had not been responded to by other State Grand Lodges, he was not disposed to take any active steps adverse to the work, we ask, conceding the statement to be true, what does it amount to? to the simple fact that the individual opinions of the Brother so far as they were influential were exerted against the continuance of the work-nothing more surely-the extent of his influence, instead of being of the exalted authority relied upon, may be seen in the six votes against the Magazine.

"The Grand Lodge of Virginia has never countenanced the scheme" we are further very gravely informed. We have not yet learnt that any proposition has been submitted to that body soliciting her countenance. The Publisher of the "Official" has not yet descended to the position of soliciting a recommendation of the Covenant from State Grand Lodges with a view to the influence of such bodies upon subordinates or individuals she has preferred that the Magazine should like a bright mirror reflect its own character. We know not whether the Grand Lodge of Virginia has spoken upon the subject in her corporate capacity, but one thing we do know, that one of her distinguished Representatives, the frank, sincere, talented and high minded Seegar at the last session, did deliberately record his vote in favor of its continuance-for which he may have subjected himself to the displeasure of Bro. Ford, but we venture to hope, not to the rebuke of the intelligent Grand Lodge whose interests and whose character he so ably represented in part in September last.

We have italicised the most impotent and absurd part of the extract referred to, which we beg again to quote in the following words-" and we have now determined if it is ever again the case we shall in detail first give our reasons why we are opposed to it, and then lay before the Order all that we know of its affairs and the means by which it was continued.— This paragraph can be regarded in no other light than an imputation upon the friends of the "Official Magazine" and as such on their behalf we demand the facts. Let us know Worthy Brother what you know, that the impure fountains may be purged, and corruption may not longer prevail in the high places of Odd-Fellowship.

The Representatives present during the session were as follows:Guild, Hersey, Ellis, Palmer, Hinman, Brown, Wilson, Treadwell, Vn. Sickell, Harris, Hillyer, Stokes, Kneass, Skinner, McDonald, Marley, Sanderson, Neilson, Moore, Webb, Seegar, Campbell, Hurlbut, Seymour, Salomon, Dicks, Kezer, Marshall, Shaffner, Stewart, Coleman, Sherlock. P. Grand Sires Wildey, Glazier, Kennedy, in all 35 votes. When the question was taken, of these twenty-two voted affirmatively and six negatively, one of which votes, viz: that of Rep. Kneass of Pennsylvania cast by his colleague in his absence, would have been voted affirmatively had he been present. There were absent, Glazier, Ellis, Palmer, Hinman, Salomon, Dicks. We are authorised to say that the vote of Rep. Salomon and Dicks would have been cast affirmatively had they been present, and we believe we might also venture to add the name of P. G. Sire Glazier -in any event had there been a full vote, giving to the minority the benefit of all the doubtful members, the result would have been affirmative 22 who voted and Rep. Salomon and Dicks who were absent 2, making 24negative 6 who voted and absent Glazier, Ellis, Palmer, Hinman making 10 in all, so that by a vote of more than two-thirds would the Official Magazine have been sustained, yet we have Bro. Ford prating about, keeping

back legislation "to the heel of the session, when a large number of Representatives had left" "in order to shove it through when the Lodge was thin and no time left for the members duly to consider it"-away with such ribaldry!

In sober seriousness, the Senior Editor of the "Official Magazine" was over and again consulted by Representatives as to his opinion upon the propriety of continuing the work, and he is proud to say that he avoided all interference either by argument or counsel in the premises-and the respected committee who considered and reported upon the subject, matured the scheme unprompted, as their high and exalted character sufficiently guarantees, by foreign suggestions. In concluding this article we may be permitted to say that we are pained at the general character of the course of the "Independent Odd-Fellow" and it has served to excite doubts in our minds as to its value to the Order. We have felt it due that some notice should be taken of the unwise article upon which we have commented, in order that our passiveness might not be construed into an admission that there was even the semblance of truth in its statements.

THE introduction of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows into this State was commemorated by anniversary celebration on Monday the first day of the 'new year.' The day was warm and pleasant, and the proceedings were such as to gratify the members and the citizens. The R. W. Grand Lodge assembled at Masonic Hall, corner of King and Wentworth streets at 10 o'clock, and was opened in ample form-the M. W. Peter Della Torre, Grand Master presiding. After the transaction of business, the Lodge was closed, and prepared to join the Subordinate Lodges and Encampments in procession. Howard Lodge No. 3, Jefferson Lodge No. 4, and Palmetto Encampment No. 1, having formed in procession at Rame's Hall in Meeting street, moved to Masonic Hall, where the procession was formed in the following order:

