The Worshipful Master.

THE WORSHIPFUL MASTER .

W'ORSHIPFUL was a mediaeval title of honour and respect which our forefathers in the Craft justlydeemed appropriate to the presiding Officer of a Masonic Lodge . In Shakespeare we find the term used thus :

" My father desires yoor Worship's company . " This is worshipful society . " The title is not used in Masonry as a term of adoration , bnt of sincere respect and deference . It accords supremacy iu the Lodge .

To leave no doubt of the power of the Lodge ' s chief Officer , he is styled not only Worshipful , but Master . He is a Master of Masters . All are Master Masons , but he is the Master of Masters—their Worshipful Master .

His authority in the Lodge is unquestionable—there he not only has no superior , but no equal . As the orb of day sweeps majestically and beneficently through the sky , the ruler of the material universe , with all the starry hosts of

heaven silently aud willingly doing hia bidding , so the Worshipful Master with equal regularity and wisdom rules and governs his Lodge . And just as above that sun is the sun's Creator—the Lord of all life and being , animate

and inanimate , by whose infinity of wisdom the worlds were made , and in accordance with whose will all are governed ; so above the Worshipful Master is the Right

Worshipful Grand Lodge , with its Right Worshipful Grand Master—the constitutor of his Lodge , and to which alone an appeal from his action lies . The Worshipful Master of a Lodge is infinitely mor e

than the presiding Officer of the Masonic society . There is no Officer in sacred or profane usage that is his equal in privilege , power and honour . As a Master Mason all Freemasons are his peers , but he is the " first among his equals . " Elevated by his fellows , through their exercise of that universal suffrage which embraces every affiliated member of the Craft , when installed in the Master ' s

station his authority in the Lodge none there may question . Notwithstanding such absolute power is accorded Mm , we have never known a case where that power was exercised to serve merely personal ends . Misjudgments , no doubt there have been , but malicious

judgments never . The Brother who feels the weight of responsibility resting upon him , as every Worshipful Master must , has too much heart in his office to permit

his head to go wrong . The most radical Brother on the floor often makes the most conservative Master of a Lodge .

The Worshipful Master has two fields for the exercise of his talents—in the Lodge when at Labour , and in the Banquet Hall when a table Lodge is open , or the brethren are informally gathered to enjoy a feast of creature comforts

and a flow of animal spirits . The ancient Romans had a rex convivii , or an arbiter bibendi , to preside over their banquets , and encourage hilarity or check excess . These officers are rolled into that of a Worshipful Master . At the

banquet table as in the Lodge room he is Master—Master everywhere . And here he is infinitely more than a mere presiding officer . We have many of us been at Civic banquets where , notwithstanding the fact that an eminent and

honoured citizen presided , he was powerless to maintain order . The tables have been mounted , the glasses tossed in the air , each end of each table became a law nnto itself , having each its song and speech and would-be moderator

who had no power to moderate . Such a scene gives an idea of pandemonium . But did you ever behold pandemonium at a Masonic banquet ? Did you ever see the Brother , however full of self will , or of anything else , that

would not obey the sound of the Gavel ? There is no severer test of authority than a hundred or more men , armed with knives , forks , tongues , plates and glasses , and the wherewithal to replenish them and keep them

replenished . And yet the Worshipful Master is as supreme at the Lodge banquet table as in the Lodge-room during the hours of Labour . Chaos is impossible , and if it were , m a moment he could bring order out of chaos .

It is not surprising that brethren should feel a laudable pride in exercising the authority of Worshipful Master , and a laudable desire to reach his honourable station . He

occupies the chair of King Solomon . Since his time a succession of worthies , in the State , the church , the learned professions , and all of the reputable vocations of life , have hlled that chair . A Washington and Marshall have graced it m Virginia , a Franklin in Pennsylyauia , and besides

The Worshipful Master.

these , a host of others of world-wide renown , while abroad kings and princes have esteemed it an honour to be addressed as Worshipful Master . For this , as well as for many other reasons , let us maintain our devotion to our

ancient and honourable Fraternity , and our respect for the Worshipfal Masters who preside over the individual Lodges . King Solomon is dead , but his representative in the Masonic Lodge never dies . King Solomon , all hail!—Keystone .

