Poetry.

When the pillars of Strength in our Porch shall abide , With the Lilies of Beauty above , Aud the Vail of the Presence , encompassing wide , Overshadow the Ark of our Love ; And the peace of the blessed Shekinah Enfold , like the wings of a dove ! Oh ' . tbe Cedars of Lebanon grow out our door ,

And the quarry is sunk at our gate ; And the ships out of Ophir , with golden ore . For our summoning mandate wait ; And the word of a Master Mason , May the house of our Soul create ! While the Day hath light let the light be used ; For no man shall the night control 1 " Or ever the silver cord be loosed , Or broken tbe golden bowl . " May we build King Solomon ' s Temple In the true Masonic Soul \

Ar01801

ROYAL FREEMASONS' ASYLUM , CROYDON . —Friday , the 4 th inst ., being the day appointed for the girls and boys of the Freemasons' Schools to visit Brighton , a demonstration was made at this place in honour of the event . At an early hour an immense flag , kindly lent by Bro . Bean , of the Greyhound Hotel , was seen floating from the upper window of the Warden's housevarious banners being also exhibited from the apartments

, of the inmates ; and long before the time appointed for their trains to pass by , the whole of the brethren assembled on the terrace in full Masonic costume , the widows being also in their holiday attire , to give the little folks a cheer on their passage to Brighton , which compliment they duly returned on their way home in the evening .

The Week.

THE WEEK .

THE COURT . —The Queen , with Prince Alfred , Prince Leopold , Princess Helena , and Princess Beatrice , arrived at their destination of Rosenau in the course of Saturday , and are now enjoying the benefit of privacy . The Prince and Princess of Wales continue at Abergeldie , and the Prince appears to be highly successful with his gun . Prince Arthur is at Datchet , but where is the Princess Louisa ? The Court Circular sayeth not . The

letter of the Queen on the late fatal accident on the high rope at Aston , near Birmingham , has led to a meeting of the magistrates of the county of Warwick . The magistrates express their regret that a park , which was opened by the Queen and her lamented Consort , should have been the scene of an occurrence so justly painful to Her Majesty , and they promise that so far

as their jurisdiction and influence extend , they will do all that tbey can to secure tbe restoration of the park to its original use —the rational recreation of the people . GENERAL Hours NEWS . —The mortality of London , after long

ranging at a high rate , is now on the decline . There was a decrease last week of more than a hundred from tlie numbers of tbe week previous , and there was in the week that ended on Saturday a still further decline of about 80 . There is still however , an excess over the corresponding average of the last ten years to the extent of 64 deaths . The fatal cases of smallpox amounted to 45 , which is about the average number of

cases since tbe end of May last . The disease , therefore , is not extending . The births last week were 1909 , or rather more than 100 above the average . Mr . Farnall's return to the Central Executive Relief Committee , at their last meeting , shows a slight increase in the number of persons receiving parochial relief in the cotton manufacturing districts . On the

8 th instant relief was distributed to 145 , 849 persons , at a cost of £ 8930 ; and in the corresponding week of 1861 the number was 46 , 874 , and the cost £ 2240 . The increase of paupers in the previous week was 91 ; but as tbe Public Works Act comes into operation , Mr . Farnall anticipates that this state of things

will be altered for the better . The Gazette contains the nomination of Sir James Hudson to be a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath . We suppose this is intended as a solatium to his wounded feelings iu being dismissed so unceremoniously from his post at Turin to make way for Mr . Elliot . The Globe , indeed , affirms that the supercession is made at Sir James Hudson ' s own request . It is a pity that this excuse was not thought

of before . We regret to announce the death of the veteran Lord Clyde . He began his military career with the Walcheren expedition , served through the Peninsular war , where his name became a synonyme for all that is brilliant and daring , was thehero of the Crimean war , and closed his distinguished career with the suppression of the Indian mutiny . For this last service

he was raised to the peerage , and the popular name of Sir Colin Campbell was merged in that of Lord Clyde . His lordship was in his 72 d year , and was never married . His title expires with him . The Rev . Dr . Raffles died last week at Liverpool , at au advanced age . He for many years held a leading position-in , the religious , literary , and scientific circles of that town , and

for half a century he occupied the pulpit of one of its places of worship . — : —A five days' sitting of the Roman Catholic prelates of Ireland has led to a further attempt to establish an ascendancy of the Roman Catholic Church over national education m Ireland . Parish priests have been already forbidden to send their teachers to be trained in the model schools of the National

Board , and now the prelates have decided on establishing Catholic training Colleges . They have also determined to erect a new building , at a cost of £ 100 , 000 , for tlie Roman Catholic Univeisity at present existing in Dublin . The "Nationalists " of Ireland have been holding a demonstration at " Meagher ' s Rock , " on the Slievenamon Mountain , a locality notorious as the scene of some of the . incidents of the disturbances of 1848 . The treatment of the sister isle was spoken of in language less loyal

than vehement , and Lord Palmerston and the Irish aristocracy were denounced as none but excited Irishmen can denounce . One of the speakers called on the " Nationalists" to rally round the green flag , and plant it for ever above the red on the highest parapets of Dublin . A resolution , pledging the meeting to wait for au opportunity to redress the " wrongs" of Ireland , was carried by acclamation . —•—

Rumour attributes to Mr . John Brown , the well-known ironplate forger , and the present Mayor of Sheffield , an intention to contest one of the seats for that borough at the next vacancy . His friends have got up a requisition , in which they state that they are taking up the question on " commercial grounds only . " In the course of his annual address to his constituents . at

Tavistock , on Thursday , Sir John Trelawny said that he thought it desirable that the question of church rates should not . be raised again in the present Parliament . He also expressed a wish that the position he bad hitherto taken in the debates upon that subject should be occupied by a younger and more active man . Sir Richard Mayne , moved by statements that

have been published , to the effect that the cost of the City police is not greatly higher than that of the metropolitan force , and that the greater cost such as it is , is compensated by greater security to life and property than in the other districts , has addressed a letter to Sir George Grey controverting both these statements . By calculations which he submits for inspection ,

he endeavours to show first that the cost of each man in the City force is £ 13 5 s . 4 d ., or 21 per cent , higher than in the metropolitan force ; and next , as regards security , that the number of " efficient apprehensions "—those that result in bringing the offenders to trial—were in the City 10 to every 32 crimes ; in the metropolitan districts 10 to every 37 crimes . One prisoner out of every two apprehended in tbe City is discharged by tbe magistrates ; one out of every four in the metro-