The Death Of The Queen.

Bro . E . T . WILLIAMS , at the request of the D . G . M ., delivered the foll wing panegyric , which / was listened to with the closest attention , and which ill long be remembered by the brethren : CVht Worshipful Sir , I thank you that , although I am not a Briton , you have rmitted me to say a few words upon this solemn occasion , and , however inade-P . ]„ j may express them , I know that in the remarks I have to make I am but

oicing the sentiments ot millions or Americans , who to-aay share tne griet ana v . jjg 0 f their British kindred ; grief for the passing of the noblest monarch that has ever swayed the sceptre of the British Empire , pride in her great achievements and her greater character . From childhood I have been taught , as most Americans have been taught , to hold in honour the name of England's great rinpen And , though at times there have been misunderstandings between the

two countries , I have never heard a word of dispraise spoken of the gracious woman , to whose memory we are gathered to do honour to-day . On the contrary , Americans have been quick to recognise that in her Majesty Queen Victoria , the Republic had a true friend . It will never be forgotten that in the unfortunate affair of the Trent , it was with her own hand that she modified the dispatch which her ministers were about to send to the State Department at Washington , an act

which undoubtedly paved the way for a peaceful settlement of the difficulty , and , perhaps , saved the Great Republic from disintegration . But all merely national feeling must be forgotten in this hour , ail international jealousies abandoned . As we gather here this evening , there is but one sentiment animating alLour hearts , that is a desire to pay a tribute of respect to the character of the good Queen , whose death has brought to an end the most brilliant reign in the annals

of her country , a reign that has won unexampled glory for the crown of Great Britain by the wide extension of its dominion ; that has sought , as no other reign , to promote the welfare of the British people , by enlarging their liberties , safeguarding their interests , providing for their education , and ministering in a thousand ways to their comfort and happ iness ; a reign that has given peace to regions that before were at perpetual strife , and that has established among tribes of every race and tongue in all quarters of the world adjust and orderly government . But we come together more especially as Masons , and it is surely fitting that we should do so ,

, to bear witness , as members of one of the most ancient Orders of the world , to the hig h esteem in which we hold the character of one who for more than a cycle of years has been the Patron of British Masonry and who has exhibited in an eminent degree , both in her private life and in her public actions , those great virtues : temperance , fortitude , prudence , and justice , which it is the aim of our Craft to cultivate . For 60 years and more , whenever British Masons have

gathered about the festal board the first toast which they honoured has been " The Queen and the Craft . " It will seem strange not to hear and respond to this sentiment again , nor to join in the hymn , hymn at once and prayer— " God save the Queen . " Queen Victoria is dead , and wherever the sun in his westward course to-day shall look upon civilized lands , there he will find the homes of men draped with the emblems of mourning , there he will find the hearts of men

bowed in sincere sorrow , there will he hear the tongues of men telling the virtues , ' not alone of the wise and just ruler of the greatest Empire this old earth has ever known , but more especially of the illustrious woman—more than Queen or Empress—who is followed to-day to her last resting-place by the sighs and regrets of half the human race . From that night , when as a mere girl she entered upon the high duties to which Heaven and the will of her people had

called her , down to this latest hour , when on the threshold of a new century she yielded up her soul to God—through all the three-score years and more of sovereign responsibility , living "in the white light that beats upon a throne" in every relation of her lite , whether as daughter , wife , or mother , or as the ruler of her people , she has shown herself devoted to the highest ideals , obedient to every call of duty , self-sacrificing in the service of the State—the noblest of women and

the most gracious of sovereigns . Throughout this day in all the world , even here in these far eastern lands , the ports of China and Japan ; among the islands of the austral sea , where the latest born constellation of states challenges the glory of the Southern Cross , on the snow-clad slopes of the Himalayas , among the wild tribes of Northern India , whose chiefest pride is that they have " eaten the White Queen ' s meat , " and made " her enemies their own ; " amidst the hot sands of Egypt , in far Khartoum , where Gordon fell for her cause and humanity's ; aye ,

yonder , too , where to-day Briton and Boer grapple in the death struggle , which she fain would have averted ; in every Court in Europe ; throughout the length and breadth of the Great Republic , and where the gloomy woods of Canada give their sighs to the wintry winds—there will men and women with bated breath tell in various tongues how the good Queen , glorious in life and blessed in her death , has gone on High to her reward . In imagination we may view the vast multitudes that stand sibnt and uncovered in the streets of London while the mortal remains

of one so beloved and so honoured are carried to the tomb . In fancy we may stand at the open sepulchre and see her body laid to rest beside the sacred dust of him she never ceased to mouin ; and as the last words of the burial service shall fall upon our ears—* ' Earth to

eanh and dust to dust' —we may realise at last that the Victorian era is ended . From Windsor to Balmoral , and back again to sunny Osborne where she fell asleep , the tolling chimes of city and hamlet will echo the sad news , and the winds that sweep over the heathery hills of Scotland will whisper it to the whitecapped waves that beat upon her sea-girt kingdom and far across the tide , by distant shores;—there where equatorial stars bring grateful breezes to the heated stictts of Singapore , or where the skin-clad red man from his ice-bound hut

The Death Of The Queen.

