Gathered Chips.

every ore who has mastered its alphabet . It is founded upon the three great principles of brotherly love , relief , and truth , and it teaches us the duty we owe to God , lo our neighbors , and to ourselves . It teaches us to pay to the great Ruler of the universe , by act , and word , and thought , that constant reverence which is due from the creature to the Creator , and to remember that His all-seeing eye is ever upon us , and that He will reward or punish us

according as we have obeyed or disregarded His commands . It teaches us the duty we owe to our neighbor by acting with him on the square , by exercising towards him brotherly love , by rendering to him every kindness which justice or mercy may require , by relieving his distress , soothing his afflictions , and by doing to him as in similar cases we would like to be done by . It teaches us that our duty to ourselves consists in living such

well-regulated lives as may best conduce to the preservation of our corporeal and mental faculties in their fullest energy , thereby enabling us to exert the talents wherewith God has blessed us , as well to His glory as to the welfare of our fellow-creatures . The command given by God to His chosen people through His servant Moses— " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself "—reminds us that the human race

are of one family created by one Almighty parent , and that " Dust thou art , and unto dust shall thou return . " By this bond of brotherhood men of every country , sect , and opinion are united for mutual benefit . To relieve the distressed is a duty incumbent on all men in corsideration of the common infirmities of human nature , but more especially is it imposed on Brethren of the Craft , who voluntarily and reciprocally pledge themselves in a bond of brotherly love and affection , to succour each other in the hour of need according to their relative circumstances and conditions of life . Truth is a divine attribute , and it becomes every Mason to make that sacred principle

the guide of his words and actions . The principles of Freemasonry may fitly be compressed into a single word—charity ; and the Brother whose thoughts , words , and deeds are most in accordance with charity is the best Mason . Charity as inculcated by Freemasonry does not mean the practice of benevolence alone—although that should always be a bright ornament in the Masonic edifice—but the culture of that mutual consideration and forbearance which , if universal , would transform the world into a

paradise . Thus we see that the fundamentals of Freemasonry consist , not in the mere knowledge of particular secrets and forms , but that it was instituted to spread the blessings of morality and science among all ranks and descriptions of men . Did Freemasonry consist simply in the acquisition of these particular signs and secrets to the exclusion of the uninitiated , it would be a superficial amusement unworthy of the attention and devotion given to it by the

great minds of all ages . Why , it is asked , should there be any necessity for secrecy in an institution which is fraught with so many virtues ? The answer is this , that the key to our universal language must be kept secret , else would the only reliable testimonial of character and qualification which a duly instructed Brother carries with him be invalidated , and it would be impossible to discern good Brethren and true from false impostors .

If the language of Masonry were open to the understanding of every one , it would cease to be valuable , and would fail to accomplish the purpose for which it was invented . When Brother meets Brother , each feels that he has met a friend—one in whom he may repose his trust—one in regard to whom it has been pronounced that he is worthy of your confidence , and that he is fit to be a member of the universal brotherhood . Secrecy is therefore an inherent element of the success of Freemasonry , but to none who seek them on those points of entrance which serve us as a common basis of defence and union are these secrets denied . It would be well for the world were the

belief in the mysteriousress of Freemasonry dispelled , and a deeper and fuller knowledge of its tenets and its teachings substituted ; and were the glorious message , "Glory to God in the highest , on earth peace , good will toward men , " better appreciated , morality , charity , and good fellowship would be promoted , and there would be an end to those inequalities and asperit'es by which " man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn . " Let us do our part in showing to the outer world that a full recognition of our principles

would promote peace and good will among men ; let us carry tlie principles inculcated within the four walls of our lodges with us into our everyday lives ; let prudence direct us , temperance chasten us , fortitude support us , and justice be the guide of all our actions , so that not only will we be known among men , but we shall be fitting ourselves for receiving at last from the great Architect of the Universe that reward which he has promised to all those who truly believe in His name . —THE VERY REV . DEAN WEIISTER .

On Wednesday , the 25 th ult ., a new Craft Lodge—the Bisley , No . 2317—was consecrated at the National School , Bisley Green . The D . I ' rov . Grand Master in charge , assisted by a strong contingent of Grand and Prov . Grar . d Officers , pcrfoimed the ceremony of consecration . The Rector of Bisley , Bro . Rev . J . Cater , M . A ., B . Mus ., Prov . G . Chap ( Mark ) , Middx . and Surrey , acted for the Prov . G . Chap . The Lodge being opened , the usual questions

were put , and the warrant of H . K . H . the Grand Master was read by the Prov . Grand Secretary , Bro . Rev . J . Cater being named as first Worshipful Master , Bro . E . I-I . Galc-Crowdy as first Senior Warden , and Bro . J . B . S . Lancaster as first Junior Warden . The ceremony of consecration being completed , a Board of Installed Masters was then formed , when Bro . F . West , P . G . D ., and D . Prov . Grand Master in charge , prccecded to instal Bro . Rev . J . Cater as first W . M . of the new Lodge .

