merely the tunic, but
likewise the helmet of the corps in question, and looks particularly
fascinating on these occasions.

Empress Augusta-Victoria and her mother-in-law, the Empress Frederick,
are the only two women who have ever been admitted to the Order of the
Black Eagle, the highest order of the kingdom of Prussia, and neither
the consort of Old Emperor William nor any of the earlier queens of
Prussia, not even Queen Louise, ever received this distinction. The
innovation dates from the time of the late Emperor Frederick. The
first thing he did on becoming emperor was to take the ribbon of the
order from his own uniform and hang it across the shoulders of his
wife, in token of gratitude, and in recognition of the fact that, had
it not been for her championship and faithful guard of his interests,
Bismarck would have carried the day, and debarred him from accession
to the crown. While the emperor's action, of course, excited a good
deal of criticism amongst the older dignitaries of the order, and
among the members of the government and court, it was heartily
approved of by the world at large, as being not only well deserved,
but also a singularly pathetic demonstration on the part of the
dying monarch of his profound sense of obligation to his most devoted
consort.

When Emperor William in turn ascended the throne, he at once proceeded
to follow his father's example, and to invest his own wife with the
Black Eagle, in order to place her, as the reigning empress, upon
the same level in this particular respect, as her mother-in-law, the
dowager empress. It may be taken for granted that henceforth the Order
of the Black Eagle will remain a prerogative of all the consorts of
the kings of Prussia and emperors of Germany.

The whole youth of the empress was spent at Prinkenau, the fine
country seat of her parents, which is now owned by her brother. Those
days were varied only by visits to her uncle, Prince Christian of
Schleswig-Holstein, who makes his home in England, where he is married
to Queen Victoria's daughter Helena, and to her relatives, the Prince
and Princess Hohenlohe. The emperor first made her acquaintance during
a day's shooting at Prinkenau. He was _en route_ to the chateau, when,
having lost his way in the forest, he met a young girl, of whom he
inquired his whereabouts and how to proceed. This was the Princess
Augusta-Victoria, and he always declared that he fell in love with her
from that moment.