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course , cases of individuals brought to his own knowledge where temporary assistance can do genuine good , and these he will not overlook . But the amount which can be wisely given by the individual for individuals is necessarily limited by his lack of knowledge of the circumstances connected with each . He is the only true reformer who is as careful and as anxious not to aid the unworthy as he is to aid the worthy , and perhaps , even more so , for in

almsgiving more injury is probably done by rewarding vice than by relieving virtue . The rich man is thus almost restricted to following the examples of Peter Cooper , Enoch Pratt of Baltimore , Mr . Pratt of Brooklyn , Senator Stanford , and others , who know that the best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladders upon which the aspiring can rise—parks , and means of recreation , by which men are helped in body and

mind ; works of art , certain to give pleasure and improve the public taste ; and public institutions of various kinds , which will improve the general condition of the people ; in this manner returning their surplus wealth to the mass of their fellows in the forms best calculated to do them lasting good . Thus is the problem of Rich and Poor to be solved . The laws of accumulation will be left free ; the laws of distribution free . Individualism will

continue , but the millionaire will be but a trustee for the poor ; entrusted for a season with a great part of the increased wealth of the community , but administering it for the community far better than it could or would have done for itself . The best minds will thus have reached a stage in the development of the race in which it is clearly seen that there is no mode of disposing of surplus wealth creditable to thoughtful and earnest men into whose hands it flows save by using it year by year for the general good . This day already dawns .

But a little while , and although , without incurring the pity of their fellows , men may die sharers in great business enterprises from which their capital cannot be or has not been withdrawn , and is left chiefly at death for public uses , yet the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth which was his to administer during life , will pass away " unwept , unhonored , and unsung , " no matter to what uses he leaves the dross which he cannot

take with him . Of such as these the public verdict will then be : "The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced . " Such , in my opinion , is the true Gospel concerning Wealth , obedience to which is destined some day to solve the problem of the Rich and the Poor , and to bring " Peace on earth , among men Good-Will . "—Andrew Carnegie .

* * * Freemasonry has grown to its present stature from feeble-minded infancy and raw boyhood . It has made progress as the world of which it is a part has . To live at all a man or an Order must do that . Life consists in progress . If Masonry had stood still while the world moved onward , it would now have been like nothing so much as the skeleton of a ship high and dry

upon the sandy shore of the sea . It has made progress , and is of larger stature . But , as in the modern progress of civil affairs and society and religion , there has been deprivation as well as reformation , so the progress of Freemasonry in this country during the last forty years has not been wholly to its moral or intellectual advantage . Some of the ancient landmarks have been removed , the real meanings of the most important symbols have been

lost by the Blue Lodges , and have only been rediscovered by the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite ; but these are only in part given in our books , because it is not permissible for some to be taught otherwise than orally , as , anciently , the meanings of all symbols were . The symbolism of Masonry is the soul of Masonry . Every symbol of the Blue Lodge is a religious teacher , the mute teacher , also , of morals and philosophy . It is in its ancient

symbols and in the knowledge of their true meanings that the pre-eminence of Freemasonry over all other Orders consists . In other respects some of them may compete with it , rival it , perhaps even excel it ; but , by its symbolism , it will reign without a peer when it learns again what its symbols mean , and that each is the embodiment of some great , old , rare truth .

Degrees are the steps of Masonic progress , when they have that in them which makes them in reality degrees . A degree that teaches nothing whereby a man may become wiser or better is a degree in name only . It is not a degree even in the sense in which the rounds of a ladder are degrees , or the steps of a stairway--the mere means of ascension to an apartment above . A series of so-called degrees with which an unfortunate individual may be " invested , " by receiving a letter and a patent , or by the

stretching forth of a hand and the utterance of the magical words " By virtue of the authority in me vested , " or in half an hour or less by a short recital of fact and falsehood , and a brief obligation upon the payment of five , ten , or fifteen dollars , cannot be other than the stock-in-trade of impostors , of men capable of approaching an honorary member of a regular Supreme Council , supposed to be needy , and

proposing to him to follow , in a lower and baser way , the example of Faust , by engaging in the work of vending their degrees and establishing their consistories , because " there is money in it . " Our degrees are lesso ns . They require of those who receive them thought and study ; and to those who rarely think and never study they cannot much commend themselves . Men will never come in crowds to the doors of our temples seeking initiation . We need

not be disappointed if our Bodies grow slowly , and if our Rite does not become popular . That which becomes so is always tending to deterioration , and in too many cases popularity is proof of demerit . We must be content with slow accretion and gradual accession of members . There is , indeed , always more

