Order of the Golden Fleece

“ Tombs adorned with the effigies of mailed crusaders and pious dames covered the floor, tattered banners hung in the air, the escutcheons of the Golden Fleece, an order typical of Flemish industry, but of which Emperors and Kings were proud to be the chevaliers, decorated the columns. The vast and beautifully-painted windows glowed with scriptural scenes, antique portraits, homely allegories, painted in those brilliant and forgotten colors which Art has not ceased to deplore. ”

“ An inventory of 1328 contains an item of a chair of copper garnished with velvet.
Flanders was always famous for its woven stuffs: wool was the staple on which its prosperity depended. The Duke of Burgundy recognized this when he chose the Golden Fleece as the emblem of his great Order of Knighthood. Apart from the looms, the art of the 17needle was also held in high esteem; and ladies of high and low estate devoted much of their time to embroidery. ”

“ The long ride seemed to have wearied her not a whit. The lean and wiry Indian had already betrayed symptoms of fatigue; but the young princess appeared as fresh as when she started. Not once had she even taken a draught from her canteen; and yet she was closely clad, from head to foot, in the doublet and leggings of the Golden Fleece. One might have thought it had some magic virtue to preserve its wearer’s vitality; and possibly, as is sometimes seen in trance, the energy and concentration of the spirit reacted upon the body. ”

“ Hot weather came, bringing an oily reek of tarweed. Pests of flies made life miserable for camels and men. Inspector Goelitz was hobbling about again, taking up his duties by graduated stages.
Sam had been having his troubles. A village of Parrabarras lay about three miles west of the fence. These tall, emaciated blacks raided the fence and broke through every time Sam's back was turned. And strangely enough, they invariably attacked a certain spot just east of their village. Sam had got to the point where he hurried through every other duty in order to get back to this spot. ”

“ As I sit by my window writing, the hoarse cry of a rag-man and the mournful strains of a hand-organ come to my ears. That able-bodied Greek, who is so lavish with his 'music,' and the rag-man, who is buying what the other is distributing freely, both are in quest of the same thing--'success.'"
Alas! the world too often measures success by false standards--worships the Golden Fleece, forgetting the high purpose it might be made to serve; so dazzled by means that ends become oblivious. The spirit of the age is to pay homage to great riches. ”

“ Hanging before man's gaze in the consecrated borders of his existence, it has inspired him to greater usefulness. He has built ships and traversed the seas, invented machines, reared cities, and established laws. In science and art and literature he has vied with his fellow-man and given a mighty impulse to civilization, all for the Fleece of Gold--success. ”

“ Our country is the land of "the golden fleece," and wherever you may be in its vast domain, you are the one who must answer for yourself the stupendous question--"To what height shall I attain?" You are like the man in the "Arabian Nights" dropped into a valley filled with diamonds. It is within your power to select that which is most valuable for your enrichment. There are splendid opportunities on every hand, and whether you shall grasp them or let them go, remains alone for you to determine. ”

“ Out of the shadows and hesitations of childhood they had stepped suddenly into manhood and womanhood, with firm feet and uplifted heads. All the day that was theirs they worked, picking the Silver Fleece—picking it tenderly and lovingly from off the brown and spent bodies which had so utterly yielded life and beauty to the full fruition of this long and silken tendril, this white beauty of the cotton. ”

“ Mercury provides a ram with a golden fleece, on which the boy and girl are placed. The shining creature springs into the air, bearing its precious burden across the sea. Unfortunately, the girl falls from the ram's back and is drowned, but the boy is landed safely on the other shore in the kingdom of Colchis. Here he sacrifices the ram to Jupiter and presents the golden fleece to the king, who places it in a consecrated grove under the care of a sleepless dragon. ”

“ She would, unhindered, develop to a brilliant, sumptuous womanhood; proud, conquering, full-blooded, and deep bosomed—a passionate mother of men. Herein lay all her early wildness and strangeness. Herein lay, as yet half hidden, dimly sensed and all unspoken, the power of a mighty all-compelling love for one human soul, and, through it, for all the souls of men. All this lay growing and developing; but as yet she was still a girl, with a new shyness and comeliness and a bold, searching heart.
In the field of the Silver Fleece all her possibilities were beginning to find expression. ”

