The Sun.
London, England, 1838-09-20 00:00:00

THE IRON CROWN AT MILAN.

The it ,n crown, or r idler the golden one, set with dia-
mon,ls, eirieraltlQ, ruh'e3, and of great brilliancy and large
size, in which it i 3 enclosed, ii of a cylindrical shape, or flat
sided hoop form. It is fixed upon a lower crown or circle of
gold, still more richly adorned with various coloured jewels,
and surmounted by bows or ribs of gold ornamented with pre-
&wig stones, and terminated by a little globe and cross.
The ceremony of inve,ting with the iron crown was common'
to the king: of Lombardy and Italy and the Frene'l and Ger-
m-in emperors. Of these last Charles V. Wiz% the last chose
brows were encircled with the iron diadem. Front that epoch
until Napoleon's coronation in Milan, the regal relic lay' in

undisaithed repose in the church of Monza. in 1814,
Francis 1., on assuming. the sovereignty of the Lombardo- Ve-
hettati iss.tied. a tiectoe that all his s4ceessors should
Le. crdwned in the buorno of Milan with the iron crown of
timbal dy: The most popularly received—or at least most
gehetal4 Welited tradition Concerning the crown. is the fol-
ttbir i=rl'he Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine
the Great, &Ding het stay at Jerusalem, whither she went to
Visit the places aattetitled by our Saviour's life and death, was
fortunate enough to discover and get possession of the cross
upbn which he suffered, and of some of the nails with which
his §aered liandg and feet had beets afflsed to the cross. One
of these she bad fashioned into the bit of a horse's bridle, and
the other made into a small diadem, and she sent both to her
son Constantine as the most powerful securities lie could hate
against accident and the dangers of the battle field. Censtartz
tine received with gratitude and reverence these precious gifts,
and never after went on a journey or into battle without them.
After the death of Constantine this sacred nail made into a
diadem was looked upon with so much veaeraton that it was
considered a profanation to place it again on mortal brows,
and it was therefore enclosed in a circle of gold, adorned with
precious stones, and deposited amongst the votive crowns in
the church of Constantinople. This sacred circlet, of which
St. Ambrose made mention in the year 395 in the funeral
oration of the Emperor Theodosius, delivered before Hono-
rius, was nevertheless destined to become again the emblem
of regal power in Lombardy. St. Gregory, before ascendine.
the Pontifical throne, had visited Constantinople as apostolic
legate, and on coming away received from the Emperor Con-
stantine Tiberius Augustus several valuable presents and
relics, amongst which latter was the little votive crown in which
was enclosed the sacred nail. For some time after St. Gre-
gory became Pope, he was grievously afflicted by the sangui-
nary wars carried on by the Lombards, and felt sincerely grateful
to Queen Teodolinda, by whose influence over her husband,
Agilulfo, a peace was brought about. The Pope, on this oc-
casion, wrote letters to her in which he called her his well-
beloved daughter ; with these he sent some dialogues of his
own composition, several sacred and golden vessels embossed
with precious stones, and a number of relics, amongst which
was the Constantinian diadem.

On receiving these precious gifts, Teodolinda commenced
erecting at Monza a palace and a church, dedicated to St.
John, and when completed the Pontifical prevents were de-
posited in the latter. This donative or depository of these
sacred gifts in the church is commemorated in a sculptured
basso relieve over the principal portal.
The Canon Bellani, who had an opportunity of closely ex-
amining the crown, states the thin lamina of iron of which it is
made appears to have been but very rudely beaten out with the
hammer, the marks of which it still bears, and never to have
been subjected to the action of the file.
Amidst the general war waged against relics in the first half
of the last century, the twenty seven nails of the cross, then
held in such veneration in various parts of Europe, did not
escape suspicion, and the nail inclosed in the crown of Monza
came in for its share of distrust. Fontanini and Muratori
engaged in the discussion of its authenticity with great warmth
and considerable erudition, and the que.tion at length assumed
so serious a character that the good people of Monza appealed
to the Pope to set, by his Pontifical decision the matter at rest.
Prospero Lambertini, the then Pope, examined all the docu-
ments and pleadings for and against the iron crown that had
been transmitted to the Holy See, drew up a report there-
upon, and sent it to the Sacred Congregation de Riti, and
on receiving their opinion, issued a decree, dated Rome,
10th of August, 1717, in favour of the authenticity of the
sacred nail in the iron crown, and authorising the clergy of
the Church of Monza to exhibit the iron crown upon the
altar, amongst ether relics, to the veneration of the faith-
ful.—Times.

