Labour And Refreshment.

their excess be justly thrown upon the Fraternity . No private p iques , no quarrels about nations , families , religions , or politics , must be brought within the door of the Lodge ; for as Masons , we are of the oldest Catholic religion , and of all nations upon the square , level , and plumb : and like our predecessors in all ages , wc are resolved against political disputes , as contrary to the peace and

welfare of the Lodge . ' Occasionally , it is admitted , the Masons might and did transgress aftor the Lodge was closed : for , in the language of a writer in B / ackii-ood'stMaga-ine , "What says the poet , in one of those inspired strains by which the gifted sons of song , fling ing the touch of genius around them , and therewith illuminating and revealing the sudden mysteries of nature , occasionally announce sublime truths to the world ?—"Punch cures the gout , the colic , and the phthisic . And Is of all things the very best of physic . "

The Masonic " Poet's Corner."

The Masonic " Poet's Corner . "

( Original and Selected . ' ) THE CHECKERED PAVEMENT .

I There is no emblem that teaches a more practical every-day lesson to a- Freemason than- the Mosaic parement , denoting human life checkered with good and evil . " ] I ON the White Square , yon on the Black :

/ at fortune a face , you at her bach ; Friends to me many , friends to you few ; What , then , dear Brother , binds me to you . ' Th is . the GREAT COVENANT , in which we abide—HEARTS charged with sympathA'

HANDS opened wide—LIPS filled with comfort , And GOD to proA'ide . Jin life ' s Valley , you on its crest ; I at its lowest , you at its best ; I sick and sorrowing , you hate and free ; AVhat , then , dear Brother , binds you to me . '

Th is the GREAT COVENANT in which Ave abide—HEARTS charged with sympathy—HANDS opened wide—LIPS filled with comfort , And GOD to provide .

They in death ' s slumber , we yet alive : They freed from labor , wv yet to strive : They paid and joyful , we tired and sad—What , then , to us , Brother , bindeth the dead . ' Th is , the GREAT COVENANT in which we abide—HEARTS charged with

sympathy—HANDS opened wide—LIPS filled with comfort . And GOD to provide . Let none be comfortless , let none despair : Lo , round the Black grouped the White Ashlars are ! Stand by each other , black fortune -defy , All these vicissitudes end by-and-bye .

Keep the GREAT COVENANT wherein we abide—HEARTS charged with sympathy—HANDS opened wide—LIPS filled with comfort , And GOD will provide ! [ From TJw Poetry of Freemasonry , by the late Bro . Dr . ROB MORRIS , Masonic Poet Laureate . ]

Minors In Freemasonry.

MINORS IN FREEMASONRY .

fWfPj E strongly commend the following remarks of the Deputy I'A'i Provincial Grand Master of Sussex , Bro . Gerard Ford , lal P . G . D ., at the meeting of his Provincial Grand Lodge at HHil Brighton , on the 11 th inst ., to the serious consideration of those brethren who are so exceedingly zealous for the entry of relatives into the Order before they are of " full age and sound judgment . " " There is one question , " said the R . W . Bro ., " I feel compelled to touch upon particularly , namely , the initiation of minors into our brotherhood . It is a question upon which I have

not myself the shadow of a doubt . I most unhesitatingly give my opinion against it . In this I am glad to find myself following in the footsteps of our Most Worshipful Grand Master , whose eldest son , his Highness Prince Albert Victor , was not initiated until he was twenty-one years of age . His Royal Highness ' s younger son

has not yet entered the Craft . An exception is made at the universities for very special and well-considered reasons , but it should be at the universities alone . For my own part I do not think that the solemn obligations of our Craft should be lightly and thoughtlessly taken . A youth who has not reached the age of twenty-one has

seen too little of life to realise or appreciate either the duties or the privileges of our Order . It is only after a young man has for a term felt his feet , as it were , in the path of life that he is able to understand what is meant by " the right hand of fellowship , " and to grasp it with heartiness and lasting sincerity . It is after one or

two disappointments among so-called friends that he begins to feel that it is well to build up friendship on a substratum of something less frothy than mere words . It must also be borne in mind that not only does a man on entering Masonry receive the cheering assurance of help in difficulty , sympathy in distress , and encouragement in labour , but he is also called upon to give this support to his

Minors In Freemasonry.

brethren . I need hardly remind you that Masonry is not all receiving ; in fact , reciprocity is one of the chief ifeatures of out-Order . It may be that I have old-fashioned notions about the sanctity of a promise and the obligations incumbent on every man to carry out his engagements not only in the letter but in the spirit . It may be . as I saA \ that I am old-fashioned in this , but my feeling

on this point is very strong , and I do not think any mere minor should undertake such responsibilities , the meaning of which he cannot quite understand until his experience is more extended . I may add that it was with very deep regret I became aware of a case in which some very young Masons , instead of accepting their " solemn obligations " with those feelings of reverence which are

becoming , and which , to an honourable man aware of the step he is taking , are instinctive , that they accepted them in a manner which could not but distress a good and sincere Mason . Noisy merriment and silly aimless laughter , brethren , are not a fitting reception to give to the secrets of our venerable order . I will not dwell longer on the subject , but Masonry means to me the

embodiment of all manliness , honesty , purity and loyalty ; and I cannot bear to think of its degradation , even momentarily , through the behaviour of such as have not learned to love it . " For ourselves , we should like to know the " very special and well considered reasons" why exception should be made at the Universities to that which has ever been a constitutional landmark of the Order .

