the aid of general Lambert, he formed a constitution, called the Instrument of Government, by which the protector was invested with the power of peace and war, and was to summon a parliament once every three years, which he should not dissolve under five months; bills presented to him were to have the force of laws if not ratified by him within 20 days; and, on the other hand, he had power to enact laws, with the consent of his council, which should be binding in the intervals of the sessions of parliament. In case of his death, the council were immediately to choose a new protector; but no protector after him was to command the army. Cromwell, having concluded peace with Portugal, turned the resources of the state to the enlargement of its navy and commerce. France and Spain courted the friendship of the fortunate protector, who at length united with cardinal Mazarin, in order to increase the colonial power of England. To make a thorough reduction of Scotland, he gave orders to general Monk to plunder every place that made resistance, and put the garrison to the sword-orders which were so rigorously executed by Monk, that terror ensured the most implicit submission. The nobles feared, the clergy hated the protector, while the people, whom he treated with equity and kindness, loved him, because they enjoyed much more liberty under him than before. The protector treated Ireland with great severity. His act of pardon was, in reality, a desperate remedy for a desperate evil. The surviving inhabitants of an island wasted by fire, sword and pestilence, were compelled to remove, on penalty of death, to a barren tract of the province of Connaught, which was divided among them; the rest of the island became the property of the conquerors. Such was the bitter hatred occasioned by the unceasing quarrels of the Protestants and Catholics. Here, however, as in Scotland, the protector established an equitable form of government, which, in the course of a few generations, would have very much improved the state of the island. But, in England, the situation of the protector was far from being secure. A member of parliament loudly declared, that he could not brook, after the overthrow of one tyrant, to see the liberties of the nation shackled by another, whose prerogative had no measure but the length of his sword; and Cromwell met with so much opposition, that, after the first five months, he dissolved the parliament. On the whole, his political administration was masterly, and adapted to the circumstances of his situation. He established large magazines of provisions; the pay of the soldiers was regularly delivered to them a month in advance; the public revenues were strictly and economically managed, without any additional imposts. He appointed for judges the most upright and distinguished men. Among these was the famous sir Matthew Hale. He never interfered with the proceedings of the courts of justice. In religion, he acted on the principle of toleration. Every man had liberty of conscience. In other things, too, Cromwell, as his own correct judgment prompted, would have governed with mildness and justice, promoted the arts and sciences, and healed the wounds of the nation; but he was obliged to maintain his power, as he had acquired it, against his better will, by a severity often amounting to tyranny. Equally afraid of the royalists and the levellers, he could not rely upon the officers of the army; he did not place confidence even in the soldiers, and would have taken a regiment of Swiss for his body-guard, had he not been fearful of making himself unpopular, and betraying his suspicions, by so doing. With the help of the fanatics, he kept the royalists in check; and the latter served as a counterpoise to the former. For this reason he rejected, as much from policy as from principle, the proposition, which was repeatedly made in the council of war, to massacre all the royalists. They were obliged, however, to give up a tenth part of their property, were always looked upon as enemies, and were denied the common privileges of a court of justice. In order to collect the fines imposed on the royalists, to prosecute those whom he suspected, perhaps also to disunite the army, the protector divided England into 12 military jurisdictions, and placed over each a major-general with absolute power, from whose decisions there was no appeal, except to the protector himself; but he speedily broke up this odious government of pachas. On the other hand, he strengthened the British navy. The famous admiral Blake, and other naval heroes, fought several well-contested battles with the Dutch ficets, under De Ruyter, Tromp and others. In the peace with Holland (April 15, 1654), England maintained the honor ofher flag, and the navigation act gave a new impulse to the colonial trade. The skilful and fortunate conduct of the war with Spain, from 1655 to 1658, in which Jamaica and Dunkirk were taken, made the new par 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 back after starting, and took another