The Knights Templars of Scotland.
The Knights of the Temple were introduced into Scotland before 1153
by King David the First, who established them at Temple on the
Southesk,[38] and who was so attached to the brotherhood, that we are
told by an old historian "Sanctus David de prœclara Militia Templi
optimos fratres secum retinens, eos diebus et noctibus morum suorum
fecit esse custodes."[39] Malcolm, the grandson of David, conferred
on the brethren "in liberam et puram Elymosynam unum plenarium Toftum
in quolibet Burgo totius terræ," which foundation was enlarged by his
successors, William the Lion and Alexander the Second. The charter of
the latter is still in the possession of Lord Torphichen, whereby he
grants and confirms "Deo et fratribus Templi Salomonis de Jerusalem
omnes illas rectitudines, libertatis et consuetudines quas Rex DAVID
et Rex Malcolm et decessus pater meus Rex Willielmus eis dederunt et
concesserunt, sicut scripta eorum authentica attestant." This curious
document, after enumerating certain of these rights and liberties,
scilicet,--the king's sure peace; the privilege of buying, selling, and
trading with all his subjects; freedom from all tribute and toll, &c.
proceeds "Et nullus eis injuriam faciat, vel fieri consentiat super
meam defensionem, Et ubicunque in tota terra mea ad judiorum (_q.
judicium_) venerint, causa eorum primum tractata, et prius rectum suum
habeant, et postea faciant. Et nullus ponat hominem predictorum fratrum
nostrorum ad foram judicii si noluerint, &c. Et omnes libertates et
consuetudines quas ipsi per alias regiones habent in terra mea ubique
habeant."
These general privileges, throughout Europe, were very extensive.
The Templars were freed from all tythes to the church, and their
priests were entitled to celebrate mass, and to absolve from sins to
the same extent as bishops, a privilege which was strongly objected
to by the latter. Their houses possessed the right of sanctuary or
asylum for criminals. They could be witnesses in their own cause,
and were exempted from giving testimony in the cause of others. They
were relieved by the papal bulls from all taxes, and from subjection
and obedience to any secular power. By these great immunities, the
Order was rendered in a manner independent, but it would appear,
nevertheless, that both the Templars and Hospitallers considered
themselves subjects of the countries to which they belonged, and took
part in the national wars, for we find by the Ragman Roll, "Freere
Johan de Sautre, Mestre de la Chevalier del Temple en Ecoce," and
another Brother, swearing fealty to Edward I. in 1296; and the author
of the Annals of Scotland, taking notice of the Battle of Falkirk,
12th July 1298, informs us, that the only persons of note who fell
were Brian le Jay, Master of the English Templars, and the Prior
of Torphichen in Scotland, a Knight of another Order of religious
soldiery. The former of these Chevaliers met his death by the hand
of the redoubted Sir William Wallace, who advanced alone from the
midst of his little band, and slew him with a single blow, although
the historian adds, that Sir Brian le Jay was a Knight Templar of
high military renown, who had shewn himself most active against the
Scots.[40]
Little is known of the farther History of the Knights Templars in
Scotland from the time of Alexander II. down to the beginning of the
14th century, excepting that their privileges were continued to them by
succeeding Kings, whose bounty and piety were in those ages continually
directed towards the religious Orders. By their endowments, and the
bequests of the nobles, the possessions of the Order came to be so
extensive, that their lands were scattered "per totum regnum Scotiæ,
a limitibus versus Angliam, et sic discendo per totum regnum usque
ad Orchades." Besides the House of the Temple in Mid-Lothian, the
following Establishments or Priories of the Order may be enumerated,
viz. St. Germains, in East Lothian; Inchynan, in Renfrewshire;
Maryculter, in Kincardineshire; Aggerstone, in Stirlingshire; Aboyne,
in Aberdeenshire; Derville or Derval, in Ayrshire; Dinwoodie, in
Dumfriesshire; Red-abbey-stedd, in Roxburghshire, and Temple Liston, in
West-Lothian.
The date of the spoliation of the Templars of Scotland, corresponds of
course with that of the persecution of the Order in other countries,
and it is to the credit of our forefathers that we can obtain no
account of any Member of the Brotherhood having been subjected to
personal torture or suffering amongst them; their estates, however,
appear to have been duly transferred to the possession of their rivals,
the Knights Hospitallers; into which Order it is not improbable that,
like their Brethren in England, a number of the Templars entered.
In November 1309, John de Soleure, the Papal Legate, and William,
Bishop of St. Andrews, held an Inquisitorial Court at the Abbey of
Holyrood to investigate the charges against the Templars, but Walter
de Clifton, Grand Preceptor of the Order in North Britain,[41] and
William de Middleton, were the only two Knights who appeared before
the Tribunal, the proceedings of which, as recorded at length in
Wilkins' Consilia, make no allusion to any punishment being inflicted,
so that we may fairly conclude they were soon set at liberty. The
Preceptor, in his examination, readily confessed that the rest of
the Brethren had fled, and dispersed themselves _propter scandalium
exortum contra ordinem_, and we are told by a learned French writer,
that having deserted the Temple, they had ranged themselves under the
banners of Robert Bruce, by whom they were formed into a new Order,
the observances of which were based on those of the Templars, and
became, according to him, the source of Scottish Free Masonry.[42]
This statement corresponds with the celebrated Charter of Larmenius
already referred to, in which the Scottish Templars are excommunicated
as _Templi desertores, anathemate percussos_; and along with the
Knights of St. John, _dominiorum Militiæ spoliatores_, placed for
ever beyond the pale of the Temple, _extra gyrum Templi nunc, et in
futurum_; and it is likewise supported in some measure by the authority
of the accurate historian of Free Masonry, M. Thory, who, in his "Acta
Latomorum," states that Robert Bruce founded the Masonic Order of
Heredom de Kilwinning, after the Battle of Bannockburn, reserving to
himself and his successors on the Throne of Scotland, the office and
title of Grand Master. Scottish tradition has, moreover, always been
in favour of this origin of the Ancient Mother Kilwinning Lodge, which
certainly at one time possessed other degrees of Masonry besides those
of St. John; and it is well known to our Masonic readers, that there
are even in our own days at Edinburgh, a few individuals claiming to
be the representatives of the Royal Order established by Bruce, which,
though now nearly extinct in this country,[43] still flourishes in
France, where it was established by Charter from Scotland, and even
by the Pretender himself, in the course of last century, and is now
conferred as the highest and most distinguished grade of Masonry,
sanctioned by the Grand Orient, under the title of the _Rose Croix
de Heredom de Kilwinning_. It may be interesting to add, that the
introduction on the Continent of this ancient branch of our national
Masonry, has been commemorated by a splendid medal struck at Paris,
bearing, amongst other devices, the Royal Arms and Motto of Scotland;
and that the Brethren of the Lodge of Constancy at Arras, still
preserve with reverence an original charter of the Order, granted to
their Chapter in 1747, by Charles Edward Stuart, and signed by that
unfortunate Prince himself as the representative of the Scottish
Kings.[44] Nor can any thing indicate more strongly the high estimation
in which the chivalry of the Rosy Cross of Kilwinning is held in
France, than the fact that the Prince Cambaceres, Arch-chancellor of
the Empire, presided over it as Provincial Grand Master, (the office of
supreme head being inherent in the Crown of Scotland,) for many years;
and that he was succeeded in his dignity, if we mistake not, by the
head of the illustrious family of Choiseul.
