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Article THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. ← Page 4 of 4 Article BANKERS' OR MASONS' MARKS. Page 1 of 3 →
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The Knights Templars.
cities now left without garrisons . In this army assembled on the plain of Sephouri exists the only hope which the Christians of the East have left . You behold here all the soldiers of Christ , all the defenders of Jerusalem ; if they perish , the Infidels have no other foes to dread . Beware , then , oi leading this multitude of men and horses into a
dry ancl arid country where the season , with thirst and hunger , must soon deliver them up without defence to the enemy . The number even of the Christian soldiers inspires me with more alarm than confidence . They present nothing but a
confused troop of men got together in haste , ancl totally unable to support fatigue . The Musselmen archers are more skilful than our soldiers in
casting javelms , and may harass us on our march without our being able to defend ourselves . The cavalry of Saladin is more numerous and better trained than ours , and may attack us with advantage on the plains across which we must pass .
Abandon , then , I entreat you , Tiberias to the Musselmen , and let us save an army which may yet repair our losses . I swear before God , and before man , that I would willingly abandon the country of Tripoli , with all the lands I possess , to
procure the safety of the city of Christ . Our onl y aim must be to destroy the power of Saladin , and at the same time to preserve some defenders for the kingdom of Jerusalem . If we go to meet the enemy and should be conquered , God himself will
not be able to save the Christians , but will allow us to be delivered up to the Infidels . If , on tho contrary , the enemy come to offer themselves to our
arms , all our losses will be repaired , ancl the evils that will fall upon mo will become for me a source of gratification , since I shall have suffered for tho cause of Christ ancl the safety of his people . " This was a skilful speech , and undoubtedly the
advice contained iu it was the best that , in the circumstances , could have been followed . Had the army , instead of marching against Saladin , fallen back upon Jerusalem , the loss of tho city might have been prevented , and the Christians
have succeeded in either driving back Saladin , or forcing him to conclude a favourable peace . This , however , was not the wish of the count . He desired Saladin to have the Christians completely in the Musselmen power , when peace would
necessarily be declared , ancl the terms of that peace result in the deposition of Guy de Lusignan from the throne of Jerusalem , when the Count hoped , by intriguing , to be raised to the supreme power .
There cannot be the shadow of a doubt that the Count ' s advice was meant by him to be the opposite of friendly to the interests of the Christians , and in all probability was given utterance to , in unison with a certain line of operations , concerted
between him and Saladin . On hearing this advice , the Grand Master of the Templars , certain of the Count ' s secret understanding with Saladin , ancl weary of an inaction which was becoming dangerous to the discip line of the forces , rose and stigmatised
him as a traitor , reminded the assembly of his former alliance with Saladin , and exclaimed that he could perceive the wolf ' s skin under the fleece of the sheep . When the Count mentioned the name of Christ , Gerard exclaimed with bitterness ,
that the name of Mahomet was better fitted for his lips . The Count only replied— " I will submit to the punishment of death if these things do not fall out as I have said . " The Grand Master then loudly demanded that the army should be led
against Saladin , but the barons , influenced by his seeming candour , sided with the Count of Tripoli , ancl it was resolved to remain where they were
encamped , although Sakdiu ' s army was now ravaging all tho country about Tiberias , and his light horse had laid waste the country around the brook Kishon . ( To be continued )
Bankers' Or Masons' Marks.
BANKERS' OR MASONS' MARKS .
Under this title in "Notes and Queries , " No . 309 , for November SOfcli , 1 SG 7 , appears the following interesting communication from the pen of a correspondent aud querist , Mr . P . Hutchinson . As many of our readers have , we know , devoted themselves
within the last few years to similar investigations , we shall be glad if some of them will contribute to the general stock of knowledge upon this interesting subject : — "In November , lSGi , when I was last staying
with my late cousin , tlie Rev . Canon Hutchinson , in the Close at Lichfield , a stranger visited the cathedral , ancl passed a considerable time one morning in tho pursuit of a branch of archroologieal study to whicli I had not then turned my attention . He examined
many parts of the interior walls of the building in search of ancient masons' marks scratched or cut on the stone . Tho subject , to me , having the charm of novelty , induced me to make inquiry from stonecutters and others as to the employment of such marks , whether iu ancient or modern times , and whether they were merely fanciful , or were intended
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Knights Templars.
