Chapter III: Part 3

"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.

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.

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.

MESSIEURS,

L'homme respectable auquel nous venons adresser un dernier adieu, ne fut pas seulement un marin et un guerrier célèbre; il fut surtout un ami constant, dévoué et chevaleresque de l'humanité. Dans sa longue et aventureuse carrière qu'il a parcourue avec tant d'éclat, il s'est moins distingué encore par sa brillante valeur que par une loyauté et une générosité qui lui ont conquis les coeurs, même de ses ennemis. Né a Londres le 21 Juin 1764, entré au Service en 1777, avant l'âge de 13 ans, comme simple novice (élève de marine,) a bord d'une frégate stationnée sur les côtes de l'Amérique, pendant la guerre de l'indépendance, il passa, en 1779, sur le Sandwich, vaisseau de 90 canons, sur lequel l'Amiral Sir GEORGE BRIDGES RODNEY arbora son pavillon de Commandement-en-Chef, et fit voile, le jour de noël de cette même année, pour Gibraltar, et ensuite pour les Indes Occidentales, SIDNEY SMITH fut successivement Lieutenant de vaisseau et Capitaine de corvette. Il prit part à tous les combats qui eurent lieu dans cet hémisphère jusqu'à la paix de 1783.

En 1788, Sidney Smith passa en Suède, alors en guerre avec la Russie, ostensiblement comme volontaire auxiliaire, mais en réalité comme Aide-de-Camp honoraire et intime du roi Gustave III. Après avoir rendu, en cette qualité, les plus brillant et les plus utiles services à la Suède, il reçut des mains mêmes de ce monarque chevaleresque, la décoration de première classe de l'ordre de l'epée. A cette époque, ces distinctions honorifiques n'étaient point prodiguées et prostituées, comme elles l'ont été depuis, et elles avaient un véritable prix, n'étant accordées qu'au mérite et aux services réels.

En 1793, le jeune Smith se rendit comme volontaire en Turquie, où il conduisit avec lui plusieurs constructeurs de vaisseaux. Peu après, il était chargé d'un commandement dans la Croisière Anglaise sur les côtes de France. Le 18 Avril 1796, ayant abordé un vaisseau Français à la hauteur du Ilaîre, obligé par le courant de remonter la Seine, il fut fait prisonnier par des forces supérieures qui l'attaquérent; puis amené à Paris, ou il resta deux ans dans le prisons de l'Abbaye et du Temple. Echappé de sa prison par l'intervention d'amis dévoués, il rejoignit la flotte Anglaise en 1798. La même année, appellé à commander les forces auxiliaires que La Grande-Bretagne mettaìt à la disposition de la Turquie, où son frère Sir SPENCER SMITH, était Ministre Plénipotentiaire, auprès de là Porte Ottomane, il se trouve le 1 Mars 1799, jusqu'au 20 Mai suivant, au siège mémorable de Saint Jean d'Acre, et co-opère puissamment à la défense de cette place.

Nous ne devons, en présence d'un cercueil, rappeler que des souvenirs compatibles avec notre unanime sympathie pour notre illustre ami, Bornons-nous à dire que Sidney Smith se montra grand et magnanime envers les Français faits prisonniers; il sut les garantir, par son énergique volonté, des violences et de la barbarie Turques; il mérita leur estime et leur affection; et la loyautè Française aime à reconnâitre que sa conduite, lors même qu'il était l'allié de nos ennemis, fut noble et généreuse envers ceux que le sort des armes mettait en sa puissance. Les généraux Kleber et Desaix, qui entrèrent en négociation avec lui après le départ de Bonaparte, ont apprécié sa droiture et son humanité, et lui ont rendu justice.

Sidney Smith, après avoir sauvé la vie de nos compatriotes, rendit intactes aux savans de l'expédition les caisses contenant les papiers et les cartes qui devaient servir à écrire l'histoire de la campagne d'Egypte. Aussi, à la paix le gouvernement Français, sur la proposition de la commission de l'institut Egyptien lui a offert un exemplaire de ce magnifique ouvrage, comme un témoignage de la reconnaissance publique.

Après les événemens d'Egypte es de Syrée, où Sidney Smith avait contribué à ménager à l'armée Française des conditions honorables pour revenir dans sa patrie, il quitta lui-même les parages de l'Orient, et se rendit en Angleterre où il fut élu membre de la Chambre des Communes, par la ville de Rochester, en 1802.

Nous le voyons reparaître, en 1803, avec un commandement sur les côtes de la France et de la Hollande. En 1807, il commande la flotte chargée de défendre la Sicile. En 1806, il est envoyé à Constantinople où il force les Dardanelles, au mois d'Octobre 1807, il commande les forces Anglaises mises à la disposition du Portugal; et le 29 Novembre suivant, une partée de sa flotte accompagne au Bresil la famille royale, qui va chercher au-delà des mers un asyle dans ses possessions Americaines.