“ The decoration itself is a beautiful one and worthy to be worn by any lady, however great. The Badge consists of an oval buckle set round with pearls closely touching. In the centre is the cipher of Queen Victoria, the “V” being set with diamonds, the “R” with pearls, and the “I” with turquoises. Above the oval buckle is an Imperial Crown enamelled proper. The Badge hangs pendant from a light blue silk bow. The Order is worn on the left breast. ”

“ The recipients eligible for the various classes are graded, from the first grade of the first class for reigning sovereigns down to the fifth class for merchants and manufacturers. The insignia of the order are unique in shape and decoration. Of the three grades of the first class the badge is a rectangular gold and yellow enamel plaque, decorated with two upright blue dragons, with details in green and white, between the heads for the first grade a pearl, for the second a ruby, for the third a coral, set in green, white and gold circles. ”

“ Men and women are equally eligible for all the five classes of this Order. It is understood that after the services rendered in the late war have received recognition the Order may fall into abeyance and no further addition made to its members. The Star is of silver with a medallion in the centre in red enamel on which is the figure in gold of Britannia seated. ”

“ As the garment purports to prolong the life of its owner, he often wears it, especially on festive occasions, in order to allow the influence of longevity, created by the many golden letters with which it is bespangled, to work their full effect upon his person. ”

“ There are now six orders of knighthood, namely, the Order of the Chrysanthemum, the Order of the Paulownia, the Order of the Rising Sun, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, the Order of the Crown, and the order of the Golden Kite. The Order of the Crown is for ladies only. ”

“ The Symbol which the Knights wore on the right Side of their Mantle, was a Golden Crescent, whereon in Red Enamel was this Word L’oz, signifying L’oz en Croissant, whereby they were spur’d forwards to search after the Increase of Valour and Reputation. At this Crescent was fasten’d as many small Pieces of Gold, fashion’d like Columns, and enamell’d with Red, as the Knights had been engag’d in Battels and Sieges; for none could be adopted into this Order, unless he had well trod the Paths of Honour. ”

“ The remains, however, of the custom are to be found in plenty in foreign countries.
In many professions rank is indicated by the dress or its ornamentations. In the Army and Navy, the Church, the legal profession, such points are obvious. We have had occasion to deal with academical [321] costume, and in the knightly orders the same holds good. Just as an undergraduate has a stuff gown, while a graduate may have a silk one, a Proctor is given velvet sleeves and the Chancellor of the University an embroidered gown and train, so, for instance, in the order of Knights of the Order of St. ”

“ A Grand Cross of the Bath wears a robe of red silk with the badge of the Order embroidered on the left side, and the collar of the Order. He also alone wears the broad riband across his chest with 204the badge at the tie, and a special Star. A Knight Commander wears a smaller star on the left side of his coat, and the insignia of the Order round his neck. A Companion wears only the insignia, of a smaller size, round his neck. ”

“ Lace forms her huge collar and her pendent lappets, and tightly round her throat sits a lace ruffle; an audacious feather stands rampant on top of her trown, and beneath this is a cap bordered with jewels, curved at one side to allow a good view of her curled head, where the flat cap of jewels holds a golden pendant in the centre of her forehead. ”

“ Medals are seldom so shown. Knights Commanders of Orders of Knighthood usually, in addition, surround their coats-of-arms with the ribbon and motto of their senior Order. From this ribbon may depend the badges of all the Orders to which the Knight belongs. Knights Grand Cross may further surround their coats-of-arms with the collars of any or all the Orders having collars to which they belong, the badge of each depending from its proper collar. When several collars are shown they are sometimes halved, each badge always being so arranged as to hang from a link of its own collar. ”