Reviews.

Reviews .

Among the many scries of good books produced for the slender purse Messrs . Ward , Lock , & Co . should achieve great things with their " Minerva Library , " edited by G . T . Bcttany , M . A . The fourth of the series is before us , Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa , by Francis Gallon , F . R . S . with two short Vacation Tours , by Sir George Graves and W . G . Clark , M . A . The hook was first published in ' under another titl e , and the author has

^ revised the work , which is still of sufficient authority to warrant this reproduction , for the present publication . The author went through a country but little known , and details his experience in a charming manner , for his book is yet one of the most entertaining you can pick up . A scries of such works , well bound , and at the low price of two shillings each , is quite up to the latest requirements of the book trade .

Miss Amy Dawson has a wide field for her poetic genius if she can so early in life produce a readable poem of over seven thousand lines such as Sappho ( London : Kegan Paul , Trench , & Co . ) . There is the germ of thought in the work giving signs of a harvest that may be rich , but she must become more lucid in her style , and drop the lofty reasonings that spoil so much otherwise good work . But there are some charming spots in the poem : —

So on the morrow of mine anguish rose A stately dawn of promise . I had bent Before the storm , and though the scattered leaves Lay torn and dying at my feet , a bud Which yet should swell into a golden fruit Was bursting into blossom .

Ten Years' Wild Sport in Foreign Lands ( London : Chapman & Hall ) might have contained all the romance of a century for aught the modern bookworm may know . It teems with adventures more miraculous than any bom of romance ; but , for all that , the book is well written and highly interesting . Mr . Seton-Karr possesses the facts that would make a thousand dramas of the English school . Mr . Jerome K . Jerome's humorous booklet , Stage Land , is acceptable ,

because it gives Bernard Partridge an excellent opportunity of treating us to a beautiful series of drawings from his pen . The letterpress is in a light and fretful vein , and illustrates Mr . Partridge ' s share of the work much more sincerely than the drawings illustrate the letterpress . Mr . Partridge's connexion with the stage has , after all , borne good fruit . In Sketches of a Rural Life ( Macmillan ) , Mr . Lucas has given us airy

touches of the calmer side of country life . He revels in solitude and believes in rustic beauty , and the reader will revel and believe in them too before the book is finished . A Triumphal March by Bro . Farran Lambert ( London : Weeks & Co . ) , is much more suited to the organ than pianoforte . It is a bright and stirring march , and not at all difficult to perform .

BOOKS AND PERIODICALS RECEIVED . Men and Women of the Day ( London : Richard Bentley & Son ) . The Freemason ( London ) . South African Freemason . Keystone . Society Herald ( London ) . The Field . The Christian Commonwealth . Official Directory faille Provincial Grand Lode -c of Cornwall , 1887 , 18 S 8 , 1 SS 9 .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

1 , 579 , GEORGE GROVES , P . M . iS , F . COMERFORD , and VERITAS . —We have mentioned your suggestions to Bro . Binckes , who has accepted our invitation , and will become an "Eminent Mason" in our next number . EDWARD SEARLE ( Birmingham ) . —If the firm was not a respectable one its advertisement would not be accepted by our publisher . We thank you for your subscription , but not for your advice . If all the Brethren who think they

could run our journal would subscribe to it , we should have to hand over that . £ 250 a year from to-day . Stick to hair-dressing , and don ' t lose your opportunities . Learn to spell and to write modern English , and send us your next essay a century hence . You possess the impudence of a whole herd of Socialists . LICENSED VICTUALLERS AND THE CRAFT . —We thank the writers of the

many communications we have received on this subject . It is quite impossible to publish more than one letter , which comes from the Chairman of the Company spoken of in Bro . Winkley's communication . We hope to express our own view on the matter in our next . J AMES EATON , P . M ., AND OTHERS . —It is quite impossible to even consider long communications , unless most special subjects are discussed ,

and we beg enthusiastic Brethren not to tempt us out of this well-considered determination . Many of them seem to forget we only publish monthly . "INITIATE . " —Really jou address us on a mighty matter . Spencer , of Great Queen-street , will satisfy you . So will Messrs . Vaughlon , of Birmingham ( who , we see , have a charming little catalogue ready ) .