Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

THE COMMITTEE of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution will hold their regular monthly meeting at Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday , the 13 th inst ., at 4 p . m . The list of petitions to be placed on the list of candidates for the May election will , as usual , be a heavy one . THE SURREY COUNTY BALL , has been arranged to be held at the County and Borough Hatts , Guildford , on Wednesday next , the 23 rd instant . H . R . H . THE PRINCE OF WALES has consented to become the Patron of the Mens ' Help Society , and has sent a donation of 10 guineas towards its funds .

IT IS RUMOURED that Count Deym , the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador in London , will be recalled in order to fill a high post at Vienna , and that his place will be taken by Count Kalnoky .

THE SEASON in Dublin will commence on Wednesday , the 20 th inst ., when the Lord Lieutenant will hold his first levee at the Castle , and this will be followed later by the usual balls . MR . W . R . MCCONNELL , Q . C , Chairman of the County of London Sessions , has presented a handsome and massive silver loving cup to the Corporation of Belfast , in which city he was born .

BRO . THE MARQUIS AND MARCHIONESS OF GRANBY have gone to Folkestone , his lordship having been confined to his room during the past month by severe illness , from which , though unable to walk , he is , we are glad to say , at length recovering . PRINCESS CHRISTIAN OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN visited St . Mark ' s Middle School , Grove-road , Windsor , on Saturday evening last , and distributed a quantity of clothing sent by the Berks and Bucks Needlework Guild , of which Princess Henry of Battenberg is President , among the women whose children are cared for at the local crMte .

THE RIGHT HON . C PELHAM VILI . ERS , the father of the House of Commons , completed his 95 th year on Sunday last , having been born on the 3 rd January , 1 S 02 . He has represented Wolverhamptonlin Parliament uninterruptedly since iS 35 , ' and was a candidate for Parliamentary honours for the first time in 1 S 26 , when George the Fourth was king .

THE YEAR that has just closed has been an unusually busy one at the Royal Mint , upwards of 25 , 000 , 000 more pieces having been struck off than in 18 95 . Sovereignsand half sovereigns to the number of 6 , 280 , 670 were coined , or rather more than a million in f xcess , and there were about a million more silver coins , but the greatest excess was in the bronze coinage , the excess of which over 1895 was 24 , 500 , 000 .

THE ROYAL CARL ROSA COMPANY intend having a short season this year in London , lasting for only three weeks . They will appear at the Garrick Theatre , and their performances will include several of Wagner ' s operas and Donizetti ' s " La Figlia del Reggimento . " The last time they appeared in London they gave only matinees , but in the approaching visit the performances will take place in the evening , and probably matinees on Saturdays .

IT IS UNDERSTOOD that the special service at Whippingham Church—where the remains of Ihe late Prince Henry of Battenberg are interred—will be held on Wednesday , the 20 th inst . —the anniversary of his Royal Highness ' s death . There will be a numerous gathering of Royal personages on the occasion , and the Bishops of Winchester and Ripon will officiate , while the musical portions of the service will be under the direction of Bro . Sir Walter Parratt .

THE LATE SIR ALEXANDER MILNE , Bart ., Admiral of the Fleet , was buried at Inveresk Church , near Musselburgh , on Saturday last , the coffin , which was shrouded in the Union Jack , having been borne from the residence by relays of Bluejackets . The Queen was represented by Admiral of the Fleet , Sir Edmund Commerell , V . C , and the German Emperor by Vice-Admiral Koester . At the same time a memorial service was held in St . Michael ' s Church , Charter-square , which was attended by the First Lord of the Admiralty , Lord Chelmsford , Lord Cathcart , and others .

DR . GARNETT , of the Technical ^ Education Board , reports that more work has been done this winter in connection with the higher branches of the lithographic and engraving arts than has ever been recorded before , and consequently that we are in a fair way of being able to dispense with the importation from foreign countries of Christmas cards and book illustrations . Much of this progress is due to the practical work done at the Bolt-court Technical Institute , which is continually enlarging the scope of its operations .