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danger to thc moral and spiritual welfare of a man or Order in prosperity than in adversity ; and nothing so beneficial could happen to Freemasonry now as a vigorous persecution . I leave it to the Grand Masters to lament , as they have long lamented , the ill practices , in the indiscriminate admission of Apprentices forthwith to become Masters , the seeking of office and otherwise , that have found their way into the sanctuaries , lowering the dignity and lessening the

honorable repute of the Order . One purpose is paramount in every one of our degrees—to bind those who receive them more closely together , by inculcating the prompt and habitual performance of one ' s duties to others—not merely those duties performance of which is commanded by law or custom , but those that live in a higher sphere , and find their sanction in a higher code of ethics —the duties of forgiveness of injuries , forbearance under provocation ,

toleration , lenient judgment , generosity , a liberal charity , encouragement of those struggling to maintain their foothold in business and life , and of the disheartened ; encouragement of the erring endeavoring to amend , kind words for those fallen into evil ways , and helpful sympathy for the suffering and sorrowful . —Albert Pike .

Reviews.

Reviews .

Mel / aim ' s Masonic Orations . Edited by JOHN CHAPMAN , P . P . G . D ( London : George Kenning , 16 , Great Queen-street , W . C . ) A NEATLY bound collection of the orations delivered by Bro . L . P - **• Metham , P . G . D ., in Devon and Cornwall since 1 S 66 , with an introduction by Bro . Hughan . The little volume is well worth reading , and is published on behalf of the Royal British Female Orphan Asylum at Stoke .

By Paths and Cross Roads . By MRS . J . PATON . ( London : Messrs . Ward & Downey . ) THIS is one of those sweet little bits of interesting descriptive chatter that characterises all this author's works . She talks of sparrows and jackdaws in a way quite different to other people , and converts them into peacocks and

pheasants in a charming manner . The book is a perfect little gem . How I Lost £ 210 , 000 in Two Years . By ERNEST BENZON . ( London : Trischler & Co ., 18 , New Bridge-street , E . C . ) A BOOK without any literary merit whatever . It is interesting to read how a young man possessed of great wealth contrived to filter it away among the

sharps of this gay city , and it is instructive ; but if Mr . Benzon had really wished to benefit his fellow-men , he should have placed the facts of his marvellous career in the hands of a writer who could have made something out of them . As it is , the pages of this book will never be opened by any one who refuses to be bored by the vagaries of a youth who has the impudence to lay odds of £ 20 , 000 to £ 16 , 000 upon the winning of a racehorse .

BOOKS AND PERIODICALS RECEIVED . Men and Women of the Day ( London : Richard Bentley & Sons ) . The New Review for September ( Longmans , Green , & Co . ) . The Freemason ( Great Queen-street ) . Masonic Star . The Keystone- Freemasons ' Chronicle ( Sydney ) .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

A SOMERSET MASON . —Make your grievance known before the proper tribunal—the Provincial Grand Lodge—through your own Lodge . 209 . —It is not our fault . Bro . W . Nottage , of your Royal town , gets his copy from a local newsagent ; he , therefore , receives it flat , and at a cost of sixpence . We are making inquiries with a view—in conjunction with other monthly periodicals—of appealing to the Postal authorities .

GEORGE FISK , P . M . —Yes , he was a Mason , but he had not held any office six mDnths before his death . We have no reference later than this . DRURY-LANE LODGE . —We can ' t pledge ourselves of our intention twelve months hence ; we have not given the affair a thought . Such a word as you use has no place in our vocabulary . There is no antagonism between us and our contemporary . Why should there be ? Of course , we saw it ; but

why should not better paper and new type , or even an imitation of our ink , be used ? These are the surest proofs that we were wanted . P . M . —It comes no nearer our standard than before . We did not pledge ourselves to publish letters that bore signatures ; we merely refused to publish any that did not . BROS . W . H . LOVELACE , H . J . MORGAN , M . NAVONI , and HERBERT TILLIER ( or SILLIER ) have been answered through the post .