Notable Lodge Meetings.

NOTABLE LODGE MEETINGS .

No . IV . —THE GRAFTON LODGE . " The Worshipful Master Designate and Founders of the Grafton Lodge , No . 2347 , request the honour of the company of Bro . 'Wanderer' at Blanchard ' s Restaurant , Beak-street , W .,

on Wednesday , March the 12 th . Lodge at 4 . 30 . Banquet at 7 . Such was the contents of a missive which was placed in our hands one morning early in the present month , and , in due course , we presented ourselves for admittance at the new Masonic entrance of that old-world hostelry .

Heavily framed is the door which guards that threshold ; verily a door builded in the days when " thorough " was still the motto of the British workman , and when Norwegian joinery , at so much per dozen , was an article of commerce as yet unknown .

The tiny brass plate which decorates its broad bosom serves only to accentuate its solidity , and as it scintillates in the gaslight to remind us that its inscription is symbolical of the good

cheer within . What a vision of toothsome dishes and succulent dainties does that inscription call up , dainties withal washed down by generous floods poured from hoary amphorse brought jealously and with gentle care from gloomy vaults below .

But list ye , my brothers , be not too anxious as yet to taste the bounties of Blanchard ' s table , nor to listen dreamily to the soft glou-glou of those ancient products of fair France as they

bubble intothegoblet at your hand . First are we here to assist our Grand

Secretary as he adds one more to that glorious list which constitutes

the roll of the Grand Lodge of England . For the first time within the memory of man

these hospitable walls are to lend their ears to our beloved ritual , let us then while there

is yet time wander round the new home and examine the Lares and Penates of this the

youngest of lodges . Stairs carpetted in soft hued tones , rendered still softer by the deep red of the

surrounding walls , and by the graceful spread of broad-leaved palm and feathery fern . Here a room

THE LODGE ROOM .

for the Grand Officers , a very boudoir , which it e'en would seem that our Bro . Brighten had filched bodily from some old French chateau . Next a T yler ' s room resplendent in all the glories of new paint and azure walls , and then the lodge room . But such a room ; a temple for our art , full of soft colours

pleasing and grateful to an eye wearied with the garishness of everyday decoration . Good friend and fellow , prithee tread gently here , for this carpet at your feet can speak of history . A relic ' tis of that glorious day when first our gracious Prince mounted the dais at the Albert Hall , and there amidst the

plaudits of six thousand tongues took up the sceptre of our Craft . Glance round , and note the careful blending of the colourshow the imperial blue in the carpet contrasts with the black and white tiled floor , and how the twain lead up to and lose themselves in the white and azure of the walls . See how the deep

terra-cotta of the curtained windows is at one with the lighter hue of the columns supporting the silver candlesticks , and how they both compare with the Masonic blue of the pedestals , and lastly , mark those Chippendale chairs , relics of a master hand , and which anon will form the thrones for the principal officers .

Working tools here in ebony and silver , and lodge books bound in deep blue calf , each and all bearing the insignia of the lodge . But now the officers detailed by the M . W . G . M . to conduct the ceremony of to-day have filed into their places , and the

Notable Lodge Meetings.

genial face of our Grand Secretary is seen behind the pedestal of the W . M . Bro . Sir John Monckton , in the west , glances round the temple with admiring eye , while in the south sits Bro . Fenn , studying the programme of the evening ' s work . Bro . Frank Richardson tenders his last words of caution to Bro .

Matier previous to assuming the wand of D . C , and Bro . Pope , with grave smile , prepares himself for his duties as Chaplain . At the door sits Bro . George Cooper , smiling across at Bro . Augustus Harris , and playfully tapping his collar as a reminder to Augustus Imperator of the honours in store for him , while the

interested countenances of Bros . Conlon and Gordon Ross , as they catch a whispered remark from Bro . Harry Hitchins , sets one longing to be in their company . There in the group are Bros . Lord Euston , Sir Lionel Darell , and Col . Arthur Cook , and as they rise together in obedience to the command of the Grand

Secretary , one realises the fact that there were not only giants in those days , but in these also . Bros . Berridge and Clifford Probyn look pictures of health and jollity , while next to them Bros . Henri Gros , Herbert Rolls , and Gordon Miller , together with

Bro . Lake , have yet in their eyes the laugh called up by Bro . Skinner when he recounted to them that anecdote in the ante-room . At the organ sits Bro . Dr . Lott , hand ready on key-board to " discourse sweet music , " while his face is half turned towards Bro . Richardson with anxious attention . Bro . J . C . Collier , in Provincial Grand clothing , next to Bro . St . Clare , resplendent in the tangible honours

of an I . P . M ., is discussingwith him the beauties of the carpet , while Bros . Brighten and

Carter have squeezed themselves into a corner , and are congratulating each other on the

appearance of the room , directing " wreathed smiles " the while at Bro . Matier . Later on ,

Bro . A . J . Newton , his Aldermanic honours thick upon him , receives a cordial reception .

A gentle silence falls on the assembled brethren as the Grand

Secretary , rising from his chair , with a few well - chosen words , calls their attention to the

reasons for which the lodge has been founded , and , as he proceeds with the ceremonv . the

sweetly-worded ritual seems to drive home to their hearts the intense solemnity of the occasion . Bro . Pope ' s oration , in which the reverend brother discourses lovingly on the attributes of wisdom , strength , and beauty , and

enlarges on the Masonic lessons to be learned in their symbolical meanings , is greeted with a rippling murmur of approval as the concluding solemn and admonitory sentence falls from his lips , and Bro . Richardson musters the brethren for the last time

previous to the dedication . The brethren once more in their jalaces , the Grand Secretary installs Bro . Matier as Worshipful Master , and he , in turn , invests his officers . Bro . Alderman Newton replaces Bro . Sir John Monckton as S . W ., and , in so doing , receives from him a gentle

pressure of the hand , which speaks volumes of congratulation . Bro . Harry Hitchins , as he is led to the chair of authority in the south , is greeted with a round of applause . To Bro . Augustus Harris , the Treasurer , and to Bro . A . R . Carter , the Secretary , the W . M . addresses a few words of genial welcome ; while Bros .

Robert Berridge and E . J . Conlon receive a cordial reception as each in turn is invested as Deacon . The I . G ., Bro . A . S . Brown , and the D . C , Bro . C . H . Driver , are absent ; but no bad substitutes are found for them in Bro . George Cooper and Bro . Clifford Probyn . Right worthily do the twin Stewards , Bros . Rolls and Miller , bear their parts , and as their respective collars are placed on