The Preston Guild.

reference to the Masonic rites of the day . As soon as Lord Lathom had received the trowel , the stone was slowly hoisted . Bro . the Earl of LATHOM , R . W . P . G . M ., after the stone was raised , said : Men and brethren here assembled to behold this ceremony , be it known unto you that we be the lawful Masons , tiue and faithful to the laws of our country , and engaged by solemn obligations to erect

handsome buildings to be serviceable to the brethren , and to fear God , the great Architect of the Universe . We have among us , concealed from the eyes of all men , secrets which may not be revealed , and which no man has discovered ; but these secrets are lawful and honourable , and not repugnant to the laws of God or man . 'They were entrusted in peace and honour to Masons of ancient times , and having been faithfully transmitted to us , it is our duty

to convey them unimpaired to the latest posterity . Unless our craft were good and our calling honourable we should not have lasted for so many centuries , nor should we have had so many illustrious brothers in our Order , ready to promote our laws and further our interests . We are associated here to-day in the name of Him who is the Wisdom and the Light , to lay the foundation stone of a building the primary object of which is to impart knowledge and sound

instruction to our fellow men , which we pray God may prosper as it seems good to him ; and as the first duty of Masons in any undertaking is to invoke the blessing of the Great Architect of the Universe on their work , I call upon you to unite with our Provincial Grand Chaplain in an address to the throne of grace . The Grand Chaplain ( Bro . the Rev . T . B . SPENCER ) recited an eloquent prayer after Lord Lathom had given

the command , " lo order , brethren , upon which every Mason placed his right hand on his heart , and , with devout mien , silently followed the Chaplain's supplication to the " Great Architect , " and at its termination , instead of the conventional " Amen , " one heard the response " So mote it be . " The choir and the brethren sung a very happy verse , commencing" Exceptthe Lord build the house ; their labour is but lost that build it : " and then Bro . the Lord Lathom

declared his will and pleasure that the stone should be laid . The Grand Secre'ary read aloud the inscript on on the large copper plate to be placed under the stone ; and the Provincial Grand Treasurer deposited the phial containing the coins , and the plate was fixed in position . All this being adjusted , Bro . the Lord Lathom , accompanied by Col . Stanley and other officers , descended into the cavity . The cement was spread , and finally the great event , the laying of the

stone , was completed . With music and frequent trumpet blasts the stone was lowered from the tripod into its position three distinct stops having been made . Bro . the Lord Lathom tested the stone with the implements of his Craft , and finally pronounced it level and square , and declared it duly laid in the name of the Father , the Son , and the Holy Ghost , tapping three corners with a mallet . Bro . the Lord Lathom then took the cornucopia containing grain , which

was mixed with corn that had been used at the laying of the foundation stone of the Town Hall , and sprinkled some upon the stone as an emblem of plenty , and of the seed of knowledge . A ewer of oil was poured upon the stone as symbol of strength , Bro . the Lord Lathom hoping that the library would contribute to the advancement of education and science , thereby giving additional " strength and glory to our beloved nation . " Oil from another ewer was

allowed to fall upon the stone , Bro . the Earl of Lathom stating that it was intended to be typical of peace and harmony ; and their earnest prayer was that the institution about to be erected might tend to foster brotherly feeling , and so hasten the happy time when peace shall exist all over an enlightened world . The heralds blew another blast , and a second prayer was offered by the Chaplain , an

ode , " Prosper the Art , " being afterwards performed by the band and the choir . Mr . Hibbert was introduced to Bro . the Earl of Lathom , who presented his lordship with the plan , which that nobleman received , giving expression to the hope that he would proceed , without loss of time , to the completion of the work . The Masonic version of the National Anthem , which followed , announced to the world that the foundation stone of what promises to be one of the

grandest of free libraries , and next to St . George's Hall , Liverpool , the finest classical building in Lancashire , was duly laid , and that the item in the Guild programme at which Her Majesty the Queen was anxious that some member of the Royal Family should be present was concluded . Three hearty cheers were given for Bro . the Prov . Grand Master , the Earl of Lathom , and a similar compliment was paid to H . R . H . the Duke of Cambridge .

