Past Festivals Of The Girls' School.

dour in the Royal Albert Hall , that in this Magazine for April , 1795 , it will be found that ashort account is given of the sixth Anniversary Festival , " in the Society ' s Hall , in Great Queen-street , " on the 13 th of that month , in aid of the funds of what was then known as " The Royal Cumberland Freemasons ' School" for female children , and from this it is possible to form some idea of

the proceedings . The Earl of Moira , Acting Grand Master , presided , and " after a very plentiful and elegant dinner , those ladies who had tickets were admitted into the gallery to view the procession of the little female objects of the Charity "—who at the time were about 30 in number— " who oaraded three times round the room preceded by the Stewards and the

Chevalier Ruspini , the worthy Treasurer , leading the two youngest ; the band of the first regiment playing several pieces of music . " It will be remembered that with the last Christmas number of the Freemason was issued a full page illustration taken from an engraving by Jefferys , in which ibis incident of the procession of the " objects" round the hall was

delineated , the most prominent figure being that of the benevolent Chevalier bimsel f—leading his tiny charges by the hand , while George Prince o f Wales , the Duke of York , the Earl of Moira , and other magnates are regarding the scene with infinite pleasure . Then , when the procession was over , the Chairman rose and addressed those present—on this particular

occasion as we are told— " in a happy strain of pathetic eloquence" and " in a speech of nearly half-an-hour , that did honour to his feelings as a man and a Mason , " " warmly recommended" the Charity "to the protection of the public . " It is further recorded that "though no general collection was suffered to be made , yet , in order to gratify the wishes of many present , the

Secretary was permitted to receive voluntary contributions , which amounted with the produce of a sermon at St . Clement ' s on the preceding day , to / 114 , exclusive of a donation by the SHAKESPEARE LODGE of 20 iron bedsteads , and of 60 blankets by the LODGE OV RURAL FRIENDSHIP towards furnishing the new School House , now nearly complete "—The minutes state

the proceeds of the sermon as £ 38 14 s . 9 d . and of the donors as £ 119 2 s . 6 d . ( making together ^ 157 17 s . 3 d ., the cost of the bedsteads and blankets being probably included . We also learn that " in the intervals the company were entertained with some excellent songs by Messrs . Incledon , Dignum , Page , Caulfield , Addington , & c , " and that at 9 p . m ., " after a day spent

with the utmost harmony and conviviality , " his lordship quitted the chair " amidst the reiterated applauses of the whole company , for his very polite con . duct and active zeal on behalf of the Charity . " Lastly , it seems that a slight breeze sprang up between one of the Stewards—possibly one of the anti-Masonic intelligencers of the day—and the proprietor of the Magazine ,

who , however , disdained to take any further notice in his publication of the " unwarrantable behaviour" of the offending Steward . This is the first , if not the only , account I have read of an early Festival in aid of the Institution . But the minutes contain frequent , though very insufficient , references to their celebration . It seems , however , to have been

the custom , till about the year 1820 , to have a Festival Sermon preached by a High Church dignitary if possible—the Bishop of Winchester undertook the duty at the first anniversary in April , 1789—or , failing one of them , by a clergyman who was a Mason and oftentimes a Grand Chaplain . The proceeds were often considerable , and only on one occasion that I know of

was there any hesitation on the part of the Treasurer of the Board of Stewards about paying over the amount received , and though he ultimately did so , for a longtime he refused "till all the Stewards had contributed their shares towards the cost of the celebration . " This was in 1790 , and a rule was at once enacted that all moneys received for the benefit of the

Institution should be paid over to the Treasurer or the bankers without any deduction whatever . Many years later—about the time of the Union—when Bro . Rev . Lucius Coghlan , D . D ., was Grand Chaplain , and preached the anniversary sermon , the proceeds were very large , amounting in round fi gures in 1814 to ^ 184 ; in 1815 to £ 178 ; and in 1816 to as much as £ 310

Another feature in the earlier celebrations worth recording was that the Board of Stewards , in imitation of the Grand Stewards , nominated their successors for the ensuing year , while after the Union the arrangements as to fixing the day were entrusted to the Duke of Sussex , Grand Master and

President of the Institution . Then the children always attended the sermon in their new clothes , and on the day of the Festival were treated to a holiday and a special dinner of a more luxurious description than usual , while sometimes if a girl greatly misconducted herself she was deprived of the customary treat .

