The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-26 00:00:00

HER, MAJESTY, &c.

OSBORNE, Dec. 25.
The Queen distributed Christmas gifts yester-
dily afternoon to the labourers on. the Osborne
Estate] and their wives, who assembled at four
o'clock.

Soon after four the Queen, accompanied by
Prince and Princess Christian, Princess Louise,
Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, Princess Beatrice,
and Prince Henry of Prussia, entered the servants'
hall, whore the gifts were laid out. Her 1113jesty
then, assisted by the Royal Family, distributed the
presents.

The ladies and gentlemen in waiting were in at-
tendance.

The Rev. George Prothero, rector of Whipping-
ham, Mrs. Prothero, and their family, had the hon-
our of being invited, and also the Rev. R. Duck-
worth.

The Queen, Prince and Princess Christian, Prin-
cess Louise, and Prince Arthur, attended service at
Whippingham Church this morning, where the
Rev. G. Prothero and the Rev. R. Duckworth offi-
ciated, and administered the Sacrament of the Holy
Communion.

Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice also at-
tended Divine service at Whippingham to-day.

Christmas Festivities at Sandringham.

SANDRINGHAM, Christmas Day.
Yesterday thegood old custom of making presents,
which has been established during his royal high-
ness's ownership of the estate, was observed. In the
morning the children of the schools were marched
up to Park House, where they received the annual
gifts of clothing. Each boy was presented with a
tweed jacket and a blue cap, and each girl with a
red cloak and a hat. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon
all the cottagers, labourers, carpenters, bricklayers,
gardeners, &c., employed on the estate, resid.rig•
is
the parishes of Sandringham, Babingley, West New-
ton, Wolferton, and Dessingham assembled in the
park, near the royal stables, the centre of attrac-
tion being the coach house, round the sides of which
were ranged tables groaning under the weight of
sixty-two stones nine pounds of the primest joints
of beef, all cut up and ticketed, and ranged accord-
ing to parishes. Soon after four o'clock the Royal
party returned from an excellent day's shooting at
Houghton, and the Prince of Wales and the Duke
of Edinburgh, attended by Gen. Knollys and I,ieut.-
Colonel Koppel, entered the carriage-house, which
was tastefully decorated with evergreens, and im-
mediately after the presentation commenced. The
beef was distributed according to the number in
family, in the proportion of 21b. each for the man
and woman, and 11b. each for the children. Each
widow received 41b. of beef. The total number of
families that received meat was 169, representing
616 persons. Mr. E. Beck, agent, and Mr. Car-
michael, head gardener, handed over the beef to the
recipients one by one, as they were called by name,
each paying their obeisance to his Royal Highness.
This morning the Sandringham choristers marched
from the school-house to the terrace about one
o'clock, and sang some pretty Christmas anthems.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke
of Edinburgh, attended by Viscountess Walden,
General Knollys, Lieut.-Colonel Keppel, Lieut.
Haig, &c., were present at Divine service in the
pretty little church in the park, which had been most
tastefully decorated with holly and evergreens. The
Rev.:W. Lake Onslo w, M.A., officiated and preached.
This afternoon all the school children, in their new
cloaks and jackets„ were marched up to Sandring-
ham house to pay their obeisance to the Royal
family. The passing by was witnessed by the Prince
and Princess of Wales, Princes Albert "Victor and
George, and the Duke of Edinburgh. Each child
received a Christmas bun, and then dispersed to
their homes.

