , contrasting it with onr own stubbornness and discontent , our ready anger at little slights , our long remembrance of wrongs , our thoughts , words , and deeds of malice and unkindness , and remembering who He is , and whafc we are , surely we must have hearts as hard as stone , if we do nofc abase ourselves before Him , and pray Him for grace to be more like whafc He was and whafc

He would havo us to be . Indeed , ib woulel only bring us to despair to measure ourselves by this heavenly gauge , did we not remember that all this was done for us , that His strength is made perfect in ourselves , anel that He . who is the Truth and the Life is also the Way . " Short , short , is the time that is left us for the fulfilment of our task . All around us is fleeting anel shadowy . Nothing continueth in one stay . What we have we lose ; what we seek

disappoints . All creation is subject to vanity , thafc we may learn to seek Him alone , who alone is nofc sought in vain , our Maker , our Redeemer , our God . Be of good courage , brethren , for the Almighty Master who imposes our task does nofc only look on , but by His look gives strength to labour . The work looks a weary one , but only while we load our hands with the things which He forbids . Lay aside every weight and the weariness will pass away . The forms of His messengers look

austere , but at a distance only ; let us listen to their message and obey it , and they will smile nponus with a heavenly sweetness . The world's hard slavery groAvs harder the longer we endure it ; it harrasses , perplexes , distresses , slays ; Christ's free labour grows easier by perseverance . He has taught us how to say ' Thy commandment is exceeding broad . ' " The words of the Scripture ring with gladness while they

tell us of the reward in store for him that overcomoth , of good from the tree of life , of freedom from the second death , of the gift of tho bidden manna , and the white stone graven Avith a new name , of the morning star and the whifce raiment , of the being made pillars in tho Temple of God anel going out no more , of sitting with Christ on His throne , even as Ho also overcame and is set down with His Father on His throne . " The discourse of the reverend brother was listened to with

profound attention hy a large congregation . The procession was then re-formed , and the brethren marched back to the Guildhall , where the business of the Provincial Grand Lodge was resumed . The P . G . Master named Halesworth as the place for holding the Provincial Grand Lodge for 186 (> , stating that an early day in July woulel be fixed for the purpose . A vote of thanks was cordially given by the lodge to the Incumbent of St . Mary ' s Church for his kindness in granting the brethren the use of tha Church , and to tho Mayor and Cor-