The United States And Masonic Charity.

money according to circumstances , whilo it is open to his children , if eligible , to offer themselves -bv the medium of their natural or legal guardians—as candidates for admission to our Schools . As regards help in cases of sickness , but speaking necessarily from my own , and therefore , limited , knowledge , I venture to say that much assistance is renderedbut there is—rightly in my opinion—no relief available to

, meet such casual mischances . It is , as I pointed out in my letter ot last week , the greatest mistake iu the world—a radical error indeedto reduce Freemasonvv to the level of a benefit society . Freemasonry is of another character altogether , with other aims aud objects in vinw . Hharitv is of the voir essence of Freemasonry , but then no

ono would bo so silly as to confound what is commonly understoodin England at all events—as a benefit society with a Charitable Institution " A man contributes to tho former with the intent and purpose of securing to himself pecuniary assistance in his timo of need , but , as I havo said before , no ono subscribes to his Masonic Lodge with any such intention or expectation . Fraternally yours , BKITOiY .

Grand Lodge Officers.

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Will you allow me to add to my remarks of last week , that I do not dispute tho titlo of Provincial or District Grand Masters to tho appellation of " Grand Officers , " bnt merely to thafc of <* Grand Lodge Officers "—these diguitimes being ( as it seems

to me ) Officers in , but not of , Grand Lodge . As " Grand Officers" thoy aro clearly entitled to rule Grand Lodge , under paragraph 13 , p 23 , Book of Constitutions : but I altogether dissent from tho position—that their liability to perform this function , constitutes them "Grand Lodge Officers , " or Officers of Grand Lodge . " Yours fraternally , A LONDON AND COLONIAL P . M .

Provincial Appointments.

PROVINCIAL APPOINTMENTS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Whoever your correspondent on the above subject , in your last number , may be , I feel there is much truth in what he says . It is a great misfortune for a Province when the leading officers aro cither nnablo or unwilling to visit the Lodges under their jurisdiction . I am of opinion that both the Deputy P . G . M ,

and his Secretary should be brethren of sufficent leisure to give some portion of their time to annual visitations , and not to be content to obtain their information as to the respective merits of brethren at second hand , still less to leave the appropriation of the various offices at their disposal to tho last moment , and then to give them away on the principle of a scramble for nnts at a school feast .

It is somewhat disgusting to the mind of a hardworking and able Past Master to see himself left unnoticed for years , and Provincial collars bestowed on brethren unable to open a Lodge in tho first degree . Aud yefc , Mr , Editor , this is not such a very uncommon event I assure you . I , like your correspondent , am a Past Provincial Officer , so that perhaps some people might say I ought to be satisfied and refrain

from grumbling . But when I sec such gross absurdities peqiefcrated as is the case in sonic Provinces , and brethren with neither knowledge , education , experience or position to recommend them foisted into high offices , and , ou the other hand , bright , intelligent and working Masons passed over altogether , I cannot but think that there is something rotten in tho state of Denmark , and that it is time to speak or for over hereafter to hold one ' s peace , I am , yours fraternally , ANOTHER PAST PROVINCIAL OFFICER .

In The Clouds.

IN THE CLOUDS .

FftOM THE KKVSTONE . HE who visits thcclondsscesboth more and lessthanothcrmen . Ho sees less—for tho "daughters of ocean , " the mists , climb the sky , and shut out the landscape below ; bnt he also sees more—for the height to which ho has climbed , and tho fairy surrounding of fleecy clouds , stimulate his imagination , so that he sees with his " mind ' s

eye what he never saw before . Tho Irish nation claim , and justly too , that they possess an additional sense over and abovo those usually bestowed on man , to wit , tlio sense of nonsense—no man liko an Irishman possessing the perception of the humourous and tho ridiculous , Samuel Lover , iti ono of his songs , has expressed this fact in rhyme , thus :

" But along with sivin sinces ice . have one mora—Of which I forgot to tell you before"lis nonsense , spontaneously gracing our shore . " Analogously , he who is in tho clouds possesses an additional organ of vision—the " mind's eye , " which enables him to see well nigh

whatever he will . High up in the air , quaffing the vinous ether , ho is wonderfully exhilarated . We aro not surprised thafc tho old Greek play-writer , Aristophanes , in his famous comedy of "The Clouds , " placed Socrates , its hero , . suspended in a basket , .. winging aloft in the air in hi - " Thinking Shop . " By the way , there iis a certain mystic

In The Clouds.

aspect to this comedy , which wo will make apparent to the reader by quoting a few lines from it : " Socrates . Art thou ambitious To bo instructed iu celestial matters ?

