News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-12-20

kNIGHTLY ORDERS.
Honors for Which Princes Struggle
to Attain,

The history of tie Oldest and mos
distinguished orders of sovereigns, O
aristocracy and of the military is the
history OF medieval Europe, and O.
Christianity's struggle for supremacy
with the Moslem. The orders of knight
hood, of which that of st. John of Jeru-
salem is the oldest, are divided into fou1
classes-exclusively military orders, or
ders conferred only on the aristocracv-
religiom military-democrati orders and
knights of the Hospital orders. The
latter are the Templers. the German
knights, the Iaznrists, organized for the
defense of the Holy Land against the
Turks, and the Spanish orders de Gala
trava, dSantiago, dAlcantara and davis.
The order of the Templers is extinct;
that OF the Hospitalers still exists, but
under an entirely different form: the Or
der of the German knights was abolished
by Napoleon l., in 1909, and revived
again IN 1884 as religio-political order
OF Prussia; the Lazarists, in 1872, were
consolidated with the order of st. Maui
rice ct st. Lazare.
The greatest aristocratic orders with
which only sovereigns and the highest
ancient nobility are decorated, are but
eight IN number, successfully founded
rs follows; The Garter of England.
Seraph of Sweden and Norway, st. An
nunciata of Italy, Golden Fleece of
Austria and Spain, Elephant of Den
mark, st. Andrew of Russia, Black
Eagle of Prussia, and st. Stephen of
Austro- Hungary.
Next to these eight orders in antiquity
and "grnndeur are the following st.
Hubert of Bavaria, founded in 1444; st.
Michael, st. Louis and st. Esprit (of the
Holy Ghost) of France; Dnnebrog of
Denmark, Nontesa of Spain, Christ of
Portugal, White Eagle of Poland, now
of Russia, aud Bath of England. Of
orders of the third class, of which the
French order of the Legion of Honor is
the type, Russia possesses s; England,
7; Sweden and Norway, 6; Bavaria, 8;
Austria, 8; Prussia, l; Spain, 10; Por-
tugal, 7; Italy, 5; Wurtemberg, 4; Den
mark, 2; the Netherlands, 4; Hesse 4,
and France only that of the Legion of
Honor. These decorations are called
democratic, and are conferred for any
kind of service, military and otherwise,
noble and ignoble. They are worn by
generals and lackeys of the higher order,
by literary men and haberdashers, by
savans and cooks, and are as plentiful as
buttons during a Presidential
year. Not few of them are purchas-
able, and many OF them, particularly
-iAeso of the atrlaIlcr States, are voriE-
able cheap john affairs.
The orders of st. John of Jerusalem, of
the Garter, and of the Legion of Honor
are typical of their classes. The first
religio military order, the second an
aristocratic one, and the third altogether
democratic or pleb-ian. There is
another order entirely distinct from
these classes, an order only conferred
for heroic conduct ON the field of battle
the order of the Iron Cross of Ger
many. The commander-in-chi of the
army and the private in the ranks wear
the same decoration, a plain iron cross;
and yet in Europe it is the highest mill
tary distinction. Thus is recognized
moral equality, and in all alike the
greatest military virtue.-St. Louis Re
Dtblic.