Church Service.

CHURCH SERVICE .

A STRIKING Service was that which last Sunday was held in the Parish Church of All Saints , Portsea . The church itself is a large edifice , built with huge galleries , which alone are capable of affording accommodation to some thousand or more people . The chancel , which was one of the latest of Sir Gilbert Scott ' s productions , is a remarkably

beautiful and well proportioned building , with a vaulted roof of carved stone , and with great width and length of floor space . The nave is seated for about nine hundred persons .

Altogether the structure , albeit somewhat cold of aspect when empty , is one of those churches excellently calculated to display the extent and to arouse the devotion of a great congregation .

Within its walls assembled , on Sunday afternoon , many hundreds of the Freemasons of South Hampshire , intent on taking part in the special Masonic Service " on behalf of the Brethren in South Africa . " Seated in long rows were to be observed the members of the " Free and Accepted Order , "

wearing the regalia of the Craft . Amongst the large majority of black coated Brethren a few scarlet-clad soldiers , and here and there a bluejacket , each with the regalia of white and blue worn over his uniform , lent a vivid touch of picturesque contrast . From the galleries looked down a throng of

non-Masonic worshippers , who joined with heart and voice in the prayers and intercessions offered ; whilst of the choir , which had been largely augmented for the function , many members were distinguished by their insignia as Officers of the Order . Of the several clergy present all except one were

Masonsthe vicar , the Rev . W . Hawksley , wearing the collar and jewel of a Past Provincial Grand ' Chaplain ; the Rev . H . Watts , who intoned the Litany , showing the elaborately

embroidered collar of a Past District Deputy Grand Master of Manitoba ; and the Rev . S . B . Taylor , Vicar of Milton , representing , as a Past District Grand Chaplain , the Masons of the Indian Dependency .

The processional hymn , which was sung with a vast volume of sound by all present was , curiously enough , that which is reported to be the best loved song of President Kruger , " O God , our Help in Ages past . " After the recitation of the Confession and the reading of the Absolution ,

Psalm xx . was sung , and Exodus xvii . 8 to 13 read as the lesson . Then in beautiful and sonorous unity was repeated the Creed , to which succeeded Versicles and Collects , of which the most notable was couched in somewhat quaint and archaic phraseology . Thus it ran : —

Almighty and Eternal God , we , the frail creatures of Thy providence , humbly implore Thee to pour down upon our Brethren in South Africa , in their present need , the dew of Th y divine blessing . Sanctify them with Thy grace , strengthen them with Thy mighty

power , and enrich their minds with true and genuine knowledge , so that they may the better be enabled in their time of adversity to unfold the beauties of true godliness , to the honour and glory of Thy Holy Name . Endue them with such fortitude that in the hour of

trial they fail not , but that , passing safely under Thy protection through the dangers of this sublunary abode they may finally ascend to those immortal mansions whence all goodness emanates ; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord . Amen .

In the course of a special Litany prayers were offered for "Those Rulers in our Craft and others of our Brethren who are in danger or anxiety in South Africa ; " and for " the Grand Chaplain of our Order and other ministers of Thy Word and Sacraments in South Africa " : whilst the touching

petition " that it may please Thee to take into Thy gracious keeping the souls of those who fall , and to present them faultless before the Throne , " moved many hearts . The sermon was preached by the vicar , who chose as his text the words , "We be brethren " ( Genesis xiii . 8 ) .

The hymn which was sung during the collection had been specially written by Mrs . Hawksley for the occasion . The service , which lasted but an hour , ended with the

Benediction and the singing of the Freemasons ' version of the National Anthem . The collection , which was devoted to the Mayor of Portsmouth ' s South African War Fund , amounted to the sum of nearly £ 60 . — " Church Times . "

The annual supper of the New Cross Lodge of Instruction , No . 1559 , will be held on Tuesday next , at the Kemble ' s Head , Long Acre , W . C ., at 7 . 30 p . m ., under the presidency of Bro . J . D . Graham Preceptor of the Lodge .

