The Washington herald., 1913-10-25
Copyright. Is,. sy A. D. J,eob.ou.,

usual number of decorations upon his
good and loyal subjects" and upon a
number Of his higher military officers at
the Province of Silesia, as token Of his
appreciation of ''valor in the field Of
action" and of the splendid receptions
accorded him everywhere, the fact is be-
ing commented upon as puzzling club
dom and court circles in Berlin that the
large honorary list fails to record the
bestowal of a single Order of the Black
Eagle, the highest and most valued
and exclusive Of the Prussian decorations
and on a par with the British Order OF
the Garter.
And yet Silesia counts among her no.
bility some of the foremost Prussian
magnates, several OF whom, 1t Is whis-
pered among the knowing ones" had
anticipated this high honor almost with
certainty. The names of Count Guido
Henckel. Prince of Donnersmarck. also
that of Prince Christian Kraft zu Hohen-
e-Oehringen and Duke Of Ujest, the
Representatives Of two of almost the
greatest houses of the realm, are prom
inently mentioned.
II so, it would not be the first time
that the former, the venerable Lord Of
Neudeck, has been disappointed in this
respect. Years ago it became known that
the height of his ambition was to have
the orange ribbon OF the Black Eagle be-
slowed upon him, but he had to be salts
fed with the "WiIhelm's Cross" OF the
order founded in honor of the first Ger
man Emperor. and though created
''Fuerist'' Prince), the highest rung o.
Prussia's aristocratic ladder. he has never
gone beyond the Grand Cross Of the Red
Eagle in the way Of decorations
As a matter of fact. Der Ferche
Guido" who, in the period before the
Franco-Prussian war. was one Of the
most noted of the Partisan "Boulevar-
diers'' and who served his king most 10y
ally Out in a manner which is de
rigeur' in polite society, has passed the
eighty-third milestone of his checkered
life.
Prince Donnersmarck is old, weak. and
ailing to such a degree that he was
obliged, much to his regret, to decline the
Kaiser's invitation to witness the ma
neuvtrs. Nor was he ever given to con-
ceit or to care for the opinion Of others.
This he carried to the extent Of making
Jewish girl, Blanche Lachmann. his
wife.
As to the Duke of Ujest, that great
noble who serenely permitted his own
brcther-also a Hohenlohe-to be thrown
into bankruptcy, the case may be quite
different. The unexpected financial diff
culties of the so-called Princes Trust
has hurt his standing at court, and 1t
would have excited comment were the
Kaiser to decorate the Prince-Duke with
the highest mark Of favor in his gift at
the very time when a banking house is
endeavoring TO settle his financial affairs.
1t may be taken as hint that the
device of the order of the Black Eagle
GS1ffO w
belongs to him).
A Judge OF the French Civil Tribunal,
NJ. Paisant (now retired. fifty years ago
bought for 500 francs a panel of Beauvais
tapestry Of the Vatican period. He lived
almost on bread and water for months to
be able to save this sum and become
the purchaser. The tapestry became the
darling of his heart. Several years later
he had 1t repaired for 500 francs at the
state mandatory at Beauvais. For
thirty years he kept it as an ornament
of his home though he had no idea of
its value, and he was very much sur
prised indeed when some one offered him |
%, ,0oo francs for it.
This tapestry was a full-sized "escarpo-
lette." after Boucher. A little later he |
received another offer Of 100000 francs |
for it. This seemed to him fancy |
price, but he would not part with it. |
Finally he did sell 1t to an English col |
lector Of tapestries for 10000 francs.
Morgan had seen 1t at a loan
exhibition and offered $4,000 francs, |
that somehow got about,
to the owners distress. as it made him
fear that it might put "Apaches" on the
scent of his treasure. The Engiishman
offering so much more than the New
al rzffh he
offer, the fear of burglars having some
upon his decision.
The other day he went to Chalis, the
seat Of the late Mime. Andre
to enjoy a private view of
the house, park, and art treasures, all
Of which she had left to the French In
stitute. To his surprise. he saw his
Beauvais tapestry figuring as one Of the
three panels on a drawing-room wall.
II came there, he ascertained. shortly
after he had sold it to the Englishman.
The only explanation he could think Of
Tor the lady purchasing indirectly and
paying heavy brokerage was this:
Nine. Andre constantly. and generally
turned away her servants at
! notice only long enough to admit OF
heir packing up their belongings. They
brought their grievances before
he tribunal over which the judge pre-
sided. A good deal of unpleasantness In
he way Of revelations resulted. As she
was socially ambitious and wanted to be
1t Chalis. close to the Due d'Aumale at
chantilly, she had trouble to secu-- the
silence Of the press, and did not always
succeed.
At any rate. most of the cases againsti
Nine. Andre were too strong for the tri-
bunal not to give judgment against her,
They occurred 50 often that the judges
got tired Of repeating their sentences and
would have been pleased IL II had been
possible to let her on. She had VIM