The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-26 00:00:00

CHRISTMAS FESTITITIES.

The Duke and Duchess of Bedford are entertaining
a distinguished circle of friends at Woburn Abbey,
Beds. The gaieties of the season will be prolonged
until the close of the ensuing week at the ducal seat.

The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk have a select party
assembled at Arundel Castle, Sussex, fur the holidays.
The Duke and Duchess of Beaufort have a large
party at Badminton. The Duchess Dowager of Beau-
fort and the Ladies Somerset, Mr. and Lady Rose
Lovell, &c., are among the visitors.
The Duke and Duchess of Wellington are seeing com-
pany at Strathfieldsaye, Hants.
The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland intend to
receive a succession of guests at Aln wick Castle, Nor-
thumberland, during the Christmas holidays. The poor
on the ducal estate, and also at Stanwick, in Yorkshire,
have not been forgotten by the noble duke and duchess.
The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland's party this
Christmas, at Trentham, Staffordshire, is confined to a
family circle, including the Marquis and Marchioness
of Stafford, the Earl and Lady Constance Grosvenor, &c.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Kildair are also stay-
ing with the noble duke and duchess.
The Duke and Duchess of Cleveland have a select circle
at Raby Ca-tle, Durham.
The Duke and Duchess of Richmond have a numerous 1,
family party congregated at Goodwood-park, Sussex.
The Princess Edward of Saxe Weimar, the Earl and
Countess of March, Lord Henry Gordon Lennox, M.P.,
Lord Alexander Gordon Lennox, M.P., &c., are of the
party.
The Marquis of Lansdowne is entertaining a small
party at Buwood, Wilts. The Earl and Countess of
Shelburne arrived there on Friday. Count and Countess
Elahault, and the lion. Miss Elphinstone Flahault are
expected there.
The Earl and Countess of Derby have a select circle
at Knowsley, near Prescott. Lord Stanley, M.P.,
joined the circle on Saturday.
The Earl Fitzwilliam is surrounded by a large family
circle this Christmas. On St. Thomas's Day the whole
of the labourers and poor on the noble earl's estate, at
Wentworth, were given an ample supply of the comforts
of the season, agreeable to his lordship's annual custom
at this period of the year.
Lord Brougham is keeping up Christmas at Brougham
Hall, in "The good old English style," surrounded by a
large party. Mr. and Mrs. William Brougham and their
children are staying with the noble and learned lord.
The Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, M.P., and Mrs.
Herbert, are dispensing their hospitality at Wilton
Rouse, near Salisbury. The Countess (Dowager) of
Pembroke, the Earl and Countess of Clanwilliam, the
Countess of Dunmore, the Earl and Countess Bruce,
the Hon. T. and Lady Emma Vesey, &c., are among
the guests of the right hon. gentleman.
Sir Stephen Glynne, Bart., has a small party at
Hawarden Castle. Lord and Lady Lyttelton have ar-
rived there from Hagley Park, Worcestershire ; and
the Right Hon. W. E. and Mrs. Gladstone, from town.

THE CAPTAIN OF THE PRINCE.—Mr. John Goodall'
the captain of the fine steamer Prince, which was wrecked
some time ago in the Slack Sea, and all hands lost ex-
cept five, was not, as has been stated, a native of Forfar,
but was born towards the end of the year 1823 at
Peasiehill, in the parish of Arbroath, on the Panmure
estate-- a place within two miles of Arbirlot. At this
place his father and grandfather had been farmers, but his
father also served the Crown as a captain in the 2d, or
Queen's Own, Regiment during the Peninsular war.
He was present at many celebrated battles, and we ;re
glad to learn is still alive. His son, the late captain of
the Prince, while yet a boy, removed to Salisbury, of
which place his mother was a native, belonging to a
highly respectable family, and where he received his
education. His antecedents, or qualifications as a sailor,
are given officially by Mr. Ellis, the chairman of the
company in whose service he was engaged.
SEXAGENARIAN MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
—There are no less than 72 members of the House of
Commons who claim to be wholly excused on election
committees on account of being more than 60 years of
age. The list includes the names of Sir T. D. Acland,
Sir J. Bailey, Admiral Berkeley, Sir George Berkeley,
Mr. Brotherton, Mr. Hume, Sir C. Burrell, Mr. B. B.
Cabbell, Mr. Coffin, Right Hon. E. Ellice, Sir De Lacy
Evans, Mr. W. J. Fox, Mr. Goulburn, Mr. Greene,
Right Hon. J. W. Henley, Sir T. Frankland Lewis,
Colonel Lowther, Mr. Masterman, Mr. J. P. Mainsail,
Mr. H. Drummond, Mr. Muntz, Sir G. Pechell, Sir
R. Price, Lord John Russell, Mr. Spooner, Sir G.
Strickland, Mr. Thorneley, Admiral Walcott, Mr. W.
B. Wrightson, and General Wyndham.
SHIPWRECK AND Loss or LIFE —The Shepherd, a
Welsh schooner, laden with 88 tons of oats, the pro-
perky of Mr. Thomas Boyd, proceeded from the quay,
hound to Liverpool, on the evening of Tuesday last, in
the charge of James Patterson, pilot. About six o'clock
she passed the Bar in safety, but a heavy storm Navin;
afterward; come on she was lost in the gale. Yester-
day her rigging was seen floating near Enniscrone, and
her hulk was discovered stuck to a rock on the Pulla-
heeny shore. All on board, consisting of the master,
three sailors, and the pilot, perished. The bodies have
been washed on shore, and are now lying at Pullaheeny.
A gentleman who has just returned from the scene of
the shipwreck, and who has frequently been witness of
the agitation of the sea after the effects of a storm, say;
that he has never seen such a convulsion of the watery
element as that which he has just beheld on th© iron-
bound coast of Pullaheeny. Poor Patterson, the pilot,
has lett a widow and four helpless orphans totally un-
provided with any means of support. We understand
that a gentleman connected with the mercantile trade of
this town will immediately solicit subscriptions in their
behalf, and we hope that the sympathising public will
generally aid in mitigating their deep distress.—Bulling
Herald.