The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-01-11
Gho Order OF tho aoldon r,seoo.

Vpo Ordor OF tho GCldon FkooCo.
The name Of the Goldon Fleece had
two.fold signifcatlon. 1t meant to
typlfy the spirit of chivalrous advcn-
ture--of going into new lands to con-
quer new fame-the Same spirit which
actuated the Argonauts Of legend, who
went In search Of tho Golden Fleece.
But there was also tho religious idea.
The Savior has been represented under
the form Of a lamb. 10 win His re-
demptlon by "knightl5" deeds, in tho
best specification Of that noble wor {,
was obviously an object of the new so
ciety of ehivalry. High privileges
were early conferred ON the knights
of the Fleece, whose number was orig
inalIy limited to thirty.one. When the
Counts Of Egmont and Horn were
illegally executed under tho reign of
Philip II. OH account Of the stand they
made for the liberties ofthelr country :,
they both appealed against the sent
ence, alleging, among other reasons,
that as Knights of the Fleece. they had
the right to be tried by their brother
knights. After the war of tho Spanish
succession, which loft Bourbon on
the throne Of Spain, thero arose Il dis
pute between the Emperor and the
King of Spain as to which Of them had
the right TO the sovereignty Of the Or
der. The question was al extremely
complicated one. The Emperor
Charles VI, as heir male Of the uaps-
burgs, might fairly claim the knlghtly
heritage as his right. On tho other
hand Philip of Bourbon might urge
descent through ri heircss md plead
that In Spain and tho Low Countries
tho Salic law had never been recognize
cd. The matter was finally arranged
through treaty, the Emperor and King
OF Spain being recognized as joint
grandmastcrs or the order. with equal
power TO name knights. 1Hc Austrian
and Spanish badges of the order arc
almost though not quito identical in
form. Each has the well-known col
lar of gold and illnt.stones, with tho
typical device, "Ante forlt guam 1lam-
ma micat," though tho noblor legend
runs-"Pretium nor vile labor en-"
The Archdukes of Aust,;l and the
infants of Spain are all, as q rule.
Knights Of tho Fleece. In later years
the order has been conferred with
what must to llcrt.Is have appeared
undue freedom. For :nsCancc, OH NJ.
Thiers, who was not even "noblc,'
and indeed had the sole merit of being
President of the French Republic and
one Of the greatest men living. Then
1t was that political tddity called the
Spanish republic, which beto we'd the
distinction Of the little red collar rib
and OH NJ. Thlcrs. The Duke OF Aosto,
by the way while tlgurtng as Amadeus
I. Of Spain sent the Fleece to q distin-
guishcd Chstilian noblcman, who re-
turned the decoration without Il word.
1t Is n waste Of words to characterize
tho conduct Of this grandcc rs t. de-
serves. Why tho foreign house Of
Savoy should be less entitled to respect
than the foreign house of France it
would be difficult to explain. The
Prince OF Wales is knight Of the
Golden Fleece-.he only Englishman
who enjoys that dis tlncllou. Tho
Spanish order was conferred on him
when he was ten years old, tho Aus
trian some time later. Not long ago 1t
was whispered that his Catholic Ma
jesty was rather anxious for an eX-
change Of ribantls between tho Courts
of S. Ildefonso and St. james. He
wanted tie Garter for himself and
would have conferred tho Fleece on
the Duke OF Elinburg or on Prince
Albert Victor of Wales-perhaps on
Doth--to secure for himself the most
coveted OF all decorations, without
which no sovereign feels that he belongs
10 the Inner circle Of royalty.