Evening star., 1900-12-15

always has to be done at Windsor. for the
Kitchen at Osborne has no appliances big
enough. The roasting always is begun on
december - and continues throughout the
day while all the next day is taken in the
gradual process of cooling.
After the Christmas eve dinner comes the
Christmas tree for the young royalties. with
games and a jolly good time all round Just
like any other family. Stockings are hung
beside the mantel I'm the good old-fashioned
way, and later on the queen sometimes
helps the princesses to I'LL them.
Famous Dinner.
On Christmas morning the entire family
goes to the palace chapel After luncheon
comes the inevitable drive. which the queen
takes daily. rain or shine. well or Ill. and to
which she gives credit to the fact that she
is in as good condition at eiyhty-one as she
was twenty years ago. and is likely to last
for good time longer.
The Christmas dinner comes Christmas
night. and the baron Of beef on the side
board Is fanked with vast woodcock pie
and royal boars head. which is the in
variable Christmas present of Emperor
William of Germany to his august grand
mother. The queens plum pudding comes
dCWn from windsor, and Is so mighty an
affair that there is enough for every one
OF the descendants. all OF whom are ex-
pected to get a piece wherever they may
be- The first section to be sent off by mail
Is usually that directed to the queens
grandson-in-lay, the Car of Russia
The queen herself gets scarcely a bite
of all this rich fare, careful is she of her
health and of the advice or her physicians
She is becoming more and more of a yega-
tartan, although meat is not altogether de-
MED to her. but the plainness of her food
Is made up by the pains which she insists
shall be taken with the cooking of each
dish. Some of her pet stewpans have to
De carried around with w ba
goes. like her bed and some of her pictures,
When she went over to Ireland last spring
more than 800 tin-lined copper saucepans
mad to be imported to the yceregal lodge
because the kitchen furniture ordinarflv in
use there was not of a pattern favored by
her majesty.
whisky for Her Majesty.
NO doubt champagne figures at the
queens Christmas dinner but the chances
are that her majesty will not touch drop
of 1t. She has confined herself of late to
a single glass of Scotch whisky mixed with
filtered water, and sometimes. If the meal
were heavy, a thimbleful of ancient lloueur
10 1oioW as cordial. incidentally. Christ
mas dinners probably have no great fasci-
nation for the Prince of Wales either He
mas been what they call u high liver In his
day. and to pay for it he has to be rather
careful now. and thin white wines are
usually the strongest beverages in which
he INDUCES.
1t has been long time since any out
slder mas been present at the queens
@ thas dinner, and the family laughs
ana Jokes and cuts loose to its hearts con-
tent They say that the queen is a CAPITAL
hano at telling stories and that on such
domestic occasions she is seen at her best
years she has become more approachable
10 the children. Some of the vounper
members OF the second and third genera
tioh are on more familiar terms with her
oil Inr
ever We're.
Presents the Queen Gets
Christmas used to be a good thing for
some monarchs not far back In the history
or England. The courtiers used to vie with
one another to see winch could buy the
richest gifts and thus WIN the royal favor.
Queen Victoria did not approve of that sort
OF thing however. and let it be understood
distinctly that the only presents she cared
for We're the kind whose value did not de-
pend at all on prices
So the children and grandchildren usually
Try TO make something for her themselves
and the result in all these years Of Christ
masses must be one of the most wonderful
collections of studious paintings home-maue
statuary, hanuwoven tides hammere1
brass, wood carvings and amateur photo[
graphs that mortal eye ever was permitted
to rest upon, for nearly all of the queens
progeny have been trained in some sort of
craft and have continued to dabble at II
more or less faithfully. The chances are
that one Of the gifts OF Princess Beatrice
to her mother this year will be choral
piece of her own composing. Many of the
more decorative of these gifts can be seen
round the palace at Osborne but goodness
only knows what the mistress of the palace
mas done with the rest of them.
Tho Prince of Wales oenfae, prvseuts
mostly to old retainers at Sandringham. 1t
is a greater social honor to be permitted to
give him present than to receive one from
him. and the chances are that he fares un-
commonly we'll on Christmas
CURTIS BROWN.