In 18 34 , Bro . Dr . Crucefix started the Freemasons' Quarterly Review , and as the Craft has never been without a periodical of some kind since that ° ate , there is no difficulty in obtaining full particulars about later successive festivals . I find , however , that except in the greater importance which appears to have been assigned to them , the proceedings on these occasions

varied but little from what they had been . The guests were more numerous fh , m 0 re toasts were drunk . The children , too , besides perambulating the hall , sang a hymn , composed for the occasion and set to music by the wand Organist ; while on leaving the hall they had their pockets filled w'th the dessert from the tables . Some years later , when the custom of

awarding a medal or medals for proficiency and good conduct had been established , the fortunate winners were conducted to the dais and the Chairman suspended the prizes round the children's necks , and then gave them f ° me wholesome advice as their future conduct . In 1868 , however , the w . wuuiv . uuv . ^^ cw mwi luiuii * i . unuui . 1 . Ill AUUO , I 1 UWCVCI , LUC

^ "ouse Committee saw fit to dispense with the attendance of the School , "" though the Stewards at first raised some demur , the Committee ° od firm by their purpose , and the custom has never been revived . „ Latterly , the Festival has been riehtlv regarded as the oreat pvpnf- in

e vear ' s proceedings , the immense increase in the number of pupils having in " ll necessary that the Stewards should make more strenuous efforts order to obtain the needful money for the year ' s supplies . The conseg en oe of this has been that no sooner is one Festival over than the Secretary bout

j p enlisting the services of brethren as Stewards for the next ensue s festival , and these in their turn begin the task of canvassing . The been lnCeS - also ' since about J 86 ij are regularly canvassed , whereas it had Ste pr , eviously a rare event for a country brother to act on the Board of strcT S ' provincial half of the said Board is now almost invariably n ger than the London half , while the aggregate of the sums they raise

Past Festivals Of The Girls' School.

is oftener than not in excess of the aggregate of the London contributions . However , the present arrangements and proceedings are too familiar to the Craft generally to need any elaborate description . The object of these gatherings remains the same as in the infancy of the School , but the means employed to effect it , in some of the minor details , have been wholly or in

great measure changed , in order to harmonise better with the ideas of our time . The responsibilities attaching to Stewardships are likewise greater , but so long as there are brethren willing to undertake them , and when the encouragements to earnest canvassing remain what they are , so long is there every prospect that the large sums annually required for our Institutions will be raised at their Anniversary Festivals . G . BLIZARD ABBOTT .

Consecration Of The St. Pancras Lodge, No. 2271.

CONSECRATION OF THE ST . PANCRAS LODGE , No . 2271 .

Theconsecration of theSt . Pancras Lodge took place at the Midland Grand Hotel on Saturday , the 4 th inst . The founders of the lod ge on whose ' petition the warrant has been granted are Bros . Sir R . N . Fowler , Bart ., M . P ., P . G . W ., and late Lord Mayor of London ; Dr . John Powdrell ,

H . R . Graham , W . A . Scurrah , P . P . G . S . of W . Middx . ; R . G . Webster , M . P . ; H . Longman , W . T . Perry , and R . S . Chatty . The fact of the consecration being fixed for the eve of the autumn Bank Holiday caused the absence of many distinguished brethren , and consequently the meeting , though more than sufficiently numerous for the very moderate dimensions

of the room secured for the ceremony , was not as large as it would otherwise have been , which in these circumstances was rather fortunate thaii others wise . The room , though small for a consecration ceremony , was a

handsome apartment , and set off the pretty pedestals , in white and gold , with which the lodge was furnished . A handsome standard ) the gift of Bro . Powdrell , embellished with the St . Pancras Arms , adorned the upper end of the room .