On the kind invitation of Bro . Augustus Harris ( the spirited Lessee of our National Theatre ) , the pupils of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , accompanied by the

head-master , the teachers , aud several members of the House Committee , were present at Drury Lane Theatre , on Monday afternoon , to enjoy the performance of the Pantomime . By the kindness of the Earl of Londesborough the

boys were supplied with cake , fruit , & c . Bro . Harris celebrated the 100 th representation of " Puss in Boots " on Saturday last , when a handsome souvenir of the event was presented to each of his patrons .

Major George Lambert , F . S . A ., Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths' Company , Bro . H . Tickle , C . C . ( Bon Accord ) , Lt .-Col . Perry Godfrey ( J . W . Alliance ) , and Sir Francis

Burdett , took part in the induction of Admiral R . Mayne , M . P ., C . B ., and Bro . Henry Wright ( Alliance Lodge ) , as members of the Order of the Secret Monitor , at the Holborn Restaurant , on Monday , the 20 th ult . Alderman Sir Robert N . Fowler , Bart ., is also a member of the Order .

NEWSPAPER STATISTICS . —From The Newipaper Press Directory for 1888 we extract the following , on the present position of the Newspaper Press : — " There are now published iu the fJuiced Kingdom 2 , 177 Newfl . papers , distributed as follows : —

England—London 454 Provinces 1 , 273—1 , 727 Wales 82 Scotland 189 Ireland 158 Isles 21 Of these there

are—136 Daily Papers published in England 6 Ditto Wales 21 Ditto Scotland 16 Ditto Ireland 1 Ditto British Isles

On reference to the first edition of this useful Directory , for the year 1846 , we find the following interesting facts—viz ., that in that year there were published in the United Kingdom 551 Journals ; of theso 14 were issued daily—viz ., 12 in England and 2 in Ireland ; but in 1888 there are now established and circulated 2 , 177 papers , of

which no less than 180 are issued daily , showing that the press of the country has nearly quadrupled during the last forty-two years . The increase in Daily Papers has been still more remarkable ; the daily issues standing 180 against 14 in 1846 . The Magazines now in

course of publication , including the Quarterly Eeviews , number 1 , 508 , of which 399 are of a decidedly religious character , representing the Church of England , Wesleyans , Methodists , Baptists , Independents , Eoman Catholics , and other Christian Communities . "

A Lien WORK . —Freemasonry is a > life work . From the moment the entered apprentice receives his first instruction concerning the erection of his Masonic edifice ! he is to be engaged in Master-building till his life here ceases . He is not to labour for a few years in the quarries , or in the middle chamber , or in the sanotum sanctorum ,

but is to work nntil the capstone is laid , and all the ornaments of the temple he ia erecting are finished and fixed . The rough ashlar must be finished as a perfect one ere he can rest . How many Craftsmen forget this , and lay aside their working tools ere their labour is half completed ? How many weary in well-doing and law

by the way ? How many fail to attain the crown because not faithful until death ? All need to be often reminded of the great need of perseverance unto the end , as their work must be perfect to pass the test of the unerring square and be awarded a place in the eternal temple .

MASONRY AND WOMAN . —The Mason's wife , mother , sister and daughter , are specially sacred in the eyes of tho brotherhood . No libertine , no jester at woman ' s virtue , can be a true Mason . The neophyte is taught to hate and shun blasphemy , obscenity , drunken , ness and licentionsness , as he would some deadly thing ; to keep out

all coarse and impuro thoughts from the mind , as he would spiders and cobwebs from his bed-room . There are bad Maiions , as there are bad members in the church , but what we insist on , as one of the chief excellencies of the Order , is the way it upholds woman , guards her purity , glories in her society , and when falsely accused , or iu trouble , comet to her rescue , if within our power .

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FUNERALS properly carried out and personally attended in London and Country , by Bro . G . A . SUTTON , 17 Newcastle i btreol , btrand , W . U . Monuments © routed . Valuations made ,