The Royai, Benevolent Institution For Aged Masons And Their Widows.

THE ROYAI , BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION FOR AGED MASONS AND THEIR WIDOWS .

lOA'DOA ' , SATURDAY , JULY 10 , ISJf ) .

THE dispensation of that clarit y , "which is enjoined alike by the principles of our ancient Order and the precepts of our religion , is perhaps , to' the "well-constituted ' mind , the easiest in performance of the whole round of social duties ; for callous indeed must be the heart that derives no satisfaction , from supplying the wants of others . It is true that

there is an inherent weakness in the bosoms of most mortals which inclines them from time to time to favouritism or to prejudice , and operates as a hindrance to the exercise of an

unbiassed pulgment and an equal distribution of benevolence . To this cause perhaps may be attributed the very prosperous condition of the Eoyal Freemasons' Girls School ! which until lately has thrown comparativel y into the shade the other great charities which belong to tho Craft—the innocence and winning ways of the pretty little residents at Battcrsea Rise haveno doubtcontributed in a great degree to produce the

, , munificent contributions of the brethren to that noble institution . On the other hand , the Boys School and the Benevolent Institution , although acknowledged to be ecpially valuable , can certainly not bo said to have achieved a corresponding amount of success . The attention of the brethren has happilbeen awakened

y to the necessity of placing all the three charities upon a similarly prosperous footing , and the efforts of the last year or two lave'done wonders for tho Boys School , and the Aged Masons , while we rejoice to find that the Girls School has not in the slightest degree suffered . And we thing that the progress of the Eoyal Benevolent Fund must be considered

peculiarly satisfactory . In another page will be found a most gratifying return of the receipts and expenditure of tho two funds of this institution from the date of their establishment to the 30 th March last . It shows how steadily the funds are growing in tho affections and support of the brethren . By the return it will be seen that , since tho establishment 0 f tho Male Annuity Fund in 1812 , only seventeen years since , the total receipts ,

including the donations from Grand Lodge and Chapter , had amounted to £ 28 , 242 , of which Grand Lodge and Chapter have given £ 8 , 258 , the brethren and private Lodges by donations . t' 6 ,-586 , and by annual subscriptions £ 9 , 474 . Of this sum no less than . € I 0 , S 5 S have been invested to provide for tho permanence of the fund , and £ 13 , 214 have been dispensed in annuities

amongst 137 brethren , many of whom would have been reduced , by no fault of their own , from affluence to absolute want—but for the aid afforded by this institution—as is proved by the case of the brother whose death wc recorded last week , and who , after enjoying the advantages flowing from the institution , for a period of twent y-two years , died without relative friend to

a or perforin even the last sad duties of humanity , and which were therefore , of course , undertaken by the Institution . Though much more recently established , only in 1 . 849 , and not quite so munificentl y supported by Grand Lodge , the Widows' Fund shows an equally gratifying progress . The total receipts ou account of this fund have been £ 0111

, of which £ 1 , 744 have arisen from the votes of Grand Lod « e and Chapter ; £ 2 ,-525 from the donations of private Lodges and brethren ; and £ 1 , 021 from annual subscri ptions . The funded property already amounts to £ 3 , 450 , and the sum . of £ 3 , 236 has been disbursed in annuities amongst thirty recipients—each of whom , like the male annuitants , have also had the

option of going into the Asylum if they so desired . We think the returns speak trumpet tongued for the prosperity and finance , of the Institution , and it only requires exertions such as were made at the last festival to bo emulated in January next , and to be continued for two or three years longer to enable us to boast that the poorerbrethren or their widows never appeal to us in vain to

The Royai, Benevolent Institution For Aged Masons And Their Widows.

render the close of their lives comparatively happy and comfortable ; but that if worthy a safe and sure retreat from the pangs of poverty is to be found in the Eoyal Benevolent-Institution for aged . Masons and their Widows ,

Stained Glass.—Ii.

STAINED GLASS . —II .

( Continued from . p . i ) . In fig . 11 , from a miniature of the - ,

sixteenth century , taken , from a MS , in the library of St . Mark , the whole field is filled in with rays of light , the centre ones being much shorter than those at the angles , and partaking of the shape of the square nimbus with concave lines . In a fresco of Canino Santa , at Pisa ,

of the fourteenth century , Michael „ . Avl ,, , , ! -, „ ,, „ , , ,. „„ ,, „ ,, Angelo has represented Christ showing »»/»¦ and rays n / imki . his wounds to his disciples , the head being adorned with rays of light of very unequal lengths . In all the examples that may be met with , the rays seem to spring from the centre of the forehead between the eyes . In fig . 10 the rays are thrown out from thence in a line with the temples , and the region of the brain . This may be seen also in the head of an infant Christ , painted in tho

sixteenth century Jig . 12 , ( also Italian ) , where the rays emanate from these several points , instead of finding their common centre in the forehead . It was in the sixteenth , centurythat luminous circlesdrawn

, , in perspective , first appeared , adapting themselves to the several positions of the heads , as in Jig . 13 . A more marked nimbus , and one

only applied to tho godhead , the alle-l ? . Aluihtts farmed by bnrsar ran goricai lamb , or tho Virgin Mary , is of tight . .

that iu which tho centre rays of Jig . 10 arc omitted , the others cut shorter than the outer circle , and the point of the rays connected by an inner curved line reaching only to them . In some early examples these rays retain their straight form , but this was soon abandoned for one more graceful , in which the lines are . curved , as- in Jiff . 14 . Tho lower ray or

bail ' s concealed by tho head , Otherwise | : ; . rirciilar peivpeetire iiiini . iis . it would be a perfect Greek cross . a ' 1 " 5 ""

As to the jiropricty of this form for the Son of God , there can bo no doubt , but it is applied equally to the other persons of the Trinity , as may be seen in a remarkable painting of the Trinity , of the thirteenth , century , in which the figures

of the Father and the Son are exactly similar , while the Holy Ghost is in the form of a dove . sfcaudinff on a aloiie , held bv both

tho Father and the Son / each ! '' - '"^™' l ' m . ' ' '" """' ' having a similar nimbus . That these rays are intended to represent the cross , is evident from the . sculpture on an old sarcophagus in the Vatican representing Christ sending forth his disciples to preach to and baptize all nations ; in one hand he holds the

volume of the sacred law , while the other points to the stream of water running at his feet . In this example the disciples , though represented as lambs , have no nimbus , neither has Christ himself , but the symbolic lamb which stands by him