24 THE HISTORY OE THE ORDER OF [book HI.

some of our peasantry into captivity? I believe itis better to liberate a few Saracens, however crimi-nal, than that any of our own poor subjects andtheir families should risk chains and torments.” Nordid the order’s council not applaud their generousold chief’s sentiments . 1 But though the grandmasterpardoned the four Languages, who had returned totheir duty in the chapter general, where Sir ThomasDamport now appeared in somewhat another quality,as deputed with Sir John Langstrother, Comman-der of Basal and Graston, to represent the English,yet soon did worse than external enemies break outanew; the divisions among the knights them-selves, with more bitter words than ever—the fourLanguages complaining against those of France,which were three, and that of Provence at the head;whereas in a commonwealth like theirs, all nationsshould be equal. Provence declared that thefirst place belonged to France, both from birthrightand merit; since it was from the French the insti-tution sprang, and their ancestors exclusivelyfounded it, and by degrees admitted all the othernations_That Normandy was theirs, and had al-

ways been theirs — and they, the Normans — sothat, as successors of their common forefathers, theyclaimed the marks of honour won by their blood;

1 Bosio : par. ii., lib. yii., anno 1460.—Vertot: vii. 23.