The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-07-26
The German Crown Prince and His
Order.

NV. Beatty Kingston in the Continental Times.l
The First of Prussian Orders Of Chivalry is
the Black Eagle This supreme distinction
supreme, that is to say, from the Prussian
point of view, for in European estimation Of
such institutions it ranks with and after" the
Garter, Golden Fleece and Annunztata-was
founded by Frederick, third Kurfurst of that
name and first king of Prussia, in the year
1701, when the Expensive Herr raised the
''Marqusate of Brandenburg" to the rank Of q
kingdom.
With view to imparting uncommon pres
tige and exclusiveness to this order, its royal
founder ordained that it should be worn alone,
thereby inferring that no other decoration was
worthy of occupying place by its side upon a
Prussian breast But Frederick the First, one
of the vainest men that ever lived, was led in
to an infringement of his own ordinances by
splendid windfall that came to him in the
shape of the British Garter, distinction but
rarely bestowed by English sovereigns upon
foreign monarchs in the eighteenth century,
and one to the obtention Of which he could
never have ventured to aspire had he remained
in the chrysalidic stage of a Brandenburg elec-
tor, instead of achieving full butterfly develop
ment as Prussian king. The worthy gentle
man was so highly hattered by the unexpected
honor conferred upon him by his cousin Of
Of England" an / entertained, moreover, such
strong prediction for gorgeous effect in the
way of external ornamentation, that he caused
the Star of the Black Eagle, which he himself
bore permanently upon his left breast, to be
surrounded by fac-simile of the Garter, bear
;tc aai cn;f 0,yj3 nj
afterward, until the day of his death, he wore
the crachat in which the two exalted decora-
tions were thus blended. Every subsequent
King of Prussia upon whom the Garter has
been bestowed has followed his ancestors ex-
amplein this particular respect.
These curious annals of the chief Prussian
order became known to me under circumstan-
ces of somewhat exceptional interest. On the
second evening after the proclamation, in the
Sale des Glaces at Versailles, of William of
Hohenzollern, King of Prussia, as German
Emperor, received a command to dine with
the Crown Prince at his quarters in the pretty
little villa, Lies Ombrages," which his Royal
Highness occupied throughout the investment
and siege of Paris. With the solitary exception
of Gen. Beauchamp Walker, the British Mill
tary Commissioner at that time attached to the
Royal headquarters, was the only English
man among the Crown Princes guests upon
the occasion in question; an accident to which
l attribute the gratifying circumstance that my
august host distinguished me more than once
in the course of the evening by conversing
with me at considerable length. He was wear
ing undress uniform, as it was an informal,
friendly party; and, after dinner, whilst we
were smoking and chatting together-I re-
member he had just shown me remarkably
handsome meerschaum pipe, carved for him
by the Crown Princess just before he started
upon the French campaign-he suddenly
| thrust his right hand into the pocket of his
dragoon tunic, and, pulling out three glitter
| ing jewels, called my attention to them, say
| inc "I always wear these about me, even
| when no ceremonial occasion requires their
! display. One, you see, is the jewel of our
chief order, another that of the Fleece; the
| third is the George. L am very proud of my
Garter, for owe the dearest thing in life to
me- my beloved wife, to the country whose pa
tron saint is also the patron saint OF that Or
der. regard it as of good augury; so much so
that the day before yesterday, when my father
was proclaimed Emperor, as you saw and
| heard, put on the Garter itself when dressed
| to attend the ceremony. 1t could not be seen
| by anybody, because was in full cavalry uni
| FORM with high boots reaching above the knee
| which completely hid it. But had it on; and
| have deemed it an unlucky omission
| had forgotten to don it upon so important-so
| momentous-an occasion in the history of our
| House." Immediately after uttering these
| gracious words, the Crown Prince pointed out
| to me the popularity in the jewel of the Black
| Eagle above alluded to, and explained to me
| the origin of the curious blending that had
| taken place in its combined insignia-how Ed
| wards jesting motto had come to frame and
| environ Frederick's sober device Of "Suune
| cttique tribuito."