We Are Requested To Notify That :-

We are requested to notify that :-

On Saturday next , the 27 th inst ., at the Cock Tavern , Highbury , N ., the Fifteen Sections will be worked in the Finsbury Park Lodge of Instruction , No . 1288 . at 7 p . m . The officers Avill be Bros . T . G . Hodges , S . W ., 1 G 95 W . M .: H . Jenkins . S . W . 860 , S . W . ; and E . S . Lardner , P . M . KJl , J . W .

The Holmesdale Lodge , No . 129 , will meet at the Royal Hotel . Ramsgate . this afternoon ( 25 th inst . ) , at 3 . 30 p . m . The Prosperity Lodge , No . (> 5 , meets this evening , 25 th inst .. at the Guildhall Tavern , E . G .. at 5 p . m . Two initiations , passing and raising . Supper at 7 . 30 .

North London Chapter of Improvement , No . 1171 , will resume its weekly meetings after vacation , at its usual place , Northampton House , St . Paul's Road , Highbury , N .. to-night and subsequent Thursdays , at 8 p . m .

Bro . John Wheat-croft Ray was installed W . M . for the Eccleston Lodge , No . 11 ) 24 , at the Criterion , London , W . C , by Bro . William E . Moorman , the outgoing W . M ., who Avas presented by the Lodge with a P . M . ' s jewel for his services during his year of office .

Bro . W . Campbell was installed W . M . of the Cope Lodge , No . 1357 , Sale , on Friday , the 19 th inst ., on which date the festival of St . John was held in connection with that lodge .

At the regular meeting of the Friendship Mark Lodge , No . 1 ( 1 , held at the Masonic Hall , Granby Street , Devonport , on the 11 th inst ., Bro . Henry Holman , S . W ., was unanimously elected W . M . for the year ensuing ; Bro . AV . Allsford , P . M ., P . P . G . M . O ., was reelected Treasurer ; and Bro . Thomas Shears , Tyler . The annual meeting for the installation of W . M . will be held on Thursday , 13 th December .

The first of a course of Masonic lectures Avas delivered by Bro . James Jack , R . W . M ., St . Mirrin ' s . 129 , in Lodge Glasgow St ! John . The Glasgow Evening News of the 19 th inst . says : —The subject was li Early Masonry , " and the lecturer , while admitting that authentic lodge records did not exist prior to 1599 , maintained that the present organization was at least three centuries earlier : that

the " Steinmetzen , " or mediaeval architects and craftsmen , had a precisely similar organization , of which the present was the outcome ; and that these Steinmetzen derived their art and its secrets from Constantinople , and it in its turn from Italy and Rome . The Roman collegia or craft-guilds were in all but name masons , and

their prototypes were Greeks who , in turn , derived their Masonic secrets from Egypt—the land of masonry , mysteries , and hieroglyphics . Light and learning came from the East—Egypt gave the greater part , Palestine a good deal . The Essenes were a set of monkish Masons , and the light of Masonry was even found in China .

AAIERICAN AND ENGLISH FREEMASONS . —A meeting of the Anglo-American Lodge , No . 2191 . was held on the IGth inst ., at the Criterion , Piccadilly , under the presidency of Bro . Major George Lambert . Two interesting ceremonies were performed , illustrating the fraternal feelings which exist between the American and the English Freemasons . Bro . G . Reynolds , the secretary of the lodge ,

presented to the lodge , on behalf of the Grand Master of Maryland , a loving cup , inscribed with a resolution voted by the grand lodge of Maryland , held in Baltimore , Nov . 10 , 1887 , conveying to the Anglo-American Lodge , England , the grateful acknowledgments of the Maryland Grand Lodge to the officers and members of the

Anglo-American Lodge for their cordial and fraternal courtesies extended to the Grand Master of Maryland , Bro . Thomas J . Shryock , during his visit to England . Bro . Shadwell Gierke , Grand Secretary of England , also presented to Bro . Brackstone Baker , the representative of the Grand Lodge of Maryland at the Grand Lodge of England , a jewel on behalf of the Grand Lodge of Maryland .