Masonic And General Tidings

MASONIC AND GENERAL TIDINGS

BRO . SIR AUGUSTUS HARRIS has returned from Paris to London , having completed all his arrangements for the forthcoming Royal Italian Opera Season . A MEETING of the Court of the Loriners' Company was held on Tuesday evening under the presidency of Bro . Sir J . V . Moore , when Bro . Alderman Treloar was elected a member .

IT HAS BEEN decided by the Lords of the Admiralty that H . M . S . Bacchante , in which the sons of the Prince of Wales made their voyage round the world , shall be placed on the list of ships for sale . ANOTHER SEAT in the House of Commons has been vacated by the death of Mr . H . W . Farquharson , M . P . for Bridport . The Hon . Member died on board ship at Suez on the 22 nd inst . of acute dysentery .

_ THE PRINCE OF WALES arrived in town from Sandringham , on Monday , and was visited at Marlborough House in the afternoon by the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , who , with his son , the Hereditary Prince Alfred , had arrived in London from the Continent early the same morning .

THE 157 th ANNIVERSARY FBSTIVAL of the Royal Society of Musicians was held on Monday evening at the H 6 tel Mclropole , under the presidency ot Bro . the Earl of Derby , among the principal guests being Bros . W . Kuhe and W . Ganz , Past G . Organists , Messrs . Oscar Beringer and Slaney Lucas , and Bro . Lennox Browne .

THE REV . FRED . WILLIAM FARRAR , D . D ., Archdeacon of Westminster and Chaplain to the Speaker , has been appointed Dean of Canterbury in succession to the late Dr . Payne Smith , the great Syriac scholar . Dr . Farrar was educated at King William ' s Crllege , Isle of Man , King ' s

College , London , and Trinity College , Cambridge , where he graduated high in the first class of the Classical Tripos and a junior Optime . Before becoming Archdeacon of Westminster , he was firstly one of the under Masters at Harrow , and from 1871 to 18 7 6 , Head Master of Marlborough College .

NEWS HAS been received that Chitral , in which Dr . Robertson had been shut up by Umra Khan ' s troops for some time , and which was known to be hard pressed , has been relieved by the forces of the Khan of Dir , the troops of Sher Afzul decamping without waiting the onset of the Khan ' s force . General Gatacre ' s column , which reached

Dir on the 22 nd instant , is advancing steadily on Chitral , while Colonel Kelly , who is advancing towards the same objective point from the north-east , reached Khusht on the 15 th inst . Umra Khan has sought shelter in Afghan territory , while Sher Afzul , with a sorry remnant of his force , is flying before the Khan of Dir ' s men .

THERE WAS a full attendance of naturalists and curiohunters in Stevens' Auction Rooms , King-street , Covent Garden , on 1 uesday , when the skin of a Great Auk from the collection of Bro . Sir Frederick Milner , Bart ., was offered for sale . 'I he highest bid was £ 360 10 s ., but , as the reserve price was not reached , no sale took place . Only

about So similar skins are supposed to be in existence , and of _ these not more than 24 are known to be in Great Britain . Sir F . Milner ' s skin is said to be undoubtedly genuine . At the same time a Great Auk ' s egg was put up for sale , and realised £ 189 , though other specimens have fetched as much as 300 and 2 S 0 guineas .

THE QUEEN , accompanied by the Princess Beatrice and Princess Victoria of Schleswig- Holstein , and attended by the members of her Court , left Nice for Darmstadt on Tuesday morning . The Royal carriage was escorted from the Hotel C imirz to the station by Major Mialle , of the Artillery , and Mjjor Silhol , of the nth Regiment of the Line . Guards of honour , with bands , were on duty at the

hotel and station , and saluted her Majesty on her departure and arrival , the bands pUying the British National Anthem . The Queen reached Lyons in the evening , and after an hour ' s stay , proceeded on her journey to Darmst-dt , where she arrived the following day . Here her Majesty will remain for some few days , and will return to England about the middle of next week .