But whether the Scottish Templars really joined the victorious
standard of Robert Bruce, and with him, as our countrymen would fain
hope, fought and conquered at Bannockburn, or whether the majority of
them transferred themselves along with the possessions of the Order,
to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, certain it is, that from the
time of the persecution, the Order of the Temple, together with all its
wealth, became merged in that of the Hospitallers, though certainly
not to such a degree as to obliterate all distinct traces of the Red
Cross Knights. On the contrary, we find by a public document recorded
entire in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, and dated _two
centuries_ after the incorporation of the Orders, that King James the
Fourth confirmed all former grants _sancto Hospitali de Jerusalem, et
fratribus ejusdem militiæ Templi Salomonis_,--a satisfactory proof
that the Order, although proscribed by the Pope, was still retained
conjointly with that of the Hospital, in law papers at least.[45]
The Knights of St. John had also been introduced into Scotland by
King David the First, and had a charter granted to them by Alexander
the Second, two years after that to the Templars. The Preceptory
of Torphichen, in West Lothian, was their first, and continued to
be their chief residence, and by the accession of the Temple lands
and other additions, their property at the time of the Reformation
came to be immense. When that event took place, the chief dignitary
or Grand Preceptor of the Order in Scotland, with a seat as a Peer
in Parliament, was Sir James Sandilands, a cadet of the family of
Calder, whose head, as is well known to readers of Scottish History,
was the private friend of John Knox, and one of the first persons of
distinction to embrace the reformed religion. We might suspect, that
even before the promulgation of the statute 1560, prohibiting all
allegiance within the realm to the See of Rome, the former personage
had become indifferent to the charge confided to him by the Order; for
a rescript from the Grand Master and Chapter at Malta, dated so early
as the 1st of October 1557, and addressed to him, is still on record,
wherein they complain "that many of the possessions, jurisdictions,
&c. were conveyed or taken away from them contrary to the statutes
and oaths, and to the damnation of the souls, as well of those who
possessed them, as of those who, without sufficient authority, yielded
them up; producing thereby great detriment to religion and the said
Commandery;" but be this as it may, we are certain that the conversion
of Sir James Sandilands, or as he was termed, the Lord of St. John of
Jerusalem in Scotland, was followed by his surrender to the Crown of
the whole possessions of the combined Templars and Hospitallers, which
having been declared forfeited to the State on the ground that "the
principal cause of the foundation of the Preceptory of Torphichen,
_Fratribus Hospitalis Hierosolimitani, Militibus Templi Salomonis_, was
the service enjoined to the Preceptor on oath to defend and advance the
Roman Catholic Religion," were by a process of transformation well
understood by the Scottish Parliament of those days, converted into a
Temporal Lordship, which the unfortunate Queen Mary, then only twenty
years of age, and newly established amongst her Scottish subjects, in
consideration of a payment of ten thousand crowns of the Sun, and of
his _fidele, nobile, et gratuitum, servitium, nobis nostrisque patri
et matri bonæ memoriæ_, conferred on, or rather retransferred to the
Ex Grand Preceptor himself and his heirs with the title of Torphichen,
which, although the estate is much dilapidated, still remains in his
family.[46] All this was transacted acted on the petition of Sir
James Sandilands himself, with the formal approbation of the National
Legislature; and after renouncing the profession of a soldier-monk, we
find that the last of Scottish Preceptors of St. John became married
and lived to a good old age, having died so late as 1596 without issue,
when the title of Torphichen passed to his grand nephew, the lineal
descendant of his elder brother, Sir John Sandilands of Calder.
We shall not pause to consider whether a body of Masonic Templars
unconnected with the Hospitallers, and representing the Royal Order
which Bruce is said to have instituted from the relict of the
Ancient Knights, has been perpetuated in Scotland since the days of
Bannockburn, having no means of illustrating so obscure a subject; but,
with all due respect to the learned French writer, whose authority we
have already quoted, we may observe, that the Masonic Tradition of
the country does not connect the Templars with Bruce's Order in any
way whatever, but, on the contrary, invariably conjoins those Knights
with the Hospitallers, and consequently points to the period of the
renunciation of Popery, as the time when they first sought refuge, and
a continuance of their Chivalry among the "Brethren of the Mystic Tie."
The Chevaliers also of the Rosy Cross of Kilwinning in France, own no
alliance with Masonic Templary, which they consider a comparatively
modern invention; nor do there exist, so far as we know, any authentic
records anterior to the Reformation, to prove a connection between the
Knights Templars and Freemasons in any part of the world, though we
must not omit to mention, that a formal document in the Latin language
is said to be deposited in a Lodge at Namur on the Meuse, purporting
to be a proclamation by the Freemasons of Europe, "of the Venerable
Society sacred to John," assembled by representatives from London,
Edinburgh, Vienna, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Venice, Brussels, and
almost every other Capital City, at Cologne on the Rhine in 1535;
and signed, amongst others, by the famous Melancthon, in which,
after declaring that "to be more effectually vilified and devoted to
public execration, they had been accused of reviving the Order of the
Templars," they solemnly affirm, that "the Freemasons of St. John
derive not their origin from the Templars, nor from any other Order of
Knights; neither have they any, or the least communication with them
directly, or through any manner of intermediate tie, being far more
ancient," &c.--all of which would imply, that some sort of connection
was understood in those days to exist between certain of the Masonic
Fraternities and the Knights Templars. A Copy of this document was
sent to Edinburgh in 1826, by M. de Marchot, an Advocate at Nivelles,
and a translation of it has been inserted under the attestation of a
Notary Public in the Records of the Ancient Lodge of Edinburgh, (Mary's
Chapel); but we have little faith in German documents on Free Masonry,
unless supported by other testimony; and as no Historian of the Craft
makes the slightest allusion to the great Convocation of the Brethren
at Cologne, in the sixteenth century, rather than ask the reader to
believe that it ever took place, we shall presume that M. de Marchot
may have been deceived.[47]
From the era of the Reformation, the combined Order appears in Scotland
only as a Masonic body; but there are some records to indicate that,
so early as 1590, a few of the brethren had become mingled with the
Architectural Fraternities, and that a Lodge at Stirling, patronised by
King James, had a Chapter of Templars attached to it, who were termed
cross-legged Masons; and whose initiatory ceremonies were performed
not in a room, but in the Old Abbey, the ruins of which are still to
be seen in the neighbourhood. The next authentic notice we can find
on this subject, is in M. Thory's excellent Chronology of Masonry,
wherein it is recorded, that about 1728, Sir John Mitchell Ramsay,
the well-known author of Cyrus, appeared in London, with a system of
Scottish Masonry, up to that date, perfectly unknown in the metropolis,
