The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-26 00:00:00

the turn of midnight on Christmas-eve, Divine service is
celebrated, followed by the singing of carols to the harp;
and they are similarly sung in the houses during the
continuance of the Christmas holidays.—Sharpe's London
Magazine.

HIGHLAND GA itIES—CHRISTMAS-
DAY.
A numerous and well-appointed meeting of the hardy
men of the north assembled, "shinty" on shoulder, to
revive their recollections of " the land of mountain and
of flood," and in generous rivalship to test their activity
of limb and s:rength of sinew, in the athletic games of
their country. The gathering place was Blackheath,
and nowhere in the vicinity of the metropolis could better
ground be selected. The weather too was in the highest
degree propitious ; a keen and char atmosphere braced,
without chilling, the nerves, and to this cause may
partly be attributed the abandon with which each
highlander gave himself to the sport, and the uniform
good humour that prevailed among those assembled.
Mr. Gibson and Ur. Buchanan, having been appointed a
committee of selection, they proceeded to divide the
fi..ld, and thirty players having been mustered on either
side, the ball was thrown up between the " two hails,"
and the game of " shinty " commeneed in right earnest.
One side sported red and the other green, but in this
instance the greens were the wider awake, and, after a
tough contest, in which clubs and shins were equally
roughly treated, the greens came of the victors. Trio
more games were played, which were divided, the reds
having achieved one triumph in the course of the day.
The party then returned to town, and each
" Took aff his several way,
Resolved to meet anither day."

DEATH OF

-THE SARDINIAN

1 MINISTER,
It is with feelings of deep regret that we record the
decease of the Count de Pollon, Minister from his
Majesty the King of Sardinia to the Court of St.
James. The melancholy event, which took place on the
21st instant, at the town residence of the deceased, in
Lower Grosvenor-street, did not transpire publicly until
Thursday evening. His Excellency was first attacked
with the complaint, the fatal termination of which we
now record, a bout a month since, he being at the thee
on a marine excursion with Sir W. Middleton, of
Shubbard Park, Suffolk. On an examination by some
local surgeons, it was found that a severe pain in the
side, by which he had been somewhat suddenly seized,
arose from the formation of an abscess. He was subse-
quently attended by Drs. Ferguson and Bright; and
alter remaining for about three weeks at the seat of Sir
W. Middleton, he returned to town in a weak, though
apparently not in a dangerous state. On Friday, the
18th, however, a most decided change for the worst took
place, and he rapidly sunk, expiring on the following
Monday, at the age of 49.
Tne Count was a member of an old Sardinian family
of great respectability, and was the hereditary holder of
an ancient title. At a very early age he entered the
service of his country, and we are informed served with
considerable distinction in the war against Napoleon.
He subsequently directed his attention to diplomatic
affairs, and when but of very tender age came to this
country as secretary to the Due d'Agile. He was sub-
sequently advanced to the of Chargé d'Affaires. He
afterwards proceeded as Sardinian Minister to the
Hague, from which he returned about ten years since to
this Court as chief Minister, and in such capacity he has
terminated his earthly career.
He was a member of the Roman Catholic religion, and
was attended in his last moments by the Rev. Mr.
O'Connor, of the Sardinian Chapel, Lincoln's Inn-fields.
He never was married, and the Marquis Pellavicino, one
of the legation, was the only one of his friends present
when he died. His mortal remains will be interred on
Monday next in Sensal-green Cemetery, and the cere-
mony will be a private one.

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, DEc. 25.—Her Majesty rode oat in a pony
phaeton this morning, accompanied by the Princess
Royal. The llon. Colonel Phipps, Equerry in Waiting,
attended on horseback.

Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince
Alfred, and the Princess Alice, took walking and pony
exercise on the Eastern-terrace and Slopes.
The Queen and Prince Albert, the Ladies and Gentle-
men of the Court, and the Domestic Household, attended
divine service this morning in the private Chapel of
the Castle. The Ron. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay
officiated.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent also at
ended the service.

In the afternoon her Majesty and Prince Albert rode
out in a pony phaeton, his Royal Highness driving. The
Equerries in Waiting, the Hon. Colonel Phipps and Co
lonel Bouverie, attended on horseback.
The royal dinner party at the Castle this evenin will
include her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the
Viscountess Forbes, and Mr. Vaughan, the Dowager
Lady Lyttleton, Hon. Miss Lyttleton, Miss Pole Carew,
the Lady in Waiting to the; Duchess of Kent, the Ba-
roness de Speth, Lord James Murray, General and Lady
Isabella Wemyss, Colonel and Lady Emily Seymour,
Mr. G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, Sir George and
Lady Couper, Captain Francis Seymour, and Mr. Glover.
The Bind of the Scots Fusilier Guards will attend
during dinner. Her Majesty's private band afterwards
attend in the Castle.

