Cryptic Masonry.

Recorder ; H . H . Shirley , M . A ., C . of C . ; George Powell , C . of Gds . ; R . Roy , M . A ., M . ; A . McDowall , M . ; the Rev . Dr . T . VV . Lemon , P . G . Chap ., Chaplain ; G . Briggs , 1 . T . Rowe , H . Carmon , VV . Maple , H . Higgins , J . Holland , B . Stewart , and J . Moore Smith . The minutes of the previous council having been read and confirmedBro . R . B . Bryant , P . T . I . M . 2 , was

, unanimously elected T . I . M ., Bro . G . Graveley , Treas . |; and Bro . C . Mills , O . S . A vote of thanks was passed and ordered to be entered on the minutes to Bro . Baron de IFerrieres for Ihis services during . the past year Apologies for non-attendance were received from Bros . R ; B . Bryant , D . M . ; Edwin Storr , P . C . of Wks . ; W . B . Williamson , J . P ., S . S . ; T . Cubitt , P . T . I . M . ; J . Moon ,

J . G . Thomas , Nelson Prower , ALA ., and many others . The council was then closed in the Degree of Select Master , and adjourned till the third Thursday in May , when the annual festival will be held at the Holborn Restaurant . The usual dinner was held at the Holborn Restaurant , under the genial presidency of the Thrice Illustrious Master . A few toasts were proposed and duly responded to .

Order Of The Secret Monitor.

Order of the Secret Monitor .

Horatio Shirley Conclave ( No . 5 ) . — A meeting was held on Wednesday , the 24 th ult ., at the Holborn Restaurant . Present : Comps . Major Penrose J . Dunbar , S . R . ; C . Bennett Cooper , C ; F . H . Weiss , G . ; H . H . Shirley , P . G . V ., Treas . ; ' ohn ] . Pakes , Sec . ; J . J . Thomas , V . D . ; H . Tipper , V . D . ; J . A . Robinson , Gdr . ; J . Castello , A . D . C . ; A . Ball , Sentinel ; I . Zacharie , G . S . R .: Mulvey , P . S . R . ; Metcalfe , C . Robinson , F .

Weiss , Gottlieb , Boswell , Lane , Stretch , Rowe , and Hamp . Bro . T . J . Hamp was inducted into the Order by Bro . H . H . Shirley , P . G . V ., and Bro . S . Stretch , jun ., was admitted to the Second Degree . Bro . John J . Pakes , P . G . Gdr ., as Commissioning Officer , installed Bro . Charles B . Cooper as S . R . for the ensuing year . Bro . Cooper afterwards appointed the officers as follows : Bros . F . H . Weiss , C . ; VV . G .

Weiss , G . ; P . J . Dunbar , Treas . ; J . J . Pakes , Sec . ; E . Storr , Stwd . ; J . J . Thomas , 1 st V . D . ; H . Tipper , 2 nd V . D . ; J . Stephens , 3 rd V . D . ; H . P . Hay , 4 th V . D . ; J . A . Robinson , D . C . ; J . Castello , Gdr . ; A . VV . Lane , Steward ; and A . VValkley , Sentinel . A very handsome P . S . R . 's jewel was presented to Bro . Major P . J . Dunbar , P . G . C , for his valuable services as S . R . during the past year , and a similar jewel to Bro . John J . Pakes , P . G . Gdr ., for his services as Secretary .

Annual Festival Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement.

ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF THE EMULATION LODGE OF IMPROVEMENT .

The annual festival of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement was held at Freemasons' Hall , on Friday , the 26 th ult ., when the popularity of this excellent lodge was evinced by as large an attendance as an assembly of 400 brethren . Bro . Thomas Fenn .

