Next Week.

NEXT WEEK .

Further particulars as to place of meeting of the undermentioned Lodges are given in . tho Freemasons' Oalondar and Pocket Book ( published by Grand Lodge , l ' or the benefit ol the Charity Fund ) .

Monday . 48 Industry , Gateshead 302 Hope , Bradford 307 Prince Frederick , HebdenBridge 388 Prudence , Halesworth 491 Royal Sussex , Jersey

699 Roscawea , Chacewater 827 St . John , Dewsbury 999 Robert Burns , Manchester 1168 Benevolence , Sherbourne 1271 F'dship & Unitv , Bradf d-on-A ' vn

1272 Tregenna , St . Ives 1325 Stanley , Liverpool 1486 Duncombe , Kingsbridge 1748 Castlemartin , Pembroke 1861 Claremont , Croydon 1977 Blackwater , Maldon

1991 Agricola , York 2068 Portsmouth Temperance , L'dp ' t . 2373 Hardwick , Chesterfield 2547 Llangattock , Cardiff 2582 Lewisham , Smethwick

Tuesday . 253 Tyrian , Derby 378 Loyal Welsh , Pembroke Dock 386 Unity , Wareham 448 St . James , Halifax 954 St . Aubyn , Devonport 1007 Howe & CharnwoodLougkboro

, 1016 Elkington , Birmingham 1052 Callander , Manchester 1266 Honour & Friendship , Blandford 1390 Whitwell , Millon « r—7 f fl ^ Ji . J TijTilij . -m J . 1

J . UUU WJU-IIA ^ X J . U . XUOI . J j J . 1580 Cranbourne , Hatfield 1587 tit , Giles , Cheadle 1609 Liverpool Dramatic , Liverpool i ^ en ~ o --C T >„ 'U— EU . nl- ~ . A ~~~ .

J . V < J \ J IvUOQ Ul JLVUVV J KJVUUJJ . V 1675 Ancient Briton , Liverpool 1779 Ivanhoe , Sheffield 1942 Minerva , Fenton 2025 St . George , Plymouth 2518 Chas . Ed . Keyser , Hoddesden

Wednesday . 1017 Montefiore , Cafe Royal 128 Prince Edwin , Bury 220 Harmony , Garston 290 Huddersfield , Huddersfield

304 Philanthropic , Leeds 372 Harmony , Budleigh Salterton 387 Airedale , Shipley 409 Stortford , Bishops Stortfnrd 439 Scientific , Bingley 461 Fortitude , Newton . 533 Eaton , Congleton

Next Week.

555 Fidelity , Framlingham 724 Derby , Liverpool 750 Friendship , Cleckheaton : 1024 St . Peter , Maldon 1119 St . Bede , Jarrow , 1283 Ryburn , Sowerby Bridge 1296 Vale of Brislington , Brislington

1529 Duke of Cornwall , St . Columb 1544 Mount Edgcumbe , Camborne 1645 Colne Valley , Slaithwaite 1756 Kirkdale , Liverpool 1760 Leopold , Scarborough 1775 Leopold , Church 1808 Suffield , North Walsham

1989 Stirling , Cleator Moor 2019 Crook , Crook 2064 Smith Child , Tunstall 2149 Gordon , Hanley 2259 St . Nicholas , Thome

2320 St . Martin , Castleton 2357 Barry , Cadoxton 2444 Noel , Kingston-on-Thames 2448 Bradstow , Broadstairs 2583 St . Thomas , Tibshelf

Thursday . General Committee , Girls School , 5 39 St . John Baptist , Exeter 202 Friendship , Devonport 215 Commerce , Haslingden

324 Moira , Stalybridge 346 United Brethren , Blackburn 403 Hertford , Hertford 475 Bed . St . John Bap ., Luton 590 La Oesaree , Jersey 594 Downshire , Liverpool 625 Devonshire , Glossop

636 De Ogle , Morpeth 787 Beaureper , Belper 807 Cabbell , Norwich 904 Phoenix , Rotherham 971 Trafalgar , Batley

1032 Townley Parker , Chorley 1151 St . Andrew , Tywardreath 1166 Clarendon , Hyde 1514 Thornhill . Huddersfield

1578 Merlin , Pontypridd 1971 Ald'shot . Army & Navy , A ' shot . 2184 Royal Vict . Jubilee , Bainham 2214 Josiah Wedgewood , Etruria 2263 St . Leonards , Sheffield 2335 Cvoling and Athletic , Liverpool

2375 Hilbre , Hoylake 2387 Manchester Dramatic , M ' chester 2462 Clarence , West Hartlepool 2474 Hatherton , Walsall Friday .

810 Craven , Skipton 1822 St . Quintin , Cowbridge 2415 Tristram , Shildon Saturday . 1462 Wharncliffe , Penistone

The Model Master.

THE MODEL MASTER .

" O noble work of time and care ! O task most beautiful and rare I O simple but most arduous plan To build up an immortal man . "

TF there be any truth in the adage that " Every Lodge has the Master it

JL deserves , " the converse of the proposition , " That every Master has the Lodge he deserves , " must be equally true . The Masonic Institution , in its form of government , has wisely placed an autocratic power in the hands of the Master , which enables him—as it is his bounden duty—to mould the

character of his Lodge , and as he " sets the Craft at work , giving them proper instructions for their labours , " it depends upon the quality of the instructions given whether , as the result of those labours , he " will receive honour and they pleasure and profit thereby . "

Masters of Lodges mould the destinies of the Craft . They stamp it with their own personality . They strengthen or weaken , build up or tear down the influence of Freemasonry . Grand Masters simply execute the will of the Masters in Grand Lodge assembled . The Craft " obey the will and pleasure of the Worshipful Master , " and , with the grave responsibility of

fashioning , squaring , and polishing , under his own supervision , each and every stone brought into the work of the Temple , it behoves him to strengthen his loins for the performance of the onerous , important , and sometimes Herculean task he has undertaken , by endeavouring to become not only a model Master , but a guiding star to those who , in the course of time , will follow after him .