SEVERAL ACCIDENTS , some attended with fatal consequences , happened during the dense fog which prevailed in London during the greater part of Saturday last . At the Wandsworth Station of the London , Chatham , and Dover Railway , a collision occurred between two trains , but though several persons were greatly shaken , none were seriously injured . # At Vauxhall , the driver of a van was thrown from his box by a collision and had his right shoulder dislocated , while at Ealing the driver of a van was killed through his van overturning in Gunnersbury-lane .

THE Q UEEN has been pleased to approve of the appointment of Sir Joseph Chitty as a . Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal , in succession to the Right Hon . Sir Edward Kay , resigned . Having taken a first class in honours in Uteris humanioribus , Sir Joseph Chitty entered Lincoln's Inn in 1856 , took silk in 1874 , and was raised to the bench as a judge in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice in 1 SS 1 . Lord Justice Chitty , however , will be best remembered as the famous stroke of the Oxford crew in the inter-University race . He was also a member of the " Devil ' s Own , " and rose to the rank of Major .

IN MEMORY OF BRO . SIR AUGUSTUS HARRIS . —Mr . Joseph Whitehead , of Vincent-square , Westminster , has been commissioned by Lady Harris to execute a memorial of the late Sir Augustus , to be placed over his tomb in Brompton Cemetery , and has piepared a design , which is now on view at the sculptor ' s studio . The monument will consist of a white marble pillar , surmounted by a life-size bust of the deceased . At one side of the pillar stands a female figure of Fame , crowning the bust with a wreath of laurel . On the other side is a trophy emblematic of Music and the Drama , the whole rising from a beautifully-moulded plinth . The monument will be completed in about six months .

T . R . H . THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES , accompanied by the Princess Victoria and attended by Miss Knollys and Capt tin Holford , left Sandringham for Trentham Hall , Staffordshire , on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Sutherla nd . As the visit was a private one , there was no official demonstration on the arrival of the Royal party , but the reception accorded to their Royal Highnesses by the large

concourse of people who had gathered from the countryside about Trentham Station and along the road leading to the Hall was of a most enthusiastic nature . The Prince and Princess were met on their arrival by the Duke of Sutherland and were rapidly driven to his grace ' s residence . The weather was depressing throughout the whole day , but hopes are entertained that it will improve during the Royal visit .

"I DREAMT THAT I DWELT IN MARBLE HALLS " will be the pleasing fancy to every one who first crosses the threshold of the gorgeous Trocadero Restaurant , which now holds such a proud and enviable position in the " New London " starting into life round and about Piccadilly Circus . But instead of the " vassals and serfs " of the old song we shall find a warm and hospitable welcome from the courteous and spirited proprietors , Messrs . J . Lyons and Co ., Limited , and the proverbial attention and personal comfort ever extended to the public by these well-known caterers and

restaurateurs . The basement floor is devoted to the grill room , with the buffet , smoking , reading , and billiard rooms . The entrance floor is occupied by the grand restaurant , with its golden minstrel and great gallery in the style of Louis Quatorze , and attached to the gold hall and gallery is a splendid adjacent saloon in the style of Louis Quinze . Small but deliriously cosy dining rooms surround these splendid public rooms . The first floor of the new Trocadero is another welcome surprise , consisting as it does of a

ball room , a banqueting hall in the Empire period—a most admirable reproduction—and an ante-room in the style of Louis Treize . On the gallery level , at the top of the grand staircase , will be found a reception room , again in the style of Louis Treize ; a magnificent Masonic lodge in the period of Francois Premier , with , of course , the necessary ante-rooms for the comfort and convenience of the brethren of the Craft . Full particulars can be had on application at the Trocadero , Piccadilly Circus .

Masonic And General Tidings.