tracing its origin from the Crusades, and consisting of three degrees,
the _Ecossais_, the _Novice_, and the _Knight Templar_. The English
Grand Lodge rejected the system of Ramsay, who, as is well known,
along with the other adherents of the Stuart Family, transferred it to
the Continent, where it became the corner-stone of the _hauts grades_,
and the foundation of those innumerable ramifications into which an
excellent and naturally simple institution has been very uselessly
extended in France, Germany, and other countries abroad.[48]
In pursuing the very curious subject of the _hauts grades_, we may
observe, however, that they never obtained much consideration during
the lifetime of Ramsay, although they are invariably traced to him
and to Scotland, the fairy land of Foreign Masonry,[49] but gathered
their chief impulse from the disgraceful dissentions in the Masonic
Lodges at Paris, about the middle of last century, which induced the
Chevalier de Bonneville, and other distinguished persons at the Court
of France, to form themselves into a separate institution, named the
Chapitre de Clermont, in honour of one of the Princes of the Blood,
Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Clermont, then presiding over the Masonic
Fraternities. In this Chapter they established, amongst other degrees,
Ramsay's system of the Masonic Templars, which, along with other high
grades, was soon conveyed into the Northern Kingdoms of Europe, by the
Officers of the French Army, but especially, by the Marquis de Bernez,
and the Baron de Hund, the latter of whom made it the ground-work
of his Templar _Regime de la Stricte Observance_, which occupied,
for several years, so prominent a place in the Secret Societies of
Germany. This adventurer appeared in that country with a patent,
under the sign-manual of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, appointing him
Grand Master of the seventh province; but although he had invented a
plausible tale in support of his title and authority,--both of which
he affirmed had been made over to him by the Earl Marischal on his
death-bed,--and of the antiquity of his order, which he derived,
of course, from Scotland, where the chief seat of the Templars was
Aberdeen,[50]--the imposture was soon detected, and it was even
discovered that he had himself enticed and initiated the ill-fated
Pretender into his fabulous order of Chivalry. The delusions on this
subject, however, had taken such a hold in Germany, that they were
not altogether dispelled, until a deputation had actually visited
Aberdeen, and found amongst the worthy and astonished brethren there,
no trace either of very ancient Templars or Freemasonry.[51] From some
of the Continental States, it is conjectured that Masonic Templary
was transplanted into England and Ireland, in both of which countries
it has continued to draw a languid existence, unconnected with any
remnant of the Knights of St. John, whose incorporation in the Scottish
Order, is one of the most remarkable features of that Institution. We
are happy to add, nevertheless, that the most fraternal feelings and
intercourse subsist between the Scottish brethren and the Templars of
the sister kingdoms, and we can ourselves testify to the cordiality
with which the former are received in the encampments of London.
During the whole of the eighteenth century the combined Order of the
Temple and Hospital in Scotland can be but faintly traced, though I
have the assurance of well-informed Masons that thirty or forty years
ago they knew old men who had been members of it for sixty years, and
it had sunk so low at the time of the French Revolution, that the
sentence which the Grand Lodge of Scotland fulminated in 1792 against
all degrees of Masonry except those of St. John, was expected to put
a period to its existence. Soon after this, however, some active
individuals revived it, and with the view of obtaining documentary
authority for their chapters, as well as of avoiding any infringement
of the statutes then recently enacted against secret societies, adopted
the precaution of accepting charters of constitution from a body of
Masonic Templars, named the Early Grand Encampment, in Dublin, of
whose origin we can find no account, and whose legitimacy, to say
the least, was quite as questionable as their own. Several charters
of this description were granted to different Lodges of Templars in
Scotland about the beginning of the present century, but these bodies
maintained little concert or intercourse with each other, and were
certainly not much esteemed in the country. Affairs were in this state
when, about 1808, Mr. Alexander Deuchar was elected Commander, or Chief
of the Edinburgh Encampment of Templars, and his brother, Major David
Deuchar, along with other Officers of the Royal Regiment, was initiated
into the Order. This infusion of persons of higher station and better
information gave an immediate impulse to the Institution, and a General
Convocation of all the Templars of Scotland, by representatives, having
taken place at the Capital, they unanimously resolved to discard the
Irish Charters, and to rest their claims, as the representatives of
the Knights of old, on the general belief of the country in their
favour, and the well-accredited traditions handed down from their
forefathers. They further determined to entreat the Duke of Kent,
who was a Chevalier du Temple, as well as the chief of the Masonic
Templars in England, to become the Patron Protector of the Order in
North Britain, offering to submit themselves to His Royal Highness in
that capacity, and to accept from him a formal Charter of Constitution,
erecting them into a regular Conclave of Knights Templars, and Knights
of St. John of Jerusalem. The Duke of Kent lost no time in complying
with their request, and his Charter bears date 19th of June 1811. By a
provision in it, Mr. Deuchar, who had been nominated by the Brethren,
was appointed Grand Master for life.
These wise and vigorous measures rescued the Order from obscurity;
and in its improved condition, we find that it continued rapidly to
flourish, numbering, in the course of a few years, no less than forty
encampments or lodges in different parts of the British dominions
holding of its Conclave. In 1828, the Order seemed to have received
a fresh impulse, and assumed a novel and interesting aspect by the
judicious introduction of the ancient chivalric costume and forms.
Dissentions, however, unfortunately occurred, from 1830 to 1835,
tending to impede the further progress of the Order; and for a while it
may be said to have again almost fallen into abeyance. In the end of
the latter year, a committee of ten gentlemen was appointed to settle
all differences, as well as to frame proper regulations for the future
government of the Order. Under their arrangement and arbitration,
the present statutes were established, and a reconciliation effected
between the contending parties. In January 1836, Admiral Sir David
Milne, K. C. B. was unanimously elected Grand Master, and at a general
election in the same month, Lord Ramsay (now Earl of Dalhousie) was
appointed his Depute, the various other offices in the Order being
filled by gentlemen, generally well known, and of a respectable station
in society. In the course of three months after the re-union, not
fewer than a hundred persons, chiefly men of fortune, officers, and
members of the learned professions, had been received into the Order in
the Edinburgh Canongate Kilwinning Priory or Encampment alone. Since
then, other Priories have been established in the country, and the
Institution has assumed an importance and dignity worthy of the highest
class of gentlemen connected with the Masonic Institutions of Scotland.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: APPENDIX.]
[Illustration]
Bull of Pope Clement V.
