Alexis receives Rhotus with grateful warmth, and recognizes Cleon as a Lemnian friend. Rhotus, perceiving the king greatly oppressed by the painful recollections which their presence conjured up, after sounding him for a time, to ascertain the truth of his conjectures, informs Clearchus, that she whom he wept as drowned was preserved, and that "Thealma lives." “And here the Author died, and I hope the reader will be sorry,” adds old Izaak, and sorry we are to take our leave of thee, Chalkhill or Walton, or "whatever title please thine ear." It is no very easy task, nor is it altogether fair, to criticise the merits of an unfinished tale; but no conclusion could have rendered the story of Thealma and Clearchus either very clear or very interesting, though revision might probably have removed many incongruities and unnecessary entanglements. In its present state, it is so interrupted and involved as to defy the patience and attention of the mere reader. The chronological succession of events is continually lost sight of, and an episode is not unfrequently introduced by one character, continued by another, and concluded by a third, at different times, and under different circumstances. The unfinished state of the poem assuredly adds to its perplexity, from our ignorance of the object to which these several details tend, but we cannot conceive that any winding-up could have extricated the reader satisfactorily from its labyrinth of stories. The characters in Thealma and Clearchus are drawn without much force or distinctness of outline. Alexis and Anaxus, Thealma and Clarinda, Memnon and Rhotus, differ from each other only in name. Chalkhill's heroes are brave and amorous; his ladies chaste and beautiful; his old men wise and virtuous; his tyrants haughty and licentious but the finer traits of individuality are wanting, and his characters are rather unsubstantial abstractions of good or evil, than living and breathing forms, with their own peculiar feelings and impulses. Nor are the incidents of the poem conceived with much felicity, or brought about with much attention to probability. The nearest relatives and the fondest lovers jostle against one another at every turn, without the slightest suspicion of each other's identity. The versification of Thealma and Clearchus, as our readers must have remarked, is extremely sweet and equable. Occasionally harsh lines and unlicensed rhymes occur, but they are only exceptions to the general style of the poem, the errors of haste or negligence. The author had evidently a fine ear for metrical harmony, and his "pastoral historie" will bear an advantageous comparison with the works of any of his contempo raries. Its excellence is not the result of evenly-balanced syllables and epigrammatic couplets, but of that varied and flowing melody which is the perfection of narrative poetry. His is, indeed, a "linked sweetness," not a deviation into harmony, like the best couplets of Cowley and Denham, nor does he sink into the flatness and monotony which too often debase the proverbial smoothness of Waller. The good sense and natural taste of Walton preserved his genius free from the trammels of the metaphysical school, of which his admired friends, Donne and Herbert, were such zealous disciples; and his spirit was too pure to imbibe a taint of that grossness and depravity of taste, which, at a subsequent period, infected the national literature. When we turn from the writings of his contemporaries, and escape from the smoke of metaphysics and the stir and turmoil of the great world, to the pastoral repose of Thealma, we feel like one, who, long "in populous city pent, where houses thick and sewers annoy the air," inhales again the spirit-stirring breeze of the fields, expatiates amidst smiling plains and embowered walks, and listens to the musical strife of birds, or the plash of distant waterfalls. In these Arcadian strains, the fields and woods assume a more vivid green, the streams flow with a more silvery brightness, the feathered choristers contend in more delicious warblings, and nature looks as fresh and fair as if the world and love were young, And truth on every shepherd's tongue." The genius of Walton never soars into the region of clouds and storms, but broods over the quiet vale, and luxuriates in the calm sun-shine: it triumphs in the display of meek and widowed love; of grief, gentle and resigned, not embittered by remorse or darkened by horror; of the warm feelings of noble and ingenuous youth, or the benevolent wisdom of virtuous old age; of images of domestic or rural felicity; of pastoral manners of more than Arcadian purity, and of scenery of luxuriant but unobtrusive beauty. If the stream of his poetry is not deep or majestic, it is always pure, and calm and sparkling. It does not rush along with the daring impetuosity of a mountain stream, chafing with opposing rocks, or dashing from precipitous cliffs, or, with collected strength, bearing down its banks, and sweeping over the conquered plains in terrific sublimity: it rather resembles the gentle stream that glides imperceptibly along, through sheltered vales and sunny glades, winding and lingering amidst scenes of sequestered loveliness, or expanding its placid waters in dimpling beauty to the sun, and catching and reflecting every evanescent hue of heaven. ART. V. Nicolai Gurtleri Historia Templariorum. Amstelodam. 8vo. 1703. There is scarcely," says Fuller, "a harder question in later history than this, whether the Templars were justly or unjustly condemned to suffer." It is, nevertheless, a matter of great curiosity, and of no mean advantage, to inquire into so singular and so terrible a persecution, in which all the parties concerned were so illustrious and conspicuous, and the sufferings of the accused so aggravated; and which, at the same time, is so intimately connected with the history of the age in which it took place. Nor does this problem seem to us of such a difficult complexion as to preclude all hopes of a successful solution, dissenting as we do from the opinion of the "brace of Spanish writers," quoted by the historian of the Holy Wars, who give us the following advice.-" Concerning these Templars, whether they were guiltie or not, let us suspend our censures till the day of judgement, and then, and not sooner, shall we certainly be informed therein.” The general outlines of the history of the valiant order of Knights-Templars are well known. The little volume, at the head of this article, presents a succinct view of their origin, their progress, and their suppression; but it is to the latter part of their history that, at the present moment, we intend more particularly to apply ourselves.