Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-10-25

raE HEAD OF roLIvE. csoNwzII

- From the New York Obeetv0r, Oct 81 | q
Nearly two eenturies have slapssd sncs he
death Of this renowned chmpion Of ,ecclssias.
teal night and religious liberty in Great Brit
That the veritsbls head Of oliver Cromwell
now exists, and is in B good state Of preserya-
tion near London, in fhe custody Of = LADY,
thers is no doubt Having been sesn. and se-'
tually handled, and its written and printed
history sarefully noted down, Tiers can hsrlIy
De tns possioiil,y Of . mistake: kenors o.
the existence ef the head we're in circulation
10 London half aeentary since, and periodicals
now in.t the British Museum suggested such .
fact: Various correspordents alluded to tits
iconcealment Ard - having been seen pvivatsly,
betit is only recently that an Ansiiean Een-
sticman was permitted to sac the Fens ana
handle 1t in person. : s.sssss--Ess 4, p
= Comwetrs body wss enbalmsd and buried
with great pompjn Westminster Abbey, Alter
the,restoration Of the Stuarts the body was dis
inferred, the head cut of and piksstsif thrust
through the neck. 1t was then placed on
Westminster Hall. IL remained there con-
siderable number of years, until either blown
down by the wind or carried OF By stealth. 1t
Was seereted for . long series Of years, and
handed down from generation to generation
among fhe- -descerdanfs Of Cromwell until IL
now res:s in the custody Of the accomplished
daughter of Hon. Mr.. Wilkinson, an ex .mem-
Der 0f aeslisment, residing at Bromley, Kent,
-
"A While on a, recent, visit to Epgland, the
writer passed the Sabbath with Rev. Mr.. ver-
rell, pastor Of the Dissenting Chapel at Brom-
ley, Kent. During the evening of that day an
aiinsion was made to his having seen Crom-
wells head in that vicinity, II was agreed
to procure q sight of IT, the possessors of it not
being desirous that it should be too often ex-
hibited- Near noon We called at the reside ence
OF Hon. Mr.. Wilkinson, at Beckenham, not
long distance from the home Of the estim Able
Miss Marsh Rev, Mr., Yerreli sent in bis card
drawing room. Like most of the residences of
? the English gentry, the windows looked out
alandscape OF faultess loveliness and beauty.
Lawns, yelyet-like in sppearance, with the
sweetest buds Of flowers, lay before the eve.
In the distance, clusters of aristocratic oaks
tnrss their deep shadows over the lawns,
shielding from the rsys Of a summer's sun
groups Of beautiful English cattle. -,l1,,-, -
very soon lady OF mature years, and of
handsome person, entered the room, with an
arr that indicated position and the manners
OF the true lady. An introduction followed,
ana the purpose Of our visit being made known
IT was eheerfully granted, especially when it
was stated that the stranger was an American
Very soon wooden box was brought into the
room and opened. Enclosed in it was small
or one Of oek, with dark brass hinges Two
or three coverings Of cloth and silk were suc-
cessively removed, and then was lifted out the
veritable head of Oliver Cromwell ~ sIa
.ar. The .thoughts were strange when that re-
nowned face was first seen. Stranger still
were the emotions Yhen the head Of Cfom ell.
mighty In intellecy and stupendous in power,
was grasped BY the hand Yet what . com.
mentsry on greatness, The head having been
emoafmed, retains the desh in shriyeled, dry
state, but the features are distinct and the
hair almost a. perfect as at its burial The
huge wart over one Of his eyes, 30 historically
true, Is clearly distinct, and the resemblance
TO bust, copied from real life, which Is near
py, carries conviction Of the IDENTITY Of the
head beyond misgiving. The iron pike
which was thrust through the throat and
came ont at the top Of the throat, is rusted
IN Its age and exposure nave consumed the
upper part, and only q couple Of inches OF
, the IRON remain above the head. The wooden
part Of the pike was broken of just below the
throat, and the fracture shows that il was sew
cred by violence, and not cut asunder by an
Altogether, this singular memorial Of another
age Is In q better state Of preserystion than any
OF the embAlmedr Egyptians, and so well pre-
served are the features, md the shriyelled skin
80 entire, that il has little that IL hideous or
. repulsive. Flaxmau, the eminent sculptor,
{ VINO has examined IL with care, in connection
with contemporaneous busts and portraits un-
hesItatingfy expresses entire confidence that il
IS me head of Oliver Cromwell. In addition,
the family who possesses this strange relic oi
an iliustrious man, have both printed docu-
nsnts and written detaiIs Of It's hisforv. 50
minute and circumstantial, that they knotc.
beyond doubt, its authenticity Yet in Lon
don little or nothing is known Of the existence
OF tins head, even among men Of position and
influence. Until recently it has been kept Sc
creted, and now il is not easily accessible. The
= following letter from Rev. Mr.. Verrel, who i
Sa lntimstel friend Of the family Of Hon Mr..
Whklnson, prepared at the request Of the wri.
Ter OF this paragraph, Is Of historicai interest
and confirms the above statement w. A.
! ~. ~ BRonLEr, Kent, July 6, 1858.
A. DEAR SfR Tho head We saw st A. w.
Wiikinson's, Of shortisnds, Beckenhsm, be-
ifeye TO be that Of Oliver Cromwell The his
tory Of his death, interment after being en-.
osimed, and the sentence passed for his exhu.
mation, hanging at Tyburn and placing The
heads OF Ireton Bradshaw and CROMWELL on
Westminster Hall, are all patent The head
nsying rolled into the paraPst Of the hall by
the bresking Of the spear or haIbert on which
II was Fixed, after twenty years, the sentinel
taking it under his cloak and hiding it iii bis
death, his widow then conveying IL to the Cam.
bridgeshire Russell family, It's being possessed
= by them until 1t was sold for flO0 By one Of
the family, who, from his dissipated habits.
nAd s?sandered bis property; the purchase oi
for the sum mentioned; its present appearance
being the skull Of one who had been egsbained.
the wart on the right eyebrow, the beard, the
snsPe OF the chin, its similarity TO the bust.
With the exception Of its smailness from the
sarinking and drying up Of the aesh, leaving
put little else than the akin covering the bone:
the opinion Of the family, founded upon print
ed aud manuscript documents and oral testi-
mony Of It's being the identical head, as well as
that Of many who have seen II, are unopest
the principal things to be noted. The propri.
i s.or, W; a; wilkinson, Rsq., was member for
Lambeth, but lost his election because of hi.
vote Tor opening the Crystal Palace on supdsy
ber." my va
IL An American traveller who recently v,.s,.a
Berne, thus expafiafes upon the peculiar perfams
which pervades the air OF that city: Ibid anv-
thing smell % bad as Swiss cheesey You can i,1.
agine the delights Of q residence as Berne when /
ssn you that Berne is one great warehouse for
swiss eheese-that IL 10 pervaded by the smell OF
chesse-tbat the fresh air of your morning walks
ana the still atmosphere Of your room. and the
algnined enjoyment Of your dinner, are all spoiled
oy tne odef ofcheese. Cheese ID the Berncse otiar
IND OF An ADyESruRoUs Liyg Major Robt
j. NJ x-L- -