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THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book II.

always hoisted, which must have made a very gaysight—commensurate with the variety of splendiddresses and uniforms, and modest, or even wantonfemales (many of them, no doubt, very beautiful),adorned in the pink of innumerable fashions,mutable or immutable—Acre was assuredly duringno short period the most agreeable hubbub in thewhole world. 1 Must all that vanish, and be as ifit never had been? Worse! Woe! woe! woe!

Villiers’ first act is said to have been a circularto all the knights of the order in Europe, to hurryto join him at Acre, of which this given in theAppendix may have been a kind of specimen,though of the circular itself no copy remains ; thiswe have only presupposing it, and being rather aparticular letter to some confidential lieutenant orother high dignitary. 2 It is to be supposed thedelivering him from any contention about dues tothe Church, would have given a sort of satisfactionto the grand master at any other time; but hewas too occupied then; particularly that bull ofNicholas IV., given in the Appendix, chiefly for1 9 90 ^ ie ^ a ^ e: kW also because the quiet andprosperous state spoken of in it was incurious contradiction to the sad fact. 3 A few

1 Michaud: Hist., v. 121. 2 Appendix, lxxvi.

3 Cod. Dipl. Geros., i., holla xvi., 280.- -Appendix, lxxvii.