The San Francisco call., 1896-12-25
CHRISTMAS TO Be
DULY CELEBRATED
Queen Victoria and Some of
Her Children to Dine
at Osborne.
Three Thousand Presents Will
Be Made by the Gracious
Sovereign.
Throughout Great Britain There Is a
Three Days Holiday and Gen.
eral Rejoicing.

NEW YORK, N. Y, Dec. GA London
dispatch says; Surrounded by a small but
lively part of her children and grand
children Queen Victoria will spend her
Christmas at Osborne, in the Isle of Wight,
where she arrived for six weeks stay
few days since. The family party will be
precisely the same as last year-the
MARQUIS of Lorne and Princess Louise, the
Duke and Duchess of Connaught, with
their children, Margaret, Arthur and
Victoria; and the Duchess of Albany,
widow of the late Prince Leopold, and her
children, Alice, Mary and Leopold
Charles.
During the past few days the venerable
sovereign has been actively engaged in
personally directing the dispatch OF
Christmas presents to her relatives and
other friends. Some of these have been
articles of jewelry of considerable value,
and others pieces of embroidery and knit
ting which derive their value from the
fact that they are her own handiwork.
The officers and servants of the royal
household and the tenantry of the various
estates have also been remem bered, and in
the aggregate the number of presents sent
out with her Majesty's compliments has
exceeded 5000.
Tomorrow morning her Majesty will
attend divine service in the chapel at
tached to Osborne, and at the family din
ner in the afternoon the roast of beef,
which this year weighs ITO pounds, will
be borne in with the usual quaint cere-
monies of the time of Henry VIII. In
accordance with time-honored precedent,
the plum pudding will weigh an even
hundred pounds, and will decorate the
center of the table, resting upon gold
platter and decorated with holly and
mlstletoe.
| The toast to the memory of the late
| Prin ce Consort will be drunk by the COM
pany standing, and the loving-cup will be
passed, The Duke of Connaught will do
| the carving.
| The Prince of Wales and his family will
spend the day, as usual, at Sandringham,
| the tenants of which have been well re-
membered. The family will attend ser
vice in the morning at the Church of st.
| Mary Magdalene in Sandringham Park,
and afterward there will be skating
party on the lake. The Christmas dinner
| will not be served until o'clock.
/ LONDON, ENG, Dec. 24.-The fact that
! Christmas day falls on g Friday will give
the BUSINESS men and the wageworkers a
rest of three days from their labors. Sat-
urday, Boxing day." is bank holiday
under the law, and consequently there
will be a complete cessation of business
throughout the country from Thursday
night until Monday morning.
] Advices from the large towns and the
provinces say that owing to the improved
trade and commercial conditions the cele-
bration OF Christmas Will be of a more
general and festive character than for
many years past. In the big towns, such
as Leeds, Liverpool. Manchester, Birming-
ham and Bristol, the purchases of holiday
presents have exceeded by 100 per cent the
| totals of last year.
] Another sign of the times is the large
| advance sale of railroad excursion tickets
| to people who propose to round up about
| the Christmas table at home. Last year
| and the year before this traffic was almost
nominal Altogether there is every indi-
| cation that this will be the cheeriest
| Christmas that Great Britain has had for
| several wears.