Dans ses relations avec les Rois et avec les princes souverains, comme avec les peuples et dans tous les pays où le conduisit sa destinée aventureuse, Sidney Smith contracta d'honorables et d'illustres amitiés. Ce fut principalement en 1814, au Congrès de Vienne, qu'il fixa l'attention de tous les grands personnages réunie alors pour poster les vases de la Paix Européenne, et qu'il reçut de tous sans exception les hommages, d'une estime respectueuse. Il conçut alors la pensée philantroprique de fonder, avec le concours des Monarques alliés, et de tous les hommes de bien qui partageaient ses vues, une _institution anti-pirate_, en _association des chevaliers libérateurs des esclaves blancs et noirs en Afrique_. Car, il avait souvent déploré, dans ses commandement sur les différens points de la Mediterranée, les actes cruels de la piraterie barbaresque, trop longtems tolérée par les puissances Chrétiennes, et il s'était promis d'y mettre un terme. Plus de cent noms illustres remplirent les listes de souscription qu'il avait ouvertes. Il entretint, pendant plusieurs années, une vaste et active correspondance, au moyen de laquelle il contribua puissamment à faire cesser les malheurs d'un grand nombre de victimes, des actes de piraterie qui jusqu'alors s'étaient commis impunément et presque librement sous les yeux de l'Europe civilisée.

Pendant les 25 années de paix générale qui ont précédé sa mort, le grand homme de guerre que nous pleurons aujourd'hui se montra constamment homme pacifique et bienfaisant, véritable cosmopolite, ami sincère de l'humanité, en prenent ce mot dans sa plus complète acception.

Par une singularité nouvelle de sa destinée, Sidney-Smith meurt en France, où il reçoit les regrets et les hommages de ses compatriotes, et de ses concitoyens d'adoption, au moment même où l'Angleterre, sa patrie, restitue à la France les cendres de Napoléon. La nation Anglaise paie un tribute d'admiration à ce même Empereur qu'elle n'a cessé de combattre pendant sa vie. La terre Française reçoit les dépouilles mortelles de l'Amiral Britannique qui employa longtems contre elle ses talens et son courage, qui depuis a consacré 25 années à servir, au milieu des Français et avec leur co-opération, la cause sacrée de l'humanité et celle du malheur.

Au nombre des titre de gloire de l'Amiral, nous ne devons pas omettre la louable persévérance avec laquelle il s'est occupé de perfectionner les moyens de sauvetage et sa grande part à la fondation de la socièté générale des naufrages, qui a donné un plus grand dèveloppement à ses vues bienfaisantes. Ainsi les passions humaines s'éteignent en présence d'un tombeau. Ainsi les nations abjurent de cruelles et injustes antipathies qui les ont trop longtemps divisées. Ainsi tous les hommes de bien, quelle que soit leur terre natale, se réunissent pour honorer l'homme qui, par ses vertus et ses actions, a servi avec dévouement les grands intérêts de la famille humaine.

DISCOURS PRONONCÉ SUR LA TOMBE DE SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY SMITH, AMIRAL DE
LA FLOTTE ROUGE D'ANGLETERRE, Lors de ses obsèques, dans le cimetière
de l'Est, à Paris, le 29 Mai 1840, PAR M. CAILLE, Avocat à la Cour
Royale de Paris.

MESSIEURS,

Invité depuis quelques instans seulement, par la famille de l'Amiral William Sidney Smith, á exprimer de justes regrets sur sa tombe, je ne puis apporter qu'un bien faible tribut d'admiration à sa mémoire, surtout après l'éloge que vient de prononcer au nom de l'Ordre du Temple, dont cet illustre Anglais était le régent, l'un des dignitaires de cet ordre, et lorsqu'une notice historique de sa vie vous a été présentée par l'un des litterateurs les plus distingués de la France.

L'histoire transmettra à la postérité les exploits du célèbre marin, de l'habile négociateur, du généreux philanthrope, dont nous déplorons la perte. C'est exclusivement sous le rapport moral et philosophique que j'essaierai de vous retracer quelques épisodes de sa carrière entièrement consacrée au bonheur de ses semblables, et l'influence politique qu'il exerça sur les états, avec lesquels il fut mis en rapport par son gouvernement.

Sidney-Smith, comme vous le savez, comptait déjà dix-huit années de services militaires distingués, lorsque, à l'âge de trente-quatre ans, il fut chargé par le ministère Anglais, en qualité de commodore, de la station maritime de l'Archipel du Levant, en 1798; c'est-à-dire à l'époque de la conquête de l'Egypte, par l'armée de la république Française, sous les ordres du général Bonaparte.

