174 SPRING-TIDE. 



graved on the figure of a fish on ancient 

 gems. 



J. They are the initials of the words 

 'LyffotJc Xf/0TO Qzov T/0 2a/r^>. When 

 could this have been devised ? 



S. Doubtless in the days of fierce per- 

 secution, when its significance was not com- 

 prehended by the Pagan masters of the 

 world, perhaps earlier than the Antonines. 

 We have the best assurance that it was 

 known in the reign of Severus. If you turn 

 to Tertullian's discourse on baptism you will 

 find at the very commencement a passage 

 in which the word ifj$V9 is used in a way 

 which shows that the writer must have 

 been well aware of its application by the 

 Christians of his day. 



J. This church contains the usual hete- 

 rogeneous array of monuments ! There is 

 one which must have cost a small fortune. 

 Hope and Charity gathered around the bed 

 of a dying woman, the first holding in her 



