Ancient And Accepted Rite.

ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE .

ROSE Cnorx . —The half yearly meeting of the Vernon Chapter of Sov . P . R . C ., 18 ° , was held at Birmingham on the 31 st ult . The following illustrious brethren of the 33 ° were present;—Sir Knt . C . J . Vigne , Lt . G . C , 33 ° ; Sir Knt . Colonel Amnion , P . G . M ., and P . G . Com . K . T ., Staffordshire ; and Sir Knt . II . A ernon , P . G . M ., and P . G . Com . K . T ., Worcestershire . Of the 32 ° , Sir Knt . Dr . Bell Fletcher ; Sir Knt . AVardP . D . P . G . M . Staffordshire ; and Sir

, , Knt . Dee , Recorder . Of the 31 ° , Sir Knt . Edwards ; and of the 30 ° , Sir Knt . Lewis . In addition to the above there was a good attendance of the officers of the Chapter and of its members . The Chapter being opened in due form , a batlot was taken for the admission of Bro . Sir John Ratcliffe , Bro . S . Tucker , M . A ., and Bro . T . James . This being unanimous , and the intermediate degrees having first been summarily conferred by Sir Knt . AA ard ,

Act . M . AV . Sov ., the three candidates were admitted and exalted to the degree of S . P . R . C . The oeremony was performed by Bros . AVard , Col . Vernon , and A'igne ; and nothing could exceed the solemn impressiveness and unexceptionable precision with wdiich these three very distinguished brethren acquitted themselves in the task imposed upon them ; indeed , the beautiful working of the Chapter altogether was the subject of general eulogium during the evening . A banquet [ of unusual [ excellence was provided by Bro . Dee , who ,

as a caterer for and arranger of such matters , cannot be too flatteringly spoken of . It was presided over by Col . A ernon , Dr . Bell Fletcher filling the vice chair , and was not brought to a termination till 11 p . m .

Obituary.

Obituary .

BRO . GIBBS CRAAVFORD , D . PROV . G . M ., CHESHIRE . We regret to announce that Bro . Gibbs Crawford Antrobns , Esq ., D . Prov . G . M . of Cheshire , expired at his residence , Eaton Hall , near Congleton , on Tuesday , the 20 th ult ., in the 6 Sth year of his age , mourned by a large circle of neighbours and friends . Our deceased brother had been commander of the Congleton troop of 'Cheshire Yeomanry for thirty-three years , but had recently resigned the

command to his son . He was an active Mason , doing good and working hard for the welfare of the Craft for upwards of 4-0 years , and had been four times elected AA . M . of Lodge 777 ; he was also AV . M . of the Lodge of Unity ( No . 403 ) , Crewe . As a magistrate he was just , merciful , and candid ; as a Mason he was firm , true , and kind to the indigent ; as a landlord he was not only respected , but loved by his tenantry ; and as a master he was revered by his dependants , for he manifested an urbanity and Christian sweetness

of temper to all wdio served beneath his roof or otherwise . For some time our deceased brother had been suffering from declining health , but during the past few weeks he had somewhat recovered , and though an invalid , so sudden and fatal a relapse was not anticipated . The day previous to his death he took a short drive , and on the day of his death , he had been sitting at a window , and had derived much pleasure from witnessing the sports of the children in the park , where the scholars had been holding their annual

tea meeting / About nine o'clock in the evening he retired to his chamber , and his two daughters were on the point of leaving him , having wished him good night , when they observed him stagger , and immediately he sank into a chair , and expired in a few minutes . Our deceased brother was buried on the following Tuesday , and on Sunday , June 2 , two funeral sermons were preached in Asbury Parish Church ; that in the afternoon by the Rev . J . Firminand that in the evening by the Rev . . 1 . Hughes . A -

