Mark Masonry.

the utmost gratification in being a witness to what had taken place during " the last two hours . His lordship said that he should indeed deserve to be thought most cold and indifferent if he failed to acknowledge the high honour done him by the members of that honourable order . At the same time , he must express how fully sensible he was of the important and distinguished trust reposed in himwhenhe was invested with the office of Grand Mark

, , Master of England . He was anxious and determined to do his utmost , and hy means of unflagging energy and attention , to maintain the dignity of the honourable position in which he had been -placed . He hoped to see the important and beautiful degree of the noble Craft raised in general estimation , and once more restored to the high pedestal it had formerly occupied , and to which he now confidently believed it was once more approaching . It was with that afternoonand

unfailing satisfaction he looked . around him , , recognised the brethren who had been initiated in the advanced stop of Free-Masonry ; knowing , as hedid , that they had laid clown for themselves to attain a perfect knowledge and familiarity with the Order , he coulcl not but look forward to the future with great hope . He trusted that the new lodge now so happily constituted ivould last very long ; and when the time should arrive that all the assembled should have passed away—the charter , and the paper ancl

ink with which the record was written , be turned to dust and no palpable relic of them remain—that still the lodge should exist and flourish , and be going on unimpaired in number and strength , still engaged in the task of handing clown the knowledge that had been committed to a new charge that afternoon . It would bo a sufficient satisfaction to know that in that future day some slight mention should be made of their names , and an acknowledgment given that what they hacl been taught at their own initiation , and what they

in their turn had promulgated for others' benefit , had been honestly ancl carefully treasured and preserved , and that they , doing the best in their time , had honestly discharged the duty that had fallen upou them . The AV . M . of the lodge subsequently completed tho institution of the same , by making the following appointment of officers forthe year : — The Rev . Bro . Geo . It . Portal to occujiy the S . AV . ' s chair ; Bro . J . Hankin Stebbing to occupy the J . AV . 's chair ; Bro . Henry Huggins

to be Secretary ; Bro . J . L . Hasleham to be S . D . ; Bro . C . Sherry to be J . D . ; ' Bro . Oakshot to be I . G . ; Bro . A . Smith to be R . of M . ; and H . Grant to be Tyler . Bro . the Rev . G . R . Portal proposed , and Bro . Sherry seconded , that Bro . Nash be Treasurer , ivhich was unanimously agreed to . The Mark Lodge was soon afterwards closed in proper form .

THE BAXQUET . The brethren adjourned to the assembly-room of the Black Swan Hotel soon after five o'clock , and an elegant banquet was served , as prepared under the direction of Bro . Sherry . The W . JI . of the lodge ( Bro . AV . AA . B . Beach , M . P . ) , presided , and was supported by the Earl of Carnarvon , Bro . Wynilham Portal , the Rev . G . R . Portal , the JIayors of AAlnchester and Basingstoke , ancl numerous other brethren .

On the removal of the cloth the toast of " The Queen unci the Craft" was proposed , ancl heartily responded to . The W . M . then proceeded to propose the "Health of Lord Carnarvon as Grand Jlark JIaster of England . " He said : it was nonsome time since when , it having been necessary to select a fitting "brother to preside over the interests of the Grand Jlark Lodge of Englandthat they found a most suitable Grand JIaster in the

, person of Lord Leigh . Subsequently , liowever , his lordship , having found it incumbent upon him , for various reasons and through other duties , to vacate the position , the honourable Fraternity found itself called upon again to look round for a president , and their choice most bajipily fell upon the distinguished nobleman at that moment sitting by his ( Bro . Beach ' s ) right ; and on being solicited , the noble Earl kindly acceded to the wish expressed , and

at no distant time , was duly installed in his distinguished office of Grancl JIaster of his brethren . He did not mean to dilate too much in his presence on tho noble Earl ' s merits , because they were so well known already to every one jiresent . His lordship was so thoroughly respected and so highly estimated throughout the whole of the county , that a very few words indeed were required from the chair to recommend the ensuing toast to the company's

enthusiasm—the * -Health of the Lord Carnarvon . " ( Hear . ) The noble Earl could boast of a name well known and highly honoured in connection ivith good deeds in former ages ; and the present possessor of the title was also , in his turn , well known and widel y respected , and more especially by all those who bore the name iii Masons . In accejiting tiie office his lordship now Jiehl , his high position in the land was not thereby prejudicednor his

