The Washington herald., 1911-09-18
SALE OF RARE JEWELS

manor HOUSE, near Dorchester, IN Eng
land, when the remarkable collection
formed by J. Gawlor Bridge, who died In
ls49, and Of his father, John Bridge, who
died in 1881, is to be disposed Of. Both
or them were members Of a famous firm
OF London jewelers., patronized by Kings
George III, George ", and William Nv,
and Queen Victoria.
In the course Of their many transactions
In that capacity they became possessed
Of a large number of extremely interest
Ing articles, either purchased or taken III
exchange for jewels supplied to the court
by that firm. Many OF these rarities
passed into the hands of>the Bridge fam
lily, where they have been kept and col
lected. They are of a character that
never would be found in an ordinary
family collection.
There is a set of George III sauce
boats, sugar castor, beaker, and tankard
bearing the royal arms, and some Shelf
field plate similarly engraved. Among
the very choice Rllection OF about thirty
miniatures are those of William " and
his Queen Adelaide (by William Essex,
OF George III (by Richard Collins), George
II (by Zinckefe and a remarkably fine
enamel of Nine. de Montespan (by Petit
toO.
But perhaps the historical curios
possess the greatest interest to collec-
tors. They include such varied items
as Charles I silver-and-gilt cavalie,'s
badge; an order of st. George. worn bv
George ", and the original scabbard of
the sword worn by the Duke of yelling
ton during the Peninsular wa-, show
Ing the dent of bullet that nearly cut
short the life of the Iron Duke. An
other relic, possessing ptthetic Iand
romantic interest, is an autograph let
ter written by Lady Hamilton to the
Prince of Wales, inclosing a lock of
Lord Nelson's hair, and thanking the
prince for his kindness in calling on
her in the hour of her bereavement. We
all know what she was to the famous
but rather immoral sea fighter, who
called her his inspiration.
The original wrapper OF the letter
with the black seal is intact. The gem
of the collection, however. is an an
tique jeweled pendant consisting of
large emerald in a circle formed of
brilliants and emeralds, set in beauti-
fully enameled gold, from which de-
pends diamond-shaped drop. This
pendant is believed to have been the
property of Queen Elizabeth. 1t is
inscribed with her name and the royal
crown.
1t is not generally known that Baron
Won kinderlen-Waechter, the present
foreign secretary of the German EN-
pire. who figures lately so very con-
spicuously as the framer of the German
demands in the German French i'm
brogliO over Morocco, once had to spend
several months as a prisoner in a Prus-
sian fortress. This occurred while the
baron was the Kaisers envoy to Dem
mark, and he was sentenced to the
Rhine fort of Ehrenbreitstein for six
months for having fought a duel This
is the story:
The editor of the famous Berlin Witz-
blatt, the Kladderadatsch, a publication
on the same lines as Puck in this coun-
try, had charged Baron Won Kinderlen-
Waechter with fostering bad blood be-
tween the Kaiser and Prince Bismarck,
which had been especially reprehensible
as he ought to have been bound to the
old Iron Chancellor by ties of gratitude
The diplomat wounded his adversary.
Now, II is a well-known fact that the
Emperor has strictly forbidden dueling
in his army. Baron Won Kinderlen-
Waechter was not a soldier by pro-
fession, but still he was indicted, tried,
and condemned just as any officer IN
the German army would have been No
doubt the Kaiser holds the diplomatic
service bound by the same rules as his
active officers, perhaps because the Ger
man diplomats wear a uniform, and es-
pecially the sword and the porte d'epee"
1.-THE silver tasseD, the distinguishing
mark Of the German commissioned orl-
Ger. At any rate the baron was tried
and convicted for violating the statutes
governing dueling
But there was something about that
case that goes to show what the Kaiser
in reality thinks of the code of honor.
as expressed by the duel against which
he has so sternly set his face He did
not relieve Baron Won Kinderlen of his
post at Copenhagen. The baron merely
went on leave of absence while a charge
q 'affaires took over the duties Of the
head of the German legation in the
Danish capital The late King Christian
thoroughly understood the situation and
1ully approved of it, realizing that. while
1t was necessary for the minister to
undergo the semblanCe of a punishment
for violating the laws of his native land
yet he could not possibly have retained
MS nigh post as an envoy plenipoten-
ttary OF the Kaiser at Copenhagen or in |
the German diplomatic service in any
Position, had he failed to comply with
the unWritten law of the code of honor
After serving three of the six months. |
the Kaiser commuted his sentence, and
the baron went back to Copenhagen, just |
as if nothing had happened. He was in |
carcerated in Ehrenbreitstein, a most |
lovely spot on the high, vine-clad cliffs |
bordering the Rhine, opposite the fortI- |
fed city of Koblenz, noted as the abode |
of the prince of Prussia Qater the |
first Emperor William) after his igno- !
minious flight from Berlin disguised as |
a position in the year of the rebellion, |
lS4S. where, as commandant of the city, |
he had threatened to shoot the canaille," |
the people who demanded the |
promised constitution and shouted for the |
King, easy-going Friedrich Wilhelm ", |
to step out upon the balcony of his cas- |
tie and to doff his hat, which the King. |
wise in his generation. actually did.
During his captivity" the baron was |
treated by the officers of the garrison |
not as a prisoner but as a guest, who |
retained the services of his own entour-
age, and who, after passing his word not |
to escape, was permitted to roam at will
over the adjoining country and to at
tend parties arranged in his honor by the |
gentry of the neighborhood.
Nor is Won Observation-Disclosures the only |
diplomat with a similar history. Fuerst |
Philip zu Eulenburg, whose career was |
cut short so disgracefuI1y in his later |
years by the round table" revelations |
while a cavalry lieutenant of the Bonner |
Hussars, killed the French chef of the |
late Duke of Edinburgh in the streets OF |