Jefferson Lodge No. 4 took the lead under the direction of Wm. B. Thompson, its Marshall. Next came Howard Lodge No. 3, conducted by V. Dawson, its Marshall. This was followed by Marion Lodge No. 2, Marshall, Wm. Walter. Then came South Carolina Lodge No. 1, Marshall, J. M. Eason. Next came Ashley Encampment No. 3, in new and beautiful regalia, with rich and costly crooks and emblems, Marshall, J. E. Hertz. Then followed Palmetto Encampment No. 1, Pat. G. C. Geddes, Marshall-and R. W. Grand Lodge of South Carolina, the whole conducted by Major Charles Kanapaux, W. Grand Marshall. The procession took up its line of march down Wentworth to Meeting street, down Meeting till it reached Tradd, when it halted to allow Howard Lodge No. 3, to receive a Banner about to be presented by Mrs. Geddes, the accomplished lady of Capt. C. Geddes. Br. Geddes and the M. W. Grand Master entered the mansion of Br. Robertson, and soon appeared in the balcony, the Grand Master bearing the flag-staff, Br. Geddes with his lady holding to his arm with one hand, and in the other the silken folds of a rich and beautiful Banner, which she gracefully flung to the gentle breeze, amid

the inspiring strains of music by the whole band. After the music had ceased, Capt. Geddes in his usual felicitous style addressed the Lodge and brethren as follows:

Brethren of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows.-In behalf of Mrs. Geddes, I will briefly state, that entertaining a high respect for the charitable purposes for which the Order of Odd-Fellows has been established, she thought that some particular mark of approbation was due from her sex to our Order, for our pledges to support the widow, and educate the orphans of our brethren.

These feelings have induced her to tender you a Banner, exhibiting the generous purposes of our Order.

On the one side of the Banner is represented the chamber of a sick brother kindly attended by two Odd-Fellows, and while one prepares the medicine that is intended to heal his bodily infirmities, the other directs his thoughts to that true source of comfort-that God, who healeth the sick, and has appointed a place of happiness beyond the grave, where they who believe in Him, shall enjoy eternal rest.

On the other side of the Banner, are Faith, Hope, and Charity; and there sits the distressed widow with her fatherless children, sad in her bereavement, while she looks round on a scene that presents no friend to aid, no refuge in her distress, and no resource on which to depend for succour and support.

It is in cases like these, that the Odd-Fellow shows his true character. With outstretched hand, and with the feelings of a brother, he tenders the means of support to the widow and orphan.

And now Brethren-Mrs. Geddes, in evidence of her best wishes for the prosperity of the Order of Odd-Fellows, presents this Banner to Howard Lodge No. 3, and the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows generally.

The address of the gallant Captain in behalf of his amiable and generous lady was feelingly received by the fraternity, and as the standard was raised in front of the Lodge, John E. Carew, Esq., R. W. Dept. Grand Master, a member of No. 3, replied as follows:

Mrs. Geddes. In receiving at your hands the splendid and appropri ate Banner which you have this day presented, permit me as the Representative of Howard Lodge, and in the name of the Order generally, to return you our most sincere and heartfelt acknowledgments, and to assure you that the gift is highly and properly appreciated. Scenes and occurrences like these, while perhaps they have but a trifling value in the eyes of the mere spectator, are to us the immediate participants, full of interest, and teeming with importance. They are the welcome plaudits which carry joy and gladness to the heart, and assure us that our exertions are not only observed, but that they are smiled upon and approved by the beautiful, the virtuous, the good. Such commendation is surely a fit object of a high and elevated ambition.

He who seeks no victor's wreath as a reward for a conquest obtained through the tears and distresses of the widow and the orphan. He who carries along with him no chained and fettered captive to grace a triumphal procession, may surely be excused for feeling a glow of honest exultation

when the smile of beauty rewards his efforts in the cause of humanity.-And should we hereafter require any stronger incentive to continued exertion in the great and noble work in which we have engaged, than the satisfaction arising from the consciousness of doing good, we will point to that Banner now waving gracefully in the breeze-call to mind that it was presented by the fair, as a token of approbation, and march onward. with accelerated pace in the cause of Friendship, Love and Truth.

The procession then moved up Tradd to King street-up King to Clifford-up Clifford to the German Lutheran Church, where it halted, opened a few paces and faced inwards. The Grand Lodge then passed through the whole line, followed by the Encampments and Subordinate Lodges, and the whole were seated in the Church. The galleries had been previously thrown open to the ladies, and were filled. Immediately after the procession had entered, the house was crowded throughout. After a voluntary on the Organ, the Rev. Dr. Bachman, Pastor of the Church, addressed the throne of grace, in a fervent and appropriate Prayer. The choir then sung a Hymn-after which, Br. W. D. Porter, N. G. of Marion Lodge No. 2, delivered a very chaste, appropriate and eloquent Address, which was listened to with great satisfaction by the immense concourse of people assembled. The choir then sung an Ode, written by Miss Lee of this city. At the conclusion of the exercises the procession was again formed, and moved down Clifford to King-up King to George-down George to Meeting street-down Meeting to Wentworth-up Wentworth to the Masonic Hall, and entered in inverse order.