Bro . the Lord LATHOM said : I have just now performed a mony which I little thought it would have fallen to my lot to perform . I had hoped that it would have been performed by a Mason of much higher rank than myself , and it was with great regret that I heard that the Royal personage who should have performed the ceremony could not come amongst us . But as I understand that the whole ceremony was arranged Masonically , and that all the brethren

of the provinces would assemble here to-day , I could not do otherwise than comply with the request of the Committee —( cheers)—that l should perform the ceremony , and , in doing so , I assure you that it has given me very great pleasure to lay the stone of that building , which will be of such great use to the town . I only hope that the building may be finished as rapidly and brought to as successful a completion as that , the foundation-stone of which was laid , I

might say , this day twenty years ago . I am told that we are using to-day some of the corn that was used at the laying of the foundation-stone of that building . Corn is a perishable thing , but this has lasted twenty years , and we will hope that this will last , not only twenty years , but 20 , 000 years . ( Cheers . ) I will not detain you longer , but will ask my noble relative , the Earl of Derby , to say a few words to you .

Bro . LORD DERBY , who was loudly cheered , said : I cannot refuse to avail myself of the invitation so kindly given me by my noble friend , although 1 am perfectly aware that before so large an audience as that which 1 have the honour of addressing it will be very difficult for me to make myself audible to moie than a comparatively small number . I congratulate the people of Preston un the importance and

solemnity which they had given to this occasion , and I am sure that I am expressing the feelings , not only of all the inhabitants of this town , but of all the visitors to it , when I congratulate ray noble friend and relative Lord Lathom , not merely upin the success which has attended the formal proceedings in which he has taken a leading part , but also upon the unwearied diligence and attention and energy

The Preston Guild.

which he has devoted to the object of rendering the ceremonies of this Gild as attractive as possible . ( Cheers . ) I join with my noble ( riend in lamenting the absence of that Prince , distinguished by talent and culture as well as by rank , who we had hoped would have taken the foremost place on this occasion . But this loss has been repaired , and I am sure ; hat in no town in the British Isles will His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge find a heartier or more

cordial welcome than he will receive in Preston . We have met here with two objects , the one to do honour to the memory ot a noble benefactor , and the other to inaugurate a movement which we believe will be important and useful to the community to which we belong - . Both are objects worthy of our attention and of our care , and I do not think there is any reason to fear that in England the feeling of patriotism , as we commonly understand it , the willingness to

make sacrifices for the community of which we are members , is ever likely to decay or diminish . I believe there are as many people now in the present day who are willing to make sacrifices of life and fortune to their country as ever there were in former times . But there is another feeling which 1 may venture to call local patriotism , which , perhaps , under the circumstances of our modern life , is not always as active as it used to be—I mean that

feeling of attachment to a town or district , or to the local community in which he resides , which induces every inhabitant to be willing to make sacrifices for that community . We shift about so much , we leave so fast , we move so easily , we are so much centralised , not by the operation of law , but in consequence of the circumstances of modern life , that we are in some danger of losing that feeling of what I have ventured to call local

patriotism which was so strong in earlier and simpler days ; and yet it is a feeling which we have the strongest possible reason for desiring to cultivate and encourage , for it is one which does not waste itself in idle words , but leads to useful and to practical results . There are very few men indeed who are socially or intellectually , or both , in so exceptional a position that they can indulge the hope that their personal and individual action has affected the destiny

of the great community of which we are members . We pull and push at the machinery and endeavour to pull and push it in the direction which we think right ; but the machine itself is so vast that a man must be very sanguine even , where he is in a very exceptional position , who thinks he can trace upon the country that which he believes to be the effect of his individual work . But that is not so with regard to a man in general , in a town or parish , or even in

his own country . In that local or comparatively limited sphere he may have the satisfaction not only of doing the work which comes to him to do , but of expecting to see , and of actually seeing , practical and tangible results from what he has done . I say , then , that while we are paying honour to the founder of this institution we are holding out encouragements to others to do as he has done . I have often thought that the idea of my duty to the public is one