Je ne vous peindrai pas sa lutte héroïque avec le géant du siècle, à Saint-Jean-d'Acre, dont il fit lever le siège après soixante jours de tranchée: je me hâte de vous signaler un service qui devait être incalculable dans ses conséquences politiques, et que Sidney-Smith rendit à la sublime Porte, dont il releva le courage par ses succès: il sut profiter du crédit obtenu par sa victoire de Saint-Jean-d'Acre, auprès du sultan Selim III, et de Kléber, général de l'armée Française en Egypte, depuis le retour de Bonaparte en France, pour négocier le fameux traité d'El-Arich, du 24 janvier 1801, traité qu'il considérait comme le préliminaire de la paix entre les puissances belligérantes. Il y stipula que l'armée française évacuerait l'Egypte, avec armes et bagages, et serait transportée en France.

Sidney-Smith signa ce traité avec les pleins pouvoirs du ministère Britannique, dont il était revêtu: le grand-visir et le général Kléber le signèrent, au nom de leurs gouvernemens respectifs.

Je ne puis trop insister, messieurs, sur cette époque où Sidney-Smith arbora l'olive de la paix entre trois camps ennemis; il avait prévu les nouvelles destinnées de la France, et sa haute sagesse avait préféré de traiter avec elle, dans l'intérêt de la Sublime Porte, et de gouvernement Britannique lui-même, et surtout dans l'intérêt de l'humanité, plutôt que de courir la chance faillible des combats.

Mais le ministère Anglais, qui ne lui avait donné qu'à regret des pouvoirs et des instructions pacifiques, informé que l'armée du grand visir était forte de 80,000 hommes, tandis que celle de Kléber ne l'était que de 8000, crut l'occasion favorable d'anéantir la puissance Française en Egypte, il refusa de ratifier le traité d'El-Arich, et osa donner l'ordre à l'amiral Keith d'exiger que l'armée Française mît bas les armes et se rendît prisonnière de guerre. Sidney-Smith fut profondément affligé de cette violation des lois de la guerre et du droit des gens.

Dés-lors les hostilités recommencèrent. L'armée Française combattit avec ce sentiment de l'indignation qui décuple le courage: elle défit entièrement l'armée ottomane á Héliopolis. Le grand-visir, qui la commandait, ne dut son salut qu'à la fuite, en laissant aux vainqueurs ses bagages, et un immense butin.

Ce ne fut q'une année après cette victoire que l'Egypte fut rendue aux Turcs, par le traité d'Amiens, de 1802; tandis qu'ils l'auraient recouvrée, sans de nouvelles pertes, dès 1801, si le traité de Sidney-Smith eût été ratifié, comme il aurait dû l'être, puisqu'il n'avait fait que se conformer strictement aux instructions de son gouvernement.

Vous connaissez, messieurs, la brillante réception qui fut faite à Londres, à Sidney-Smith, lors de son retour dans sa patrie, en 1802; il y fut accueilli avec le plus grand enthusiasme; le surnom de _Dieu marin_ lui fut décerné par le peuple. La ville de Rochester s'empressa de l'élire pour son représentant au Parlement, où il siéga dans les rangs de l'opposition, entre Shéridan et Fox.

J'appellerai votre attention sur un autre genre de services rendus à la nation Ottomane, par Sidney-Smith. Pendant son séjour à Constantinople, il avait acquis une grande influence sur Mahmoud-Kan II, qui, en 1808, succéda au sultan Mustapha IV, son frère. Sidney-Smith, par ses conseils, a puissamment contribué aux importantes révolutions politiques que Mahmoud-Kan II a introduites dans ses états, et notamment à la charte constitutionnelle que sous le titre de Hatti-Shériff de Gulaneh, cet immortel sultan a donnée au peuple Ottoman, charte dont le vice-roi d'Egypte, Méhémet-Ali, vient d'ordonner l'application, pour la révision de l'horrible procès intenté, dans la ville de Damas, par le fanatisme de secte, contre d'honorables Juifs, faussement accusés du meurtre d'un prêtre catholique.

Il est un plus grand service encore rendu a l'humanité, et auquel Sidney-Smith a eu la gloire de participer très-activement, c'est l'abolition de l'esclavage, dans toutes les colonies de la Grande-Bretagne. Grâce a l'ascendant irrésistible de l'opinion publique, les gouvernemens de l'Europe seront forcés d'imiter ce sublime exemple, et de proscrire irrévocablement cet abominable trafic d'hommes, arrachés a leur patrie, pour être vendus, comme un vil bétail.

Je ne dois pas oublier que, dès l'année 1817, Sidney-Smith infatigable dans son dévouement a l'humanité, avait établi, a Londres et a Paris, une association anti-pirate, dont l'objet était de faire cesser la traite des blancs, exercée impunément, en présence de l'Europe civilisée, par les corsaires d'Alger, de Maroc et de Tunis.

