HAS THE KAISER LOST HIS LUCK.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 16 November 1916, Page 2

HAS THE KAISER LOST HIS LUCK.

SOME LEGENDS ABOUT ROYALTIES’ RINGS. The Kaiser is perhaps the most superstitious man in Europe, and that is why he is feeling uneasy just now, because the famous Hohenzollern mascot —a ring set with a jet black stone —has been mislaid. Since the time of the Elector or Brandenburg, every ruler of the House of Hohenzollern has, when dying, handed a sealed packet to his successor, containing the ring which is supposed to confer success and good fortune on its possessor. The legend is that th black stone was originally dropped by a large toad on the bed of the wife of the Elector immediately after the birth of her son. It was very carefully preserved, and the father of Frederick the Great had it set in the handsome ring which it now adorns. The Kaiser loved to parade the lucre of the Hohenzollerns on all state occasions, and doubtless he -has Tost it cn one of his flying visits to his different war staffs at the front. It is a curious coincidence that the Russian advance and the combined Anglo-French offensive have taken place since its loss. THE CZAR’S RING.

If the luck of the Kaiser is out, the luck cf the Czar is certainly in. and it is interesting to note that he, tee, has ■ a ring he counts amongst his greatest treasures. Formerly belonging to the Vatican. '•Ms ring—in which is embedded a niece of wood supposed to be from the ‘.rue Cross —was presented to one of his ancestors, and is said to be shield Its wearer from physical danger. That , is why the Czar always wears it. Once, when in the middle of a journey, lie suddenly found that he had left it behind, and his special train was delayed eight hours in order that, me of his suite might go back ancr ‘etch the ring. The loss of the ill-omened opal ring which lias been in the Hapsbnrg famTy for generations would cause no anxiety to the Emperor of Austria, for ill-luck seams to dog the fortunes of possessors in the most persistent wav. The tragic death of his son and heir, the assassination of his beautiful wife, (he Empress Elizabeth, to say nothing cf the general decline of the House cf the Hapsburgs in power,

•' have all been ascribed by supersti- ■ tious people to the malign influences of that ring. It is recorded that to get rid of it Francis Joseph put it up for sale last year, but there is no record of a purchaser for it having been found. ■ BURIED IN A STRUNG BOX. Philip 11, of Armada fame, was its first possessor, and the subsequent defeat of his mighty ships by Drake and Raleigh marked the first decline in Spanish power. The history of the ring is one lor - record of disaster to those who had :: in their personal possession. At last, just about the time of the SpanisiiAmerican war, it was presented to r church, which was burned to the ground. Next it was put in a museum, which was twice struck by lightning. * King Alfonso and his Queen are net likely to be troubled in any way by its malign influences, for nowadays ( the ring, shut up In a strong box, lies buried very deep in the earth, and there it is likely to remain.