Masonic Mems;

PORTRAITS of the Rt . Hon . the Earl of Dalhousie , K . T . G . O . B ., M . W . G . M . Mason of Scotland , can now be obtained at this office , price 3 s . 6 d . each . Copies , with ornamental border and Masonic emblems printed in gold , on large size paper can be had , price 10 s . 6 d . TIIE consecrecration of the Burdett Coutts Lodge ( No . 1 , 238 ) ,

will take place on Thursday , the 23 rd inst , at four o ' clock , p . m ., at the Approach Tavern , Approach-road , Victoria Park . The ceremonies by the Grand Secretary ; Bro . Jamos Terry , W . M . designate . CONFIDENCE LODGE or INSTRUCTION . —Bro . James Foster , of the Railway Tavern , Fcnchurch-street , has been waited on

by several influential brethren , for the purpose of holding the above lodge at his well-known tavern , and it is with much pleasure we inform tho brethren the consecration ceremony will take place on Wednesday evening , October Oth , at seven o ' clock . The consecration ceremony will be worked by Bro . J . Brett , Assist . G . Purst . The importance of meetings undor this title

is sufficiently apparent by the provisions made for their government and regulation in tho " Book of Constitution . " Indeed , to the discipline which pervades , we may say , all of them , tlie Order is much indebted , inasmuch as it frequently happens that business of a general nature which engages the attention of a loclge prevents a regular practice in the ceremonies of tbe Order and the members would require a longer time to become

proficient , but for the lodges of instruction , whose business being confined to the discipline required in the ceremonials , lectures , & c , affords more ample opportunity to those who seek information as well as to those who are emulous of improvement . We therefore congratulate the brethren on selecting Bro . James Foster ' s hotel . He has been for many years , ancl still is , an

indefatigable member of tho Bedford Lodge ( No . 157 ) , and likewise a staunch supporter of all the Charities , and the aim now is to further the interests of our noble Order , and to the brethren who are resident in the eastern district ; to them more especially it cannot fail to be advantageous . We shall give a full report of the proceedings of the consecration of this loclge in due course .

Metropolitan.

METROPOLITAN .

SOUTHERN STAR LODGE ( NO . 1 , 158 ) . An emergency meeting of this lodge was held on Friday evening , the 10 th inst , at the Montpelier Tavern , Walwort ' h-road . Bro . K . E . Clarke , W . M , presided , supported by bis officers and Bros . H . Thompson , P . M . and Treas . ; Pulsford , P . M . and Sec . ; Potter , P . M ., and several visitors , amongst whom were Bros . H . Massey , P . M . Beadon Lodge ; Walters , Mount Lebanon ;

Bainbridge , Domatic ; Martin , Enoch , & c . In consequence of the death of Bro . F . Horne , the lodge was put into mourning . The lodge was opened in due form and with solemn prayer , when the following gentlemen , who were candidates , were duly initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry : —Messrs . Charles Beck , Walter Joyce ( of the Strand Theatre ) , John Richard

Walter , and Joseph Wright . The ceremony was very ably performed by the W . M . The lod ge was then opened in the second degree , and Bros . Davis , Mansell , and Monckton were respectively passed to the degree of F . C . Bros . Gibbs , Warne , ancl Alderson were then questioned' as to their progress in tlie science , and their answers being considered satisfactory , tho lodge was opened in the third

degree , and they were respectively raised to the degree of JM . II . At the conclusion of this ceremony Bro . Thompson , P . M . and Treas , then delivered the following address on the recent event which had caused the loclge to be placed in mourning . He said"Brethren , —The performance of the ceremony of the third uegree is at all times calculated to make a deep impression upon the mind ^ ot only as the highest and culminating point iu the

science of Freemasonry , but on account of the great morals , solemn warnings , and instructive lessons it unfolds to us as travellers towards that goal which leads us to the final stage of our existence , ' where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest / bringing us at the end of our pilgrimage upon earth to the very presence of the Great Author of our being , to receive at His hands either our reward or to be sent to punishment' according as wo have obeyedor disregarded his

