Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-12-13

usually take place until after Easter.
Owing to the barbarity of the Turks,
Christmas has not iufrequsntly been
day of mourning amoug the Eastern
Christians, compelled to see their dsuah-
ters borne into hopeless captivity; but,
except in Armenia, affairs are improv-
Ing. and the Christian population enjoys
comparative immunity.
The young kaiser Of Germany has cell
ebrated Christmas heretofore at the
royal palace in Berlin, and without
much ostentation, in accord with the
good old German idea that Christmas Is
rathsr day for family enjoyment than
for pubic exhibition. The kaiser dimes
with the empress and the other members
ot.ths imperial family aud q few Of his
more intimate associates, chosen rather
for personal liking than for reasons of
state. Ii may be mentioned here that
Young William is neither a gourmand
nor a druukard, but rather abstentious
both rs TO food and drink; and many al
American will indulge more in the pleas
ures of the table on Christmas day than
the imperial ruler of Germany. The
kaiser, Francls-Joseph, is also noted tor
his Indifference to the temptations of
cookery, although in the brilliant and
formal court OF Austria Christmas is a
much more splendid day than at Berlin.
But there is skeleton in the feast at
Vienna, end has been ever since their
son and heir took his own life, as the re-
suit OF disgraceful intrigue. Few need
envy the gentle-hearted and broken
hearted ncis-Joseph in his Christmas
dinner. Queen Victoria will spend
her Christmas this year at Wind
eral air of lugubrious dig
nifty Queen Eictoria's Christmas dinner
may be said, vulgariy, to take the cake.
The Prince of Wales ought to dine with
his royal mother on that dry; but. as q
rule he does not. He is Of too lively
disposition, even II his hair parts wide in
the middle, and he fears the effect on his
health of one of those prolonged and
painfully depressing experiences. 10
address her majesty OF dinner, before
being spoken to, would be crime the
nature and enormity of which could with
difficulty be characterized. So while
her majesty is consuming her soup, a pin
might be heard TO drop, and excep. for
the motion Of the royal hand, passing the
alimsnt from the plate to the royal lips,
one might suppose that the diners were a
choice lot of automatons. Henry II.
Stanley, who has been guest OF the
queen, could tell good story about
this. il he dared. After the royal din
ner to which he was invited he Is said to
have looked two years older. In fact, 1t
seemed to have more wearing effect
upon him than his last expedition in
Africa. The somDre formality of the
whole transaction is described as its
worst features. Prince Henry of Botten-
berg. husband of the Princess Beatrice,
who is required to be present at every
dinner en- fnmillie. is said to be simply q
ghost of his former self, and fast losing
the German iollity for which he wac
noted when the queen did him the honor
to select him for n son-ln-law. Her
majesty, it is told, uses young Batten-
berg for an object to rest her eyes on
during the meal, Us it would not do for
queen to stare about in n general and va
cant sort of way, and to look bright
and intelligent would be equally contrary
10 royal ethics, This awful stare is
slowly but surely driving the youthful
Battenberg to insanity, and his friends
intimate that it Is impossible to foresee
the consequences. Perhaps, after all
there is no royal or imperial diner SO
happy on Christmas day as the American
sovereign, with his wife and children