Reviews.

Reviews .

THE ILLUSTRATED LEOPOLD SHAKESPEARE . Cassell , Petter , and Galpin . We have received the first part of the " Leopold Shakespeare , " to be completed in nineteen parts , and which " aims , " the preface tells us , " at being one of the comp letest editions before the public . " It is dedicated to our Royal and illustrious Bro . Prince Leopold , and is published with all that effect of artistic illustration and typographic

excellence which Messrs . Cassell have at their command , and so often and so strikingly evidence . The work promises to be a great success , and a most interesting and valuable addition to the editions of Shakespeare . It has an "introduction" by Mr . Furnival , which will be appreciated by many readers , and Professor Delius Bonn is the authority for the chronological sequence of the plays . We shall watch the progress of this work with deep interest .

ANSWER TO THE PROCLAMATION OF M . M . TAIT , G . M . OF QUEBEC . By DR . G . B AYNES , Prov . G . M ., S . C ., Montreal . This is an able and forcible reply to the incriminations and excommunications of the Grand Lodge of Quebec . We think , to say the truth , there is " a good deal in it . " It is clear to us that ( rst ) the original theory of the Grand

Lodge of Quebec , as regards the Scotch and English lodges , which preferred to keep up allegiance to their " constituting authority" is bad in law Masonic , and absolutely untenable ; anel ( andly ) , it is also evident that the position of the Grand Lodge of Quebec , to say the least of it , is somewhat hazy arid shaky in itself ; and ( 3 rdly ) , that for the Grand Lodge of Scotland ( after all is said and

done ) , a good deal , Masomcally speaking , might be put forward by friends and allies . For the position , let us note it well , is simply this , —when we have put on one siele the verbiage of pamphleteers and cleared away the rubbish which some have spoken and written about it . The Grand Lodge of England has always kept up a Prov . Grand Master of Montreal ( though we believe the Prov . Granel Lodge

is dormant ) , and this state of things is expressly acknowledged by the Granel Loelge of Canaela . The Grand Lodge of Quebec is a " swarm " from the Grand Lodge ol Canada , uneler peculiar circumstances , and cannot ignore the " Concordats " of the Grand Lodge of Canada . If it does we cannot think the Grand Lodge of Scotland wrong in refusing to acknowledge the Grand Lodge of Quebec , except on its own terms . It is also patent , by this time ,

as we always felt sure , that the sympathy and support of the Granel Lodges of America are not so sure to be accorded to the Grand Lodge of Quebec , inasmuch as the reality of a lodge warrant , when legal and good , by Masonic law , national and international , is upheld in America , for the best of reasons , as strongly as by us in England , and Scotland . We recommend all who seek to make good the old adage , " audi alteram partem , " to study Bro . Baynes ' s brochure .

ABSTRACT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA , 1878 . This important report merits study by English brethren . We are glad to observe how carefully and how Masonically all the American Grand Lodge proceedings are carried on ,

and how truly their principles of thought and action accord with ours . To the able pen of Bro . Clifford McCalla , the Editor of the Keystone , the report is evidently much indebted , as is gracefully admitted . He is one of the most rising and promising young Masons in Pennsylvania .

HEROES OF GREAT BRITAIN IN PEACE AND WAR . Cassell , Petter , and Galpin . To the effective and prolific press of these world-known publishers we are indebted for this new , handsomely got up , and interesting publication , and which we commend especially to the notice of the young . Some one has said that we are " overdone nowadays with heroes and heroines , "

and that it is too much for common average humain'y ; and there is , perhaps , some truth in the statement , for there is , no doubt , a " touch of invidiousness " in proclaiming that a person is a " hero " or " heroine ; " it is lifting them out of the crowd of fellow mortals . There is a great objection to Papal "beatification" of saintly persons , inasmuch as it can only , after all , be the " hero worship "