Ordinis statum habitum atque nomen, Non Sine Cordis Amaritudine et
Dolore sacro approbante concilio, Non Per Modum Definitivæ Sententiæ,
cum eam super hoc secundum inquisitiones et processus super his
habitos, Non possumus Ferre, de Jure, Sed Per viam Provisionis, seu
ordinationis apostolicæ, irrefragabili et Perpetuo Valitura sustulimus
sanctione, ipsum prohibitione Perpetuæ supponentes, distinctius
inhibendo ne quis dictum Ordinem de cœtero intrare, vel ejus habitum
suscipere aut portare, vel pro Templario gerere se præsumeret; quod
si quis contra faceret, excommunicationis incurreret sententiam, ipso
facto. Datum Viennæ, vi. non. Maii, pont. nostrianno vii. (ii. Maii
MCCCIII.)
[Illustration: CLEMENTUS PP. V]
Charter of Transmission.
[Illustration: V.D. S.A.]
Ego Frater Johannes-Marcus Larmenius, Hierosolymitanus, Dei gratia et
Secretissimo Venerandi sanctissimique Martyris, Supremi Templi Militiæ
Magistri (cui honos et gloria) decreto, communi Fratrum Consilio
confirmato, super universum Templi Ordinem Summo et Supremo Magisterio
insignitus, singulis has decretales litteras visuris salutem, salutem,
salutem.
Notum sit omnibus tam præsentibus quam futuris, quod, deficientibus,
propter extremam ætatem, viribus, rerum angustia et gubernaculi
gravitate prepensis, ad majorem Dei gloriam, Ordinis, Fratrum et
Statutorum tutelam et salutem ego, supra dictus, humilis Magister
Militiæ Templi, inter validiores manus Supremum statuerim deponere
Magisterium.
Idcirco, Deo juvante, unoque Supremi Conventus Equitum
consensu, apud eminentem Commendatorem et carissimum Fratrem,
Franciscum-Thomam-Theobaldum Alexandrinum, Supremum Ordinis Templi
Magisterium, auctoritatem et privilegia contuli, et hoc præsenti
decreto pro vita confero, cum potestate, secundum temporis et rerum
leges, Fratri alteri, institutionis et ingenii nobilitate morumque
honestate præstantissimo, Summum et Supremum Ordinis Templi Magisterium
summamque auctoritatem conferendi. Quod sic, ad perpetuitatem
Magisterii, successorum non intersectam seriem et Statutorum
integritatem tuendas. Jubeo tamen ut non transmitti possit Magisterium,
sine commilitonum Templi Conventus Generalis consensu, quoties colligi
valuerit Supremus iste Conventus; et, rebus ita sese habentibus,
successor ad nutum Equitum eligatur.
Ne autem Languescant Supremi Officii munera, sint nunc et perenniter
quatuor Supremi Magistri Vicarii, supremam potestatem, eminentiam et
auctoritatem, super universum Ordinem, salvo jure Supremi Magistri,
habentes; qui Vicarii Magistri apud seniores secundum professionis
seriem, eligantur. Quod Statutum e commendato mihi et Fratribus voto
sacrosancti supra dicti Venerandi Beatissimique Magistri nostri,
Martyris (cui honos et gloria) Amen.
Ego denique, Fratrum Supremi Conventus decreto, e suprema mihi
commissa auctoritate, Scotos Templarios Ordinis desertores, anathemate
percussos, illosque et Fratres Sancti Johannis Hierosolymæ, dominiorum
Militiæ spoliatores (quibus apud Deum misericordia) extra girum Templi,
nunc et in futurum, volo, dico et jubeo.
Signa, ideo, pseudo-Fratribus ignota et ignoscenda constitui, ore
commilitonibus tradenda, et quo, in Supremo Conventu, jam tradere modo
placuit.
Quæ vero signa tantummodo pateant post debitam professionem et
equestrem consecrationem, secundum Templi commilitonum Statuta, ritus
et usus, supra dicto eminenti Commendatori a me transmissa, sicut a
Venerando et Sanctissimo Martyre Magistro (cui honos et gloria) in meas
manus habui tradita. Fiat sicut dixi. Fiat. Amen.
Ego Johannes-Marcus Larmenius dedi, die decima tertia februarii 1324.
Ego Franciscus-Thomas-Theobaldus Alexandrinus, Deo juvante, Supremum
Magisterium acceptum habeo, 1324.
Ego Arnulphus De Braque, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1340.
Ego Johannes Claromontanus, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1349.
Ego Bertrandus Duguesclin, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1357.
Ego Johannes Arminiacus, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1381.
Ego Bernardus Arminiacus, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1392.
Ego Johannes Arminiacus, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1419.
Ego Johannes Croyus, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum habeo,
1451.
Ego Robertus Lenoncurtius, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1478.
Ego Galeatius de Salazar, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1497.
Ego Philippus Chabotius, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum
habeo, 1516.
Ego Gaspardus De Salciaco, Tavannensis, Deo juvante, Supremum
Magisterium acceptum habeo, 1544.
Ego Henricus De Monte Morenciaco, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium
acceptum habeo, 1574.
Ego Carolus Valesius, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium acceptum habeo,
1615.
Ego Jacobus Ruxellius de Grancio, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium
acceptum habeo, 1651.
Ego Jacobus-Henricus De Duro Forti, dux de Duras, Deo juvante,
Supremum Magisterium acceptum habeo, 1681.
Ego Philippus, dux Aurelianensis, Deo juvante, Supremum Magisterium
acceptum habeo, 1705.
Ego Ludovicus-Augustus Borbonius, dux du Maine, Deo juvante, Supremum
Magisterium acceptum habeo, 1724.
Ego Ludovicus-Henricus Borbonius-Condœus, Deo juvante, Supremum
Magisterium acceptum habeo, 1737.
Ego Ludovicus-Franciscus Borbonius-Conty, Deo juvante, Supremum
Magisterium acceptum habeo, 1741.
Ego Ludovicus-Hercules-Timoleo de Cosse-Brissac, Deo juvante, Supremum
Magisterium acceptum habeo, 1776.
Ego Claudius-Mathæus Radix de Chevillon, Templi senior Vicarius
Magistri, adstantibus Fratribus Prospero-Maria-Petro-Michaele
Charpentier de Saintot, Bernardo-Raymundo Fabre-Palaprat, Templi
Vicariis Magistris, et Johnne-Baptista-Augusto de Courchant, Supremo
Præceptore, hasce litteras decretales a Ludovico-Hercule-Timoleone
de Cosse-Brissac, supremo Magistro, in temporibus infaustis mihi
depositas, Fratri Jacobo-Philippo Ledru, Templi seniori Vicario
Magistro tradidi, ut istæ litteræ, in tempore opportuno, ad perpetuam
Ordinis nostri memoriam, juxta ritum (voyez le Rituel levitique)
Orientalem, vigeant: Die decima junii 1804.
Ego Bernardus-Raymundus Fabre-Palaprat, Deo juvante, Supremum
Magisterium acceptum habeo: Die quarta novembris 1804.
