What Is The Good Of Freemasonry ?

exalted Mason who has five capital letters after his name , ancl , as I have never seen him out of Masonic costume before , it does not seem quite natural that he should play croquet without his apron and decorations . This gentleman ( AV ! IO

will , I am sure , accept this kindly-meant remembrance in the spirit dictating it ) is so pleasantly paternal , his exuberant playfulness and affectionate interest in the games played , and in the pretty little players , is so prominent , that Ave

soon forget his grander attributes , and settle doAvn to a quiet chat on the disci pline and rules of the establishment . This is the Freemasons' Girls ' School . Ifc clothes , educates , and thoroughly provides for 103-girls , who must be daughters of

Freemasons , between eight ancl sixteen years , and who are elected by the votes of its subscribers . The comfort of its internal arrangements , its spotless cleanliness , the healthiness of its site , the judicious training of its matron and governesses ,

are themes Ave descant upon at length , the rosy faces and unrestrained laughter of the children bearing forcible testimony to us . The committee

of management visit this school frequently and regularly , and their deliberations generally terminate in a romp Avith the school girls . The little gardens , some with paper notices pinned to the shrubs , with " Please clo not come too near ,

as Ave have SOAVU seed near ihe border . —Signed . 28 and 22 , " written in pencil in a girlish hand ; the healthy cleanly dormitories , the light and airy glass-covered exercise-hall , where the youngpeople drill ancl dance ; the matron ' s private

-sanctum , Avhich is like a fancy fair to-day in the extent and variety of the gay birthday presents laid out ; the tea-room , where Ave all have jam in honour of the matron ' s nativity ; the board-room ,

hung with the portraits of Grand Masters and Masonic benefactors , and Avhich is placed at our disposal that Ave may enjoy a quiefc chat Avith fche two dear little girls in whom Ave have a special interest , are all visited in turn . Then a

procession is formed , ancl " We love Miss SmoothetAvig dearly , and so say all of us ! " is sung , Avhile Bro . Buss , P . M . and P . Z ., Avho has just come in , ond Bro . Putt , G . A . D . O ., ancl his fellow housecommitteeman , who have already welcomed us ,

beat time joyously to the good old "jolly good fellow" tune . This song is a little surprise prepared every year for the birthdays of governess and matron , and the amiable assumption of deli ght at an unexpected novelty which beams

What Is The Good Of Freemasonry ?

from the latter's kindly face when the well-worn tune is sung , is not the least pleasing incident of the day . The Freemasons' Boys' School is at Wood-lane , Tottenham , and in it from eighty to a hundred

sons of Freemasons are clothed , educated , ancl provided for , with similar comfort and completeness . The Institution for the Relief of Aged Freemasons and their Widows , though neither so wealthy nor so liberal as the other two , provides an asylum for , and grant annuities to , the old and infirm .

These are some of the secrets of . Freemasonry . The coffins in which , as many of my friends firmly believe , we immure young aud tender candidates ; the painful brandings which make sitting down impossible ; the raAV heads , red-hot pokers , and

gory bones , with which Ave heighten the awesomeness of our dreadful oaths ; the wild revels and orgies Avhich some ladies believe in , —must be left in obschrity . Having shown the fair fruits of Masonry , I must leave you to form your unaided

judgment of the tree which brings them forth . Besides , I dare not reveal more . The learned author of many volumes of Masonic lore has stated his firm conviction that Adam was a Freemason , and that the Order , and its accompanying

blessings , extend to other worlds than this . I offer no opinion on any such imaginative hypothesis , but confine myself to the stout assertion that Freemasons have a tie which is unknown to

the outer Avorld , and that their Institution is carefully adapted to the needs , hopes , fears , weaknesses , and aspirations of human nature . That ifc has unworthy members is no more an argument afiainsfc the Order , than the bitter sectarianism of

the Rev . Pitt HoAvler , and fche fierce uncharitableness of Mrs . Backbite , are arguments against Christianity . [ We have pleasure in giving- insertion to the above article by our esteemed Bro . Parkinson ,

-which appeared in No . 877 of "All the Year Round , " and Avhich , by permission of Mr . Charles Dickens and the author , has been reprinted and issued in the shape of a pamphlet under the auspices of the Skiddaw Loclge , No . 1002 . — ED . F . M . ]

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ESTHER . —This Avovnan was the wife and queen of Aliasuerus . During ; his reign a plot was devised by tlie enemies of the Jews ( principally by Hamnn ) to have them all massacred on a certain clay , but tlie afl ' ectioivate devotion of Esther prevailed to counteract the evil and change it to good .