Masonic Portraits. (No. 50.)

has earned no end of laurels as a Mason . He has been a Craftsman well-nigh forty years , and has borne more than his share of labour , too . We must look upon him as " A Veteran , " but AVO must not lose sight of the fact that he is a veteran who is still on active service . He has laid aside

some of the cares and responsibilities of his eminent position ; that is , he has resigned ono of his many important commands , but he retains tho others , and is still as zealous and able in the discharge of his duties as at any previous part of his career . He is a man of singular

modesty , who would far rather work all three Degrees in succession than say three words about himself . Still those who arc best acquainted with him know well that he has lost none of his ancient skill and power ; that he still possesses a magnificent wealth of energy , toned down , of course , by

tho experience of a long career and the wisdom of mature ago ; and that , were the necessity to arise , he is still fit and ready to renew his past , and again bear the same burdens he

has once already borne so well . But to unfold the plain unvarnished tale of his career ; and let tho newly-initiated aspirant for Masonic honours take heed to it , and try and follow in his footsteps .

We have said it is well nigh forty years since he was received into tho bosom of Masonry , in the St . John ' s Lodge , now No . 279 , Leicester . At that time the condition of the Craft in this Province was tho reverse of flourishing . Tho Locige at Hinckley , one of the ancient or Athole

Lodges , whose warrant had been transferred at the earl y part of this century from Macclesfield , was a burden to the Society ; that is , its members received far more from the Fund of Benevolence than they contributed to it ; while in the St . John ' s Lodge , it sometimes happened that the Tyler

had be to within the Lodge in order that it might be opened , and , at other times , it could not be opened at all . These , with two other Lodges since defunct , were tho only Lodges in the Province at the time we speak of , that is , towards the close of tho year 1838 . Indeed , " A Veteran " has himself

placed it on record , in order to show how little efficiency was regarded in our Lodges , that among his earliest Masonic recollections is that of having been invited to stand by the side of the S . W . —who was the W . M . elect—to prompt him in opening the Lodge , while another and senior

member stood by the retiring W . M . for the same purpose . No brother resident in the county was equal to performing the ceremony of installation , and in the absence of

the late Bro . Sir P . G . Powke , Lord Rancliffe ' s Deputy , Bro . Lawrence Thompson , of London , was engaged to perform it : it was , indeed , by the last mentioned Brother that "A Veteran" was installed on the 27 th December

1841 . During his year of office lie was fortunate in having plenty of work thrown on his hands . There were no less than fourteen candidates who presented themselves for initiation , and one brother joined , while the Lodge met close upon twenty-three times . However , under his

auspices , aud those of others , the aspect of things was soon changed ; for we find him installing his successor in office on 27 th December 1842 , and within a further period of eighteen months he presided in Grancl Locige in the absence of the superior officers , and installed the W . M . elect of the

Rancliffe Lodge , Loughborough , now extinct . On 11 th May 184 G , the Provincial Grand Lodge held a meeting for the purpose of consecrating a new Lodge in Leicester , the John o'Gaunt , then No . 76 G , now No . 523 ; and " A Veteran , " who was one of the founders , was installed as the first W . M .

And it is worthy of remark that this Warrant of Constitution which was granted to " A Veteran , " ancl , among other brethren , the late Earl Howe , was signed by "Zetland G . M . " and " Howe D . G . M . " On the 23 rd June 1848 , he was presented with a very handsome Past Master's jewel in

recognition of '" his valuable services as first Master of the Lodge , " an honour which , in those days , when presentations were less frequently made , and therefore more honourable , must be very highly regarded . In 1851 , he acted as one of the Provincial Grand Wardens at the

installation of the late Sir P . G . Powke , Bart ., who succeeded Lord Rancliffe in the Grand Mastership of the Province . Subsequently he was one of two Commissioners appointed to inquire into the irregular proceedings of the Hinckley Locige . In 1859 he was one of the founders of

the Ferrers and Ivanhoe Lodge , now No . 779 ; in 18 G 4 , of the Howe ancl Charnwood Locige , No . 1007 . Loughborough ; in 18 G 5 , of tho Rutland Lodge , No . 1130 ' , Melton Mowbray ; in 18 G 9 , of the Vale of Catinos Locige , No . 1265 , Oakham ; while in 1870 he was founder and first W . M . of the St , Peters' Lodge , No . 1330 , Thus of the ten Lodges

