he ensign of nations. It crowns alike the loftiest spires of
Christendom and the lowliest parish churches. It marks the
resting-place of the departed who have died with faith in its efficacy,
as it was the sign in Baptism of their admission to the kingdom of the
Crucified." It is the symbol of Christ's atonement and of the
salvation of men, and represents the Christian Faith, its demands and
its triumphs. As might be expected, many fantastic stories were woven
about this symbol in the middle ages. Yet back of their extravagance
was often a true feeling. We see this even in the absurd legend of the
tree from which our Saviour's cross was made.

This legend was as follows: "for four hundred and thirty-two years
after his expulsion from Paradise, Adam had tilled the ground in the
valley of Hebron, when he felt his end approaching, and determined to
send his son Seth to the gates of Paradise to demand from their keeper,
'the angel called {53} Cherubim,' the oil of mercy which had been
promised to Adam when he was driven from the garden. Seth accordingly
set forth, finding his way by the footprints of Adam and Eve, upon
which no grass had grown since they passed from Paradise to Hebron.

"The angel, after hearing the message, ordered Seth to look beyond the
gate into the garden and to tell him what he saw. He beheld a place of
inexpressible delight and beauty, with the four great rivers proceeding
from a fountain in the center; and, rising from the edge of the
fountain, an enormous tree, with wide-spreading branches, but without
either bark or leaves. He was ordered to look a second time, when he
saw a serpent twisted round the tree; and a third time, when the tree
had raised itself to heaven, and bore on its summit a Child wrapped in
glittering vestments.

"It was this Child, said the angel, who would give to Adam the oil of
mercy when the due time should come. Meanwhile the angel gave Seth
three seeds from the fruit of the tree of which Adam had eaten. These
were to be placed in the mouth of Adam before his burial, and three
trees would spring from them--a cedar, a cypress, and a pine. The
trees were symbolical of the Holy Trinity."

{54}

"It happened as the angel foretold. The trees were hardly a foot above
the ground in the days of Abraham. Moses, to whom their true nature
was revealed, took them up carefully, carried them with him during the
years of wandering in the desert, and then replanted them i