The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-23 00:00:00

T.HE ROYAL MARRIAGE.

The preparations in St. James's Palace for the nup-
tials of the Princess Royal with Prince Frederick Wil-
liam of Prussia are nearly completed.
A large covered way has been erected at the garden
entrance, lined with crimson cloth, well lit by windows
at the sides and top, and supported by 12 pillars,
which are connected by festoons of laurel. The prin-
cipal door has been widexed, and has its architrave
covered with Christmas berries, ferns, and evergreens ;
and the window of the Palace to the west has been
converted into a door for the accommodation of her
Majesty's suite. This door and also the windows are
decorated with plants, like the principal door.
The Queen's retiring room has been re-decorated. The
walls are hung with a paper of a handsome gold pattern
on a white ground. The cornice is gilt. The curtains
are white lace, and have very rich silk draperies—
crimson, flowered with gold and bordered with crimson
velvet and gold lace. The table is covered with Honiton
lace over rose-coloured satin, with silver cords, tassels,
and fringe ; and the frames of the mirrors are carved
and gilt. The furniture is covered with crimson bilk
damask. The door and panelling of the room are white
and gold, and the floor is covered with a crimson
carpet.

within the throne room is placed the table on which
the attestation of the marriage will be signed by Her
Majesty the Queen, his Royal Highness the Prince
Consort, the foreign princes, and the dignitaries of the
church officiating in the ceremony. The table has a
cover of crimson velvet, and the sides are ornamented
by draperies of the same material, with cord and fringe
of purple silk.
Seats for spectators to witness the procession to the
Chapel have been erected in Queen Anne's Room, the
Tapestry Room, and the Guard Chamber, and in the
small recesses at the top of the state staircase ; also in
a temporary gallery between the state and entree
staircases, and within the temporary building in the
Colour Court of the Palace. A mirror of large size is
placed at the bottom of the staircase in a handsome gilt
frame.

The colonnade which leads to the Chapel bas been
very tastefully decorated with flowering plants and
evengreens in a style similar to the garden entrance.
The D. ric columns have been cleaned, the capitals and
bases are white, and the shafts altered to imitate
coloured marble. Large groups of plant: have been
placed at regular intervals on the wall opposite to the
columns, fastened with rosettes of white satin and

silver.

In the Chapel Royal, the window over the altar has
been lowered, the haut pas much widened, the pews
removed, and seats erected on the east and west sides,
and above these seats galleries have been raised on a
level with the Royal pew.

A MARRIAGE IN WALES.

(Front Bentley's Miscellany.)

