Evening star., 1923-04-07
ny THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENOY.


Ex-Emperor William has created
profound irritation among his rela-
tives and indignation on the part OF
all the monarchists of Prussa by De-
slowing upon his present wife, in re-
sponse TO her persistent demands, the
Order of the Hohenzollern Swan,
which, on the occasion of its founda-
ton some two centuries ago. was re-
stricted by sovereign edict in It's
membership to the queens consort OF
Prussia It is an order which is only,
therefore, unique in this sense. that
1t is limited to q single holder
Its insignia consists Of a diamond
and ruby swan, the stones being Of
exceptional size and purity, and 1t is
worn suspended from the neck by
wonderful gold chain. 1t was the one
gem which was retained by queen
Louise when she, followed by most or
the women in Germany, sacrihced her
Jewels in order to provide the FUNDS
needed by the penniless Prussian gov.
ernment to embark upon its war OF
liberation at the beginning Of the
nineteenth century, when gold orna-
ments completely disappeared from
public view for feminine wear; ana
even wedding rings of iron took the
place Of any costlier metal.
The order Of the Hohenzollern
Swan has been worn since then by
Queen Elizabeth of Prussia, consort
of King Frederick William "; then
by his sister-in-law, Augusta OF
SAKE -weimer. first the queen and
then the empress OF the old kaiser
of the Bismarckian era Empress
Frederick, sister of King Edward VII.
retained the order only during the
hundred days Of her her Inflated H. enrreh%sr h1sr
was exacted from her by her unfilial
son, ex-Kaiser Wilhelm, to confer it
upon his wife, the late Empress Au-
gusta. The latter died barely two
years ago. while sharing her nus
bands refuge and exile at Doom.
after witnessing his loss of throne
and honor and of every shred of rep
utation that he may have ever pos
sessed.
No longer reigning sovereign, he
confer titles and orders Of knight
hood, which are prerogatives re-
stricted exclusively to reigning mon
archs. His bestowal of the order OF
the Hohenzollern Swan upon the de-
signing widow who induced him to
marry her. so soon after the death Of
his devoted empress. and In defiance
Of all propriety and public sentiment,
is therefore just as unlawful as his
coneeding to her the title Of Queen
OF Prussia.
x *
With regard to Thea jewels of the
dead wife of the ex-emperor. q Ques-
ton has arisen with regard to the
whereabouts of the celebrated jewels
of Empress Catherine, the consort of
Peter the Great in Russia, which were
known to have been in the ex-kaiser's
possession, and DIT is feared by his
family and by the remaining adher-
ents Of the Hohenzoilern dynasty
that they may have been obtained
from him by his present wife.
These jewels have an extraordinary
history. When, during the first decade
Of the eighteenth century, Peter the
Great, while at war with the Turks,
found him self and his army wholly
surrounded by q far superior force
of the enemy on the banks of the
Pruth and wholly at the mercy
of the sultan's generalissimo, he was
extricated from his predicament by
Empress Catherine, who turned over
all her magnificent jewels to the OF
toman commander-i in chief, who,
thanks to this bribe, not only let
Peter the Great and HIS army with
draw to safety, but even consented to
4 treaty Of peace Unexpectedly ia
vorable to Russia. The episode is de-
scfibed with much gusto by Voltafre
in his life of King Charles XII of
Sweden. and he relates that the Turk