Gleanings.

GLEANINGS .

E XLTI ' INC BALLOON JOIUNKYS . —Ono of tho longest , as woll aa out 0 f the most perilous and exciting balloon voyages on record , has recently taken place in Austria . Two officers of tho Army Ruilwav l { e"imont ascended from the Prater at Vienna in the military ballooi named after Itadotsky , tho hero of Custozza and Novara . It was their intention to make only a thort experimental trip . But th :

wind suddenly increased iu strongth . Thoy lost control of then vehicle , and woro swept tip into dense banks of clouds . It was impossible to take any observations , or attempt to guide thoir course The start had been mado at nino iu tho evening , and they remained alloat tho long night through . Descent was ultimately ellbcted at Bruczkow , a villago in Posen , at a distanco of threo hundred

and fifty miles from Vienna . In time they had demolished the record of tho beat railway express . They had done in cloven hours what a fast train required fifteen honrs to accomplish . In 1 S 0 S two men weut up from tho gardens of the Tuillories , in Paris , in two several balloons . Agitation aud suspense mnst have been present in their minds from the outset , no matter how mnch native bravery cither

could command . Their names wero Do Grandpro and Lo Pique . Thoy had a qnarrol , which in tho evil fashion of tho hour and of tho land could only bo adjusted in a duel . A novel idea had been ventilated aud adopted . At a signal iired in tho gardens below , each aeronaut waB to discbarge a blnndevbuss from bis car at tbo enemy ' s balloon , if either were snecessful in hitting tho mark , a terrible tragedy must

follow . Aud this was actually the caso . De Grandpre ' s ball crashed into Le Pique ' s balloon , and headlong to earth went duellist nnd second . They both perished . De Grandpro sailed on , and landed some tweuty milea from the capital . Mention of war ballooning invites a note of another exciting and romantic air journey . Great issues hnng upon this . It sent a thrill through Europe . Tho

German armies had closed in npon Paris , and Franco seemed at tho mercy of her foe . It was expected that Sedan would prove practically tho end of the war . Bat M . Gamhetta escaped , from the beleaguered city by balloon , and new chapters of strenuous resistance opened . It was on the 7 th of October 1870 that the advontnrous minister went up from Montmartre . His secretaries wore with him . " Long live the Republio ! " " Long live France ! " cried the

watching crowd . And out over the German lines the balloon sailed . It dipped : it was surely coming down ! But , no ; it rose again , and with it rose French hopes . So narrow was its esoape that a German shot actually grazed M . Gambetta ' s hand . A few feet higher and the ballet would have brought down the balloon . The travellers descended near Amiens . and got safely away to Tours . —From Cassell ' s Saturday Journal for Septembor 1890 ( 6 d ) .

A SMAKT ACTOTC . —A German dramatic anthor tells a good story of au improvised monologue to which he had to listen not long ago on tho occasion of the first production of a now comedy . The hero had finished a tolerably long speoeb , and at that precise momont a medical man ought to havo emerged from tho wings ; but ho did not emerge . "Ah , here comes the doctor ! " bogan tho hero afresh , in

order to fill up the time ; and he stared nnxionsly in the direction of the " prompt " side of thc stage . " Bnt how slowly he walks ! One would imagine that there was no need for hurry . Now he has positively stopped to talk to a lady . What can ho have to say to her ? At last he is ouco more ou his way ! No—now ho has stopped to

talk to a man ! AVhy the doctor knows every one ! Here he comes again ! " At that moniout the doctor eutored , bnt from the opposite side . For an instant the hero was a littlo taken aback , but with admirable coolness he recovered himself , and , as ho greeted his visitor , exclaimed : " How did yon get round tbe corner so quickly , doctor . ?" -- Exchange . '

MASONIC BOWM . VI ; MATCH . —A very pleasing match took place on tho Magazine Bowling Green , Egremont , on Friday , tho 24 th inst ., when the brethren of the Rock Lodge , Birkenhead , mot their brethren of the Everton Lodge , Liverpool , for a friendly match of bowls , which ended in a close and interesting finish , " 823 " ju 3 t pulling through . At the close of the match the brethren sat down to an

excellent tea , provided under the personal supervision of f . ho host and hostess of the Magazine Hotel , Bro . Get try nnd Mrs . Gertry , which gavo every satisfaction . Bro . Councillor Houlding ( Liverpool ) occupied the chair , and Bro . Ellis . ( Birkenhotid ) tho vice-chair . A cordial vote of thanks was given to the committee of the Magazine Bowling Olnb , who generously set apart the green for tho use of the parry .

