The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-10 00:00:00

PRESENTS TO THE QUEEN.

Since the birth of the Princess Royal a great number
of appropriate votive trifles having reached Buckingham
Palace from various parts of the kingdom. They con-
sist generally of fancifully worked articles of infant ap-
parel. Unfortunately for the fair fabricators of these
simple but expressive tokens of loyalty, none find their
way to the Illustrious Lady to whose gracious acceptance
they are in all humility proferred, unless those which
are fortunate enough to be presented through some of
channel. Such is the ettiquette, perhaps somewhat
too rigidly observed when the motive is so laudable.
All packages addressed to the Sovereign are opened by
or in the presence of the Deputy. Steward of the
Household, whose duty it is to report the contents to
the Lord Steward ; and, should that high functionary
consider them worthy of being laid before her Majesty,
they are either presented by himself' in person, or
consigned to the charge of the Lady in Waiting for
the time. Gifts connected with literature, the fine
arts, or science, are almost invariably accepted ; but ar-
ticles of personal attire, or ornament, generally become
the perquisites of the Queen's principal attendants,
however costly the fabric or curious the workmanship
may be. Any departure from this rule must, there-
fore, be considered as a marked compliment. Such a
one has recently occurred. A case, containing a pre-
sent of the latter description, was received at the Pa-
lace on Monday, intended for the Princess Royal,
should her Majesty be graciously pleased to sanction its
acceptance. The amiable donor, a venerable spinster,
residing in the neighbourhood of Huddersfield, seems,
as the un dit goes, to have taken especial care that the
creation of her fairy fingers should suffer no damage in
transitu. Like the conjurer's puzzle, there was case
within case, one of curiously wrought wickerwork ;
a second of Spanish mahogany, with the Royal arms
and the letters '• P.R." in a lozenge, richly emblazoned
on the lid. This was again enclosed in a strong tin
case, superscribed " For the Queen's Most Excellent
Majesty, Buckingham Palace, London." These mys-
terious cases contained an infant's cape and robe worthy
of a Princess. They are described to be of the most
chaste and fanciful design. The cap is composed of that
delicate but almost exploded fabric called " cushion"
lace, in the manufacture of which dames of high degree
formerly delighted to excel. On the crown piece the
Royal Arms of England are embroidered in dead gold,
the circular fillet exhibiting the national insignia of the
rose, thistle, and shamrock, wrought in gold and colours,
within an interrnicabie scroll of raised needlework. The
robe is equally unique. The material is of the finest
cachmere, lined eiderdown, the colour Royal pur-
ple. The head, which is quilted and padded, is lined
with rose-coloured satin, the loops of flock gold, with
tassels of small pearls. The robe is edged all round by
a broad stripe of crimson Genoa velvet, bearing the
Royal arms, and the insignia of' the three nations em-
broidered in dead and burnished gold, and relieved with
silver fretted work in points. The great merit, however,
of these elegant articles of infant apparel is said to con-
sist in the elaborate beauty of the needlework. Her
Majesty, to whom the presents were exhibited imme-
diately on arrival, expressed her warm admiration of the
skill, taste, and patience bestowed upon them, and coin-
nemded ietimation of their acceptance to be transmitted
to the accomplished artist, who, na doubt, requires no
richer reward for her " labour of love and loyalty."

Count Demidoff, according to a letter from Rome
in the Augsburg Gazette, left that capital in consequence
of the steps taken by the Russian Ambassador with his
Holiness's Secretary of State. Another letter, in the
saute Journal, says—" We learn that the departure of
Count Demidoff was the consequence of a recommends-
tion from the Russian Ambassador, and therefore was not
voluntary. A memorial will, it is said, make its appear_
ante in a few days, revealing to the public numerous facts
hitherto unknown concerning this affair. In all our cir-
cles nothing else is talked of ; it has produced the greatest
sensation, as it is known that the Church continues to
maintain with the utmost rigour its principles on the subject
of mixed marriages."