Poetry.

Poetry .

A SONG TO THE CRAFT , BY BRO . DALLENGER . I , A SONG to the Craft—the ancient Craft , That for ages uimumber'd hath stood ; Here ' s healthstrengthand mightto tbo sons of tho light

, , , , And our own dear brotherhood . There ' s virtue and truth imparted to youth , AVhen the Charge from the Master is given ; And it pointeth the way to those who obey Its precepts , for they lead to heaven . II .

In the ancient time , when its secrets sublime , Great Solomon with his brethren ivould share ; At the temple of old , its proud altar of gold AA as built by the aid of the square . Now the builder is dead , and its glory hath fled Like a dream from the human brain ; But its mysteries live , and power still give To the Craft , which for aye shall remain .

in .. Here ' s to Hiram ' s great name , whose undying fame , Like tbe Craft , shall for ever endure ; Slay all Masons still be as faithful as he , And the vows they have made ne ' er abjure . AVith heart and with hand , in Masonry ' s band , Let us aid ancl assist one another ; That all men may see , that our actions agree AVith the creed that ' s profess'd by a brother .

THE VAIN REGRET . On , had I nursed ivhen I was young The lessons of my father ' s tongue , '" ( The deep laborious thought he dreiv From all he saw ancl others knew ) , I might have been—ahwoe is me !

, Thrice sager than I e ' er shall be . For what says time' ? Alas ! he only shoivs the truth Of all that I was told in youth . The thoughts now budding in my brain— . Tho wisdom I bave bought ivith pain—The knowledge of life ' s brevity—

-Frail friendship—false philosophy—And all that issues out of woe—Methinks were taught me long ago . Then what says time ? Alas ! he but brings back the truth Of all I heard ( aud lost ) in youth ! Truths hardllearned and latelbroht

y y ug , From many a far forgotten scene , Had I but listened as I ought To all your voices , sage , serene , 0 ! what might I not have been In the realms of thought ?

TRUE AVISDOM . IIY J . C . KITSCH . AVno are the irisc ? Thoy Avho have governed with a self control Each Avild ancl baneful passion o £ the soul ; Curbed the strong impulse of all fierce desires ,

But kept alive affections purer fires ; They who havo passed the labyrinth of life , AVithout one hour of iveakness or of strife ; Prepared each change of fortune to endure , Humble , though rich , and dignified , though poor ; Skilled in the latent movements of the heart—¦ Learned in that lore which nature can impart ; Teaching that sweet philosophy aloud AVhich sees the silver lining of the cloud ; Looking for good in all beneath tho skies—Tbe-fe are the truly wise ,

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

„— , —t [ THE EDITOR does -not hold himself responsible for any opinions entertained oy Correspondents , ' ]

PAST MASTERS' JEWELS . TO THE EDITOR OJF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . DEAR SIR AJTD BROTHER , —A very knotty point of practice has arisen , ivhich ive should be glad if yon will solve for us in your next number . The Lodge to ivhich Ave belong gave orders , some time since , for a die to be made so that the Past Masters' presentationjen-els

should all be of one pattern or design . This die remains in the hands of the Masonic jeweller . Our present Master , about to leave the chair , has had very considerable doubts of the Lodge voting him one of such jewels , and accordingly he has been to the Masonic jeweller , and ordered and paid for a jeAvel for himself , to be taken from the Lodge die . AVe want to knoiv hoiv to proceed in the matterfor we are not anxious that he should ivear this jewel .

, Can Ave prohibit him from doing so , and IIOAV ? The property of the Lodge is vested in him ; but does that give him a rig ht to use ivhat he would only be entitled to hy vote of the Lodge , although in strict legality he is a part proprietor ivitli the other members ? Also , from whom should the jeiveller receive such an order ? The Secretary , by common custom , orders everything by direction of the Master , and , of course , he has no more to do in

the affairs of the Lodge than what he is ordered ; but is not the proceeding an exceptional one when the Master deals with the Lodge property Avithout consulting any brother , or giving the order through the Secretary ? Can the Lodge , when the subject comes before it , pass a A'ote of censure on the Master and refuse him admission to the Lodge while he conies decorated ivith tho jewel he has ordered so unfairlyif not fraudulently ?

, We axe , Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , THE P . Ms , OFFICERS OF THE LODGE . [ There can be no doubt that the Master has acted most foolishly and indiscreetly , and must indeed be a Aveak man thus to decorate himself , though in many Lodges the P . Ms , always haA * e to pay for their jewels . Thcjewellerhadarightto suppose the AV . M .

had the poiver to order the jeivel . In future , keep the die in your oivn hands , and only issue it when a jeivel is Avanted . You can pass the A'ote of censure and refuse the brother admission to the Lodge , but he will hai'o a right of appeal to the Board of General Purposes , —En . ]

THE BLACKIIEATII MEETING- OF AUGUST , 1858 . TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIO MIRROR . DEAR SIR AXD BROTHER , —In the last number of your Magazine ( A'iz ., Dec . 24 ) , under the head of "The Blackheath Meeting of August , 1858 , " " A Member of AVest Kent Masonry" begs to ask " the result of that meeting as far as the charities are concerned ;" and as my name is mentioned amongst others as one " of the

prominent leaders of the meeting , " I i ' eel very confident that your sense of justice ivill afford : ine space in your next issue to state , as far as I am concerned , all I know about the affair ; first supporting you in your statement that Bros . Crow , Thiselton , and yourself Avere only present in your official capacities . The scheme , as far as I can recollect , originated ivith the Deptford brethren , for the purpose of bringing together the members of the A-arious

Lodges of AVest Kent ; after one or two meetings of the committee had been held , my name ivas added thereto , and I UOAV am enabled to speak from personal knowledge ; it was proposed , in order to benefit the charities , that fifteen shillings should be charged for each dinner ticket—twelve shillings to be paid to the landlord , ancl three shillings to be reserved for charity , after deducting the expenses of printing , & c . So far from the gathering

being a failure , it was the reverse , as the room could barely accommodate the number of brethren present ; and I believe I ivas not singular in the opinion , that a surplus of about fifteen pounds would be at the disposal of the committee for charity . I haA'e since the festival called several times on Bro . Eigg AVrig ht , urging a settlement of the account ; I have also Availed upon Bro . Browse , and visited , the Deptford Lodges , urging that no time should be lost ; hut all to no effect . Avhere the blame lies it is not for me to say , as I should he sorry to impute more than error in judgment to any brother .