Masonic Funds And "Refreshments."

universal " wet rot " in the Order . It is not difficult to imagine the feeling of an earnest and sincere man who , after joining , has discovered this . To find himself bound by solemn obligations to an organisation which he finds makes Brotherhood an excuse for guzzling , and philanthropy an excuse for " the social glass , " is to a man of spirit nothing less than intolerable . " Porcupine " is not

particularly concerned with the salvation of Masonry , and this article is written principally to place on their guard those who might be tempted , say , to join the Lodge in ignorance of the relative proportion of its charity and its appetites . Nevertheless it is a great pity that so powerful an Order should count for so much that is evil , for not only does this expenditure upon

intoxicants actively operate to degrade the members of that Order , but it places the powerful influence of this , the most compact secret society of any age , very largely in the hands of an already far too dominant drink interest . It is not going too far to say that manv a strange phenomenon of the Licensing Bench would be

explained if all Masonic secrets were laid bare . Nor is it generalising beyond the strength of the evidence to say that a very firm link in the chain which the liquor interest is fastening upon civic life has been forged by the association of Freemasonry with intoxicants . At least , that would seem to bo the lessen of " Refreshments , £ 135 . "— " Liverpool Porcupine . "

An Interesting Spot In The Peak District.

AN INTERESTING SPOT IN THE PEAK DISTRICT .

AS reported in our last issue the members of tho Hartington Lodge recently visited Castleton , on the occasion of their Annual excursion , and as the neighbourhood is a particularly interesting one , only just opened up by the construction of the new Dove and Chinley line of the Midland Railway , some particulars in regard to it will doubtless prove of general interest . We therefore append an extract from Bro . Fletcher ' s descriptive account of the district ( from the " Derby Mercury " ) , which was also mentioned in lust week's issue .

" Castleton , says Bro . Fletcher , " offers to lovers of Nature a number of most interesting features . Situated at the western extremity of the picturesque dale of Hope , and hemmed in by lofty limestone hills it presents to us the interesting pile known as Pevoril Castle , made famous by the romance of Scott , the crumbling mountain of shale—Mam Tor—with its ancient British

entrenchment , the rugged and picturesque pass , the Wmnats , and , perhaps more interesting than all , its wonderful limestone caverns . Of the four to be seen at Castleton , two are worthy of especial notice—the Peak Cavern and the Speedwell Mine . " The Peak Cavern is perhaps the most remarkable in the county , and its surroundings are most picturesque . It is approached by a

precipitous ravine at the extremity of which is the entrance to the cavern . The entrance is in the form of an immense natural arch , about 120 feet in width and 42 feet in height . This arch extends under a perpendicular cliff of limestone of great height , crowned by the square keep of Peveril Castle . The spacious natural entrance , which recedes for a distance of some ninety feet , has been used ,

almost from time immemorial , as a rope-walk , and terminates in the narrow opening to the cavern proper . A long and narrow passage of about thirty yards leads to a chamber called the Bell House . Here is a small lake , and from this point visitors were in former times conveyed into the further recesses of the cavern by

lying full length in a boat which was propelled below a mass of rock , and which in one place descended to within about twenty inches of the surface of thewater . Now , however , a passage , artificially cut , makes the journey easy , and we pass into the Grand Saloon , a natural chamber some ICO feet in height . We afteiwards

An Interesting Spot In The Peak District.

pass for some distance through further passages and chambers , the names of which are instructive only as indicating the power of the imagination . A stream runs through tho cavern , and this is crossed several times . After heavy rain this stream becomes a brawling torrent , and enormous quantities of sediment are brought down from the surface and deposited in tho cavern .

" The Speedwell Mine is entered through an insignificant doorway at the foot of the W'innats . Then down 100 steps to a boat on a subterranean canal . This canal ( under three feet in depth ) was cut about a century ago in search of lead . A sum of £ 14 , 000 was expended , but little lead was found . It was abandoned after eleven years ceaseless labour . At a distance of 750 yards from the

entrance the miners broke into an enormous cavity , which had been hollowed out by water in the line of the ' New Rake , ' a lode on the line of which are a number of fallen-in cavities . This deep gulf was bridged by a stone arch or platform , and the boring continued on the other side for a distance of 600 yards . The rubbish taken

from this was thrown into this gulf without making any appreciable difference . This was ostimatcd at 40 , 000 tons . The chasm is said to be 450 feet in height , and extends something loss than 100 foefc below tho level of tho platform . Most of tho water now passes through a fissure at some distance from this . "

Next Week.

NEXT WEEK .