On the morning for the ceremony the farm was in utter
confusion, and Sarah's body-guard were erecting artful
barricades in ad directions to prevent the entrance of the
bridegroom and his friends. In the centre of the wicket
gate a species of quintain was erected, also for the same
purpose. Suddenly, a shrill whistle was heard, and the
hostilities commenced. The enemy numbered about 50,
all mounted on email Welsh ponies ; at the head rode
the piper, his horse being almost hidden by trappicgs
and feathers. On reaching the quistain a halt was called.
" Will you let us in or no ?'' asked the piper. " No, we
will not let you in," six of Sarah's body-guard replied.
The attack then commenced with great vigour, and al-
though there were many hairbreadth escapes, the attack-
ing party succeeded in effecting a lodgment, and marched
on the stone barricades, which seemed to offer a more
serious resistance ; but the little ponies bounded over
them, and the assailants drew up in front of the house,
the door of which was securely fastened. Now it is the
fashion in Wales that this attack should be made—not
with crowbars and hammers, as might be expected—but
with verses. The two parties carry on a rhyming con-
test, until the besieged can no longer give a reply, and
the fortress is compelled to yield. The party managed to
get the door opened, and in a few minutes Griffith, the
leader of the assailants, eame out of the house, bearing
Sarah in one arm, and waving his hat triumphantly.
Sarah shrieked, and defended herself with hands and feet,
but the lucky bridegroom came to the rescue, took her
in his arms, and, atter placing her in the saddle before
him, galloped off at break-neck speed. But the bridal-
guard had soon mounted their ponies, and pursued the
ravishers at full speed over hedges and ditches, along
the Conway-road. Beneath the Penmenmawr the
robbers were caught up, and a regular battle ensued.
Blows of the fist and stick were exchanged in the
most admirable manner, but poor Sarah was most to
be pitied. Her body-guard tried to drag her down by
the legs and arms, and set to work with more freedom
than a lady would endure who might have less power-
ful mu,clea and more prudery than a Welsh girl. At
length the bridegroom's party, with their numerical
superiority, succeeded in disarming the others and
gaining an entire victory. The horsemen then proceeded
to a tent, which had been put up at Gorddunoo Farm,
and were followed by a large number of marriage guests,
who bad collected on the high road to see the fun. The
entire farm looked as if an auction were going to be
held. The yard was crowded with marriage present.,
furniture, kettles, buckets, pots and pans. Now and
then a rider came trooping in, bearing a chair or a clock
on the saddle-box. Tne procession then started for Llan-
fairfechan, where it arrived about noon. 0 wen and
Sarah were soon made mad' and.wife, and the day's sport
began. At the entrance to the ttnt sat the blacksmith of
Aber, and on a tub near hiin stood a box. Every person
that entered threw in a trifle—c!ii.shining for the food,
a shilling for the drink, sir, iind;ailything more will be
accepted. And when the christening comes we shallhave
another day's jollity." At the other end of the table sat
the harper and piper on a slight elevation. There were
probably some 300 guests assembled, old and young,
boys and girls. Immediately after dinner the tables were
removed and the dancing began. The blacksmith of
Aber was continually walking about among the couples,
and carrying on the cigar trade with considerable profit.
The Welsh are not passionately fond of dancing, but
they make up for it by their love for singing. There
is not a dance, or a merry-making, where they do not
eventually congregate round the harp, and commence
their pennillions to the variations of the harper. They
sing on without interruption, one after the other, and
each a different stropbe from the preceding one. As a
general rule, a merry contest is carried on ; each singer
tries to contradict his foreman through the pennill, in
which process the cleverer pal-zoos often extemporise in
the most astonishing way. The majority of them, how-
ever, have hundreds of pennillions in their heads, which
they have ready for any occasion. The tune selected is
usually the air " Ar hyd y Nos," better known to Saxon
ears under the name of " Poor Mary Anne !"

Letters from well-ir.fortned correspondents in receipt
of late advises from South Australia entirely contradict
the statement of its being contemplated to raise seven
millions, or any other sum of great magnitude, for rail-
way works in that colony. In the colony of Victoria
eight millions is the amount proposed.
TURN HIM OUT.—The governor of the Charter-house
is no less a personage than Archdeacon Hale, who can-
not be said to be driven by sheer need, in the absence
of any salaried appointment, to take the sinecure gover-
norship at the paltry rate of 1,2001. a year ; for it is
said that he has one or two other sources o income,
similarly paltry as to their amount of emoluments. But
what does Sutton himself say, in those original docu-
ments which have been quoted again and again in the
City Press, long before Inspector Skirrow put on his
lavender kids to pen a flattering report ! Sutton says,
the master shall be an unmarried man—Archdeacon
Hale is married. Sutton says, "He shall have no
other place of preferment or benefit, eithir in church or
commonwealth ;" but Archdeacon Hale is a man
burdened with other appointments—he is Archdeacon
of Middlesex and canon of St. Paul's. Sutton's conditions
require him to be constantly caring for the comfort of
the legitimate objects of the charity, and in actual
" charge of the hospital ;" but Archdeacon Hale has
said with his own lips, that he purposely refrains from
interfering with the brethren, because such conduct
might appear inquisitorial, which we consider a very
neat apology for the sinecure performance of wbat
should he a responsible duty. But Sutton says, further,
\
that if any of these conditions are infringed, " he shall
leave that place, or be displaced if he refused to do so ;"
~.'?d'ork - grounds of strict legality, the Master of the
L.a rter--hoh
dayn e
clearing-house next being
the
day
se ought long ago to have been served with
noltroento quit.—City Press.
Monday
will fo re
ltohsee
Royal
ryathl the final
a l marriage,
; the bankers' de-
livery of drauats at 24 p.m.