as even to deny him the consolation of having one of his chaplains with him. The parliament was now in possession of the supreme power. It distributed rewards to its adherents, and Cromwell received £2500 a year, from the estates of the marquis of Worcester. But when the parliament wished to disband the army, which was infected with the fanatical spirit of the Independents, the soldiers appointed, from the creatures of Cromwell and the wildest visionaries, a council of officers and a body of subalterns and privates, called agitators, who insolently declared to the parliament, that they would not lay down their arms till the freedom of the nation was established. Some of the soldiers conducted with so much boldness, that the parliament ordered their arrest; on which occasion Cromwell not only supported the house, but, with tears in his eyes, deplored the seditious temper of the troops, which, he said, had even put his own life in danger. Some of the members, however, saw in him the secret mover of those measures, and accordingly proposed his apprehension; but, on that very day, Cromwell repaired to the army, in order, as he wrote to the lower house, to restore the deluded soldiers to their duty, and, at the same time, requested that Fairfax and the other officers would cooperate with him to this end. On the same day (June 3, 1647), one of the agitators, Joyce, forcibly carried off the king from Holmby, and delivered him into the hands of the army. Cromwell seems at this time to have contemplated the restoration of the king. But he was convinced, on a nearer view of the fanatical spirit that reigned in the army, that he could not venture such a measure without danger of his life; besides, he was only second in command, and could not reckon on the assistance of the most influential men, some of whom, as Vane and St. John, were his equals in cunning, and others, as Ludlow, Haselrigg, and many more, his equals in courage. They were all zealous republicans, and firmly resolved to destroy monarchy with the monarch. Cromwell seems, too, to have feared the political principles of his son-in-law, Ireton. Thus he was finally obliged to continue in the course which he had begun, and, in order to preserve the favor of the army, to make a hypocritical show of sentiments which he no longer felt. He personally respected the king as an upright and conscientious man. He is said to have connived at his flight from Hampton court, and to have wished

that he might escape from the kingdom; and spoke with tears of his first meeting with his children; for Cromwell, in private life, was mild and noble in his temper. At last, yielding to the force of circumstances, he united himself entirely to the commonwealth party, and, in their deliberations about the future form of government, feebly advocated a monarchy, which this party called a mischief and a sin, because they regarded God alone as their Lord and King. Cromwell had now learned the disposition of his people, and, with that coarse levity which was a leading trait in his character, he concluded a conference by throwing a cushion at Ludlow's head, and running down stairs, where another was thrown after him in return. The next day, he said to Ludlow, that he thought the abolition of the monarchy was desirable, but hardly practicable. Soon after, Cromwell had a proof of the strength of his party. Major Huntingdon accusing him, in parliament, of a design to raise, in concert with Ireton, an army against the parliament, and establish a military government under the name of the king, the influence of the Independents outweighed that of the Presbyterians; and, as the insurrections of the Welsh and Scotch were to be subdued, the parliament did not dare to condemn or dismiss a general whose services were so necessary. Upon this, Cromwell reduced Wales by a sudden attack; and, as Fairfax, from Presbyterian scruples, declined the command of the expedition against Scotland, he undertook it with the more eagerness, as he knew the weak condition of the Scotch army, and had, for many years, heartily hated the Scotch people. With a much inferior force, he defeated them at Preston, and was received in Edinburgh as a deliverer. Now followed the tragedy of the king's execution (see Charles I), who was beheaded Jan. 29, 1649. induced to consent to this act by the advice of Ireton, and took a conspicuous part in it, as he had not the courage or the power to prevent it. He carried his want of feeling so far, as not only to be a spectator of the execution from a window fitted up for him, but even to have the body in the coffin shown to him. The republic was established, and Cromwell, as a proof of his republican virtue, resolved on the death of lord Capel, because, as he said, the friendship which he felt for this loyal adherent of the king must be sacrificed to public duty. Yet Cromwell was not naturally cruel. He shed blood from