What should the model Master be ? The model Master must not alone be a conscientious man , but a moral and a good ' man . He must be sufficiently conscientious to ask himself prior to his induction into this high office whether he is morally , mentally ( and perhaps financially ) equipped to

The Model Master.

discharge its duties , not only to the satisfaction of this Lodge in particular , or of the Craft generally , but of his own inward conscience . It is a laudable ambition to be the Master of a Lodge . It is a position than which nothing is more dignified , nothing more honourable , but a conscientious man will never attempt to gratify that ambition without the full consciousness of knowing that he possesses an ability and a fitness commensurate with its dignity and importance .

A few Masters labour under the impression that a mere poll-parrot recital of the ritual and a knowledge of the ever-fluctuating phraseology of the " standard work , " without even dotting an i or crossing a t is the sole requisite . Some imagine that because a Mason is a jolly good fellow , liberal to a fault , he is worthy to wield the sceptre of King Solomon . Others again

believe that , because he has taken degrees innumerable , he must be a bright Masonic luminary ; or that the possession of a ready flow of language , and the ability to make a speech at the visit of the District Deputy and to tell racy stories at the post-prandial exercises incident to the third degree , is the main requirement . The conscientious Mason guages his fitness for the position by the rules of introspection , and if his inward conscience tells him

that he is not "in possession of all the necessary qualifications , " notwithstanding the confidence of his Brethren , or the fact that the goal of his desires is almost within his reach , and the mantle ready to fall upon his shoulders , if he be a true man and a true Mason and has the interests of the Fraternity at heart , he will rather be a strong man on the floor than a weak man in the chair .

The model Master must be , as I said , a moral and a good man , for he is an exemplar to his flock , and " Master like man" is a rule older than iEsop , wiser than Plato . If , in his daily walks and conversation , he fails to practise out of the Lodge what he teaches in it , if he does not carry into the actualities of life the lessons which he himself has inculcated , his labour is vain , his seat is practically empty , his Lodge a body without a head .

How absurd it is as a practical idea to have elected an immoral man , a profane man , a licentious man , or a drunkard to tho East I Nothing is so destructive to the material prosperity , the honourable standing , or the social enjoyment of the Craft , whether at labour or refreshment , as the

influence of an immoral man . The stream cannot rise higher than its source ; a Lodge will never be better than its Master , who is viewed by the community as the embodiment of the Institution when visible on public occasions .

Tho model Master must be a law-abiding man—a model citizen . Ha must not be engaged in shady enterprises or indiscreet transactions ; like Caesar's wife , he must be beyond suspicion . He must be of good report before all men . In the quaint language of the ancient ritual : " Ye must work diligently , live creditably , and act

honourably by all men . " It is this that will recommend our Fraternity to the hearts of a moral world ; it is this that will give tone to Freemasonry ; it is this that will afford us a means of disseminating that charity to the distressed so often demanded , so acceptable to the Most High , so

selfrewarding to the philanthropic giver ; but if the Master be idle or dissipated ; reckless , or extravagant , if his personal character be off colour , and the profane shrug their shoulders when his name is mentioned in connection with the institution , he holds up the body of which he is acknowledged head , as a fit object of contempt .

The model Master must be meek and temperate ; " meek as Moses , temperate as the Sons of Reehab , " are prime recommendations of him who sits on King Solomon ' s seat . Meek to listen patiently to every Brother , meek to bear burdens which he should not rightfully assume , temperate in

his habits and language I yet , while mild and indulgent as a presiding officer , the iron must always be beneath the velvet glove , but dealing firmly , not arbitrarily . His gavel is supposed to have knocked all the rough corners from its builder's mind and conscience , and brought him the golden rewards of self-discipline ; therefore his Brethren will honour him .

The model Master must be courteous and faithful , and must practise self-government . Courteous , for the Master of a Lodge must primarily be a gentleman , not alone in his reception of visiting Brethren , but in his actions towards his

associates in the Lodge ; for have they not chosen him , honoured him , promised to obey him , rendered homage to him as their Master , and thus earned his gratifying politeness and fraternal love in his relations to the Lodge .

Faithful : for he is pledged before God so to be . He is esoterically and exoterically bound by every tie that can bind an honest man so to be . Self-government : Every speculative appliance of an operative implement he must make to his own mind and heart , and in characters of living fire

there must always appear before him the maxim : "He who conquers himself is greater than he who overcometh a city . " So skilful must he be in this philosophical use of Masonic tools and implements , that nothing but death can divest him of his title of a " Master in Israel . "

The model Master must possess an ardent love for Masonry . He must not use it merely as a stepping-stone to advancement within the ranks of the Fraternity , but love it " for its own sweet sake , " and in his love for it he must be a Masonic zealot—a zealot , but not a fanatic . It is his part to

propagate the knowledge of Masonry far and wide . He is the apostle of the gospel , the Master of many disciples . He must disseminate its principles . He must not alone know the law , but be able to illustrate and expound it , both in spirit and in letter . The model Master must be versed in the landmarks and principles of