The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-10-02
The Order Of the Garter.

The Order OF the Garter, with which
Earl Beaconsfeld and Lord Salisbury
have been invested by the Queen OF
Great Britain, is QUE Of the oldest and
most famous OF the orders of kn%ighthood
that remain in Europe. The exact date
Of its foundation is not known. One
authority ascribes it to 1892, when in a
battle with the Saracens on st. Georges
Day, Richard Ceur de Lion command
ed twenty-six of his knights to wear
around their legs thongs of blue leather.
But most writer's agree that it dates
from Edward ILL.,, though the precise
date is in dispute, Froissart giving 1874,
and Stow 1850. General tournaments
in that time were held at Windsor. At
one of them, says the familiar story, the
Countess of Salisbury let fall her garter
when dancing with the king, and the
king picking it up, tied it round his leg.
There were smiles from the company
and jealous chances from the queen,
noticing which Edward restored the
garter to the countess, saying "Hona soft
oui NAL q penSe," evil to him who
evil thinks) and added that those who
smiled would shortly see the garter nd
yanced to such honor and renown as to
account themselves happy to wear it.
There have been writer's to ridicule this
story, but none to suggest q more prob
able theory. The order was founded in
honor of the Holy Trinity, the Virgin
Mary, St. Edward the Confessor, and
St. George, the latter Of whom had then
become the guardian saint of England,
and was considered the special patron
of the order. 1t has always borne the
title Of 'The Order of St. George rs
we'll as of "The Garter"
The original dress of knights was a
blue mantel tunic and capucbin, en-
broidered with carriers of gold and blue
silk, the l.rgest of which was worn on
the left shoulder of the mantle. henry
VIII. changed it, as did Charles II. after
him, but Charles for the last time. As
now used, it consists Of q dark blue
velvet garter, edged with gold, and
bearing the motto in letters of gold, and
worn below the knee on the left leg; a
mantle of blue velvet, lined with white
taffeta; q hood Of crimson velvet; q snr-
coat also of crimson velvet, and lined
with white taffeta; a hat Of black velvet,
lined with tafeta, and bearing q plume
Of ostrich and heron feathers, fastened
by a band of diamonds. The collar is
Of gold, being composed Of twenty-sl1
pieces, each in the form of a garter, and
has appended to it a figure of st. George
on horseback. A lesser st. George is
enamelled on gold and set with dia.
monds, being suspended over the LETT
shoulder by q dark blue ribbon. The
star has eight points, and is of silver,
having the cross Of st. George in the
centre and being embroidered on the
left breast.
Or the royal family, beside the Queen
and Prince of Wales, who belong to the
order, there are the Dukes of Edinburgh,
Connaught and Cambridge, and Prince
Leopold ; of foreign sovereigns, the
kings of Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Bel
GUM and the Hellenes, and emperors
of Germany, Austria. Russia and Brazil,
beside the Shah of Persia; OF titled
persons from abroad, the dukes OF SAKE
Meiningen, Brunswick and SAKE Coburg
Gotha, the grand dukes of M~ecklenburg-
Strelitz and Hesse Darmstadt, (Louis
w. the crown prince Of Germany, and
the princes Christian Of Holstein and
William Of Prussia.
Among the English nobility who have
been invested with the order are Earls
Granville and Shaftesbury, the Dukes
of Wellington, Devonshire, Somerset,
Sutherland and Westminster, and Wis.,
count Stratford de Radcliffe. The late
Earl Russell was of the number, as was
also the late ex king George of Hanover.
Few members of the British House OF
Commons have received the honor.
Palmerston was the last. Walpole re-
ceived it while in the House, as did LORD
North fifty years later-Lord North be-
ing designated in debate as "the noble
lord with the blue ribbon" 1t was
offered the younger Pitt, who declined
it for himself, but asked that it might be
given to his hayward elder brother,
second and last Earl of Chatham. The
request vas granted, but the king wished
it distinctly understood that the bestowal
was in consideration of services rem
dered to the crown by all the members
of the family. A writer in Belgravia
relates that when it was offered to the
late Lord Fitzwilllam, he asked how
much it would cost. "About a thous-
sand pounds" some one replied, where
upon the noble lord quietly remarked
that he thought he could make O better
use of his money.