Bro. Samuel Pope, Q.C.

thnt eminent jurisconsult the Prince of Wales , clad in his robes , and presiding genially over the councils of the grave and reverend signiors of the Bar . A ponderous tin case , devoted to the requirements of Mr . Pope ' s full-buttomed wig , and a heap of well-marked briefs , almost conceal the features of Sir Theodore Martin and Mr . Bidder , Q . C , on which the face of Mr . Benjamin seems to s _ a / . ein

affectionate and fraternal regard , while thc portrait of Sir Wilfrid Lawson reminds you of the time when Mr . Pope as an apostle of Local Option bade defiance to Lord Derby . Mr . Pope has now mastered the contents of the formidable array of blue papers before him , and Mr . Barlow leaves for a moment the well-marked briefs he is busily engaged in inspecting , to usher you into the presence of the leader of the Parliamentary Bar .

As you enter , your attention is at once arrested by the portly form of the Recorder of Bolton , which amply fills the massive writing-chair behind the desk standing in the opposite corner of the room , and is shrouded by the ground glass in the lower portions of the windows from the inquisitive gaze of the experts and engineers who live on thc opposite side of the way . As becomes a consistent Liberal and Home Ruler , Mr . Samuel Pope wears incipient Gladstone collars ,- his Ho ise of Lords attire is kept in the press at the Westminster robing-room , and his

working suit is of rough dark tweed . The bulky Oldham brief , the " proceedings , " and two or three calf-bound law-books nearly cover the slope on which he writes , and you look furtively around you , while with evident satisfaction he puts a finishing touch to his notes of the argument by which he hopes to induce his Grace of Richmond to place municipal corporations , in the matter of gas supply and profits , under the restrictions which Mr . Forster ' s committee ten years since imposed on public companies .

The centre of the room is occupied by a long leather-covered table surrounded by rows of serviceable mahogany chairs . A Turkey carpet , somewhat past its prime , is spread over the floor ; the solid ledge of the great bookcase , faced with metal lattice-work , and filled with legal lore , affords a resting place for one of Miss Dorothy Tennant ' s delightful sketches of English ragamuffins , who seem bewildered at the sight of the roomy presidential seat beneath them ; near the entrance is a proof of Oulcss ' s picture of William Sale , of Manchester , Samuel Pope's earliest and best friend , hung over a portrait of Mrs . Fitzherbert , and in the midst of half

a dozen artistic engravings from L'Art ; a series of Phiz's characteristic illustrations of some forgotten Irish poem hang above the monumental red marble mantlepiece , between two of Hawkins' water-colour sketches of Westminster Hall , and Mr . G . H . Bougliton ' s pretty pen-and-ink drawing of Priscillaj the remaining portions of the gray-green vva'ls are well-nigh hidden from view by the votive-offerings which have come from the studios of Hubert Herkomer , F . R . Stocks , Vicat Cole , Frank Holl , Tristram Ellis , Frederick Goodall , James MacWhirter , Charles Green , and A . C . Gow .

Samuel Pope rises from his place near the window , sinks resignedly into the depths of the roomy seat at the head of the table , banishes for the nonce all recollection of Oldham and its concerns , and talks to you pleasantly of bis past life . He confesses cheerily to the sixty years which have frosted his hair ; tells you frankly that his father , a well-known Lancashire calico printer , originally destined him for commercial pursuits , and found him a berth in the office of his maternal uncle , a Brazilian merchant in Manchester , where he developed a strong taste for

private theatricals and a wholesome admiration for the stage . He relates with undisguised g lee the story of his obtaining leave from John Knowles to " go on " amongst the supers at the Theatre Royal , to accustom himself to the glare of the footlights , and of his being on one occasion compelled by an accident to offer his * arm to Taglioni as a " pose" dining one of her final performances of Ln Gitalin . He resisted , however , the strong temptation to adopt the stage as a profession , and by Mr . Sale ' s advice went to London , to eat his dinners at the Middle

Temple and study law . He was " called" in 1858 , joined the Northern Circuit , attracted the favourable notice cf Chief Baron Pollock , and soon obtained a considerable success . As a defender of prisoners anti jury advocate , the traditions of the Circuit regard him as a not unworthy successor of Wilkins and Overend . The defence of Taylor , who was accused of murdering his children at Manchester , and the tact with which he fought the once famous Porcupine libel case , were amongst his earlier efforts . In 1869 he "took silk , " became a bencher of his Inn , and

effectually consoled himself for failing to obtain a seat in the House of Commons by coming suddenly to the front as a Parliamentary lawyer . Mr . Pope owed his introduction to the particular line of practice in which he has become famous to the goodwill of Mr . George VVilson , who was at the same time chairman of the Anti-Corn Law League , and Vice-Chairman of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway . The other great companies were not slow in recognising the abilities of Samuel Pope . General retainers rained upon him from all sides ; and when Mr . Hope Scott ,

