The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-01-12
Christmas Day in
Merrie England
How Our Transatlantic Cousins
Commemorate That Holiday.
A TYPICAL BARONIAL HOME
Miss Kaiser Describes Visit to the Coun'
try Residence of Lord Trcdegar the
Hero Of Balaklava, and Depicts
an English Christmas.
snsc,al Correspondence of The Tribune.

Newport Dec. 25.-AlthouSn 100 pusy
TO eat, almost. / will nevertheless try
to tell you something about an English
Christmas and the holidays here. My
endowment of them began even before
the term ended, for had THE best piece
Of luck l believe l ever had. A dear
friend of mine, little bit of 14-year-
old girl with whom l am very much in
love, had the good fortune to win the
prize for the best cello playing in the
whole ROYAL Academy. She Is the cut
est little thing and the brainiest little
body ever met. There were great big
men and women entered at the eNami-
nation, which was very stiff, but my
little artist came in ahead, and never
even thought she had done something
yonderful; indeed, her sister, whom l
saw afterward. said to me that she
seemed more pleased and interested in
some American stamps which l had
sent her that afternoon than she was
in her ten-guinea prize, which is bit
over $50 in our money.
The last academy event before the
vacation was an orchestral concert,
given by that institution in st. James
hall, and it was so very good as 10
make us all as proud and puffed up as
peacocks. One of the crack piano
students did Rubinstein's concerto in
A minor for piano and orchestra, and
won handsome criticism from the mu5-
cal press thereby. This young lady Is
quite young has won numerous prizes
for her pianoforte work, and has no less
than three big grand pianos-Bech-
stien, Broadwood and Steinway-which
she has had awarded to her as prizes in
competitive examinations where she has
come off conqueror. Another concerto
violin and orchestral couple of songs
and then came the piece de resistance
the first rendition in London of A.
Gwddyd Thomas last work, THE Swan
and the Skylark" This is beautiful
little work. and was done for the first
time only last summer at the Birming-
ham festival and we had the honor of
doing it second The fame Of it had al
ready gone abroad, and there was
mad rush for seats at the hall. and
fine disregard of manner in getting into
them as well, but what rejoiced the soul
Of every student was the nice things
which the musical critics said about the
rendition, in the papers next day. They
We're perfectly true, too
London in Holiday Attire.
II was so hard to get away from Lon
don! The shops grew brighter every
day with pretty things and with decOra-
lions Of holly and mistletoe. Numbers
of Santa Clauses, each one the "only
and original Santa, and all of them
decidedly made-up, paraded the streets
each advertising the particular shop
or bazaar which sent him forth to lure
us there. The markets and meat shops
were a joy to the eye, with their rows
and rows or pretty little rabpits. bril-
liant feathered pheasants and decorat-
ed skinned pigs and beeves hung up
outside. Everything sparkled and
shone and glowed.
At night, or rather morning, at or i
o'clock we were awakened every day
by band which plays around in this
way every night for couple of weeks
before Christmas. They play nice old
familiar things and do it we'll too, and
1t is lovely thing, ] think. to be awak-
ened by the sweet strains of some far
off music and then slowly drop to sleep
again as they play on around the neigh
borhood where they are. These bands
are called waits" l don't know why
They generally play somewhere near a
public house.
Sir Joseph Barnby, the veteran con-
ductor. is at Bournmouth. slowly i'm
proving after the sudden prostration
under which he fell after the perform
ance of Berlioz' Faust" which l had
the pleasure Of seeing him conduct.
Everyone is very glad that he is get
ting better, his illness having caused
great deal of concern in musical
circles over here.
An English Ancestral Home.
have seen a genuine old English an
cestral home, for which glimpse ! am
most devoutly thankful. l have imag-
ined an old baronial castle, but never
SO grand a one as have seen this day,
or yesterday, rather. Yesterday
evening Miss Driscoll and Miss
Bmilie Driscoll and my happy self took
supper at Tredegar the home of Lord
Tredegar, and one of the finest of the
grand old homes Of England. He is
the great man of southwestern Eng
land, and, yesterday being Christmas
Eve. there were, from early evening
until midnight, over 100 people there, in
little parties singing carols outside the
windows, and making really lovely
music. Some of them carried little
lanterns and were dressed up in hoods
and cloaks, and all were singing for
charity, his lordship giving freely to
all. He Is lonely but most lovely old
man-about 62--white headed, and with
nose that struck me with admiration,
Tor do admire big Roman noses He
was perfectly lovely to us, as We're also
MS sister and her husband, the Wis.,
count and Viscountess of Hereford.
who, with their two daughters, were
the other three.
His lordship knowing that had never
seen an old mansion like his own was
kind enough to show me over the most
interesting and historical rooms. In
the entrance hall we came across two
fgures which l at first glance took to
be from Madame Tussand's, (the FAM
Gus wax work woman), but which OF,
closer inspection l found to he only two
footmen with powdered hair and eve
brows and wonderfully laced and braid
ed and buttoned yellow and white
liveries with knee breeches and white
stockings and all. They made me
think Of the pictures of George Wash
ington In his best clothes. they were so
gorgeous. In this hall under an old
portrait Of a soldier, hung the sword
which my lord carried through the
famous charge Of the Six Hundred AT
Balaklava. / was much interested In
II, and grasped the hilt OF 1t so that /
could say that had touched it. 1t was
all very old and grand, this antique and
Imposing home, with big antlered
deer heads mounted on the walls
and black. shiny, and, must say slip.
perry floors. one of which, a drawing
room. Is a whole piece of oak, taken