President of the Board of General Purposes , Treas ., who , later in the eveningwas described as " the grandfather of all good Masonry in this country , " presided at the working of the lodge , and there were also present the following brethren .- Bros . R . C . Sudlow , P . G . Std . Br ., as l . P . M . ; W . H . Kirby , as S . W . ; F . T . Rushton , P . G . Stwd ., as I . W . ; VV . P . Reynolds ,

S . D . ; J . C . Mortimer , J . D . ; and J . J . Black , as l . G . The following were the wearers of the purple who attended : Bros . W . VV . B . Beach , M . P ., Prov . G . M . Hants and Isle ot Wight ; Sir John B . Monckton , P . G . W . j Rev . Henry Lansdell , D . D ., G . Chaplain ; Rev . R . J . Simpson , P . G . C ; Rev . John A . Lloyd ,

P . G . C ; the Very Rev . E . R . Currie , D . D ., Dean of Battle , P . G . C . ; George Everett , G . T . ; Capt . N . G . Philips , P . G . D . ; Frank Richardson , P . G . D . ; Ralph Gooding , M . D ., P . G . D .: Samuel Pope , Q . C ., P . G . D . ; R . Loveland Loveland , P . G . D . ; Hamon Le Strange , J . G . D . ; H . J . P . Dumas , P . G . D . ; E . Letchworth , P . G . D . ; H . A . Hunt , P . G . S . of VV . ; Chas . Belton ,

P . D . G . D . C . ; A . J . R . Trendell , C . M . G ., A . G . D . C ; John L . Mather , P . A . G . D . C ; Charles Martin , P . M ., A . G . D . C ; W . H . Spaull , P . A . G . D . C ; Col . James Peters , P . G . S . B . ; VV . M . Bywater , P . G . S . B . ; Fredk Mead , P . G . S . B . ; Eugene Monteuuis , P . G . S . B . ; C . F . Matier , P . G . Std . Br . ; Charles F . Hogard , P . G . Std . Br . ; Edward Cutler , O . C , G . Org . ; Alfred A .

Pendlebury , A . G . Sec . ; S . Vallentine , G . P . ; S . V . Abraham , A . G . P . ; Walter Hopekirk , P . G . P . ; T . VV . Whitmarsh , P . G . P . ; and Henry Sadler , G . Tyler . After the lodge had been opened in the Three Degrees , the Second Lecture was worked by the President and the following brethren : 1 st Section by Bro . H . Pritchard .

2 nd ,, „ J . C . Mortimer . 3 rd „ „ VV . H . Kirby . 4 th „ „ J . J . Black . 5 th „ „ W . P . Reynolds . All the work was beautifully executed , and it elicited loud and general applause . At the conclusion of the labours of the evening Bro .

FBNN informed the brethren that Viscount Dungarvan , P . G . M . Somersetshire , who was to have presided at the supper , was regretfully compelled through illness to be absent , but that Sir John B . Monckton , P . G . W ., had kindly consented to occupy the vacancy caused by his lordship's absence . Votes of thanks to the President and the other

working brethren of the evening were then carried , on the motion of Sir J . II . MONCKTON , seconded by Bro . VV . W . B . BEACH , and Bro . FENN acknowledged the compliment . Joining members to the number of 118 were then proposed , and the company , after the lodge had been closed in the Three Degrees , adjourned to Freemasons ' Tavern .

Annual Festival Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement.

Bro . E . Cutler , Q . C , G . Org ., played the following selection of music on the organ prior to and at the closing of the lodge : " Siegfried ' s Tod " —Gotterdammerung ( Wagner ) ; andante and variations ( Batiste ); Fugue , D major ( Bach ); andante religioso ( Edward Cuitler—from " The Organists' Quarterly Journal " of 1886 ); Offertory , G . ( Weley ); march "Tannhaiiser "

( Wagner ); Overture to " Sampson ( Handel ); and at his own expense furnished a pretty printed programme of the pieces . The supper , which was a hot one , and more of the proportions of a banquet than anything less , was provided b y Messrs . Spiers and Pond , Limited , superintended with great assiduity by Bro . Mantell , and after

grace following the supper , the toasts were proposed ; Sir ] . B . Monckton in the chair . The first toast was " The Queen and the Craft , " or , as Sir John put it , " The Queen who ' s the pride of us all , and the Craft that we practise and love . " Bro . Sir J MONCKTON , in proposing "The M . W . G . M ., H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , " said that in all

trouble and adversity , as well as in all prosperity , his Royal Highness thought of the Craft and all that interested it , and this was never better shown than on the previous Wednesday evening when , though at a considerable distance from London in family retirement , he still had the time and the will to think of what was going on at Covent Garden Theatre , and sent a

telegram to the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , who ¦ was presiding there , wishing all success to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . That was ample proof that his Royal Highness ' s heart was with them at all times . Bro . Sir J . MONCKTON , in proposing " The M . W . Pro G . M ., the R . W . O . G . M ., and the rest of the Grand