of " subjectivity , " at the very best , and we confess that we have always ourselves felt that it is just possible that our mundane estimate of heroism may be a defective one , since contemporary enthusiasm is liable to err from over sentiment on the one hand , and personal idiosyncrasy on the other . Still we do not sec why we should be debarred from considering such subjective estimates of heroism ,

since everything in this respect is " subjective , " after all , here . The region of the " objective , ( except in the case oi revealed religion ) , can hardly be reached by the finite mind of mortality . Atany rate , in things purely human , infallibility is beyond our reach , and objective truths can hardly be offered to us , except by infallibility which alone belongs to God , and not to man . We hope our readers

will excuse the seriousness of these remarks in a revie n . Without , then , " going in , " as our young men say , for hero worship too strongly , ( though hero worship is no doubt a " cultus" of humanity ) , let us like to peruse , as far better than the morbid sensationalism of the hour , the biographies of the good , the brave , the high-minded , the pure , true men and true women .

The Lodge of Progress , No . 1786 , will be Consecrated at Freemasons' Hall on Thursday next , 17 th inst ., at 0 o ' clock , by the V . W . Bro . John Hervey , Grand Secretary . All the founders are membersof the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , and it is intended to work the new lodge on the Emulation ritual . The principal officers desi gnate are Bros . W . A . Dawson , W . M . ; F . R . Spaull , S . W . ; A . C . Spaull , J . W .

The Grand Orient Of France.

THE GRAND ORIENT OF FRANCE .

Bro . Hubert begins his elaborate report ( which takes up 24 closely printed pages ) of the proceedings and scenes of the last convent at Paris in these words . " C ' est avec une certaine tristesse que nous prenons la plume pour parler de la session du Grand Orient de

France . " " It is with a certain sadness that we take up the pen to tell of the session of the Grand Orient of France , in 1878 . " And then he goes on to describe those proceedings and scenes in words which deserve all careful consideration from those who read the Chaine d' Uriinn , for they are weighty words , and truthful words , most properly repudiating that

unmasonic party spirit which seems so markedly to have characterised the sitting of thislast noisy and turbulent assembly , whether at labour or refreshment . The result has been , as Bro . Hubert puts it , to make Freemasonry something else beside and beyond Freemasonry ami to render all most anxious for the future , especially of an assembly which deliberates without dignity , and legislates without

consideration The last Grand Orient has pratically asserted Revolution abroad and at home , has put forward a denial of legitimate Masonic and human authority , just as it has repudiated all belief in God . Therevision of the Ritual is to be proceeded with and settled at thetiext Couvent in a nihilistic and destructive sense altogether , and the erasure of the venerable and reverent

formula " Ala gloire du Grand Architecte de l'Univers , " is now only a question of time , and will , sooner or later , be the " order of the day . " To Bro . Hubert , and the minority which acted with him , all English Masons will offer hearty thanks and goo ( i wishes , for it required no little moral courage to stand u () amid so hostile and unruly an assembly anil uphold of Irue principles of Cosmopolitan Masonry , now oat

fashion in Prance . We give a few of Bro . Hubert ' s striking words to " point the moral and adorn the tale " : — " It seems to us , anil we are not the only persons who have expresseel the same opinion , that the General Assembly of the Grand Orient was not sufficiently held in that order and fraternal procedure which ought to '

characterise all such Masonic reunions , anil without which they greatly risk the chance of tailing into chaos , tumult , antagonism , anil recrimination . This state of things presented itself too often in the session of 1878 . A certain number of brethren belonging to the group of aelherents of the erasure , without restriction of the affirmation of belief in God , & c , placed

themselves side by side , in order to be better able to act as one man in the course of every debate which might arise in those meetings , and thus to exercise a truly moral and material purpose in this assembly . Certainly our brethren neglected nothing to reach their end . It is much to be regretted , and we say it openly , for then everyone would be better informed and better able to appreciate judiciously

the facts , that the " Bulletin Officiel du Grand Orient de France " does not reproduce our meetings in their integrity of discussion , of tumult , of interruptions , of interpellations , of vehemence , Sec . There would be in all this great teaching , and perhaps we might avoid all that we were witnesses of , especially in the session of 1878 , meetings more full of noise than of labour . "

And here , " pour le moment , " we are constrained to leave French Freemasonry . We can only hope for it better days , and a "locus penitentirc . " We feel bound once more to express to Bro . Hubert our earnest and grateful sense ol the gallant fight he has made against revolutionary change and irreligious innovation . The hypocrisy of the plea of toleration is absolutely sickening .

