_Anticipatory Use of the Cross_ (Vol. viii. passim).--
"It is strange, yet well authenticated, and has given rise to many
theories, that the symbol of the Cross was already known to the Indians
before the arrival of Cortez. In the island of Cozumel, near Yucatan,
there were several; and in Yucatan itself there was a stone cross. And
there an Indian, considered a prophet amongst his countrymen, had
declared that a nation bearing the same as a symbol should arrive from
a distant country! More extraordinary still was a temple, dedicated to
the Holy Cross by the Toltec nation in the city of Cholula. Near
Tulansingo there is also a cross engraved on a rock with various
characters, which the Indians by tradition ascribe to the Apostle St.
Thomas. In Oajaca, also, there existed a cross, which the Indians from
time immemorial had been accustomed to consider as a divine symbol. By
order of the Bishop Cervantes it was placed in a sumptuous chapel in
the cathedral. Information concerning its discovery, together with a
small cup, cut out of its wood, was sent to Rome to Paul V.; who
received it on his knees, singing the hymn 'Vexilla regis,' &c."--_Life
in Mexico_, by Madame Calderon de la Barca, Letter xxxvii.