Bell's Life in London of Sunday, September 23d,
will contain the most correct particulars of the Doncaster
Races, with a portrait of the winner of the St. Leger. The
publication of the country edition of Bell's Life in London
will in future commence on Saturday noon, at twelve o'clock,
by which arrangement the papers can be forwarded by the
two o'clock trains, and delivered in Birmingham the same
evening. Bell's Life in London of Sunday last, September
16, with the engraving of the splendid Doncaster Cup, may
yet be had at the office, No. 170, Strand. The price of
Bell's Life in London is only Fivepence, and is now the
largest folio Journal printed in London.
SUICIDE AT ILFOltD.—Last week a shocking,
occurrence took place at Ilford, which caused a painful sensa-
tion amongst the respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood.
Mr. Annandale, a gentleman of independent property, had
been, for a few weeks past in a state of mind which excited the
fears of his family; and Mrs. A., apprehensive that he might
attempt suicide, took away his pistols. On missing them he
remonstrated with her, observing that it was nonsense to act
so, for if he wished to destroy himself there were plenty of
knives and pieces of cord about the house. Mrs. A. after a
time gave him back the pistols, and the instant he obtained
them, he snapped them both at her, but fortunately she had
taken the precaution to draw the charges. Last week he again
obtained the means of loading the pistols, and shot himself in
his own room, the charge passing through his heart and
killing hint instantly.—An inquest was held on the body, and
a verdict of " insanity" returned. The deceased's father, a man
of property died some time ago without leaving him a shilling,
which it is supposed affected his mind.—Essex Herald.
A HEARTLESS SCOUNDREL.—OR Tuesday
morning a villainous deception was practised on a confiding
fair one at Cheltenham, by the man on whom she was willing
to bestow both her hand and heart. Not content with these
gifts, the scoundrel persuaded his intended to let him take
charge of her watch and some other valuables ; and, just be-
fore the hour fixed for the marriage ceremony, begged the
loan of her mother's ring, that be might get one of the same
size for his bride. It was agreed that he should purchase this
himself, and bring it to the church, where the party would wait
his coming. A considerable time having been wasted in
fruitless expectation of his arrival, it was at length discovered
that the fellow had decamped, leaving his hapless bride elect,
her heart and hand, but taking as substitutes the property
entrusted to his keeping. It has since been found out that
the scamp is a married man.—Bristol Mirror.
On Saturday an inquest was held at the Marlbo-
rough Head, Shadwell, on the body of an Irish cabman,
named Sullivan, aged 45. From the evidence it appeared
that on the preceding evening the deceased, as was his usual
custom, went into a cook's shop. in the Back-road, Shadwell,
to have his supper, and called for a plate of boiled beef, pota-
toes, and cabbage. While in the act of enjoying this fare he
was suddenly seized with a sort of fit or spasm, and left the
room. On getting outside the door he became sick, and in a
few minutes dropped down in a state of insensibility. He
died immediately afterwards. Mr. Ross, the medical gentle-
man, to whose shop he was carried, gave it as his opinion that
he died of apoplexy. Mr. Ross, at the request of the Coroner
and jury, proceeded to examine the remains, and in a short
time afterwards returned to the inquest-room with two large
gristly pieces of boiled beef, which he found perfectly fixed
in the trachea, and were evidently the caUse of the death of
the deceased. The two pieces of beef produced were, in wit-
ness's opinion, three ounces weight, and sufficient to have
caused death by suffocation. The Jury returned a verdict
agreeably to the opinion of the last witness.
A circumstance of great profligacy has just taken
place in this town, which excites much disgust. A fellow,