cities now left without garrisons . In this army assembled on the plain of Sephouri exists the only hope which the Christians of the East have left . You behold here all the soldiers of Christ , all the defenders of Jerusalem ; if they perish , the Infidels have no other foes to dread . Beware , then , oi leading this multitude of men and horses into a
dry ancl arid country where the season , with thirst and hunger , must soon deliver them up without defence to the enemy . The number even of the Christian soldiers inspires me with more alarm than confidence . They present nothing but a
confused troop of men got together in haste , ancl totally unable to support fatigue . The Musselmen archers are more skilful than our soldiers in
casting javelms , and may harass us on our march without our being able to defend ourselves . The cavalry of Saladin is more numerous and better trained than ours , and may attack us with advantage on the plains across which we must pass .
Abandon , then , I entreat you , Tiberias to the Musselmen , and let us save an army which may yet repair our losses . I swear before God , and before man , that I would willingly abandon the country of Tripoli , with all the lands I possess , to
procure the safety of the city of Christ . Our onl y aim must be to destroy the power of Saladin , and at the same time to preserve some defenders for the kingdom of Jerusalem . If we go to meet the enemy and should be conquered , God himself will
not be able to save the Christians , but will allow us to be delivered up to the Infidels . If , on tho contrary , the enemy come to offer themselves to our
arms , all our losses will be repaired , ancl the evils that will fall upon mo will become for me a source of gratification , since I shall have suffered for tho cause of Christ ancl the safety of his people . " This was a skilful speech , and undoubtedly the
advice contained iu it was the best that , in the circumstances , could have been followed . Had the army , instead of marching against Saladin , fallen back upon Jerusalem , the loss of tho city might have been prevented , and the Christians
have succeeded in either driving back Saladin , or forcing him to conclude a favourable peace . This , however , was not the wish of the count . He desired Saladin to have the Christians completely in the Musselmen power , when peace would
necessarily be declared , ancl the terms of that peace result in the deposition of Guy de Lusignan from the throne of Jerusalem , when the Count hoped , by intriguing , to be raised to the supreme power .
There cannot be the shadow of a doubt that the Count ' s advice was meant by him to be the opposite of friendly to the interests of the Christians , and in all probability was given utterance to , in unison with a certain line of operations , concerted
between him and Saladin . On hearing this advice , the Grand Master of the Templars , certain of the Count ' s secret understanding with Saladin , ancl weary of an inaction which was becoming dangerous to the discip line of the forces , rose and stigmatised
him as a traitor , reminded the assembly of his former alliance with Saladin , and exclaimed that he could perceive the wolf ' s skin under the fleece of the sheep . When the Count mentioned the name of Christ , Gerard exclaimed with bitterness ,
that the name of Mahomet was better fitted for his lips . The Count only replied— " I will submit to the punishment of death if these things do not fall out as I have said . " The Grand Master then loudly demanded that the army should be led
against Saladin , but the barons , influenced by his seeming candour , sided with the Count of Tripoli , ancl it was resolved to remain where they were
encamped , although Sakdiu ' s army was now ravaging all tho country about Tiberias , and his light horse had laid waste the country around the brook Kishon . ( To be continued )
Bankers' Or Masons' Marks.
BANKERS' OR MASONS' MARKS .
Under this title in "Notes and Queries , " No . 309 , for November SOfcli , 1 SG 7 , appears the following interesting communication from the pen of a correspondent aud querist , Mr . P . Hutchinson . As many of our readers have , we know , devoted themselves
within the last few years to similar investigations , we shall be glad if some of them will contribute to the general stock of knowledge upon this interesting subject : — "In November , lSGi , when I was last staying
with my late cousin , tlie Rev . Canon Hutchinson , in the Close at Lichfield , a stranger visited the cathedral , ancl passed a considerable time one morning in tho pursuit of a branch of archroologieal study to whicli I had not then turned my attention . He examined
many parts of the interior walls of the building in search of ancient masons' marks scratched or cut on the stone . Tho subject , to me , having the charm of novelty , induced me to make inquiry from stonecutters and others as to the employment of such marks , whether iu ancient or modern times , and whether they were merely fanciful , or were intended