[Illustration: SIGILLVM MILITVM XPISTI]
BOISGELIN, himself a Knight of Malta, gives the following authentic
copy of the Oath of Profession, from the original text, which every
Candidate took at his reception into the Order:--
Vow of the Knights of St. John.
"Io N. faccio voto e prometto a Dio Omnipotente, ed alla Beata Maria
sempre Vergine, Madre di Dio, ed a San Giovanni Battista d'osservare
perpetuamente, con l'ajuta di Dio, vera obedienza a qualunque superiore
che mi sera data da Dio e dalla nostra religione, e di più vivere senza
proprio e d'osservare castità."
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Militia Templi.
Die} Lunae Anno Ordinis
} Mensis Anno D.N.J.C.
Votum,
In nomine Dei Patris + et Filii + et Spiritus Sancti.
Ego,
Ordinis Templi Militiae Sanctae memetipsum ad praesens et in oevum
devovens, libere solemniterque Obedientiae, Paupertatis, et Castitatis,
sicut et Fraternitatis, Hospitalitatis et Praeliationis Votum suscipere
profiteor;
Quo voto firmam et non quassabilem edico voluntatem, ad Religionis
Christianae, Ordinis Templi, Commilitonumque causam, tutelam et
honorem, maximamque illustrationem, et ad Templi Sepulchrique Domini
Nostri Jesu Christi Palestinae, Orientisque terrae et Patrum dominiorum
recuperationem, gladium, vires, vitamque et singula alia mea impendendi,
Regulae S. P. Bernardi, Chartae transmissionis, regulis, legibus,
decretis, singulisque aliis actis, secundum Ordinis Statuta emissis
me submittendi: nullos Equites creaturus, nullosve titulos aut gradus
ritusque et usus Ordinis proditurus, nisi patuerit ex Statutis
licentia: omni denique modo, sive in Ordinis domibus sive foras et in
quocumque vitae, statu Supremo Magistro, omnibusque et singulis in
Militia superioribus absolute obediturus.
Sic Fratres meos Equites Templi, Sororesque Equitissas in charitate
habendi, ut ipsos, Fratrumque Viduas et liberos, sicut et Sororum
liberos, gladio, concilio, copiis, opibus, auctoritate, singulisque
rebus meis adjuvem, illosque semper et ubique, nullo casu excepto,
cuivis Commilitonum Templi non consorti praeferam;
Pios peregrinos tuendi; captivorum propter crucem, infirmorumque et
pauperum subsidio simul et solatio inserviendi:
Infideles et incredulos, exemplo, virtute, bonis operibus, alloquiisque
suasoriis oppugnandi: in Infideles autem et incredulos gladio Crucem
aggredientes, propter Crucem gladio praeliandi:
Ab omni impudicitia abhorrendi, et ad nullam carnis operam, nisi
debitam, et tantum cum uxore legitima accedendi:
Tandem apud singulas quas adibo Gentes, ipsarum, salvo Religionis
Ordinisque jure, legibus et moribus obtemperandi: Gentibus vero
Hospitalitate et amicitia Ordinem colentibus, Cuis et Equitis
fidelissimi sacra officia praestandi.
Haec sic, coram Equitibus (huicce Conventui adstantibus) Voveo, alta
voce Dico, et Vovere Profiteor. Quod Votum Sanguine meo subsigno et
confirmo, atque in tabulas (conventuales) iterum scribo et subsigno,
subsignantibus supra dictis testibus.
Gloria Patri + et Filio + et Spritui Sancto, + Amen.
N.B.--The above Vow is always signed with the interpretation explained
in the text annexed to it.
[Illustration]
Le Trésor.
_Inventaire des Chartre, Statuts, Reliques et Insignes composant
le Trésor sacré de l'Ordre du Temple, extrait de la minute du
procès-verbal qui en a été dressé le 14e. jour de la lune de Tab.,
l'an de l'Ordre 692, du Magister le 6e._ (18 mai 1810.)
Ire. PIÈCE DU TRÉSOR.
La chartre de transmission (par J. M. _Larmenius_), écrite en deux
colonnes et demie sur une très-grande feuille de parchemin, ornée,
suivant le goût du temps, de dessins gothiques architecturaux, de
lettres fleuronnées, coloriées, dorées et argentées, dont la première
offre un chevalier appuyé sur un bouclier armorie de la croix de
l'Ordre.
Au haut, en tête, est peinte la croix conventuelle dans la forme
aulique.
Au bas est le sceau de la milice, suspendu par des lacs de parchemin.
Les acceptations par les Grands-Maîtres commencent vers le milieu de la
troisième colonne, se continuant à la troisième, et finissant aux deux
tiers inférieurs de la marge à droite.
IIe. PIÈCE.
L'archétype des Statuts de l'an de l'Ordre (587,) transcrits à la
main sur vingt-sept feuilles de papier, reliés en un volume petit
in-folio, couvert en velours cramoisi, doublé en satin _idem_, doré sur
tranche.--Cette pièce signée Philippus (_d'Orléans_.)
IIIe. PIÈCE.
Un petit reliquaire de cuivre, en forme d'église gothique, contenant,
dans un suaire de lin, quatre fragmens d'os brulés, extraits du bûcher
des martyrs de l'Ordre.
IVe. PIÈCE.
Une épée de fer (cruciforme) surmontée d'une boule, et présumée avoir
servi au G.-M. J. _Molay_.
Ve. PIÈCE.
Un casque de fer, à visière, armorié de dauphins et damastiqué en or,
présumé être celui de _Guy_, dauphin d'Auvergne.
VIe. PIÈCE.
Un ancien éperon de cuivre doré.
VIIe. PIÈCE.
Une patène de bronze, dans l'interieur de laquelle est gravée une main
étendue, dont le petit doigt et l'annulaire sont repliés dans la paume.
VIIIe. PIÈCE.
Une paix en bronze doré, représentant Saint-Jean sous une arcade
gothique.
IXe. PIÈCE.
Trois sceaux gothiques de bronze en forme ovale pointue, et de grandeur
différente, désignés dans les Statuts sous les noms de _sceau du G.-M.
Jean, sceau du chevalier croisé, et sceau de Saint-Jean_.
Xe. PIÈCE.
Un haut de crosse d'ivoire et trois mitres d'étoffe, l'une en or,
brodée en soie, et deux en argent, brodées en perles, ayant servi aux
cérémonies de l'Ordre.
XIe. PIÈCE.
Le baucéant en laine blanche, à la croix de l'Ordre.
XIIe. et dernière PIÈCE.
Le drapeau de guerre, en laine blanche, à quatre raies noires.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Ordre du Temple.
A la plus Grande Gloire de Dieu.
Guillaume-Sidney,
Par la Grace de Dieu, et la désignation Testamentaire du dernier
Grand-Maître.
Prince Magistral, Régent de l'Ordre du Temple;
A Tous Ceux qui ces Présentes, Verront:
Salut.