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CONNAUGHT and their children have left Osborne on the conclusion of their visit to the Queen . THE DUKE OF WESTMINSTER has made known his intention of contributing £ 100 towards the establishment of an intermediate school at Hawarden . THE WORSHIPFUL Company of Skinners have offered £ 100 a year for five years to the Yorkshire College , in aid ot the Leather Dipartment . THE TSAR has appointed Prince Louis Napoleon Colonel of the Dragoon Regiment stationed in Nijni-Novgorod , to the coloncy of the 45 th Dragoons at Sawerall .

THE PRINCESS LOUISE ( Marchioness of Lome ) , whose visit to Eaton Hall was postponed owing to indisposition , is reported to be in a fair way towards recovery .

THE LORD MAYOR has consented to preside at the anniversary festivalof the Printers' Pension , Almhouse , and Orphan Asylum Corporation , on Tuesday , April 6 th . THE ZND BATTALION of the Connaught Rangers , at present on service in Egypt will embark for India about the 7 th February , its place in Egypt being taken by the 1 st Lincolnshire from Malta . THE COUNCIL of the Hunters' Improvement Society have notified the Commanderin-Chief that they intend offering at their Spring Show three prizes of £ 20 , £ 10 , and its respectively for officers' chargers .

MRS . GLADSTONE completed her 84 th year on Saturday last . The Right Hon . W . E . and Mrs . Gladstone will arrive in London from Hawarden on the 20 th instant and will leave for Cannes the following day on a visit to Lord Rendel ,

BRO . PASSMORE EDWARDS has offered to provide a public library for the parish of St . George ' s-in-the-East at a cost of £ 5000 . The Commissioners for Public Libraries are now engaged upon the purchase of a freehold for the site . LIEUT-COL . NEELD and the officers of the 17 th Lancers gave a ball on Wednesday night at the Exhibition Buildings , York . The guests were over a thDusand in number , and included Prince Adolphus of Teck and many old officers of the regiment .

BRO . FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS has just given to the world the'story of his experiences during \\ years' service in India , under the title of " Forty-one Years in India , from Subaltern to Commander-in-Chief , " the publishers being Richard Bentley and Son . IT IS UNDERSTOOD that a public meeting will shortly be held for the purpose of raising a fund tor the distribution among the sufferers by th ; recent bag slide in Ireland . The search for the missing bodies has been continued , but , up to Monday evening without success .

BRO . LORD BRASSEY , Governor ot Victoria , is now on a visit to New Zealand , having arrived on Monday at Bluff Harbour in the latter colony on board his yacht , the Sunbeam , which , in spite of the very boisterous weather at th : time prevailing , made a very rapid passage from Australia . THE BRODERERS' COMPANY , of which Bro . Alderman Sir David Evans is the Master , have issued invitations to a dinner to be given at the Savoy Hotel on Thursday , the 2 ist inst . The Lord Mayor , Mr . Alderman and Sheriff Ritchie , and Bro . Sheriff Rogers will be the principal guests on the occasion .

THE EARL AND COUNTESS BROWNLOW ' S guests at Bilton House , Grantham , have included the Earl of Lytton , the Countess of Ancaster , Bro . Viscount Valletort , Lord Jedburgh , and Lady Helen Kerr , Bro . the Hon . Orm Guest , Admiral the Hon . Walter , and Mrs . Carpenter , and Mr . George Leveson-Gower . H . R . H . THE PRINCE OF WALES has graciously consented to lay the foundationstone of the new buildings of the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital , Moorfields , shortly after Easter , and it is understood that H . R . H . the Princess of Wales will probably accompany him . In the meantime , an influential meeting in aid of the funds is to be held at the Mansion House on Monday , the ist prox .

LORD DELAMBRE is again in Africa hunting lions and other big game . In a letter his lordship said he had just left Berbera , on the East Coast , with a huge caravan , for an unexplored region of Somaliland . He was in excellent health and spirits , and was only looking forward to good sport , which is the primary object of the expedition , but anticipates entering a country which may reveal much that is new and strange .

