The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-01-04
Etiquette in the German Army.

The cavalry is the favorite arm of the
German army, the Uhlans, rich i'll the
prestige of the late war, being especially
/ popular, while the two crack regiments
are the Gartle lie Corps and the first
/ Garde Cuirassef. These are composed
of men selected for their size, their Off
GERS bear the oldest names and their ap-
! pointments are the very best. We be-
ieve they are the heaviest cavalry in Eu-
! rope, the average weight carried by each
! horse being $50 pounds, and their ap-
! pearance in pure white uniform, with
cuirass and helmet of polished brass, is
/ very striking, even superior to that of
| the English Guards. There is great
rivalry between them; one has the heredi-
tary Grand Duke of Mecllenburg, the
other a prince of Hohenzollern. and thsre
is almost an equal distribution of lesser
notables. Each is given an opera box,
one under, the other opposite, the EN-
peror's, and they only agree in affecting
to ignore each other. Other regiments
are jealous, and say they are too fine for
( use, and it is fact that the emperor
would not allow them 10 engage during
the French war. So in the triumphant
entry to Berlin at the end these troops
alone were received in dead silence, and
the modification rankles yet. Their Off
GERS have in the extreme both the pride
and esprit de corps characteristic of their
profession and order. Two of them were
left cards upon Il certain Graf, but
through mistake they were deliv-
cred to the greatest banker in
Berlin, who occupied the floor be-
low. Delighted with the attention
3 hn lr1mp1Iatn1r nc1-,I l. l,,.l
they coolly returned the invitation with
curt message, saying the cards had not
been left for him. This banker, by the
way, was taken by Bismarck to Versailles
to arrange about the indemnity in 1871,
and the story goes that when the latter
named the sum of four milliards, Jules
Favre exclaimed the thing was absurd,
that " it would take FROM tlle birth of
Christ till now merely to count it.
That's no consequence, said Bismarck,
I'VE have man here who counts back to
the birth of Adam" An instance similar
to the above L heard of cuirassier. The
mess were discussing whether or no they
might go TO a certain concert-room in
uniform. Finally one said 81 guess
we can go, the Kaiser has been there"
"Ah, yes" said another, "but not in
our uniform.
This wearing Of uniforms in question
able places is n matter about which all
officers are exceedingly particular, and
the sensitiveness about their honor and
good name from which it springs has de-
veloped what is called the "COurt of
Honor the most curious / know in
German society. Each regiment has its
court Of honor, composed of all its Off
GERS, by which all matters affecting the
honOf of the regiment or It's officers us
individuals, are settled. Evcry new Off
Ger entering the regiment Is proposed
before this court, and even though his
examination be passed, must receive it's
unanimous vote before obtaining his
commission. All off'enses are complained
of 10 thus court, and / presume if an Off
Ger were seen III the parquet of n theater.
for instance, he would be promptly sum-
moned and disciplined, for no man III
uniform ever sits out of the boxes or
balconies The principal function of
the court, however, seems to be the
supervision of all matters connected with
dueling. If an officer becomes involved.
lie lays the matter before the court of
honor, and they proceed to investigate il.
If they find their comrade to have been
i'll the wrong, he is directed to tender an
apology. If, however, he has been in
suited they proceed to investigate the
character of the offender. If lis posi-
ton is found to be such that they can
fight as equals, the 'Eouut directs the
duel to take place, and the officer must
fight. Ii he refuse, the court has the
power sysastS. cashier him, and if he
fights, Ske-seiei1 power furnishes him
with from two months to five years i'm
prisonment, which pleasing predicament
naturally produces the most willing
effect. There is nossSzsrticle of law to
authorize such an inst ution, and it
exists only by the gsk0hl authority of
the princes.