The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1908-10-23
'BRIEF HIS or y ca
DANES or NAL IA


In 1883. Saneha, Queen OF ArrnEon
established Inagnliieent home fol
the ladies Of the order OF st. John
Mt SISennes, and endowed It with
large revenues. When Acre. sea
port Of SYRIA. formerly called Peto-
lemais, capituIated to the forces OF
\ Richard, Cour de Leon in 1871 the
English king. was so Impressed with
the bravery OF the HOspisallars that
he presented the city to the order.
Thus the Knights became independ-
| ent, and st Jean d'Acre'' became the
new name OF the city. The Acre OF
the middle ages. in its Christian and
royal aspect was unique among the
/ cities of the world The kings OF
and Portugal. also the Emperor of
Germany, possessed residences in the
neighborhood. and the city was as
beautiful mOnumentally. as it was
picturesquely and romanticalIy sItu-
ated. The chief glory of the place was
the Zenodacia, the hospital of the
Order of st. John. 1t Is told of Sala-
and Syria, that feIgning poverty and
sickness. he went TO the hospital and
so appreciated the beautiful care and
attention received that he sent
charter to it, sealed with his own seal
on which was written: Let all men
know that I, Saladin. Sedan OF
Babylon, give and bequeath to the
Hospital of Acre a thousan bezants of
gold, to be paid every year. In peace
or war. unto the Grand Master, be
he whom he may. in gratitude for
the wonderful charity OF himself and
of his ORDER
Unfortunately the possession of
Acre ended in a century. Ietac Era,
Sultan of Egypt attacked the valiant
raff Of n M
and built entrenchments thirty miles
in length, The Christians again and
again repulsed him. After many days
of carnage and fruitless encounter
there followed that wen known his
torical incident. the making of a
bridge of living Saracens, across
which the cavalry might charge.
sim the Christians stood their ground
and for days struggle ensued.
which for bravery and the highest
order of cfivalry, has never been
surpassed in military annals. Sixty
thousand Christians fell IN two days.
Only six HospItallers escaped to Cy-
prus. Thus the cross was banished
for centuries from Syria, and the
Hospitallers commenced new life
in new spheres.
In rejecting on a few of the char
acteristics which marked the earlier
stages OF the career OF this order,
We notice the location of the first
hospital. How appropriate that the
home of such sublime Charity should
be quite close to the earthly habita-
ton of our Divine Lord. the village Of
Nazareth and the sea OF Tiberias be-
ing only a few miles from the hospi-
tai and the surrounding country so
Sanctified by the hottest associations
that the entire Christian world made
pilgrimaEes to the Holy Land The
Crusaders conduct OF war stands out
In vivid contrast to the ordinary
power of chivalry'' in the early ages
referred to knights who were sworn
to abstain from worldly vanlties.
ChivaIry in earliest sense meant the
heroism of sanctity. All Europe was
for centuries under so great obliRa-
ton to the Knights HospitallerSI
of st. Jean d'Acre, now known as
Knights of Malta. and the numerous
brethren who had bequeathed to the
after chfvalry such magnificent ideas
of honor. that no one could efface
them from his memory. Seeing that
a spirit of self-sacrifice only. Impelled
them to Withstand the enemy. the
example set by these consecrated
men Is of far more force. The cause
for which they fought, the Cross of
Christ. Is Just as dear to us in this
day as It was to them in their time,
but they were inspired by holy zeal
which permitted no stone to be I'M
We are slnfully Inactive that
We make so little effort to even at
tempt the turning of the stone
Among the last words of Cyrano |
deBcrgerae We're these: when I
shall cross the threshold of Gods !
home. bowling low 1 shall take with
me, without stain or blemish my
splendid soldiers record May curl
which has been Instituted
more than eight and one-half cen
turtles. so emulate the deeds of those
self-sacrificing women OF the long
ago. that when this band. bowling very |
low indeed shall cross the Fathers !
threshold its record of having loved
one another" Thes. kth Chap, verse
80 may be accepted by
that Father. Nearly two thousand |
years ago flower Divine closed its
petals upon the Cross of Calvary and .
today it bears its rIpened fruit in
the spirit of sisterly affection which |
inds manifestation in the Order II
IF the Sisterhood of the knights Hos
1italler of St John OF Jcrusalcm.