Dans les dernières années d'une vie illustrée par tant d'actes mémorables, Sidney-Smith s'occupa de la recherche des moyens de sauvetage, pour les navires exposés aux tempêtes de la mer. Il a eu l'honneur d'être dans cette découverte l'un des inventeurs qui out le plus approché de la solution du problème de la garantie contre les naufrages.

Telle a été, messieurs, la carrière de Sidney-Smith, promu successivement à tous les grades de la marine, et jusqu' à celui d'Amiral de la Flotte Rouge d'Angleterre, que lui conféra le roi Guillaume IV; il a été de plus décoré de tous les ordres des souverains de l'Europe, en reconnaissance des nombreux services qu'il leur a rendus.

A la vue du triste cercueil, qui contient les restes de Sidney-Smith, nous bornerons-nous au stérile récit de ses nobles actions? Non, messieurs. Le vénérable évêque de l'église Anglicane, qui préside avec tant de dignité, à ces funérailles, vient d'invoquer, dans sa prière, le texte de l'Evangile, sur l'immortalité de l'âme, qu'il me soit permis d'ajouter à cette révélation du Christianisme, que les progrès de la science out démontré cette vérité, sans lui faire rien perdre du charme de l'espérance.

En effet, dans ce cercueil, que la tombe n'a point encore dérobé à nos regards, que reste-t-il? Des débris d'organes inanimés. Mais ces nerfs, cette membrane qui les enveloppa, cette pulpe cérébrale qui les pénétra, qu'étaient-ils? de la matière! Ah! de ces organes matériels, à la Sensation, il y a un abîme! Et de la Sensation à la Pensée, un nouvel abîme! Elle est donc immatérielle, cette Pensée, qui distingue si éminemment notre espèce, des autres êtres organisés!

N'est-ce pas la Pensée qui créa les arts et les sciences, qui, s'élevant jusqu'à la cause première, terme de ses conquêtes, y découvrit la Divinité, dont elle établit le culte universel, comme le plus puissant mobile de la civilisation?

Combien n'est-il pas consolant, au milieu des parens et des nombreux amis qui entourent cette tombe, d'y professer, d'y confirmer le dogme de l'immortalité de l'âme, et de pouvoir y proclamer que Sidney-Smith n'est pas mort tout entier?

Oui, messieurs, le principe intellectuel qui nous anime, est incontestablement un être, et cet être est immortel. Pourrait-il donc s'anéantir, quand les organes matériels de nos corps sont eux-mêmes éternels dans leurs élémens?

L'orateur qui vient de retracer avec tant de talent, la carrière de l'illustre Amiral, vous a signalé la restitution des cendres de l'empereur Napoleon a la France, par le gouvernement Britannique, comme un gage de la parfaite harmonie, heureusement rétablie entre les deux nations. Je partage ce favourable augure, et tel fut le vœu le plus intime de Sidney-Smith, qui ne cessa de répéter que la civilisation du monde tenait essentiellement à l'alliance de la France et de l'Angleterre.

A l'aspect des restes de Napoléon, traversant l'Océan pour recouvrer un tombeau dans sa patrie, j'aime à prévoir que les restes de Sidney-Smith seront pareillement réclamés par son gouvernement, et qu'à leur tour, ils traverseront la mer, pour être déposés à Westminster, dans le lieu consacré à la sépulture des rois et des reines, ainsi qu'à celle des grands hommes de l'Angleterre.

SKETCH OF THE HISTORY AND POSSESSIONS OF THE ORDER IN IRELAND.

The Order of Knights Templars was introduced into Ireland about the year 1174, by Richard, surnamed Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, or Strigul. A Priory was founded by him in that year, under the invocation of St. John the Baptist, at Kilmainham, in the County of Dublin, for Knights Templars, (see Archdall's Monasticon Hibernicum, pages 222 et seq.) and King Henry II. granted his confirmation. Hugh de Cloghall was the first Prior, and enjoyed that office till about the year 1190. The noble founder had enfeoffed the Prior in the whole lands of Kilmainham; and dying in 1176, was interred in Christ Church. The two Orders of Knights Templars and Hospitallers were confirmed the same year. After this, Hugh Tirrel bestowed upon the Prior of this hospital the lands of Chapel-Izod and Kilmehanock, "free from all secular services and burthens, with all liberties and free customs, in wood and open country, in meadows and pastures, in roads and paths," &c. &c.