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF NORTHUMBERLAND . —The annual meeting of this Provincial Grand Lodge was held at Alnwick on Tuesday last , under the presidency of the Earl Percy , R . W . G . M . A full report will appear in our next . After the lodge business a sumptuous banquet was givenat Alnwick Castle , where , in respond , ing to the toast of his h ealth , Bro . Lord Percy alluded

to what he characterised as a lurking notion that he had copied the example of the Marquis of Ripon , and he said there wns not the shadow nf a foundation for such a report . He was not a Roman Catholic . ( Great cheers . ) There was nothing to be ashamed of in anyone becoming a Roman Catholic , or in joining any religious denomination ; but there was in being afraid to avow it . He

repeated he was not a Roman Catholic , and , please God , he never would be . ( Loud cheers : the company rising and waving their handkerchiefs . ) In conclusion , his lordship hoped they never would have occasion to regret his occupying the chair . At the meeting of the Sheffield Town Council on Wednesday it was stated that the Duke of Norfolk had

decided to give three recreation grounds to the town for its use for ever . The grounds are situated at Brightside and Attercliffe , two crowded suburbs , and comprise twenty-six acres . The Installation meeting of the Paxton Lodge will take place at the Crystal Palace , Sydenham on Saturday the 26 th inst ., Bro . F . H . Goddard is the W . M . designate .

Bro . A . Best , on Thursday last was granted a license by the Midellesex Magistrates , for music and dancing for the Freemasons' Tavern , Great Queen-street , London . Bro . iEneas J . Mclntyre , Q . C . Grand Registrar , has been electeel master of the Needlemakers * Company , ) his Wardens being Mr . E . B . Webb and Bro . Sir C . Bright .

HERVEY LODGE , No . iaoo . —A report of the proceedings at this lodge , on Wednesday last , is in type , and will appear in our next .

Notes On Art, &C.

NOTES ON ART , & c .

On Wednesday week last , at midday , the Mayor of Reading ( Mr . J . Silver ) , attended by the Corporation of the borough , opened a loan exhibition of oil and water-colour paintings , engravings , and photographs in Victoria-hall , in that town . Among the contributors are Mr . Walter , M . P ., Mr . E . Hermon , M-P ., Mr . George

Palmer , M . P ., and Sir Charles Russell , M . P . Thecollect'on is large and valuable , and comprises the works of many old and modern masters , including Vandyck , Titian , Rubens , Gainsborough , Canaletti , Sir John Gilbert , Millais , Btrket Foster , Riviere , and Teniers . There are several pictures which attracted consielerable notice when exhibited at the Royal Acaelemy this year . The exhibition has been

got up for the purpose of encouraging anil developing a taste for higher art among the working classfs , a similar exhibition held in the town four years ago having been attended with unexpected success . In opening the exhibition , the Mayor spoke of the great value of such unelcrtaklngs , and expressed a he-pe that the aims which they had in view would be fully realised . The exhibition will

remain open for a fortnight at very low charges . The Grosvenor Gallery will reopen in Dpcember for a winter exhibition of drawings by the Old Masters and water-colour paintings . The Shakespeare Memorial Buildings at Stratford-upon-Avon are being actively proceeded with , and the library and picture-gallery were begun last week . One subsidiary result of the late Eastern

changes in the extension of the area of the Roman alphabet . The Austro-Hungarian Government hasadoptedfor Bosnia and Herzegovina the Croato-SIav dialect in Roman type-, instead of the Cyrillic type used by the Ottoman Government . The occupation of the Dobrudja by the Roumans is attended by the use of the Roman character , which will , however , be displaced in Bessarabia by the Russian . — Alhenwum .

