Page:The Book of Orders of Knighthood and Decorations of Honour of All Nations.djvu/700

Rh the Knights dine at the royal table with their hats on their heads.

The cross (Tab. I. No. 2) is usually worn across the right shoulder, towards the left side, by a blue ribbon. The letters I. H. S. upon the star and the cross, are the initials of the words: 'Jesus hominum salvator.' The reverse of the cross contains the initials: 'F. R.S.' (Fredericus Rex Sueciae).

The high officials of the Order, the Treasurer, the Secretary, and the Master of Ceremonies wear the star on the left side of the breast, and the cross round the neck, by a ribbon about two and a half inches wide. The inferior officers have a small cross at the button-hole, suspended by a ribbon about one and a half inches wide.

Above the seat of each Knight in the Holm church, at Stockholm, are engraved on a copper table his arms, name, motto, and the day of his nomination. There exists, also, a Register office of the Order, in which the armorial bearings of the Knights are recorded, and for which registration 8 rixthalers must be paid in every instance.

THE ORDER OF THE SWORD, OR OF THE YELLOW RIBBON.

The foundation of this Order is ascribed to King Gustavus Vasa, and was originally designed as a reward for military courage and useful service in the army. After a long interval of desuetude, it was revived by King Frederick I. on the 28th April, 1748, together with the Orders of the Seraphim and North-Star. The same monarch gave it statutes, which were, with a trifling modification, confirmed by his successor, Adolphus Frederick. King Gustavus III. added, 1772, a fourth class, now marked as the first, to the three former ones. The present statutes were promulgated by Gustavus IV., on the 28th Novem-