A CONVENTION of the Most Distinguished Order of St . Michael and St . George was held at the Imperial Institute on Tuesday ( St . George ' s Day ) , for the purpose of celebrating the jubilee ot the Duke of Cambridge ' s membership of the Order . The Duke , as Grand Master , accompanied by the Prince of Wales , the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha , and the Duke of Connaught , held a reception in

the vestibule , there being present about ifio members , who wore the decorations pertaining to their several grades . A banquet was fubsequenfly held under the presidency of tbt Prince of Wales , and the only toasts honoured were those of "The Queen , " "The Giand Master , " and "The Prince and Princess of Wales and the other Members of the Royal Family . "

UNUSUAL interest attaches to the operations of the Silchester Excavation Committee during last year , as they have unearthed for the first time the workshops of Roman dyers in Britain . Thev found the north-west section of the town occupied by small lectangular buildings , comprising one large and two small chambers , in connection with which , sometimes inside and sometimes outside , were

curiously shaped furnaces . These buildings were unlike any of the residential houses previously discove'ed ; and it was found that the furnaces corresponded with one discovered in a house , known to be a dyer ' s , in Pompeii . Other points strengthen this interesting assumption . In the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries , Burlington House , an exhibition , to continue till the Sth prox ., opened on the 24 th instant of plans and photographs of the excavations ,

and of curious and interesting objerts found in the course of the year . The most important find is a hoard of 253 silver denarii , ranging from the time of Mark Antony to that of Severus . They were enclosed in a small jar , and are in excellent preservation . A large number of pieces of pottery and metal work are also on view ; and there may be seen a pair of shears identical in shape with those in use for the sheep of the present day .

Masonic And General Tidings

THE GOLDSMITHS' Company have voted £ 500 , the Vintners' Company £ 52 10 s ., and the Dyers' Company £ 25 to the special fund for opening the closed wards of St . Thomas ' s Hospital . THE CELEBRATION ot the jubilee of the Royal Agricultural College , Cirencester , has been fi * ed for the 25 th ] uly , and H . R . H . the Prince of Wales has signified his intention of being present .

THE EMPEROR FRANCIS J OSEPH received Colonel Wardrop , the newly-appointed Military Attache to the British Embassy in Vienna , in private audience on Tuesday . Bro . the Hon . Sir Edmund and Lady Monson left the Embassy the same day for England and will be absent for some weeks .

ST . GEORGE ' S DAY was celebrated at Aldershot by a parade in review order of the 5 th Northumberland Fusiliers in the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and their children , attended by several members of his Royal Highness ' s staff . Every man in the regiment wore a red and white rose , and the drums and colours were similarly decorated .

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF TECK visited Malvern on Tuesday for the purpose of inaugurating the new water works , which have been placed on the British Camp . They were most cordially received , and having reached the site under an escort of the Queen ' s Own Worcestershire Hussars , her Royal Highness turned on the supply amid hearty cheers .

THE DUCHESS OF VoRKhasselected the Victoria Hospital for children as the Institution she is anxious to benefit by a grand evening concert which will be given at the Queen ' s Hall , on the 18 th May , by the Royal Amateur Orchestral Society , and will be honoured by the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , and the Duke and Duchess of York .

THE CUSTOMARY EASTER BANQUET was held in the Mansion House on Monday evening , under the presidency of the Lord Mayor ( Bro . Alderman Sir Joseph Renals ) . Among the principal guests were the new French Ambassador , the Baron de Courcel . who was most cordially greeted , and returned thanks in well-chosen English for the toast of the " Corps Diplomatique . "

BRO . W . J . HUGHAN has kindly promised to write an article on Bro . John Lane ' s second edition of his " Masonic Records " ( now in' the Press , to be published by the Grand Lodge ) , especially for the Freemason . The importance of this great work and its publication in the near future , together with the fact of Bro . Hughan ' s familiarity with all its stages , will make his paper on the subject doubly valuable .

AT THE INSTALLATION MEETING of the Guelph Chapter , No . 1685 , held at the Masonic Hall , Red Lion Hotel , Leytonstone , on Thursday , the rSth inst ., Comp . James Speller was installed M . E . Z . j Comp . A . G . Duck , H . ; and Comp . E . F . Williams , J . ; Comp . W . Shurmur was the Installing Principal . Bro . A . D . Jones , of the Crusaders Lodge , No . 1677 , was exalted into Royal Arch Masonry .

• THE FIRST annual dinner of the St . George ' s Society was held at the Holborn Restaurant on Tuesday evening , under the presidency of Dr . Culver James . The menu was restricted to British dishes , hut it was not compulsory to drink British wines or smoke British cigars . It is said that the Society already numbers 130 members , and it has received great encouragement from all parts of the country .

THE HON . W . F . D . SMITH , M . P ., presided at the festival dinner of the Newsvendors' Benevolent and Provident Institution , which was held at the Grand Hotel on Tuesday evening . There was a goodly number of guests , and the subscriptions announced in the course of the evening amounted to £ 920 , including £ 150 from the chairman , j ( , 50 from the proprietors of the Daily Telegraph , and £ 20 from Baron de Rothschild .