which we realise very imperfectly , as it concerns those of us who are not engaged in any public question , who are not conspicuously before the world . In the middle ages it was thought a strange and even discreditable thing if any man who was well off died without leaving some portion of his wealth to the church . May it not come to be thought in the same way a thing not unusual , but to be expected , and almost a matter of course , that everyone who has

something to spare from the wants of his family , still either in life or at the clo-e of it , to contribute something to the enjoyment or to the intellectual requirements of the community in which he lives . It is a mistake , I think , to sneer , as men of the world or those who call themselves great , often do at such gifts or bequests , as if they were dictated by mere personal vanity . 1 do not think that wish to be honourably remembered after death is one of which any

man need be ashamed . You may say it is not the very brightest or the most unselfish of motives—possibly not , but it is not an unworthy motive ; it is one which operates with great power upon a certain class of minds , and our civilisation is not yet so much advanced that we can afford to throw away or to ignore a powerful aid to progress . Ladies and gentlemen , as to the nature of the gift which Mr . Harris has made to this town I think there cannot

be two opinions as to its value . The movement in favour of free public libraries was set on foot more than thirty years ago , and though , like most movements , it has not had all the results that its promoters expected , it has made way and established itself over a large part of England . Of course , you can only have such libraries on a large scale in great , or at least in middle-sized towns . A rural population is too scattered to support them , and I

am afraid it must be added that a population living constantly in the open air , and occupied in hard bodily labour , is not in general a reading population—though that is a rule to which there are many exceptions . But in these northern towns every circumstance combines to make free libraries an important element of social life . We have a vast artisan class , highly intelligent , and not too hard worked . We have among a large portion of that class a

keen desire for instruction , and a taste for intellectual enjoyments . We have these brought together within a comparatively narrow space , so that access is easy ; and that which in many respects is adisadvantage to us , our climate , is not very favourable to out-door enjoyments , and our surroundings , in which nature does not show herself to the best advantage—both concur to make in-door occupations more attractive than possibly they would be under a more

sunny sky , and in a region where smoke and tall chimneys are unknown . There is no danger , I think , that the opportunities of study given by freelibaaries will be abused . Our tendency is not to undue speculation , not to excessive thought , but rather to action . I don't say that the book-worm is absolutely unknown in England , but he is a comparatively rare animal . And just one thing more 1 will sav , that 1 believe there is no one instance in

which the principle of what I will call co-operati jn—not using the word in its technical sense—the principle of united actlun for a common purpose—can better apply than the bringing together of a collection of works of art , but more especially of books . It is particularly applicable , as far as certain numbers of classical works are concerned , which we like to have about us , which in theory we are

supposed to read over and over again—I don't think as a rule we read them , but in theory it is so—but in these rapid days the great part of even useful and valuable literature is rather intended for trie purpose of the moment , to be read once , twice , or three or four times at the utmost , and then to be put aside by its possessor . Now , in the case of literature of that kind it is easy to sec that there is no

The Preston Guild.

reason wh y it should not serve the purpose of the public just as well as it does those of a single owner . 1 will trouble you no longer . Asa means of serious instruction and intellectual progress to the few , as a source of rational pleasure and wholesome enjoyment to the many , I think we shall all agree that free libraries deserve encouragement and support ; and I hope it may not be long , whether by

the action of law or of individuals , or both , before every considerable town in England has followed to the best of its powers the example which we have set in so many of these northern towns , and which we are setting in Preston to-day . ( Loud cheers . ) _ The ceremony being finished , the procession was re-formed in inverted order , and filed away past the Town-hall , leaving the site of the Harris Library comparatively deserted .

France.

France .

BELLEVILLE . —La Rose Ecossaise ( No . 149 ) ( Scottish Rite ) . —This lodge held its summer festival on the 3 rd inst ., at the Lac St . Fargeau . The programme consisted of a fete of adoption , followed by a concert , banquet , and ball . The whole passed off splendidly , leaving a most pleasing remembrance with all who were fortunate enough to be present . The proceedings commenced at two o ' clock . There were present , as principal officers , Bros . Chevassu Venerable ;

Renard , ist Surveillant , S . W . ; Legrand , 2 nd Surveillant , J . W . ; and Vaumorin , Orator . I here was a large gathering of the brethren of the ludge , and a great many visitors , among whom were Bros . G . Collas Dickey , 1744 , England , and Alberto Sartini , of the Lodge Dante Aiighieri , of Turin . The lady friends of the brethren were well represented , the wife of the Venerable and the wife of the Bro . Orator being most active in their labours to ensure success to the fete .

