sing the oldest of these crosses. One bears the legend "In the
name of God; this cross, erected long since by Barbatus, was renewed
under the bishopric of Vitalis (789-814)." This class of monuments
abounds in Rome, although it belongs to a comparatively recent age.
Such are the crosses before the churches of SS. Sebastiano, Cesareo,
Nereo ed Achilleo, Pancrazio, Lorenzo, Francesco a Ripa, and others.

The most curious and interesting is perhaps the column of Henry IV. of
France, which was erected under Clement VIII. in front of S. Antonio
all' Esquilino, and which the modern generation has concealed in a
recess on the east side of S. Maria Maggiore. It is in the form of a
culverin--a long slender cannon of the period--standing upright. From
the muzzle rises a marble cross supporting the figure of Christ on one
side, and that of the Virgin on the other. It was erected by Charles
d'Anisson, prior of the French Antonians, to commemorate the
absolution given by Clement VIII. to Henry IV. of France and Navarre,
on September 17 of the year 1595. The monument has a remarkable
history. Although apparently erected by private enterprise, the kings
of France regarded it as an insult of the Curia, an official boast of
their submission to the Pope; and they lost no opportunity of showing
their dissatisfaction in consequence. Louis XIV. found an occasion for
revenge. The gendarmes who had escorted his ambassador, the duc de
Crequi, to Rome, had a street brawl with the Pope's Corsican
body-guards; and although it was doubtful which side was to blame,
Louis obliged Pope Alexander VII. to raise a pyramid on the spot where
the affray had taken place, with the following humiliating
inscription:--

"In denunciation of the murderous attack committed by the Corsican
soldiers against his Excellency the duc de Crequi, Pope Alexander VII.
declares their nation deprived forever of the privilege of serving
under the flag of the Church. This monument was erected May 21, 1664,
according to the agreement made at Pisa."

The revenge could not have been more complete; so bitter was it that
Alexander VII. drew a violent protest against it, to be read and
published only after his death. His successor, Clement IX., a favorite
with Louis XIV., obtained leave that the pyramid should be demolished,
which was done in June, 1668, with the consent of the French
ambassador, the duc de Chaulnes. Whether by stipulation or by the good
will of the Pope, the ins