The Marquis Of Hertford Installed As Pro. Grand Master Of Antrim.

vincial Grand Master , Sir Charles Lanyon , I feel very sensible that I have fallen far short in my performance of those duties ; but I am much gratified that you recognise the earnest desire and anxiety I have always felt in the promotion of the best interests of the noble Order with which we are mutually connected , and if I have been to some extent instrumental in this direction , I feel that my efforts would have been of little avail had I not been at all times so ably and so loyally assisted and encouraged in my endeavors by the officers and the members of this Provincial Grand Lodge . I can assure you , Brethren ,

I value the beautiful collar-chain and decoration appertaining to the office of Deputy Provincial Grand Master with which you have presented me to-day far above their intrinsic worth , and I prize the kind words—too kind words—with which you accompany them more than I can express . I trust that so long as I have the honor to wear these insignia of my office , I may continue to merit the approval you have expressed of my conduct during the time I have light the position of Deputy Provincial Grand Master of this important province . Under our newly-installed Provincial Grand Master , the Marquis of Hertford ,

to whom we all wish a hearty welcome , it will be my earnest endeavor to forward the interests of the Order over which , I hope , he may long be permitted to preside . I cordially reciprocate the kind wishes contained in the address which you have presented to me .

Other business having been transacted , and a closing ode sung to the tune of the Sicilian Mariners' Hymn , the Provincial Grand Lodge closed in form , and the proceedings terminated . BANQUET IN THE ULSTER HALL . In the evening , at seven o'clock , the newly-installed Provincial Grand

Master was entertained at a banquet in the Ulster Hall by the members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Antrim , covers being laid for close upon four hundred . The company was of an influential character , being fully representative of the Province of Ulster , including many members from Dublin and the South , and a number of ladies , who occupied places in the balcony . His Grace the Duke of Abercorn presided . During the proceedings the newly-installed Pro . Grand Master , in replying to the toast of his health , said : —

Most Worshipful Grand Master , allow me first of all to thank you most heartily for the kind way in which you have proposed this toast , and the brethren for the kind way in which they have received it . It is now twenty years , almost to a day , since I first addressed a meeting in this hall , from that very platform ; but , if I remember aright , it was not a meeting exhibiting brotherly love and kindness such as the one I now address . I remember on that occasion—and it was the first occasion on which I had been called upon to make a speech—I felt very badly off for words . WellbrethrenI can

, , assure you at the present moment I feel almost in a similar condition , for I am at a loss for words in which to express to you my thanks for the honor which has been conferred upon me to-day . I can assure you it is an honor that I esteem very highly . It is no mean honor to be placed in the position which I occupy to-night as Provincial Grand Master of Antrim—a province which , I believe , has eighty-five Masonic Lodges , numbering several thousand members . I , as King Mason , who have been taking part in Masonic matters for some

years past , can assure you that I feel the honor very deeply , and not only is it an honor to me , but a very great pleasure . But at the same time I cannot help feeling also with regard to the circumstances that have led to my being here to-night—I allude to my being the successor of Sir Charles Lanyon , of whom I was pleased to hear our Grand Master speak in such feeling terms . ( Hear , hear . ) Sir Charles Lanyon , I am proud to say , was known to me for many years . It was my privilege to be a friend of his , and

during the last twenty years I had received the very greatest kindness from him ; and , therefore , I know full well what you , living in this country , who had constant intercourse with him , must feel with regard to his loss . Brethren , I cannot hope to provoke the same feelings that you must have had towards him j but I ask you to believe that I shall try , to the very best of my power , to do my duty in the position in which you have placed me to-day . ( Cheers . ) To enable me to do that duty , I ask for the cordial co-operation , not only of all the Provincial Grand Officers , but also of every Mason in the province . ( Hear , hear . ) If we all work together , brethren , we must succeed . ( Hear ,

hear . ) There are provinces in which I have heard that the Grand Lodge holds itself apart from private lodges , and they don't work well together , the result being that there is an absence of that perfect harmony and good-fellowship that should ever be a characteristic of the Masonic body . But from what I have seen 10-day , and from what I have heard of this province , I have not the slightest fear of any such thing occurring . ( Cheers . ) When I see this magnificent gathering—I think one of the largest Masonic gatherings ever held in the city of Belfast—when I have seen the way in which your

Deputy Provincial Grand Master was received by the members —( cheers)—I have no fear whatever but that we shall all work together in love and harmony . I can assure you , brethren , that it is with great hesitation that I accepted the honor you have this day conferred upon me . That most excellent Mason , my relative , the Provincial Grand Master of Down —( loud cheers ) —whom , to a certain extent , I will look upon to-night as my Masonic godfather—( laughter)—can bear me out in saying that I had great hesitation at firstbecause I had great doubt whether I should be able to perform