Vu, l'Article 38 des Statuts de l'Ordre du Temple, et le 3me paragraphe
de la Charte de transmission;
Vu, les Articles 13, 15, 16 et suivans desdits Status;
Considérant, que l'etat de haute civilisation des diverses Nations
Européennes et principalement de la France, ou se trouve le siège
Magistral, permet toute Réunion du Convent Général, sans qu'il puisse
en resulter le moindre danger pour les Chevaliers;
Considérant, que les tems sont venus de rendre au Convent général
tous les droits dont il a joui jusques au G. M. Jacques de Molay, (à
qui scient honneur et gloire), et de faire rentrer dans de sages et
constitutionnelles limites la puissance du Magistère;
Considérant, qu'une reforme prudente et réfléchie des Statuts, dans les
parties qui ne sont plus en harmonie avec la Charte de transmission,
les moeurs du siècle et la règle, est le moyen le plus efficace de
rendre possible l'accomplissement des hautes destinées auxquelles
l'Ordre du Temple est appellé;
Le conseil privé entendu;
Nous avons décrété et décrétons ce qui suit:
Article Premier.
Le Convent Général de l'Ordre du Temple est Convoqué pour le dix
Novembre, 1838.
Article II.
Immédiatemement après sa réunion, le Convent général devra se prononcer
sur la présentation du Prince Magistral Régent, désigné par Bernard
Raymond (à qui soient honneur et gloire) pour lui succéder en qualité
de Grand Maître de l'Ordre du Temple.
Article III.
En tête du Commentarium sera placé la revision du Chapitre IV et de
tous les Articles des Statuts qui ont des connexions avec ce Chapitre.
Article IV.
Il sera ouvert à la Sécretairerie Magistrale un Registre destiné à
l'inscription des propositions faites pour être présentées au Convent
général, et qui seront insérées au Commentarium, conformément aux
Statuts.
Soit, le présent décret, expédié, enregistré et scellé par qui et a
qui de droit; adressé spécialement au Grand Connétable, au Gouverneur
général et au Grand Maître des Dépêches, qui sont chargés de son
exécution;
Soit aussi, ledit Décret, envoyé par lettres communicatoires, 1º, au
Prieur de chaque Convent, pour être porté à la connaissance de tous les
Chevaliers de son obédience, 2º, et personnellement, aux Chevaliers qui
ne feraient partie d'aucune Maison de l'Ordre.
_Donné à Paris, en notre résidence Magistrale, le 1er du mois de Mai,
de l'an de N. S. J. C. 1838, 720e. de l'Ordre.
[Transcriber's note: The signature symbols following consisted of
crosses with 1, 2 and 3 bars. These have no text equivalents, so they
have been replaced with + signs corresponding to the number of bars.]
Signé +++ F. ++ Guillaume Sidney
De par S. A. le Prince Magistral, Régent de l'Ordre.
Le Grand Précepteur, Ministre Secrétaire Magistral,
Signé ++ F. + Réné Léon De Sud-Europe.
Enregistré en la grande Sénéchaussée, le 3 Mai 1838.
Le Ministre Grand Sénéchal,
Signé, ++ F. + Eugène De France.
Scellé en la grande Chancellerie, le même jour,
Le Grand-Précepteur, Ministre Grand Chancelier,
Signé, ++ F. + Felix De Nord-Afrique.
Vu par le Grand-Connétable; Signé ++ F. Sébastien Louis De Bauvais.
Vu par le Gouverneur Général; Signé F. ++ Fréchot.
Vu par le Grand Maître des Dépêches, Signé ++ F. E. Loubert +.
Pour copie conforme:
Le Grand Précepteur, Ministre Secrétaire Magistral.
++ F. + Réné Léon De Sud-Europe._
DISCOURS DE L'AMIRAL SIR SIDNEY SMITH, AU CONVENT GENERAL LE 27 JANVIER
1837.
_S. A. le Lieutenant-Général d'Asie_ demande la parole. Ce vénérable
frère s'exprime ainsi qu'il suit.
"Sérénisme Grand-Maître, et vous tous mes nobles frères:
"Justement et infiniment sensible à l'honneur qui m'a été conféré,
par suite de ma nomination, à la haute dignité de Lieutenant-Général
d'Asie, je dois vous en témoigner toute ma reconnaissance.
"A mon âge avancé, je puis prétendre à être considéré comme exempt
d'ambition: je vois par conséquent dans cet acte de la haute confiance
du Grand-Maître, une charge onéreuse et un lourd fardeau, plutôt qu'un
avantage: mais, je l'accepte avec respect. Mes soins et mes efforts
constans seront toujours employés pour prouver que je n'ai pas fait en
vain le serment de fidélité et de soumission à l'ordre et à son chef
suprême.
"Je vois dans cette nomination une preuve de la vraie libéralité du
Grand-Maître éclairé de cet ordre, essentiellement cosmopolite, où
toutes les nations chrétiennes se confondent et co-opèrent ensemble
pour le maintien de la paix du monde et de l'harmonie entre les sectes
religieuses, par la tolérance, la charité et la protection pour les
pélerins en Terre Sainte, contre les pirates et brigands; premier
but de sa fondation, qui précéda les autres ordres de la chevalerie
moderne, ordres qui _n'ont été_ et ne _sont_ que ses _imitateurs_: car
le notre ne demande que l'occasion de remplir son devoir sacré. Aussi
est-ce avec une vive satisfaction que je vois enfin un Grand-Maître
apprécier l'importance de l'ordre, _et pour la premiére fois, appeler
pour un de ses lieutenans, je ne dis pas un anglais, mais un templier
de la langue d'Angleterre_. _Honneur au Grand-Maître qui a fait un
tel acte, et qui montre ainsi à toutes les nations, que toutes ont
des droits égaux à remplir les diverses charges du Temple_: Honneur
à ce chef qui a si longtemps et si loyalement conservé le feu sacré,
et les traditions, malgré les orages et les persécutions, suite d'une
révolution dont l'origine remonte pour nous, a _Philippe-le-Bel_ et au
_Pape Clement V._ Mais espérons qu'enfin nous rentrerons dans tous nos
droits; et qu'au lieu de dresser la tente magistrale dans une langue
excentrique, un jour nous la dresserons au lieu de notre crèation,
dans la ville qui nous appartient, dans la _sainte Jérusalem_!