, pro cession was formed to the church , and included the corporation and tradesmen of Congleton , and a large body of the Masonic brethren . Amongst those present were Lord de Tabley , P . S . G . AV . ; Bro . Smith , of Longley , P . G . W . Cheshire ; the Rev . Dr . Armstrong , Dr . Davenport , M . D ., etc The following lines , written on the occasion of the funeral , are from the pen of Bro . M . AVardhaugh : —

Gently place him in his grave ; On the stone his ashes lay : He was kindly , true , and brave , — Let him softly down , I pray . Cerements bind his noble frame . Lead and wood do hold him in ; Earth her own again doth claim

, Tenant of her regions grim . But his deeds of memories pure , Live in harmonising hearts , Lay him down , of this be sure , He hath play'd life ' s holiest parts .

He hath squared his labours well , Compassed all his sweet designs : He hath levelled death and hell By his Master's words and signs . Lay him in his latest home , With his loved ones fair and dear ; Leave him where no shadows come , — Life no pain , and death no fear .

Poetry.

Poetry .

THE RAPID . —ST . LAAVRENCE . All peacefully gliding , The waters dividing , The indolent batteau moved slowly along , The rowers , light-hearted , From sorrow long parted ; Ben-uiled the dull moments with laughter and song :

" Hurrah for the Rapid ! that merrily , merrily Gambols and leaps on its tortuous way ; Soon we will enter it , cheerily , cheerily , Pleased with its freshness , and wet with its spray . '" More swiftly careering , The wild Rapid nearing

, They dash down the stream like a terrified steed ; The surges delight them , No terrors affright them , Their voices keep pace with their quickening speed : " Hurrah for the Rapid ! that merrily , merrily Shivers its arrows against us in play ; Now we have entered it , cheerily , cheerily ,

Our spirits as light as its feathery spray . " Fast downward they T ' re dashing , Each fearless eye flashing , Though danger awaits them on every side ; Yon rock—see it frowning ! They strike—they are drowning . '

But downward they speed with the merciless tide : No voice cheers the Rapid , that angrily , angrily Shivers their hark in its maddening play ; Gaily they entered—heedlessly , recklessly , Mingling their lives with its treacherous spray . SANGSTER .

Notes On Music And The Drama.

NOTES ON MUSIC AND THE DRAMA .

Mr . Maplosons's opera season at tho Lyceum Theatre is advertised to consist of twelve subscription nights , to commence this evening with ' . 11 Trovatore . ' His engagements and promises are as under : — Mdlle . Titiens and Mdlle . Sedlatzek , Mesdames Gassier , Lemaire , and Alboni ; Signora Belart , Mercuriali , Palmieri , Giuglini , Gassier , Delle Sedie , Casaboni , A'ialetti , Mr . Patoy , Herr Hermanns;—Conductor , Signor Arditi ; Leader , Mr . H . Blagrove . Mr . Mapleson ' s repertory will be selected from the following — ' II Trovatore '

operas , ' La Sonnambula , ' ' Lucrezia Borgia / Luci di Lammermoor , ' ' La Traviata / ' Don Giovanni , ' 'Norma , "Martha , " Les Huguenots . ' It is further ( says the advertisement ) the intention of the lessee to produce A erdi ' s new opera of ' Un Ballo in Maschera . ' A festivai of parochial choirs was held the other day in the nave of Peterborough Cathedral . " The choir comprised more than one thousand singers , " says a contemporary .

A critic in Dwight ' s Journal of Music—an America periodicalperforms a fantasia on the theme of ' The Star-spangled Banner / worth introducing to English ears . " This song has one of the noblest melodies ever written . In breadth and grandeur of theme , in intensity of musical effect , in magnetic inspirations , it is almost unrivalled . It is far in advance of the French Marseilles Hymn , the British ' God save the Queen' or the Austrian ' God save the

, Emperor / and its only rival in the world is the Russian National Hymn by Lvoff . But , unfortunately , it has some defects whicli injure it for a popular melody . In the first place , it is not American in origin . In the next place , the melody has so wide a range from low to high that few voices can be found capable of singing it