The Pilgrimage and Forbidden Fruits The. big day for - the local Shriners was Saturday, when during the afternoon and evening a class of 36 novices was put to the tosts that differentiate them from the true sons of the desert and which if duly passed open to them all the privileges and duties of the A.A.O.N.M.S. On Saturday morning -they were subjected to both a physical and ritual éx-amination, followed by the ceremonial session and second section. The Town Hall was opened for an hour previous to the entrance of the Divan to allow visitors and guests to inspect the desert, oasis and temple scenery used in the symbolistic realism portrayed. What appealed to the novices most was, without question, the traditional banquet, held in the Astor House during the evening, to allow them. to recuperate and solace themselves after their trials on the desert. Commenting on the work of the locals in connexion with the second section Noble Hugh McKevitt, Potentate for the Pilgrim age, said, "I have seen ceremonials in many parts of America in many different years, but you have' here in distant Shanghai shown us andthe novices a second section, that I have never seen surpassed.""
Sunday was spent by the visitors as guests of Shanghai Shriners in informal gatherings in homes, churches and clubs, and at an "at home" to them by the Columbia Country Club during the tea hour. Yesterday morning the programme included a trip up the river in the Robert Dollar launch,. while in the afternoon the visitors were the guests of the International Race Club at the Kiangwan races. Though the weather was unfavourable, many of them took the opportunity to support the races—a sport prohibited in most states of the Union, though the California enthusiasts often motor across the Tia Juana track. It has not been ascertained whether the "bangtails" brought them any luck.
On Monday evening the Astor House was the scene of.a Shrine wedding, with the Treasurer of Nomad Oasis, Noble Frederick Bowen and Miss Bessie Mills Gleason in the leading reles. The ceremony had a nove) touch, for Shanghai in any case, as the bride and groom took their places under an arch of steel, formed by the drawn scimitars of the San Francisco Patrol. The local patrol under the command of Captain A. C. Davis, formed the guard of honour to the bridal pair.
Shortly -after the conclusion of this function the Ceremonial Ball was opened by Potentate Hugh McKevitt, at which the visiting nobles, the old members of Nomad Oasis and the newly inducted Islam Class made merry along with their wives and [aches. It was™a
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.