The Oregon daily journal., May 17, 1908, Page 35, Image 35

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THE ; OREGON... SUNDAY, . . JOURNAL;
'ORE precious than money or
jewels; more to be desired than
the rarest diamonds, rubies and
pearls; far exceeding in attractiveness fine
laces, flounces and furs, which delight the
soul of the average woman, is 4he honor
of the decoration of an ordev-wsia distinc
tion unknown to the women of this coun'
try and sufficiently rare to arouse the pride
of recipients in Europe,
Among women arid men of culture
and intellect the conferment of an order is
regarded as a prouder distinction than all
that wealth can buy or social position en
able them to achieve; an order means the
acknowledgment of a great accomplish
ment for the benefit of mankind. The
woman who wears on her breast the be
ribboned medal must, at some time in her
life have done something admirable, he
roic, exceptional.
Orders which have been instituted
for women are comparatively few com
pared with the number for men. There
fore, a woman who receives a decoration
feels especially honored.
Such decorations are desired as ar-
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A x )-X:J
dently by princes1 and princesses; .by "lords ,
and ladies pf high degree,' as they seem
out of reach of those of humbler birth?:
Imagine, thereforethe -astonishment
that swept', over: Europe recently when
Madame Afarcelle Tyndire,a noted.au- -
thoress, declined . to receive the decoration s
the;L,'&? ' of IHonor'of France,: This '; .
women; men. retard tt as a sirnal mark-
of aisnncnon
' Many .European ; countries . have 1 es-i
tablished orders for women a princess
will wear them as proudly as a peasant.
' ' .,.1 V ' -v
nJTTLS3 glltterinB- crosses.' bright medals, bear
ing colored enameled figures and'quaint-iri-f
seriptlons, dangling from -delicate ribbons tin-,
ceremonial dresses, shine 'forth ' a royal rec
ognition of "motherhood." ." - '.
i Not the motherhood of the domestic, home, but -the'
motherhood' of xaao-ta.brav sacrifice faade-in
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PORTLAND,-' SUNDAY-V
v ... :a " rj .. . . v " i
war. heroic attention rendered. th sick and dy-'.
lng, a signal accomplishment .for the benefit of -humanity,
the writing of powerful book' or ' ft
determining discovery ' in ecifnce. -Orders for '
women, , as a rule, signify actual service for"hu-.r-'
manity or: a close alliance -with active benevo
lence. . ' ' .. .'
Such orders have been Worn, by some of, the,
noblest, most unselfish women In the world.
. In countries where foreign title are regarded"
lightly, where royal ' favor is . lightly heldeveri '"
here one mark of distinction is regarded with its'
true value. And the fair lady who can wear' the
tiny Jeweled Inuignia boasts of a. distinction less '
open to question than the; dubious appendage , of ;
a titled husband in the shape of an Impecunious
earl. Fortunes cannot buy. the. prised decora
tions; only valiant service of gome sort. -
Centuries ago, vwhenthe Moors were engaged
In a terrific broil in Spain., and blood ran like
water in the .flower-grown loggias of the palaces,
women distinguished . themselves by bravery and
admirable heroism. And none mora - than tha
women of Tortos'a .when besieged by the olive-'
skinned Moors.
So valiantly did the womenflght the Invaders
that, in the twelfth century, the last duke of Bar
celona, Ramon Berenguer, established "The Order
of the Axe", for women to recall the heroic deeds of
trie women who had given up. their lives.
The recipients of the order wore a red axe in
their kerchiefs. This was the first order estab
k Ilshed for women.
Established to honor women , for - service, only
"'one order distinctly marked heroism In' the mascu
line sense of the word.. . In the battle of Pruth,
when Peter the Great of Russia led his forces
against the Turks, defeat stared him grimly and
determinedly in the face. The battle was fierce and
terrible. But in the fight with the emperor-was his
wife, the ' valoroA Catherine, but for ' whom, he
afterward .declared, the entire army would have
been lost. ,
After the war Peter instituted the Order of Lib
erty and bestowed ' it upon his wife." During his'
lifetime no other received the honor. -But in 1797
.the Emperor Paul. I changed. Xtia. character, of -the -order
so that it might be conferred upon the higher
nobility connected with the imperial .Institution..
Kaon member was especially charged with the care,
manners and morals of a pupil In the royal house
hold. It is now known as the" "Order of Cath
erine." ..
Most prized of the orders for women in Ger
many is that of Louisa, established on August 3,
1815. by Frmterlek William III.' This was after the
war for freedom when Napoleon in a triumph pre
ceding death, had marched conqueringly over the
continent. "
Imbued with an overwhelming spirit of patriot-,
lam, the women of Prussia sold their jewels and gold
rings to raise moitey for the soldiers. Instead of
gold and silver, they wore iron rings and orna
ments. Into the field of battle many went, nursing
the sick and caring for the dying.
In memory of the deeds of these women and the
iueen, Louisa, the emperor established the order,
limiting Ihe number of members to WO. It was en
larged somewhat by Frederick , William IV , In 1850
and King William in 1866. , ,
x After the; Franco-Prussian -War -of 1870 and'lSTl-'
"'The Service'-Cross for Women and Girls ' was.es.
tabllahed in recognition 'of their help; during the
cased mhsiiver!
igton'ofHon
The decoration "consists of . an iron cross en-
has France bestowed the Cross of the .
Honor on women that -a .woman so hon-
ored at once become untaue "among: her sisters..
The order, was first- conferred upon a woman when..'
i t -. was given - to Marie Jeanne-: Sehelink because -of
her valor.