* The institution is well known to have originated in the zeal of certain French knights, who, observing the miseries to which the pilgrims to the Holy Land were exposed from the cruelty of the Saracens, formed themselves into a body for their protection. By degrees, the order acquired numbers and strength, and power and riches soon followed. In the crusades, of course, the soldiers of the military orders acted a conspicuous part. With their valorous exploits on the plains of Syria, and before the walls of her cities, the chronicles of the time and the pages of later historians are filled. In every deadly onset, the standard of the Temple still waved over the foremost Christian ranks, while the dreaded * There are several French works on the subject of the condemnation of the Templars. Much information may be gained from that of M. Raynouard, entitled Monumens Historiques relatifs à la condamnation des Chevaliers du Temple; 8vo. Paris, 1813. It contains extracts from the MS. processes against the French Templars, which we have occasionally quoted. war-cry of Beauseant chilled the hearts of the infidels. And on that disastrous day, which saw the Holy Land again abandoned to the Saracen arms, the red-cross knights were the last of the Christian chivalry that attested, by their blood, their gallant but mistaken zeal. Of the proceedings which led to their suppression, we shall now give a very brief account. The history of the proceedings against the order in France will fully illustrate the character of this persecution. The measures pursued in the other countries of Europe were, in a great degree, similar, only attended with circumstances of less cruelty. On the 13th of October, 1307, the Grand-Master and a number of knights were arrested in the palace of the Temple at Paris. On the same day, a general seizure of the persons and possessions of the knights took place throughout France. They were cast into prison; all counsel was denied them; and an inquisitor, Guillaume de Paris, was directed to interrogate several of them respecting their guilt. The application of exquisite tortures drew from many the necessary avowal. Throughout all France, Philip the Fair authorised certain persons, bearing no commission from the papal court, to examine the accused. The pope, Clement V., jealous of these measures, suspended the authority of the royal commissioners. The scruples of his holiness were, however, speedily overcome by the numerous confessions which Philip had provided; and, in the month of June, 1308, the investigations received his sanction. The bishops of France were authorised not only to proceed against such of the order as resided within their own dioceses, but even against strangers found within that jurisdiction, and, at last, the powers of the bishops were extended beyond the limits of their ordinary jurisdictions; while the pontiff, to debar the victims from every hope of escape, published a bull against all who should afford them assistance, counsel, or favour. To inform the conscience of his holiness, a commission was appointed to examine into the crimes with which the Templars stood charged. The members of this commission consisted principally of some of the chief of the French ecclesiastics.. At the same time, similar proceedings took place throughout nearly the whole of Europe. The pope had directed, that such of the knights as were willing to defend the order should be cited before this tribunal. At Paris, although the commissioners had sate several times, none of the knights appeared before them, and there is no doubt that Philip used means to prevent the favourable impression which the appearance of the accused would have occasioned. At length, on the 26th of November, the Grand-Master, James de Molai, was conducted before the papal commissioners. He requested the means of procuring counsel, and preparing the defence of the order, but in vain. He then firmly and strenuously denied the crimes of which the knights were accused. These might be comprised under two heads, heresy and immorality. With regard to the first, they were charged with both Idolatry and Islamism. It was alleged, that they worshipped a cat and a calf, and that they paid religious adoration to certain shapeless images of wood. They were charged with renouncing Jesus Christ at the time of their reception into the order, with spitting and trampling on the cross, and with other minor infractions of religious discipline. The accusation of immorality imputed to them every crime which renders man most wicked and detestable, and it was pretended, that these enormous practices were sanctioned and rendered obligatory by the statutes of the order. At length, several of the knights who had expressed their determination to defend the order, were brought before the papal commissioners, and their conduct, on this occasion, was that of brave and innocent men. On being asked, whether they were willing to take upon themselves the task of defending the order, many of them firmly answered, "Even to death :" at the same time avowing their entire innocence. Seven of the knights, who had confessed their guilt at a previous examination, now boldly retracted that confession. Upwards of nine hundred of the Templars were assembled, all of them anxious to vindicate the innocence and the honor of the order. Seventy-five of the number were appointed by their companions to prepare the defence, and four were allowed to be present during the examination of the witnesses. While these proceedings were carrying on, the new Archbishop of Sens convened a provincial council at Paris, and instituted a personal process against many of the Templars who were prepared to co-operate with their brethren in the common defence; thus depriving the accused of the benefit of their exertions and testimony. At this council, such of the Templars as refused to make an avowal of guilt were declared to be unreconciled heretics, and, as such, condemned to imprisonment. Those who made the requisite confession received absolution, and were reconciled to the church; but all who retracted their false confessions were declared to be relapsed heretics, delivered up to the secular arm, and condemned to the faggot. The four defenders of the order appealed to the justice of the papal commission. They found no redress; and, on the 11th of May, 1310, the victims were delivered up to the flames.* Their conduct on this last * There seems to be an error in Mr. Mills's account of this transaction. Apparently, he considers the fifty-four knights to have been |