National Republican., 1876-12-25

that the skull of Cromwell is in the possession Of
W. A. Wilkinson, esq, Of Beckenham, Kent, at
whose house q relation Of mine saw It. have no
doubt that Mr.. Wilkinson would feel pleasure In
stating the arguments on which the genuineness
Of the interesting relic Is based. OromTeii nv diea
cording to his biographer, Banks and other relis-
BILE authorities, embalmed and buried among the
It Is also we'll known that at the restoration the
body-a least supposed to be Cromwells-was
taken from Westminster and suspended upon
suspended for q day at the same time, then taken
down and buried under the gallows. The head
Of the "arch rebel, ;" however, was reserved for q
different fate, If we may credit q manuscript In
the British Museum, dated .April q, 1sla" 1t is
quoted by another contributor to Notes and
Queries, ("Z. z" xii, p. 75.) Bythis manuscript
1t appears that
THE HEAD OF CROMWELL
was fixed upon a spike and mounted at the top Of
Westminster Hall, 'where e remained TIL the
great tempest at the beginning Of the eighteenth
century which blew it down, and It disappeared,
having probably been picked up oy se%s pas
thority, has long been the property Of certain
family has been frequently transferred to its DIFF
e rs ss
ticity," says the manuscript, sare as follows: II
sfiss evidently been embalmed, and IT Is not prob
ve dsyy embalmed, been spiked and stuck up as
.RRt of o traitor The iron spike that passes
through it Is worn in the part above the crown
ipg been subjected to the variations Of the
weather, but the part within the skull, which
Is protected by It's situation, % is not much ~
much wormeaten that It cannot be touched with
out crumbling; the countenance has been COM
plaster cast Of divers face taken after his DEATH
Of which there are several in London, and he de-
clares the features are perfectly similar" But
who believe that the skull In question, which
once ornamented the English House Of Parlia-
ment, was not that Of Cromwell-that Cromwelfs
Naseby, the scene of the military triumph which
"mainly contributed to his subsequent advance
ment, and there secretly buried. Those curious
this theory should read the Historical Gieanings
on the Memorable Field Of Naseby," BY Henry
LSckings & Al late citrate Sr Msse6y az MtonSOn, 1
times comes to light in the old bookstores Of
London and other places.
..- . cHABLEMAesE WAS BURIED
in a church which he himself founded at Ai1-la-
Chapelle. In the year 997 the Emperor 0tho III,
mains Of the august monarch In his tomb. He
found him seated in marble chair, q crown upon
his head, q sceptre in his hand and the imperial
of power had greatly suffered by tire, and the
end of the nose was lacking. Otho had this re-
placed by means of piece of gold artistically
the great Charlemagpe with his own hands, knelt
before him, and then retired, ordering the doors
TO be sealed up securely Two centuries later, IN
l165, Frederick Barbarossa rifed the tomb of its
various treasures, and it is said dragged the en-
baImed emperor from his sitting position and
made him stand before him; or rather attempted
TO do so, for in the effort the body cracked and
fell in pieces. Under pretext Of canonization
Barbarosss dispersed these human relics
right and left. The Sainte- -Ohapelle kept
portion = some of the bones and the
skull, besides the great Roman chair of white
marble in which the mummied Oharlemagne had
sat for three hundred and fifty-o years. To-day,
n france permit
ted to enter the tomb, examine all the riches II
encloses and even to hold in his hand the power
full Uranium of the great Emperor of the West
Lippfneotrs for JGRuGry. l...aa