The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-09-11
IN d CASTLE.
Official Farees Acted by the Queen,
Supported by Her Ministers.

- SuYIpOE ScA ny HkGI SlAHllSleTSs
Boston Commercial Bulletin.
The queen of England's finest resi-
dence is Windsor Castle. In fact, in
telligent Londoners often said to me
that Buckingham palace was a misera-
BILE old rat trap, not lit for Victoria and
her family to live in, while they are as
ready to declare that Windsor Castle
was the finest royal palace in the
world. The queen spends a large por-
ton of the year at Windsor, aud there
she transacts a large proportion of that
formal yet mainly rather anus ng
useless court business. the details of
which are daily paraded in The Court
journal. These matters are mostly
quite familiar to average readers. yet
one or two curious illustrations of the
point in hand are too singular to be
ON tied.
Here, for instance, is The Court Cir
cular for a dav in the early spring. In
it this item: The sheriff of Lancashire,
at a private audience which the queen
gave the chancellor OF the duchy of
Lancaster, was pricked by the queen.
The sherit1s for England and Wales
were pr cked by her MAJESTY al the
council on Thursday last, the 9Th inst,
and not after it, as stated in The
Court Circular for that date.
Now what does all this nleanp The
explanation is simply this: Every year
the Judges of assiZes make return to
the queen of three persons for every
county in England, from whom she is
to select mi to serve as sheriff of each
county.
When these names, written upon a
sheet OF paper. are presented to the
queen, she takes in her fingers a pin
and sticks it through one of them, be-
ing thus supposed to indicate her
choice-to make her selection.
The old phrase of stick a pin
there" in such use in New
England, must have taken its origin in
this very ancient royal custom of
making n selection which l have lust
described.
But the pin-sticking Of the queen at
Windsor is. of course mere meaning
less form; for all the appointments Of
the officers whom she is supposed to
select are settled upon by the V
ment before Icing submitted to
her.
There is another and more fitting
use of a pin which the queen some
times makes. When officers or SOL
dies have particularly distinguished
themselves in the field decorations are
often bestowed upon them. And in such
cases the heroes are sometimes sum-
moned to the palace of the queen and
personally received and hosp tably en-
tertained by her. Then. in her pres
ence, the services of the men are read
over to her ma esty after which she
pins upon the r breasts with her own
hands the decorat ons granted to
them. 1t is not uncommon for such
an audience as this to close with a per-
sonal Introduction to the sold ers and
members of the household at Windsor.
oftenincluding the three little princess
es of the palace, the grandchildren of
Victoria.
There are many other palace public
ceremonies which are of n somewhat
sim arr character to those I have been
de. cribing. But l have space to men
on only two more. When the gov
eminent has made an apo ntment of
a diplomatic representative, the minis
ter selected makes a Journey to the
palace Of the queen before ne goes
forth as her representative, and on
hs Bonded knee kisses her hand in
recognition of the honor he has re-
ceived.
The forms gone through at the pal
ace when an address of the queen is to
be presented to parliament are pecu-
liar. The ministry-the prime minis
prepares the spars and then the
cabinet makes a state Land most for
NAL journey o Windsor for the ur-
pose OF reading the document to her
MAJESTY. After it has been read in
her presence it is supposed to Iccome
he" speech from the throne. +