23 DECEMBER 1916, Page 16

WAYSIDE CROSSES.

as THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sun—Among the many ideas put forward for commemorating our fallen soldiers in this unprecedented war, may I suggest that the restora- tion of some of the simple wayside crosses which once beautified England would in many eases be a most, if not the most, fitting memorial ? For those who have made the great sacrifice, what more fitting witness than the cross, the symbol and summary of our faith ; and if the way- farer who comes across these sacred shrines from time to time is thereby reminded of the great sacrifice of all, might it not tend a little to that uplifting of England which we all have so much at heart ? I was very pleased to read recently in the Times that our Chief of the Staff, Sir William Robertson, unveiled in a small hamlet inLincolnshire " a village cross, placed in a highway," inscribed with the names of the noble dead who went forth from his native parish to lay down their lives for England. It seems to me a fine example, and that this might be a great opportunity for a revival which should be both beautiful and ennobling; and which, moreover, might be the means of saving us from some monumental horrors of another kind. It may be objected that a village cross serves no practical purpose; but must everything be purely utilitarian 1—I am, Sir, &o., I' A Ma" VICTORIAN.