Our Masonic Charities. Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

matters of all detail our aim shall be to give our lads as good an education as possible , using the terms in its largest sense . Thus considered , the play hours and the home life of the school are as important as its times of study ; and the building

and its rules and arrangements are eminently -calculated to carry out the committee ' s views . "An institution for and educating the sons of

indigent Freemasons dates from 1798 , but up to the year 1857 the boys Avere clothed and sent to schools in the neighbourhood of their several homes . In the latter year tAventy-five boys Avere taken into a temporary house at Wood-green . In 1859 the committee were able to accommodate

seventy boys , and in 1862 the present magnificient erection Avas commenced . Its noble frontage strikes the visitor first . Standing well back from the road and on a spacious laAvn , it looks Avhat it is , a collegiate institution upon Avhich no money

has been spared . Old trees wave their branches before it , and lend the dignity of age to Avhat is essentially neAV , and the brilliant show of floAvers in the garden of the head-master ' s house close by is relieved by the bright verdure ofthe close cropped

grass of the school . The garden , you learn , Avas attached to the old mansion Avhich was purchased and pulled doAvn to make way for the stately pile before you . This consists of a central block of three stories , with a large oriel and a hi gh roof with dormer Avindows . To this are added two

wings , one containing the dining-hall , and the other the school-rooms and library . There are also handsome toAvers , a deep porch lit by a stained glass window , and Avithin the entrance a graceful group or statuary the last two items being gifts

c 'But the boys themselves are the best ornaments , and after we have traversed corridors one hundred and forty feet long , noted the exquisite cleanliness , mathematical order , and extreme airiness of the bedrooms , visited the kitchen , sculleries ,

and laundries , all fitted with the best mechanical contrivances for saving labour , Ave ask to be introduced to the young people for whom all these preparations are made . They are at cricket in one of the fields belonging to the school , for it

should be mentioned that a farm is attached to it and that it stands on land which has been advantageously bought , and by means of which its advantages of situation can be maintained intact . Some of them are , however , staying late in school , and as we pass by their desks to the library be "

yond , the names of the pupils who have distinguished themselves emblazoned on the Avail ( one of the prizes given is for having gained the good opinion of schoolfelloAvs , and is conferred by a ballot , in which all take part ); pass , too , the

"largest black-board in Europe , " with diagrams still left on it : the intelligence that a boy Avho had just left " obtained the star in four subjects out of five at the Cambridge middle-class examinations '' —they all seem to speak of systematic and efficient

instruction . Indeed , the course includes a sound English education , Avith Latin , French , and German , mathematics in every shape , and drawing . There are four masters in all , besides a drill-instructor , and a teacher of drawing , and 104 boys

are clothed , educated , and provided for , from the age of six years and a half ( the minimum ) to fifteen . The building , which is really a model of what a school ought to be , has cost £ 40 , 000 , and the domestic and educational expenditure on the boys

amounts to £ 36 12 s . 2 f d . per head , or including office expenses , rates and taxes , and all extras , to £ 46 15 s . Id .

The infirmary , the swimming-bath , the gymnasium , the library Avell stocked with handsome books and philosophical instruments , and the right of entry to which is a kind of reward for discreet behaviour , all speak volumes as to the thoughtful

care of the school committee . The infirmary , which was empty at our visit , is completely isolated—strong doors and separate staircases shutting it off effectually from the rest of the house . The plunge-bath holds 6 , 500 gallons of water , and is

under cover , is lined with white tiles , and has separate dressing closets , while the gymnasium is second only to the splendid one at King ' s-cross , belonging to the German Society . We are

introduced to the boys here . Clambering up poles hanging by the hands from ladders and over wel ^ stuffed and protective mattresses , vaulting on dumb horses , SAvinging on ropes , practising a mild kind of trapeze , performing great feats Avith rings

and handles , and all laughing and shouting at once , they make the vast chamber ring again . Nothing is wanting for gymnastics , and nothing is left untried . There is plenty of noise , and abundance of enjoyment . The gymnasium Avas built for its

present purpose , and Avhen its active denizens recover breath , they are hearty in its praise * They are fine , gentlemanlike lads , dressed in Avell made suits of good broadcloth , and with nothing