A silver medal , the freedom of the company , and , with the consent of the Court of Alderman , the freedom of the City of London , are this year offeree ! as prizes by the Company of Turners for the best specimen of hand turning in wood , anil diamond cutting and polishing . The competition is open to all workmen , whether masters , journeymen , or apprentice's of the trae ' e in England . A

large medal will be given as second prizi-, and certificates and rewards in money will be assigneel to competitors according to merit . The freedom of the company , a sum of money , anel , with the consent of the Court of Altierman , the frceelom of the City are also offered for the best piece of pottery thrown on the wheel in one piece without joints and not afterwards shaved or turned in any way or glazed ,

and silver medals , a bronze medal , certificates of merit , and money prizes for proficiency in the art in other respect . * The Baroness Burdett-Coutts , who is a member of the company , has placed £ 20 at the disposal of the Court for competition in diamond cutting and polishing , and £ 15 towards the wood , and £ 15 towartls the pottery money prizes , while the Court itself contributes £ 50 .

A better proof of the importance of the newly - developed industry of ostrich-farming could hardly be given than the brief announcement made recently in the South African press that at a public sale of ostriches at Middleburg twenty pairs of breeding ostriches realised an average of nearly £ 200 per pair . The lowest price given for a single couple was £ 130 , and as much as £ 285

was paid for one pair of birds . We believe even these prices have been exceeded in the case of well-known breeders . When it is remembered that a few years ago ostriches could be procured in South Africa for the catching , and were purchased for a mere trifle for exhibition purposes in this coun . try , whereas at the present time a live ostrich does not exist in London , the importance of the birds on the ostrich-farms

of Cape Colony may readily be realised . Even the Zoological Society of London does not possess a single specimen of the African ostrich ; the late birds exhibited in Regent ' spark were poisoned by the idiocity of visitors who , amused to see the birds swallow stones and other hard substances , used to throw coppers into the paddock , the consequence being that the birds were killed by the verdigris thus

engendered in their crops . Even the eggs of the bird , once commonly collected as curiosities , are now hardly obtainable , being reserved for breeding purpeises . And while such keen competiiion exirts for the birds themselves , their produce is also eagerly sought for . At a recent sale of ostrich feathers at Port Elizabeth a parcel of selected " bloods " ' realised the fancy price of £ 67 15 s . per lb ., or about iss .

for each separate feather . Similarly high prices were paid for other qualities , and this notwithstanding a large increase in the supply . The following figures will show the rapid increase in this tradr . In i 860 the quantity of ostrich feathers exported from the Cape of Good Hope was 2297 lbs ., valued at £ 19 , 261 . Ten years later the quantity had increased more than twelvefold and the value fivefold . In

1873 the quantity was 31 , 581 lbs . and the value £ 159 , 679 ., while last year the value had increased to £ 393 , 406 . —The Colonies . A competion for the vacant scholarship of the Society of Arts was held at the National Training School for Music on Monday week last . The examiners were Mr . Arthur Sullivan , principal , and Mr . Ernest Pauer , of the Board of Principal Professors . There were 12 candidates , of

ages varying from 12 to 19 years . The scholarship was awardedtoMr .. Ernest Crook , violinist , aged 14 years . The examiners regret that there were no scheilarships to award to Miss Sandwith , MissBigwnod , and Miss Tasagni ( violinists ^ , and Miss Wood ( pianiste ) , who are commended for their talents and acquirements . In accorelance with the announcement previously made , preference was given te > a vblinist in the award .

The Mansion-house Princess Alice Relief Fund now amounts to upwards of . £ 34 , 600 . The Abtrcarne Colliery Explosion Fund about £ 26 , 500 .