Monday . 557 Lo 3 'al Victoria , Calliugton 1753 Obedience , Okehampton

Tuesday . 1007 Howe and Charnwood , Loughborough 1358 Torbay , Paighton 1636 St . Cecilia , Brighton 1650 Rose of Raby , Staiudrop 1779 Ivanhoe , Sheffield 1942 Minerva , Fcnton

Wednesday . 74 Athol , Birmingham 94 Phoenix , Sunderland 137 Amity , Poole 159 Brunswick , East Stonchouso 168 Mariners , Guernsey 282 Bedford , Tavistock 298 Harmony , Rochdale

326 Moira of Honour , Bristol 327 St . John , Wigton 406 Northern Counties , Newcastle-ou-T 417 Faith and Unanimity , Dorchester 429 Royal Navy , Ramsgate 643 Royal , Filey 838 Franklin , Boston 970 St . Anne , East Looc 1003 Prince of Wales , Jersey 1013 Royal Victoria , Liverpool 1063 Mailing Abbey , West Mailing

Next Week.

1085 Hartington , Derby 1167 Alnwick , Alnwick 1274 Earl of Durham , Chester-le-Strect 1431 St . Alphege , Solihull 1461 Clauscntum , Woolston 1549 Abercorn . Great Stanmnro 7

— — 1660 Arlecdon , Frizington 1736 St . John , Halifax 1862 Stranton , West Hartlepool 2330 St . Lawrence , Pudscy 2382 Loyal Hay , Hay 2464 Longsight , Longsight 2490 Ampthill , Ampthill

Thursday . 742 Crystal Palace , Crystal Palace 1790 Old England , Thornton Heath 24 Newcastle , Newcastle-on-Tyne 57 Humber , Hull 110 Loyal Cambrian , Merthyr Tydvil 123 Lennox , Richmond , Yorks 195 Hengist , Bournemouth . 219 Prudence , Todmorden

230 Fidelity , Devonport 249 Mariners , Liverpool 266 Naphtali , Hey wood 269 Fidelity , Blackburn 289 Fidelity , Leeds 295 Combermere of Union , Macclesfield 317 Affability , Manchester 509 Tecs , Durham 531 St . Helen , Hartlepool 637 Portland , Stoke-upon-Treut 703 Clifton , Blackpool

Next Week.

792 Pelham Pillar , Grimsby 856 Restormcl , Lostwithicl 1231 Savile , Elland 1284 Brent , Topsham 1304 Olive Union , Homcastle 1384 Equity , Widnes

1565 Earl of Chester , Lymm 1829 Burrell , Brighton 1899 Wellesley , Sandhurst 2261 Armitagc , Milnsbridgc 2321 Acacia , Bradford

Friday . 1489 Marquess of Ripon , Cock Tavcru 242 St . George , Doncaster 291 Rural Philanthropic , Highbridga 306 Alfred , Leeds 521 Truth , Huddersfield 837 De Grey and Ripon , Ripon 936 Adair , Aldeburgh 998 Welchpool , Welchpool 1230 Barnard , Barnard Castle . / . in f ^„; . f lu . i T » ne -i roio iriucc 01 vvaiesoraaioru

- , - 1664 Gosforth , Gosforth 1754 Windsor , Penarth 2433 Minerva , Birkenhead

Saturday . 1223 Amherst , Rivcrhead 1550 Prudence , Plymouth 1929 Mozart , Croydon 2142 St . Clement , Leigh

Masonic Sonnets, No. 97.

Masonic Sonnets , No . 97 .

BY BKO . CHAS . F . FOBSHAW , LL . D ., 295 and 2417 ( E . C . ) Hon . Mem . 1242 ( E . C . ) and 24 ( S . O . ) . — : o : — EMBLEMS OF MORTALITY .

UNTO this end we all must come at last And mingle our frail ashes with tho sod ; Our feeble clay in mother earth is cast Our souls are claimed by an unerring God

Nay , do not shrink at sight of human bones Their former habitant now dwelleth There ; Immortal now , he worldly dust disowns

Nor claims a burden all too great to bear . With gaze complacent we should ever look Upon such emblems that affright your eye ,

For we are led by that all-wondrous book And our glad Art instructs us how to die . Then raise your head , Oh ! Brother mine and find Life ' s sequel here—the doom of all mankind I

Winder House , Bradford , 21 th July 1894 . In the current number of the " Craftsman , " the

monthly journal devoted to the interests of Freemasonry in Wales and the border counties , there appears an interesting history of the rise and progress of Freemasonry at Newport , and also an historical review of

the career of the Silurian Lodge , No . 471 , together with a portrait of the Worshipful Master Bro . Theodore Harding . The writer , by excerpt from the contents of the minute books of old Newport Lodges , shows how strict was the discipline in those times , when absent Brethren were not only censured , but fined .