Page:The Book of Orders of Knighthood and Decorations of Honour of All Nations.djvu/230

104 silk and gold, having a pair of tassels of the same materials. On the left side is placed the Star of the Order. For many years, despite of the injunction of the original statutes that the Knights of St. Patrick should be robed in mantles of Irish manufacture, the dress was invariably made of French satin, but His Excellency, Lord Carlisle, who has always been desirous of promoting Irish industry, restored the original ordinance, and Irish tabinet is now the texture used.

THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH.

The present of the, founded by King. in the year 1725, differs so essentially from the Knighthood of the Bath, or the custom of making Knights with various rites and ceremonies, of which one was Batuine, that it may almost be considered a distinct and new fraternity of chivalry. The last Knights of the Bath, made according to the ancient forms, were at the coronation of King
 * and from that period until the reign of the first, the old institution fell into total oblivion.

At the latter epoch, however, it was determined to revive, as it was termed,, by erecting it "into a regular Military Order;" and on the 25th May, 1725, Letters Patent were issued for that purpose.

By the Statutes then promulgated, the number of Knights, independent of the Sovereign, a Prince of the Blood Royal, and a Great Master, was restricted to thirty-five; but eventually, at the conclusion of the war in 1814, it was found expedient, for the purpose of rewarding the numerous distinguished officers of both services, to extend considerably the limits of the Order of the Bath. In consequence, a complete alteration was effected: and on the 2nd of January, 1815, it was declared that, "for the purpose of commemorating