In 1793 the daring young woman"enlisted in th .
Second Belgian: Battalion 'as ' a volunteer.-, and, de
spite serious -wounds received in the "battle of JT-
mappes, shared in the subsequent campaigns. . , ' - .
After the battle of Austerlltz she was made
USStSL n'
order -of - the-
eon him
campaigns.
lane,
Schelink was compelled ;to give up- her career
because of har injuries.
The Legion of Honor, v which f is . now the - only '-
French order, was established as the Order of thj
Eagle in 1802 by Napoleon, when first consul. , The . ,
Legion has' undergone several 'alternations. :;
" Good work for the cause of humanity entitles"
a woman to the Order of Sidonla, established In 1870
by King John of Saxony.. The order' was "founded"
In memory of the-Duchess 81donla.great mother -of.
the- Albertlne lire.., Of the - various countries, a-'
varla, perhaps, has) the most orders for women.
1 The Ladles' Order of St Arine. 'at Munich, was ,
founded privately by Maria Anna Sophia, widow of ,
the 'Elector Maximilian III, in 178,. and was ortg- .
inally composed of ten ladies who could provei six- ,
teen generations of nobility. In 1802 the number of
rambers was raised to eighteen by King . MAxl-
milisn Joseph IV, and In 1825 extended to threa r
classes, with twenty-five members. of tha first class. .
forty-two of the second, and' a third" class to whicb
r r-l y
MORNING: :HAY 17. -'1903;
. daughters of military officers are eligible.
To receive the Order of Theresa-a. woman must
be unmarried. When It was endowed in 1S27 by
Queen Theresa, the membership was limited to
twelve .ladles of .Bavarian descent.
The order was later extended, and & branch
called the. Ladles of Honor Included. Unlike the
original members, the Ladles of Honor were granted
no pension privileges.-
. Besides the .princesses, of the royal and 'ducal
houses of Bavaria, the "Order of Theresa includes
the queen of Wurtemburg, the German empress
and their family connections. Similar, to these or
ders are the Order of Elisabeth and the Order of
St. Anne of Wursburg. ,
. Of exceptional historical interest is the Order
of the Starry Cross, founded by the Empress Elea
nor of AuBtria in 1668. After a great fire had de
stroyed the Hofburg, or imperial palace, there was
- found in the ruins a little crucifix, said to contain a
relic of the true cross.
.According to the traditions of the family, It had
been worn by and protected the Emperor' Maxi
milian in the perilous - campaign against Mar
tinsward. It was treasured in a casket of crystal
and enamel, and after the great fire was entirely
uninjured.
Grateful for this miraculous preservation, -the
empress decided to commemorate the event by es
tablishing an order for ladles. Pope Clement IX
confirmed the order and intrusted the spiritual man
agement to the prince bishop of Vienna. .
The order is conferred only on ' ladies ' of royal
blood, who have done notable work for the relief of
the poor and attention to sick in hospitals. .
'To encourage service among the sick and
wounded In times of war the Cross of Mary was
Jounded. Tit declaration is that of the Teutonic
Knights, and was formerly limited to those of the
Catholic faith. It la conferred now. however, upon
any woman of whatever communion who distin
guishes herself by service.
When Queen Vlqtorla assumed the imperial title
on January 1, 1878. she founded the Imperial Order
of the Crown of India, to be enjoyed by the prin-
cesses Vf the rbyali house, and 'the "wives or other
female; relatives of Indian princes. There, is only
'one
class, --ana, besides me royai -pn.ncesse,.T omy
female relatives', of persons who hold or have
-' tha -
-held .the. offices of vineroyand governor -general -of
-India, governors of Madras- or- Bombay; ..or 'or pnn-
"cipal secretary of state for-India; are-eligible. t ,
- To 'gain the decoration,, a woman must play a -conspicuous
part Mn ceremonial life or distinguish"--herself
by bravry In a-crisis.' The RoyaFamily
'Ofder- of Victoria, and Albert, instituted In 1862-by
a Queen. .Victoria, comprises three t classes, and 'the ,
membership is qultejarge. --''' .
. - One Af the most exclusive-orders is that of Ma
ria' Louisa of Spain,' the -membership . pf , which Is
' confined to" the ladies of the j-oyal house and thirty
' ladles of ; ultra , noble, lineage.; .... - ,
Members of the 'Order.of Isabella or-i-ortugai
r nart Inularl v. chanted with. the care 01 iounaiings.
On the decoration are the" words, -"Fauperum sola-
HO, i .or':onsoiaiiuii .01 id puur, , -t
; Although- the Orient ' is not without honors for
women, ; its most Important ' decoration, that of the ,
'Order -of Nishanl 8hefakat,f was founded .to com- ,
" memorate the work' of -distinguished English women..,
Touched by" the work accomplished by means of the. .
Turkish Compassionate Fund, instituted by. the Bar
'oness -Burdett-Couttg to' give - succor . to - the non- ,
. combatants -during the Rnsso-Turklsh War, Sultan
Abdul Hamid II founded, the order in 1878.
With' the permission of the queen, he decorated
Lady Layard in Turkey and forwarded .-the decora- - ,
tlon -to the . Baroness Burdett-Coutts and other ,
.ladles active In raising the fund. , The meaning pf :.
the order is "Pity, mercy, kindness." " v
-After a '.return from a Kuropean" tour,, the shah,
r of '.Persia-' founded a similar order, to be bestowed ,
, upon-; the wive-and daughters of . those who had...
shown him marked hospitality during his visit. Un--fortunately.'lt
went into practical extuictlon. ' -
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