, character tarnished . The office he held in the fraternity of Masons reflected no discredit upon his choice : his name and presence , however , shed a high lustre upon the Order , and tended , in a great measure , to show that Freemasonry was really one of those noble and transc-endaiit societies which , though enveloped in mysteries ,

indeed , yet was distinguished for its many virtues . There were those ranging themselves under its banners who were warmly devoted to the principles which formed its basis , well knowing that the more its disciples studied and practised its peculiar requirements , the more were they in their outward life improved and beneficially regulated . One most devoted to the noble principles taught- by their Order they at that time had in their company in the person

of their Grand JIaster . His lordship , from an earnest and industrious inquiry into the depths of the science , had become well acquainted and deeply impressed with the value ancl importance of the principles it inculcated in the human heart , and he had met with a fit reward iu being advanced to one of the highest honours it was in the power of the united Craft of Jlark JIasters to bestow . ( Applause . ) It ought to be a matter of joy ancl gratitude with them that the noble Earl had honoured their assemblwith his

y presence , for it was a high honour for the Grand JIaster to confer upon a now lodge the light of his presence at the time of its bursting into life . The EAI . II ofCARXARVOX said he had felt it a most grateful duty to return thanks for the kind and distinguished manner in ivhich they had again acknowledged his presence among them . His first reason to be brief ivas that the minutes they yet bad to spare were

fast speeding away , and he knew many present were wishing to depart . He had already addressed them upon the particular business of the clay , and expressed his hopes for their future success . If there was anything he could add , it was to state that it did give him very great pleasure indeed to come among Hampshire men upon any occasion whatever . He was closely connected with the county , and bound to it from many . associations , old familiarities and recollections of earliest childhoodand he should consider himself very cold

, ancl neglectful indeed if he had not a frequent desire to eome ancl be among them ; still more so when he could come and join a company of Hampshire Masons , and still , more especially , when he conld come and assist in the opening of a lodge of Mark Masons , connected as he was with that noble and beautiful order ( hear ) . If there was one thing more than another distinguishing Jlark Masonry , it

was the character of uiichangeableness stamped upon it ; the magnitude and colossal proportions which it attained hundreds of years ago still remained intact and perfect . There were two great laws continually meeting thenin contemplating human institutions—that of construction and destruction . It was a well-known principle that every fabric , intended to last for the future , was not built up at once as a story , but that it was compacted in various departments , and that every care was taken , by ivorking out its

several stejis and degrees , to ensure its lasting qualities . It was in philosophy and in Masonry . It was only by carefully working out the various circles , and following patiently , stej ) by step that the initiated made progress in his art . It ivould be absurd for the entered apprentice to say that with his one degree he had learnt all the secrets Masonry could aiford him . There was no Fellow Craft who could doubt that there was a good deal to learn extending beyond that degree also . And even tho Master

Mason felt that in his degree also there was something yet unrevealed to him , that something like a phantom was flitting it before him , and that the whole of Frecmasonry ivas not yet unfolded to him . The noble Earl , then sjioke cspecially of Jlark Masonry , describing the degree as an essential , indpendent indispensable , and inseparable part of Masonry as a whole . Cut it away , and they made the system incomplete , and not to be fully understood and apjireciated . It was so felt , some years ago , when

certain brethren regretting that something so important should lie altogether lost to tbe Order , prudently determined to reinstate it in its former perfection . It was so done ; and the system at last stood upright and perfect . It was for them all now to take care that the fabric was ivell preserved for the future . Tho noble Earl thanked his brethren one and all , first for the zeal in their Order that had brought them together , and secondly , for their kindness to himself . AVith regard to the important position in which he had

been placed ., he must state that be bad accejited the same ivith a very sineere sense of the responsibilities of the task- . He knew that ho should bo benefitted by the assistance of those who could give him very valuable help in his duties . A great deal was required to be done , but his friends around him were cajiable of doing a great deal , as Mark Masons , or as private individuals . He had no fear as to the result of the movement iu Hampshire , after seeing the zeal

which animated the brethren generally . 'There were three neiv Jlark Masons' lodges lately arranged to be opened in the country , and it was most satisfactory to see how well two of them were already ivorking . He had " no dread of anything like jealousy arising in connection with these lodges ; there was nothing he could congratulate them upon more than the fact that they were a perfectly united and harmonious Order . There were no differences in the Grand Jlark Lodge . He couM not lay too much stress upon this iiiijiortant fact , that they had no sign of jealousy between the London and country Jlark Lodges . " He . as Grand