Nottinghamshire.

Mayor of Lincoln ; ' Coiiiyn ; AVilkins ; Thomas Close ; Thomas Crew , Secretary of the Freemasons Girls' School ; Dr . O'Connor , Physician to the Royal Free Hospital , London ; George Barrett , of London ; H . Riseborough Sharman , London ; Col . Daniell ; Charles Ratclift ' e , of Birmingham ; B . AV . Goode , and others . The cloth having been removed , The noble DUKE said : Brethren , you will be ivell aware that the first toast which ifc will bo my duty to propose fco yon AA * H 1 not

only be highly acceptable to you as Englishmen ancl Freemasons , but one ivhich is generally regarded as of mere routine . In one sense it is a routine toast , because you commence with ifc in all your festiA'C assemblies , but to such a gathering as the present it is far from being a mere routine toast ; it is a toast which appeals to the hearts of every one in the assembly I am now addressing . It is a toast ivhicli will be drunk , in such an assembly as this , ivith such an enthusiasm as no other toast which could be proposed to

us could produce . One of our great principles , as Freemasons , is obedience to all constituted authorities , ancl respect for the existing institutions of the realm . These are principles from which you can under no circumstances diverge . You support those authorities not only because they are , but because they are such as youAvould wish them to bo . Brethren , ifc has been my good fortune recently to visit other portions of the globe , and to examine some of the most important of our colonies in a distant part of the world ; ancl

in those colonies allow me' to say that I witnessed such devotion fco the Sovereign of these realms as no one who hacl not been himself a witness of it AVOUIC ! be ready to believe . ( Loud cheers . ) The enthusiasm ivhich I saiv came from the inmost hearts of all those ivho displayed it -. it was no mere noisy acclamation in the streets ; it ivi-s not a mere demonstration of the towns and populous places , but an enthusiasm exhibited in every back street and thinly-populated locality . It was a demonstration of the attachment of the

entire people to the throne of England , ancl of their A'eneration ancl respect for the lady ivho at present occupies it . ( Cheers . ) It ivas a loyalty not of creed , or of sect , or of party , or of race . After leaving that country I went to another , which , it is true , does not at present own the sceptre of Great Britain ; and , therefore , throughout the many thousand miles over which I have travelled there was not the same loynlty . because there was not the call for ifc in a country which ivas not subordinate to the Crown of England ; but there was an amount of respect , of attachment , of veneration , ancl of love for the Queen of this country ivhich far transcended

anything that could possibly have been expected . ( Cheers . ) It ivas a tribute on the parfc of the American people—it was a demonstration of their veneration for female excellence ; ancl it was also a proof of their deep and lasting attachment to the mother country . ( Cheers . ) I hai-e no hesitation in saying that the feeling towards the Queen of Great Britain in the United States of America cannot be designated by any other word I knoiv of but as a passion . ( Loud and continued applause . ) I had the gratification in the loclge this

morning of seeing a brother—I do not know whether he is in the room at this moment or not—who comes from America . [ It was here announced that the brother in question was present . ] I am delighted to find that he is here , ancl I shall say nothing in his presence which I would not say even more strongly in his absence , when I state that the impression made upon my mind hy thafc journey is one ivhich time will not efface . ( Loud cheers . ) I am referring now to that powerful general influence which the

excellent Queen of this country exercises over other nations , ancl more especially over those ivith whom ive have a common origin ; and I am certain that yon will nofc bo wanting , on the present occasion , in that feeling towards her Majesty AA'hich has been so generally exhibited . Having now referred briefly to the attachment exhibited towards her Majesty in the colonies and in the United States of America , I may notice the fact that a not less striking demonstration of affection ivas recently seen in the anxiety and

alarm which , I am told , prevailed in this country as to the safety of liis Royal Hig hness the Prince of AVales . ( Cheers . ) From the manner in which that anxiety was displayed , her Majesty must be fully convinced of the ardent attachment of her vieople . Nor AVUS this less strikingly demonstrated ivhen his Royal Highness reached these shores ; for we mot ivith a reception most enthusiastic iu its nature at every railway station from Plymouth to AA'indsor . But , my brethren , 1 must ask you to forgive me for having lingered on

this topic . ( Cheers . ) I could not on such an occesion as the present avoid doing so ; and I will now conclude by asking you to drink " Health to the Queen , and Prosperity to the Craft , " und to give the toast all the Masonic honours . ( Loud applause . ) The toast was drunk ivith great enthusiasm , ancl with the usual honours . His GEACE then rose and said , —Most AVorshipful Grand Master ancl brethren , I have now to propose to you a toast which naturally folloivs that to which you have just done honour . It is , " The rest of the Royal Family . " There is , first , the Prince Consort . ( Cheers . ) There are feiv persons in this country who know the merits

of that prince . Those who knoiv him most ivill best appreciate him . ( Cheers . ) Brethren , we shall never know IIOAV much Ave owe to him till some unhappy clay , ivhen it will be our misfortune to lose him . ( Hear , hear . ) His good sense , good taste , sound judgment , ancl good feeling , have on all occasions been remarkable . AVe oft discover failings where we are unable to appreciate excellencies , ancl I am certain that I clo not exaggerate to you the merits of H . R . H . the Prince Consort . I havo to propose to you also the health of

