The Sun. — 1838-09-20 (London, England)

THE IRON CROWN AT MILAN.  The it ,n crown, or r idler the golden one, set with diamon,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 Germ-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- Vehettati 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 folttbir 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 Honorius, 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 Constantine 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. Gregory became Pope, he was grievously afflicted by the sanguinary 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 occasion, wrote letters to her in which he called her his wellbeloved 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 deposited 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 examining 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 documents and pleadings for and against the iron crown that had been transmitted to the Holy See, drew up a report thereupon, 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 faithful.—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 sensation 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