Eminent Masons At Home.

Master of Middlesex—a position he still retains . The following year he was admitted to the 33 , and installed as the First Prov . Grand Master of Mark Masonry for Middlesex and Surrey , the honors of which he also retains . In ' 7 6 he was presented with the Honorary Membership of the Burdett Royal Arch Chapter , 1293 ; and in the succeeding year he was appointed the

representative of the United States at the Grand Council of the Red Cross of Constantino in Scotland . In 1 S 79 he was appointed Sov . Grand Inspector-General of the 33 , Inspector-General of the Southern District of England , and First Grand Sov . of the Red Cross Order in Scotland . In 18 S 8 , on April 6 , Sir Francis was

admitted to the Order of the Secret Monitor , which for the present completes one of the brightest records in Masonry it is possible

to chronicle ; and among the numerous proofs he has received of the esteem with which his life - long

effort to serve Masonry and his own particular Province have been met , he values none so highly as the

ironbound oak chest containing that beautiful service of plate which the Brethren of the Province of Middlesex

presented him in 1 S 76 . Sir Francis has much to say in explanation of the deep interest he has taken in the art .

He believes no better Mason ever lived than the late Duke of Leinster , whose signature is appended to many of the certificates

granted to him . But the Duke was very careful not to permit M-. sonry to weigh with _ u ' m in his business

relations with his tenants or others ; and that unfortunate man who weighted an application to his Grace

with any reference to his membership of the Craft , got nothing but a sound lecture for his

pains . It is gratify ing to hear from Sir Francis of the perfect success and harmony with which military Lodges are worked . The association of non-commissioned officers with their superior officers has a most beneficial result , and he knows of no instance within his memory in which this association was presumed upon outside the

walls of the Lodge-room . Outside of Masonry , Sir Francis Burdett occupies his time by his magistral duties—he is a Justice of the Peace for four countiesfollowing the hounds , and attending to his estates , As a magistrate he is never severe , but he seldom lets the practised thief or the professional cadger leave him insufficiently punished . As for the

Ftvut a photograph by Byrne , 0 / Richiiicini . COL . SIR FRANCIS BURDETT , DART .

hounds , he admits , with a smile , that his best days arc over -, but he often gets a run with the Meynell Pack when he stays in Derbyshire , and frequently attends any local meets when residing at Ramsbury . For fifteen years , he tells you with pride , he hunted in Kildare County , and if the afternoon was not so far advancing , you would

have had related some of those stirring adventures in the field his enthusiasm for the sport seems bursting to tell you . From the steps of the Manor you can see the stabling arranged as a quadrangle , and growing up out of a cluster of foliage which hides the entrance to it . As far as the eye can reach on the one hand is a beautiful expanse of park ground , timbered as onl y

an enthusiast can regulate the growth . On the right creeps along the river Kcnnet , widened out as it passes the house into

a respectable river . Over the opposite bank , which is fringed with magnificent beeches , elms , and

willows , you catch sight of the haymakers , providing just that evidence of life which makes the picture

perfect ; and far beyond is a range of timbered hills that run right across the landscape and lose themselves at cither end with the horizon .

As Sir Francis wanders with 3 'ou through this beautiful scene , it requires but little notice to find where his rural passion lies . It is with

his trees . He is too jealous of them to allow cattle to graze upon his land . On cither sidehe will point out his

favorite specimens , which he has carefully nurtured into their present condition , and will take you a long

detour through shady walks and cool plantations to show you " the finest stick of Spanish chestnut in the kingdom . " The noble " stick" towers above

its neighbors as straight as an arrow , and when you tell him how proud he is of it , he will turn away with a smile to show you something more . The kitchen gardens must not be missed . There are two , perfectly square , with high old walls surrounding them . The paths are of grass , beautifully kept—Sir Francis loves grass , he says—and

well trimmed . Standard pear and apple railings wall them in on either side . There are the beekeepers attending to their hives , and beautiful flowers make the borders even here gay with bloom . Further onward is the miniature farm-yard , with its hay-ricks peeping up over the red walls covered with the growth of a couple