honour of being elected Patron of the Order in Scotland; and,
Brethren, though last, not least, comes the special honour you
have conferred on me. I thank you for it from the bottom of my
heart. I may, I think, refer with some pride to the number of
Masonic meetings I have attended in England since my initiation
as a proof of my deep attachment to your Order. I know, we all
know, how good and holy a thing Freemasonry is, how excellent
are its principles, and how perfect the doctrine it sets forth;
but forgive me if I remind you that some of our friends outside
are not as well acquainted with its merits as we are ourselves,
and that a most mistaken idea prevails in some minds that,
because we are a secret society, we meet for political purposes,
or have a political bias in what we do. I am delighted,
Brethren, to have this opportunity of proclaiming what I am
satisfied you will agree with me in--that we have as Masons no
politics; that the great object of our Order is to strengthen
the bonds of fraternal affection, and to make us live in pure
and Christian love with all men; that though a secret we are not
a political body; and that our Masonic principles and hopes are
essential parts of our attachment to the Constitution and
loyalty to the Crown."

His Royal Highness's address was received with great applause. The Lodge
was then closed in due form.

THE ILLNESS OF DECEMBER, 1871.

How much the Prince of Wales had endeared himself to all classes
in the nation was attested by the deep anxiety and the universal
sorrow when he was struck down with illness in December, 1871.
Those who remember that time, can tell how, for some weeks, all
thoughts were turned to the chamber of sickness at Sandringham;
with what earnest anxiety the daily bulletins were looked for; and
with what fervent devotion the prayers of millions ascended to the
throne of grace. The "dark December" of 1861, when the good
Prince Consort lay on his deathbed, increased the ominous foreboding.
Touching incidents of that critical period are still told. The
watchful attendance of the Princess of Wales was illustrated in no
way more strikingly than in the anecdote of her request to the clergyman
at Sandringham to alter the order of the morning service so as
to let her, after joining in the public prayer for recovery, hasten
back to her husband's side. We remember, too,