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Reviews .

" HISTORY OF THE LODGE OF HENGIST , No . 195 , BOURNEMOUTH . " — Numerous Illustrations and Appendices . By C . J . Whitting , W . M . of the Lodge , and J . of the Chapter . Printed by the authority of the Prov . Grand Master of Hants and the Isle of Wight , ( Rt . Wor . Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P . ) , and the Lodge . Price Ten shillings nett . Bournemouth : W . Mate and Sons , London . London : George Kenning , iC , Great Queen-street . 1 S 97 . There are not many lodges that can boast of such a history , so ably and carefully compiled , so well illustrated , and so admirably printed and appointed as that which Bro .

C . J . Whitting has written of the Hengist Lodge , No . 105 , Bournemouth . The lodge , too , has a history which is worthy of being recorded . Not only is it an old Iodge , dating from the 23 rd November , " 1779 , but it has numbered among its members most of the local worthies , firstly , of Christchurch , where it was constituted and met till the year 1 S 51 , and since then , of Bournemouth , which is still its habitat , and where , we trust , it will long continue to flourish . Not a few of these members have won fame in Freemasonry , a fame that has extended beyond the precincts of the lodge into the Province of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight , of which it is a constituent body , and in certain instances from the Province into the jurisdiction , generally , of which the U . iited Grand

Lodge of England is the central and Supreme authority . It has had its vicissitudes of fortune—what lodge that has existed for so long a period has not ?—but the re would always seem to have been one or more brethren , by whose tact and judgment it was enabled to tide over its difficulties . We are glad to have become acquainted , through trie medium of Bro . Whitting ' s interesting oook , with the detailed history of the Hengist Lodge , not only because he has narrated in due chronological order the events worth narrating that have occurred during its existence , but also because he has introduced into his history ] so much concerning the personality of the leading actors in his story .

Bro . Whitting prefaces his record of the Hengist Lodge with a brief , but sufficient sketch of Masonry from the foundation of our Grand Lodge in 1717 , supplying such additional particulars as enable the reader to understand clearly the condition of the Craft during the latter half of last , and the early years of the present , century . Then , in his second chapter , under the title of " Weighing Anchor , " he tells us when and how the Hengist Lodge was started , and by whom , the story being doubly interesting , from thc personal details he has gathered from many and varioue sources concerning the brethren to whom weare indebted for the foundation of the lodge . These founders

were 10 in number , and seem to have been for the most part men of influence in Christchurch and its neighbourhood , but Bro . Henry Dagge , the first W . Master was a very distinguished brother , W . M . of Lodge No . 2 , " Moderns " —now Royal Somerset House and Inverness Lodge , No . 4—Grand Steward in 1770 ; J . G . Warden in 1774 ; in which capacity he was present at the laying of the foundation-stone of Freemasons' Hall by Lord Petre , G . M ., as recorded on the stone itself ; and S . G . W . in 1778 . He was also a subscriber of £ 50 to the Freemasons' Tontine in 1775 ; and subscribed £ 2 $ to the

Hall Loan in 17 TO ; while it was he who at the election of H . R . H . the Duke of Cumberland , as G . Master , in 17 S 2 , proposed that when a Prince of the Blood was chosen G . M . he should enjoy the privilege of appointing a Peer of the realm as a Acting , or as we call it row , a Pro G . Master . He was also Deputy P . G . M . of Hampshire under Lord Charles Montague from 177 O to 17 S 1 , so that the lodge could hardly have started under more favourable auspices . The first S . W ., Bro . Edmund Perkins , who was initiated on the 26 th November , 1770 , the day on which the lodge held its first meeting , came of an old Hampshire family , while the first J . W ., Bro . Thomas leans ,

who was initiated in Lodge Amity , Poole , in 1768 , was a landowner in the neighbourhood , and the first of a series of Jeanses who appear to have done good service to the Hengist Lodge , the most prominent among them being a Thomas Jeans , his n ; phew , who was W . M . for 15 years between 1786 and 1800 . Among other founders and early initiates , or joining members , were'Bros . Thomas Mitchell , a brewer , who was five times W . M . j Thomas Mews , a cordwainer and six times Mayor of Christchurch between i ? uand 177 s ; a man of such enormous bulk that when he died the front wall of his

house had to be taken down in order that the coffin might be removed from his belro *> m to the street below , * the Rev . Jas . Talman , whom Dunckerley appointed Prov . S . G . W . in 17 O 6 ; Jas . F , Perkins , who afterwards became a Gmeral and when a lieutenant in the Royal Marines fought a duel across a table with a messmate , then a midshipman , but afterwards Admiral Sir James Wallace ; and the Rev . W . Jackson , B . A ., Oxon , who succeeded Talman as Vicar of Christchurch . The original warrrant bearing the

signatures of James Heseltine as Grand Master , and Thomas Dunckerley as Prov . G . Master , is still carefully preserved , but the earliest minute book to 1774 is wanting , the first recorded meeting being dated 27 th December , 1774 , which Bro . Whitting has had reproduced in facsimile . The minutes following this , however , contain many references to persons and events during thc brief unrecorded period , so that the story of the lodge may be said to be virtually , if no , dually , continuous .

Reviews.

