Mem IRS of the Protector Oliver Cromwell and of His Sons, Richard and Henry, 1; Illustrated by Original Letters and Other Family Papers

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1822 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VIII. Cromwell's Family Descent Illustrious, Paternal And Maternal. His Birth. Early Life. Education. Entry At Sidney College.--His Scholarship. His Marriage And Children. Character Of The Protectress Vindicated. The Purity Of His Court. His Discouragement Of Vice, And The Amendment Of National Manners. His Humanity And Kindness To His Enemies. His Liberal Conduct Towards The Duke Of Gloucester. His Character By Mr. Maid Ston. His Private Character Vindicated As A Husband, A Parent, A Friend, And In All Other Its Relations And Connections. The discussion of Cromwell's character, both public and private, will properly follow his death. This will be best and most impartially collected from the preceding extracts, aided by such collateral circumstances as may be derivable from other equally authentic sources. No one's memory has been more harshly treated than Cromwell's: he has been pursued from his cradle to his tomb. Almost every valuable quality has been denied to him; and, most extraordinary to say, even his courage (but, it is believed, by one writer only) has been impeached. The illustriousness of his family has also been, by some writers, affected to be doubted, or reluctantly allowed him. It is certainly much more honourable to be good and great in ourselves, than, without any merit of our own, to derive all our consequence from illustrious ancestry: a good descent is nevertheless held in a certain degree of estimation and respect, and nothing can better prove its value in the eye of the world, than the eagerness with which it is claimed by those who frequently have no pretensions to it. The pedigree from which Mr. Noble, in his Memoirs of the Protectorate House of Cromwell, principally takes the lineage of Cromwell, remains in that family, an...