True Masonry.

TRUE MASONRY .

THE following interesting extracts are taken from the Oration delivered by Bro . Rev . Dr . Cockrem , on the occasion of the recent consecration of the new Lodge at St . Albans . Our Reverend Brother said the Abbey of St . Alban is distinguished amongst all its compeers as being the one

upon which the first labours of an organised Craft were employed . The legendary story of our Order , attached to those ancient charges of which we only possess garbled and inaccurate transcriptions even in the 15 th century , contains , amidst the mist of legend , some precious solid facts of truth

and history . In that story St . Alban is credited with being the first to introduce the art of Freemasonry into England . Careful researches have rendered it extremely probable that , though the martyr had no connections with our Masonic history , yet that the name of St . Alban is closely associated

with the earliest introduction of a Masonic body into this country . When King Offa determined to establish a religious order and build an abbey , he had to procure a foreign master and foreign chaftsmen to design and carry out his intentions . Whether in doing so he sought the assistance of Charles the

Great , or Charles Martel in procuring these workmen , and whether they were Nemausian Greeks , as some think , from Nimes , or members of the Collegium Fabrorum at Rome as others suggest , there are at least strong grounds to believe that these men came over as a regular organised body , with

their own rules of work , their own rates of pay , and their own regular assemblies . And this organisation would be secured to them by charter from the king , as the condition of their coming . We may suppose that they would absorb by degrees into their own Lodges the native workers , whom they would

instruct in the art , and so Craft Masonry became implanted on English soil . It is much to be regretted that the subsequent Danish wars and the disorganisation which they

caused brought this first establishment of our Masonic body to an untimely end . But within two generations it was revived at York , and received its charter from King Athelstan , since which time it has been a corporate society with many

vicissitudes , but always in existence . Passing from the historic survey , the orator went to the critical , and from that part of his address we take the following , as it is of perennial interest to all Masons : —The members of this far-reaching Fraternity of ours are truly and really

Masons . Our structures have , it is true , no material existence , yet they are of the highest importance in the world ; they are not fairy palaces , which like a dream melt into nothingness as the morning mists at dawn of day , but they possess solid qualities which will depend on and add to the reputation

of the builder . It is in the power of each Mason to mar his work , and so spoil the fair reputation of the whole . For what purpose do we now erect Lodges , hold our regular assemblies , perform Masonic ceremonies , and are brought into one organised body ? Is it for the purposes of mere social

and convivial society ? Every true Mason will give an emphatic , "No . " Is it to be a mere benevolent society , which amasses vast sums to relieve the destitute and distressed of their body , whether they be orphan sons and daughters , or widows of their deceased members , or those

Brothers upon whom fortune has frowned ? Again the true Mason will answer "No ; this , but more than this . " Brethren , do not each of you recognise from your knowledge of the secrets and mysteries of the Craft we pursue so eagerly and love so much that there is far more than this in a true

ideal of Freemasonry ? We , as our Operative Brethren of twelve centuries ago , are engaged in the construction of a building which demands all our energies , all our skill , a building for which we must have a skilful apprenticeship , in the erection of which we need deep instruction from a master

mind , and in which we are assisted by the contemplation of other men ' s work ; a building , moreover , which we shall never complete , but which , in proportion to the excellence of our work , will preserve our name amongst men , will be an honour to our Craftsmanship , an abiding influence on all

within its sphere , and which , unlike the structures of the operative mason , massive though they be , will be eternal . For this truly Freemasonic structure is character , and character in the individual is the goodly stone of which the whole structure of our Order—the new and sublime Order of

Architecture—is composed . Founded on three grand principles , illuminated by three great lights , and supported by three grand pillars , Freemasonry furnishes all the apparatus necessary to attain this desirable object of every true Mason ' s existence . All its ceremonies , all its formulas , point to the same end , and secrete and enshrine the great secrets which lead to success .