Round And About.

since last I wrote , were men of uprightness , and had a high estimation of the principles of the Craft . TV" -7 T T \ - One of the most ardent Masons in the United States is Mr . H . H . Warner , the Medicine Man , who professes to have come

across the great " Safe " cure by a mere accident . This paragraph is not an advertisement , so I may as well record what a generous and charitable man Bro . Warner is . He is a member of the Monroe Commandcry Lodge of Rochester , which is so well endowed that all dues cease after a member has been on the roll of tlie Lodge for

twenty years . At a cost of fifty thousand pounds he lias erected and endowed an Observatory at Rochester , and his gifts to the poor and needy have become with him quite an institution . He is , however , possessed of vast wealth , derived principally from silver mines which he purchased some time back at a mere nominal sum , as they were

not supposed by the former owners to be worth working . Mr . Warner thought otherwise , and , after employing a diamond drill for six months , he struck oil in the form of a vast deposit of silver which seems to be inexhaustible . Mr . Warner is a man well under

the prime of life , and is in England with his family , where he is personally superintending the conversion of his medicine business into a limited liability company . * * * The spontaneous hospitality of the English country folk is

beyond question , and when a Somerset farmer invites one to share his fireside it may generally be understood that he means you well _ I was in Somersetshire the other week , and compelled to secure a habitation for the night in a locality that seemed to possess nothing more comfortable than a cowshed by the wayside , unless I could

procure a conveyance to take me back to the county town from which I had driven early in the da )' . After tramping a couple of miles or so the fast gathering dusk induced me boldly to enter a private road leading to a farmhouse of very respectable dimensions , and to make inquiries as to a hostelry available for my comf > rr .

There was nothing , they told me , nearer than the place from whence I had journeyed , unless I could get a bed in tlie village , which they very much doubted ; but would I accept a cup of tea , to which meal the family were about to sit down ? Yes ! I am always ready for a cup of tea ! So I pocketed my feelings and went

inside the house . * # * In country rumblings among the hills of Sussex or the wilder paths of Yorkshire the typical English farmer of the good ohl English model is still to be found , but never before have I had an opportunity of putting the stability of his renown to the test . Tlie parlor was a delicious little room , which I longed to transfer

bodily to my Inn in Holborn . Low ceiling , a dirty red wall paper , many pictures of dogs , of horses , and of cattle , portraits of the family and their friends , and—would you believe it —a real little Birkett Foster , of which nothing was known . Great open range , with of course , the copper kettle as bright as the morning sun ; and a clean , white tablecloth furnished with teacups ( rather

thick ); a terrible hunk of cold , fat , creamy bacon and home-made bread . There was Mrs . " Farmer" and two Miss " Farmers , " suspiciously healthy girls of eighteen and twenty , " Father , " and Mr . " Farmer , " junior . I am sorry to say 1 had no previous knowledge of the delicious properties of " cold , fat , creamy bacon , '

but as everybody else seemed to be fully acquainted with them , I initiated myself into the mystery , and very quickly into the good opinion of my kind host and his young people .

* * * We talked of course , of all things I did not understand . The agricultural outlook from a Somerset point of view , was kept up far beyond my inventive faculty , and I bad no idea my knowledge of turnips , winter spinach , and celery was so profound . Mrs .

" Farmer " was , I thought , rather subdued at the beginning of the meal , but gradually we warmed into each other ' s acquaintanceship , and when the " girls" had cleared the cloth , and brought their workbaskets near the fire , I was firmly convinced that the invitation was to be extended through the night . And it was . To refuse was

to insult ; so I settled myself down to return the hospitality of my unknown friends by entertaining them with gossip of the town . I shall never—till memory is taken from me—forget the charm of that quiet night . The whole thing was a revelation of life to me , and perhaps to them .

* * The girls—I call them girls because my pen has written it , and I crave their pardon for it—soon lost their reserve , and were eager with their laughter for further insights into the great world beyond their ken . Yea ! my pure young friends , I have seen in this big

City , less charms , less grace , less loveableness than you possess , but I hope the confession will not destroy your perfect freedom from womanly consciousness . If I could describe the pleasure your sweet acquaintance gave me those few evening hours , I would do it fully and pleasantly , but 1 know of no comparisons , no equal

levels , no parallel associations , no living memories with which I can draw conclusive opinions from a thankful nature such as mine . If you can find me a warmer fireside than that you showed me , tell me where it is . If you can let me hear sweeter music than your old " Moore and Moore "

can give , and fresher voices than you possess , let me hear them . If there is a pipe of any make or slrnpe that smokes sweeter than the clay I stuck between my teeth , or tobacco that generates bluer smoke than " father ' s , " let me know , that I may purchase now and all time . Yes , sweet girls ! tell me where I spent an evening

such as that . To you , my honest , upright , hospitable countryman , I offer the hand of friendship . My thanks cannot be expressed by the " presents " social custom allows me to send you ; the sincerity of them will be established by the life-long memory of a night when you welcomed a stranger into your house and home , and shared your fireside with him .

* * * The Christmas number of Bro . Yates ' s paper , The World , contains a very interesting story , entitled " Quinnion ' s Quest , " and as of yore-four cartoons , cleverly drawn by Alfred Bryan . Nearly half of the well-known men " A . B . " inimitably depicts are members of

the Craft . The most prominent figure " on the Cahiis-Doitvres " is Augustus Harris , who presents a very beautiful background of tall hat , high collar , and satin-hncd Inverness ; Sir Polydore , " Nitrates , " "J . C . P ., " Lord Harrington , and A . M . Broadley also figure on the sheet . The Prince is at Cannes , surrounded by

" Charlie B ., " Sir Henry Keppel—whose daughter was married tlie other morning at the Savoy Chapel—Sir Oscar , Lord Mount-Edgcumbe , Montagu Guest , and others . At Lord ' s are the Post-