Cromwell was

liament, from which Cromwell had carefully excluded all republicans, so obsequious, that they at last offered him the title of king. Some individuals, among whom was Lambert, the second in command of the army, who was in hopes of being protector after Cromwell, and the majority of the officers, opposed the measure so resolutely, that Cromwell, fearing the fate of Cæsar, declined the title. His brotherin-law, Desborough, and his son-in-law, Fleetwood, also dissuaded him from accepting it. For this, the parliament, by an act entitled Humble Petition and Advice, gave him the title of highness, and the right of appointing his successor; and he was a second time solemnly invested by the speaker with the ensigns of his office-a velvet mantle of purple color, symbolical of justice and mercy, the Bible, the staff and the sword. Cromwell received from all quarters marks of the highest respect; yet the incense of admiration did not intoxicate his understanding: he saw things in their true light, with a calm, clear and careful eye. Shakspeare himself has portrayed no situation more dramatic than that of Cromwell; but, unlike the stupified and despairing Macbeth, the protector rose in spirit as he rose in fortune. He renounced the principles with which he had set out, as untenable. Gladly would he have repaired the past mischief; but the men whom he had hitherto used as instruments were opposed to him, and the blood of the king was inexpiable. Charles Stuart, son of the late king, of fered to allow him to make his own terms, if he would place him on the throne; and Cromwell's wife urged him to accept the proposal; but he answered, "If Charles Stuart can forgive me all that I have done against him and his family, he does not deserve to wear the crown of England." Cromwell, the lord of three kingdoms, the mightiest potentate in Europe, the greatest man in an age of great men, and worthier than any other of his high station, had he risen by upright means, was unhappy in the last years of his life. In his heart, he wished to govern on mild and constitutional principles; but self-preservation compelled him to be severe and suspicious. A usurper must be a despot. He at last governed without a parliament, since none was pliant enough for him; and the bigots, who once extolled him, now called him a shameful tyrant. Their conspiracies against his life kept him in continual alarm. He never went out without a guard; no one knew what route he would take; he usually turned

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back after starting, and took another direction; he wore a shirt of mail under his dress, and seldom slept two nights successively in the same room. According to Ludlow's account, he expressed, on his death-bed, some fears that his memory would be insulted, and his remains trampled upon. He asked his preacher, whether it was true that the elect could never finally fall; and, when assured that it was so, Cromwell rejoined, "Then I am safe; for I am sure that once I was in a state of grace." The powerful medicines which were administered to him, while his body was weakened by the tertian ague, brought on a kind of insanity. He assured his physicians, as the fanatics about him had persuaded him to believe, that he should not die, whatever they might think of his situation; "for God was far above nature, and God had promised his people his recovery." His last words appeared to be those of a person interceding with God for the people. Cromwell died Sept. 3, 1658, at the age of 59, and was buried in Westminster abbey. Most of the European courts went into mourning for him, even that of Versailles. Great as a general, Cromwell was still greater as a civil ruler. He lived in a simple and retired way, like a private man, without any parade or ostentation. He was abstemious, temperate, indefatigably industrious, and exact in his official duties. His exterior inspired neither love nor confidence; his figure had neither dignity nor grace; his conversation and manners were rude and vulgar; his voice was harsh; in his public speeches, he expressed himself with force and fire, but without method or taste. On the other hand, he possessed extraordinary penetration and knowledge of human nature; no one knew so well as he the art of winning men and using them to his purposes. He devised the boldest plans with a quickness, equalled only by the decision and intrepidity with which he executed them. No obstacle deterred him; and he was never at a loss for expedients. His coins bore the motto Pax quæritur bello. Cool and reserved, but full of great projects, he patiently waited for the favorable moment, and failed not to make use of it. Under the guise of piety and virtue, he practised the most subtle Machiavellism; yet he was, in truth, an upright and tolerant Calvinist. As his political interest was often at variance with his real sentiments, he sometimes showed himself cruel, sometimes moderate, even towards his avowed enemies. In his intercourse with others, he often indulged in