The ceremony was performed by Bro . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , P . G . D ., G . S ., assisted by Bros . H . D . Sandeman , Past D . G . M . Bengal , as S . W . j Capt . N . G . Philips , P . G . D ., as J . W . ; Rev . J . S . Brownrigg , P . G . Chap ., as Chap . ; J . H . Matthews , P . G . Std . Br ., as D . C ; and Letchworth , P . G . D ., as I . G .

Bro . John Read , P . M ., W . M . 2105 , P . P . G . Org . Middx ., presided at the organ , the vocalists being Bros . W . Sexton , L . Fryer , T . W . Hanson , and Stanley Smith . The consecration programme has become so familiar of late years that there is no necessity for referring to it in detail . Suffice it to say that the

lodge having been opened in the Three Degrees , and the hymn "Hail , Eternal" having been sung , the Presiding Officer , Bro . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , addressed the assembled brethren , saying that they had assembled there to take part in an interesting and important Masonic ceremony , namely , to constitute and consecrate a new lodge , and to place another

name on the already long roll of the Grand Lodge of England . It appeared that at that particular part of the Metropolis there had not been for a considerable period any Masonic lodge , and , therefore , a certain number of brethren had petitioned the Grand Master to grant them a warrant to practise Masonry in that neighbourhood . Although there were now

a great many lodges in London , and though the Grand Master had in consequence been obliged to refuse a great many petitions , still his Royal Highness in this case had , after mature consideration , been pleased to grant a warrant in this instance . The petitioners had been very fortunate in obtaining the services of a very distinguished brother—Sir R .

N . Fowler , Bart ., M . P ., late Lord Mayor of London , and Past G . W . of England—to take the chair of the lodge , and there could be no doubt that under his genial and able sway the lodge would attain a distinguished position . The Grand Secretary went on to say that it was his usual custom on these occasions to say a word of warning to the founders of new lodges

not to be in too great a hurry to make a large lodge . But , looking at the names of those concerned in this proposed new lodge , he thought perhaps that warning might be unnecessary . It might be sufficient for him to remind them that it was much easier to get a man into a lodge than to get rid of one when once he was a member ; and he therefore begged them to be

careful not to take a wrong man in , so that they might not have the unp leasant task of turning a wrong man out . But if they were careful as to those whom they admitted , they would get together a number of brethren all joined together in fraternal bonds , who would work in harmony , and the lodge would prosper .

The petitioners were then ranged in order before the Presiding Officer , and Bro . MATTHEWS , as D . C , read the petition and warrant . In answer to the inquiries of the Presiding Officer , the brethren signified their approval of the officers named in the warrant .

Bro . the Rev . J . S . BROWNRIGG , as Chaplain , delivered the following oration on the nature and principles of Freemasonry : In the busy race of life there is unfortunately so much which is ever coming between US , our fellow men , that anything which does its good work in softening down the many points on which we differ must be hailed as a factor for usefulness . It is therefore

that we bid welcome the St . Pancras Lodge . Yes , brethren , we must not shut our eyes to the fact that self interest and party feeling are in these days stronger perhaps than they ever were before . How bitterly , how uncourteously , do we treat the man who differs from us in politics or religion . How incapable we seem to be of giving credit to our opponents for any honesty of purpose or any uprightness in action . We single

out greedily isolated deeds and words . We clothe them with our own interpretations , and deduce from them results wholly unfair and untrue . The power of judgment which was given us to use upon our own shortcomings is diverted from its proper use and applied to functions it is quite incapable of discharging . How eloquently even ihe

dullest amongst us gives sentence upon a brother ' s life . It has been well said that an evil , uncharitable speaker hurts three persons . First , the one he attacks ; second Iy , the one to whom he speaks ; thirdly , and most of all , himself . He hurts the object of Ins attack , because if you throw mud some is sure to stick . He hurts the listener because he sets him an evil example , which he will probably follow , and he hurts himself because