WINDSOR, FRIDAY EVENING.—ThIS being Christ-
mas- day, Divine service was performed in the private
chapel of the Castle, by the Queen's private chaplain,
the Iron. and Rev. C. L. Courtenay, her Majesty, the
Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal,
and the Prince Alfred, with all the ladies and gentlemen
of the Court, attending, After the strviee, the beauty
of the day induced her Majesty to ride out; and an open
phaeton, with postillions, being stilt round from the ro) al
sables, her Majesty, attended by the Marchioness of
Douro, and escorted by the lord and equerries in Wait-
ing, drove through Old Windsor, as -far as the Bells o!
Ouseley, and then returned by the same rcad to the
Castle. In the meantime the Prince Consort, with the
Prince of Wales in his hand, walked across the nom,
Park to Frogmore, and visited the Duchess of Kent, and
before their Royal Highnesses left the lodge, they exa •
mined the state of the iee on the lake of the grounds of
Frogmore. This afternoon, about three o'clock, the
Queen again rode out in a pony phaeton, the Prince
Consort driving. They again took the road through
Old Windsor, with intent, it was supposed, of entering
the Great Park at Bishopsgate, and so returning
Spring Hill and the Long Walk to the Castle, but from
some cause or other they returned to the Castle by the
Old Windsor road, and after having been out little more
than three-quarters of an hour.

WESTMINSTER-BRIDGE.--The following seven re-
solutions appear in the third report of the Select Com-
mittee of the House of Commons on the New Houses
of Parliament and Westminster-bridge, which was pub-
lished on Wednesday last. The Parliamentary blue-
book contains the evidence given. "1. That the
majority of the witnesses who have been examined on
the point concur that the foundation of Westminster-
bridge having been originally vicious, that bridge can
never be permanently sound. 2. That the expense Of
completing the alterations and repairs now in progress,
or in contemplation, according to contracts and designs
under the superintendence of the Bridge Commissioners,
rill be very considerable, amounting at least to 70,0001.
3. That this expenditure will still leave the bridge in a
state requiring constant attention in respect to repairs,
and without any certainty of permanent security ; while
it will likewise leave the water-way far less adequate to
the requirement of the navigation, particularly when the
contractim of the stream by the embankment in
front of the new palace is considered, than would be the
case under a new bridge. 4. That irrespective of the ap-
proaches, the expense of a new bridge over the site of
the present bridge, and retaining the present bridge for
temporary use would not exceed 360,000/, according to
the highest of the estimates forthat object which have been
furnished to the Committee, either in 1844 or in the pre •
sent year. 5. That the bridge estates would probably
furnish a clear surplus of at least 100,000/. in aid of the
funds for the erection of a new bridge. 6. That Parlia-
ment, having by direct grants from the Exchequer (the
remaining expenditure having been provided by money
raised in lotteries under Acts of Parliament), furni:hed
a large part :of the expense of erecting originally the
present bridge, and having constituted the comrnisirtn
under which the said bridge was erected and has been
administered, and having by section 20 of the 9th
George 11., c. 29, declared that the said bridge shall be
extra parochial, and by the section 21 that it shall not
be a county bridge, maintainable as such bridges are by
county rates, has recognised and sanctioned the prin-
ciple that this bridge, which is thus by law excluded
from other support, shall be maintained, and when need-
ful repaired, restored, and rebuilt, at the expense of the
state. 7. That in these circumstances a sufficient case
has been made out to justify this Committee in recom-
mending to the House, that the present bridge be pulled
down and that a new bridge be constructed, and that a
Bill be brought into Parliament next session to transfer
to the Commissioners of her Majesty's Woods, &c.,
the estate and property of the Bridge Commissioners,
due consideration being had to the claims of the officers
of the bridge estates, if their services should be discon
tinned."

SURGICAL OPERATIONS WITHOUT PAIN.—We have
been informed that two operations were performed by
Mr. Liston, at the University College Hospital, on Sa-
turday last, while the patients were under the stupefying
influence of vapour of ether. The one was amputation
of the leg, the other, evulsion of the nail of the great
toe. The vapour of ether was inhaled by means of a
proper apparatus, and, when it had produced its. full
effect, the operation was speedily performed. Neither
of the patients knew, when they recovered from their
stupor, that the operatket,had been performed. Mr.
Liston observed that the vapour of ether had been used
for a similar purpose in America, but only in minor
operations, such as the removal of tumours, &c. We
hope to have further particulars on this very interesting
subject—Medical Times.
Loss AND RECOVERY or ONE HUNDRED AND
SEVENTY SOVEREIGNS.—On Thursday, the proprietor of
a public-house in the neighbourhood of Drury-lane paid
to the receiving-clerk of a brewer 170 sovereigns, secured
in a bag. After receiving the money, the clerk sat for
a short time in the parlour, placing the bag of gold at
his side, but on leaving the house he forgot to take it
with him. Shortly after his departure a poor woman
entered the parlour, when the first object that attracted
her attention was the bag, which she opened, and on
discovering its contents presented one of the sovereigns
to the barman, asking him to change it. The barman,
aware of her poverty, said that she must have robbed
some one, when she became confused, and attempted to
conceal the bag under her meagre clothing, which at-
tracting the barman's attention, ho discovered the bag
of sovereigns which he had just paid away. While he
was taking it from her, the affrighted clerk returned,
and was highly delighted at having thus recovered the
bag of money.