GREAT ENTHUSIASM was shown at Stratford-on-Avon on 1 uesdav , the anniversary of the birth of the great National Dramatist . The town was gay with flags and banners , and the church bells rang out merry peals at frequent intervals . Beautiful wreaths were laid on Shakespeare ' s tomb in the church . Meetings of the Shakespeare Club and the Memorial Association were held , and in the evening a performance of "The Winter ' s Tale" was given at the Memorial Theatre .

BRO . THE LORD MAYOR and the Lady Mayoress visited the Guildhall on Saturday afternoon , where his lordship opened the fourth Art Exhibition organised by the Corporation for the benefit of the inhabitants of the metropolis . Subsequently his lordship , who is honorary colonel of the

4 th Volunteer Battalion of the West Surrey Regiment , presided at the distribution of prizes by the Lady Mayoress , According to the latest returns , out of a total of 94 6 officers and men , the battalion has 919 efficient , and last year earned f , 2 \ as capitation grant .

A via d honneur was offered by the French naval and military officers of the port of Havre to the officers of H . M . S . cruiser Australia on Saturday morning last . Col . Thiuon , the local commandant , presided , and was supported right and left by the British Consul-General ( Mr . Bernal ) and Captain Dyke Acland , of the Australia . Facing the chairman were Colonel Barry , oi the nrjth Regiment , who

was supported on his right by the Commander of the French cruiser Jean Bart , and on his left by Major Bourgeois , representing President Faure . The Mayor of Havre gave a lunch in honour of the visit of the British ship , and in the evening all the public buildings , as well as the Australia and the lean Bart , were brilliantly illuminated .

BKO . F . W . DRIVER , M . A ., P . M ., P . Z ., & c , author of " The Noble Soul , " "The Submerged City , " "Toujours Perdrtx " ( poems ) , " A Novel Vengeance , " and "The Four Henries" ( prose ; , recites his original productions at musical entertainments , smoking concerts , & c . For terms , address 62 , Lancaster-road , Notting Hill , W .

Foiu : io \ Co . \ irn n <>\ ' is often declared to be the cause of much of the sintering in thi :. country , and we are told that a number ol foreigners in Kngland make " it very di / Hcult for Ihe Knglishman to get a living . However , this tnaybe . it is certainly ( rue ( hat the presence of foreign matter in the blood endangcrs ' the health

of the whole system . To purify the blood and correct disorders ot the liver and stomach , the only certain , safe , and agreeable medicine is llolloway ' s Bills . If you sutler from gout , rheumatism , or lumbago , scalds , burns , or similar e \ ils , you must use with the least possible delay llolloway ' s Ointment . ' I ' or over half a century these fajnous remedies have been the faithful friend of man .

Masonic And General Tidings

WE ARE ASKED to state that the Langton Lodge of Instruction has gone into recess until Monday , the 14 th . October next . THE LORD MAYOR ( Bro . Alderman Sir Joseph Renals ) will visit Bexhill-on-Sea in full state to-morrow ( Saturday ) .

for the purpose of opening the new municipal buildings . THE INSTALLATION MEETING of the Shadwell Clerke Preceptory of Knights Templar will be held on the 8 th May . Particulars can be obtained of the Registrar , Sir Knight H . Lovegrove .

AT A MEETING of the Society of Architects , at St . James ' s Hall , Piccadilly , on Tuesday last , a paper was read by Bro . Henry Lovegrove , F . S . I ., Member of the Council , on " Housing the People . " H . R . H . THE DL'KE or CAMBRIDGE , K . G ., has kindly consented to take the chair at a dinner to be held on Friday , the 17 th prox ., at the Hotel Metropole ( Whitehall Rooms ) ,

in aid of the Hospital for Sick Children , Great Ormondstreet , W . C . AT A MEETING of the Royal Naval Mark Lodge , No . 239 , at the Mark Masons' Hall . Great Queen-street , on Tuesday , the 16 th inst ., Bro . James Speller was elected W . M . for the ensuing year . The installation will take place on Monday , June 17 th .

THE DUCHESS OF ALBANY , accompanied by the young Duke and the Princess Alice of Albany , and attended by Bro . Sir R . Collins , visited St . Paul's Cathedral on Wed . nesday , and afterwards inspected the Tower Bridge . Her Royal Highness expressed great satisfaction with all she had seen . THE FINAL TIE for the Football Championship (

Association ) was played in the Crystal Palace grounds on Satur * day last in the presence of some 50 , 000 spectators . The teams were the Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion , and the former won by a goal , which was kicked at the very commencement of the game , to nothing .

