E. P.-Have you any objection to conform yourself to our rules and regulations, and to walk in strict accordance therewith? CAN.-I have none. E. P. Will you swear? E.. P. Then let the kneel, and enter into the Knight of Malta. Candidate O. B. of a (The Mar. conducts the Can. to the faldstool at the west of the five-sided table, on which an open Bible is placed on a cushion. The Can. draws his sword, and placing it across the Bible, puts his r. h. on the B., and kneeling on his r. k., repeats this O. B. after the Prelate :-) OBLIGATION. I, A. B., do hereby and hereon promise and vow, on the honour of a Knight Templar, never improperly to divulge the secrets about to be entrusted to me; and in all respects to conform to the regulations of this Ancient Order, and the Statutes of the Grand Priory of England and Wales. So help me G. (He seals the O. B. three times. The E. P. then placing his sword on the r. s. of the Can., invests him with the honour of Knighthood of Malta, saying :) E. P.-By virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the Grand Priory of England and Wales, and in the name of St John the Baptist (the Patron Saint of this Order), I make thee a Knight Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes, and Malta. Arise, Sir Knight! Be Valiant, Bold, and True! I now invest you with the Jewel of our Order. (Done.) The g. w. is The s. is ....... that of a K. T. END OF INSTALLATION. Worthy Bro. Knight, it is now my duty to direct your attention to a brief resumé of the history of this Order, and its bearing on our present Ceremonies. The Order was originally founded in Jerusalem, during the first Crusade, in the year of our Lord 1099, by the association of many pious Knights with the Fratres of St John's Hospital an establishment previously founded for the relief of Pilgrims proceeding to worship at the Holy Sepulchre. The name Palestine, and the date on the B. of B., commemorate the country of our Lord's Nativity, and have reference to this, the earliest period of our Order, and also to the place where the Order was founded. After a troublous existence in the Holy Land, and in consequence of being deprived, by the wars raging in Europe, of their looked-for assistance, the Order was compelled to evacuate Palestine, and, in the year 1287, they established themselves in the Island of Cyprus. The name and date on the B. of L. are in memory of this refuge of the Knights of St John. In 1310, the Island of Rhodes became the property of the Forces of the Order, which had a few years before (in 1307) been strengthened in numbers and enriched by the properties of the Templars, who were at that time suppressed by the cruelty and avarice of Pope Clement V., and Philip le Bel, king of France. The remains of the fortifications erected in Rhodes by the Knights still bear testimony to their architectural talent and their engineering ability. The B. of D. has reference to this period of our history. In 1522, the Island of Rhodes was besieged by the Turks, under the Emperor Solyman II., and, after a H memorable defence, fell into the hands of the Infidels; the garrison, however, were permitted to depart with all the honours of war. From 1523 to 1530, the Order found refuge in the Island of Candia; and in 1530, the Emperor Charles V. ceded the Island of Malta to the Order, on condition of using all their abilities to repress the ravages of the Moorish rovers, who at that period infested the southern part of the Mediterranean. These periods of our history are designated by the B. of R. and the B. of A. The legend of the approach of the Knights to this their final resting-place has given rise to the distinguishing w..ds of the Order. The story runs, that on coming to take possession of the island, they approached the shore rowing their galleys, two men to an oar, the oars in their left hands and their swords in their right hands, singing a psalm in the words "King of kings," and "Lord of lords." The natives of the island, seeing their approach in a warlike guise, hailed them through a speaking-trumpet saving. |