_ the beauty of the lessons contained in tho Mark degree has made it a department in Masonry much respected by all Matk Masters . I ino "degreo , " as has been remarked by tho G . Secretary , occupies an jiuomaloiis place as taught iu Craft Lodges in Scot / and , aud to that 'act alone may bo attributed the want of respect to its morics shown in the abuse of tho power with which the Lodges are

in"" iten . 1 'ivory M . M . is entitled to tho Mark , and hia Lodge f . honlr' 1 hiireforo alt ' ord him every opportunity of receiving it comfortably , ¦'" ill J , a manner that will at feast give him a ouauco of carrying aw & y f - ° me rays of its beauty . As a rule , Lodgo office-bearer ! . ! are carole .-is j 'out it being conferred at all . Iu some Lodges tho Mark has not '" en worked for years , with the result that when a llutk Lodge is

' men thero is such au accumulation of applicants that working the 1 egree becomes a farce . To crowd twenty or thirty candidates into ' jy of the Masonic Halls in Ghi- 'gow with » iuy hopo of giving equate instruction , is sheer nonsense . In one instance recently , as " ¦« iy as thirty-eight nnd last week thirtv-three , were required to

. ' '" G . J 5 . at the samo time . As picscnoly ordered there is no i , " ' "; reformation iu the manner of conferring the Mark in Lodges , j ' lla a consummation devoutly to be wished " that , iu the WITT ° '' orr ] er » tliu Urand Committee should look into the matter L e \ r ' I " W 0 ot advising how the Mark is to bo conferred iu ^¦ " gOB—the creation of a Grand Mark Lodge , as in Englaud , or

Gleanings.

whether to cede the right of conferring tho degree to iho Supreme Graud Royal Arch Chapter , as . iu America . —Glasgow Evening News . Tho prophet Isaiah described the " head " men of Israel as being " ancieut aud honourable , " nnd probably no better words could be funud in which to speak of the Order of Freemasons . Sceptical people , to wlu so keeping the profound roystorios of the Craft have

not been entrusted , all ' eot to sneer at tho antiquity of the Brotherhood , but the most incredulous cannot fail to be struck from time to time with the evidence which appears to leave little real ground for their unbelief . The latest discovery of special interest to Freemasons has been mado by tho Rev . Haskett Smith , Vicar of Branncewoll , Lincolnshire . Ho has been spending aorno months among tho Druses of

Lebanon ; aud , in consequence of tho service rendered by him iu sucking tho venom of a deadly snake from the body of one of thoir tribe , he has been admitted into tho most intimate relations with them . Ono of tho special marks of favour conferred npon him was that of initiation into a number of mysterious riles , and Mr . Smith was very much startled , as a Freemason , to find thoso Drnsoa saluting hira by one of the characteristic Masonio signs with whioh , of course

although they did not know it , ho was already perfectly familiar . What adds to the significance of this circumstance ia tho fact that , as Mr . Smith shows , those strange people aro lineal doacondants of the ancient Uittitos , and are a branch of the great Phoenician race whoso ancestors supplied the Lebanon cedars to the builders of Solomon ' s temple . After this tho uninitiated cannot do better than adapt tho language of Lucio . " Our doubts aro traitors ,

And mako us lo 3 e tho good wo oft might win . " —Dorset City Chronicle . Not being a Freemason I cannot enlighten " H . A . Y . " aa to the principles of tho Order . His second query , "Aro Jews admitted ?" I cau answor in the affirmative . The only exception is in Prussia , and the exclnsion there of Jews from tho Lodges has ou more than one occasion been the snl ject of representations from tbe Grand Lodgo

of England . Thero aro in London , and in somo of the large Provincial cities also , several so-called Jewish Lodges , bnt they contain a fair leaven of Christian " brothers . " The present Lord Mayor was , and perhap 3 is still , a member of one of these Lodges in the Metro , polls , which has its headquarters not a hundred miles from the Guildhall , and has both Christian and Jewish Officers . The W . M . for tho present year is tho editor of your principal Jewish contemporary . — Echo .