THE CUSTOMARY OFFERINGS of gold , frankincense , and myrrh were made , on behalf of the Queen , at the Chapel Royal , St . James's , on Wednesday , being the feast of the Epiphany , at the 11 a . m . service . Mr . E . H . Anson and the Hon . A . Fitz-Clarence , Gentlemen Ushers-in-Waiting , attended and presented the gifts , the Sub-Dean of the Chapels Royahthe Rev . Edgar Sheppard , M . A ., assisted by the Rev . J . W . Kempe , M . A ., officiating .

_ Mr . CHAPLIN , M . P ., met with ' a severe accident in the hunting-field , on Tuesday , while out with the Meynell hounds , his horse putting his foot into a hole and throwing the honourable gentleman with such violence as to fracture two of his ribs . He is , however , progressing favourably , but it will probably be a fortnight before he can be moved from Trentham Hall , where he was a guest at the time .

RECENT EXHIBITION ( 1896 ) AWARDS . —Amongst the Gold Medal and other awards given at the late India and Ceylon Exhibition , London , and various other exhibitions , it is worthy of note that Maypole Soap has been foremost amongst those so favoured , having been awarded the following medals and diplomas : India and Ceylon Exhibition , London , bronze medal and diploma ; Great Yarmouth Exhibition , gold medal ; Middlesboro' GrandTrades and Arts Exhibition , diploma ; East London Trade Industries and Arts Exhibition , diploma . Such successes as these are a pleasure to record , Maypole Soap being unique—it not only washes but dyes any colour—and is entirel y of English manufacture and everything connected with it , even to the management , is English .

A SUGGESTION FOR FREEMASONS . A BROTHER WRITES : " Dear Sir , —In looking through one of my back numbers of the Freemason , \ was attracted by an article headed — 'The British Homes Investment Corporation , Limited , ' and I immediately saw what a help to some of our lodges such a Corporation ( if used properly ) might prove ; in this way , b y our lodges combining , we m i ght become owners of our own temples , wherein some six lodges might meet , and thus save the heavy expense we are put to sometimes

such as having to pay from two to three guineas for the use of one room in a town hall , and then , if for convenience sake , we want another room to dine in after the lodge meeting is over , we are respectfully requested to piy another two guineas . Now , say we meet eight times during the year , and during that time have three banquets , that means an outlay of £ 23 2 s ., at two guineas , but more , of course , if at three , and then you have not got the convenience of your own wine cellars , so that you might buy and store your own wine , and thus get a saving for the

lodge by that means . If , therefore , one lodge is put to that expense , six must be put to £ 138 12 s . for hire of rooms only , and to do away with this expense , I should think , if the Master and his principal officers were made trustees during their term of office , and the lodge empowered them to hold house property certificates of such value , that the six lodges at the expiration of five years might be able to get the desired building , and feel more comfortable in the knowledge that they had done that which would benefit the brethren who followed after them , besides having a place so constructed with the

necessary ante-rooms adjoining , which would provide such privacy as we do not always get now . This is merely a rough idea , and 1 dare say many of your readers may be able to suggest much improvement in the shape of strong rooms , & c . —AN OLD P . M . " — The Corporation has achieved great success and made remarkable progress , having ' extended its membership to every town and village in the United Kingdom—this is owing to the facilities it affords to its members of acquiring their own premises on equitable and advantageous terms . 'The Bonus Investment and House Property Certificates

issued to December last reached nearly one million . This is nnrvellous progress , and it seems to us that a system which has produced such results since the registration of the Corporation in June , 1895 , is to be greatly appreciated , and must give great satisfaction to Mr . M . Gregory , the founder , and also to the directors , representative staff , shareholders , and certificate holders . The head office of the British Home Investment Corporation is at 100 , London Wall , E . G ., where all particulars will be readily furnished to applicants .