direction; he wore a shirt of mail under his dress, and seldom slept two nights suc'cessively 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 tranipled 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 Par 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 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 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, Crom well 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 confessed he had been seduced. He bore his good fortune with moderation, was charitable to the poor, and willing to benefit the deserving. The Protestants praise him for his industry and solidity, and all the qualities which fitted him for the management of important affairs; while the Papists dwell on his violence, ambition and injustice. He always gratefully returned any favors he had received 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.) CRONSTADT, or BURZENLAND (in Hungarian, Brassau); a free royal city of Transylvania, in the Land of the Saxons, 25 leagues E. S. E. of Hermanstadt, 31 N. N. W. of Bucharest, with a citadel; lat. 45° 36′ 30′′ N.; lon. 25° 43′ 47′′ E. It contains six Lutheran, one Roman Catholic, two Greek Catholic churches, one Lutheran gymnasium, one normal school; 25,000 inhabitants. Its commerce, chiefly with Walachia, is very brisk. CRONSTADT, or KRONSCHTAT; a seaport and fortress of Russia, in the government of St. Petersburg, situated on the south-eastern extremity of the island of Retusari, in the gulf of Finland, two miles from the coast of Ingria, and eight from that of Carelia, at the mouth of the Neva. It was founded by Peter I in 1710. Some of the streets are tolerably regular; but the houses are in general built of wood, and there is scarcely any pavement. The principal public buildings are the imperial hospital for sailors, the civil hospital, the barracks, the English and German churches, &c. The population amounts to about 40,000, of whom at least 10,000 are sail ors. The harbor is very spacious, and consists of the three divisions of the merchants' harbor, the war harbor, and the man of war's mole. The war harbor is the principal station of the Russian fleet. Adjoining it are the docks for building and careening ships of war. They can hold ten men of war, and are faced with stone and paved with granite: they are 40 feet deep and 105 broad. The man of war's mole is an interesting structure, enclosed by a strong rampart of granite, built in the sea, under the direction of the late admiral Greig. Here is a foundery for casting cannon, and a ropewalk for manufacturing cables of all sizes, with great magazines of naval stores. Cronstadt is defended towards the sea by two fortifications, called Cronschlot, on the Neva, where this river is 2000 paces wide, and towards the land by ramparts and bastions. About 1100 vessels enter and leave the port annually. The principal exports from this harbor are iron, flax, hemp, linseed, oil and tar. 22 miles west St. Petersburg. Lon. 29° 49′ 30′′ E.; lat. 59° 59′ 26′′ N. CROSIER; a tall staff of silver or gold, curved at the upper end, which is carried before bishops, abbots and abbesses, as an ensign expressive of their dignity, while they are exercising the functions of their office; and the figure of which is also borne in their coat of arms. When bestowing the blessing upon the people, they take the staff into their own hands. It was originally a shepherd's crook, the bishops being regarded as the pastors of their dioceses. By degrees the humble emblem became highly adorned, and was made of costly materials. Artists like Benvenuto Cellini and Giovanni da Bologna were employed to make it. The investiture of the bishop is indicated by the delivery of the crosier. Some say that the crosier was originally only a simple staff, which, from the earliest times, has been given as an emblem of authority to judges, kings, &c. In conformity to this explanation, St. Isidore says that bishops bear the staff because they have the right to correct the erring, and the duty to support the weak. The excess of splendor lavished in later times upon this instrument, gave occasion to the following satirical lines: Au temps passé du siècle d'or, CROSS; one straight body laid at any angle upon another; the ensign or emblem of the Christian religion, as being a representation of the instrument of punishment, on which Jesus Christ suffered death from the Jews; the form in which many churches and cathedrals are built. The cross of the ancients was simply a piece of wood, fastened across a tree or upright post, on which were executed criminals of the very worst class. After the crucifixion of Jesus, and the extension of the Christian religion, the cross was assumed as the ensign of his followers. The cross was used emblematically before the Christian era. Upon a multitude of medals and ancient monuments, are to be found crosses placed in the hands of statues of Victory, and of figures of emperors. It was also placed upon a globe, which, ever since the days of Augustus, has been the sign of the