Mr . Burke , Mr . Venables , and other veterans left the arena , and Sir Edmund Beckett was transformed into Lord Grimthorpe , the tavourite of the Northern Circuit mess rose slowly but surely to the foremost position at the Parliamentary Bar . Mr . Pope's native modesty declines to admit as much , but of late years no case before the Committee has been complete without him . In the mighty battle of the Manchester Ship Canal be represented the opposition of the railway companies , and succeeded twice in the Sessions of 1883 and 1884 in procuring the rejection of

the scheme . It was only on the third occasion that the promoters , by adopting plans which had been suggested by previous contests , secured the reward of their unexampled perseverance , by obtaining the sanction they so ardently sought for . For obvious reasons , Mr . Pope has not again essayed to enter Parliament , and so misses the ordinary rewards of his profession . He is , however , reconciled lo his fate . As the Recorder of Bolton , he has given ample proof of his powers on the bench ; as the honorary secretary and moving spirit of thc United Kingdom

Alliance we recognise his indomitable energy , his power of organisation , and the force of his persuasive oratory . In private life he is the gayest of companions and the most genial of hosts . He is much given to hospitality , the rigid austerity of the "Alliance" notwithstanding , and nothing can be pleasanter to his many friends than a visit lo the cosy house amongst the mountains of Merionethshire , which he has named facetiously Hafod-y-bryn , or the Tabernacle on the Hill , where he is to be seen in the character of a model country squire . In

spite of a weig ht of some three-and-twenty stone ( which he lately playfully described as " a certain exuberance of charms" ) , he passes his long vacation in shooting , fishing , fanning , and competing for local prices as an eminent breeder of black Welsh cattle . In London he delights in the society of painters , poets , actors , and the votaries of art and literature . The more favoured of his clients vastly enjoy his luncheons at the Whitehall Club , and his intimate friends delight to dine with

him at the Garrick , or at his house in Holland Park . As a hard-working Freemason , and one of the Grand Ofiicers of the current year , he often appears at the convivial banquets of the mystic Brotherhood , where his after-dinner speeches arc much appreciated . One shadow alone rests on his otherwise happy life . The talented wife , whose society exercised so considerable an influence on his career , Ins passed away , and he has never married again .

Mr . Barlow now knocks impatiently at the door ; your interview has been most unjustifiably prolonged , and as he calls out abruptly the " Oldham Corporation , " the Mayors and Town Clerks of Ashton , Stalybridge , and Mosley , the clerk to the Local Board of Failsworth , and a strong contingent of gas experts troop tumultuously into the room ; Mr . Barlow ' s subordinate removes hastily the books and papers from the desk in the corner to the end of the great table nearest Mr . Pope ' s chair ; Mr .

Cripps and Mr . Meysey Thompson , who both enter simultaneously in a hurry , drop mechanically into their places on cither side of their leader ; the experts commence to expound vociferously and at once the mysterious figures of their calling ; Mr . Pope listens to them with profound attention ; and you leave the solemn conclave , on which the whole fate and future of Oldham apparently depends , to the undisturbed enjoyment of its serious deliberations .

Freemasonry In Bengal, 1740—1813, &C.

FREEMASONRY IN BENGAL , 1740—1813 , & c .

By Bro . VV . J . HUGHAN , Past S . G . D . Dedicated lo the W . Bro . Prosonno Coomar Dull . Bro . P . C . Dutt ( P . M . 234 , E . G ., & c , S : c ) , a zealous Craftsman of Calcutta , has kindly sent me , for my friend and Brother John Lane ' s "Masonic Records" ( now preparing ) , copies of warrants of certain old

lodges , for vvhich I have often asked , but without avail , until now . These transcripts ( or rather one of them ) open up a curious question or point for decision , for if the particulars the present warrant recites be correct , my " Masonic Register" of 1 S 78 is wrong , vvhich is based upon Grand Lodge

Calendars , so they are wrong also . To put it clearly , there vvere 17 lodges granted for Bengal by the regular Grand Lodge known as the " Moderns " from 1 740 to 1793 , they being numbered respectively I to 13 in Bengal , four being excepted from such a renumeration .

They were as follows , with numbers as noted , and as altered—Warranted . Numbers from Town . In Bengal . 1 _ / To After 17 S 1 1792 1 S 14 1 S 32 1 S 63 1792 1793

1 740 77 70 93 So C 71 Calcutta 1 1 1752 101 ... ... ... ... Chardanagorc ... 17 C 1 167 143 174 12 O" 109 Calcutta 2 2 ' 7 0 * - * * 273 Patna 3 176 S 2 S 0 ... ... ... ... Burdwan 4 177- 349 ••• ... ... Dacca 5 177- 350 2 SS 365 Calcutta 0 3 1772 351 ist Brigade 7