calling himself a "truly religious character," who occasion-
ally holds forth in one of the chapels, has eloped with a young
lady of very tender age and weak mind. After remaining
with his victim for ten days, he wrote a letter to her protec-
tress, saying he had abandoned his intention of going to Ame-
rica with the child, and was ready to restore her, unsullied, to
the arms of her family. He calls on the lady as a " professing
Christian" to believe him. On Saturday the scoundrel had
the audacity to come back to Brighton, and so adroitly worked
upon the feelings of the old lady as to induce her to believe
the tale, which he has also palmed upon several others, whom
be terms " Christian friends." This man has a wife and
family, whom he deserted. We cannot tell what opinion the
" professing Christians" may have of such a fellow, but we
can safely affirm that no practical Christian would tolerate so
base a hypocrite.—Brighton Guardian.
THE NEW SPANISH PREMIER.—The Duke of
Fries possesses few, if any, statesmanlike qualities, and has
never distinguished himself either as an Ambassador abroad or
a Legislator at home. His Excellency has consecrated the best
' part of his days, and he is now fifty years of age, to the study
oF poetry, and some of his productions pass mediocrity. Be-
sides all this, the Duke of Frias is about as absent a man as
any in existence, and a very amusing collection might be
formed of the many ludicrous scenes to which this defect has
given rise. When he was Spanish Ambassador at Paris he
received some important despatches from the Government,
and was instructed to demand an audience of the French King
and make some proposals which, it was supposed, would
induce that Monarch to support more effectually the cause
of
dth proceeded
TTheeilei
Drueks.e atTohnece
eourddieereeedehilsecsaterdriagfeer,
ae
nearly an hour, and he returned to the embassy apparently
ue
ryeoeuetnsdgedQen to the
recollected that he had not opened his lips to Louis Phillippe
delighted uith his interview, and it was only at dinner that he
on the
e )nings a t a coif, e- house in the Calle do Principe,
subject of his despatches. When the Duke was simply
a
the kingdom he was in the habit of passing a part
o
which was then frequented by several young aspirants fur poe-
ticalevenings
rime. One night he was observed to rise suddenly from
his chair, and enter into the following dialogue with one of the
waiters :—Duke—" Do you know me ?" Waiter—" yes,
your Excellency." " Who, then, am I?" asked the Duke.
The Duke of Fries," replied the other. " Well then," said
the Duke, "go to my house and ascertain whether I left it in
my carriage ; if so, look out fur it, and tell the coachman to
come here ; if not. bid the porter to have it sent for me at
once." What follows is still more amusing:--When he was
at Par;s. he and his daughter were invited to a grand ball at
the palace. After sauntering about the rooms fur an hour
or so, the Duke got tired and went home. The ball over,
the Queen was told that there was !t young person alone, in
one of the saloons, looking very unhappy. Her Majesty went
to see who it could be, and to her surprise found it was the
Duke of Fries's daughter, Bernardina. whom her father had
totally forgotten since he returned to the embassy, and retired
quietly to bed. One of the ladies in waiting, and an aide-de-
camp, were ordered to accompeny the Senorita home in one ef
the King's car, iages.
pn Monday t the Greenwich Petty Sessions, a
Greenwich pens', ner, of the name of John Colison, was
brought before the Seting Magistrates, A. Young, Esq , and
Colonel Forman, charged on suspicion of murdering his wife,
Mary Colison. an elderly female, between 60 and 70 years of
age. The case created the greatest excitement in the town
of Greenwich, and the Justice-room was densely crowded. As
the prisoner was remanded till a further investigation, it will
be as well to refrain from publishing the facts of the occurrence,
which arc contradictory, till a-future period. The accused
biarS-i4 most excellent character in Greenwich Hospital.

85g.