Masonic Portraits. (No. 50.)

now existing in this Province , of which only two wero existent at the time of his initiation , our worth y brother is one of tho founders of six , and in tho case of two of them , the first Master in addition . Of the esteem in which he is hold in his mother Lodgo but little need

bo said . Ho rose , as wo havo stated , to be its Master within three years from his initiation , ancl some timo afterwards a P . M . ' s jewel was presented to him ; but it was well nigh impossible to conceive of a greater compliment being paid to any brother , at least nnder the

circumstances , than was paid to " A Veteran" in December 18 G 7 . Owing to a variety of causes , the St . John ' s Lodge had fallen into a languishing state , and onr brother , at the urgent request of tho members , accepted tho Mastership a second time . Ho was re-elected the year following , and

during the latter period , no less than eighteen persons wero initiated . At the close of the second year , tho brethren , greatly to his surprise , presented him with a very handsome and costly timepiece and a fino pair of bronzes , together with a beautifully-illuminated address on vellum and framed .

So far we have merely referred to our brother s services in connection with the government and foundation of the subordinate Lodges in the Province . We will now proceed to enumerate the several Provincial honours which have been accorded him , ancl his

labours as a Provincial Officer . In 1841 , the year of his elevation to the chair of the St . John ' s Lodge , he was Grand Junior Deacon ; in 1842 , Grand Senior Deacon , and the year following Grand Junior Warden . During his tenure of the last named office , it became the duty of

"A Veteran , " in the absence of the P . G . M ., who arrived just when the P . G . L . was closed , and the D . P . G . M ., who was obliged to leave immediately it was opened , to preside as acting P . G . M ., and in this capacity he , as we have already stated , installed the W . M . elect of the Rancliffe Lodge .

In 1846 , he served the office of P . G . S . Warden , and in 1854 , on the enforced retirement through ill health , after nineteen years' service , of Bro . W . Cooke , he was appointed P . G . Secretary . As early as 1852 , our respected brother received a patent of appointment as D . Prov . G . Master ,

and in that year he assisted at the Masonic inauguration in Leicester of a statue of the " good " Duke of Rutland ; bnt it was not till the year 185 G , when the Prov . Grand Master Sir P . G . Fowke ' s health failed him , that he received his appointment , with full powers to act as Deputy . It was

not for long , however , that he acted in this capacity for this G . M ., for within three months Sir Frederick died , and the patent became , ipso facto , void . However , Earl Howe , who was the new P . G . Master , appointed " A Veteran , " by patent dated 14 th October of the same year , to be his

Deputy , and at his Lordship's installation the subject of this Portrait presided , and had the honour of installing him . During the whole of Lord Howe ' s Grand Mastership of tho Province—a period of over thirteen years—our worthy brother was his zealous and faithful Deputy , and presided

on all occasions in his Lordship ' s absence , thus strengthening and confirming that title to the love and respect of the Province which he had so quickly succeeded in winning . In 1857 , he was in the chair of the P . G . L . when new Bye-laws were adopted . The next year ho

occupied the same position for the purpose of working the lectures , while in 1859 , he assisted his chief in laying the first stone of Freemasons' Hall , Leicester , and at its consecration to the purposes of Freemasonry . Later , when a proposal to present the P . G . M . ' s portrait to Prov . Grand

Lodge was considered , we find "A Veteran" enacting the chief rule ; and so did he at the consecration of the Howe and Charnwood Lodge , No . 1007 , and the installation of Lord Howe as its first W . M . ; at the consecration of the Rutland Lodge , No . 1130 , Melton Mowbray , at that of the Vale of

Catmos Lodge , No . 1065 , Oakham , and at the revision of the Bye-laws in 1869 , and the resignation of the Prov . Grand Master . Tho last mentioned event had been contemplated some three years previously , but Lord Howe waived his desire for retirement on condition that our

worthy brother would continue to act as his Deputy , and after having in vain attempted to induce the latter to accept the Prov . Grand Mastership . When , however , it became "A Veteran ' s" duty to announce his lordship ' s resignation , he took the opportunity of expressing his own desire for retirement likewise . This statement caused a scene of

excitement m the Prov . Grand Locige , which was in the highest degree flattering to our brother ; ancl subsequently , at a special meeting , held on the 5 th November 1869 , a letter