The whole having been seated in the saloon of the Hall building, the Grand Master called to order, and the Grand Lodge was opened, with Prayer, by P. G. M. Rev. Albert Case. Resolutions were then passed, voting the thanks of the Order to the O ator for his Address, and requesting a copy for publication-to the President and Vestry for the use of the Church, and to the Rev. Dr. Bachman and the choir for their acceptable services, and the Grand Lodge was then closed.

The procession was large, the brothers dressed in their neat and appropriate regalia, the splendid banners borne by the different Lodges and Encampments the excellent music, and the good order with which all was conducted, conspired to render it one of the most beautiful processions we have seen-save that at the Dedication of the Hall in Baltimore in September last. The streets were thronged with people, and the windows and balconies of the houses were filled with bright eyes and fair countenances, all waving a hearty approval of the union of their fathers. and lovers and brothers and husbands in the glorious principles of Friendship, Love and Truth. An Order so generally favored with the approbation of the beautiful and fair cannot do otherwise than prosper; it will go on with a mighty stride until the whole community shall feel the influence of the principles we 'hold dear.'

This was the third anniversary celebration of the Order in this city, and from this, as from a starting point of the Order, or a kind of breathingplace in its hasty journey, it will go on with renewed encouragement and glorious prospects. It is well that the brethren improve by the exercises of the season in which they met to greet each other with a 'happy new year' that they carefully review the past, and gather lessons of experience

and prepare for the vicissitudes of the future. As Odd-Fellows, our lives should be lives of improvement-every day should witness some good deed performed, some error corrected, some unholy passion subdued, some evil habit broken-some affection sanctified. Let us improve our time well, and do with all our might, whatsoever our hand findeth to do'-and when, our years like a tale shall be told'-when our labors in the terrestrial Lodge shall have ceased, and time's changes and sorrows are over, may we all as one vast brotherhood, receive a more joyous than a new year's greeting in the celestial Lodge above, and forever celebrate the praise of the Supreme Grand Master, whose Friendship is constant, whose Truth is eternal, and whose nature is Love.

DEAR BRO. RIDGELY-As I have an hour's leisure, I may occupy it in giving you some account of Odd-Fellowship in New England. I have seldom seen a more spirited and zealous Association than that of our Brothers in the good city of Boston, where I have been staying for a few days past. The Lodge rooms are every evening filled; and even the Degree Lodges-which, you know, are in some places almost entirely deserted -are here usually crowded by scarlet members. Dr. Robins, who is the Degree Master here, is a very efficient and popular Brother of Massachusetts Lodge; his plan of instructing the members in the various degrees is a very happy and successful one, and I think he deserves much credit, both for its efficiency and originality. The Order in Boston and in places contiguous is steadily increasing,-the increase, too, is healthy; great care and watchfulness are evident in the various Lodges; and, from present appearances, I think there is little danger that the Order here "pass under evil imputation"—on the score of unworthy members. I would not forget to mention that Dr. Albert Guild, the worthy and respected D. D. G. S. for the greater portion of New England, and the father of Odd-Fellowship in this part of our country, is a most assiduous and indefatigable laborer in the cause: he is possessed of the entire confidence of the brethren, and is the very best man who could have been selected for the post he fills, with much credit to himself and our fraternity.

I can hardly give you a correct description of Odd-Fellowship in Portland, Maine. I was there but a very short time, and did not visit a Lodge. But you may imagine what is doing, when I tell you that, in three months time, some four hundred members have been initiated in that place; all, as I am credibly informed, "good men and true." They have a Lodge also in Thomaston, and one in Saco; and the D. D. G. S. Bro. Churchill-who, by the way, is doing much for our Covenant—informed me that he should soon open another in Augusta. Bro. Robinson, in Portland, a very worthy young gentleman, introduced the Order among what you Baltimoreans would call the "people down east."

In New Hampshire, also, the I. O. O. F. is in a flourishing condition. The Granite Lodge, No. 1, at Nashua, N. H., which was instituted a short time since, numbers some sixty members. In company with the D. D. G. S., Dr. Guild, I visited Manchester, N. H., on Thursday last, where I was invited to assist in opening the Hillsborough Lodge, No. 2. After