Officers , Present and Past , " said that on these occasions the Emulation Lodge of Improvement was never without a fair show of Grand Officers , and that night they had a very good show . They were all members of the lodge , and not a few of them owed their excellent Masonic education to it . He would couple the name of Bro . Beach , M . P ., Prov . G . M . for Hants and the

Isle of Wight , with the toast , a busy man , a member of the Legislature—not absolutely the father of the House of Commons , but one who had been a member of it many years—and yet he found time to go to Masonic meetings , where he was always welcome . They were always delighted to see him at Grand Lodge and especially so at the present gathering .

Bro . W . W . B . BEACH , M . P , Prov . G . M . Hants and the Isle of Wight , in reply , said it was a great pleasure to the Grand Officers to attend that night , and on behalf of the Pro Grand Master and the Deputy Grand Master he expressed their sincere thanks , and assured the brethren of the interest they felt in the welfare of this Emulation Lodge . He thought they might

congratulate the Deputy Grand Master on the great success which attended his presidency at the Festival of Wednesday . The Grand Officers now present could testify to the excellent working that had taken place , and also to the great gathering of brethren anxious to hear it . It was one of the most gratifying features of the Craft to see so large an array of brethren anxious for

and hankering after the teaching , for it was an evidence that there were young brethren desirous of profiting by the instruction ready to be afforded by those who had taken the trouble before them to learn , and had made themselves acquainted with the principles and working of the Craft . It was also gratifying to feel that Masonic teaching was so interwoven with the liberal arts

and sciences and many other things , and to think that the more they searched into Masonry the more they would be rewarded for their efforts . The Emulation Lodge of Improvement was doing good work , making the younger brethren zealous in prosecuting their studies so as to enable themselves to arrive at the higher ranks of the Order with credit to themselves and benefit to

the Craft at large . Bro . the Rev . Dr . CURRIE , Dean of Battle , P . G . C , proposed "The Chairman . " That evening he ( Dr . Currie ) had given in his name as a joining member of the lodge . He regretted the absence of Lord Dungarvan , and sympathised with him in his sickness ; but his place could not have been better supplied than

it had been by Sir John Monckton . As the speeches were all to be short , he would ask the brethren to make up by the depth of their potation and by the heartiness of their greeting for the limits he was obliged to place upon his eloquence . They all knew their brother in the chair : they all esteemed him as a good and expert Mason , and when he had said that he did not know they

could say more . Bro . Sir J MONCKTON , in reply , said he had on several occasions taken the position of Chairman in the absence of other brethren , and thought that in future he would be known as the V . W . Bro . Stop-gap . He was always ready to be useful in that way . He thanked the brethren for their kind and hearty

reception , and would proceed to propose the next toast" Success to the Emulation Lodge of Improvement and Bro . Thomas Fenn , its Treasurer . " He was not going to say very much about the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , but he might tell the brethren that nearly 30 years ago he joined it ; all the good he knew in Masonry he learned there ; all the harm he learned

elsewhere . He was pleased to know through the excellent Secretary , Bro . Kentish , that 118—or 10 more than last year—new members joined that evening . He believed that that was a record . The brethren might congratulate themselves that the Emulation Lodge of Improvement stood well in the hearts of Masons , and might fairly hope that it would go on from better to better . Let them trust it would

Annual Festival Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement.

continue to prosper , and that its good work would spread through the length and breadth of the land . He gave the toast of " Success to the Emulation Lodge of Improvement and its Treasurer , the grandfather of all good Masonry in this country , Bro , Thomas Fenn . " Bro . THOMAS FENN , P . G . W ., in reply , said : R . W

