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^ J ^^^^ m ^^ S ^ ms ^^ S ^^^ S ^ S ^^ Sl ^^ S ^^^ S ^ I C O ' Ji TENTS . PAGb H P LEADER— B if The King and the Craft ... ... ... ... ... 53 D S > The Funeral of the late Oueen Victoria ... ... ... ... 53 H I Supreme Grand Chapter of England ( Agenda Paper ) ... ... ... 54 H H Bournemouth Freemasons and the New Century ... " * " ... ... 55 D 8 Masonic New Century Banquet at Portsmouth ... . _ ... 55 H B Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 56 ¦ Jg Science , Art , and the Drama ... ... ... ... ... 57 H 1 MASONIC NOTES —* ¦ Sj Agenda Paper of Supreme Grand Chapter of England ... ... 59 I Ml Death of Bro . Sir John Maclure , Bart ., M . P . ... ... ... 59 H » Votes of Condolence to the King ... ... ... ... 59 M 1 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 60 | J 9 Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 60 jj N Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... 60 H u Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61 H ra Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 62 H I The Funeral of the late Bro . C . J . Martyn , M . A ., P . G . C . ... ... 62 ¦ 3 Obituarv ... ... ... ... ... ... 63 H 1 Sonnet for the Month of February ... ... ... ... 63 H i Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... 63 HI jj Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 6 4 fl |

The King And The Craft.

THE KING AND THE CRAFT .

The minds of the brethren generally are just now seriously exercised in respect of two questions . In the first place , will King EDWARD VIL , now that he has ascended the throne of his ancestors , vacate the office of M . W . Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England , which he has held for the last 26 years ? Secondly , in the event of his Majesty resolving to take this course , who will be elected to succeed him as

M . W . G . M . ? It must be clearly understood that we speak without authority upon these points , and are merely expressing our own opinion when we state our belief that , following the precedent set by H . R . H . GEORGE Prince of Wales on being appointed Regent for his father , King GEORGE III ., his Majesty will retire from the position of Grand Master , and , on being invited to do so , will accept the oflice of Grand Patron . In such case we imagine that the King ' s brother , H . R . H . the Duke of CONNAUGHT , who is already M . W . Past Grand Master , and has for many years been Prov . Grand Master of Sussex and District Grand Master of Bombay , will , if approached with a view to his being elected to succeed the

King , accept the proposal , and graciously allow himself to be nominated for the office . There has , of course , been no time as yet for any arrangements to be proposed , much less adopted , but we incline to the belief that the course we have indicated will be followed .

The Funeral Of The Late Queen Victoria.

THE FUNERAL OF THE LATE QUEEN VICTORIA .

Ihc closing scenes in connection with tlie long and glorious reign ol" our late Most Gracious Majesty Queen VICTORIA have been arranged to take place to-day ( Friday ) and to-morrow while on Monday , the 4 th instant , the coffin will probably be

removed from St . George ' s Chapel to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore , in order that it may be placed in the sarcophagus , where already have lain for well nigh 40 years the mortal

remains of the late illustrious Prince Consort , whom her Majesty loved so dearly during their all-too-brief wedded life , and had mourned so deeply through all the long years of her widowhood . To-day her body will be conveyed from

The Funeral Of The Late Queen Victoria.

Osborne House to Portsmouth on board the Royal yacht Alberta , which , followed by the Victoria and Albert , with his Majesty King EDWARD VIL , the German Emperor , WILLIAM II .. and his son , and the other Princes of the British and

Foreign Royal and Imperial families on board , will steam slowly between the lines of the British fleet , supplemented by representative ships from the principal navies of the world , which have been sent to pay homage to

the deceased monarch . To-morrow ( Saturday ) the Royal remains will be conveyed from Portsmouth to Victoria , whence they will be carried , on a gun-carriage and attended by the King and the Princes and Sovereigns of our own and other Royal

and Imperial houses , to the Great Western terminus at Paddington . Here it will be again placed in the train which , with the Royal and Imperial mourners and representatives from other states , will convey it to Windsor and thence along the prescribed

route to St . George ' s Chapel , where , in the presence of the assembled Princes and Princesses , the final obsequies will bt solemnised . Originally , we believe , it was contemplated that when the service in the Chapel was over , the body should be

removed thence to its last resting place in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore . But these arrangements have been since modified and the body will lie in the Chapel till Monday , when it will traverse the route to Frogmore and

be deposited in the Mausoleum , but this part of the concluding ceremony will take place only in the presence of the KING and members of the Royal Family as well as of members ofthe Royal Household . Be it added that by Order in Council business will be

entirely suspended , and all business houses , including banks , will be closed , not only in the Metropolis , but throughout the country , so that the most profound respect may be shown to a Sovereign

who loved and laboured for her people as none of her predecessors had done , and by whom in return she was beloved and respected as no other Sovereign that ever reigned in ancient or modern times was beloved and respected .

The funeral from lirst to last , will be essentially a military one , in accordance with the expressed wishes of the QUEEN , who was proud of being a soldier ' s daughter and the head of the military service of the United Kingdom . The senior or naval

service will have in charge the first portion of the outdoor ceremonial , while the military service will carry out the second portion until such time as the body occupies its appointed place in St . George ' s Chapel , when the clergy will complete the

mournful task . But grand and imposing as the pageant will be from the very beginning to the very close of the solemn proceedings , there is still something grander and more imposing in the sorrow which is universally felt throughout the British

Empire atthe death of their much-loved and venerated Sovereign , and the sympathy with that national sorrow which is being exhibited throughout the other countries of the world . Britons have ever been proud of the illustrious lady who ruled over them so

wisely and well for so many years ; but , even in the midst of their deep grief at her death , they must be , if possible , still more proud when they note the reverence whicli is being shown to her memory by the Sovereigns and peoples of the whole

world . May the Great Architect of the Universe watch over and protect her Empire under her son and successor , and under his successors , as He has been pleased to watch over and protect it during all the years of her long and glorious reign !