New-York tribune., 1896-12-27
read hut his Christmas gospel Is practsed uni

The Queen passed her Christmas at Osporhe'
where she had a large family party. her re'S"'e
is now occupied with the revision OF the ne"
biography which her librarian. Mr. Kicharo ~
Holmes is writing. Many chapters she mas per
sonally dictated. and she takes great 'i'eies'
in the completion of the work.
Her most distinguished subject awaits MS
eghty-seventh birthday at Hawardeh' II win
be celebrated on Tuesday with the usua' io'''''
and congratulatory dispatches. PropapN "o
other public man in any country receives 81
many birthday letters and dispatches do -'
C,sdstone His delightful letter on book col
lecting, written - Mr. Quaritch Is d" e","0
OF the autobiography which he might write II
he had the strength required for initiating '"e
Queens example.
rord Salisbury is entertaining a large Christ
mas party at Hatfield. and Lord RosebeTy
sr,,u ono q, Nentr,ore. Mr. Chamberlain is at
Hghbury where he will soon receive the sugar
Commission which is to visit the West Indies IN
search of information about the decline OF the
cane industry through the neglect OF the mo'her
country 10 protect ii against ruinous compeu-
tion from the European beet product.
An English Christmas would not be compie'e
without its gay parties in all the great couhu!
houses. its bountful metropolitan charlueS' "s
splendid rendering Of The Messiah in Alpert
Hall. and the promscuous delights OF hoN'ns
Dav IL must have It's traditional ofserNances'
like the singing OF Latin carols and ne serving
OF the boar's head decked with rosemary IN
Queens College. oxford. 1t must nave us shos'
recitas like that which comes ifom kuIaho'
OF haunted house with mysterious knocNihsS
on a newly vanished door which DOCTORS MN
listers schoolmastors and police officers nave IN
yasticatod in vain. 1t must also have its stories
OF pathos. Of neglected childlie' Ike 'ha' re-
lated in the Southwark Police Court. in which
mother driven from home by her husbands Ill
treatment. lost sight Of her only boy for two
years and then recognized him in a ragged
hungry looking uichin 10 whom she chanced 'o
give a penny al 4 street crossing.
Mr.. Chapin has sold two estates, Blankney and
Tathwen in Lincolnshire. % the Earl Of Lon
desborouch 1t Is understood that Blankney
Hall will become the residence of Niscount Rain
cllffe The prices paid are not known. but these
two estates which vs. re worth S4I0,O00 in 1870,
were recently valued at Sl12.00J by an expert
Mr. Chaplin has suffered ike other large land
holders from shrinkaSes caused by the agricui-
tural depression in frcc-rade England. lie APP
pears 10 have sound reasons for being an uh-
compromising protectonist The houses IN
Piccadilly formerly occupied by Sir Julian Gold
smid and Baron Hirscn are now advertised ior
sale after being vacant for a long period These
are palatial mansions in the best quarters OF
Iondons most famous street. Probably they
are destined to be the homes Of South African
millionares. since Mr. Hocey's real estate
specuations are confined TO country estates.
The holiday auction sales at Christie's and
elsewhere have been largely attended and pict-
ures engravings and bric-a-brac have brought
unusually high prices. \ most singular COM
mentary on human nature supplied by these
sales was the brisk competition for autograph
letters written by Lady Emma Hamilton. Whlch
commanded better prices than Lord Nelson
letters 10 his wife. than historical documents
bearing the signatures of the famous sea-rovers,
Drake and Hawkins.
The controversy over the restoration OF the
famous west front of Peterborough Cathedral
by methods more or less destructive continues
with unabated ardor. the dean and chapter OBJ
stlnately persisting in denying that the outer
walls can be dealt with from the interior ana
left untouched externally.
Mr. Sargent's portrait Of Coventry Patmore
has been presented to the National Portrait
Gallery.
Sir Henry Irving's injury from a sprained
knee is proving more serious than was at first
reported He is still in bed. and the doctors
are unwilling to say when he can return TO the
Lyceum stage AS his work in Richard Ill is
very heavy. he would incur dangerous risks by
returning prematurely. Mr.. Bran Stoker, with
his usual energy has made the best arrange
nent possible in continuing "Cymbeline" with
another Iachimo and a new Imogen. and de-
ferring indefinitely the second performance of
Richard Ill
The theatres have been changing programmes
oil no pc %
has been at the Adeiphi. where Black Eyed
Susan" has been revived with fine realism. cx
cellent stage effects and strong cast. When
the kcndals produced this old-tme play the
public would not support the performance; that
was because the play was modcrnized and re-
written. II is highly successful now. because it
is presented in its original form and spirit Mr..
Terriss. who was once a midshipman himself.
makes strong and breezy William. dancing a
sailors hornpipe. singing nautical songs and
bringing out ihe humor and pathos Of the Fart.
Miss Millward's Susan is excellent. The sO-called
mystery play at Olympia. founded on The
Pilgrims Progress and produced at enormous
expense. excited jeers and Kisses from the gall
leries. and is failure. The spectacular effects
are ingenious but the characters are faint
shadows. which make 10 impression on the audi
ence-not even Christian. who has lively
broad-swo combat with Apollyon before enter
ing the Celestial City
If Bunyan We're alive to-day. he would have
had cause for righteous wrath over the liberties
taken with his immortal allegory. and Grimaldi
and all the old-tme clowns would have deplored
the lack of humor in the Christmas pantomimes
witnessed to-day at the Drury Lane and many
suburban theatres. The harlequinade is no
longer led 10y the good clown. and The comic
;Db bo . ,l,o 4
tornime has disappeared: the whole thing has
degenerated into a variety show. with marvel
lous spectacular effects, but with the od-fash-
toned fun and buffoonory left out. Cinderella.
Little Red Riding Hood the Forty Thieves and
a dozen other Juvenile classics have been re-