Provincial Funeral Grand Lodge In Memoriam Of The Late Bro. Captain Speirs, M.P., Prov. G. Master Of Glasgow.

tume , with craped jewels , and the vacant throne was covered with a pall , on which were laid the late Prov . G . M , ' s insignia and rod of office , the latter being broken in two . Shortly after half-past six o ' clock , the Prov . G . L . was constituted in due form , under the presidency ¦ of Bro . F . A . Barrow , S . P . G . M ., acting P . G . Master , assisted by Bro . Thomas Baker as acting D . P . G . Master ,

Bro . Jas . Steel as P . G- Senior AA arden , and Bro . John Baird as P . G . Junior Warden . The lodge having been raised to the sublime degree , the . service was opened by the organ performing "The Dead March from Saul , " during the playing of which the deputation from G . L . entered the hall and took up its position on the platform . Bro . Barrow then formally resigned the chair

to Bro . Inglis , as the representative of G-L ., and two hymns haying been sung by the whole company , and prayer offered up by the Prov . G . Chap ., Rev . G . S . Burns , Bro . Inglis pronounced the funeral oration , as follows : —Within the space of two short years , Death , the great reaper , has been busy amongst us . That distinguished brother , Sir Archibald Alison—an honour

to the Craft and an honour to his country—has passed away ; and now , alas ! we are gathered once more in this solemn funeral hall to sing a funeral dirge , and to speak a lamentation over Bro- Speirs , his successor . To the first there were vouchsafed by a mysterious Providence a ripened age , and a European fame ; to the second , a brief career and an untimely grave .

" Leaves have their time to fall , And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath , And stars to set—but all , Thou bast all seasons for thine own—0 Death ! " To me , brethren , it is unspeakably sad to stand in this place and to deliver this address ; for it is little more than a twelvemonth since I attended here and installed

our departed brother in the high Masonic oflice to which he was promoted by the Craft . It is little more than a twelvemonth since he himself , full of health and happiness and Masonic enthusiasm , thanked you with heartfelt thanks beneath this roof , and eloquently described to you his conviction of the arduous duties which he had undertaken , and which he told you that he was

honestly determined to perform . His words and his bearing established between us a mutual bond of belief . We believed in the promise of his }* outh for long life ; we believed in the stern and sterling rectitude of his purpose ; and we fondly hoped that a new Masonic star had risen in the horizon of tbe west , which might come iu God's good time to rival the splendour of that which

had set in glory . I have looked back upon the proceedings at the installation of'Bro . Speirs , and was struck by tho mournful ring of certain words of my ownmournful not indeed then , but now . Tbe words were these : — - "His coat of arms is a ship in full sail , and I wish him a favourable wind , a gallant crew , and a prosperous voyage . " Vain and delusive wish

!" He , the young and strong , who cherished Noble longings for the strife , By the roadside fell and perished , AVeary with the march of life . " Brethren , when a brother is called away mature in years and of accomplished fame , our regrets are softened by the considerations that he has run the appointed course

of man—that he has played his allotted part for the benefit of his fellow-creatures—and that his portrait is hung , as it were , in the gallery of time . "After life ' s fitful fever he sleeps well . " But , brethren , we have no such earthly consolation here . Here we had the bright morning which gave us promise of the glorious day ! Here we had the youthful enthusiasm which

betokened a wise maturity — we had the kindly heart which bespoke the lasting friend—we had the open hand which is born of charity — we had the clear and beaming eye which was lighted by the inward torch of honour ! Others , no doubt , there are who are

Provincial Funeral Grand Lodge In Memoriam Of The Late Bro. Captain Speirs, M.P., Prov. G. Master Of Glasgow.

gifted with gifts as noble , but whose energies are too often chilled , and whose impulses are too often deadened in the desperate conflict of life—who have no time to regard , even for a moment , the struggles of their fellowmen , lest in that very moment of regard some one of the thousand billows of the ocean of life may take them unawares , and sweep them clown into the depths of ruin .

It was not so with our departed friend . High in position , richly endowed with worldly gear , he had the power and the will to devote his time and his talents to the service of his country . But it was not to be so ; and we can only bow in humble submission to the Heavenly Hand that was stretched forth to remove him in all his early promise to the Grand Lodge on high . AVe bow in

humble submission before the Omniscient God , who has seen fit , for a purpose unknown -to us but known to Him , to remove our well-beloved brother and to leave us here for a little while to mourn . AV " o are human , and mourn we must ; but we are Christians , and we are Masons too , and the cloud of our mourning is fringed by the rays of the sun of our promise : —

" Earth to earth , and dust to dust , ' The solemn priest hath said ; So we lay the turf above thee now , And we seal thy narrow hel . But thy spirit , brother , soars away Among the faithful blest—AVhere the wicked cease from troubling , And the weary are at rest . "

The oration was followed by a requiem , by tho reading and chanting of passages from the Church of England Funeral Service , by iho singing of the noble " Dies Iras , " and several chorales , and by prayer—the whole being interspersed at intervals with tho grand honours of Masonry . When the solemn and impressive service had terminated , Bro- Inglis resigned his chair , and the

Grand Lodge deputation retired ; and thereafter the lodge was closed with the customary formalities . The musical part of the programme was effectively conducted by Bro . Donaldson , assisted by a choir of eleven voices , and Bro . Lambeth as organist . The general arrangements , under the entire management of Bro . Robb , P . G . Marshal , were highly satisfactory .

Masonic Lifeboat Fund.

MASONIC LIFEBOAT FUND .

Further subscriptions received : —Doric Lodge , No . 81 , Woodbridge , £ 1 . One shilling collection by Bro . Walter Reynolds , P . Prov . G . Dir . of Cers , P . M . 250 ; M . E . Z . 250 , P . M . of the Minerva Lodge of Mark Masters , No . 12 , P . E . C ., 18 ° , & c , Hull , £ 6 6 s . Bro- C . J . Paton , £ 1 Is .

Public Amusements.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS .

THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE . Bro . F . B . Chatterton , the well-known and enterprising lessee of the above establishment , takes his annual benefit to-day . THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET . Mr . W . T . Robertson ' s play of Home continues to

draw such crowded houses that hundreds are nightly turned away . Mr . Sothern's acting in this play , as well as in every part he undertakes , shows the finished actor . Miss Ada Cavendish acts and looks charmingly . Mr . Compton has very little to do ; his make up is excellent . The Misses Dalton and Hill and Mr . Alton also play well . At the conclusion of every act all the characters

were called before the curtain and received several wellmerited rounds of applause . It was followed by Rural Felicity , Bro . Buckstoue keeping the house in a continual roar of laughter in his orig inal character of Simon Sly .