1772 352 3 rd do S * 77 353 — ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ 2 nd do 9 1773 3 C 0 292 371 ... ... Muxadavad ( Cawnpore ) 10 0 " 1773 3 fji 293 373 Calcutta ... " 11 5 I 775 3 SS 31 G ... ... ... 3 rd Brigade 12 4 17 S 6 4 S 9 399 ... ... ... Futtyghur I ? 9 555 4 G 4 •¦• ••• ••¦ Fredericksnagorc ... 13 7 ¦ 793 52 S ... ... ... Chunar S 1793 •¦• 529 ... ... ... Cawnpore 9

A curious local change occurred in 1793 , as several lodges had died out ; the No . 10 at Cawnpore , so the Return stated to our Grand Lodge , ( Bro . Lane tells me ) vvas not in existence , but another Lodge not previously registered , but working apparently from 1793 . was put in its place as No . 292 , and was numbered 292 in like manner , but locally in the re-arran ^ ement it took No . 6 , old eleven becoming 5 , and old twelve becoming 4 , old No . u

taking the third position ; Nos . 1 and 2 being undisturbed , 7 to 9 falling in as indicated . The new 6 vvas called " Anchor and Hope . " At the Union ofthe two rival Grand Lodges in December , 1813 , Nos . 1 , 2 and 3 were numbered locally as before ( according to my researches ) on the revised Roll , but the new 6 of 1793 became 4 , and the new 5 of 1793 remained 5 , the others being erased .

The " Atholl" Grand Lodge ( Seceders ) had warranted four lodges , all for Calcutta , viz . — Warranted . Numbers from Name . No . in 1 , ' Bengal . 1 S 14 1 * 832 1 S 63

1797 315 0 S 3 2 G 5 21 S l ' rue I ' riendslup 3 79 s 317 402 279 229 Humility , & c . 4 1 S 01 323 410 2 S 2 232 Marine 5 1 S 01 325 413 2 S 4 234 Anchor and Hope f > The local numbers , 3 to 6 , were taken after the removal from the Roll of 365 , 371 , and 373 of the regular Grand l . odge , vvhich occurred in 1817 .

I have a copy of 218 warrant , but it lacks the original number . This I want badly , for although it was 315 before the " Union " ol 1813 , it took the place of 301 immediately afterwards . Will some brother kindly examine the document to discover the original number ? The warrant of 229 Bro . Dutt has kindly sent me , and also that of 232 , both of which accord vvith my * ' Masonic Register , " and Bro . Gould's "Atholl Lodges , " at least fairly ,

so . But , the real point is as to No . 234 , the warrant sent me by Bro . Dutt , or rather copy , printed in the By-laws of A . D . 1885 ( being one of confirmation ) , recites that it was a Modem Lodge , not an " Atholl" Lodge , as all our Calendars state from 1815 , ( published a year in advance , as now ) dating really from 1773 , and bearing the numbers of 360 and 292 in 1781 and 1792 , as original No . 10 , and afterwards 6 of Bengal , also called the "Anchor and

Hope , as original 325 of the " Atholl Grand Lodge ! The singular thing also is that in 1814 , it is given the number 413 , and in 1 S 32 , numbered 284 , as presumed to be taken by original 325 , " Atholl , " and thus is now 234 , dating from 1 S 01 , not 1773 . Novv , either the recital of the warrant of confirmation is wrong , or , all our Calendars are wrong from 1815 . To discover

whicb , I should like to know what light any of the earlier records throw on the subject , prior to December , 1813 , for according to our Registers , 292 ( in 1792 ) became 371 in 1814 , and died out in 1817 . I await particulars vvith much interest , and hope that some competent brother vvill find a solution , and that speedily , in time for Bro . Lane ' s new work . —Masonic Record of Western India .

PATRIARCHAL MASONRY . —The view of Oliver that Freemasonry represents the teaching of the Patriarchs , in opposition to the unsound teaching of spurious idolatrous Freemasonry , though once widely accepted , is now , in our more critical times , hardly the view of the majority of educated Anglo-Saxon Masons . History and archrcology , criticism and correctness , are all against it . Oliver ' s theory , strictly carried out , would result in

this—that the Hebrew Masonry alone preserved the patriarchal religion . But as Phoenicians and Hebrews worked together , it seems difficult to establish this proposition . It is the difficulty of the theory per se which , no doubt , led Oliver later to take up the Christian derivation of Masonry , whichhe thought he perceived in the " Disciplina Arcani"and Hermetic Masonry . But both these suggestions also have difficulties of their own , vvhich we confess are lo us insuperable . We think that it is safer to assert

that freemasonry , as a secret sodality , preserved much of the primaeval teaching of the mysteries , and that the Hebrew colouring , vvhich is very marked , comes through the guilds . It is also just possible that the Tyrian mysteries were more purely primasval than others . That Hermeticism may have preserved some portion of the Masonic Legends , we do not think needful to dispute . But what that Hermeticism is we have yet to learn , if ever we shall clearly be able to master its mysteries . —Kenning ' s Cyclopcedia of Freemasonry .