objects of the fear and hatred as well as envy of every monarch in whose territories they dwelt, and the order was finally, though I fear unjustly, destroyed in the fourteenth century."

"Was the Temple in London named after them, and the Temple church, which I remember having once seen?" said Evelyn.

"Yes, my dear; a large body of Knights Templars had very early settled in London in those houses, which were, as you suppose, named from them The Temple, and which, after the suppression of the order, were purchased for members of the law, and have ever since preserved the name-as the Inner Temple, the Middle and Outer Temple, which still exist as proofs of their extensive establishments there. While prosperous they built the Temple church, a beautiful sample of the architecture of the time; and the figures of many of the deceased knights may be still seen there on their tombs."

"Yes, indeed, I recollect seeing them; I wish I had known more about them then, and why they were placed in different attitudes!"

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"Knights were placed differently according to the circumstances in which they died," replied Mrs. Manvers. "If killed in battle, the brazen effigy of the knight was placed upon its knees with helmet on and in full armour; if he had died peacefully in his bed, the figure reposes on its back, in armour, and with the feet resting upon two dogs; but those Crusaders whose death had occurred in the Holy Land had their legs crossed on their tombs."

"Were there any other establishments of knights, besides those of the Temple, in England, Mrs. Manvers ?"

"Yes, my dear, there were several of both orders, and quite distinct from each other. The Knights of St. John, or Hospitallers, were settled in many parts of England in communities called Commanderies, because the title of the person who presided was Commander. The establishments of the Templars were called Preceptories, because their principal was called Preceptor. There are still the remains of many beautiful buildings which they erected in different parts of England; and in some there are still little communities, remnants of

those established by the Hospitallers, where some men are maintained, the members of which are bound by certain ancient regulations."

"How very satisfactory, and indeed impressive," said Evelyn, "to see those remains of ancient times still existing, and the truth of what we read confirmed by such buildings and monuments! But I think, Mrs. Manvers, that those brave old knights, whose effigies are placed over their tombs, should have their real armour on them."

"It would have a good effect, undoubtedly," Mrs. Manvers replied; "but being so much exposed to damp it would have been difficult to preserve the steel from rust. Your remark brings to my recollection a singular circumstance I lately read; which is, that in the church of St. John at Malta there hangs still a bunch of rusty keys, said to be the very keys of the fortress of St. John at Rhodes, which the order, when overcome, carried away with them from that scene of their glory, the memorable square tower where the last stand of chivalry in the East was made-the last struggle between Christianity and Mohammedanism at the close of the Crusades."

"A memorable spot, indeed, it must be," said Evelyn. "I think I have already caught your enthusiasm. I feel the highest admiration for those illustrious knights with whom you have made me acquainted; and I anticipate great pleasure in reading the history of those times more attentively now that I understand what chivalry was. But I want to know have there ever been any knights in Ireland."

"Yes," Mrs. Manvers said, "there were in several parts of Ireland establishments formed by the two great orders of knighthood that I have mentioned; and there are still here many beautiful ruins of the buildings they erected, some of which I have seen, and, indeed, have views of them. I will only mention a few: Adare in Kerry, Buttevant in Cork, Kells in the county of Kilkenny, and Trim in Meath."

"I hope to see them some time or other; and in the mean while, Mrs. Manvers, I will not forget to beg of you to show me your drawings of them."

"But besides the knights and various orders of which I have been speaking," added Mrs. Manvers, "I must tell you

that Ireland had a chivalry of her own and orders of knighthood peculiar to this country."

I hope yon

"Oh! why did you not tell me of those first? will give me some knowledge of them," said Evelyn.

"Certainly I will, if you wish, my dear, but not this day; we have had enough at present."

CHAPTER LXIII.

Chivalry of Ireland - Orders - Knights of the Golden Collar - Torque or Collar of Gold - Oath Heroes of the Western Isle Modern Irish Heroes.

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THE next evening Mrs. Manvers showed Evelyn several views of ancient buildings in England, once belonging to the two great orders of knights. Some remains of fine buildings in Ireland, which once were Preceptories; were then examined by Evelyn with much greater interest, and particularly a sketch by Mrs. Manvers of that Preceptory at Kells which she had mentioned; and then Evelyn reminded her of her promise to tell her something of the ancient chivalry of Ireland.

"I fear it may not be as interesting as you seem to expect," said Mrs. Manvers; "for as the early history of its rise and progress is not very distinct now, I can only refer you to our ancient annals. We are assured by some of our historians that the institution of chivalry among the Irish was so ancient that its origin can scarcely be traced. It seems to have been derived from the Celts-the descendants of Gomm the son of Japhet, who peopled all the west of Europe. Letters and arts and civilisation are said to have flourished among the Irish till the Danish invasion first, and afterwards that of the English, destroyed our independence and our records. And we are told that there was in Ireland, long before the Roman invasion of England, an order of men like the equites or knights whom Cæsar describes as the second order of inhabitants in Gaul; or, to go back still farther, like the curetes or early knights of Greece; and it is remarkable that, according to Mr. O'Halloran, curaithes is to this day the Irish word for knights. It is a singular circumstance too, that Mr. Wilde found a bronze sword on the plain of Marathon which is exactly the same in form and material as those which are continually

found in different parts of Ireland, and which were used by the ancient Irish. Our ancient knights were a distinguished race of men; they had their peculiar rank and insignia, and were an established order long previous to that league of generous knights of whom we spoke yesterday, and equally brave and honourable."

"And much as I was interested," said Evelyn, "about those heroic Hospitallers, still more shall I like to hear of the gallant deeds of our own immediate ancestors, and of the ancient chivalry of Ireland !"

"There were five orders of equestrian knights in Ireland," continued Mrs. Manvers; "the first was the Knight of the Golden Collar. This order was confined to the blood royal; and no prince who did not belong to it could presume to be a candidate for the Irish monarchy. An instance of this is given in the history of Eochaidh, the powerful Lord of Leinster, who, aspiring to the honour of being chosen monarch of all Ireland, seized upon the royal palace of Tara during the election, in order to strengthen his claim; but the Druids, and councillors of his own court, represented to him how dishonourable it was to take possession of Tara, and still more to presume to be a candidate for the crown, before he had received the golden collar of Knighthood. Sensible of his error, he relinquished his claim and surrendered the palace to Nial, his competitor. This took place in the fourth century. Of the other orders the Knights of Ulster seem foremost in history, for number, prowess, and discipline. They were called Knights of the Red Branch."

"Is it possible, Mrs. Manvers, to trace any vestiges now of any of those orders in Ireland ?”

"Yes, my dear, we can at least of the Red Branch. There are places in Ireland the names of which refer to it. For instance, a hill in Westmeath is named the Hill of the Branch. In that hill there is an artificial cave, and the narrow path that leads to its entrance is still marked by upright stones placed on each side, which appears to have been the practice in all similar places of importance. We are told in some of our ancient records, that when the palace of Emaniah, in the county of Armagh, was in its splendour ages ago,

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