Evening star., 1923-06-06
Grand Master of Teutonic Order
Asks Pope for Leave to Take Wife
nv THE M.ReuIsE DE FONTENOY.

BY THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENof
OF all the members OF the historic
house of Hapsburg. the one who pre-
sented the most imposing appearance al
the great state functions at Vienna In
the davs when his family still occupied
the ancient thrones of Austria and OF
Hungary was undoubtedly Archduke
Eugene, whose stature of six feet nNe
inches was enhanced, il that were pos
sible, by the striking garo which ne
wore on all official occasions as the
grand master of the so-called Teutohic
order. The dress was white, with
great black cross woven on the breast
~ the doublet and another black cross
on the long, white cloak hanging DOWN
from the shoulders. 1t was difhcult 70
look upon the archduke, or any OF the
knights of his order. oficialiy s'ylea
"Deutsche Herren'' (the gentlemen OF
Germany, without being reminded OF
the knights of thes holy grail. in Par
sifal."
Nor did the archdukes appearance
alone peculiarly, fit him for the grahu
mastership of this ancient and famous
order. For he was a strange mixture
of the soldier and of the ecclesiastic.
like all other members OF his mouse:
Eugene. who is a younger orother Oh
fthe queen mother of spain anu Vi
Archduke Frederick, received the trali,-
ing of a soldier and was reputed by mil.
itary experts to- be skillful leader Oh
On valry. and at the time of the over
throw of the dual empire had won ms
way I'D to the rank of field marshal.
This did not prevent him from turn :
ing his attention to theology Ior "illcL, II
he had a strongly developed taste, ana
he passed all the regular examinations
Of the faculty before receiving the de-
gree of doctor Of divinity. Some twenty :
Ave years ago the archbishoprtc OF Oi-
mutt became vacant. and ne entreaIeo
his uncle. the late Emperor francis Jo-
,seph. to permit him to resign the COM
mission which he then held as COM
inandinE colonel of the 18th Hussars,
with the object of entering definitely
upon a full fledged ecclesiastlc career,
and of becoming the Archbishop
of Olmutz. He poited out 10 ms
in the Hapsburg family for the step
which he wished to take, since Arch l.
duke Rudolph, son of Emperor Leopold
II. whose name is still rememperea IN
the musical world as the disciple, frleno
dinal and archbishop. Francis Joseph.
however, declined to yield. but by way
of compromise, promised to nominate
Eugene to the grand mastershlp OF the
Teutonic Order in succession TO the
late Archduke William, the grand
mastership carrying with it all sorts
of prerogatives as we'll as an income
sof over S1.000.000 per year, derived
from the immense endowments or the
order.
II must not be confounded with the
order of Malta and was instituted after
the siege Of Acre in 1892 by the cru
sader emperor. Henry VI of Germany.
It was decreed that the knights, free
from any bourgeois strain in their blood
for sixteen generations on the fathers
side as we'll as OF the mothers, were
TO belong exclusively; to !, the Teutopic
Or German nation, which had sustained
great losses at the siege of Acre. Pope
Celestine commanded that they should
be styled knights of st. Mary" and
that they should be clad in white and
wear a black cross on their habits.
mantles, standards and arms. Their
first station was at Acre. After the
fall of Jerusalem they moved to Venice,
and from thence to Germany.
: They are bound by vows, not mere
ly of celibacy, but likewise of chastity,
the members of the order being regard
ed in much the same ecclesiastic light
as duly ordained priests of the Roman
Catholic Church Fortunately. there. is
in the vows OF the order the saving
clause of "Castus Tanauam Posse" Gas
chaste as possible), and although the
seriousness of the character of Arch
duke Eugene helped him to keep his
name unsuliied by an5 5Eof those ffvoIf=
ties with regard to the fair sex which
hereditary trait of the
Aof Hapsburg. yet his uncle
and predecessor as grand master, thx
Jolly old sArchduke William. took the