Bro . Chairman , —In the name of the Committee whom it is my pride to represent on these occasions I have not only to thank you for the very complimentary manner in which you have proposed this toast , but for having so readily and so fraternally come to our aid , not for the first time , to represent a brother who had consented to take the

chair , but who was prevented from doing so by severe illness . R . W . Bro . and brethren , the last time I had the honour of responding to this toast , 1 deviated from the usual course which had been followed by myself and my predecessors , and 1 explained to you tbe reason why we gave you the lectures on these occasions , and not the ceremonies . On that evening the lectures were

those of the First Degree , and I endeavoured to interest our new members in the practice and the stud y of our lectures by pointing out to them how very full y and impressively the sections of the First Degree which many of them had listened to that evening for the first time , expatiated on that peculiar system of moralit y which in our ceremonies is veiled in allegory and

illustrated by symbols . The lectures of the Second Degree afford no such opportunity ; they refer more particularl y to the daily work of our lives , and those accomplishments which adorn our intercourse with each other and add so much to the amenities of social life . There is only one point out of all the various subjects discoursed upon in the Second Lecture ,

which you have heard so ably delivered to-ni ght , on which I will ask your permission to say a word or two as the result of my own observation during over 30 years of active work in this Emulation Lodge of Improvement . I refer to what has been called in our lectures Rhetoric , or the art of speaking copiously and fluently on any subject . It is commonly said that

the art of speaking is a natural gift . It is true it is not every one who can become an orator , but my observations in this lodge have convinced me that the art of expressing our thoughts without embarrassment is no more a natural gift than any other faculty which is capable of improvement by cultivation . I have known brethren who in conversation amuse with their wit ,

claim our attention by the lucidity of their remarks , and even elegance of expression , who , when called upon suddenly and unexpectedly to make a speech , are scarcely able to put half-a-dozen words coherently together . That is probably from natural timidity . I have known a remarkable instance of this , and that is our late Bro . Sir Erasmus Wilson . I believe he became

a Mason after he was 60 years of age , and he was so struck with the beauty of our ceremonies that he became an ardent speaker and worker in the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , and to show you how these brethren I have alluded to , after a few years' practice in the Emulation Lodge of Improvement may become fluent and able speakers , I have only to call the

memory of those who knew Sir Erasmus Wilson to this—that from almost utter inability to speak in public , he became not only a fluent , but an almost irrepressible speaker . I well recollect meeting him coming out of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement rather earlier than usual to take the chair , as he told ine , at the Royal College of Surgeons . " Ah , Bro . Fenn , " he said ,

" I never could have done that if it had not been for the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . " My object in making these brief remarks is to induce our new members , or at least those of them who suffer from the timidity to which I have alluded , to take advantage of the opportunity afforded them of practising the use of the voice in our lodge and on these P"W

nights , and thus acquire the useful art of speaking without embarrassment , if not with ease—an art useful and indispensable in the Senate , at the bar , at County Councils , at our own social gatherings , m Grand Lodge , and in every other society and organisation which has for its object the welfare of our fellow men . R . W . Brother and brethren , the growth and

progress of this useful institution , as evinced by this greai gathering to-night , and the number of Grand Oflicers who annually honour us with their countenance and support , forces upon the Committee , whom I represent year after year , a deeper and deeper sense of the responsibility which they have undertaken ; but I M * 1 assure you with confidence in the names of Brasat

Sudlow , Frank Spaull , Kentish , and Rushton , who « the working members of this Committee , that you m ») rely upon their doing their very utmost to maintain tW high position and efficiency which this lodge h ' attained . ^ . Bro . FREDERICK MEAD , P . G . S . B ., proposed " '" j Lodge of Unions , No . 256 , " under the sanction « » - « " 6 * - Ul ^ li . V . 113 , . 11 / . ^^ W , UIIUCI I-. IW I . — - .

, ^ which the Emulation Lodge of Improvement is » ' As loyal Masons they knew well that however ntf ) lodges they might join , they always felt a distinct spect , reverence , and affection for their mother 1 ° s ' The Lodge of Unions was really the mother lodge oj . Emulation Lodge of Improvement , and deeply S , . „ « the brethren were to the Lodge of Unions for " kitb wi \* kii > . **> i v . iw t . \ j niv » ouuri- v »» win "" - - - effl ' ¦

put this lodge on foot . At the same time the repre tatives of the Lodge of Unions must be indeed P' | t of the Emulation , and of the great honour to wi "LK i had now attained , No lodge in the Craft n " ° . more members than the Emulation Lodge of IwP , i ment . He was afraid to say how many me "' " _ n had ; certainly it had hundreds ; probably '"""^ nS That night 118 additional members came in . ''