Greatly to his relief, he was bidden in a vision to seek the remains of St. Alban, and over them, when found, to erect a monastery. In accordance with these instructions he, with Higbert, Archbishop of Lichfield, the Bishops of Leicester and Lindsey, and a huge assembly of clergy and laity, visited the hill, where the "Proto-martyr of England," as St. Alban came to be known, had suffered. There the holy remains were discovered. Over them Offa founded the abbey, with a monastery for one hundred monks of the Order of St. Benedict. * * * * * The present abbey really dates from the eleventh century. At the close of the tenth century the ruins of the old Roman city of Verulamium were broken up to serve as materials for the new church buildings. But owing to the unsettled character of the times the erection was delayed, till William the Conqueror was firmly possessed of the throne, when Paul of Caen, a relative of Archbishop Lanfranc, was appointed abbot in 1077. He built the magnificent Norman structure, based upon the plans of St. Stephen's, Caen--the same church which served as a model for Lanfranc, when he built Canterbury. Though finished for some years past, it was only consecrated in 1115. As was invariably the custom, the church was built in the form of a cross. In this connection it is interesting to note the evolution of the cross. Prior to the Christian era the cross was looked upon with disfavour. To be crucified was to undergo a most ignominious form of punishment, and it was only served out to malefactors of the worst description. Nothing short of this would have been a sufficient check in those times to the growth of vice. But in the early days of Christianity the cross came to be regarded as the holiest symbol of "The Sacrifice" made for the good of mankind. When converts met they formed on the ground the sign of the cross, in order to distinguish friends from foes. The mere fact of a severe punishment meted out consequent on discovery of this secret passport served only to increase the reverence held for the symbol. [Illustration: ST. ALBANS FROM THE WALLS OF OLD VERULAM] As soon as time and opportunity allowed places of worship were erected, and the natural form adopted would be that of the cross, for which they had suffered so much persecution, and which typified the foundation of their faith and hopes of salvation. As they assembled in church they would be sensible of the prevailing influence of the emblem. In every direction, look where they would, they would always see the holy sign. The roof would reveal to the gaze the same form as that on the ground. Even the walls, as they soared upwards, out-lined, tier upon tier, the Christian sign, capped at the last by a mighty cross, which cast its protecting shadows around and over the worshippers. The altar came to be placed at the head of the cross. The transept, crossing it at right angles, formed the arms, and the nave the upright.