The Order Of St. John.

THE ORDER OF ST . JOHN .

LONDON , SATURDAY , JULY 20 , 1867 .

NOTES BY A NOTICE . ( Continued from page 24 . ) The most renowned leaders of the First Crusade were Godfrey , Count de Bouillon , who was believed to be a lineal descendant of Charlemagne * his

brother , Baldwin ; Hugh , Count de Yermandois , brother to the French King ; Robert , Duke of Normandy ; Count Raymond de Toulouse ; Stephen , Count de Blois ; and Bohemond , Prince of Tarentum . The Hermit led the way , having under his

banner an undisciplined multitude of sixty thousand men , who had been the first to abandon their ordinary pursuits and hasten to the field . The

princes , knights , and men-at-arms followed , and sis hundred thousand pilgrims , capable of wielding sword or lance , formed the rearguard of the Christian army . Over the mountains of Taurus , into the smiling vales of Syria , they poured like a

torrent ; Antioch , Tripoli , Tyre , Jaffa—every town of importance opened its gates at their approach , and at length the hallowed walls of Jerusalem appeared in sight . A long and terrible siege ensued , but , on the 15 th of July , 1099 , the soldiers

of the Cross were triumphant , and their banners waved over the holy places which for four hundred and sixty years had been polluted by the presence of the infidel .

When the carnage was over , the Crusaders laid aside their warlike weapons , and , barefooted and uncovered , proceeded in solemn procession to the Redeemer ' s tomb . After the performance of this religious duty , they elected Godfrey de Bouillon

King of Palestine , as the worthiest champion of the true faith . The new monarch immediately visited the House of St . John , which was then filled with wounded soldiers , to whom he personally administered aid and consolation , and , to mark his

sense of the humane services rendered by the brethren , Godfrey endowed the hospital with the Lordship of Montboire , in Brabant , and all its dependencies . The King's example was quickly followed by other princes and nobles , and in a short

time the Hospitallers possessed the revenues of many rich manors and demesnes both in Europe and Asia . The brotherhood not only increased in wealth but in numbers , as several illustrious warriors , actuated by pious zeal , resolved to adopt

the habit of the fraternity , and devote their lives to the service of God and their fellow men . Raymond de Puis , Dudon de Comps , and Canon de Montaigu—all gentlemen of noble ancestry—¦ were among those who took the required vows at

the altar of St . John . Aided by Peter Gerard ! , the rector ' s counsel and guidance , the Hospitallers became a religious institution , and were recognised and confirmed by Pope Paschal the Second , who conferred upon them many important privileges .

Meanwhile , the Christians were busily employed in expelling the infidels from the maritime and other strongholds of Palestine . Under King Godfrey , who died about a year after his election to the throne , and his brother

and successor , Baldwin , who died in 1113 , the Crusaders were eminently successful in their enterprises . The death of Gerard the rector at this period was followed by the election of Raymond de Puis as the chief of the Hospitallers ,

and this brave and devout knight conceived the chivalrous project of adding the warlike duties of the field to the engagements contracted in the monastery .

At the call of their illustrious Grand Master , the brotherhood solemnly took upon themselves a new vow to defend the Church against the enemies of the Christian faith . Raymond then divided them into three classes—viz ., nobility , clergy , and

serjens . The knights , or the first class , were men of patrician rank , who were appointed to bear arms and fill the higher offices of the Order . The second class , or ecclesiastics , acted as chaplains , aud ministered to the sick and destitute in the Hospital ,

The serjens , serving-brethren , or half-knights , composed the third class , and were employed either in the field or the infirmary as occasion required . After this change in the organisation of

the fraternity , the Hospitallers continued to increase in wealth and power , and , in a short time , so great was the influx of new members , that the ? Order was subdivided into eight languages or nations—viz ., 1 st , Provence ; 2 nd , Auvergne ; 3 rd ,

France ; 4 th , Italy ; 5 th , Arragon ; 6 th , England , comprising Wales , Scotland , and Ireland ; 7 th , Germany ; and 8 th , Castile , which included Portugal and Leon . The success of the Order of St . John gave rise

to the formation of a kindred body , afterwards equally renowned but more unfortunate than its great prototype—viz ., the fraternity of Knights Templar ; ancl for nearly two centuries the banner