The Girls School.

THE GIRLS SCHOOL .

LONDON , SATURDAY , MAT 12 , 1 SG 0 .

TUB last festival of tho Masonic charities lias boon held for the season , and tho Girls School has secured a subscription which crowns all former efforts of the brethren on behalf of that noble institution , whilst it leaves the subscriptions to the other charities far in the background . If formerly it could bo laid to the charge of the country

brethren that thoy were lukewarm in the support of our Masonic chanties , the charge will no longer hold good , for their attention having been called to the subject , and a plan laid clown of combined working , they are certainly making most astonishing efforts to recover lost time by the munificence of their donations . West Yorkshire has taken the lead in

tho movement , being a large and influential province , and last year—tho first in which the action of the now arrangement was brought into p lay—forwarded about three hundred and fifty pounds for the . Boys School ; whilst tin ' s year their subscriptions for the Girls School amount to upwards of seven hundred aud thirty pounds ; such a sum only a few

years since used to be the total result of a festival , and was then looked upon as something extraordinary . Nor are other provinces behind in the good work , Brighton haying furnished a subscription list of nearly one hundred and fifty pounds ; a very handsome sum , compared with the number of Lodges in the district from whence it comes .

The proceedings of the Festival were most gratifying , the arrangements excellent , and everything passed off with the utmost eclat—though we would suggest that in future the children should be withdrawn from the room prior to the proposing of the Chairman ' s health , as tending alike to their own comfort and that of the company present .

Our Architectural Chapter.

OUR ARCHITECTURAL CHAPTER .

Inn subject ol Masonic Halls—which has been so thoroughly ventilated in our pages , and which may almost be said to have originated there—has been seriously taken up by brethren in the metropolis , as well as in the provinces . Discountenanced as the idea of separation from taverns has been by the result of a recent debate in Grand Lodge , there is , we

are glad to perceive , a growing inclination among some of our more enthusiastic brethren to test the question practically ; and with confidence as to the result being satisfactory . The movement in London has produced its fruit in the formation of a " Masonic Hall Company" for the erection of a building suited to the requirements of the Lodges iu the

south of the metropolis . A prospectus of the undertaking is before ns bearing , among other names , those of Bros . John Thomas , P . M ., No . 745 ; 3 . R . Warren , G-. J . Ball , W . H . Webb , and other members of that Lodge , as well as of Nbs . 1023 , 1044 , 234 , 85 , and 902 . Here is indeed a goodly nucleus , containing , we sincerely hope , the

elements of success . The provisional directors tell ns they feel assured that with judicious management the company will become both useful and iiroduetive , as from the rents to be realized and from letting the Hall for lectures , balls , and other meetings ( when not required for Masonic purposes ) a fair dividend on the outlay may reasonably be The

expected . company , we are informed , will bo restricted to members of the Masonic bod y ; and the directors have fixed tho shares at the low sum of £ 1 , with the object of dividing them amongst as many of the brethren as possible . The company of course will be established upon the limited liabilit lanand wo hope that sufficient funds will bo

withy p , out difficulty furnished by the London brethren , who may well be encouraged by the favourable results which have attended similar schemes at Leicester and elsewhere in the provinces . We shall watch the progress of the new company with interest , and . wish the projectors the success which they so well deserve .

Our Architectural Chapter.

An event of great interest has been the throwing open of tho Church of St . Michael , C ' ornhill , for the purpose of affording the parishioners au opportunity of inspecting the recent repairs and decorations . For the support of the fabric there is an estate , which by the vast increase in the value of freehold in Cornhiil has become so wealthy that the fund reached some fourteen thousand pounds ; and as it

appears that they had not power to use the money in any other way , the parochial authorities decided on a complete repair and embellishment of the church . Their first step was to pull down the buildings which surround the church and to adopt plans for the construction of new ones ; and acting upon this the entrance from Cornhiil was thrown ,

open , a- new doorway of a character harmonizing- with the tower was built from the designs of Mr . George Gilbert Scott , and a perfect view of the whole of the tower thus made practicable from the street . St . Michael ' s is a most favourable specimen of the genius of our Grand Master Sir Christopher Wren , is one of the fifty churches rebuilt after

the fire of London , and was finished in 1672 . The entire interior fittings and windows were removed and have been replaced by workmanshi p of the highest order , under the superintendence of Mr . Scott , at a cost of eight thousand pounds . The churchwardens , ostensibly for the purpose of trying

the organ—originally constructed by ICenatus Harris , and . now thoroughly repaired , with additional stops , & c , by Robson—but in reality , we suppose , to see the effect of their labours when the church was lighted up , issued cards of admission to the parishioners and friends on Wednesday , the 2 nd instant , on which evening every available seat and space

was filled . There was a selection of sacred music , which was opened by a voluntary by Mr . Richard Limpus the organist ; this and a psalm to the tune of the grand Old hundred and fourth , tested the powers of the organ , and drew forth some magnificent tones . Bro . . Fielding and some other professional vocalists took part , as did the children of the ward schools .

However attractive might bo the music , the greater part of the congregation probably went to see the church . The decorations arc most elaborate , the veredos is constructed of the richest marble of varied hues , arranged with much good taste . Here also are replaced two paintings of Moses '' and Aaron—the work of Stalker , Serjeant painter to Charles the

Second . The tables of the sacred laAv are not over tho communion table , but placed on the north side . Above the reredos is a large circular window of painted glass representing the ascension of the Saviour , surrounded by the heavenly choir . The windows on the south side ( there are none on the north ) are also fitted with painted glass

representing various events in the life of Christ . The west window , which is in the tower , is a beautiful work of art , representing the last hour on the cross , with the three Marys at the foot . Beneath this window , on a pedestal , is the figure of a pelican feeding its young , carved in wood , the work of Grinlin Gibbonswhich formerly stood over the altarpioce .

, The pelican is , as many of our readers know , an emblem of the Saviour , who shed his blood for tho salvation of the human race , and has been adopted from tho poetic fable which describes this bird as tearing open its breast to feed its offspring with its own blood . This figure is gilt and relieved by a tablet of dark green marble placed

behind it . The supporting columns of tho church are uneoloured . The capitals and arched ribs of tho roof are richly gilded and ornamented with varied colours ; each arch bearing on it in legible characters a- scriptural text . The groundwork of the roof is sober grey , which gives a chastened effect to .

the decorations on the arches . The side walls are at present plain rose colour , which lias an unpleasing effect ; a o-njy tint would l » e much better , as in the roof . That piortion of the east wall not occupied by the altarpioce and window is