The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels.

The whole caravan being now assembled, consists of a thousand horses, mules, and asses, and of five hundred camels. These are the ships of Arabia; their seas are the deserts. A creature created for burthen: six hundred weight is his ordinary load, yet will he carry a thousand. Having with two days rest refreshed them, now to begin the worst of our journey, on the 10th of March we entered the main deserts, a part of Arabia Petræa, so called of Petra, the principal city, now Rathalalah. On the north and west it borders on Syria and Egypt, southward on Arabia Felix, and the Red Sea, and on the east it hath Arabia the Desert; a barren and desolate country, bearing neither grass nor trees, saving only here and there a few palms, which will not forsake those forsaken places. That little that grows on the earth is wild hyssop, whereupon they do pasture their camels, a creature content with little, whose milk and flesh is their principal sustenance. They have no water that is sweet, all be

ing a mere wilderness of sand, the winds having raised high mountains, which lie in drifts, according to the quarters from whence they blow. Sandy's Travels.

St. Luke i. 80.

And was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

We came to the cave where John the Baptist is said to have lived from the age of seven years, until such time as he went unto the wilderness by Jordan, sequestered from the abode of men, and feeding on such wild nourishment as these uninhabited places afforded. This cave is seated on the northern side of a desert mountain, hewn out of the precipitating rock. Over this, on a little flat, stand the ruins of a monastery, on the south side naturally walled with the steep of a mountain, from whence there gushes a living spring, which enters the rock, and again bursts forth beneath the mouth of the cave, a place that would make solitude delightful, and stand in comparison with the turbulent pomp of cities. This overlooks a profound valley, on the far side hemmed with aspiring mountains, whereof some are cut (or naturally so) in degrees like alleys, which would be else inaccessibly fruitless, whose levels yet

bear the stumps of decayed vines, shadowed not rarely with olives. And surely I think that all or most of those mountains have been so husbanded, else could this little country have never sustained such a multitude of people. After we had eaten of such provision as was brought us from the city, by others of the fraternity that there met us, we turned towards Jerusalem, leaving the way of Bethlehem on the right hand, and that of Emmaus on the left. The same.

1 Kings xviii. 42, 43.

And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea.

Mount Carmel stretches from east to west, and has its uttermost basis washed with the sea, steepest towards the north, and of an indifferent altitude; rich in olives and vines, when husbanded, and abounding with several sorts of fruits and herbs, both medicinal and fragrant, though now much overgrown with woods and shrubs of sweet savour. It is celebrated for the habitation of Elias. The Same.

Jeremiah xlvi. 18.

Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he

come.

We passed Mount Hermon and Mount Tabor at a considerable distance on our left. The latter is a dark looking insulated conical mountain, rising like a tower to a considerable height above those around it. Advancing a little further we came to a well of excellent water which we found extremely refreshing after the tepid waters of Gennesaret. After this the country became better inhabited, and we passed several comfortable villages with considerable cultivation on the hills and valleys around them, and in

about five hours and a half from Tiberias reached Couvercane or Cane Galil; it receives both names in the country, and is the Cana of Galilee, where Christ performed his first miracle of turning water into wine. The Same.

St. John iv. 20.

Our fathers worshipped in this mountain.

The same

Sebasté, as we learn from the XVth Book of Josephus on the Antiquities of the Jews, is the name that Herod gave to the ancient city of Samaria, when he rebuilt and fortified it, and converted the greater part of it into a citadel, and ornamented it with all sorts of decorations, and erected in it a noble temple, which was illustrious, both on account of its size and beauty, and which was intended to exhibit to after-ages a specimen of his taste and beneficence, and, therefore, he named it Sebasté, which is but the Greek word for Augusta, in honor of the Roman Emperor. historian says, that it was twenty furlongs in circumference, and that it was one day's journey from Jerusalem. According to our rate of travelling it is sixteen hours, or about eight and forty miles; but in both statements I think the historian correct. The situation is extremely beautiful, and strong by nature; more so, I think, than Jerusalem. It stands on a fine large insulated hill, compassed all round by a broad deep valley, and when fortified, as it is stated to have been by Herod, one would have imagined that, in the ancient system of warfare, nothing but famine could have reduced such a place. The valley is surrounded by four hills, one on each side, which are cultivated in terraces up to the top, sown with grain, and planted with fig and olive trees, as is also the valley. The hill of Samaria likewise rises in terraces to a height equal to any of the adjoining mountains. The Same.

