Freemasonry In Hants And The Isle Of Wight.

their visit to Winchester , when , though the time for preparation was of the briefest , the Prov . Grand Master himself and the principal ollicers of his Prov . Grand Lodge extended the hospitality of thc Province to its distinguished band of visitors in a

manner which has since elicited the heartiest acknowledgments . The Quatuor Coronati Lodge is a body which devotes itself to the encouragement of Masonic literature ; it sets a brave example by publishing its Transactions , in which are included some of

the ablest and most p hilosophical treatises on abstruse Masonic subjects which have ever been issued from the printing press , while the contributions to our literature , for which it is not itself responsible , arc carefull y considered and'dispassionatel y criticised .

I litis m the reception of such a bod y of brethren , who are devoted heart and soul to pursuits which are not usuall y to be found in our Masonic curriculum , the Province of Hampshire and the Isle

of Wi g ht has done itself an almost unique honour , which we trust will be repeated b y other Provinces which may-chance to be visited by the Quatuor Coronati Lodge at its annual outings .

Royal Arch Masonry In Essex.

ROYAL ARCH MASONRY IN ESSEX .

There is no doubt whatever that b reemasonry thrives well in Essex . It is not so very long ago that we described the progress which has been made—especiall y during the dozen years or more that Bro . the Earl of WARWICK has been Grand Master of

the Province—in Craft Masonry , and it is manifest from the address delivered b y the Grand Superintendent—Comp . F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C—at the recent meeting of the Provincial Grand Chapter that Royal Arch Masonry is equally prosperous .

Thirteen years since , when he was installed in ofiice , there were but four chapters on the roll , but now , as he was careful to point out , there arc 12 , with every prospect of the number being still further augmented . Indeed , a warrant for a new chapter to be

attached to the Royal Victorian Jubilee Lodge , No . 2184 , which meets at Rainham , was granted at the Quarterl y Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter held earl y in the present month , and Comp . PHILBRICK mentioned incidentally , as an open secret , that

a movement was on foot to obtain a warrant for a chapter to be attached to a lodge in thc north-east corner of the county . At all events , there is a fair proportion in respect of numbers between the lodges and chapters in the Province , and when time

enough has elapsed for the recent alteration in thc law as to the period of probation through which a Master Mason must pass before he can be exalted to produce any material effect on thc strength of the Royal Arch Degree , the proportion will , in all

probability , be still more favourable . But it is not in the mere matter of numbers onl y that Royal Arch Masonry is so prosperous in this county . The present state and future prospects are encouraging , because the . companions hold the Degree in hi gh

estimation . As the Granel Superintendent so aptly expressed himself , they valued its privileges " as a further development of those secrets which are not expounded to thc Master Mason , secrets which , while they had a mystical meaning , had a very real meaninir lo all their hearts . " Bro . PHILBRICK was in a

position lo address those present in such terms of eulogy , because he hael had many opportunities of noticing very criticall y how admirabl y and at the same time how conscientiousl y the duties of the chapters under his direction were carried out .

Under these circumstances , it is not surprising that Comp . PHILBRICK should have concluded an address , which of its kind is more than usuall y interesting and instructive , by complimenting his companions " on the . happy and united condition of the

Province then ; was no element of discord amongst them , the Province was never worked better , and for himself he felt that he had ihe loyal support of them all . " We trust this state of

things may long continue , and lhat so long as Comp . Pilil . liKICK presides over llic Degree in this count }' , the same friendl y relations , the same feeling eif mutual conlidence , will exist between him and the chapters uueU ' . r his administration .

Bv I-KU . MISSION of the Duke of Westminster , the members and friends of the National Sunday League , of which his Grace is a vice-president , visited Grosvenor House on Sunday last , the number present being 4200 . Since iSSy the Duke has granted this privilege nn two Sundays in each autumn , and so highly is the privilege appreciated lhat it has been fmnd impossible to admit all applicants .

Masonic Service In Donaghadee.

MASONIC SERVICE IN DONAGHADEE .

SERMON BY THE REV . L . A . POOLER . Under the auspices of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Down , a service was held in Donaghadee Parish Church on the nth instant . The brethren , wearing their regalia , assembled at the Market House at half-past three o ' clock . The following lodges weie represented-. Nos . 193 , 447 , 175 , 106 , 272 , 709 , 1000 , 243 , 481 , 565 , 314 , 155 , 4 6 , 198 , 686 , 180 , 664 , 92 , 746 , 665 , 254 , 609 , 114 , and 170 .

The officers present were : Bros . Major Leslie J . Thompson , D . P . G . M . of Down j Alex . A . Lutton . P . G . D . C . ; James Fitchie , P . G . R . C . ; N . J . Ltjdgerwood , P . K . ; G . M'Comb , P . P . J . G . D . ; D . B . Gal way , R . A . C . ; Thomas M'Keown , R . A . C . ; Samuel Paden , P . K . ; James Nesbitt , P . K . Wm . Edgwick M'Lean , P . K . P . H . ; George Murdoch , R . A . C ; J , Hewitt , R . A . C . ; John M'Cune , P . K . ; and S . G . Semple , P . K .

