A Table Lodge.

remains open in that degree , and any Entered Apprentice Mason , duly vouched for , may be present . The custom of opening a Table Lodjge in the Entered Apprentice degree is , no doubt , a survival of the formerly universal custom of opening and transacting all of the business of a Lodge in the Entered Apprentice degree .

In the early part of the last century this degree was conferred only in Grand Lodge , at a Quarterly Communication . This regulation limited the number of possible Master Masons . Now the Table Lodge is the only organisation in Freemasonry which perpetuates the rights of Entered Apprentice Masons .

There are many Brethren who have never seen a Table Lodge opened . Nevertheless , we think the genius of Freemasonry requires that whenever the Craft is formally assembled at refreshment such a Lodge should be opened . It ensures under all circumstances the preservation of Fraternal harmony and the

maintenance of good order . It forbids , also , the presence of the profane , who are not entitled to be at a Masonic feast . A Table Lodge is limited to Freemasons , and none others , under any circumstances , may be present . It is known how difficult it is to . exclude eavesdroppers , and even open participants who are not

Masons , at a banquet held in a public place , where a Table Lodge is not opened . The invasive press is always ready to enter . If the press representative is not a Mason , he has no right to be present , any more than any other profane , at a Masonic banquet , and the opening of a Table Lodge certainly excludes him .

A Table Lodge is both opened and closed Masonically . The Officers are aE their stations , the Master wields the gavel , and governs the Brethren in the proper enjoyment of the evening ' s pleasures . At a Table Lodge the Brethren are as much in duty bound to obey the sound of the gavel as if they were in a regular open Lodge .

When a Table Lodge is open no one should leave the table . and retire without asking and receiving permission . This is not merely an act of courtesy , but an obligation of duty . A Lodgea Table Lodge—is regularly open , and the members and visitors are amenable to all the customary Masonic regulations .

The toasts of the Table Lodge are typical and significant . They teach , with all the force of an object lesson , the duty of obedience to the highest Masonic authority—the Grand Lodge and its Grand Officers ; the duty of looking beyond ourselves , and embracing with our fraternal good-will and sympathy our Brethren of all the Lodges throughout the world ; and the further

duty of ever keeping green in our memories the example and virtues of our deceased Brother , George Washington . Thus the three lessons of the Masonic toasts of the Table Lodge are : Obedience to Masonic authority , Brotherly Love for every member of the Craft round the globe , and Bespect for the memory of our Fraternal dead .

In the olden time the opening of a Table Lodge was a custom much honoured in the observance . It dates back to the origin of the Craft in Pennsylvania . Our Grand Masters in their annual addresses have often called attention to it , and its proper observance . Grand Master Milnor did so , in the year 1807 . We

should jealously maintain the old usages and customs of the Craft . One of these is the Table Lodge . It is characteristic of Freemasonry . Freemasons do not partake of a collation merely to satisfy their physical craving for food , but to introduce and

lead up to those peculiar Masonic ' observances which distinguish and glorify the Craft . A Table Lodge is at once a Craft privilege and a Craft pleasure , and whenever the Brethren are formally at refreshment it is fitting that a Table Lodge be opened . — " Keystone . "

Entertainment Notes.

Entertainment Notes .

Drury Lane . —It is a great wonder that no English playwright has not long ere this adapted Theophile Gautier ' s charming romance , " Le Capitain Eracasse , " which deals with the struggles of the play actors of the seventeenth century , the most romantic period of French history . A drama founded on the story achieved a great success in Paris some twenty years or more ago ; and it has been left for Mr . Edward "Vroom to introduce it ' on the English stage . Unfortunately Mr . Vroom has interpolated extraneous

incidents in such a manner as to cause the hero to become a reflection of the " Three Musketeers . " However , in " Marsac of Gascony , " as Mr . Vroom terms his adaptation , we have a highly interesting and exciting drama , and as it is magnificently costumed and staged by Mr . Arthur Collins , there appears to be no reason why it should not attain success . There is somewhat too much of the demigod in Mr . A room ' s Adrian Marsac , with his marvellous fights and hair-breadth escapes , but he pourtrays the part with remarkable energy , and makes a very pleasant picture on the stage . Messrs . W . Devereux , J . A .

Hosier and Charles Fulton admirably represent the malign influences of the piece , and Mr . Julian Cross is a dignified and pathetic Due de Beaufort . Miss Eva Moore imparts the charm of beauty to the persecuted Louise , and clever character sketches are given by Mr . Edward O'Neill as Cardaize , a swashbuckler , and Mr . Hubert Druce , as Pontalais . Others who call for notice are Miss E . Concanen as i erapbine , Mr . Fred Emnpy as a dandy Marquis , and Mr . Fuller Mellish as Armand Durcc . The beautiful scenery by Messrs . Bruce Smith , W . Johnston and others , merits special commend-

Entertainment Notes.

ation , the old Chateaux interiors , the Courtyard of "Le Cheval de Bronze , " and , above all , the Pone NeuE ah night , with the solid equestrian statue of Henry IV ., eliciting the high appreciation of the audience . Matinees of the play are given on Wednesdays and Saturdays .

WITH the enterprise which invariably characterises it , the Midland Railway Company ba 3 just introduced on its Scotch expresses sleeping carriages of a new design , which should certainly enhance the comfort of the travelling public . The cars , which are some sixty feet in length , and travel with great smoothness on the two six wheeled bogies which support them , have been constructed in America by the Pullman Company , and put together

by their representatives at Derby . In contour they accord with the Midland rolling stock , and in point of external decoration the uniformity of tho train is also secured . But the interior of the " sleepers " presents many special features , not the least important of which is the entire abolition of top berths , and the allocation of the commodious vehicle to the use of no more than eleven persons . Provision is also made for private compartments , capable of ht

holding one or two persons . Smoking saloon , lavatory , and a buffet for lig refreshments form part of the accommodation of each car , to which covered entrances , so desirable for the prevention of draught , are provided at each end . The new carriages , which run on the trains leaving St . Pancras at 9-15 p . m . and 10 p . m ., Glasgow at 930 p m ., and Edinburgh at 10 p . m ., mark a substantial advance upon previous efforts to meet the convenience of night travellers to and from the North .

THE London and North Western Bailway Company have ] U 3 t brought out a new van for the carriage of cycles . It is Hit 6 in in length , and has a breadth of 7 ft 8 in . It has carrying capacity for 44 cycles , and by an ingenious system of extending arms which shcot out from hinged plates at the sides , and which are intended to hold the cycles in position , ample space

is allowed for carriage of personal luggage between tho machines . These vans are practically intended for the carriage of cycles , but if there is an insufficiency , then other luggage may be stowed away without injury to the machines . The system , which is the invention of one of the Company ' s guards , is very ingenious .

IN connection with the important Annual Show of the Boyal Agricultural Society , to be held at York from 16 th to 22 nd June , the Great Northern Railway Company are making special arrangements for the working of through vehicles with live stock and . other exhibits . Information with regard

to rate ? , train service , & c , can be obtained on application to any of the Company ' s agents , or at King ' s Cross Station , London . Through fast trains with exhibits will be run to York from Great Northern Stations , Southern Lines , and other parts of the kingdom , in connection with the Great Northern Railway .

ON Thursday of last week , a new Belle steamer , constructed for the Coast Development Company Limited , was launched from the shipyard of Messrs . William Denny and Brothers , of Dumbarton . The vessel , which is named the Southwold Belle , is expected to be brought round from the Clyde early in June .

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