The Provincial Grand Lodge of Devonshire Freemasons will hold its annual meeting at tho Freemasobs' Hall , Plymouth , on Thursday , 11 th proximo , when the busiuess will include the receiving of reports from the Provincial Grand Secretary , the Provincial Grand Treasurer , tho Fortesono Annuity Fund , and the Committee of Petitions : aB also the appointment by tho lt . VV . Bro . Viscount Ebrington , M . P .

( Provincial Grand Master ) , of the Officers for the ensuing year , and tho election by the members of a Provincial Grand Treasurer . Tho two railway companies havo agreed to issue first and second clasa tickets , at a fare and a quarter , available from the day before to tho day after tbe meeting . Tho last time the Provincial Grand Lodgo

met at Plymouth was on 6 th August 1881 , when thero woro 4 i > Lodges and 2337 subscribing members . Now the numbers are 52 and 2980 respectively . All the Lodges in the threo towns , and nearly all in Devon , meet in private halls , instead of in hotels , as was formerly the case . All the funds are in a prosperous state . —Western Morning Neu's .

Lodgo No . 16 , St . John , lalkirk , has a minnto dated 29 th Jaunary 1740 , in which it is recorded that a petition was before the meeting from "the Right Honblo . Earl of Kilmarnock , present Mastor of tho Kilmarnock Lodgb and the British Coflee Lodge , London , craving to be admitted a member of the Lodge of Falkirk . " The petition waa unanimously granted , and it is stated that his Lordshi p " payed in

ten shillings to tho box . " Another minute is of a meeting held towards the end of the same year ( 17-10 ) , which states that " the Right Houble . my Lord Kilmarnock was unanimously chosen Master . " It appears , however , that the Earl did not attend the Lodgo in the capacity of Mastor till towards the end of 17 'il . St . John ' s Day , 1713 , seems to have been tho last occasion on which the unfortunate Earl presided at tho Lodge meetings , and three years later ( August

1716 ' ) he was executed for the part he took in tho Jacobite rebellion . The members of 16 wore disposed to show somo mark of respect to the memory of the departed Earl , and , in 17 ' 19 , elected his threo eons , Lord Boyd and tho Hons . Charles and William Boyd , Master and Wardens respectively . Thero was a Bye-law enacted iu St . Johu ( 16 ) in 1762 imposing a tino of twopence for non-attendance , aud ono penny upon any member half-ait-hour late at any mooting .

liuiiouitixc . A STUANMEU . —A stockbroker who was on his way to tho City ( the City Prist says ) observed that one of hia follow passengers in tlio 'bus waa closely regarding him , and after a time tho man loaned over aud ,-iskod , " Didn ' t I see you in Liverpool iu 1 S 79 ?" The broker wasn ' t iu Liverpool that yoar , but , thiuking to humour the stranger , he replied iu tho affirmative . " Don ' t yon rornembor

handing a poor shivering wretch a half-crown one night outside tho Royal Hotel ? " '' . [ do . " Well , I ' m the chap , [ was hard up , out of work , and about to commit suicide . That money made a new man of mo . By ono lacky spec und another I am now worth £ 5000 . " "Ah , glad to hear it . " * ' And now I want yuu to take a sovereign in place of that half-crown . I cannot feel easy until tho debt ia

paid . " Tho broker protested and objected , bnt finally , just to humour the man , he took the U 5 note off red him , and returned JCi change . Tho stranger mon left the 'bit ? , and everything might have ended then and there if tho broker , on reaching tho ollice , hadn ' t ascertained that the "liver" was a counterfeit , and that ho was Jjl out of pocket . What a pity ho had not been " taught to be cautious . "