The Masonic Lifeboat.

THE MASONIC LIFEBOAT .

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . Dear Sir and Brother , —Although , like our Bro . Excelsior , I am not an English Mason , still I look upon it as a reproach to the Craft , when Gd . each from the 150 , 000 Masons in England would be sufficient to procure two or three lifeboats . Let us folloiv

his example , and those that cannot afford pounds , give shillings or pence , and be determined that before Christmas a more than sufficient sum be subscribed . A brother that would not give a shilling for this purpose , I fear would be much less inclined to man the lifeboat when the shipwrecked brother gave even the

Master Mason ' s sign of distress . I enclose you 2 s 6 d . towards the fund , and suggest as an encouragement to subscribers that you give the gross amount now subscribed in an early number . Yours fraternally , P . M . IBISH CONSTITUTION .

The Prince Of Wales And Freemasonry.

THE PRINCE OF WALES AND FREEMASONRY .

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . Dear Sir and Brother , —I copied that frae some ither bodie ' s letter , but I'll begin in my ain way . — Mister Editor , —What's a' this cumsterie about ? Can a body no write a letter tae their betters , and print it tae gin they like , without P . M . or S . M . crying

out about it . I think they are a' jist jealous o' my son ' s cleverness because they have na got a letter frae his Eoyal Highness Albert Edward Prince o' Wales themsels . P . M . wad hang him up , wad he ? and Skirling Brooks or some sie man wad gie him tae the lions ! Gude save us ! Whar ivad my bans be ? P . M .

, says my son , " rejoices in the name of Slack ; " weel , sae he does , an' his father afore him . Puir man , he's awa' noo , an' it ' s me that kens that tho' he was Slack by name , he wasna Slack by nature ; and my son , John Slack ( wha ' s nae fear't tae see his name in nrint ") . tales that aff him .

My guid-dochter cam in the day wi' a braw new bonnet , and the waen wi' her . Losh , lassie , says I , you ' r braw ! 0 , says she , Mister Slack sent home a new bonnet the day he got the Prince's letter . ( I said tae mysel ' , it used tae be John , but noo its Mister !) That ' s richt , says I . It ' s an ill win' that

blaws naebody guid . Yes , says she , an' he's thinking of taking a front seat in the gallery of the church . That ' s richt . I kent John wad rise in the ivarld ; as I Jxioked after him the ither day I said tae mysel" Jle walks jist as straight's a policeman . " Here the waen began greetin' ( it's exactltwa month auld the

y morn ) which turned the conversation , ivhen I was told in a , great secret that John and her had settled that gin the next was a boy , his name was tae be " Albert Edward Slack . " What think ye o' that noo ? She said that Mr . Slack said it ivas tao be a memento mori o' the occasion .

My ither son , Bob , has just come in for his tea , sae I telltBob a' about it , when , wad ye believe it , he gat intil sic a rage that I thocht he was mad . ( I maun tell ye that Bob ' s a member o' ihe lodge tae , an' ill may be an office-beerer next year ) . Letters , says he , umph ! Jock's made a fine fool o' himsel an' us tae wi ' s letters . I held up my bans in astonishment ! when Bob said something , as I thocht , about a sign

The Prince Of Wales And Freemasonry.

o' a mouse in the press . Na , na , laddie , says I j there ' s nae mice in my press ; sae he jist laughed , an ' I said nae mair . Then sum o' Bob ' s companions cam in ( kind o ' foreign-looking bodies ) , an they were talkin' about it ,, but a' that I could mak out was something they war

sayin about Burns and Tarn o' Shanter , but after they had gane out , I fand this verse o' poetry" 0 Shlack—0 Shlack ! thou'lt get thy fairin ! The blioys 'ill roast thee like a herrin' !" Thats a' in the meantime , Mister Editor ; but , if I catch ony ither body interfereing wi' my son ' s correspondence , I'll let them fin' my nails . I conclude the same as ither folks wi '—Yours fraternally , M . S .

The Pseudo Revival Of Freemasoney.

THE PSEUDO REVIVAL OF FREEMASONEY .

TO THE EDITOR OE TEB FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . Dear Sir and Brother , —That a feeling so utterly un-Masonic as jealousy should be exhibited to wardsbrethren engaged in enlarging the sphere of Ereemasonry seems impossible , and must be a matter of deep regret to the Craft in general .

" Horatio , " in your impression of the 7 th inst .,. while directly pointing out the idle vanity of sham decorations and mock ceremonials , with an attempt atsarcasm , attacks the members of the A . and A . Eite for being in possession of the true spirit of the age •—reform—which they have evinced by the

abolitionof useless ceremonies , relinquishing vague and unsupported pretensions , & c . Were it not that English Masons could expend : their superfluous energy of mind by operating on matter in the Eosicrucian Society , Masonry might be itated and torn by various reliious doctrines ;

soag g says Horatio , unhappily forgetting that the greatest and purest principle of Freemasonry is religious , toleration , and entirely oblivious of the numerical disparity between the 14 A Fratres Eosicrucianas that may exist , and the 150 , 000 English Masons now affiliated .

Eather than Freemasonry should become the prey of religious feuds , let these ardent brethren invent crosses of Constantine of every known colour , and may their cravings be thus happily allayed , but it must be remembered that the energy thus spent will bring forth fruit only to be compared to the apples of

Sodom , for there yet exist trackless regions in pure Freemasonry , where luscious fruit may be found and gathered hy earnest explorers . If Ereemasonry really does require an antiseptic , let all true brethren administer a strong one by their zeal and energy in the search for those hidden truths

, in the development of which they ivill find the true specific , not in the futile illustrations of chivalrie degrees , yclept Freemasonry . The hope of being received as perfect ashlars in the Grand Lodge above will stimulate them in the researches , and they will never be beguiled by the sedatives to thought so

highly recommended by " Horatio . " Eather , let the pillars of Masonry be overthrown , and tho veils of its lodges rent asunder ivhile life yet flickers , that the cowans may behold the last struggle of the champion of truth , than conceal its demise by bedecking its mouldering skeleton with tawdry ribbons and tinsel crosses . Yours fraternally , D . N . A . L . X 0 .