The Washington herald., 1909-05-02
FOREIGN HONORS RECEIVED BY AMERICANS

her conduct al Messins IS one Of many
orders Of merit that may be won and
worn by women. The oldest Of these is
the Order Of the AK. established in the
twelfth century by the last Duke Of
Barcelona. Ramon BeTengUer. It's es-
tabliSEInent was inspired By the devoted
courage Of the Spanish women in repeI-
Ing the 8IOOrs. with whom the SpaniarGs
were then engaged in a life and death
struggle
The first order in recognition Of wOm-
ems personal bravery on the field Of bat
tie was founded in Russia In the bat
tie Of Pruth. when Peter the Great led
the Russian army against the Turks, de-
feat seemed almost inevitable For long
the fortunes Of the Russian forces hung
in the balance. and the Emperor declared
afterwaTd that II he had not been ac-
cOmpanied by the valorous Catherine the
entire army would have been decimited
On the conclusion OF pe2Ce Peter fnsti-
tuted the Order OF Liberty and bestowed
Il upon his wife. During his lifetime It
was conferred on 10 one else. But in
1877 Paul I modified its character so that
il might be conferred upon the highest
nobility connected with the imperial
house. Each member was especially
charged with the care. manners. and NOR
ais OF q pupil in the royal household It
IS now known as the order Of Catherine.
The Cross Of Mary was founded 10 en-
courage service among tse sick and
wounded in time OF war. The decoration
is that OF the Teutonic Knights. and was
originally limited 20 members OF the
Catholic faith, but that limitation no
longer obtains
The Order Of the Starry Cross was
founded by the Empress Eleanor Of Aus
tris in 1853. After great fire had de-
stroyed the imperial palace there was
found m the ruins a little crucifix, said
TO contain relic OF the true cross Ac-
eording 70 the traditions of the family
II had been worn by and protected the
Emperor Maximilian in the perilous cam
paign against MartInsward. Il was pre-
served in casket OF crystal and enamel.
and after the great FIRE was entirely IN
injured. Out Of gratitude for this mir
acuious preservation the Empress de-
cided 10 commemorate the event by es-
tablishing an order for women. Pope
Clement TX confirmed the order, and in
trusted the spiritual management to the
Prince Bishop OF Vienna The order is
conferred only on ladies' Of royal blood
who have done notable work for the r.
lief OF the poor and among the sick IN
hospitals.
The Ladies Order Of St. Anne. at
Munich, was founded by the widow Of
the ElectOr Maxinilian III in fTS3. and
originally was composed Of ten women
who could prove sixteen generations OF
nobility There are now three classes.
with twenty-five members IN the first.
fOrty-two in the second. and a third
class, 10 which daughters OF military Of
hoers are eligible.
The Legion OF Honor IS now the only
French order left, all others having been
abolished during the revolution. It was
first as the Order Of the
Eagle by Napoleon in 1S12. The first WON
an 10 wear It was Marie Jeanne Schelink.
In 1872 she enlisted in the Second Bel
gian Battalion. and went through several
campaigns. in the course OF which she
was wounded more than once. After
the hattie OF Austerlitz she was made
lieutenant colonel. and was decorated
with the order by Napoleon himself.
The most highly prized order for worn-
en- in Germany is that OF Louisa. estab-
lished IN IS15 by Frederick William III.
It was TO commemorate the self-sacri-
fee OF the women OF Germany during the
Napoleonic campaign which terminated
at Waterloo. The women Of Prussia then
sold their jewels and rings to raise mon
ey for the soldiery, and many accom-
panied the army into the field OF battle
70 minister 10 the wounded and dying.
The Royal Family Order Of Victoria