rose on the
morrow he found the ground plan all traced out and the building materials
ready for use. The knights labored piously from morning till night, and
when they ceased, invisible hands continued to work all night. Thus pushed
onward, the work was soon completed, and the temple rose on the mountain
top in all its splendor. "The temple itself was one hundred fathoms in
diameter. Around it were seventy-two chapels of an octagonal shape. To
every pair of chapels there was a tower six stories high, approachable by a
winding stair on the outside. In the center stood a tower twice as big as
the others, which rested on arches. The vaulting was of blue sapphire, and
in the center was a plate of emerald, with the lamb and the banner of the
cross in enamel. All the altar stones were of sapphire, as symbols of the
propitiation of sins. Upon the inside of the cupola surmounting the temple,
the sun and moon were represented in diamonds and topazes, and shed a light
as of day even in the darkness of the night. The windows were of crystal,
beryl, and other transparent stones. The floor was of translucent crystal,
under which all the fishes of the sea were carved out of onyx, just like
life. The towers were of precious stones inlaid with gold; their roofs of
gold and blue enamel. Upon every tower there was a crystal cross, and upon
it a golden eagle with expanded wings, which, at a distance, appeared to be
flying. At the summit of the main tower was an immense carbuncle, which
served, like a star, to guide the Templars thither at night. In the center
of the building, under the dome, was a miniature representation, of the
whole, and in this the holy vessel was kept."

[Sidenote: Descent of the Holy Grail.] When all the work was finished, the
temple was solemnly consecrated, and as the priests chanted the psalms a
sweet perfume filled the air, and the holy vessel was seen to glide down on
a beam of light. While it hovered just above the altar the wondering
assembly heard the choir of the angels singing the praises of the Most
High. The Holy Grail, which had thus come down upon earth, was faithfully
guarded by Titurel and his knights, who were fed and sustained by its
marvelous power, and whose wounds were healed as soon as they gazed upon
it. From time to time it also delivered a divine message, which appeared in
letters of fire inscribed about its rim, and which none of the Templars
ever ventured to disregard.

By virtue of the mi