The Masonic " Poet's Corner."

The Masonic " Poet's Corner . "

{ Original and Selected . ) A SONG FOR THE THIRD DEGREE .

OH GOD ! I trust in Thee , As now I go , To seek on bended knee Thy will to know ; Through shades as dark as night , Be Thou my soul's delight ; I trust in Thee .

And when this journey ends , And all is still , Oh ! then my prayer ascends Thy Holy Hill , And quickly from above Descends the Heav ' nly Dove , Sent unto me .

Help me designs to draw On Trestle Board , According to Thy law , Great GOD—adored . With Hiram ' s burning zeal , To Thee will I appeal , My LORD , to Thee .

What foes need I to shun , Whilst Thou art nigh ? Thy will , Oh GOD I be done , Is all my cry . And as this body must Be humbled into dust , In Thee I'll trust .

For the ALMIGHTY hand Shall raise again All who , in sea or land , In Death ' s domain , Have waited for that hour , When the prevailing power O ' er Death shall reign . —Voice of Masonry .

Our Trestle Board

OUR TRESTLE BOARD

" For the Master to lay lines and draw designs upon . "

" Time ! Time ! "—We were not greatly surprised to hear these exclamations in Grand Lodge on the Gth inst . after the hour of seven had passed , and the closely packed mass of brethren in the large hall had patiently waited a full hour for the commencement

of proceedings . We are told that " punctuality is the courtesy of princes , " and could not help reflecting that if our Most Worshipful Grand Master had been enabled to be present at the Quarterly Communication , the patience of the members of Grand Lodge would not have been so tried .

At the previous Communication the hour during which the brethren assemble and the Grand Officers ( excepting , as the rule now goes , the Grand Treasurer , who does not apparently meet his colleagues in office " on the level" ) are at mess , a selection of music was admirably performed on the organ by the then " acting "

Grand Organist , and the brethren delightedly expressed their satisfaction therewith and hoped for a repetition on future similar occasions . But no such thing ! with the exception of a short

voluntary now and again at frequent intervals the organ was dumb and discoursed not , the same talented musician , in the absence of the Grand Organist—at mess—being either not present or not permitted to prove his quality .

Our provincial brethren had reason for complaint that after , in some instances , lengthened journeys , they had to experience the crush for approach to and the struggle at the confined entrance to the Grand Hall , prior to the long wait before business commenced ; and there were murmurs , " not loud , but deep , " against the scant

courtesy accorded to them , not only on this but on former occasions . It may be difficult , perhaps , to effect a departure from the present mode of reception of brethren who attend for the purpose of discharging their masonic duty ; but at least some attempt should be made to prevent the " bear garden " scenes such as have lately been witnessed .

The method of distribution of balloting papers or cards also requires attention . We saw , in one instance , two in the possession of one brother just prior to collection . Whether or not both were polled we cannot say , and should hope not ; but they certainly might have been .

_ Weare only in a position to remark according to our own observations in the Temple , but we are given to understand that" confusion worse confounded" was the ( dis ) order of the day in the overflow assembl y in the adjoining large hall .

Our Trestle Board

We think that both the Craft Grand Lodge and the Grand Mark Lodge are to be congratulated on the unanimity with which the proposal for the letting and hiring respectively of that portion of the United Grand Lodge premises , hitherto known as Bacon ' s Hotel , was agreed to by such of the large assembly as remained to

hear the report of the Board of General Purposes advising the acceptance of the offer made by the Grand Mark Lodge ( the maj ority had " crushed " out , after the balloting cards had been collected , much in the same manner as they had previously " crushed " in ) . The Mark Masters obtain premises suitable to the

dignity and importance of a particularly favoured branch 01 Freemasonry , whilst the Craft secures responsible and fitting tenants for a property which bade fair to be a drug in the letting

market . The advantages to the Mark Degree which must ensue from this arrangement cannot , we think , be at this moment calculated ; and we shall expect to see the progress of the past few years not only maintained but greatly exceeded .

