THE MODERN CEMETERY. 
43 
THE MATHER MONUMENT, LAKEVIEW CEMETERY, CLEVELAND, O. 
The Monumental Cross. 
Q Of very early origin is the Cross, and for a very 
barbarous purpose does it appear to have been 
first devised. Traces of its use for execution by 
crucifixion dates back to very remote 
times, and for other purposes a cross 
device has been discovered among the 
researches into the histories of some of 
the early Asiatic nations. 
But the triumph of Christianity 
brought the cross into honor and dig- 
nity, and it was soon made to assume 
an endless variety of proportions and 
form, and even t<~> become an object of 
great effort in decorative art. 
No position was too exalted for its 
use as a distinctive ornament, from the 
insignia of rank, to the hilt of the war- 
rior’s sword. 
Mediaeval ecclesiastical architecture- 
fines the cross in most profuse use in 
the design of ornament, and the cathe- 
drals were built on the ground plan of 
a cross. 
It is easy to see how naturally the 
cross would find a place on the early 
grave from its venerated associations, 
apart from its use as a simple device 
for recording the departed: 
The fundamental forms were the 
well known Latin cross; the Greek 
cross with the four arms of equal 
length; the St. Andrew’s cross, like the 
letter X; and the cross of St. Anthony, 
like the letter T- Of these, the Latin 
cross has lent itself more directly to 
monumental service in the cemetery; 
and in Europe, crosses of innumerable 
varieties as to size and decorations 
may be found marking the resting pla- 
ces of the dead, in every cemetery and 
churchyard one visits. 
The design of the cross is simple, 
but it admits of much latitude in deco- 
ration, and many elaborate cross mon- 
uments may be found. What are called 
the Runic and Celtic crosses, where a 
circle connects the arms, have been the 
origin of several handsomely decorated 
monuments. 
The example we illustrate, that of 
the Mather monument in Lakeview 
Cemetery, Cleveland, O., cut from 
Westerly granite, is quite a striking 
piece of work, though comparatively 
simple in ornament. Another fine ex- 
ample, and perhaps the best known, is the Sidney 
Dillon monument in New York city. It is cut from 
an unusually large and finely carved stone. The 
cross stands upon a rustic base, overgrown with ivy. 
