King's Cross

“ Their children long after, moved by the same spirit, shouted, 'We have no king but Caesar!' but they prepared the throne for the true King, for whom they destined a Cross. Man's greatest sin, the rejection of the visible King of the world, brought about the firm establishment of His dominion on earth and in heaven. The cross is the great instance of the same law as is embodied in this history,—the overruling providence which bends the antagonism of men into a tool for effecting the purpose of God. ”

“ William wore a general's uniform, with the ribbon of the Black Eagle on his breast. Helmet in hand he advanced slowly to the dais, bowed to the assembled clergymen, and turned to survey the scene. There had been erected an altar covered with scarlet cloth, which bore the device of the Iron Cross. Right and left of it were soldiers bearing the standards of their regiments. Attending on the king were the crown-prince, and a brilliant array of the princes, dukes, and other rulers of the German states arranged in semicircular form. ”

“ It is further reported, that the cross being made in haste, and the hole dug in which it was to be fixed, the king himself, full of faith, laid hold of it and held it with both his hands, till it was set fast by throwing in the earth and this done, raising his voice, he cried to his army, "Let us all kneel, and jointly beseech the true and living God Almighty, in his mercy, to defend us from the haughty and fierce enemy; for He knows that we have undertaken a just war for the safety of our nation." ”

“ George's Cross; but the goodness of the late king was more popular, and carried the day, and we now enjoy the nominis umbra of King's Cross, instead of the old cognomen of Battle Bridge. It had a very brief existence. It was built between 1830 and 1835, and was demolished in 1845; the stucco statue only having been in situ for ten years. It is said that the nose of this regal statue had, for its base, an earthen draining tile, and that it was offered to a gentleman for sixpence! ”

“ To us English, the spectacle of the cross borne in solemn procession is calculated to recall with special vividness the [Pg 36] memory of the establishment of the faith among our forefathers. How the British Church had been driven into Cornwall and Wales, and how S. Augustine, after landing in Thanet to bring the Gospel to the English, advanced with his forty companion monks to meet King Ethelbert, chanting a litany, and proceeded by a silver cross and a crucifix painted on a panel,—these things all men know. ”

“ The knights of the Garter use the cross of St George, as do those of the order of St Michael and St George, the knights of the Thistle use St Andrew’s cross, and those of St Patrick the cross of St Patrick charged with a shamrock leaf. The cross of the Danish order of the Dannebrog (fig. 7) affords a good example of this use of the cross. It is in form a white cross patée, superimposed upon a red one of the same form, and is surmounted by the royal cipher and crown, and has upon its surface the royal cipher repeated, and the legend, or motto, “Gud og Kongen” = “God and the King.” ”

“ The King delivered his orb to the dean of Westminster, to be by him laid upon the altar; and then the dean of Westminster brought the sceptre and rod to the archbishop; and the lord of the manor of Worksop (who claimed to hold an estate by the service of presenting to the King a right hand glove on the day of his coronation, and supporting the King's right arm whilst he holds the sceptre [Pg 231] with the cross) delivered to the King a pair of rich gloves, and in any occasion happening afterwards, supported his Majesty's right arm, or held his sceptre by him. ”

“ These national committees are usually presided over by officers very near the crown or high in authority; as, for instance, the national president of the Red Cross of Germany is Count Otto de Stolberg, who recently crowned young Emperor William. Of France, Marshal McMahon; of England, Lord Lindsay; of Belgium, the King himself.
Their patrons are always of the crown or royal families, as Empress Augusta of Germany, Victoria of England, Dagmar of Russia, Marguerite of Italy, and the Royal Grand Duchess of Baden. ”

“ When the final toll of this dreadful war is taken, high up on the lists of fame, supreme in the immortal and shining roster of the saints, should stand the names of the men and women of the Red Cross. The zeal of fighting could not uphold them. ”

“ In answer to the petitions of anxious wives, mothers and fathers, and the tender prayers of prattling infants, God put strength in the arms of the noble women who wore the badge of the Red Cross, and made them heroic in an hour of great trial. ”

“ March ye for Christ and to bring the people to Him out of darkness! Take with you the Cross to set it in the hearts of men, and the seed of the tree of life to plant among desolate nations!
"Ye kings, that are anointed leaders, lead ye the armies of Heaven! Ye knights, that are sworn to honour, draw your unsullied swords for the honour of God! Men and youths, that bear arms by allegiance, be ye soldiers of Christ and allegiant to the Cross! Be ye all first for honour, first for France, first for God Most High!" ”

“ The stately minster and the lordly abbey, the rustic church and the humble cell stood in stately grandeur or in simple grace amid the fields and farmsteads of the people. In every market place the tapering cross, then perchance fresh and white from the carver’s hands, saw the folk gather at its feet to chat and chaffer, as beneath the shelter of a friend: and every highway and byeway was marked at intervals, like the great pathway of man’s life, with crosses that are at once emblems of suffering and of salvation. ”

“ Titles are abolished; and the American Republic swarms with men claiming and bearing them. You have the French soldier cheered and happy in his dying agony, and kissing with frantic joy the chief’s hand who lays the little cross on the bleeding bosom. At home you have the dukes and earls jobbing and intriguing for the Garter; the military knights grumbling at the civil knights of the Bath; the little ribbon eager for the collar; the soldiers and seamen from India and the Crimea marching in procession before the queen, and receiving from her hands the cross bearing her royal name. ”

“ The most unworthy of all the human race would he gladly introduce to the fellowship of saints and the innumerable company of angels, and seat the pardoned sinner at his side upon the throne. Oh! when I enter the metropolis, and hail the immortal millions of the blood-washed, and kneel to kiss the nail-pierced feet of the King, while all the harps and voices that have welcomed me go silent for his gracious salutation, with what rapture, as I rise, shall I look round upon the happy multitude and say—"This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!" ”

