Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We dn not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor res-pendents . All Letter * must hear the name and address of th » Writer , not necessarily for 'publication , but as a guarantee of tiood faith . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CnuoxrcLE . DEAR Sin AND BROTHER , —In the Official Cdendar of the Craft , issii ' d by tho Gruid Lodge for the present venr , I au tin find the following , recorded amongst the " Remarkable O .-enrrences in Masonry ;" " Bro William Preston of the Lnd . ro of Antiquity nnfchor of the

THE PRESTONIAN LECTURE .

, illustrations of Masonry , bonne . th * d amongst , ndor Masonic gifts £ 500 Consols to the Fund of B -ner olen OP , and £ 300 Consols for the Prestonian Lecture . " For some years these lectures were regularly delivered in the different degrees , and were very intently listened to , the last time I believe the lecMiro was delivered by Bro . Henry

George Warren of tho Ph ceruse Lodge , No . 178 . nnd some other Lodges , bnt that was many years ago , and since then nothing has been heard of it . I think , therefore , it would he interesting to t-ie Craft in general , and to old Masons in particular , to know hnw ir . is that this legacy to posterity , . riven by so distinguished a brother , has

been allowed to lapse , and further , as the £ -. 30 Consols must in the pa . t years have accumulated a large amonnt . of interest , what has hp . enme of it , by whom is it received , and to what purpose , if any , it is applied . I certainly am of opinion that sorri ^ explanation ou-ht . fco be given bv whoever is able to supply it , as tn the reason why the

lecture is not now . riven , and who ar * the recipients of the interest , accruing upon the S'eck invested for the purpose . I am not . aware whether payment was ever marie to those brethren bv whom the

lecture was delivered , most assuredly I eel certain that . Bro . Warren wonld have felt insulted if payment , had been offered to him for snch a service , nnd that being , so s me information ought to be afforded how and to whafc purpose the interest of tho money is applied .

I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours truly and fraternally , 1 st February 1886 . P . M ,

Appeal For Employment.

APPEAL FOR EMPLOYMENT .

To the Editor of the FIIF . KMASON ' CHUONICLE . DKAI . SIR AND BBOTHKR , — Might I kindly solicit your aid in appealing , through the column' ! of your paper , to snch of the Brethren as are employers of labour , with the view of possibly obtaining some kind of employment quickly . I am now in very straitened

circumstances , and to mnko matters worse my wife is near her confinement . I would not mind in tho least how subordinate the position , or even if it should he a temporary one , if only I could uncceed in obtaining something to do quickly—to tide over my present difficulties . If yon can , fc ' nronsh the medium of the Chronicle , assist me in any way to gratify this wish , believe me I shall be extremely thankful .

Your faithfully and fraternally , P . D . [) Ferrier Street , York Eoad , Wandsworth .

Who Is Responsible ?

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE ?

To the Editor of the FREE . VASON ' C-. RO _ .-C . J-E . Dj-AU SIR AND BROTHER , —As a frequent attendant , at Masonic meetings , I shonld liko to ;> sk you who is responsible for the hats , coats , and umbrellas which are deposited by brethren during thp holding of a meeting ? There is usually some qnalified per . on

" somewhere about , " who . e duty it is to take caro of these articles ; but I , and doubtless many others , have nn unfortunate experience of the manner in which they perform their duties . They are no doubt called away to attend toother matters , and iu their absence there is no knowing what may happen . I do nofc say that brethren

wilfully upset the ord . r in which things have b = en left , or thafc the good intentions of those who re-arralitre the different articles , " so as to put them all on view , " is capable of a cliff -rent constrnetoin . but , I do object , to find everything moved from the place in which it was left , c-p . eiullv when it does not " come right iu the end . "

Some rnrnths since I wns present , at . a meeting whore * 'dnring our temporary absence " everything had boon upset by a brother , as I was told , who had mislaid his . apron case ) , I lost , my umbrella on that occasion , nnd although it lias since been restored to me , I do not think that lessens tlio evil of which I complain . Some weeks

after the loss of my umbrella my hat camo fc . grief—the second t , im _ * during my Masonic experi nee—arid ifc was only after a long search that I was enabled to discover my property . The hats hnd gone wrong on this occasion , sn I heard ifc s .-. id , a-n fcho result—would you believe it ?—of a brother ' s idea of a joke being to mis up the head

gear of the brethren at the banquet . Tin ' s accusation of practical joking was made in the presence of the brother implicated , and ns he made no attempt to contradict tho statement , it was I suppose

correal . I WHS within an easy distance of home on this latter occasion , and so did not lose anything beyond my time and temper in searching for my property , bnt who would have been responsible had it been otherwise ? Yours fraternally , AN ANTI-JOKI _ E .

The Theatres, &C.

THE THEATRES , & c .

TTaymarket . *— " A Woman of the World " is the title of a three act comedy hy Mv . B . C . Stephenson ( . inthor of " Impulse" ) , that was pips-mted to the public here , on Thurslay afternoon , the 4 'h instnn * . Although receive I bv those present with every sign of encouragement , we fear the same result will not be achieved if the

piece is submitted to the test of being placed in fche evening bill . Undoubtedly , the work contains some clever dialogue , some humoronslv drawn characters , and some amusing incidents , yet it does nofc contain sufficient ; novelty , nor will it evoke sympathetic interest enough to seenrn the favour of the general public . "A Woman

of the World " is fonn ' ed on tho German play " Der Probepfeil , " by O ^ car B'nmenthal , but , Mr . Stephenson will scarcely be reooup- 'd for thp pains he has taken in i's adaptation . A widow— " the woman of tho world " —has made np her mind to marry a certain Sir Godfrey Chalmers , a youthful guardsman , he at tho samo time haying become

