The Knights Templars.

crimes alleged against it , the King allowed them to do so , and for this purpose ordered that all those who desired to be enrolled for the defence , should be conducted to Paris , under a safe escort , and brought before the Commissioners . The expenses

which should be incurred by them were furthermore to be defrayed by those who were in possession of the Temple lands , and that after they should have beeu heard in defence of the Order , they should be reconducted to their prisons . They

afterwards arrived in such numbers , that they suffered severely from the scanty accommodations of the prisons . The Commissioners furthermore commanded

that the Grand Master should be brought before them . The King ivas annoyed at this order , which he feared to disobey : but he resolved to throw impediments in De Molar ' s way . The audience was opened in the Episcopal Hall of Paris on the

12 th November , and the Commissioners were present that day to hear the Grand Master . However , he did not make his appearance . A gentleman , dressed in a secular habit , appeared and demanded admittance to their presence . This

was John de Molai , a brother of the Grand Master . He declared that , being anxious about the fate of his relation , he had came thither to inform himself of what should pass with regard to the Grand Master and the Order . He stated that he had

¦ belonged to it for ten years , aud uttered a long eulogy upon it . From his distinguished appearance , and his bold and fiery language , the agents of the King perceived that he would prove a dangerous defender of the Order . They , accordingly ,

challenged his right to appear , aud demanded that he should be dismissed , as he no longer belonged to the Order , and had no right to undertake its defence ; that the Bishop of Paris had been appointed to hear those in his position , aud to that

prelate he should be referred . De Molai was accordingly ousted from the hall . On the 26 th , the Grand Master appeared before the Commissioners . He was attended by one lay brother of the Order , his Cook . He was

asked if he wished to defend the Order , or if he desired to say anything in its favour : or would he simply confine himself to his own defence ? De Molai . — " I challenge your right to sit in judgment upon the Order of the Temple . It is

dependent upon , and under the authority of , the Pope alone , and he alone can judge it . What is this Order which you accuse of such infamous

crimes ? It was confirmed by Pope Honorious ; and Pope Alexander III ., on account of the holiness and piety of the brethren , conferred upon it many great and glorious privileges . It is for the Pope alone to consider whether the brethren

have ceased to be worthy of these privileges , or whether the Order has derogated from its establishment , aud for him to make such investigations , not the King . The Order can command some of its members to undertake the defence ; but for

you to wish me to do so , without preparation or without consultation with my brethren , is , to give it its mildest name , surprising . Is this an affair of such little importance ? Are these charges brought against our noble Order of so paltry a character , that time is of no moment ? It astonishes me that churchmen should lend

themselves to such a disgraceful purpose , and proceed in such haste to demand the defence of the Order . You are not ignorant , surely , that even in the case of the Emperor Frederick I ., whom the Sovereign Pontiff had indicted for divers crimes ,

he had been accorded very long delays for the preparation of his defence ; nor was judgment pronounced against him until after the process had lasted thirty-two years . As for myself , I possess neither talent nor eloquence , necessary

qualifications iu him who would undertake the defence ; yet I am ready to do so , according to my feeble means and abilities , and am resolved to do all in my power to prove the innocence of my maligned Order . Were I to do otherwise , I

would become vile in my own eyes . Were I to abandon the cause of that Order , which has conferred upon me such precious advantages , raised me to so high a position , and showered down upon me so many great and undeserved honours , I

would appear in the eyes of the world the most worthless of men . Yea , if I permitted to pass unresented the slightest insult offered to it , I would be the most abandoned , most cowardly , and most contemptible of men . I am not ignorant of the difficulties which will surround me in

making a defence . I cio not deceive myself regarding the hopelessness of such an enterprise , for I am not in a position to undertake it with auy prospect of success , being actually a rjrisoner in the hands of our determined enemy , the King , and

without funds to meet expenses which must be incurred . But that I may be able to make a defence at all , I demand to be furnished with the necessary funds ; to be permitted