2 Chron. xxxiii. 6.

head of a calf, the rest of a kingly

the fire in the valley of the son of Hin

nom.

2 Kings xxiii. 10.

And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. From hence we descended into the valley of Gehinnon, which divides mount Sion from the Mountain of Offence, so called, for that Solomon, by the persuasion of his wives, here sacrificed to Chamoch and Molech, but now by these Christians called, "The Mountain of Ill Counsel," where they say the Pharisees took counsel against Jesus, whose height yet shews the relics of no mean buildings. This valley is but straight, now serving for little use, heretofore most delightful, planted with groves, and watered with fountains, wherein the Hebrews sacrificed their children to Molech, an idol of brass, having the

ceive the miserable sacrifice, seared to death with his burning embracements, for the idol was hollow within, and filled with fire; and lest their lamentable shrieks should sad the hearts of their parents, the priests of Molech did deafen their ears with the continual clangs of trumpets and timbrels; whereupon it was called the valley of Tophet. But the good Josias brake the idol in pieces, hewed down the groves, and ordained that that place (before a paradise,) should be for ever a receptacle for dead carcases, and the filth of the city. Gehenna, for the impiety committed therein, is used for hell by our Saviour. On the south side of this valley, near where it meets the valley of Jehosophat, mounted a good height on the side of the mountain, is Aceldama, or the field of blood, purchased with the restored reward of treason, for a burial place for stran gers. The Same.

Templars.

THE abolition of the order of Templars has proved a fruitful source of historical controversy. But it is not with any intention of renewing such disputes that the subject is noticed here. Whether the Templars were guilty or innocent of the heavy crimes laid to their charge, their prosecution, and their punish ment, give an insight into the character of the times. The administration of justice in the ecclesiastical courts, will be explained more completely by an example, than by the longest description of laws and usages. And a case of so much importance as the trial of the Templars, persons who were exempted from all ordinary jurisdiction, and could only be called to account under a commission from the Pope,

would naturally be conducted with more than common solemnity. The proceedings in this country have been preserved in the Bodleian manuscripts, and the register of York, and have been presented to the public in the collection of Wilkins.

Our view of the occurrences in France, where the Templars were first put upon their defence, is not drawn from sources equally original or authentic. The works of Fleury, and Dupin, make us acquainted with a general outline of the case, and although both were strenuous assertors of the validity of the charges, their statements are not calculated to satisfy modern readers. The prosecutor was no less a person than King Philip himself; and whe ther the Templars were guilty or innocent, it is certain that he prejudged their cause. The charges both of heresy and immorality were

of the most disgusting and incredible description, and they were supported by witnesses of a character not less infamous and disgraceful. The confessions of the accused parties were either extorted from them on the rack, or under a threat of being immediately submitted to it. A large portion of those who thus admitted their guilt, retracted their confession, and perished at the stake. The process of individual conviction was most iniquitous. The accused were tortured till they knew not what they said. If they adhered to these declarations, they were unfit to live; if they disowned them, they were declared relapsed,' and immediately sentenced to die. The historians already mentioned, do not furnish us with a single instance of a fair trial. And the general condemnation of the order which Philip obtained from the Pope, was confessedly irregular. The bull of suppression, expressly disavows the character of a definitive sentence, and calls itself merely a Papal Provision. The fact being, that all the prelates consulted upon the subject, with the exception of three French archbishops, declared that the Templars ought to be heard in their own defence, and that the informations were not completed according to the prescribed forms. It is evident, therefore, that Philip did not prove his charge. And whatever was the motive of these remarkable proceedings, whether the Templars were really guilty of the horrid practices of which they were accused, or were stained by general profligacy of manners, or were too independent of the monarch's authority, or monopolized more wealth than he could afford to spare, the Order was condemned because King Philip was its enemy, without the pretence of an examination into the real merits of the

case.

