Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents APPEAL . —A WOKTHT CASE . TO THE EDITOE OF TEE FEEEIIASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEHOR . Long Melford , Bectory , SuffolkOctober 18 th .

, Dear Sir and Brother , —At a time when so much charitable exertion is being made for the relief of sufferers in the present war , and for other deserving objects of sympathy , I am reluctant to ask you to insert an appeal for " more subscriptions ; " still the urgency of the present case emboldens me to do soin

, the hope that I may prevail upon some one or more of those true Masons , of whom , thank God , there are such numbers in our glorious Craft , to assist me in administering to the sad necessities of one of our brethren . I should premise that the brother in whose

behalf , but without whose knowledge I plead , is Bro . C . Punchard . The records of Grand Lodge inform me that he was initiated into Masonry in Lodge No . 267 , ( late 910 ) , Sudbury , Suffolk , on the 29 thOctober , 1857 , and paid 4 £ years . This lodge was erased in 1865 , and the present lodge , No . 1 , 124 ( of which I am

"W . M . ) occupies its place . Not being personally acquainted with Bro . Punchard , as I have not only recently come into the neighbourhood , I have made many inquiries concerning him , all of which prove that he was liked and respected , hut that he became reduced in circumstances owing in a great measure to

hia embarking too largely in commercial speculations , and to his losses at the time of the Cochin China fowl mania . About a year and a half ago he left this country with his wife and family for Toronto , where he appears to have found friends indeed , and to have . got on fairly well till sickness overtook his household .

The following extracts from the letters of two highly respectable American brethren , will , I think , be read with interest . The first , iu a letter dated Toronto , August 31 , thus writes : " Poor Puuchard ' s case is simply distressing beyond all precedent . About two months ago one of his children took typhoid fever , and diedMrs . Punchardwho was not very strong

; , , also caught the infection , and died on the 8 th . Ten days ago Ave buried another child , and this morning we have had to convey another to the grave . Two more children are smitten doAvn , and probably will not recover ; and worse than all , poor Puuchard himself has been laid up by the same complaintand has

, for some days been almost insensible . He has had a fearfully hard time of it lately and but for the Masons ( 1 hope you are one ) , he and his family would haA'e been destitute . Punchard , poor fellow , happily belongs to ' the Craft ; ' but he is an English Mason , and has no claim upon us here ; still we have tackled

his case . Money of his OAvn he ' s had none for over a month , but we ( i . e ., the Masons ) have furnished all medical help and comforts , along with two nurses , and have buried four of his dead in decency ; but hitherto the expense has fallen upon the Craft . There are also a few private debts whichI think £ 15 or

, , £ 20 would cover , but if he dies , these will remain unpaid unless his friends step in . He was getting on tolerably well , but his large family , and a wife illadapted to this country , and sickness have reduced

Correspondence.

him to poverty . " The above extract , is from a letter to some of his friends in Suffolk . The other letter is from another American brother , and is in a similar strain , only giving further , and if possible , more touching details . He concludes a most admirable account , with these words , " I am hut a poor

man , but I have spared no trouble or expense in this shocking emergency' — -Punchard is a brother Preema . son , as I am , and it has been of the greatest benefit to his family . He is a very intelligent man , and well thought of by his fellows who had occasion to meet him here . " His letter was followed by

anotherfor-, warded to me this morning , in which the same writer tells us most joyfully , that the two children are recovering , and that the poor bereft father , though very weak , is now expected to live . Upon these facts , I would wish to make no comment ; they speak for themselves—hut I would leave this case in

the hands of my Masonic brethren , in town and country , begging them however to remember the solemn words spoken to them at a certain " peculiar moment , " of their initiation , and adding that " what ever they may feel disposed to give , they may deposit with their Grand Chaplain , who assures them that it

will be thankfully received , and faithfully applied . I have the honour to he , dear Sir and Brother , yours faithfully and fraternally , CHARLES J . MARTYN , Grand Chaplain of England . [ Contributions should be sent direct to tbeE . "W . Bro . the Grand Chaplain , and we trust this appeal will be promptly and largely responded to . —E . D . E . M .

Masonic Sayings And Doings Abroad.

MASONIC SAYINGS AND DOINGS ABROAD .

The Keystone says : — " We hear from the several points in the jurisdictions visited by the M . E . Grand High Priest and the Grand Officers of the Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania , that the best results have followed this Grand Visitation . It has been so long

since a clear and comprehensive teaching of Eoyal Arch Masonry has been gi \ en to the companions under the jurisdiction in Pennsylvania , that an absolute necessity existed for the present visit . "We are rejoiced to find that great good is attending M . E . G . H . P . Nisbet ' s labours . "

The Grand Consistory of the A . aud A . Eite , for the State of Maryland , held a Lodge of Sorrow on the evening of Tuesday , the 23 rd of August , at Baltimore , in honor of the memory of Benjamin B . Preneh , who , at the time of his death , was Lieutenant Grand

Commander of the Southern Supreme Council . The ceremony took place in the Metropolitan Church , in the Presence of a large number of Masons , and their families and frionds , as well as delegations from Washington and other places . Addresses were delivered by Bros . Albert Pike , Mackay , and others .