CROMWELL CRONOS. 



541 



" Then I a in 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 weak- 

 ened by the tertian ague, brought on a kind of in- 

 sanity. 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 situ- 

 ation ; " 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 September 3, 

 1658, at the age of fifty-nine, 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 ostenta- 

 tion. He was abstemious, temperate, indefatigably 

 industrious, and exact in his official duties. His ex- 

 terior inspired neither love nor confidence ; his 

 figure had neither dignity nor grace ; his conversa- 

 tion and manners were rude and vulgar ; his voice 

 was harsh ; in his public speeches, he expressed him- 

 self with force and fire, but without method or taste. 

 On the other hand, he possessed extraordinary pene- 

 tration and knowledge of human nature ; no one 

 knew so well as he the art of winning men, and us- 

 ing 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 sever at a loss for 

 expedients. His coins bore the motto, Pax quari- 

 tur hello. Cool and reserved, but full of great pro- 

 jects, he patiently waited for the favourable mo- 

 ment, and failed not to make use of it. Under the 

 guise of piety and virtue, he practised the most sub- 

 tle Machiavelism ; yet he was, in truth, an upright 

 and tolerant Calvinist. As his political inter- 

 est was often at variance with his real sentiments, 

 he sometimes showed himself cruel, sometimes mo- 

 derate, even towards his avowed enemies. In his 

 intercourse with others, he often indulged in low 

 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 ele- 

 vation was the fruit of injustice and deceit ; and, on 

 liis death, his family soon sank into obscurity. 



He had appointed his eldest son, Richard, his suc- 

 cessor ; but the republican and religious fanaticism of 

 the-army and officers, with Fleetwood at their head, 

 now subverted, as it had formerly served, the pro- 

 jects of Cromwell. The mild and virtuous Richard 

 was compelled, by the mutinous officers, to dissolve 

 the parliament ; and, a few days after, conscious of 

 liis incapacity, he voluntarily abdicated the protector- 

 ship, April 22, 1659. His brother Henry, who had 

 talent, bravery, and mildness of temper, and who, 

 from 1654, had governed Ireland hi tranquillity, un- 

 proved its trade, and won the affections of the peo- 

 ple by his upright administration, followed the exam- 

 ple of Richard, and died in privacy in England. Rich- 

 ard lived in narrow circumstances, his property being 

 nearly exhausted in the expenses of his father's fune- 

 ral. 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 tran- 

 quil 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, 

 lianged, and buried under the gallows. 



For further information respecting the life of Crom- 

 well, 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 Nicholas, 1743, published at Lou- 

 don. 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 de- 

 ceased, 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 Theobalds, which descended to liim 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, Rich- 

 ard 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, Crom- 

 well defended him with great spirit, hi the house of 

 commons, of which he was then a member, and ef- 

 fectually 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 of regard for 

 others. He was knighted and made a privy counsel- 

 lor, 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 re- 

 warded by the situation of lord keeper of the privy 

 seal, and a seat hi 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 re- 

 formation. He caused articles of religion to be pub- 

 lished by the royal authority, acknowledging only 

 three sacraments, and speaking doubtfully of purga- 

 tory. 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 in- 

 terest he took in promoting his marriage with Anne 

 of Cleves. Her person proved disagreeable to Henry, 

 who fell hi 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 Catho- 

 lic church, from which he confessed he had been se- 

 duced. He bore his good fortune with moderation, 

 was charitable to the poor, and willing to benefit the 

 deserving. The Protestants praise him for his nidus- 

 try and solidity, and all the qualities which fitted him 

 for the management of important affairs ; while the Pa- 

 pists dwell on his violence, ambition, and injustice. 

 He always gratefully returned any favours he had re- 

 ceived while in an humble condition. He left a son, 

 who was created lord Cromwell, which title remained 

 in the family for several generations. 



CRONION. See Jupiter. 

 CRONOS. See Saturn. 



