Three crosses having been found by Helena, and the inscription having been detached, a difficulty arose how to identify the true one; but this was removed by placing them by the side of a lady who was dangerously ill, and she was immediately restored to health on the application of the real cross. She gave the nails and part of the cross to her son, and founded a church at Rome, where she placed the remainder, with the inscription. Constantine, it is said, placed one of the nails on the bridle of his war-horse, and one on his sword, and the third was cast into a dangerous gulf of the sea, to appease a storm. According to Fabian, Athelstan had in his possession one of the nails, with part of the cross; and another part with a nail; and the crown of thorns, were said to have been at Nôtre Dame, in Paris; and portions of it claimed to be preserved in other churches. There is a curious story on the subject, related in Harl. MS. 2252 (temp. Hen. 8), entitled, “A grete myracle of a knyghte, callyde Syr Roger Wallysborow.” Being in the Holy Land, he wished to bring off privily a piece of the cross, and praying to that effect, his thigh opened miraculously, and received it. He then returned to Cornwall, his native country, having in the course of his voyage, by virtue of the fragment of the cross, appeased the elements, and prevented shipwreck. On his arrival, his thigh opened to liberate the precious relic, of which he gave part to the parish church where this happened, hence called Cross parish, and the remainder to St. Buryan, where his lands were. The slaughter of the Innocents is referred to in several carols, and there are some written expressly for Innocents’ Day; the day of the week on which it falls being considered unlucky throughout the year by many. Brand mentions a custom in Roman Catholic countries of running through all the rooms of a house, making a pretended search in and under the beds, in commemoration of Herod’s search for the children; and there is a tradition that his own son was killed among them, which made Augustus say, that it was better to be Herod’s hog than his son, referring to his being a Jew, and therefore forbidden to kill swine, playing also on the Greek words, [Greek: un] (un) a hog, and [Greek: uion] (uion) a son. Some carols, or Christmas songs, refer to the bringing in of the boar’s head; and in the old carol of St. Stephen’s Day, before mentioned, St. Stephen, who is stated to be in king Herod’s service, is, somewhat inconsistently with such service, introduced as bringing in a boar’s head. “Stevyn out of kechon cam w^{t} boris hed on honde, He saw a sterr was fayr and bryzt ou^{r} bedlem stondæ, He kyst a down the bors hed and went into the halle, I forsak the kyng herowds and thi werks alle, I forsak the kyng herowds and thi werks alle, Ther is a chyd in bedlem born is bet^{r} than we alle.”