It is not necessary that we should follow Bro . Whitting through his book . As it is an old lodge , there are many points of practice which must seem strange to the Masons of the present day , and to all these the author is careful to draw attention . It is worth mentioning , however , that there have been three epochs in the career of the lodge , when it stood a very fair chance of being wiped out of existence , namely , in 179 S , in 1 S 19 , and in 1851 , but at each of these epochs an effort was made to revive the fortunes of the lodge and with success . In the first-mentioned case the lodge dwindled to seven members ; in the second to four ; and in the last to three , it being due to the loyalty

of Bro . Samuel Bayley , who remitted to Grand Lodge the dues for himself and two members that the lodge retained its place on the roll of Grand Lodge . In 1851 , the last of the three periods of depression came to an end ; the lodge removed to Bournemouth and from that time forward has been fortunate enough to maintain and improve its position , so that it has now a roll of 106 subscribers , a prosperous chapter attached to it , and is , moreover , the parent of two most prosperous lodges—the Boscombe Lodge , No . 215 S , and the Horsa , No . 2208 , which are both located in the immediate neighbourhood , and can boast of at least as good a record as any of the lodges which were established at , or about , the date of their constitution .

We have purposely refrained from dipping to any extent into Bro . Whitting ' sbook for purposes of quotation or illustration because he has acquitted himself so well in his work of compilation and description and has introduced so much in the nature of personal anecdote in connection with the more prominent members of the lodge , that to have done him anything like justice we must have quoted largely , and to have quoted largely would have detracted seriously from the pleasure which , we believe , every one who reads it will derive from a perusal of Bro . Whitting ' s book . There is nothing of the "

dryas-dust record about it . On the contrary , there is a great charm abouttt , owing to the facile manner in which he has introduced into his history all sorts of quaint stories about the events that have occurred in Christchurch or Bournemouth , and the brethren who have flourished during the 127 years the lodge has been in existence . It is a most delightful narrative , such as one does not look for in a Iodge history , and we advise those who take pleasure in the study of this branch of Masonic literature to lose no time in procuring a copy of this " History of the Hengist Lodge , No . 195 , Bournemouth , " by its worthy and respected W . Master .

Great Priory Of England And Wales.

GREAT PRIORY OF ENGLAND AND WALES .

The Calendar of the "Great Priory of the United , Religious , and Military Orders of the Temple , and of St . John of Jerusalem , Palestine , Rhodes and Malta , in F . ngland and Wales , & c , for 1 S 97-8 , " is a remarkable and most valuable publication , reflecting great credit on the Great Vice-Chancellor , and is a real boon for the members of the Order .

The minutes of the Great Priory , held in December last , and also on the 14 th April , as well as a Special Great Priory convened for the reception of the delegations from the Great Priories of Ireland and Scotland , on the 7 th of April , make interesting reading , and should be carefully studied by all brethren who are anxious for the welfare of Knight Templary , several of the Reports being of considerable importance . The very hearty welcome

tendered the distinguished Representatives from Ireland and Scotland cannot fail to have a beneficial effect on the Order in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; the only regret being that the trio could not have been turned into a quartette owing to the regretted absence of the Great Priory of Canada . The Grand Master and Officers of that Organisation would , for certain , have gladly been present , had time and circumstances permitted , but evidently the meeting had been arranged to suit local fixtures .

The Abstract of Accounts , ending 28 th February , 1 S 97 , is of a satisfactory character , and as the payments by the preceptories are placed according to an alphabetical arrangement , it is easy for members to trace their several subordinates and remittances during the financial year , as well as note the general receipts and expenditure . But the real interest and permanent value of the compilation is the roll

of Knights Grand Cross ( six special and 12 else ) and Knights Commander ( 29 ) , the list of provinces , with the names of each Provincial Prior , Sub-Prior and Chancellor ( with addresses of the last two ) and all the preceptories connected with each branch , - the roll of preceptories in alphabetical order , with their numbers , dates of warrants and centenary warrants and

finally the " Preceptories removed from the roll , " beginning with the " Observance of Seven Degrees , of " Immemorial" antiquity , and the Trine , of Bideford , chartered April , 1790 , i . e ., before the Grand Conclave was formed under Thomas Dunckerley , and ending with the Plantagenet erased in January , 1804 .

Then come two compilations involving considerable labour but of great utility , viz ., an " Alphabetical list of members , " exhibiting the numbers of the Preceptories in which the knights were installed and those they now belong to , and'a " Roll of Preceptories according to seniority , with lists of members thereof . " It will be readily understood that such a mass of information , historical , official , and personal , cannot fail to render the present

Calendar a welcome friend to all zealous Knights Templars , and I hope the many who will consult its pages , will gratefully remember the efficient services of the Great Vice-ChanceJIor and his staff , as I shall assuredly do . There are now 119 active preceptories , which have returned some 2400 members . Five of the preceptories are noted by the capital letters A , B , C , D , and F , of " Immemorial " antiquity , seven others also dating from the

last century , and six have obtained centenary charters , enabling the members to wear the coveted distinction accordingly . The numeration begins with the " Antiquity , " Bath , as No . 1 , and continues consecutively to No . 166 at Burma , save the lapses through removals from the roll . The preceptories with centenary jewel warrants are No . 2 , Portsmouth ; No . 3 , Keighley , * No . 4 , Huddersfield ; No . 5 , Manchester ; No . 6 , London ; and No . 7 , Ashton-under-Lyne ; of 1791-1796 . W . J . HUGHAN .

Consecration Of The Plucknett Chapter, No. 1708.

CONSECRATION OF THE PLUCKNETT CHAPTER , No . 1708 .

The Plucknett Lodge , which for a number of years has been doing good Masonic work in the neighbourhood of Finchley , has now received the necessary addition of a Royal Arch chapter , which was consecrated on the I 2 lh instant , at Woodside Hall , North Finchley . With a strong body of founders , an excellent set of Principals and officers , and a long list of

candidates , the chapter has every prospect of a very successful career , and will prove yet another means of perpetuating the name of the worthy and excellent brother after whom both the lodge and chapter are named . The hall was tastefully decorated with flowers and palms kindly lent for the occasion by Bro . W . J . Batho .