Masonic Literature.

the person of a true Masonic student we find a rarity and a joy that is ever to be appreciated •, and the companionship of such men is to be coveted , and held in high esteem . Yet in truth these possessions of the depths of Masonic

learning are placed within the easy reach ot eacn ana au of us if we would only embrace and make good use oi them . Masonic writers have collected for us facts and information , enriched -with purest gems of thought and theorv . and have handed them down as heirlooms for our

common use and benefit . Ours is the fault if the fragrance of such exertions is wasted on the desert air . By the side of these standard works of literary art _ are the magazines , periodicals and newspapers of the day , in which are recorded the events that surround us , the movements

of our every-day Masonic life . These , if the truth must be unfortunately told , are too often cast aside and disregarded , to the loss only of those-who have no soul for more light , no appetite or digestion for more than the mere commonplace fare of oral rote . We are conscious that all we can

say or do will tend little to alter this sense of indifference , and our object will be accomplished if we can only awaken some to a sense of their own loss by continued apathy in the matter of Masonic reading and instruction . Some are

prone to argue that too much is already made of the doings of tbe Craft , that its meetings , its charities , and its deeds of beneficence are paraded too freely before the " outer world . " The day is past for such a fallacy , and so long as Masonic writings are in the hands of discreet and honourable men there need be no fear of any danger to the

well-being of the Craft . Referring again to America , we see there how prolific are the emanations from the Masonic press , and yet how studiously discriminating and honest .

If we Englishmen would only relax in our individuality , and our seclusion , which often borders on the selfish and the isolate , we should figure more prominently in the cosmopolitan arena , and still wear the badge triumphantly of Semper Jidelis upon our escutcheon . In such an Institution , whose members are scattered over the whole of the

habitable globe , interchange of thought and opinion , is a priceless and essential gift , and this is supplied only in its fullest sense by the matter which emanates from the public press . By its means brethren resident in distant climes are brought in near affinity of mental intercourse ,

and the common atmosphere which Masons breathe is pervaded with the sounds of universal harmony . They are kept mi courant witb the operations which concern the whole

body of which they are the members , and by this means there is ever a deepening , widening and nnintermittent flow of sympathy and reciprocity kindled amongst the various sections into which the Order is necessarily

divided . Thus it is our pleasnre as well as our duty to form part of that system which encircles the brethren

everywhere with the means of mental intercourse , and if possible to contribute in some little degree to the enlightenment ' of all those subjects , in which we take a deep and identical interest .

Installation Of Lord Brooke, M.P. As Prov. G. Master Of Essex.

INSTALLATION OF LORD BROOKE , M . P . AS PROV . G . MASTER OF ESSEX .

EKIDAY last was a gala day in the good town of Colchester , in all respects save one . The Clerk of the Weather , though he invariably smiles on our good Queen when she engages in some public function , did not , for reasons of his own , show the same favour to her vonno-pqf

son , the Duke of Albany , and if we cannot say with truth that the rains descended and the floods came , we cannot describe the weather as having been otherwise than most unpropitious . As far as the particular object of the Duke ' s visit , this , perhaps , did not make any great difference . His

duty was essentially of a private character , and one from which the curious eyes of the general public were necessarily excluded . Masonic work does not , save in certain eases , come under the notice of the public , and except for the discomfort it inflicts on those who take part in it the

weather can neither make nor mar the success of a Masonic festival . That the good people of Colchester full y appreciated the visit of our Royal brother , even though it was for

a private purpose , may be gathered from the interest they manifested , and doubtless but for His Royal Highness ' s wish that no especial display should be made on the occasion , there would have been more of that outward show

Installation Of Lord Brooke, M.P. As Prov. G. Master Of Essex.