BRO . F . J . W . CROWE , author of the English and Scottish Master Mason's Handbooks , having forwarded copies to the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M . England , and Sir Charles Dalrymple , Bart ., M . P ., M . W . G . M . Scotland , has been honoured with acknowledgments of his gifts from his Royal Highness and Sir C . Dalrymple .

A NEW Masonic Temple , erected and furnished by the W . M ., Bro . Sir William Abdy , at a cost of £ 4000 , was opened and dedicated at Kelvedon , Essex , on the rSth inst ., by Bro . the Earl of Warwick , Prov . Grand Master , assisted by Bro . F . A . Philbrick , Q . C ., G . Reg ., Deputy Prov . Grand Master , and the Grand Officers of the Province .

PROPOSED MASONIC HALL AT CONSETT . —At a banquet in connection with the Constancs Lodge , No . 2135 , at Consett , on Wednesday , the 17 th inst ., Bro . R . Murray intimated his intention of building a spacious Masonic hall adjoining the Freemasons' Arms Hotel , Consett . The announcement was received with applause , and Bro . Murray ' s health was warmly pledged .

THE VICAR OF FRODINGHAM , Bro . the Rev . E . M . Weigall , Past Grand Chaplain Mark Master Masons , has been appointed by the High and Eminent Great Prior to be Prelate of the United Religious and Military Orders of the Temple and of St . John of Jerusalem , Palestine , Rhode ? , and Malta , in England and Wales and the dependencies thereof , and will be invested at the National Great Priory

in London , on May 10 . THE FUNERAL of Bro . W . G . Sanders , a member of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 6 73 , took place on the 19 th inst . at St . Mary ' s Church , Walton-on-the-Hill . He had been connected with the firm of Messrs . Burns and Maclver , Liverpool , and was highly respected by all with whom he came in contact . The funeral was attended by the widow , the

Rev . H . J . Sanders ( Hastings ) and M . A . j . Sanders , brothers of the deceased , Mr . A . Short , and other friends of the family . THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Gloucestershire has been fixed by Bro . Sir Michael E .

Hicks-Beach , Bart ., the Prov . G . M ., for Wednesday , the jthof June next , at Gloucester . By permission of the Dean of Gloucester , Prov . G . Lodge will be held in ihe Chapter House at 2 , and at 3 . 30 there will b ? a service in the cathedral , at which the Dean will be the preacher . Dr . Spence ' s appearance in this capacity on the occasion will be especially appropriate .

THE MARRIAGE of Miss Peel , eldest daughter of ths Right Hon . Arthur W . Peel , lately Speaker of the House of Commons , with Mr . Rochfort Maguire , M . P ., was solemnised in St . Margaret ' s Church , Westminster , on Wednesday afternoon . Among those present at the ceremony or at the reception at the Speaker's house

afterwards were Bros , the Earl of Jersey , the Earl of Arran , Lord Carrington , Lord Wantage , Lord Ashbourne , Sir F , Lockwood , M . P ., Solicitor-General , Sir Thomas Sutherland , M . P , Lord George Hamilton . M . P ., Sir W . f fart Dyke , M . P ., W . Burdett-Coutts , M . P ., Lord F . Hamilton , M . r ? ., and others .

THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Provincial Grand Chapter of Sussex was held at . the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on Saturday , the 20 th instant , under the presidency ot Come . Lieut .-General C . VV . Randolph , Grand Superintendent . Sums of , 1 , 10 each were votsd to the Royal Masonic In «( ituiions for Boys and Girls , and , after the Grand Superintendent had given an interesting address , and congratul ted

the companions upon the steady progress ot the province , those present sat down to an decant banquet . The customary Royal Arch toasts were duly honou ed , and , _ during the evening a programme of vocal music was sustained by Comps . J . Brown and F . Bevan and Bro . Dalzeli . MR . AND M US . BEKKHOIIM TREE and the members of the Haymarket Theatre Company had a hearty recep tion

at Southampton on Wednesday night , upon their return from the United States . Many personal and professional friends of Mr . Tree were there to welcome him , and when the American l ' ner , Paris , came alongside the Empress rwk at a few minutes after to o ' clock they all trooped

aboard . Mr . Tree received his friends in the saloon . tie looked well , though perhaps a little weary , a condition , nc explained , due to a . slight attack of influenza while on shipboard . During the time the baggage of the so " ? . ?" passengers was being exam ined by the Custom . ° "" ' , j Mr . Tree engaged in co nversation with Mr . Harrison anu other officials of the Haymarket Theatre who were present .