Consecration Of The Chère Reine Lodge, No. 2853.

Consecration of the Ch ? re Reine Lodge , No . 2853 .

ALTHOUGH not indicated by its name , the Chore Reine Lodge is one of the numerous lodges that have been recently formed in connection with the Aletropolitan Hospitals , and promises to become as successful as its predecessors . The consecration ceremony took place on the 7 th June , at the Hotel Cecil , although its permanent

Till-: W . M ., MHO . A . W . OXl- 'OHD , I ' . CI . I ) .

abode will be the 1 rocadero Restaurant , where the meetings will be held as soon as the new Temple , now in process of construction , is completed . V . W . Bro . E . Letchworth , Grand Secretary , was the Consecrating Officer , assisted by R . W . Bro . Robert Grey , P . G . W ., as S . W . ; Bro . E . Terry , P . G . T ., as J . W . ; V . W . Bro . Sir Borradaile Savory , Bart .,

G . Chap ., as Chaplain ; Bro . J . C . Fitzroy Tower , P . D . G . D . C ., as D . C . ; and Bro . F . Woodhouse Braine , S . G . D ., as I . G . In the course of his oration , the Grand Chaplain said : We are assembled here for an important and imposing rite , the consecration of another lodge , and that not an ordinary

lodge . It is but a few years ago that class lodges were unknown ; now there are many , and among them a fair proportion of medical lodges . Why should not Charing Cross have its lodge ? Dr . Johnson had said " the human tide was full at Charing Cross . " It was the first object which struck the attention of the foreigner when entering London ,

and was named after the old village of Charing . Charing was a Saxon word which meant "to turn . " The village was one of the places where the body of the Chere Reine Eleanor rested in 1290 , which the King brought from Lincoln to be buried in Westminster Abbey . Xine times the body rested , and on each spot a handsome cross was erected . Two only of the original

crosses remained , one at Northampton and one at Waltham , and he was glad to know that the name of so good a Queen was to be perpetuated in Alasonry , and it was interesting to note that she had anticipated antiseptic treatment of wounds by sucking out the poison from her husband ' s arm . Charing Cross Hospital had clone good work in a truly Alasonic sense

for many years by lessening the aggregate of human suffering . Truth in its highest sense , which comes from science , had been dispensed there ; and its lodge would be guided by the noble principles of Love before gain , Relief before self gratification , Truth before all . At the conclusion of the ceremony of consecration ,

W . Bro . A . W . Oxford , P . G . D ., who is both a cleric and medico , was installed Worshipful Alaster , R . W . Bro . Robert Grev , P . G . W ., was elected Treasurer , and the Consecrating Alaster and Officers , who were not members of the lodge , were elected lion , members .

After the investiture of officers and the formal business of the lodge , it was closed , and the brethren adjourned to an admirabl y served banquet . - Replying to the toast of " The Consecrating Officers , " V . W . Bro . E . Letchworth said that the W . AI . had set a splendid example of brevity , which he should follow , and

they were not to measure the depth of their feelings by the fewness of his words . They were very grateful for the kind terms of the toast ; they wished the lodge every success , and thanked them for the honorary membership and the beautiful jewels they had presented them with . In response to the toast of his health , the W . AI . expressed

his appreciation of the honour the founders had done him b y selecting him as their first Alaster , and was proud that the senior surgeon of Charing Cross Hospital ( where he had won his diploma ) , W . Bro . Bloxam , had consented to take the position of acting I . P . M . Nothing could be more suitable than that the hospital should have a Alasonic lodge , as the

foundation-stone was laid with Alasonic honours by the late Duke of Sussex , Grand Alaster . W . Bro . Col . H . W . Kiallmark , P . G . D ., replying for " The Visitors , " thought the multiplication of medical lodges tended to the benefit of the community at large , and rejoiced that his profession supported so well the noble Craft .

Bro . Carter Braine , Secretary , upon whose shoulders the onerous duties in connection with the formation of the lodge have of necessity fallen , and to whom the result must be very gratif ying , in replying to the toast of "The Officers , " alluding to the name chosen for the lodge , remarked that some people held the erroneous theory that Charing was a corruption of

Chere Reine , hence their adoption of the title , but that idea was quite exploded . They well knew that the village of Charing existed long before the body of Queen Eleanor rested there , which was the origin of the Cross only , but coupling her virtues with those of our beloved Queen Victoria , the founders thought the name Chere Reine would be a happy combination , applicable to the memory of them both .

Till-: SKCKKTAKY , MHO . CAIiTEll HilA INK . —( I'halt , Kill ,- J ' arlrail (•„ . ) It may interest our readers if we give the names of the medical lodges and the year of their foundation . They are : —The / Ksculapius , No . 2410 , formed in 18 91 ; the Rahere , Xo . 254 6 , in 1805 ; the CavendishNo . 2620 in

, , [ 8 9 6 ; the Sancta Alaria , No . 2682 , in 18 97 ; the Middlesex Hospital , No . 2 N 43 , in 1901 ; and now the Chere Reine , No . 2853 , in 1901 . There are , we believe , two others in course of formation .