A Council Of War.

are anticipating a severe falling off in the returns , we are equally prepared for an agreeable surprise . That the latter may be in store for us and the Craft at large we fervently hope , as with the best of good wishes we close our anticipatory remarks in

connection with the 1888 Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . The cry is now , To arms ! and the best of all advice we can offer is to repeat the well-known signal of Nelson : "England expects every man to do his duty . "

Trifles And Their Consequences.

TRIFLES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES .

"Alas ! how light a cause may move Dissension between hearts that love ! Hearts that the world in vain had tiied , And sorrow but more closely tied ;

U hat stood tho storm , when waves were rough , Yet in a sunny hour fall off , Like ships , that have gone down at sea , When heaven was all tranquillity . "

EREEMASONS , with all their teachings of Brotherl y Love and Truth , might well take a lesson from the above beautiful lines of the poet Moore , and there aro not a few of us but would reap a rich reward were we to fully grasp the sentiment here embodied . It is proverbial

with mankind to make troubles out of trifles , to raise mountains out of molehills , and to sacrifice the best friends for some trivial grievance , more often imaginary than real . Can it , therefore , be wondered at that

Freemasons who , after all , are but members of a human institution should occasionally err in the same direction , or that our Lodges should from time to time be troubled with " dissensions between hearts that love ?"

Freemasonry teaches the practice of toleration among its members to such an extent as would almost lead to the hope that its votaries would be willing to overlook in their fellows grievances of a trivial or erroneous character ,

but experiences of the past do not prove this to be always the case , for in Freemasonry , as well as outside of it , the lighte t of causes have occasionally moved dissension among " hearts that the world in vain had tried , and

sorrow had but more closely tied . " In Lodges we have seen a united band of brothers robbed of their peace and happiness by a trivial grievance which a few moments ' argument should have put right , while some of Masonry ' s

most promising sons have sacrificed their own and their friends' happiness over a disagreement which was nofc even worthy of consideration among men of the world , much less among those united by the stronger ties of Masonry . It

may be useless for ns to expect an even greater spirit of toleration in Masonry than has hitherto pervaded its members , but we can and do hope that the day is not far

distant when the principles of Freemasonry may be BO exemplified among its members as to put an end to the petty disturbances which even within the Lodge are occasionally to be met with .

We are aware that a Worshipful Master , the Past Masters , or other Officers of a Lodge may occasionally give offence to an over sensitive brother , by some trivial act , more often of forgetfulness than of malicious intent ,

wherefrom a coldness springs up , which neither side attempts to remove , lest its dignity be upset , or its position lowered in the eyes of its fellows . They forget that the average Mason , as well as an ordinary man of the world

looks with far greater scorn on the man who imagines he cannot err than on he who admits an error , and takes the earliest and most effectual means of remedying its consequences . They further fail to take into account the

annoyance they entail on all around them by a continuance of unfriendliness or silent warfare , which nofc infrequently resolves itself into open opposition and a final estrangement . We admit , and so will all who approach

the question in a proper spirit , that a ruler ' s position is a very difficult one to uphold with dignity , and at the same time with satisfaction to all who are governed . In a Masonic Lodge it may happen that the Worshipful

Master finds it incumbent on him to stop a discussion , or call a brother to order for some little departure from the recognised line of procedure , and if the brother addressed happens to be a personal friend of tho Master , the order may be couched in less persuasive tones than would be the

Trifles And Their Consequences.

case if it were a comparative stranger who waa erring , from the fact that the Master feels he knows his friend so well as to render any ceremonious form unnecessary , with a result entirely opposite to what was intended , for the brother addressed takes offence at the tone of the order

nnd although an explanation be tendered , refuses to see tho words in the light in which they were used . The same difficulties surround a Past Master or other member who takes a prominent part in the affairs of his

Lodge ; he is always opeu to the misfortune of being misunderstood , and the very efforts he puts forward with a view of smoothing matters may have the effect of rendering them more ruffled . Old age , experience , or the hundred and one other considerations which should

command respect are forgotten by the member who takes offence at each trivial matter , and a disagreement ensues which threatens to involve the whole of the members of the Lodge , who should stand together a united family of brothers , above the influences of petty strife .

We do nofc desire our remarks should resolve themselves

into too much of a sermon or indulgence , but . it must be patent to the most casual observer that these petty grievances are the cause of most , if not all , the unpleasantness which arises in Freemasonry , and if anything we can

say or do is the cause of uniting even two of those at present at variance our task will not have been undertaken in vain . Speaking personally , we may say our work in the Craft is a very difficult one , because self-imposed ;

we have no standard to emulate , or authority to refer to , as to what we should do under particular circumstances ; all we can therefore attempt is to work to the best of our ability , observing a strict adherence to the principles of

justice and truth , and using the strong power we possess to champion the cause of right and expose error . That we should occasionally hurt the feelings of some members of the Craft is , under such circumstances , not to be wondered

at , but in nearly all such cases a word or two of explanation has usually set matters right . Our comments had been misunderstood , or perhaps the object of our criticism had been mistaken . It must not therefore be imagined we

are writing on a subject on which we are ignorant , or concerning which we are unable to give a decided opinion , What , we advise is the result of experience , and we can

only hope ifc may prove as successful , wherever it is tried , as it has done in the few cases where remarks in our pages have been misunderstood or misapplied by our readers .

In the majority of cases where a disagreement arises in a Lodge , or among a section of brethren , we believe it will be found that a few moments friendly discussion on the grievance , together with a sincere desire on the part of the

respective parties to make amends for any irregularity on their side , will have the effect of putting matters straight , while a careful study of the quotation with which we head these lines will convince the best of us how absurd it is to follow in the usual course of making troubles out of trifles .

Quips And Cranks Of A Quizzical Craftsman.

QUIPS AND CRANKS OF A QUIZZICAL CRAFTSMAN .

TT has been written— " The remembrance of past pleasure - *• is present pleasure , " and of a truth it fitly applies to the recent visit to us of Brother Lord Carnarvon . The reminiscence , as it will recur again and again to the minds

of those who attended that reception , will be a theme of pleasure and pride to them . Ifc was a too brief experience ; but it was one that has left an enduring and elevating impression behind it .

Barring the ea ; £ ra-ordinary unpunctuality which is a distinguishing characteristic of every S . A . Freemason ' s proceedings , ifc was othorwise a well-ordered ceremony .

But why , after taking him to our bosom and heaping adulation upon him , should we have put him to the crucial test of receiving severally and individually the whole of the brethren present .

V erily , we felt our keenest sympathies aroused for him as the 250 th bow was reached , and yet tho cry was— " Still they come "— "Another and another yet appears . " We listened in vain for the inspiriting strains of music , and

felt that an appropriate obligato accompaniment would have been— " As we go bobbing around about , " varied by" We ' re all nodding , nod-nod nodding . " However , the most unlooked-for trials mast have