“ Garter, Mantle, Surcoat, Hood, George, and Collar; for as the Romans were very exact and particular in assigning each Degree a peculiar Habit and Vesture, by which the Quality and Rank of their Citizens might be discernable, the Distinction of Apparel was afterwards taken up by divers other Nations, whence every Military, as well as Ecclesiastick Order of Knighthood, did appropriate to it self a peculiar Dress, Ensign, or Badge, as a Mark of Distinction one from another, to set off the Lustre and Honour of their several Societies. ”

“ The part that colour plays in the hoods and gowns of academical dress has on more than one occasion occupied our attention. Various coloured veils serve to differentiate the sisters of a religious order, while the ribbons and mantles of the knightly orders serve a similar purpose. ”

“ All Knights might carry Gold and Silver, be array’d in rich Cotton, have the use of painted and gilt Vessels, and wear Shoes; but the common People only the earthen sort; neither might they carry Shoes nor Attire themselves, but in a gross Stuff. Every Order had their Lodging assign’d them in the Palace, distinguish’d by their proper Ensigns: The first was the Lodging of the Prince, the second of Eagles, the third of Lyons and Tygers, and the fourth of Grey Knights. ”

“ Certain important medals and decorations for saving life are not the gift of the Crown. These are allowed to be worn in uniform on the right breast. They are the medals of the Royal Humane Society, those given by the Board of Trade for gallantry in saving life at sea, the medals of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, those of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners’ Royal Benevolent Society, Lloyd’s Honorary Silver Medal, Liverpool Shipwrecked and Humane Society’s Medals, and the Stanhope Gold Medal. ”

“ She came thus into the room where sat Miss Smith, strangely pallid beneath her dusky skin. But there lay a light in her eyes.
Eighteen THE COTTON CORNER
All over the land the cotton had foamed in great white flakes under the winter sun. The Silver Fleece lay like a mighty mantle across the earth. Black men and mules had staggered beneath its burden, while deep songs welled in the hearts of men; for the Fleece was goodly and gleaming and soft, and men dreamed of the gold it would buy. ”

“ The fashions in her reign were exceedingly graceful and artistic. Fine linen, velvet or satin shoes, long trailing dresses open in front, made of cloth of gold and crimson silk or velvet, with a golden girdle and chaplet of pearls, chains and jewels round the neck, headdress of white silk embroidered with gold and pearls, hoods of cloth, satin, or velvet, scarlet for bourgeoises, black for nobles. ”

“ Therefore, if we are of this type, simply seeking the Golden Fleece for what it will net us in dollars and cents, we are not on the road leading to success. For success does not consist in the acquisition of the material, so much as in a mental discipline that seeks objectively to subordinate intrinsic value. ”

“ On the blue garter the legend 'Honi soit qui mal y pense' is outlined in gold cord, between each word being a small red rose, the buckle, end, and edge of the garter being marked also in gold cord, and the whole appliqué like the coat. The very decorative royal crown is solidly worked in gold cords of varying thickness directly on to the velvet. The rim or circlet has five square jewels of red and blue silk along it, between each of these being two seed pearls. ”

“ On the central medallion was represented in enamel, on a blue background of the shade peculiar to pâte tendre, the broad, good-natured, but rather sad countenance of Louis XVI; around this was a circle of smaller medallions, representing the{264} graceful heads of the ladies of the court of the guillotined king—some with powdered hair, piled high on the head, and surmounted by a large basket of flowers; others with hoods of black lace fastened under the chin; all with immodestly décolleté gowns, all smiling and richly dressed, with the freshest of complexions and the rosiest of lips. ”

“ Her jewels were both numerous and curious: the head ornaments resembling a white lion with a fly on his side, a golden fern-branch with a lizard, ladybird, and a snail upon it, an Irish dart of gold set with diamonds, a golden rose with a fly and spider upon it, a golden frog set with jewels, a golden daisy, and emerald buttons, gown studs of rubies and pearls, and a chain of golden scallop shells, with chains of agate and jet. A sumptuous magnificence was the characteristic of the costume of this reign. ”