The Knights Templars.

obtain no mercy from you Ave will form a terrible resolution , and the fruits of our despair shall fill you with terror . These temples ancl palaces , Avhich you are so anxious to conquer , shall be totally destroyed ; all the riches which have

excited the ambition and cupidity of the Saracens shall become a prey to the flames . We will destroy the Temple , or , as you call it , the Mosque of Omar * aud the mysterious stone of Jacob , which is the object of your worship , shall be broken

ancl pounded into dust . ¦ Jerusalem contains five thousand Mussulman prisoners ; they shall all perish by the SAVord . We Avill , with our OAVII hands , slay our Avives ancl children , and thus spare them the shame of becoming your slaves . When

the Holy City shall be but a heap of ruins—one vast tomb—we shall march out of it , followed by the angry manes of our friends and kindred ; Ave shall march out armed Avith sword and fire ; and no one of us shall ever ascend to Paradise without having : consigned ten Mussulmen to hell . We

shall thus obtain a glorious death , and shall die calling doAvn upon your head the maledictions of the God of Jerusalem . " This spirited speech alarmed Saladin , Avho , after consulting with his doctors of the law , who decided that his acceptance

of the capitulation proposed by the besieged could not violate his oath , agreed to its terms . The Mussulmen were put in possession of all the gates of Jerusalem . Every man was to pay to Saladin ten golden bezants as a ransom , every woman five ,

and every child under seven years one bezant . The conditions Avere signed on the following day , and the Holy City was once more in the hands of the Infidel , after being eighty-eight years under the domination of the Christians . The Latin historians

remark that the Crusaders entered the city on a Friday , aucl at the same hour thafc Christ suffered for the crimes of the human race . The Saracens retook the city on a Friday , the anniversary day on Avhich , according to their creed , Mahomet set out from Jerusalem to ascend into Heaven .

On the terms of the capitulation being made known , the poorer classes complained bitterly thafc they had been delivered up to perpetual bondage by their richer brethren , for they hacl no means of paying the ransom . It adds greatly to the honour

of the fe * v Templars and Hospitallers then in Jerusalem , their spending all the money Avhich they possessed in ransoming their poor Christian brethren , Avhom they thereafter conducted to Tripoli . The conditions of the surrender had at

first been , received with g ladness ; but Avhea the day approached ancl Jerusalem was to be abandoned , the Christians gave vent to expressions of the liveliest grief . They watered the tomb of Christ with their tears , and regretted not

havingdied in its defence . They visited Calvary and those churches which they were never to see again , uttering groans and sig hs . They embraced each other in the streets , bitterly lamenting their fatal dissensions . Such as Avere unable to pay the ransom gave"Vay to despair ; but their persona * misfortune did not affect them half so much as the

insults offered to the sacred objects of their devotion by the Infidel . The fatal day arrived . The Christians marched forth from Jerusalem . All the gates were shut excepting that of David . Through this the people

passed ; and Saladin , seated on a throne , witnessed the spectecle . First appeared the Patriarch , followed by the clergy , carrying the sacred vases-, the ornaments of the holy sepulchre , and treasures , of which God alone , says an Arabian author , knew

the value . Sybilla , accompanied by the Barons ancl Knights' came next . Saladin respected her grief , and addressed some Avords of kindness to her . The queen was followed by a great number of Avomen , bearing their children in their arms-, and uttering the most piercing shrieks . Many of them throAV themselves at the foot of the throne

of Saladin , and said to him— " You see here the Avives , the mothers , the daughters , of the warriors you detain prisoners . We leave for ever our country , Avhich they have defended with glory . They helped to support our lives , and in losing

them Ave lose our last hope . If- yon deign to restore them to us , they Avill lessen the miseries of our exile , and we shall no longer be Avithoafc help upon earth . " Saladin Avas touched Avith their prayers ; he restored the children to their mothers ,

and the husbands to their wives , Avho were among the unredeemed captives . Several Christians , had abandoned their most valuable goods , ancl bore upon their shoulders , some their parents , Aveakened by age , and others their sick or infirm ,

friends . Saladin Avas much affected by the spectacle , He rewarded Avith gifts the piety of his enemies . Ho took p ity upon all distresses , and alloAved the Hospitallers to remain in the city to tend the pilgrims , and assist such as Avere prevented from

leaving Jerusalem by serious illness . When the-Saracens began the siege the Holy City contained more than a hundred thousand Christians . The