The Knights Templars.

terrible to the Infidel . Upon it was embroidered the ruddy cross of the Order , along with the pious and humble inscription : — "Non nobis , Domine , non nobis , sed nomini tua da gloriam "—( Not to its , 0 Lord , not to us , but to Thy name give the

glory ) . The siege was carried on with great vigour , and defended with determined courage . Noure-ddin fought like the meanest of his soldiers , saying , "Alas , it is now a long time that I have been seeking martyrdom without obtaining it . " The Iinaum Koteb-ed-deen hearing him on one

occasion utter these words , exclaimed , "In the name of God do not put your life in danger , do not thus expose Islam and the Moslems . Thou art their su ] Dport and stay , and if ( but God preserve us therefrom ) thou should ' sfc be slain , we are

all undone . " "Ah , Koteb-ed-deen , " replied he , " what hast thou said ; who can save Islam and our country but that great God who has no equal ?" On another occasion he cried , " What , do we not look to the security of our houses against robbers

and plunderers , and shall we not defend our religion ? " He mortified his body with extreme fastings , and engaged often in prayer . Till the last moment of his life , his whole energies were directed to the recovery of Jerusalem . The

Moslems were no contemptible enemies . They fought with determined bravery , and longed for death as a passport to the joys of heaven . They cheered theaiselves with the words of the Koran— "Go forth to battle and employ your substance and

your persons for the advancement of God ' s religion . Verily , God loveth those who fight for His religion in battle array . . . . Verily , if God pleased , He could take vengeance on the unbelievers without your assistance , but He

coinmandeth you to fight his battles that he may prove the one of you by the other , and as to those who fight in defence of God ' s true religion , God will not suffer their works to perish "; and again , " The sword is the key of heaven and hell ; a drop

of blood shed in the cause of God , a night spent in arms , is of more avail than two months of fasting and of prayer . Whoever falls in battle , his sins are forgiven him . At the Day of Judgment his wounds will be as resplendent as vermillion

and odoriferous as musk , and the loss of limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubims . " In accordance with this doctrine , we have a Saracen youth exclaiming , in the heat of the combat , "Methinks I see the black-eyed

houris looking upon me , one of whom , should she appear in this world , all mankind would die forlove of her , and I see in the hand of one of them a handkerchief of green silk , and a cap made of precious stones , and she beckons me and calls out ,

f Come hither quickly , for I love thee , '" and uttering these words , he attacked the Christians furiously , and fell dead pierced by a javelin . Another warrior dying , exclaimed , " It is not the fading pleasure of this world that has prompted

me to devote my life in the cause of religion . I seek the favour of God and His apostle , and I have heard from one of the conrpanions of the prophet that the spirits of the martyrs will be lodged in the crops of green birds who taste the

fruits and drink of the waters of paradise . Farewell , we shall meet again among the groves and fountains which God has prepared for his elect . " * The besieged fell in multitudes every day , but without any decisive advantage arising to the

Crusadei's , and finally , owing to the treachery of the Pullani , as the Syrian Christians were styled , and who were capable of any crime , however despicable or treacherous , the siege miscarried , and the Crusaders were forced to abandon it . The

chronicle of Gervais attributes the retreat of the Christians to the perfidy of the Templars . Other writers blame Raymond of Antioch . There can be little doubt of the guilty party , as the preponderance of evidence is against the Syrians .,

William of Tyre , the bitter enemy of the Templars , accuses the barons of Syria . The enmity which existed between the Latin and Syrian Christians led the latter to commit the perfidy . A Mahometan historian asserts that the King of

Jerusalem was bribed to raise the siege , but that in the payment of the money he was deceived , the besieged giving him pieces of gilded lead instead of gold . In 1149 , Louis and Conrad returned to Europe ,

leaving behind them the corpses of nearly a million of men . Thus ended the Second Crusade , without having produced any material benefit to the Christians in Palestine . St . Bernard ascribed the unsuccess of the Crusaders to the

manifestation of the wrath of God for their sins ; for the Christians , instead of steadily pursuing- the object in hand , often plunged into reckless debauchery . Everard accompanied his friend and patron , King-Louis , to France , leaving the soldiers of the