which is always associated with a royal visit . In this particular the natives—by which we do not mean the oysters for which Colchester is famous , but its worthy inhabitants —respected the Duke's desire for comparative privacy , and a few appropriate decorations at the principal public

buildings , a guard of honour , and a sort of semi-official welcome from the municipality , were the only outward and visible signs that anything of an unusual character was being celebrated on the day in question . It is , of course , impossible to describe the proceedings

without some reference to a similar event which took place less than three years since , when Lord Tenterden , the predecessor of Lord Brooke in the Grand Mastership of this Province , was installed into office by the Deputy Grand Master of England . Lord Tonterdeu was a man in the

very prime of life , and apparently in full health and strength , when His Royal Hig hness the Grand Master designated him for the position of chief of the Essex brethren , and in the nature of things there might have been anticipated for him a long career of usefulness in that

capacity . An All-wise Providence , however , decreed it otherwise , and in little more than two years from his installation Lord Tenterden was gathered to his fathers , to the great regret not only of the Province he had ruled so wisely , but of the whole Craft throughout the length and

breadth of all England . It seems but the other day that we personally assisted at the last Provincial Grand Lodge over which his Lordship presided , Chingford being the locality in which , and Chigwell Lodge , No . 453 , the Lodge under whose banner , the meeting was held . In a few weeks

he died , and on Friday last his successor was inducted into office . But the Province had grown in the interval between its late chief ' s appointment and death , and Lord

Brooke was as just as he was generous when he paid a graceful tribute to his memory and expressed a certain feeling of diffidence in succeeding one who had laboured so zealously for the interests of the Craft .

Nor was he the less just in his estimate of the important interests entrusted to his care , or less generous when he expressed himself well assured of the hearty co-operation of the brethren he had been called to rule over . It was , perhaps , a slight exaggeration on his part when he

described Essex as a large as well as an important Province . Important it is no doubt , but , speaking numerically , we should hesitate to call a Province with only twenty

Lodges a large one . However , in zeal and the excellence of its material it will compare favourably with other Provinces , and in this sense no doubt Lord Brooke ' s epithet of " large " may be considered justifiable .

As to the meeting itself , it was held in the Lecture Room of the Soldiers' Home , and Lodge having been opened , and the Duke of Albany having explained the purpose for which it was held , a deputation of seven P . Provincial Grand Wardens ushered in the Provincial Grand

Master designate , and his patent having been read , - 'his lordship was very ably and impressively installed by His Royal Highness . Lord Brooke ' s first official act was his appointment and investiture of Bro . Philbrick , Q . C ., P . G . D ., who had held the same office under Lord

Tenterden , as Deputy Provincial Grand Master ; and Brother A . Durrant having been re-elected Prov . Grand Treasurer , the following brethren who had been appointed Provincial Grand Officers last autumn were re-appointed and invested with the insignia of their respective offices , namely : —

Bro . Alfred Bnck I . P . M . 453 P . G . Senior Warden B . B . Florence P . M . 214 . P . G . Junior Warden Rev . Julias H . Rowley 1343 P . G . Chaplain Andrew Durrant P . M . 276 P . G . Treasurer J . F . Barrett P . M . 1000 P . G . Registrar T . J . Railing P . M . and Secretary 51 P . G . Seoretary H . E . Dehane W . M . 1543 P . G . Senior Deacon A . J . Manning P . M 1437 P . G . Junior Deacon P . 0 . Smith P . M . 1457 P . G . Supt . of Works A . Lacking P . M . 160 P . G . D . C . C . Hempson W . M . 1799 P . G . A . D . O .

Henry Bowlea Organisb 276 P . G . Organist J . M . Farr P . M . 1817 P . G . Sword Bearer D . J . Wright I . P . M . 1024 P . G . Pursuivant T . S . Sarel 276 P . G . Tyler W . Sowman W . M . 51 ^ R . Clowes W . M . 650 B . Shedd I . P . M . 276 yP . G . Stewards T . G . Mills W . M . 697 Arthur Mead S . W . 276 J The Bye-laws at present in use in the Province having been duly confirmed , a resolution of thanks to the Dake of Albany for his kind services on the occasion , was , on the