and was guilty of almost every crime.
There are, indeed, authorities worthy of credit who assert that before
his election he had been made to promise to perform six favors to the
King, and that the last was not to be divulged till the time for its
execution came. This last was then found to be the suppression of the
order of the Templars. There was no difficulty, under these
circumstances, in getting the so-called sanction of the Church for an
inquiry into the crimes of which the Templars were accused.

Accordingly, in 1307, Philip issued letters to his officers throughout
the kingdom, commanding them to seize all the Templars on a certain day,
that they might be tried for crimes of which he and the Pope had
satisfied themselves they were guilty. They had apostatized from the
Christian religion, worshipped idols in their secret meetings, and had
been guilty of horrible and shameful offences against God, the Church,
the State, and humanity itself. Philip professed the most pious horror
at what he had discovered; he lamented the grievous necessity laid upon
him, and urged upon the guilty men the expediency of a full and
immediate confession of their wicked doings as the only way to secure
pardon and escape the just and extreme penalty of such outrageous
wickedness.

It was during the night of October 13, 1307, that the King's orders were
executed. Every house of the Templars in the dominions of the King of
France was suddenly surrounded by a strong force, and all the Knights
and members of the order were simultaneously taken prisoners.

At the same time a strenuous endeavor was made to arouse popular
indignation against the order. The regular and secular clergy were
commanded to preach against the Templars, and to describe the horrible
enormities that were practised among them. It is incredible to us in
these days that such charges should be made, and still more that they
should actually be believed. It was said that the Templars worshipped
some hideous idol in their secret assemblies, that they offered
sacrifices to it of infants and young girls, and that although every one
saw them devout, charitable, and regular in their religious duties,
people were not to be misled by these things, for this was only a cloak
intended to deceive the world and conceal their secret rites and obscene
orgies.

It was hoped that some confession of guilt might be readily obtained
from some of the weaker brethren in order to receive the p