empire of the world and the image of victory. The shields, the cuirasses, the helmets, the imperial cap, were all thus decorated. The cross has also been often stamped upon the reverses of money, as is proved by the old English game of cross and pile. The coins struck at Constantinople, and those of the Franks from the time of Clovis, were also thus marked. Examples of these are given in the dissertation by Ducange, Sur les Médailles Byzantines, and in the treatise by Le Blanc, Sur les Monnaies de France. The cross is now the universal Christian emblem, being used upon the arms and banners of the soldier, the vestments of the priest, and in the armorial bearings of nobles. The forms of cathedrals, and often the patterns of their pavements, are adapted to the representation of the cross, which is also sculptured and elevated upon tombs and sepulchres. Sculptured crosses of various descriptions, elevated upon handsome pedestals, were formerly erected in cemeteries and market-places, to designate peculiar events; as the queen's crosses at Northampton, Waltham, &c. Very fine ones are still to be seen in many parts of Great Britain, and particularly in Ireland. In order to understand the meaning of the sign of the cross among the first Christians, it must be kept in mind, that the cross was in their time an instrument of infamous punishment, like the gallows at present, and that they assumed this sign to show that they gloried in being the followers of Christ, notwithstanding the infamy which had been attempted to be thrown upon him, by the manner of his execution. The custom of making the sign of the cross, in memory of Jesus, may be traced to the 3d century of our era. Constantine the Great had crosses erected in public places, in palaces and churches. This emperor is generally supposed to have been the first who ordered the cross to be used as the sign or emblem under which he would fight and conquer, in remembrance of the miraculous appearance of a cross in the heavens. A certain legend relates that, before his battle with Maxentius, a cross appeared to him, bearing the words Tour vika (Under this thou shalt conquer, In hoc signo vinces), in consequence of which he had a standard made bearing this image, and called labarum. It was customary, in his time, to paint a cross at the entrance of a house, to denote that it belonged to a Christian. Subsequently, the churches were, for the greater part, built in the form of this instrument. But it did not become an object of adoration, until the empress Helena (Constantine's mother) found a cross in Palestine, which was believed to be the one on which Christ suffered, and conveyed a part of it to Constantinople. This is the origin of the festival of the finding of the cross, which the Catholic church celebrates on the third of May. Standards and weapons were now ornamented with it, and the emperor Heraclius thought he had recovered the palladium of his empire, when he gained possession of a piece of the true cross, in 628, which had fallen into the hands of the Persians, in 616. In memory of this event, the festival of the exaltation of the cross was instituted, Heraclius having caused the cross to be erected at Jerusalem, on mount Calvary. This festival is celebrated on the 14th of September. It is remarkable how this holy relic became multiplied. Numberless churches possessed some parts of it, the miraculous power of which was said to have been proved by the most astonishing facts; and many persons actually believed that it could be infinitely divided without decreasing. It was in vain that the Iconoclasts, who condemned the worship of images, attempted to overthrow the adoration of the cross. The crucifix was considered as a principal object of worship, in preference to the images of the saints, and, in compliance with the teachings of John of Damascus, was adored, during the 7th century, in all the churches of the East. That the West also ascribed a mysterious power to this symbol, is evident from the use which was made of it in the trials "by the judgment of God," in the middle ages. There never has existed any sign, which has been so often repeated in works of art as the cross. This may be ascribed, in part, to its form being applicable to many more purposes than those of other emblems; such, for instance, as the crescent. The distinguishing cipher of the Jesuits is IIS, which signifies In hac cruce salus, or Jesus, in Greek letters, and abbreviated. Crosses have been the badge of numberless orders, military and civil. To make the sign of the cross, is thought by many people, in Catholic countries, a defence against evil spirits, evil influences, &c. The Greeks make this sign constantly, hardly taking a glass of raky without signing the cross over it. Catholic bishops, archbishops, abbots and abbesses The Catholic wear a small golden cross. benediction is generally performed by making the sign of the cross over the object. There are different kinds of crosses, as the common cross, t, St. Andrew's cross, X, &c. (See the article Ad |