"_Honneur aux très nobles chevaliers qui se sont montrés penétrés
du sentiment de leurs devoirs, et ont donné constamment des preuves
qu'ils sont incapables d'oublier leur serment de fidélité et
d'obéissance!......_
"J'ai déjà communiqué verbalement à S. A. E., devant témoins, ce
que j'ai consigné dans mon testament, la disposition formelle, pour
la restitution au chef du Temple, d'une croix de l'ordre qui est
très ancienne, à en juger par sa forme et la monture des pierres,
laquelle croix a appartenu à un de ses Grand-Maîtres, et fut du temps
des croisades portée dans la guerre sainte par le roi d'Angleterre
_Richard_ Ier, dit _Cœur-de-Lion_. Ce roi l'a laissée en dépôt entre
les mains de l'archevêque de Chypre lors de son départ de cette ile,
dont il était Souverain par conquête. J'ai été personnellement décoré
de cette croix en 1799, par les mains du dixhuitième archevêque,
successeur du dépositaire, qui l'a plaçé sur ma poitrine, en
reconnaissance de la réussite de mes efforts, pour rétablir la paix
et la protection due à la population chrétienne de l'île, contre
l'insurrection des troupes Asiatiques qui avaient assassiné leur chef,
appelé le _Patrona Bey_, et commençaient déjà à se livrer au pillage et
au massacre des habitans: désastres que j'ai empêchés par ma présence
au milieu de ces furieux, sans armes, le firman du Sultan _Selim_ en
main, et par la nomination d'un successeur _a Patrona Bey_, en vertu de
l'autorité supréme qui m'avait été déléguée dans le temps par la Porte
Ottomane, sur les forces combinées de terre et de mer dans le Levant.
"L'autorité qui maintenant m'est déléguée par le sérénissime
grand-maitre sur le continent d'Asie, pourra en temps et lieu être
employée utilement pour protéger la population chrétienne de ces
contrées, et le maintien de la hiérarchie de l'ordre. Croyez, que pour
la plus grande gloire du Temple, je me ferai un devoir d'employer
l'influence que les antécédens m'ont donnée. _Les templiers fidèles
peuvent compter sur moi._"
Le grand-maitre exprime au lieutenant-général d'Asie, les sentimens
dont lui et ses frères sont animés pour un Chevalier qui a conquis
l'admiration du monde par ses hauts faits maritimes, et a mérité par
ses vertus sociales et templières, l'estime et l'affection de tous
ses frères. Le grand-maitre lui donne au nom de l'ordre l'accolade
fraternelle.
Le Convent Général ordonne que le discours de l'Amiral _Sir Sidney
Smith_ soit inséré textuellement au procès-verbal.
[Illustration]
The following account from the pen of the learned
Biographer of the gallant Admiral, of the
Investiture of Sir Sidney Smith, as a Knight
Commander of the Bath, by his contemporary and
brother in arms, the great and illustrious
Wellington, and the "very extraordinary" document
which follows, will, no doubt, be read with much
interest:
Towards the termination of this year, 1815, our officer was honoured,
in a most particular manner, by his Sovereign.
His Grace the Duke of Wellington having received the gracious commands
of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent of the United Kingdoms,
through his Royal Highness the Duke of York, Grand-master of the most
honourable order of the Bath, to invest Vice-Admiral Sir William
Sidney Smith, Knight-commander-grand-cross of the Royal Military
Order of the Sword, with the insignia of commander of the aforesaid,
his Grace fixed on the 29th of December for the performance of the
ceremony, which took place accordingly at the Palace Elisée-Bourbon,
the Knights-grand-crosses, Knights-commanders, and Companions
being present, as also his Grace the Duke of Richmond and the Right
Honourable the Earl of Hardwick, both Knights of the most noble Order
of the Garter.
At six o'clock the Commander elect arrived at the palace, and
being conducted and supported into the presence of the noble Duke
representing the Sovereign on the occasion, by the two junior
grand-crosses, Sir James Kempt and Sir Henry Colville, after the usual
reverences in advancing, (the Commander elect being already a Knight,
the usual ceremony of dubbing him as such was formally dispensed with,)
his Grace proceeded, according to the order of his Royal Highness the
Grand-Master, which he first read, and invested the Commander with
the insignia of the Order: after which his Grace embraced Sir Sidney
Smith twice most cordially, with every demonstration of the feelings
of esteem and regard, feelings which the Knights, Grand-crosses,
and Commanders, many of whom had served in Egypt as his juniors in
rank, also testified; and it certainly may be said to be a proud day
for England when such a scene took place in the evacuated palace of
Buonaparte, between these two British officers of the two services, one
of whom first checked, and the other of whom finally closed, the career
of that ambitious chieftain.
The banquet being announced, his Grace desired his Excellency the
British ambassador, Sir Charles Stuart, G.C.B., to conduct the new
Knight Commander to the hall of the same, where the members of the
Order, including some foreigners of distinction, amongst whom were Don
Michael Alava, General Muffling, and Count Demetrius Valsamachi, a
nobleman of the Ionian Islands, were entertained most sumptuously in
the usual style of the Duke's elegant hospitality.
After the health of the King and Prince Regent had been drunk, the Duke
gave the health of "Sir Sidney Smith:" the company hereupon rose, and
followed his Grace's example in greeting the new Commander with the
most cordial acclamations. When silence was restored, Sir Sidney Smith
rose, and addressed the company nearly as follows:--
"My Lords, noble Knights, Grand Crosses, Commanders, and Companions!--I
should not do justice to my feelings, were I not to endeavour to
express them in returning you my thanks for the honour you have done me
by this reception: at the same time, I feel I cannot do justice to them
by any mode of expression I can make use of.
"The language of _compliment_ must die on the lips of any man in the
presence of the Duke of Wellington; first, from the inadequacy of all
language to express what every man must feel when speaking of such a
highly distinguished chief; next, from the recollection of the noble
simplicity of his character which disdains it. It will, I trust, be
readily believed, that I must be most truly gratified to be invested
by a knight of such high renown and glorious achievements; and the
more so in this _particular place_, and in an assembly of so many
illustrious and highly distinguished Knights-Commanders and Companions.
A combination of circumstances, which could only happen in the present
times, and are mainly owing to the successful result of the battle
of Waterloo. Noble and illustrious Knights, I beg you to accept the
expression of my humble thanks for the honour you have done me."
The Duke of Wellington having acceded to Sir Sidney Smith's request to
be allowed to propose a toast to the company, he proceeded to say--"I
beg leave to call to remembrance that this day (the 29th of December)
is the anniversary of a re-union of illustrious knights of various
orders, which took place at Vienna, where many Sovereigns were present,
and when the toast I shall have the honour to propose to you was drunk
by them with a manifestation of their conviction, that the object of it
intimately concerned knighthood as such, in all nations. I beg leave to
propose the health and deliverance of the _white Slaves in the Barbary
States_."
The toast was received with the most marked approbation, and drunk
with the usual demonstrations thereof, by three times three regular
and hearty cheers, when the company adjourned to the ball-room,
preceded, on the indication of the Duke of Wellington, by the new
Knight-Commander, supported by his Britannic Majesty's ambassador, in
the same order as on entrance, where a brilliant assembly of ladies,
English, French, Spanish, Russian, &c. &c. continued to increase till
a late hour; his Royal Highness the Duke of Berry, the French, and
the foreign ministers, were also present, and all joined in cordial
congratulations of, and compliments to, the cosmopolite chieftain,
President of the Knights Liberators of the white slaves in Africa;
who, we observed, was decorated with the various orders of the
nations he has contributed by his endeavours to release from the yoke
of the former inhabitants of the palace where this extraordinary
assembly was held; then a prisoner on the top of a rock in the
Southern Atlantic. These circumstances reminded the Parisians of the
prophetic inscriptions left by Sidney Smith on the window shutter of
the Temple prison, when he escaped, of which many copies were taken
and are now again in circulation, and read with great interest since
the accomplishment has taken place: we have been favoured with a
translation, of which we give our readers a copy, the original having
been in French, and respected by various successive guardians of the
tower, till the Prince de Rohan, afterwards Duke de Rohan, subsequently
a prisoner in that tower, removed it for its preservation, and we are
assured he now possesses it.
