At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar.

into the light of day . The Ladies' Guild of Francis St . Alban has , it is true , a strong suggestion of Wonderland or Topsy-Turveydom . Alice , it is safe to say , never met in the course of her excursions a more interesting person than the secretary of the Guild . She was raised to that honourable office

unbeknown to herself , and , though the Guild has been in existence -a year , she has still to discover what it wants to be at . 1 Really , ' she said the other day to an interfering interviewera man , no doubt— ' I scarcely understand what is being done . It is all about Bacon and Shakespeare . We have been shown

mystic signs on notepaper and other things , and their connection with secret societies has been explained to us . ' It is pleasant to find that many women of high jiosition and great intelligence can sjiare time for these deep matters , even though it may interfere with the adequate solution of the

great hat question , and the equally great gown problem . ' It is all very interesting , you know , ' said the Secretary , ' and quite a lot of ladies come to our afternoon lectures . It certainly gives them something to think about . '

000 " And the work of the Ladies' Guild calls for a great deal of quite hard thinking . The Guild , like all good Baconians , believes that Francis Bacon was ' the foundation stone and acme of the whole pyramid of learning . ' But he was a great

deal more than that . It has been discovered that he was ' the centre of a vast secret society , ' and that ' this society ( under various names ) has existed until the jiresent day . ' The members of this body tire , it seems , bound by ' tremendous oaths , ' ' not to write , print , stamp , stain , hew , cut , carve ,

indent , jiaint , or engrave any of the art or aits , jioint or jioints of secrets received . ' Obviously any association which seeks to bring these deep matters into the light for the benefit of the human race must be persons who ' cannot be prevented Irom sjieaking . ' With inexorable logic the Guild declares

that the only jieojile that cannot be jirevented from speaking are women ! Whether this daring sisterhood will succeed in dragging forward the invisible brotherhood remains to be seen . If they do succeed , they ought to inquire not only what are the secrets , but what use the selfish creatures have been jititting them to throughout the centuries . Meanwhile the

one really definite thing about the Ladies' Guild of Francis St . Alban is that the membershiji involves payment of a subcrijition of a shilling a year , certainly a very modest sum for so great a jiurjiose . The money will be well invested if it results in bringing about a conference of the sisterhood and

the brotherhood , and ultimately jierhajis ( he uniting in wedlock- of the maiden ladies of the Guild with the shy and shrinking bachelors among the modern Rosicrucians . Then we may hojie that the much-harassed shade of Lord Yerulam will be allowed to take its ease in the Elvsian fields . "

0 0 0 As the Hon . Akin de Talton Egerton , Prov . Grand Alaster Cheshire , who was one of the three brethren nominated by the Grand Alaster on the committee of nine ajijiointed to deal with the question of the premises of Grand Lodge ,

had decided to continue his big game shooting expedition in South America , it was found necessary to appoint a substitute , and a choice has been made that will meet the general approval of the Craft , Sir Joseph Dimsdale , P . G . W ., being the selected member . The other members of the committee are Bros . John Sfrachan , K . C , G . Reg . ; Sir Arthur Collins , K . C , President of the Board of General

Purposes ; Stanley Attenborough , P . G . Treas . ; Col . Clifford Probyn , P . G . Treas . ; J . W . Martin , P . A . G . D . C . ; Frank Richardson , P . G . Reg . ; W . Cleghorn , V .-Pres . Board of General Purposes ; and Robert Manuel , P . M . 000

Bro . Sir Harry Rawson , who was elected as Grand Alaster of the Grand Lodge of Xew South Wales last year , attended the quarterly communication of that body on Alarch 24 th . Referring to the date of his installation to the office , the Governor said they all knew the reasons why he did not

take office immediately following his election ; he had been called to England . On his return to Sydney he had been approached by the Grand Alaster , AI . W . Bro . J . C . Remington , and asked to fix a date for the installation ceremonies . His reply had been to ask whether it was possible to wait until the next elections in Grand Lodge . Bro . Remington , however , pointed out that to do this would prevent the investiture

of the officers of the Grand Lodge that had been elected , and he at once gave uji the idea of jiostjionement . He had fixed April 24 th as the date on which he would be able to take office , and on which the ceremony of installation could be held . He would endeavour to do as much as he could for Freemasonry in the State , but they must not exjiect to

get from him all the work that the retiring Grand Master had been doing ; he had not the time to personally carry out ceremonies as had been done by Bro . Remington . While in England he had been able to tell the Grand Lodge there of the excellent working in Masonic lodges even in

distant parts of the mother-Stale . A great deal dejiended upon the diligence of the officers of Grand Lodge in preventing the established customs and usages of the Order being departed from , and it was essential that these customs should be maintained . It would be his aim to forward ( he jirogress of the Craft , and he would be hapjiy if he could accomjilish this in the discharge of the duties he was about to undertake .

0 0 0 Bro . Josej-. li E . Aforcombe , whose name as a contributor to the Alasonic literature of the United States has become familiar , also to the brethren of the older hemisjihere , is often the subject of criticism on the part of his brethren

of his own and other American jurisdictions on account of his advanced ideas on many Alasonic subjects . Bro . S . R . Wright of Florida takes occasion to say : — "Those who have read some of the recent articles by Bro . Aforcombe in the Tvler cannot fail to have noticed his decided leaning

toward the active participation of the lodge in secular and jiolitical affairs . The following , in his review of Alinnesota , commenting upon the jiaragrajih of the Grand Alaster , where it is urged that ' we as Masons and citizens must be jirepared to ujihold the strong arm of an executive , ' etc ., ' who dares

to do something , ' etc .. and would otherwise take Alasonry into civil life , Bro . Morcombe says : ' But , alas , these larger -aspirations are but words to all except the very few . And because of ( his Alasonry is treated as a negligible quantity in the history of our times . When such ideas shall have living

force and value ; when the mere work of the lodge shall take jilace as means rather than end ; when men shall recognize Alasonry as a great power ranged on the side of human freedom and against spiritual or political oppression ; when the peace of nations shall be comjielled by the weighty influence of a world-wide brotherhood—then , and not until then will the Craft have assumed its proper and jiredestined

Ad01301

, sT ° ? A" 0 'NT" ^> CONNOISSEURS SMOKE -M « AF "o ; ' " v ' ^ 1- „ ^ rfb « n , ^_ ^ <> - * 2 % . r'T ' i' vSn' tpyf / 'l \ J « . jyw f /" ^ ^ ¦ / ju ^ vK WMW ^ IMMM TEOFANI & . CO . 'S Cigarettes receive the Ilu-hest .- . wards at all im § iM ^ "t ? Wm fo ' ^ gZ ^^ Wi ty Intel-national Exhibitions , and are sold by all Leading Purveyors thrcmgli- ^ litll ^ M ^ V ^^ *'• * " ^^^ 2 ^ ' * * ' oul 11 , C WORLD „ , ^<§& J ' S > y T HE KINO OF THE *** """*« ess TH- KHEOv ^ ° *