looks Out across the western sea to watch the dying of the day , wherever the white banner floats upon the main or the red upon the shore , there the echoing news shall awaken- in the hearts of her people one mournful note of mingled pride and lamentation , that shall swell into a world chorus , fit requiem for her departed spirit . Yes , the Queen is dead 1

"The glories of our blood and state Are shadows , not substantial things ; There is no armour against fate;—Death lays his icy hand on kings . Sceptre and crown must tumble down , And in the dust be equal made With the poor crooked scythe and spade . "

Death , the great leveller , brings home to us as nothing else can the lesson that is taught us in every meeting of the lodge , that before Him , who considers the lilies of the field and who notes the sparrow ' s fall , all distinctions save those of character fade away . But it is this fact that in her Majesty , Queen Victoria , her character became her high estate—aye , rather adorned that high estate—that the

noble qualities of her heart and mind outshone the jewels in her crown it is this that makes the world to-day stop all the wheels of its industry , all its functions of government , all its bargaining and selling , and stand with reverential mien while the coffin of this one woman , and she already past the allotted four-score years , is borne to the sepulchre . ( To be continued . )

Obituary.

Obituary .

BRO . JOHN OWEN BROOKE , No . 610 . The older generation of musicians , as well as Freemasons , will learn with regret of the death , which took place on Tuesday , the 26 th ult ., at Redland , a suburb of the city of Bristol , of Bro . John Owen Brooke . Thirty or so years ago he was one of the most prominent musicians in the district , and his skill as a clarionet player was more than local . He was also a most clever performer on

the cornet and violin , and his engagements included the highest class concerts and musical festivals in Bristol , Gloucester , Worcester , and other centres . It was whilst he was bandmaster of the 42 nd Regiment Black Watch that he had the distinction of appearing before the late Queen Victoria to exemplfy his talent . A march of his composition so pleased her Majesty that he was commanded to conduct a band performance of it in her presence at Balmoral . Soon after

going to Bristol—nearly half a century ago—Bro . Brooke accepted the position of conductor of the orchestra at the Theatre Royal , Bristol , under the management of the late Bro . James Henry Chute , the father of the present proprietor of the Prince ' s Theatre . He subsequently war . bandmaster of the Bristol Engineer Volunteers . The deceased brother , who at the time of his death had reached the age of 84 years , had for a long while been a member of the Colston Lodge , No . 610 , but we have not just at this time the precise history of his Masonic associations . FUNERAL OF BRO . COL . HUGH MACKAY GORDONV . D .

, , J . P ., OF THE COURT , ELTHAM , AND ABERGELDIE , ABERDEENSHIRE . AH that was mortal of our much regretted brother was laid to rest in the churchyard of that quaint old village of Eltham , Kent , on Siturday , ths 23 rd ult . Thefirst portion of the funeral ceremony was held in th ^ Pari-ih Church , a large congregation attending . Col . Gordon was a prominent Freemason , a liberal

supporter of our Institutions , P . G . S . B . of England , P . P . G . D . of Middlesex , P . M . and , until just prior to his death , Treasurer of the Burdett Lod ge , No . 1293 ( a position which he vacated in consequence of failing health in favour of Bro . W . G . Kentish ); P . M ., Treasurer , first Senior Warden , and senior surviving founder of the West Kent Volunteer Lodge , No . 2041 , a lodge in which he took especial interest , and which was founded in 1884 in connection with the and

Volunteer Battalion the Queen ' s Own Royal West Kent Regiment . The deceased was long a member of this battalion , hiving joined it at the commencement of the volunteer movement in 1859 , and being for many years Captain-Commandant of the 3 rd ( Lee ) Kent R . V . C , subsequently attaining field rank , and retiring about 12 years since with the rank of Colonel . We are informed that only recently he was appointed Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of Aberdeen—an honour which unhappily he did not live long to enjoy . Among those of our

Order who attended to pay a last mark of respect were Bros . W . G . Kentish , P . M . and Treas . 1293 , P . G . Std . Br . ; Surgeon-Major H . W . Roberts , P . M . 1293 and 2041 , P . P . G . W . Middx . ; Col . Francis Wm . Frigout , V . D ., P . M ., and now senior surviving founder of 2041 ; A . A . Frigout , P . M . 2041 , P . P . G . Supt . of Works Kent ; Sergt .-Major Parsons , P . M . 2041 ; Colour-Sergt . Albion G . Collins , P . M . 2041 ; Sergt . John Ward , l . P . M . 2041 ; Henry C . Loney , W . M . 2041 ; Sergt . Edw . John jarratt , S . D . 2041 ; Wm . H . Gomer , D . C . 2041 ; Saml . Fallows , 2041 ; G . W . Colman , 2041 ; and R . White , 2041 .

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ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS , 113 TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL Will be held on WEDNESDAY , the 8 th MAY , 1 9 01 , The MOST WORSHIPFUL PRO GRAND MASTER , THE EIGHT HON . EARL AMHERST , R . W . Provincial Grand Master of Kent , IN THE CHAIR . „ Brethren willing to act as Stewards on this very important occasion are earnestly solicited to send in their names to the cretary , as early as convenient . Stewards are much needed , and their services will be gratefully received . nm F . R . VV . ' HEDGES , Secretary . Uffice—5 , Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C .