Kilmainham continued to be the Grand Priory or Preceptory of the Templars, till their suppression in 1312; and the Superior of the Order, according to Sir James Ware, sat in the House of Peers as a Baron, a privilege enjoyed, as regarded the military orders, only by the Grand Priors of Kilmainham for the Templars, and of Wexford for the Hospitallers. He is styled by Archdall, quoting different ancient records, sometimes _Prior_, and sometimes _Master_, as in the case of Maurice de Prendergast, 1205 and 1210; sometimes _Preceptor_, as "D. Walens, Preceptor of the Templars, 1247;" sometimes _Grand Master_, as "1266, Robert was Grand Master of the Templars in Ireland this year." In 1288, we find "William Fitz-Roger was _Prior_ this year, and Thomas de Thoulouse _Master_ of the Templars;" in 1296, "Walter le Bachelour was _Master_, and William de Rosse was _Prior_, who the same year was made Lord Deputy of Ireland." He continued in these offices till 1302, when he was made Chief Justice; and appears in this year also to have preferred his complaint against the sheriff of Dublin for an illegal seizure, as "the _Master_ of the Templars." And in 1309, Gerald, son of Maurice, Lord of Kerry, is spoken of as "the last _Grand Prior_ of the Order."

The subordinate governors of the Order appear to have been styled indiscriminately Preceptors or Commanders; and their castles or estates Preceptories or Commanderies. These were (according to Ware and Archdall) at Clontarf, in the county of Dublin, founded in Henry II.'s reign, as it is supposed by the Nettervilles; St. Sepulchre, in the city of Dublin or its suburbs, near the place where the Archbishop's palace stands; Kilsaran, in the county of Louth, founded in the 12th century by Maud de Lacie; Kilbarry and Killure, the one about a mile and a half from Waterford, and the other two miles east of that city, in the county of the same name, both founded in the 12th century, the founders unknown; Crooke, in the harbour of Waterford, four miles east of the city, founded in the 13th century, by the Baron of Curragmore; Clonaul, in Tipperary, as also one at Thurles, in the same county, where a castle now standing was, according to the tradition of the country, for no record exists, the castle of the Knights Templars; Teach-Temple, or Temple House, in the county of Sligo, founded in the time of Henry III.; Mourne, in the county of Cork, founded in the reign of King John, by Alexander de Sancta Helena; Killergy, or Killarge, in the county of Carlow, "founded in the reign of King John, by Gilbert de Borard, for Knights Templars, under the invocation of St. John the Baptist; Kilclogan, in the county of Wexford, founded in the 13th century by the family of O'More, which appears to have had a large estate attached to it, from the report made in the thirty-second year of King Henry VIII., quoted by Archdall, page 748; and Dundrum, in the county of Down, where is a strong castle, now in ruins, said to have been built by Sir John de Courcy."

All these Commanderies and Preceptories were, together with the Grand Priory of Kilmainham, granted on the abolition of the Order, to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in whose possession they continued till the dissolution of monasteries in the reign of King Henry VIII.

It may not be uninteresting to add the account of Archdall regarding the circumstances which attended the persecution and attempted destruction of the Order _in Ireland_.

"In 1307, Walter de Ewias, or de Aqua, being Prior, the King (Edward II.) transmitted to John Wogan, Justiciary of Ireland, the order made for the suppression of the Knights Templars in England, on the Wednesday after the feast of the Epiphany, enjoining him to have it executed in Ireland without delay, and before the rumour of what was done in England could reach this kingdom. The mandate was accordingly obeyed, and on the morrow of the Purification the Templars were everywhere seized."

"1309. The King, by writ, dated September the 29th, did further command the said Justiciary to apprehend, without delay, all the Templars that had not yet been seized, and them safely to keep in the Castle of Dublin, together with those who had been before apprehended."

"1311. On the petition of Henry Danet, or De Tanet, the late Master of the Templars, and the other members of that Order, the King, by writ, dated December 4th, did grant for their support the manors of Kilclogan, Crooke, and Kilbarry."

"1312. This year, on the morrow of St. Lucia the Virgin, the moon appeared variously coloured, on which day it was finally determined that the Order of Knights Templars should be totally abolished."

* * * * *

"The trial of the Templars was conducted with great solemnity in the city of Dublin, before Friar Richard Balybyn, minister of the Order of the Dominicans in Ireland, Friar Philip de Slane, lecturer of the same, and Friar Hugh St. Leger. Amongst other witnesses against the Knights, were Roger de Heton, Guardian of the Franciscan Friars; Walter de Prendergast, their lecturer; Thomas, the Abbot; Simon, the Prior of the Abbey of St. Thomas-the-Martyr, and Roger, Prior of the Augustinian Friary in Dublin. The depositions against the Templars were weakly supported, yet they were condemned; but more indeed through blind compliance with the prevailing practice throughout other parts of Europe, than any demerits being proved against their persons. Their lands and possessions of every kind were bestowed upon the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem by the Pope, which grant was confirmed by the King, who at the same time entered a protest of his rights against the assumed power of the Pope."