infatuated with her . But—the old story—all goes not smoothly ; Godfrey ' s uncle , Dudley Cha ' mers , has set , his heart on a match between his nephew and Beatrice Norton , the daughter of a friend . This young lady , who is nin -J eal , is attracted by a German adventurer , named Slowitz , who d . i-os to secure her hand ou account of her reputed

wealth . A Mtv . Mandeville , to further ends of her own , encourages and assists this scoundrel in h ' s desiq-n ; bufc in the end Slowitz is proved to be nn impostor , by Dudley Chalmers , who opens the eyes of Beatrice and Godfrey to the true state of their hearts . The construction , however , ? s clumsy . Afc th > opening of the piece

everybody can see how it will end , and bufc little sympathy is shown when tho happy termination is brought about . With regard to tho artistes engaged , first hononrs must be given to Mr . Beerbohm Tree , whose humorous caricature of a foreign musical impostor wa * a « rand piece of acting , which is well worth

seeing a second time . Mr . Tree was well supported by Mr . Charles BrookfieVl , as Dudley Chalmers ; a man whose surliness overlies sound common sense , confirmed by experience . Mr . TT . Kemble gave a canital piece of character acting as Mr . Norton , while Mr . Gilbert Farqnhar , as the old-fashioned dandy , Percy Bnddington , acquitted

himself well . Mr . Arthur El wood was earnest as Sir Godfrey Chalmers . Miss Helen Barry ' s style hardly enabled her to do justice to the part of Mis . Manderville , notwithstanding that she acted with plenty of " go . " Miss Helen Forsyth was delig htful as Beatrice ; her ingenuous charm and freshness winning for her the appreciation of

the audience . Tho ofcher parts were fairly filled ; Mr . F . Gerard ( Mr . Lindley Smart ) , Mr . TJ . Winter ( Mr . Alfred Muffl . ton ) , Mr . Arthur Darwin ( Mr . Washington Mivnrts ) , Mr . Ulick Winter ( Melton ) , Mr . West ( Bibury ) , Miss Maud Merrill ( Miss Gushman ) , Miss Gertrude

Tempest ( Miss Martingale ) , Miss Steele ( Mrs . Templeton ) , Mi ss Tempest ( Panlino ) . Special praise must be awarded to Mr . Edward Hastings for the excellent way in which he " stage-managed " fche piece .

Vaudeville . —We are not surprised thafc Mr . Derrick's comedy " Plebeians , " which was produced here on the 13 th all ; ., shonld have proved nnsuited to the public taste , or that it shonld have been with . Irawn after a short rnn . As wo said , in noticing its production , there wns nothing in the piece to win for ifc anything like success , and tha

action of the management in withdrawing ifc has proved the correctness of our verdict . Ib has been replaced by "Confusion , " an eccentric comedy by tho same author , which has already achieved a reputation , —it having b- ~ en represented moro than four hundred an I fifty times previous to its present revival . " Confusion" is well worth

seeing , and will no donbfc provo successful for some time to come . Most of tho characters are filled by the same artistes w ' 'o portrayed them dnring its former run , while those who are new give valuable assistance . Miss Kate Rorke plays tho part ; of the misunderstood wife with thafc grace and skill that has always made her famous .

Miss Millffct , one of the best eriQcnu ' s wo have on the stage , realises the character of Violet , with pretty effect . Mi-s Larkin and Mt ' ss Kate Phi'Iips did all that was required of them ; while Mr . Glenny , as the perplexed and ninel .-wronged husband portrayed the character

with an earnestness that afc times made us wish we could see him in a m re serious part . Mr . Charles Groves , as Blizzard , appeared to revel in the comical ' ties set down for him ; and last , bub by no means least , Mr . Freder ek Thorne throw an amount of serious woe into his face thafc would have been creditable to Robsou in his palmiest days .

Toole ' S . —The long talked of travestie on " Faust , " by Mr . F . C . Burnand , has been presented to the genaral public , but , so far , with a result ; tbat may he described as disappointing . Why Mr . Toole should havR ventnred to produce so whimsical and clever a piece hr-f * re ifc was fully rehearsed no ono can conceive . The scenery , on

too ambitions a scale for so small a theatre , did nob work properly . This m _ 7 havo be- * n attributable to too much having been attempted in imitation of thnt at , tho Lyceum—in the shape of steam clonds , elect no 'ft ' eebs , and Mop ' -istophelo . n marvels . However , Mr . Toole lias plenty of material to work upon , and wlnn all goes smoothly no

doubt , success will bo achieved . The travestie is full of lively jokes nnd witty puns , but they frequently seem to mis : ; fire . The style in which Mr . Tool . represents M"p ' . iVophelen puts ns iu mind of a pai-. t . mime ; ho u . . . a harlequin ' s wand to perform his tricks . One of tho best , features iu Mio piece u Mr . Toolo ' s excellent imitation of

Mr . toinvs l . et * -r __ ; lie m . me ; o 3 t . tako off the popular tenor much moro si . o __ essfu ! ly than In do-, his friend Irving . Mi .. s Mario Linden , as Margaret , imitates M : '? . __ Helen Terry wonderfully ; sho reproduces the voice a"d gesture of that , popular actress with great ; success . Mr . E . D . Ward is a capital Faust ; his imitiafcions of Mr .

Trving ' s pecul iritie . being very good . Ono of the hits of the piece is Mi-. George Sheltnn ' s impersonation of Margaret ' s mother ( name not known ) , this clever artist ia indeed exceedingly funny . Mr . W . Brunton conld nofc elicit much humour from the part of Constable Valentine , although he laboured assiduously . The music consists chiefly of music hall tunes ati-l en itches from Gounod's opera .