Norfolk.

restored to good health , and enabled once more to exercise his valuable functions . At four o ' clock the Provincial Grand Master , the Grand Officers , and a numerous company of Brethren , clothed in the

insignia of the Order , attended a special service at the Cathedral . The principal members of the Craft assembled in the choristers' room , and passed in procession to the seats allotted them , in the choir , to the strains of " The War March of the Priests , " from Mendelssohn ' s ' * Athalie . "

The service commenced with the singing of the first verse of the National' Anthem . Minor Canon Breffit intoned the prayers , and the Psalms for the day were chanted to music by the late Minor Canons Bulmer and Foster . Archdeacon Crosse read the lessons , and the Magnificat ) and Nunc

Dimittis were sung to Professor Prout ' s effective setting in the key of D . The anthem was " God , who commanded the light " by Dr . E . j . Hopkins . The quartet , " He loveth

righteousness and judgment , " was very sweetly interpreted by Master Hollis and Brothers C . L . Holden , H . J . Brookes , and J . H- Brockbank , while the full sections were admirably rendered .

The Rev . Percy de Putron , curate of Sandringham with West Newton , and Provincial Grand Chaplain , preached the sermon , taking for his text St . Mark xiii 1 : " As He went out of the temple , one of His disciples saith unto Him , Master , see what manner of stones and what buildings are here . "

After contrasting at some length the evidences of the real faith in the Divine Master with those that characterised mere outward show , the preacher went on to observe that there was no body of men in England who had done more to keep the true faith alive than the Freemasons . The members

of the Craft of Freemasonry lived by rule of faith in the love and fear of God . Without pride or boasting they had striven to carry on God's work with love and kindness . They had striven to build up an ever-living temple—a temple of Christian love and charity , in which no thoughts of bitterness

dwelt . The charities of the Freemasons of England had won great commendation and praise in the past ; they would command greater praise and commendation in the future if the men of the present and those who should come after remembered the reason of their existence , and carried on the

work which they had inherited from their ancestors . Only two years ago over £ 140 , 000 was collected in one building in London in one night for the Charities of Freemasons . That day they were asked to help towards the restoration of the cloisters of the Cathedral in which they were assembled . As

they left the Cathedral that day they would see what manner of stones and buildings were these—stones and buildings that were there by reason of a living faith in the days gone by . Let them take care that those stones remained with greater strength by reason of the faith which lived in their hearts to-day .

During the singing of the hymn , " Lift the strain of high thanksgiving , " to the good old tune , " Austria , " a collection was made on behalf of the Cloister Reparation Fund . Mr . A . J . Robertson ( Dr . Bates ' s assistant ) presided at the organ with ability , and played Dubois' " Fiat Lux" as the out voluntary .

The usual banquet was held m the evening , at the rooms of the Masonic Club . The Prov . Grand Master occupied the chair , and was faced by Bro . R . F . E . Ferrier and Bro . W . H . Jones in the Warden ' s positions .

Honour having been done to the formal loyal toasts , Bro . W . P . Eversley gave the health of Bro . Hamon le Strange , gracefully alluding to the geniality , tact , and kindness invariably displayed by the Prov . G . M .

The toast was enthusiastically drunk , and Bro . Hamon le Strange , after responding in happy terms , went on to submit the D . P . G . M . Bro . Sir Francis Boileau , and the Officers Present and Past of the Provincial Grand Lodge . He paid a high tribute to the valuable work of his esteemed Deputy ,

and referred to the difficulties which attended the task of bestowing honours upon the deserving Brethren in the Province . He trusted that those who had not been appointed to the more coveted positions would not consider their merits

were unappreciated . Necessarily all could not be equally high in the scale of hierarchy , but he hoped all upon whom Provincial rank had been bestowed would consider the offer made them as a compliment . Bros . R . F . E . Ferrier and Dr . Offord were the replicants . With the toast of the visitors the name of Brothel- F . Butcher J . D . of the Cumberland Lodge , No . 41 , was associ-

Norfolk.

ated , and this Brother warmly thanked the company for the honour done him . Bro . C . A . Bathurst Bignold submitted the Worshipful Masters of the Lodges in the Province , for which Bros . G . A . Harrison W . M . 85 , and W . H . Jones W . M . 1808 made suitable answers .

At the call of the Prov . G . M . the Masonic Chanties met with a cordial reception , the names of Bros . W . Buckenham and A . F . Hardyment being coupled therewith . The latter said though closely associated with two Lodges in London ,

his first love was for his mother Lodge , Walpole . At any time he would be delighted to act as Steward for the Norfolk Province and act as representative at the meetings of the Charities ; moreover , given adequate time , he would see that his last list— £ 115—was more than doubled .

With the Tyler's toast a very enjoyable evening was broueht to a close . Under the direction of Bro . J . H . Brockbank a capital

programme of vocal pieces was submitted , the contributors being Bros . Brockbank , Brookes , and Bocking , while Bro . C . Payne gave as a recitation Tennyson ' s immortal poem , " The Charge of the Light Brigade . "

The catering of Bro . G . Pritty was of the usual excellent order , and regret was generally expressed that the Brethren are soon to lose the services of so exemplary a steward .

A hint might be taken from the following resolution of a colonial Grand Lodge : " That a Committee for examination of Master-elect be appointed at the annual

Communication of the Grand Lodge ; and that hereafter no Brother shall be installed Master of a Lodge unless he is qualified to confer the three degrees of Freemasonry . "

Masonry is a living rebuke to atheism , agnosticism and infidelity . It offers the largest religious liberty ; it encourages the widest thought and research ; it requires reflection and investigation , while it inspires man with the very highest motive of human action . —E . W . Pou , North Carolina .

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