Christmas-day in Windsor Fore3t.
RE-OPENING OF THE ROYAL CHAPEL.
Yesterday morning at eleven o'clock the Royal
Chapel near Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great
Park was re-opened for Divine service. The new
edifice, the chancel of which was consecrated some
time back by the Bishop of Oxford, has been erected
in the early English style of architecture by the Com-
missioners of Woods and Forests, designed by Messrs.
Salvin and Teulon, the architects, the works having
been superintended by Mr. Morris. The exterior of
the chapel is composed of Princes Risborough stone,
with Bath stone facings, and the west end is pro-
vided with a belfry furnished with a couple of bells.
Inside the appearance of the chapel is very pretty.
The plan includes a nave, an aisle, chancel, and
transept, while the open pointed oak roof is carried
partly by the north wall and some finely carved
stone pillars, separating the nave from the south aisle.
In the chancel is a fine memorial window to the
memory of the late Duchess of Kent. The subjects
of the memorial include the principal events in the
life of the Saviour, and at the bottom of the window
the arms of the duchess and her husband are em-
blazoned, separated from the chancel by an oaken
handrail. On its south side is the royal closet, which
has a stone screen dividing it from the end of the
aisle. The pew is furnished with chairs covered Wi th
crimson velvet, and the closet, which is intended for
the use of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and
Princess of Wales, when residing at the Royal Lodge
has a separate entrance at the east end of the build-
ing. The floor of the chancel is laid with encaustic
tiles, and the pulpit, lectern, and pews, are of carved
oak. About 200 sittings are provided for the con-
gregation, which consists of the families of members
of the Court and the employes on the Crown estate
of Windsor Park.

Yesterday being Christmas-day the walls and
arches were tastefully decorated with holly and
laurel, many of the wreaths and garlands having
been placed in their position by Lady Emily Sey-
mour and others of the congregation. The opening
service was conducted by the Rev. St. John Blunt,
assisted by the Rev. T. E. Harwood, the former
gentleman preaching the sermon.
'Windsor itself was visited by a number of stran-
gers, who made pilgrimages to the castle and park.

The Hull Advertiser states that Lord Londes-
borough has announced to his tenants that on and after the
Ist of January, 1867, he will allow the whole of his
tenantry on the Londesborough estate to kill hares and
rabbits upon their respective farms.

GENTEEL POVERTY.--None but they who have
themselves been poor gentry—gentry so poor as not to
know how to raise a shilling— can understand the peculiar
bitterness of the trials which such poverty produces. The
poverty of the normal poor does not approach it ; or,
rather, the pangs arising from such poverty are altogether
of a different sort. To bo hungry and have no food, to be
cold and have no fuel, to be threatened with distraint for
one's few chairs and tables, and with the loss of the roof
over one's head—all these miseries, which, if they do not
positively reach, are so frequently near to reaching the
normal poor, aro, no doubt, the severest of the trials to
which humanity is subjected. They threaten life—o''+
if not life, then liberty—reducing the abject one to a choice
between captivity and starvation. By hook or crook, the
poor gentleman or poor lady —let the ono or the other be
ever so poor—does not often come to the last extremity of
the workhouse. There aro such cases, but they are
exceptional. Mrs. Crawley, through all her sufferings,
had never yet found her cupboard to bo absolutely bare,
or the bread-pan to be actually empty. But there are
pangs to which, at the time, starvation itself would sore
to be preferable. The angry eyes of unpaid tradesmen,
savage with an anger which one knows to be justifiable
the taunt of the poor servant who wants her wages ; the
gradual relinquishment of habits which the soft nurturo
of earlier, kinder years had made second nature the
watt cheeks of the wife, whose malady demands wino
the rags of the husband whose outward occupations de-
mand decency; the neglected children, who aro learning
not to be the children of gentlefolk ; and, worse than all,
the alms and doles of half-generous friends, the waning
pride, the pride that will not wane, the growing doubt
whether it be not better to bow the head and acknow-
ledge to all the world that nothing of tho.pride of station
is left— that the hand is open to receive and ready to
touch the cap, that the fall from the upper to the low or
level has boots aeoomplished—theso are the pangs 0f
poverty which drive the Crawleys of the world to the
frequent entertaining of that idea of the bare bodkin.—
" The Last Chronicle of Bar-set"—:Yo. 4. 81l
Trollore.