, the duties of the office in such a way as you had a right to expect from your Provincial Grand Master , and that owing to the fact of my not residing in the country . Bro . Lord Arthur Hill —( cheers)—however , assured me that he was perfectly certain that I should meet with nothing but the greatest kindness and longsuffering from the Masons of this province , and that they would endeavor to make my work as easy as possible for me , and help me in every way they could . ( Cheers . ) Brethren , from the kind way

in which you have received me this day , I have no doubt that Bro . Lord Arthur Hill was correct , and that I may expect from you the most cordial co-operation . ( Cheers . ) I will ask you , brethren , to pardon any mistakes I may make . ( Hear , hear . ) There are slight differences in the working of the Order here and in England , and if I make any mistakes I trust you will attribute them to that circumstance . This reminds me , brethren , that I am not thoroughly conversant with the Book of Constitutions of the Irish Grand Lodge , but there is a rule in the Book of the Constitutions in England—I think rule six—which says that all speeches shall be short and to the

The Marquis Of Hertford Installed As Pro. Grand Master Of Antrim.

point . ( Laughter . ) I have no doubt your—perhaps I should now say our—Book of Constitution has the same rule , but , if it has not , may I respectfully call the attention of the Grand Master of Down to the omission . ( Hear , hear . ) I will not , therefore , detain you longer . Iliad intended to say a word or two on the question of Masonic charities , but the subject has been so eloquently alluded to that I shall not do so . ( Cheers of " Go on . " ) Well , I wish to point out , especially to some in this hall who are not Masons , that Masonry does not entirelconsist of some extraordinary performances

y very , carried on with closed doors , about which , of course , the outside world knows nothing but supposes a great deal , and in eating a certain number of very good dinners . ( Laughter . ) I know that in some places this is the general idea , and I would implore all Masons to do what they can to disabuse the community of that notion . Let them , by support of the great Masonic charities , prove that it means a great deal more , and that there is something in the principles of the Order beyond what the general public imagine . ( Hear , hear . ) The work of

charity has been going on in England among the members for a considerable time . Masons have of late years responded nobly to the calls made on them , and I know these calls are very numerous indeed . Look at the girls' and boys' schools , the homes for the aged which exist in England , and the enormous sums contributed annually towards their support . On the occasion of the centenary of the girls' schools , at which his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales presidedno less a sum than £ 50000 was handed in towards this object

, , , . Brethren , I cannot expect anything like this . I don ' t ask you to send in £ 50 , 000 to whoever presides at the next festival , but I would simply ask you to do what you can . ( Hear , hear . ) It is within the power of all to do something . I think , in fact , it is in the power of some Lodges to do more than they are doing . ( Hear , hear . ) Some of them are apt to forget that they have a great Masonic duty to perform , and I would again ask all of you to do what you are enabled to remedy this state of thingsremembering that charity is

, a great word in the principles of your order . I thank you , brethren , for the kind and magnificent reception you have accorded me , and I can only say it will always be my earnest endeavor to carry out the duties of my office to the best of my ability , to attend on all occasions that I possibly can , and to try to be often among the Masons of the Province of Antrim . ( Cheers . )

Among The Bohemians.

Among the Bohemians .

Mr . Harry Quilter , of the Universal Review , may be very much disgusted with the manner in which his views on his own personal friendship with the late Wilkie Collins have been received by the hundred and one harpies who live on the reputation of other people's brains , but I shall be greatly disappointed if he takes the slightest notice of it or them . The last volume of his Review is a marked improvement in the sphere of illustrations upon any

of the previous ones , and he has evidently come to the conclusion that a halfcrown monthly must be profusely and brilliantly illustrated to command support . It is not altogether wise , perhaps , to print articles in French , but I daresay he knows his business . # # # No one will grudge Mr . Alderman Whitehead a baronetcy as a

reward for his year of office , if only for his exertions on behalf of the better equipment of the Volunteers . Mr . Whitehead has been a Mason for some years , and is a P . M . of a well-known City Lodge . He is a Liberal in politics , an entertaining and agreeable man in social circles , and has added another laurel to the history of the Ambassadors of the Road . He writes as evenly and as carefully as a schoolboy , and has never been known to hurry through work .

* * The proposed Masonic Matinde at Terry ' s Theatre is likely to be an entertaining spectacle , but " A Sheep in WolPs Clothing" is a very unfortunate title to play under . "Sweet Lavender" reaches her six hundredth performance this month , and is likely to go on loving " Clem " for a couple of years longer . I never remember having seen a play so consistently well

acted . Nothing or nobody has succumbed to the continual work of six hundred performances with the exception of that knocker on Dick Phenyll ' s chamber door , which has entirely given in . I hear there is a new scientific pastime for winter evenings . It is called " Knockery , " and Mr . Stuart Cumberland has undertaken lo disclose the stale of your health by the manner in which you announce your arrival at a friend ' s front door .

# * # I have been again and again to see and to study Bro . Robertson ' s performance in " The Profligate "—in fact so often , that I have quite exhausted the good nature of acting-manager Compton , who , no doubt , thinks me a Bohemian loafer anxious to " get in somewhere out of the cold . " The performance lo me increases in interest each time I go . On twenty different occasions , I have

seen twenty different readings of the part—not radical readings , but just so much suggestive of change as to make the performance all the more piquanle , if such a word will carry its meaning . Mr . Pinero has given us in " Sweet Lavender , " a healthy play , with plenty of" stuff , " from start to finish . In " The Profligate " the texture is lighter , but the colors are much stronger , until the third act shows us the very summit of dramatic writing . But of the acting in that particular scene ? Forget for one moment the affected , melodramatic style of Janet Priest , the stiff , unwomanly nature of Miss Stonehaigh , and