The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-08

Strued to mean that any of he continent
al governments put up for barter and sale
their national orders and decorations The
same denial applies to the equally widely
circulated story TO the effect that nobiliary
titles can be purchased as an ordinary
article of commerce and trade There is
only one country that has ever rendered
Itself guilty of any such practice and that,
strangely enough, was republic, the
uniest and Oldest in the world namely
San Marine, which devoted the money thus
obtained to the maintenance of its fine
founding asylum.
English orders differ from those of the
continent in that the higher grades of
most of them entitle the possessor to the
prefix of sir to his Christian name his
wife acquiring the right to prefix the IL
tie of lady" in lieu of Mrs" to her
family patronymic, English orders, that
is to say, the bath, the ST. Michael and
st. George. the Star OF India and the In
dian Empire, are divided into three
classes, namely, knights grand cross.
knights commander, and. lastly. com
panions. The companions 40 not receive
the title of sir wear the badge of the
order pinned to their left breast by a biz
of colored ribbon, and have to remain
content with an alphabetical indication of
their membership or the order APP
pended to the end of their names when
they happen TO be addressed by letter
dressed as Spencer Ponsonby. Esq, c.
r.. while in the same way a companion
of the Order of st. Michael and 81 George
will have name followed by the letters
&C. NJ. G." The Order of the Bath has
been conferred upon only one American
citizen. namely, Commander Pearson OF
the United States navy, as a recognition
for the assistance which he rendered to
the British and International squadron
at the time of the bombardment of Shin
onoseki. in Japan. The knights comman-
der of the various orders wear the cross
or badge of the order fastened by a rib
bon around their neck and a star on their
left breast while the knights grand cross
wear the cross or badge on their left
hip appended to a broad ribbon which
crosses their breast obliquely from the
right shoulder the star slightly more
ornate in character than that of a knight
commander being pinned to their left
breast. The Order of the Bath is divided
into civil and a military division. the
insignia of the one being very unlike that
Of the other.
Besides these orders. there IS that of the
Thistle. which is restricted to Scotch
peers; that of st. Patrick, which is in a
similar manner destined for Irish peers,
and the Order of the Garter, which is con-
ferred by the queen only on a few of the
grandest nob.es of her realm, upon certain
members of her family, and upon the most
distinguished of the foreign sovereigns
All these three last-named orders consist
only of one grade, namely. that of Grand
Cross, the insignia consisting of a star on
the left breast. and a broad sash crossing
the breast obliquely from the right should
er to the left hip. except in the case Of the
Order of the Garter the ribbon of which
is worn from the left shoulder to the right
hip, at which point of the anatomy of the
knight it terminates in rosette and the
badge or jewel of the order. Moreover.
when the Knights of the Garter, arrayed
in what is known as "frock Dress" that
is to say, an evening dress, with black
knee breeches, black silk stockings and
pumps, encircle their left leg just below
the knee with a garter of dark blue velvet,
edge with gold, bearing the motto, Homo
soft qui NAL pense" in golden letters, the
buckle and pendant being of gold richly
chasedn
The Knights Grand Cross of all the Eng
fish orders, no matter whether it be Of the
Garter or that Of the Bath, are occasional
~ called upon by special order of the SOW
ereign, conveyed through the columns of
the Official Gazette by the lord chamber
lain, to don their collars at this or that
state function. This somewhat strange in
timation, the meaning of which Is unintel-
ligible to those who are not acquainted
with English court life, must not be held
to imply that the knights of the various
great English orders are guilty of such
slovenliness as to appear habitually before
their sovereign in collarless condition. |
The collars in question are but chains of
gold TO which the jewels and badges of |
their various orders are suspended. The |
chain is of considerable length and is
fastened at the two shoulders by two bows
of white ribbon to prevent II slipping down
over the arms. 1t varies in shape and
fashion with each order, but in every case
Is composed of gold and enamel and is
only worn on particularly grand occa-
sions. It's origin dates back to the me-
diaeval days when gold collars or neck
chains constituted a token of lofty rank
and station and Of high office.
There is another order recently insti- |
tuted by Queen Victoria, known as the
Victorian" none of the grades of which
carry with it any titular prefix, and which
has merely been created by her majesty
for the purpose Of recognizing personal
services to herself on the part Of those
with whom she is brought into contact
either az home or abroad.
Apart from these decorate and a
distinct class of their own, are the crosses /
and medals conferred upon soldiers and !
sailors either for good conduct for par
ticipation in some war or campaign, or
else for conspicuous gallantry on the field
of battle. To reward acts of this last
named category the Victoria cross has
been created In England the Maria The
resa in Austria. the Iron Cross in Ger
many, the ST. Georges Cross i'm Russia
and the Cross of San Fernando In Spain
French soldiers and officers, as well, find
an analogous reward in what is known |
as LA Medaille Militalre," which when
worn In conjunction with the Legion OF
Honor. shows that its possessor Is true /
hero. These crosses for valor, which dir- /
fer from the other and grander decora-
tions by the extreme simplicity OF their |
form, are more highly priced, and COM
mand greater respect than even the high |
est orders OF knighthood. and there are
few Englishmen who, If called 10 choose |
between the superb 1eweled insignia Of the |
order OF the Garter, with all he pres
tige Il confers. on the one hand, and the |
Victoria Cross on the other. would not, |
without a moments hesitation choose the |
tiny bit Of gun meal, across the bar Of |
which are inscribed the magic words, !
"For valor."
More water wanted.
Editor Morning News: ask the use
az vour columns 10 AXE "A corunlatnf A. 10 /