EXTRACT OF CHARTER BY KING JAMES THE IV. OF SCOTLAND, CONFIRMING GRANTS
BY KINGS MALCOLM IV., ALEXANDER II., ALEXANDER III., JAMES II., AND
JAMES III., TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE HOSPITAL AND TEMPLE.

Jacobus Dei Gracia Rex Scotorum. OMNIBUS probis hominibus tocius terre sue clericis et laicis salutem. SCIATIS nos quasdam cartas et euidentias per quondam nostros illustrissimos predecessores Scotorum reges factas et concessas Deo et SANCTO HOSPITALI DE JERUSALEM ET FRATRIBUS EIUSDEM MILITIE TEMPLI SALOMONIS, videlicet, CARTAM confirmacionis quondam serenissimi patris nostri cuius anime propicietur. Deus factam super carta confirmacionis quondam aui nostri Jacobi Secundi regis Scotorum in qua inseruntur quatuor carte quondam predecessorum nostrorum Malcolmi et Alexandri Scotorum regum facte dicto Hospitali de Jerusalem, nunc Torfiching nuncupat. ac ffratribus eiusdem de nonnullis elemosinis terris toftis libertatibus tholoneis consuetudinibus in empcionibus et vendicionibus qualitercunque contingen. amerciamentis et priuilegiis ac super feodo et forisfactura suorum libere tenencium ut in dictis quatuor cartis predecessorum nostrorum in eisdem cartis confirmacionis in forma maiori insertis plenius constat et continetur de mandato, nostro uisam lectam inspectam diligenter examinatam, sanam integram non rasem non cancellatam nec in aliqua sua parte suspectam ad plenum intellexisse sub hac forma:--(1.) JACOBUS Dei gracia rex Scotorum, omnibus probis hominibus tocius terre sue clericis et laicis salutem,--Sciatis nos quasdam cartas et euidentias per nostras illustrissimos, predecessores factas et concessas, Deo et sancto Hospitali de Jerusalem ffratribus eiusdem militie Templi Salomonis, videlicet, Cartam confirmacionis quondam nostri serenissimi progenitoris Jacobi Secundi Scotorum regis factam super cartis quondam Malcolmi et Alexandri Scotorum regum dicto Hospitali de Jerusalem, nunc Torfiching nuncupato ac ffratribus eiusdem de nonnullis elemosinis terris toftis libertatibus tholoneis consuetudinibus in empcionibus et vendicionibus et qualitercunque contingen. amerciamentis et priuilegiis vt in quatuor cartis predecessorum nostrorum in dicta carta confirmacionis in maiori forma insertis continetur de mandato, nostro uisam lectam inspectam et diligenter examinatam sanam integram non rasam non cancellatam nec in aliqua sui parte suspectam, ad plenum intellexisse, sub hac forma. (2.) JACOBUS Dei gracia rex Scotorum, Omnibus probis hominibus tocius terre nostre clericis et laicis salutem, Sciatis nos uidisse inspexisse et diligenter examinasse cartas et euidentias illustrissimorum progenitorum et antecessorum nostrorum, viz. Malcolmi Alexandri et Alexandri regum Scocie, quarum tenores de uerbo in verbum sequuntur. [Here follow the respective grants of confirmation by the above Sovereigns, three of which are addressed to the Hospitallers, and one (by Alexander II.) to the Knights Templars. These we could have wished to have quoted at large, but find it would exceed our limits. The Charter then proceeds]--"QUASQUIDAM" cartas et euidencias tam dictas cartas confirmacionum quondam patris et aui nostrorum qua measdam quatuor cartas predictorum predecessorum ac donaciones concessiones libertates priuilegia ceteraque omnia et singula in eisdem contentis in omnibus suis punctis et articulis condicionibus et modis ac circumstanciis suis quibuscunque forma pariter et effectu in omnibus et per omnia ut premissum est approbamus ratificamus et pro nobis et successoribus nostris pro perpetuo confirmamus. Ac insuper, ubi in dictis cartis non clare constat in illo termino 'de tholoneis' nos tamen ob singulares specialesque fauorem, amorem, et delectionem, quos gerimus ergo dilectum familiarem militem, nostrumque consiliarium delectum Wilelmum Knollis, modernum preceptorem eiusdem Loci de Torfichin, nostrum thesaurarium, Volumus, Concessimus, et hac presenti carta nostra Concedimus eidem Preceptori et suis successoribus Preceptoribus de Torfiching ut sint liberi a solucione alicuius custume de quibuscunque bonis et mercanciis suis destinandis per eosdem ad partes extra-marinas pro solucione ipsius Preceptoris responsionis, que vero responsio extendit ad ducentos ducatos, et quod annuatim in nostro saccario videatur ad quantam summam custume dicta bona se extendunt et tantum eidem Preceptori allocatur. In cuius rei testimonium, huic presenti carte nostre confirmacionis magnum sigillum apponi precipimus. Testibus, &c. Apud Edinburge decimo nono die mensis Octobris anno domini millesimo quadringentesimo octuajesimo octauo et regni nostri primo.