W . Bro . Horace Brooks Marshall , J . P ., CO ., and Past Grand Treasurer , has donate 1 the sum of one hundred guineas to the Homes for Working Boys in London . * . _» . M . ^> J £ . "W * JK * * JS * W We notice the names of several very eminent Freemasons as interested in a new Society for Promoting the Safety of Horses , in

support of which a public meeting was held in the Memorial Hall , Farringdon Street , E . C ., London , on Tuesday last , and over which Bro . Burdett-Coutts , M . P ., presided . Its object is to call attention

to the unnecessary suffering inflicted upon working horses by reason of the unsafe and slippery roads in and around London , and it has the approval of , amongst many others , Bro . Sir Robert Fowler , 3 I . P .

We are asked , in two or three quarters , " what steps should be taken to form a Lodge of Instruction . ' " It is a very simple matter . A number of subscribing members of a regular lodge desirous of meeting for instruction and improvement request from the " Mother " Lodge a nanction for holding a Lodge of Instruction

at a given place on fixed dates , and in accordance with bye-laws to be approved . We do not know of any case in which the requisite " sanction " has been refused . If it will help our enquirers in any

way , we will forward them a copy of bye-laws of Lodges of Instruction now in successful working . Or , if preferred , will publish in our pages for general information a set of rules in operation .

THE DOYEN OF ENGLISH FREEMASONRY . —The position of oldest Freemason in England—if not in the world—is claimed on behalf of Bro . G . J . Wils m of Darlington , who is now over eighty years of age , and was initiated into the Order in April , 1833 . He has a splendid record of masonic services , having served the office of

W .. M . in the Restoration Lodge . No . Ill , four times in the course of 22 years , and has held three Provincial Grand appointments . He has lately been appointed Prov . Grand Third Principal of Royal

Arch Masons in the Province of Durham . Notwithstanding his advanced age , our veteran brother still regularly attends Lodge and Chapter ; and we trust he may be blessed with health and strength to do so for many years yet to come .

We regret to know that there is at this moment pending in our Courts of Justice a " Masonic libel" case resulting from an obstinate disregard of that ¦ ' caution " which should be the first care of every Freemason when disinclined to uphold , ; a brother ' s character absent or present . " Unfortunately we know , as we

presume do many of the Metropolitan Craft , the particulars of this deplorable quarrel between hitherto much respected members of our Order . It is no province of ours to spread unpleasant details , or to interfere with the course of ordinary legal procedure ; but it is quite within it to recommend , for the sake of the Order itself ,

that if it be possible for the injured party , if injury there be , to prevent ' scandal to the Craft" by avoiding further publicity , he should do so ; and thereby win the esteem of his fellow Masons . And the offender , if offence there be , should submit himself to the operation of masonic justice in its dealings with those who forget

one of its most essential obligations . Should there be yet time and opportunity for the intervention of Mercy between Justice and judgment , we trust that the beautiful words of our ritual in descanting on that attribute , and which are certainly familiar to the injured brother , may dispose his heart to its exercise and to forgive .

Have any of our readers read an earnest appeal by the Rev . Alfred Whitehead , Vicar of St . Peter ' s , Kent , and Rural Dean of Westbere . on behalf of the ' family of the late Mr . Wood , " and which appeared last week in one or two of the daily papers / From inquiries we

have made , we learn that the deceased was a brother Freemason , formerly connected with the Apollo Lodge , a Grand Chaplain in the province of Oxfordshire , a Past Grand Chaplain in the Mark Degree , a member of rank and standing in the Royal Arch , and some years ago a member of the Lewis's Lodge at Ramsgate .

Our late brother was , it appears , in the words of the reverend gentleman who makes the appeal , " a most prolific writer , but owing to several causes was unable to save anything or make any provision for his family . He enriched others but not himself , and

has died leaving a widow in very ill health with six children absolutely destitute . " Now , some good hearted brother , ready to practice what we all profess , step forward and help the vicar by bringing this case to the proper quarter for material assistance ' The case is urgent ! "