“ In the name of the Black Cross I do now pledge myself, an instrument in the service of Justice and Retribution. On whomsoever the choice of Fate shall fall, I vow the sentence of Death shall be fulfilled, by mine own hands if needs be, without weakness, or hesitation, or mercy. ”

“ It is ordained that the Cross shall only be awarded to those officers and men who have served Us in the presence of the enemy, and shall have then performed some signal act of valour or devotion to their country.
Sixthly. It is ordained, with a view to placing all persons on a perfectly equal footing in relation to eligibility for the Decoration, that neither rank, nor long service, nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever, save the merit of conspicuous bravery, shall be held to establish a sufficient claim to the honour. ”

“ The superior decoration of the grand cross, a cross of double the size, is reserved for officers of high rank, who have successfully carried out a campaign, won a decisive battle, or conducted a brave defense of a fortress or position. ”

“ Men of all ranks flew to arms with the utmost ardor; and an exterior symbol, too, a circumstance of chief moment, was here chosen by the devoted combatants. The sign of the cross, which had been hitherto so much revered among Christians, and which, the more it was an object of reproach among the Pagan world, was the more passionately cherished by them, became the badge of union, and was affixed to their right shoulder, by all who enlisted themselves in this sacred warfare. ”

“ This red cross, borne also on their banners, became famous all over the world, from the valour of these knights, who hence acquired the common cognomen of Red Cross Knights.
The Order speedily grew into fame and popularity. Young men of the noblest families of every nation in Christendom eagerly sought admittance into it. ”

“ The crown of thorns proclaims a sovereignty founded on sufferings. The sceptre of feeble reed speaks of power wielded in gentleness. The Cross leads to the crown. The brow that was pierced by the sharp acanthus wreath, therefore wears the diadem of the universe. The hand that passively held the mockery of the worthless, pithless reed, therefore rules the princes of the earth with the rod of iron. He who was lifted up to the Cross, was, by that very act, lifted up to be a Ruler and Commander to the peoples. For the death of the Cross God hath highly exalted Him to be a Prince and a Saviour. ”

“ The Cross and Crown. THE CROSS.
Emblem of Ignorance and Cruelty,
Ensign of Superstition's brutal reign,
Banner of Despotism's foul career,
Signal of Reason laid upon its bier,
Image of dark and gross Idolatry,
Object of worship since the Christ was slain!
The sign of the impostor and the fool,
By which they conquer and command the throng,
The cross is lifted upward everywhere
Man will submissive bow and mutter prayer,
The minion meek, or church's thoughtless tool,
Or worse, the cunning priest who knows the wrong. ”

“ In their pride and folly, they were not afraid of a war, calculating, that after the queen's death, the charm of her piety would no longer restrain the wish for affluence of volunteers from eastern countries, and that then thousands of warriors from Germany, Burgundia, France and other countries, would join the Knights of the Cross. ”

“ Two great fleets had been swept from the seas, the guns of Santiago were silenced, and the stronghold of the Orient was sulking in the shadow of the flag, but there was 94 still soldier work to be done, and so long as the nation sent its fighting men through her broad and beautiful gates San Francisco and the Red Cross stood by with eager, lavish hands to heap upon the warrior sons of a score of other States, even as upon their own, every cheer and comfort that wealth could purchase, or human sympathy devise. ”

“ The clouds which are gathering over you shall rain righteousness upon you; the lightning that blinds you reveals the chariot of your King; the thunder that terrifies you assures you of his love. Courage! ”

“ A very special care that the Cross should be frequented is to be observed in the remains of the stone-flagged pathway from Northampton, constructed at the time when the Cross was built, for the purpose of ensuring an easy journey to the spot, where the devout might pray for the soul of the departed Queen. ”

“ The Red Cross nurses on the deck below looked at one another and gasped. Two brave army girls, wives of wounded officers in the Philippines, who, by special dispensation, were making the voyage on the Queen, glanced quickly at each other and said—nothing audible. The General, lifting his cap, but looking both deprecation and embarrassment, fell back 240 and gave his place at the white rail to the new arrival, and colored high when she suddenly turned and took his arm. ”

“ The Badge is an eight-rayed star bearing (on one side) the Royal Cypher and (on the other 293 side) “For faithful service,” surrounded by a wreath of laurel and surmounted by the Crown.
The Victoria Cross, of bronze, was instituted by her late Majesty Queen Victoria in 1856, to render honour to “conspicuous bravery” in actual conflict, by sea or land. This Cross, No. 440, is worn on the left breast, attached to a blue ribbon for the Navy, and to a red ribbon for the Army. A Bar is attached to the ribbon for every additional such act of bravery as would have won the Cross. ”

“ Around the steeple were hung the flags of France, Spain, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Portugal, and other nations, while the spire about three-quarters of the way to the cross was decorated with the Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack.” It was this incident that called forth these verses, written by Bishop Doane:
“Hang out that glorious old Red Cross ”

“ The Chiefe; a bar of colour across the upper part of the shield, signifies authority or chief-dom, as the source of all order, power, and peace.
2. The cross, as an ordinary, distinguished from the cross as a bearing, consists simply of two bars dividing the shield into four quarters; and, I believe, that it does not in this form stand properly as a symbol of Christian faith, but only as one of Christian patience and fortitude. The cross as a symbol of faith is terminated within the field. ”

“ Long before he is old enough to hear the terrible war-part of the story, War shall be at an end, please God, and the Red Cross shall mean [Pg 85] to the nations left upon the earth what it means to him—arms that enfold a suffering humanity, lips that press a great mother-love to all its hurts and make them well. ”