In England, things were better managed. Edward the Second does not appear to have interested him

self particularly on the subject.The trials, or informations, as they were technically termed, were conducted with great regularity under a special commission from the Pope; and there is reason to suppose that the result did not materially misrepresent the real merits of the question.

The first point attempted by the commissioners was to prove by the confession of the Templars themselves, that admission into their order was attended with the most shocking rites, a formal denial of belief in Christianity, spitting and stamping upon the cross, and other grossly offensive customs. They also endeavoured to shew, that the knights were idolaters, and worshipped an image of hideous form, that had been brought originally from the East. These were the charges promulgated in France, and they do not seem to have obtained much corroboration on this side of the water. The king not being a party in the process, torture was not resorted to in any instance; and the interrogations of more than a hundred Templars at London and York, produced a long series of answers in the negative, and very little besides. The charges upon which they were first examined were the same that had been preferred in France. And it is a strong symptom of the weakness of the accusers cause, when we find these charges followed by others of a very mitigated character. The object of the second, and many subsequent acts of interrogatories, was to prove that absolution was granted to the Templars by their grand master, and other presiding officers, without the interposition of a priest. And under this head, some irregularities were probably committed. Another great point was to prove the identity of their ceremonies in all parts of the world; the secrecy with which their members were admitted-the undue hours at which admission took place, and chapters of the order were held, and the bad

repute under which the Society laboured. A small number of the Templars, not more than four, confirmed all these suspicions, and every other charge which Philip had adduced, and the Pope proclaimed. The great body of the members positively denied the foreign part of the accusations, and explained away that which had been brought forward in England. The commissioners, therefore, had recourse to other testimony, and astonishing and insignificant as some parts of it are, it may be considered on the whole as furnishing the best explanation of the riddle.

The facts deposed to by these witnesses are, that the Templars were heretical on the subject of the Sacrament (non credebant bene de sacramento Altaris,) that they were in possession of books which denied the truth of the Christian religion, especially our Lord's Incarnation and Atonement, and that they denied the worship of the Virgin. Some said that they professed a faith in one God; but were not believers in Revelation. Others asserted that they were gross idola ters. And the general opinion was, that their manners were corrupt and licentious, and that they were intent upon increasing both riches and power. The evidence taken in Ireland, is particularly curious. It shews that some of the peculiarities which still distinguish that country, were to be discovered in it as early as the reign of Edward the Second. Much of the English testimony is sufficiently absurd; but none of it comes up to the following speci

mens.

Roger Heton, a Minorite, being sworn, &c. was asked whether he believed the Templars guilty of the heresy, &c.—and he answered, that he certainly did-because the grand master and other members of the order had confessed these crimes, as was set forth in the Pope's Bull, and the customs and ceremonies of the order being invariable, he doubt REMEMBRANCER, No. 62.

ed not that the confession of these individuals would apply to the whole body.

--

Hugo Lummour, another Minorite, asserted his belief of the same fact, for the same reason and added, that he had seen a Templar in the neighbourhood of Dublin, who, when the sacrament was elevated, cast his eyes upon the ground, not deigning to look up to the Host.

Forty witnesses deposed to the same effect; and if our judgment were to be formed upon the examination of such evidence, the result must be the total acquittal of the Templars. But the forms of the Ecclesiastical Court, seem to have favoured the production of this species of testimony, and paid very little regard to that which would now be considered valid and important. The confessions of those Templars who admitted their guilt, together with the rumours and beliefs of England, Scotland, and Ireland, were regarded as proofs that the whole order was corrupt. The knights and others who had so stoutly asserted their innocence, appeared again before the Bishop of London and the other commissioners, and admitted their inability to deny the bad reputation of their fraternity-" Fatebantur famam, sed non factum," as Walsingham expresses the matter in his history. And the result was, that they abjured all such opinions and practices for the future, leaving the question concerning their past guilt in a sort of half proved, and half confessed state. Upon this sub. mission they were received into the Church, and obtained a formal absolution from their sins. Their es-, tates were declared to be forfeited, and were awarded by the Pope's decision to the Hospitallers. Wal. singham assures us that this grant took effect. The Templars were entitled to a maintenance out of their estates-and after some difficulty, and with sundry complaints and L