H . R . H . the Prince of AVales ( cheers ) , the young prince ivith whom I have spent the last four months in the most intimate connexion , during which I have learned to regard him with the greatest interest and affection . ( Cheers . ) It has been his happy lot , at the age of nineteen , to render to his country a A'ery great and essential service . ( Cheers . ) Many a man , born of a royal family , has descended into the grave rendering to his felloiv-nien much less good service than has been rendered by this young prince . ( Cheers . )

AVhatever may be the destiny which Providence has reserved for him , it is a proud thing that he can reflect on this voyage across the Atlantic . ( Cheers . ) I believe that nothing so much as that journey coulcl have cemented the good feelings—I say cemented , mind , because I am convinced that they were previously entertained —which exist between the two countries on the opposite sides of the Atlantic . But not only is ifc desirable that the existence of those good feelings should be knownit is singularly fortunate

; that they have been placed on record ancl propagated by the press . ( Cheers . ) The feeling between the two countries just now is one of peace and good ivill —( cheers)—and ivoe be to us when the day shall como that that peace is broken up . ( Cheers . ) I will not say that that peace is likely to be broken up , but I will say that ifc is less likely—that the likelihood of such an event has been greatly postponed hy that ivhich has taken place . ( Cheers . ) This I can say of this extraordinary visit , that ive witnessed in New

York , and in every other important city of the United States , an amount of enthusiasm AA'hich was perfectly extraordinary , from the moment at ivhich ive entered Detroit till our departure from Portlaud . ( Cheers . ) AVith one solitary exception , we met with nothing but enthusiasm ; ancl in fact I do believe that this visit of the Prince of Wales to America has done more to cement the good feeling between the two countries than could possibly have been ofibcted by a quarter of a century of diplomacy . ( Cheers . ) The two great peoples on either side of the Atlantic hai'e disclosed those feelings of fraternity ivhich they entertain towards each

other . ( Cheers . ) In asking you to drink to "The rest of the Royal Family , " I must not omit to mention H . R . H . Prince Frederick AVilliam—( loud cheers ) — the only member of the Royal Family at present -who is a member of our Order , —( hear)—although in former times our members have been far more numerous in the family of the reigning Sovereign . ( Hear . ) His Grace concluded by proposing "The Health of the rest of tbe Royal Family , " with which he coupled the name of H . R . H . Prince

Frederick AVilliam of Prussia . The toast was drunk ivith groat enthusiasm ancl the usual honours . His GEACE then saicl , —I am sure that the toast which I have now to propose is one which you will receive ivith cordiality , and I may say affection . ( Applause . ) Ifc would ill become me on an occasion like the present , so ill versed as I have been of late years in the mysteries of the Craffc , to dwell at any length on the merits of a brother like your present Grand Master . ( Loud cheers . ) Ifc

would be peculiarly out of place in me to say much about him on an occasion ivhen he has placed me under so great an obligation . Still I may be permitted fco observe that though we have had presiding over Masonry in England upon former occasions noblemen of great distinction , occupying the highest places in the realm , we have never had a Grand Master more popular ancl move respected in all relations of life , than the Bro . ivho noiv fills that distinguished position . ( Cheers . ) I am certain that I have said enough on a

toast like this , and I now call upon you to drink , with all Masonic honours , to "The Health of our most AVorshipful Grand Master the Earl of Zetland . " ( Loud cheers . ) The M . W . G . M . ( who vvas received with an amount of enthusiasm which the present writer never witnessed on any previous occasion during a long series of years ) said , —I can hardly find words to express tho gratitude I feel to the Provincial Grand Master for the maimer in which he has proposed health to

my you , and to you , brethren all , for tho manner iu which you have received tho toast . I assure you that I feel mosfc deeply the kindness of our noble Bro . in taking upon himself the responsibilities of this office . For my parfc , I have a natural , and I may say an hereditary , right to take the greatest interest in the welfare and progress of Masonry . My grandfather was D . G . M . to the Prince of AVales , afterwards George IA . ; my father ivas D . G . M . to the Duke of Sussex , ancl

afterwards Pro . G . M . I , too , had tho honour of being D . G . M ., ancl afterwards Pro . G . M . to the Duke of Sussex ; and I have imbibed a veneration for Masonry which I am sure ivill descend Avith me to the grave — ( loud applause ) — ancl my best