The Knights Templars.

THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS .

LONDON , SATURDAY , OCTOBER 20 , 1867 .

By ANTHONY ONEAL HA YE . ( Continued from page 306 . ) OHAPTEE VII .

GRAND MASTEB , ODO DE SAINT AMANDO . Folicy of the new Grand Master . —Murder of the Assassin Envoy . —Intrigues for tlicBegeney of the Kingdom of Jerusalem . —Rise ofSalaclin . — -Jits repvhe hy the Templars at Gaza . —Battle of Ascalon . —Baldwin III . —Benaud de Ghatillon .- —Battle of Jacob ' s Ford . —Captivity and Death of Odo de Saint Amando .- —Esteem in lohich Templars are held by the Icings of Eirrojie . A . v . 1171—1180 .

The resignation by Philip cle Naplous of the Grand Mastership , and the reasons assigned by him for so doing , made the Templars seriously to consider what steps should "be taken to reform the abuses which had become prevalent among the

members of the Order , and which caused them to be scoffed at and reproached by their Christian brethren in the Holy Land . Several chapters were held for this purpose , and the feeling elicited from these was , that to correct the abuses which

were so loudly complained of , it would be necessary to have as Grand Master , a brother , whom the whole body would respect as a just and upright councillor ^ an experienced leader , and one who could compel obedience to his commands , and

whom the brethren would implicitly obey . It was likewise necessary that he should be one , whom the other Christians esteemed , and had confidence

in . To the brethren , no one seemed more capable of ascending the throne of the Grand Master , and swaying the destinies of the Order , than Odo de Saint Amando . He was by birth of a noble and spotless lineage , and connected with the

richest and most powerful families . He had at an early age entered the ranks of the Order , and was a rigid upholder of the rule of St . Bernard . While a simple Knight , he had been obedient to the commands of , and active in the

discharge of the duties assigned him by his superiors . When he was elevated to the rank of marshal , he had proved himself of a warlike , resolute , and , in the hour of battle , fiery character ; while in council he was cool and sagacious ,

temperate in his language , but immovable in defending the interests and honour of the Order . Accordingly , at a Chapter-General , held in 1171 ,

he was raised by the unanimous voice of the electors to the throne . The choice of the Templars appears to have given great satisfaction to the Christians in Palestine , who knew of Odo , by report , as a brave and

skilful leader , and great success was prophesied to be in store for the soldiers of the Cross , when , ruled by so valiant a champion . Odo was no sooner placed in the supreme command , than he instituted a rigorous inquiry into the abuses which

had sullied the fame of the Order ; and , by reproving and punishing the erring , he put an effectual stop to these being persevered in , during his reign . Under his sway , the Order rose in importance and power , and that , too , in spite of the hatred and determined hostility of the King of Jerusalem .

The Order had been , during the reigns of the preceding Grand Masters , under the immediate protection and patronage of the Kings of Jerusalem ; and , as in the case of Philip de Naplous , the Kings and the Grand Masters , were often mostdear and intimate friends . The refusal of the

Templars , to take part in the invasion of Egypt , rankled in the heart of King Almeric , and he ascribed to their absence on that occasion , the frustration of his hopes of conquering that country , and the subsequent defeat of his arm } ' . The

election of Odo to the throne of the Grand Master , only embittered him the more against the Order for , from Odo ' s position , while the question of aiding the King in his invasion of Egypt , was under discussion , his advice would be listened to with the

greatest respect , and , in all probability , followed by . the Templars ; and that advice , the King - knew instinctively , was hostile to his schemes . He could , therefore , look upon the election of Odo , as another barrier placed in the road of his ambition ; for the Grand Master was not to be moulded to

his will , by flattery or bribes , as a less disinterested Templar might have been ; while his first act in office having been to purge the Order from its abuses , proved to the King , that what couid not be tolerated among the Templars , would still less

be tolerated in the actions of the King of Jerusalem . The King had therefore every reason to hate Odo , and he did so with a deadly hatred . To establish the Order on such a basis as to be

independent entirely of aid from the King and nobles of the Holy Land , was the ruling passion , of the Grand Master . To make a successful head against the Infidel , the Templars required to