The Knights Templars.

to worship afc the sacred shrines of the East , although scarce one out of ten succeeded in reaching then homes in safety again . Then , like a trumpet-call , he told how God had raised up a shield for the faithful , and from behind the dark cloud made to shine out a brilliant star . " A few

men , nofc from any desire of distinction or of wealth , trusting in the name of the Lord and the blessedness of their cause , had thrown themselves into the gap , to shield and protect their brethren from the insults and cruelties of the Infidel , whose

deeds resembled the wonders of Samson , and rivalled the slaughter of the thousands of Saul , and the ten thousands of David . Was any one brave ? then were the Knights his leaders ! Was any one charitable ? then were the Knights his

superiors ? Was any one devoted to God and his service ? then were the Kni ghts beacons by which to steer his bark to Heaven ! for in all these

qualities they had no equals , but were examples to other men , even as the sun in the glory of meridian is to the stars of the silent midnight Heaven . To the sick and the afflicted they were as little children ; but to the cruel and bloodthirsty

heathen , terrible as is the Archangel St . Michael to the rebellious devils in hell . " He concluded by moving , that the Order should receive a new rule , embodying their original regulations , with several additions , drawn from that of the Benedictines , and which chiefly related to spiritual matters .

Of this the assembled Fathers were pleased to approve , and the validity of the rule was made to depend upon the approval of the Pope and the Patriarch of Jerusalem , neither of whom for a moment hesitated in confirming it . Pope

Honorious , in addition to confirming the rule , appointed them , on the suggestion of St . Bernard , to wear a white mantle , to distinguish them from the Hospitallers , whose garb , we have seen , was black . The mantle was plain , and worn without any

ornament till the reign of Pope Eugenius III ., who , in 1146 , appointed them to wear a red cross on the breast , symbolising the martyrdom to which they stood daily exposed . The Order now stood before the world stamped

with the approval of the Church . The people looked upon the Kni ghts as already sainted , and princes in Heaven , while the nobles vied with each other in doing them honour and loading them with favours . Having received the confirmation of the Pope to the new rule , Hugo de Payens

departed on a tour through France and England , where he was received with distinguished honour . Mindful of his promise to King Baldwin , he did not fail in calling the attention of the Christian nobles to the dangerous state in which the Holy

Land was placed , from the menacing attitudes taken up by the Turks and Saracens—a call which echoed to the hearts of the people , and sent many warriors to the East to fight under tho banners of the Cross .

Wealth now flowed in copious streams into the treasury of the Order , while respect and honour followed them wherever they went , and all ranks of people vied in courtesy towards the Knights . When Godfrey de St . Omer wished to convert

some buildings which belonged to him to the use of the Order , he sent to the governor of the place one of the brethren with his ' seal . This , accompanied ., by the garb of a Templar , was deemed sufficient warrant both by the governor

and the bishop , and , on their recommendation , the Count of Flanders , whose consent was necessary to the conversion taking effect , in the handsomest manner , allowed the buildings which belonged to St . Omer to be converted into a

church and temple-house . The example of Godfrey was soon followed by many of the Flemish gentry , and the Templars received considerable property there . In Normandy , de Payens had an interview with Henry I . of England , to whom ha detailed the intentions and deeds of the Order .

The king was so charmed with him and the account he gave of the deeds of the Knights , that he bestowed upon the Templars many rich giftSj recommending his barons to do so likewise . In 1130 , the Emperor Lothaire bestowed upon

the Order a large part of his patrimony of Supplinburg ; while the powerful and wealthy , but aged , Raymond Berenger , Count of Barcelona and Provence , weary of the world , and tired of the trammels of government , entered the Order , and

took up his residence in the Temple House of Barcelona . As he could not , on account of his advanced age and many infirmities , personally combat the Infidels in the Holy Land , he sent to the Order there many tokens of his munificence ,

while at home he set fche brethren a good example , by acting up to the rules of the society with the utmost rigour . Again , in 1133 , Alfonso , the warlike king of Arragon , who had vanquished the Moors in twenty-nine pitched battles , becoming old and