Bro . Lutton had charge of the arrangements in regard to the procession , which marched two deep from the Market House to the church . Exclusive of the brethren , who numbered about 300 , there was an exceedingly large congregation . Tbe service commenced with the singing of a hymn , after which the proper Psalms , 8 , 15 , and 21 , were chanted . Evening prayers were said by the Revs . R . H . Coote and C . Bassett , and the lesson was read by Bro . Rev . C . Knox Pooler .

Rev . L . A . POOLER ( minor canon of Downpatrick Cathedral ) , who preached the sermon , selected as his text St . John i ., 4— " The Life was the Light of Men . " He said : There are three great mysteries—three problems of human thought—self , the world , and God ! I do not say that everyone here has consciously said to himself , " These three final existences sum up all being . " But I do say that everyone does take up a definite position in

regard to these three . Each has answered the questions for himself . It is generally when we come to think about Christianity that these three mysteries force themselves upon our notice . But Christianity did not create them . Christianity deals with mysteries which already existed . In all ages we see men standing in perplexity in faith before them—in Egypt 300 ( 1 years before Christ , in old Babylonia , in Assyria , India ,

Greece , Alexandria , and Europe , down to our own day , down to the books that are being written now—at the back of all human thought lie these three—self , the word , and God . Someone says , " When you talk ol books you are thinking , I suppose , of philosophical works , treatises on metaphysics , theology , and such like , and I wouldn't be paid to read them . " Certainly not , I am thinking of all books—even the flimsiest novel

of the day ; even the blase society sketch , which would persuade you that truth and manhood , purity and modest womanhood , have ceased to exist in that little circle which is called society ; and that the majority of men are merely healthy animals or clever scamps ; while the woman of the future is a loud and vulgar female who has doubts , and poses as intellectual . Even in these flimsiest of books , so far as they attempt to deal with human life at

all , they have to deal with these three great mysteries—self , the world , and God . The unbeliever , I know , proceeds to solve the difficulty by leaving out one of the factors . He eliminates God . For him , he says , there are but two mysteries—self and the world . But this does not simplify the solution ; it rather intensifies the difficulty . It is like trying to make a triangle with only two angles . But suppose for a moment that this position is true , and

that there is no God . To most minds this is unthinkable , but suppose it . Then ycu are still left face to face with two of the great mysteries—self and thewoild . What answer have you * " If there be nothing above man but blind force , then man becomes the end of all things , for man is the crownof creation so far as we know . But then the crown of creation is the only discontented part cf creation . He is conscious of longings and desires which

find no satisfaction in this world . " He feels he is not made to die . " But if there be no God he is made to die , and so an infinite melancholy steals over him , for all his aspirations are in vain , or , as a modern writer puts it , " A waste of moral energy . " No wonder the same writer calls his history of humanity " The Martyrdom of Man , " and ends it in these words , " Mental anguish is at hand . The hope of immortality must die ; a sweet

and charming illusion will be taken from the human race as youth and beauty vanish , never to return . " Thus unbelief starts from matter , and it ends in matter . It begins from the mud , and it ends in the mud . But let us look a little more closely at these three , " self , the world , and God . " We shall first take " self . " There is no one , I suppose , who has not in some form or other asked himself the angel ' s question to Hagar , " Whence comest thou and whither wilt thou go ? " What is the origin of myself ?

Shall I go out at death as a candle that is burned out , or shall I live on under altered conditions of which at present I can form no clear picture ? If I am to live on , how far am I responsible for my life , and how far am I the slave of circumstances into which I was born , and of a nature which I have inherited ? Nay , at times I seem almost to feel as if I were two men . At one time I long for what is pure and true j and at another something within me , " a certain baseness in the blood , " urges me to what I know to be unworthy , and I have a real fellow-feeling for the man who

wrote" Within my earthly temple there ' s a crowd—There ' s one that ' s humble , and there ' s one that ' s proud ; There ' s one that ' s broken-hearted for his sins , And one that unrepentant sits and grins ; There ' s one that loves his neighbour as himself , And one that only cares for greed and pelf .

Ot much corroding care would I be free , If anyone would tell me which is me . " These are a few of the questions which the word " self" suggests to us , anel which each of us does practically answer tvtry day . Or take the thoug hts suggested by " the world . ' The duration of the universe , we are told by scientific men , is essentially finite . It had a beginning , and it will have an end . The Bible says so too . But is the Bible right when it tells us that it

was God who in the beginning created ihe heavens and the earth ? Is this world what the great German called " the visible garment of God . " Can the ear of faith indeed hear the voice of God behind ths whisper of the winds and beneath the murmur of the stream ? Or is it rather true that " nature is one with rapine , a harm no preacher can heal ? " Will the world end simply in a great catastrophe , or is there " one far off divw e event to which the whole creation moves ? " These are some of the questions suggested to us by " The World . " These thoughts lead us into