might be proved from S. Jerome, from the historian Socrates and others, and from monuments of the early Christians still preserved in Egypt:  but why travel so far? we have only lo look around us in the catacombs, or in the Vatican Museum and Library.  The cross is the chosen, the beloved sign of Christians; they repeated it a thousand times on their lamps, on their rings, on their cups and sacred vessels, that they might have the sign of their redemption ever before their eyes, they kissed it at the hour of their death, and had it marked on their tomb, as a sign of their hope of salvation.  No sooner had peace shone upon the church, than crosses were erected on high roads, and in many places of public resort:  and would to God that those sacred ancient monuments, which once adorned our own country, bore public testimony to the faith of its inhabitants, and recalled to the minds of passers-by the sufferings of their Saviour, had not been too rudely treated in the first heat of religious and political frenzy!  For some ancient representations of the cross see the learned work of Dr. Rock on the mass.  I shall content myself with noticing an interesting instance, which he has not mentioned.  At Pompeii the house of Pansa, as it is called, is one of the most remarkable yet excavated on account of its extent and regularity.  Some parts of it were used as shops, and appear to have been let out, (as is still the custom in some palaces of Rome):  for they have no communication with the body of the building.  Between two parts thus separated is an entrance from a side street to the peristyle or open court surrounded by columns; and on the pier between the two doors is, or rather was a painting representing one of the guardian-serpents or tutelary deities, who were sometimes represented under that form, as we occasionally see at Pompeii, and as we learn from Virgil (lib.) V. Hence as we see in Titus’ baths and are informed by Persius, a place was considered sacred, in which serpents were painted.  Indeed these reptiles became such favourites, that, according to Seneca, they used to creep upon the tables amid the cups:  and some ladies so far overcame natural prejudices, as to place real serpents, if not boas, round their necks, to cool them, instead of using artificial boas to warm themselves.  “Si gelidum nectit collo Glacilla draconem” says Martial.  Before the serpent painted in Pansa’s house is or was a projecting brick intended to support a lamp:  the painting in consequence of its situation could be seen only by persons within the house:  but upon the opposite wall there is or was a cross worked in bas relief upon a panel of white stucco, so situated as to be visible to all persons passing.  It had the form of a Latin cross, which, we may observe, as well as the Greek cross:  is found upon ancient Christian monuments; though of course we cannot bring forward other instances so ancient as the monument in question. (See Rock p. 516).  “It is hard to conceive”, says the learned Mazois, “that