, , Divine commands . ' Tlie degree , if properly understood , is one that cannot fail to make a deep impression upon the mind , leading our thoughts to the contemplation of that awful change which sooner or later inevitably awaits all the children of men , and therefore it imperatively becomes our duty to ' number our clays so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom . ' The tracing board which is displayed before uswith the significant emblems

, of mortality , but too truly depict the awful position in which we stand , whilst the material light that is withdrawn from us is truly emblematical of that' dark valley' that must be traversed before we can arrive in the broad sunlight of mercy reflected from the everlasting crown of our Redeemer , whose bright beams will light our steps into the presence of the Great I AM , who was , who is , and will be for ever more . Brethrenthis degree is most especially

cal-, culated to inspire our hearts with awe , and hold out to us solemn warnings for the future , ancl if it is so in its figurative sense , what are wo to say to its reality , when the King of Terrors appears unbidden , and often unexpectedly , before us , summoning us to quit the scenes familiar to us , and the fond love of all we hold dear—to quit them all for ever—to leave a , blank in the domestic household that can never be filled up , and part in

bitterness and sorrowing tho hearts which in pure affection have long been united . Brethren , this is no highly-wrought picture —this is no dark and gloomy figure of ' a distempered ancl heatoppressed brain' —it is no wild chimera of the fancy or exaggeration—but , unfortunately , it presents itself iu all its rugged naked reality , in all the awful surroundings and solemnity of truth—with -all the inevitable results of human misery and woe .

Within a few days a brother rejoicing in the full possession of health and strength , with youth , comfort , and happiness in his homo , has been suddenly taken from us , and is now after a very transitory life , an inmate of the tomb that has ' received him

into its cold bosom / only to be again raised we hope by the Great Master of the World in the Grand Loclge of Immortality . Brethren , our Bro . Horne is the one here referred to— -he was but very recently initiated in our lodge , but by his death the first link has been broken of that fraternal chain which has hound us together in the Southern Star Lodge . His end was sudden , but the remembrance of him will be long , for he died in the discharge of those duties of affection which cannot fail to endear

and embalm his name in the hearts of all true Christians . In the midst of health be quitted the scene of his earthly joys to spend for a brief period a few clays in relaxation from ordinary toil , leaving the partner of his fortunes ancl his clear children , happy , healthy , and joyous , but on bis return what a different scene awaited him ! His domestic hearth had in his temporary absence been invaded—malignant disease had usurped the place of health—his children had been struck down as if by a pestilence ,

and the merry laugh and cheerful smile that used to greet his coming , had disappeared , and he was destined to see them no more . Tho chain of affection is strong , and with willing hands and anxious care he tended those whom nature bad committed to his charge , watching them by day and night with that solicitude that only a parent can know , and administering with diligence those antidotes which science could ielduntil at last his

y , strength gave way , disease claimed him as her own , and he died in discharge of his duty to those wlio were the especial objects of'his care . Such , brethren , was tho fate of Bro . Horne yesterdaysuch may be yours to-morrow . Let us ponder over this sad lesson —let it be deeply engraven on our hearts as a warning for the future . I cannot , in concluding this brief notice of the death of our Bro . Horne , do better than quote the words of one of our

great writers on Freemasonry , in speaking of another whohadgone before , when he said— - 'While we drop the sympathetic tear over the grave of our deceased brother , let charity incline us to throw a veil over his foibles , whatever thoy may have been , and not withhold from bis memory the praise which bis virtues may have claimed . Suffer the apologies of human nature to plead on his behalf . Perfection on earth has never been attained ; the wisest as well as the best of men have erred . His meritorious actions it is our duty to imitate , and from bis weaknesses let us derive instruction . Let the present example excite our most anxious thoughts and strengthen our resolution of amendment . Life