"SIDNEY SMITH TO BUONAPARTE."
"Fortune's wheel makes strange revolutions, it must be confessed; but
for the term revolution to be applicable, the term should be a complete
one, for a half turn is not a revolution; (see the Dictionary of the
Academy;) you are at present as high as you can mount. Well! I don't
envy you your fortunate situation, for I am better off than you; I am
as low in the career of ambition as a man can descend; so that let
fortune turn her wheel ever so little, and as she is capricious, turn
it she will, I must necessarily mount, and you as necessarily must
descend. I do not make this remark to you to cause you any chagrin;
on the contrary, with the intent to bring you the same consolation I
have at present when you shall arrive at the same point where I am;
yes! the same point; you will inhabit this prison, why not as well as
I? I did not think of such a thing any more than you do at present,
before I found myself brought hither. In party wars 'tis a crime in the
eyes of opponents for a man to do his duty well; you do yours now, and
consequently you by so much irritate your enemies; you will answer me.
"'I fear not their combined hatred, the voice of the people is declared
for me, I serve them well:' that is all very good talking; sleep in
quiet, you'll very soon learn what one gains by serving such a master,
whose inconstancy will perhaps punish you _for all the good_ you do
him. 'Whoever,' (says an ancient author, Pausanias Atticus,) 'puts his
entire confidence in public favour, never passes his life without pain
and trouble, and seldom comes to a good end.'
"Finis coronat opus."
"In fact, I need not prove to you that you will come here and read
these lines, because here you must be to read them. You will certainly
have this chamber, because it is the best, and the keeper, who is a
very civil good sort of man, will, of course, treat you as well as he
does me."
N. B.--These lines having appeared in the Parisian papers in 1799, and
having been put into Buonaparte's hands at Cairo, on his return from
his unsuccessful Syrian expedition, where he was foiled and worsted by
the writer of them, he exclaimed, '_It is very extraordinary_;' and
on his return to Paris, fearing the accomplishment of the remainder
of the prediction, after having procured through Regnauld de St. Jean
d'Angely the sight of a copy in the hands of Baruel Beauvert, he
forthwith ordered the building to be levelled to the ground.
After this display of his country's gratitude to Sir Sidney Smith,
which became so much the more enhanced, as it may be said to have
taken place almost in the presence of so many Sovereigns, Sir Sidney
had little else to do but to enjoy his richly-merited rewards, the
universal admiration, and the approbation of his own mind, ever active
in doing good, not only for his country, but for the whole human race.
He prosecuted with ardour his plans for the abolition of white slavery,
even after the destruction of the pirates' nest in Algiers.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
DEATH AND FUNERAL OF ADMIRAL SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY SMITH, G.C.B. &c. &c.
&c.
Sir William Sidney Smith died on Friday Morning, the 26th May 1840, at
his residence, No. 9, Rue d'Aguisseau, in the 76th year of his age.
Honoured by his Sovereign, and decorated with the Orders of almost
every State in Europe, he was, in private life, beloved and respected
by all who had the pleasure of his friendship or acquaintance.
His chivalrous and lofty bearing, his cheerful and animated
conversation, his unbounded fund of anecdote, suavity of temper, and
invariable benevolence, rendered him a most welcome and instructive
companion.--It has been truly written by his Biographer,
"Than Sir Sidney Smith, no one ever inscribed on the pages of History,
and even of Romance, more emphatically deserved the title of Hero."
The mortal remains of this Gallant and Illustrious Admiral were
interred, May 29, in the Cimetiére de l' Est, or Eastern Division
of the Great Cemetery of Pére la Chaise. The body was taken from
his late residence in the Rue d'Aguisseau to the English Episcopal
Church in the same street, followed by his relatives, William and
Herbert Smith, Esquires, Nephews, Captain Arabin, and ---- St. Clair,
Esquire, Sons-in-law of the deceased, with Vice Admiral Sir Charles
Rowley, Bart. Lieut.-General Lord Aylmer, General Count Excelmans,
Peer of France, and the French Admiral Bergeret, as supporters of the
Pall, besides many of the principal English residents in Paris, among
whom were several officers of high rank in the British Navy.--The
introductory part of the service was performed in the Church by the
Right Reverend Bishop Luscombe, and two assistants, and the body was
then borne to the Cemetery, attended by a long cortége of mourning and
private carriages. On the Coffin was placed the Hat, Sword, and Uniform
of the deceased, and on a cushion his epaulettes and numerous orders.
Over the foot of the coffin was spread the British Union Jack. At the
conclusion of the burial service, which was most impressively read by
Bishop Luscombe, three orations were delivered--the first by Monsieur
Jullien, of Paris, who gave a short but comprehensive recapitulation
of the services of Sir Sidney, from his first entering the British
Navy at the age of 13, and also expatiated largely on his amiable and
philanthrophic qualities. The next speaker, M. Caille, Advocate of the
Cour Royale of Paris, after pronouncing a general panegyric on the
character of the deceased as a warrior, proceeded to eulogise him for
his active and generous exertion in promoting the objects of several
philanthropic societies of which he was a member, and to which his
advice, his practical and scientific acquirements, and his inventions,
were so invaluable. Both speakers were loud in their praise of Sir
Sidney, for his having been almost the first to interfere for the
suppression of European slavery in Africa, and for his indefatigable
and strenuous exertions in that humane cause. The third gentleman, M.
Raoul, Advocat of the Court of Cassation, spoke in a similar strain of
eulogium of the character of Sir Sidney as a citizen of the world, ever
ready to aid the cause of humanity. No stronger testimony to his worth
could, however, have been shewn, than to hear his eulogium pronounced
solely by members of a Nation against which, in his career of arms, he
had so successfully and gloriously fought. Sir Sidney Smith was Prince
Magistral and Regent of the Order of the Temple, and a Member of the
Legion of Honour.
The following two Discourses pronounced upon the melancholy occasion,
were, in the kindest and most handsome manner, contributed by M.
Jullien, the learned author of many valuable works.--
DISCOURS PRONONCE AUX FUNERAILLES DE L'AMIRAL SIR SIDNEY SMITH, PAR M.
JULLIEN, DE PARIS,
Son ancien ami et son Collègue, comme membre et
président honoraire de plusieurs Sociétés Savantes ou
Philantropiques, le 29 Mai 1840.