Strepsiades . Aye , aye , in faith , So they bo to my purpose . Soc . And if I bring you to a conference With my own proper goddesses , the Clouds ? Stre }> s . 'Tis what I wish devoutly . Soc . Now take this chaplet—wear it .

Strejis . XVhy this chaplet ? Would'st sacrifice me to a Cloud ? » Soc . Fear nothing - It ; is a ceremony indispensable At our initiations .

Chorus of Clouds . Ascend , ye watery Clonds , on high , Daughters of Ocean , climb the sky . Here mystic fanes and rites divine

And lamps in sacred splendour shine ; Here tho gods dwell in marble domes , Feasted with costly hecatombs , And pompous sacrifices here Make holidays throughout the year . "

Ono day last week we stood on " Sky-Top , on the Shawanguuk Mountains , when suddenly a mist enveloped us , and we realized what it was to bo—in the clouds . Wo found our imagination extraordinarily stimulated , aud there flashed upon us the Irishman ' s extra sense of nonsense , when Aristophanes ' s satirical picture of Socrates , suspended in mid-air in his " Thinking Shop , " as portrayed iu his

comedy of " The Clouds , was limned before ns . Then and there we were thoughtful as ever of oar readers ( for they are never out of our mind , so that if we travel a thousand miles ifc must be with pencil in hand ) , and this is what we saw and thought , more or less . Wo did not presume to compare ourselves precisely with Socrates , especially as he is satiraed by Aristophanes . Ifc will be remembered

that the Athenian philosopher had a snub nose , generally went bare , foot , possessing but one pair of shoes , —which lasted him for life , wore the same robe , winter and summer , and no under-garments ! No , we did not compare ourselves with Socrates , either in manner of life , or in intellectual endowment . The only similarity between us was that wo were both iu " the clonds . " What did we see ? At first

nothing . But what we lacked in seeing , we made upm thinking . It occurred to TIS that we wero in sympathy with the Craft Universal at , this Midsummer season—we were called off , or rather called up , to refreshment . We were bathed in heaven ' s imperial bath of mist on a mountain top . The earth was shut ont from view—we seemed nearer heaven than ever before , and in the very presence chamber of

the Grand Architect of the Universe . We felt how little we were , and how great He is . We were lost for the moment , in space . Pride vanished . We were physically blind , although our mental vision was never clearer . The blood coursed from the heart to the brain with fresh vigour . In no Church were we ever more trnly a worshipper of Deity than while we stood on that mountain-top . We seemed to be

undergoing initiation into the Greater Mysteries—to be linked by a new tie to the great " I AM . " No one who has been in the clouds ever regretted it . The clouds , as a medicine for the soul , are fitted for occasional , rather than continual use . Stimulants should be indulged in with moderation . Ifc would not do to always have the

" Eye in a fine frenzy rolling ;" but for seasonable use , as for example , during tho days of Refreshment in summer , there is no tonic , for either the mind or the body , equal in efficacy to a bath in the clouds . A mystic thought that was suggested to us as the clouds vanished was , the wide-spread character and unity of the Craft . Around us in every direction as far as tho eye could reach were valleys and moun

tains , divided from each other by natural barriers , and the valleys themselves sub-divided into numerous fields—and yet all was a unit . Nature is one , and the Grand Architect of the Universe is its sole author . So with the Craft . We saw Freemasonry , as it were , before ns , spread oat all over the civilized world . Different speaking peoples were united by the samo Mystic tie . Barriers of ocean and mountains were of no effect in separating brethren . All were one , as Nature is

one . We concluded , as we descended from " Sky-Top , " that even Socrates had scarcely a better " Thinking Shop " than ours had been in the clouds , and we vowed to go there as often during the summer months as the exigencies of the lower world would permit .

Bleanings From Old Chronicles, &C.

Bleanings From Old Chronicles , & c .

The following were among the ancient revenues of the petty Princes of Ireland , namely , " Cuddy "—a supper and lodging for one night , which the chief could command nofc only from his own vassals , but had a right by custom to ask ifc from his equals—tho commutation was a certain quantity of honey ; " Cuttings , " or

contrifcnbutions to pay tho chiefs debts ; " Dowgello , a tax for tho maintenance of his dogs and huntsmen ; " Cess , " or horse meat and man's meat at a stipulated price ; " Reflection , " or a privilege the chief had of claiming a meal of cheese , curds , & c . ; and "Sorchar , " or meat and drink for a soldier or gallowglass , one day in a fortnight . Tlio total public expenditure iu Ireland for the year ended Ti- ' . dty Term 1 _ , 6 ( 3 _ & __ Edward I . ) . was £ 1 , 121 6 s 02 d , ail