New Zealand.

The PROV . G . MASTER called upon the assembled brethren to drink in solemn silence tho final toast in the Masonic repertoire— " To all poor and distressed Masons . " This being the end of the programme , Burns' farewell to the Tarbolton Lodge was sung , and the brethren separated , after spending such a pleasant evening as but rarely occurs , either within or without the Masonic circle . —Otago Times .

Literary Extracts.

LITERARY EXTRACTS .

"SETTLING A BAILIHB IS DONEGAL . — "Possible , or Impossible , it ' s true , that I can vouch for , for I saw the bailiffs that came down with the notices . At any rate , your old grandfather thought that after "Vyner himself he had the best right to the house and tho bit of land , for Vyner told him one day that he'd settle ib on yon for

a marriage portion , and there were others by who heard it ; so your grandfather went up and told Tom Crowe , the attorney , how it was , and Tom said , ' Keep it open , Jlalone , ' says he— ' keep it open till wo see what's to be done in it . Don ' t let the other creditors got a hold of the place till I get an opinion for you . ' And on that ,

old Peter goes back and gets a few boys together , and they go down to the glen just in time to see tho subsheriff , Barty Lambert , riding up the lawn , with six or eight men after him . The minute Lambert saiv your grandfather , ho cried out , ' Here ' s Peter the " smasher ;" save yourselves , boys ! ' And he rode his horse at a wall ,

jumped it , and made off as hard as he could . Two of the others followed , but the rest stood their ground . Old Peter then stepped out , and ordered them to lay down their arms , aud give up the writ , and whatever other papers they had . Somo were for this , and some against ; and Peter , wanting to finish the business at once , stepped up to Joe Maker , tho sub-sheriff ' s man , and said— 'Joe , ' says be , 'I made you ate a process once

before , wax and all , and maybe I'll have to do the same now . Give it up this minute , or , ' Just then Mahor drew out a pistol , but before he could level it old Peter -was in on him , and they grappled each other , and a terrible struggle it was , for the others never interfered , but left thorn to fight it out fair . At last the pistol

went off , and the ball passed through old Peter ' s cheek ; but if it did , it didn ' t prevent him getting over Joe ' s breast as ho fell , and beating his head against tho ground , till he rolled over him himself out of weakness and fatigue ; and when Peter came to himself—Maher didn't , for ho was dead ! " "Dead ! " exclaimed she—" murdered !"

"Not a bib murdered , bub killed fair ! Anyhow , the others ran away , -and old Peter , as soon as ho w as able , made off too , and gob inbo the mountains , and now the police is after him , and a reward of fifty pounds offered for him , as if he was a wild beast . British lav ; and justice , my darling ; the beautiful code of laws that was

made to civilise Ireland four centuries ago , and hasn ' t done much to talk about up to this !"—Luttrell of Arran , THE NINTH GIRL SUDDENLY COIIE TO' TOWN . —I was very miserable . I had come home in a stabe of despondency in the first place ; in the second , I found myself complebely deposed by the last arrival ; in the third place , I was thrust into a comfortless back study , with a baby and wibhoub a dinner ; and , in the fourth place , I

had eight daughters already , and did nob waut a ninth . I was nob angry wibh my wife , bub I was grieved—very much grieved . I shouldn't hare minded having eight daughters so much , if this only had been a boy . I felt very angry with David . Ib was easy bo talk about the man being happy who had his quiver full , bub how many

daughters had ho ? What did he know aboub such a case as mine ? He had a lob of boys well able to do for themselves . ( Here the remembrance of the manner in which some of these boys did for themselves—Amnon > Absolom , and Adonijah , to wit—somewhat pacified me . ) "Fanny know about my wish , " I thoughb , in the

bitterness of my soul ; " I have talked to her aboub ib over and over again . " I now see , of course , that all this blaming of my wife Was very unreasonable ; bub wait till you find yourself in my position , before you laugh at me . Seven daughters rustling in and out with bho most absorbed matronly air , displaying bho rnosb exasperabmg

unconsciousness of 3 'our existence , busy aboub everybhing bub your dinner ; an oighbh on your lap , and kept from being outrageous only by being allowed to amuse herself by breaking the glass of your watch with your latch-key ; and a ninth signalling ibs unlooked-for arrival by minute guns of appalling force and frequency . Well ,

ab last I got rid of the baby , and gob somo cold beef instead ; bub bhe brain of reflecbion which was awakened by bhis lasb domestic calamity was not to be shaken off .

I tried to forget it in sleep ; bub ib was still fantastically with mo in my dreams . Croaker and I were at the bobbom of an exhausbed coal-pib , both starving with hunger , when suddenly out of the darkness rustled legions of monstrously crinolined women . We implored the foremost for something to eat , and she ab once threw us a

baby . We enbroabed the second , wibh the same result ; and the third , fourth , fifth , up to the ninth , when we gave it up as hopeless . All , at last , disappeared , leaving us starving with nine screaming babies . Days passed , aud at last Croaker ' s pen-knife was produced , and bhe fatbest baby ' s head was thrown back . I turned away in

suspense and horror , only to hear one terrible scream , which awoke mo . Ib was wibh a sense of considerable relief that I found that fcbo scream only was real ( the lasb baby ' s ) , and the rest a dream . —Cornhill Magazine . Mus . LAIIMLE AND Miss PODSXAP . —PODSNAFPEKIAN

PATHOS - . —Mrs . Alfred Lammlo rapidly improved bhe acquaintance of Miss Podsnap . To use the warm language of Mrs . Lammle , she and her sweeb Georgiana soon became one : in heart , in mind , in sentiment , in soul . Whenever Georgiana could escape from the thraldom of Podsnappery : could throw off the bedclothes of

the custard coloured phaeton , and get up ; could shrink out of bhe range of her mother ' s rocking , and ( so to speak ) rescue her poor little frosby toes from being rocked over ; she repaired to her friend , Mrs . Alfred Lammle . Mrs . Podsnap by no means objected . As a consciously " splendid woman , " accusbomed bo hear herself so

denominated by elderly osteologists pursuing their studies in dinner society , Mrs . Podsnap could dispense wibh her daughber . Mr . Podsnap , for his parb , on being informed where Georgiana was , swelled with patronage of the Lammles . That they , when unable to lay hold of him , should respectfully grasp ab the hem of his mantle ; that