The Caucasian. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1874-1875, 1875-02-20

famous misc,,m. He tried in vain to
buy tho llend from Russell, for, poor IA
hn was. nothing would ut first tempt
him to part with the relic. hut after u
time Cox assisted him Will, money, and
eventually, to clear himself from debt,
he made the head over to Cox. When
Cox 1T last parted with h~ museum,
II. sold the head If Cromwell for io:N|
10 three umn. VIII" h"ugIn it., about the
time Of the Frencl, rcv"ln,i"n, I" ex-
Lih,t in Mead Court, Bond street, at
half a crown u head. Cnrionsly enough
II happened that these three gentlemen
died u sudden death. and the head
came into the possession Of TIL" three
uicccs nf tho last man wh" died.
These young ladies, nervous at keep
ing il in the h"lS.'. asked AIR. WIlk'n-
son. their medical man, t" take care "f
It for them, aud they subsequently
sold it to him. For the next fifteen or
twenty years Mr.. Wilkinson was IN
the habit Of showing it to all the dis
,,uruishth men Of that day. and the
head. much treasured, yet remains ~
hi. family
The circumstan,ial evidence ia very
curious. 1t il the only head in history
which ia known IT, have been cmhnlm-
..l and u(tcrwnrl hehcndrd. On the
neck. near the vtrtchrr, is the marx OF
the cut Of M ax where the cxrrntl"nrr
having, perhaps, u" proper block, had
struck to" high, aud, laying the head
in its soft cmbalmed state, on The block
flut,enrd the nose on one side. making
il adhrrc to tho face. THE hair grows
Dro,niscuomsly about the face, and TIE
beard. stained to exactly the same col
or hy tho cmhnlming liquor, il tucked
~ under tho chin, will, the oaken staff
of tho spear with which the lead was
ptuck up on Westminster Hall. which
Cstag is perforated by il worm that new
or ATTACKS oak until it has been for IVA
ny years exposed I" tho weather.
Tho iron sp"atlIc"d, where 1t pro
trudrs above the skull. il r"stcd away
by the action ri the atmosphere. The
Jagged way in which tho top Of the
skull liz removed throws us back to n
time when surgery was III it's infancy,
while the cmbalmin2 is 8" heanti'"'iy
done that tho cellular process OF the
gums and the membrane OF the tongue
ure still to he seen. Several teeth are
yet in the mouth; the membrane %
the ryclid remains; the pia mater ana
the hura- mater. thin membranes which
l believe, lie over the brain, may bt
seen cling to the upper part ct the skull
The brain wna, ct course removed, "ut
the commandments are very distinct
When the grea, sculptor, Flaxnan went
I" SEQ it he said ut once, lyon VIII not
mind my expressing any d's"rp"'"l.
ncnt ] may feel an seeing Tia" he'd
"Oh, MOI" said Mr.. Wilkinson, "bnt
will you tell sas the character ist'rs hy
which tho head might he recognized =
"Wrll." replied F!axman, II know
good deal about til" conignrat'"n OF
the head Of Oliver Cromwell. He had
u low, broad forehead, large orbits I"
the eyes, high septum I" the nose, aud
high cheek bones; but there is one tee.
tire whicI, will DO with me crnc'ra'
test, and that is, that, instead ni hav-
ing the lower jawbone somewhat cur
we'd, it was particularly short and
straight, but set ont ut an angle, which
gave Him a j"wliSh appearance" The
= bead exactly answered to tine descr'p-
ton, aud Flaxnan went n:nay express
sing himself as convinced ansltl"liSh'ch.
The head has ais" II length from the
forehead to the back Of the head which
is quite extraordinary, and one day,
before Mr.. Wilkinson retired from prac-
ticc, his assistant called him into the
surgery to point ont to him how exact
w the shaver head Of ~ lad who was
there IA q patient csemh!ed the en-
lulmrl head OF Cromwell up stairs, aud
more particularly in the extreme length
between the forehead aud the occi put
Mr.. Wilkinson mentioned the cir
cnmstancc I" the gentleman VIII"
brought tho lad to him. "No wonder,
said the gentleman. 'tnr this lad is Il
direct descendant Of Oliver Cromwell,
whose name like this boys was Will
liams before they changed it to Cr"m-
we'll" II was curious ,s!a' tins type
should rcnprcar or remain after $"
many years.
When the head was in the possession.
of Samuel Russell he was frequently
intoxicated " hen he showed it to his
friends, and they cut off piecrsOnf his
hair, until the head was closely crop
ped.
A correSp' Hdcnt Of the Globe Of the
twenty eighth Of September, or there
nhou,S. believed that tho body ol
Cromwell. after removal from the Alb
hey, was buried iu Red Lion square,
aud another body substituted and sent
I" the Tyhurn with Irct"tJ and Brad
shaw. But it is not probable they
could have obtained an cmbalmed body
for that purpose.
The embalmfd head is now in the
possession Of Mr.. Horace Wilkinson
Srvtnraks, Kent.
There is 4 snail hole where the wart
was, on his forehead, and the eyebrows
met in the middle. The head has the
appearance u hard, dry leather
There are other details. and there is
other circumstancial evidence, and
there are records printed and published
mt ,he time. but feel must not tres