Jow and scurrilous jests, frivolity and coarseness, which agreed as ill with his iron sternness of character, as with the noble spirit which breathes in some of his speeches, and with the force of his oratory, which swayed not only the ignorant and fanatical soldiery, but also the more enlightened parliament. His elevation was the fruit of injustice and deceit; and, on his death, his family soon sunk into obscurity. He had appointed his eldest son, Richard, his successor; but the republican and religious fanaticism of the army and officers, with Fleetwood at their head, now subverted, as it had formerly served, the projects of Cromwell. The mild and virtuous Richard was compelled, by the mutinous officers, to dissolve the parliament; and, a few days after, conscious of his incapacity, he voluntarily abdicated the protectorship, April 22, 1659. His brother Henry, who had talent, bravery and mildness of temper, and who, from 1654, had governed Ireland in tranquillity, improved its trade, and won the affections of the people by his upright administration, followed the example of Richard, and died in privacy in England. Richard lived in narrow circumstances, his property being nearly exhausted in the expenses of his father's funeral. At the restoration, he went to the continent, and returned to England in 1680, and, assuming the name of Clark, passed the remainder of his days in tranquil seclusion, at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire. He died in 1712, at the age of 86. His father's corpse, by the command of Charles II, was dug up in 1661, hanged, and buried under the gallows. For further information respecting the life of Cromwell, the reader may consult Clarendon and Hume, Ludlow's Memoirs, and those of Whitelocke and Noble; also the accounts of him by Banks, Jeudy Dugour (Paris, 1795), and Villemain's Histoire de Cromwell (Paris, 1819, 2 vols.); besides these, the collections of Cromwell's letters and state papers, by Carte, 1736, and Nichols, 1743, published at London. A descendant of the family, Oliver Cromwell, published Memoirs of the Protector Oliver Cromwell, and of his Sons, Richard and Henry (London, 1820, 4to.). See the following article.

CROMWELL, Oliver, a gentleman recently deceased, was the great-grandson of Henry Cromwell, son of the protector. He practised as a solicitor in Essex street (London) for several years, and was clerk to St. Thomas's hospital. He succeeded to the estate of Theobald's, which descended to him through the children of

Richard Cromwell, eldest son of the protector, and died at Cheshunt park, Hertfordshire, May 31, 1821, aged 79. He wrote the Memoirs of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, and his Sons, Richard and Henry, illustrated by Original Letters and other Family Papers (London, 1820, 4to.).

CROMWELL, Thomas, earl of Essex, was the son of a blacksmith at Putney, in Surrey, and was born about the year 1490. In his youth, he was employed as clerk to the English factory at Antwerp. In 1510, he went to Rome, and, on his return to England, became the confidential servant of cardinal Wolsey. On his master's disgrace, in 1529, Cromwell defended him with great spirit, in the house of commons, of which he was then a member, and effectually opposed the articles of treason brought against Wolsey. After the cardinal's death, he was taken into the king's service, into which he entered with zeal, but with little consideration or regard for others. He was knighted and made a privy counsellor, and, in 1534, became principal secretary of state and master of the rolls. In 1535, he was appointed visitor-general of all the monasteries in England, in order to suppress them. In this office, he acted with great severity and injustice. His services were rewarded by the situation of lord keeper of the privy seal, and a seat in the house of peers, with the title of baron Cromwell of Okeham. On the abolition of the pope's supremacy, he was created king's vicar-general, and used all his influence to promote the reformation. He caused articles of religion to be published by the royal authority, acknowledging only three sacraments, and speaking doubtfully of purgatory. He was made chief justice itinerant of the forests beyond Trent, knight of the garter, and finally, in 1539, earl of Essex, and lord high chamberlain. He at length fell into disgrace with the king, for the interest he took in promoting his marriage with Anne of Cleves. Her person proved disagreeable to Henry, who fell in love with Catharine Howard, a lady allied to the principal Catholic families; and, in consequence of her influence and the royal displeasure, Cromwell was arrested at the council table on a charge of treason, committed to the Tower, and condemned without a hearing. He was beheaded on Tower-hill, July 28, 1540, declaring that he died in the faith of the Catholic church, from which he He confessed he had been seduced. bore his good fortune with moderation, was charitable to the poor, and willing to