S. M. G. D. O.

We, the Elect Masters of the Venerable Society sacred to John, or of the Social Order of Freemasons, Rulers of the Lodges or Tabernacles, constituted at London, Edinburgh, Vienna, Amsterdam, Paris, Lyons, Frankfort, Hamburgh, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Madrid, Venice, Ghent, Regiomonte, Brussels, Dantzic, Middleburgh, and in the City of Cologne, in Chapter assembled in the said City of Cologne, in the year, month, and days aftermentioned. Our Preses being the Master of the Lodge established in this City,--a venerable Brother and most learned, prudent, and judicious man, called to preside over these deliberations, by our unanimous vote;--do, by these letters addressed to all the above-mentioned Lodges,--to our Brethren present and future, declare, that forasmuch as we have been considering the designs, which in these calamitous times embroiled, by Civil dissensions and discord, have been imputed to our foresaid Society, and to all the Brethren belonging to this Order of Freemasons, or of John, opinions, machinations, secret, as well as openly detected; all which are utterly foreign to us, and to the Spirit, Design, and Precepts, of the Association. It moreover appears that we, the Members of this Order, (chiefly because we are bound by those inscrutable secrets of our connection and covenant which are most sacredly kept by us all,) in order that we may be more effectually vilified among the uninitiated and profane, and that we may be devoted to public execration, are accused of the crime of reviving the Order of the Templars, and commonly designated by that appellation, as if we had combined and conspired for the purpose of recovering, as Members of that Order, its property and possessions, and avenging the death of the last Grand Master, who presided over that Order, on the posterity of the Kings and Princes who were guilty of the crime, and who were the authors of the extinction of said Order; as if, with that view, we were exciting schisms in the Churches, and disturbance and sedition in the Temporal Government and Dominions; as if we were influenced by hatred and enmity against the Pope, the Chief Pontiff, the Emperor, and all Kings; as if obeying no external power, but only the superiors and elected of our own Association, which is spread throughout the whole World,--we executed their secret mandates and clandestine designs, by the private intercourse of correspondence and emissaries; as if, in fine, we admitted none into our Mysteries but those who, after being scrutinised and tried by bodily tortures, became bound and devoted to our Conclaves. THEREFORE, having all these considerations in view, it hath seemed to us expedient, and even absolutely necessary, to expound the true state and origin of our Order, and to what it tends, as an institute of charity itself, according as these principles are recognised and approved by those who are most versant in the Highest Craft, and by masters enlightened in the genuine sciences of the Institution, and to give forth to the Lodges or Conclaves of our society the principles thus expounded, digested, and organised, as an examplar authenticated by our signatures, whereby a perpetual record may remain of this our renewed covenant, and the unshaken integrity of our purpose; and also in case, through the daily increasing propensity of the people to animosities, enmity, intolerance, and wars, this our society should hereafter be more and more oppressed, inasmuch as to be unable to maintain its standing and consolidation, and thus be dispersed to some distant regions of the earth; and in case, through lapse of time, the society itself should become less observant of its integrity, purity, and incorruptibility, nevertheless, in better times and more convenient circumstances, there may remain, if not the whole, yet perhaps one or other of the duplicates of these presents, by which standard the Order, if subverted, may be restored, and if corrupted or estranged from its purpose and designs, may be reformed. For THESE CAUSES, by these our universal letters, compiled according to the context of the most ancient monuments which are extant, concerning the objects of the institution,--the rites and customs of our most ancient and most secret order,--We, Elect Masters, influenced by the love of the true light, do, by the most solemn sanctions, adjure all fellow-labourers, to whom these presents now or in time hereafter may come, that they withdraw not themselves from the truth contained in this document. MOREOVER, to the enlightened, as well as to the darker world, whose common safety concerns and strongly interests us, we announce and proclaim,--

(A) That the Society of Free Masons, or Order of Brethren attached to the solemnities of St. John, derive not their origin from the Knights Templars, nor from any other order of knights, ecclesiastic or secular, detached or connected with one or more, neither have any or the least communication with them, directly, or through any manner of intermediate tie; that they are more ancient than any order of knights of this description, and existed in Palestine and Greece, as well as in every part of the Roman Empire, long before the Holy Wars, and the times of the expeditions of the above mentioned knights into Palestine.