1 he ceremony of adoption commenced by an address from the Venerable , setting forch the intention and signification of such fetes , after which the children to be adopted ( five in number , three boys and two girls ) advancing in due form towards the east ( thegirls wearing long veils ) , the Venerable called upon the sponsors to take the usual obligations to protect and watch over the lives and conduct of the several children for whom they responded . The

Master of Ceremonies then formall y demanded of the Venerable the reception and adoption of the children . The Venerable , in granting the demand , further addressed the sponsors , reminding them of those duties they were then taking upon themselves . There then passed several questions and answers between the Venerable and the Surveillants , intended to set forth the aim of Freemasonry , and of what character a Freemason ought to be .

Alter which turther promises were required of , and given by the sponsers . The children , approaching close to the Venerable , were then b y him formally addressed in the name of the lodge , and the ancient symbolic ceremonies gone through . Aprons were then given to the boys , and sashes to the girls , and each child was told to break a small loaf given , and share it with the other children , this , as the Venerable explained , being

intended to impress on them , by means of symbol , the lesson of charity to all . Then , in the name of the Supreme Council andof the lodge , the Venerable received and adopted the children , giving to each a "diploma" and a distinguishing name , such as Charity , Fraternity . & c . ; and after a short , but very telling , address from the Bro . Orator , on the subject of Masonic Adoption , the ceremony was concluded by the Venerable declaring the work completed .

A rather interesting ceremony ( not on the programme ) then took place . Bro . Sartini ( who is correspondent and representative at Paris of several literary and other societies of Italy , and correspondent of a Masonic journal published at Home ) asked , and obtained , permission of the lodge to then publicly present , in the name of the Council of the Croce Bianca , of Italy ( having been officially empowered to do so ) , a first-class " medal of Victor Emanuel "

to Bro . Dickey , in recognition of his literary merit and philanthropic labours . Bro . Sartini took this opportunity to also present , in the name of the College Dante of Naples , to M . Leon Gambini , a medal , accompanied by a diploma , appointing the recipient honorary member of the college , as a recognition of his merits as a dramatic artiste . M . Gambini , although the son of a Mason , is not himself a Mason . As an artiste , both as singer and elocutionist , he stands

deservedly high in his profession . The concert now commenced , and all who gave their assistance worked well and were most cordially received . Bro . Sartini is an amateur conjuror , and performed some feats in that art which would have done credit to any professor of the science . His contributions to the programme were much applauded . The banquet , which was excellentwas served at | 73 oat

, ., vyhich , after the usual toasts , a toast to England and English Masons was proposed by the Venerable ; and he , representing the lodge , grasped the hand of Bro . Dickey , as representing English Masonry . A similar token of fraternity was paid to Italy , the Venerable cordially grasping the hand of Bro . Sartini . Both toasts were most heartily received

. The ball then took place , which continued far into the early morning . As we have stated , the whole was a brilliant success , and it must be sa « d that this success was in a great measure due to the unwearying efforts of the Bro , Orator Vaumorin , who took the chief part in organising and carrying out the fete .

Royal College Of Music.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC .

The following circular has been issued by the Grand Secretary : — Grand Secretary ' s Office , Freemason's Hall , Great Queen Street , London , W . C ., n c . , „ .. ist September , iSSi . Dear bir and Brother ,

Bro . Sir Philip Cunliffe . Owen has recently ad dressed a letter to me on the subject of the fund now being raised under the patronage and presidency of the M . W . the Grand Master , H . R . H , the Prince of Wales , for the establishment of the " Royal College of Music , " in which he mentions that His Royal Highness allows him to su < ro-est that lodges , chapters , and individual brethren mi " " be invited to subscribe thereto . s As the matter is not a Masonic one , the suggestion can-