Richard Coeur de Lion joins the Templars before Acre--The city surrenders, and the Templars establish the chief house of their order within it--Coeur de Lion takes up his abode with them--He sells to them the island of Cyprus--The Templars form the van of his army--Their foraging expeditions and great exploits--Coeur de Lion quits the Holy Land in the disguise of a Knight Templar--The Templars build the Pilgrim's Castle in Palestine--The state of the order in England--King John resides in the Temple at London--The barons come to him at that place, and demand MAGNA CHARTA--The exploits of the Templars in Egypt--The letters of the Grand Master to the Master of the Temple at London--The Templars reconquer Jerusalem 141 CHAPTER VIII. The conquest of Jerusalem by the Carizmians--The slaughter of the Templars, and the death of the Grand Master--The exploits of the Templars in Egypt--King Louis of France visits the Templars in Palestine--He assists them in putting the country into a defensible state--Henry II., king of England, visits the Temple at Paris--The magnificent hospitality of the Templars in England and France--Benocdar, sultan of Egypt, invades Palestine--He defeats the Templars, takes their strong fortresses, and decapitates six hundred of their brethren--The Grand Master comes to England for succour--The renewal of the war--The fall of Acre, and the final extinction of the Templars in Palestine 165 CHAPTER IX. The downfall of the Templars--The cause thereof--The Grand Master comes to Europe at the request of the Pope--He is imprisoned, with all the Templars in France, by command of king Philip--They are put to the torture, and confessions of the guilt of heresy and idolatry are extracted from them-- Edward II. king of England stands up in defence of the Templars, but afterwards persecutes them at the instance of the Pope--The imprisonment of the Master of the Temple and all his brethren in England--Their examination upon eighty-seven horrible and ridiculous articles of accusation before foreign inquisitors appointed by the Pope--A council of the church assembles at London to pass sentence upon them--The curious evidence adduced as to the mode of admission into the order, and of the customs and observances of the fraternity 193 CHAPTER X.