That from various monuments of approved authenticity, the fact is to us quite notorious, that this our Association took its origin from the time when first on account of the various Sects of the Christian World, a few adepts distinguished by their life, their moral doctrine, and their sacred interpretation of the Arcanic Truths, withdrew themselves from the multitude; for the learned and enlightened men, who lived in those times, (the true Christians who were least infected with the errors of Paganism,) when they considered, that through a corrupt religion, schisms, and not peace, and neither toleration nor charity, but atrocious wars, were promulgated, bound themselves by a most solemn Oath, in order more effectually to preserve uncontaminated the Moral Principles of this Religion, which are implanted in the mind of man, that to these they would devote themselves; that the True Light, arising gradually out of darkness, might proceed to the subduing of superstitions, by the cultivation of every Human virtue, and to the establishment of peace and comfort among men. That under these benign auspices the Masters of this community are called Brethren dedicated to John, following the example and invitation of John the Baptist, Precursor of the Rising Light,--first among the Martyr Stars of the Morning.

That these Doctors and Scribes who were also, according to the custom of those times, called MASTERS, did, from the most experienced and best of the Disciples, collect and choose fellow labourers, whence arose the name of Socius. When others were elected, but not chosen, they were designed, after the manner of the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman Philosophers, by the appellation of Disciple.

(B) That our Association now, as formerly, consists of the Three Degrees of Disciple, Fellow, and Master. The last, or Masters, admitting of Elect Masters and Superior Elect Masters. But that all Associations or Fraternities so called, who admit of more or other denominations or subdivisions, and who ascribe to themselves another origin, and, intermeddling with Political and Ecclesiastical affairs, make promises and protestations under whatever titles they may assume, of Freemasons and Brethren, attached to the solemnities of John, or others which belong not to our Order, are to be expelled and ejected from it as Schismatics.

(Γ) That among the Doctors, Masters of this Order, cultivating the Sciences of Mathematics, Astronomy, and other Studies, a mutual interchange of doctrine and light was maintained, which led to the practice of electing out of those who were already Elect Masters, one in particular, who, as excelling the rest, should be venerated as Supreme Elect Master or Patriarch. Being known only to the Elect Master, he was regarded both as the Visible and Invisible Head and Chief of our whole Association; so that, according to this Ordnance, the Supreme Master and Patriarch, though known to very few, yet still exists. The premises being compiled from the mass of parchments and charter of the Order itself, committed, by authority of our Patrons, with the sacred documents, in future to the charge of our Preses and his successors; and being herewith diligently compared by W. E. Santona, by authority of the same illustrious Patriarch, ordain and command as follows:

(Δ) The government of our society, the mode and rule according to which the flaming light may be imparted and diffused among the illuminated brethren, as well as the profane world, rest entirely with the highest Elect Masters. To them belongs the charge of watching and taking care, lest the members, of whatever rank or order, should attempt any thing contrary to the true principles of our Society. Upon the same chiefs of the Society are incumbent the defence of the Order, the preservation and safeguard of its welfare, which, should occasion require, they are to protect at the expense of their fortunes, and the risk of their lives, against all who attack our Institution, whatsoever and wheresoever this may be done.

(Ε) To us it is by no means clear, that this association of brethren, prior to the year one thousand four hundred and forty, were known by any other denomination than that of _Joannite Brethren_; but at that time we are informed, the fraternity, especially in Valence in Flanders, began to be called by the name of _Free Masons_, from which period, in some parts of Hanover, Hospitals began to be built by the aid and pecuniary assistance of the Brethren, for those who laboured under the Sacred Fire, called St. Anthony's Evil.

(Ζ) Although in works of benevolence we pay no regard to religion or country, we however consider it safe and necessary hitherto to receive none into our Order but those who, in the society of the profane and unenlightened, are professedly Christians. In conducting the inquisition and trial of those who apply for the initiation of the First Degree, which is that of Disciple, no bodily tortures are employed, but only those trials which tend to develope the nature, inclinations, and dispositions of the Candidates.

(Η) To those duties which are commanded and undertaken by a solemn oath, are added those of fidelity and obedience to the secular rulers, lawfully placed over us.

(Θ) The principle on which we act, and all these our efforts, to whatever purpose and direction they may tend, are expressed in these two precepts:--"Love and regard all men as Brethren and Relations--render to God what is God's, and to Cæsar what is Cæsar's."

(Ι) The Secrets and Mysteries which veil our undertakings conduce to this end,--that without ostentation we may do good, and without disunion of action, prosecute our designs to the uttermost.

(Κ) We celebrate annually the Memory of St. John the Forerunner of Christ, and Patron of our Community.

(Λ) These, and the rest of the corresponding ceremonies of the Institution, though conducted in the meetings of the Brethren by signs, or speech, or otherwise, do nevertheless differ totally from the rites of the Churches.