was as extraordinary and as active as his courage, feemed to proceed from as fixed a principle. In the part he acted against Charles, with whom he had formerly lived in great intimacy, he appears not to have been influenced by perfonal hatred, party animofity, or the common motives of intereft or ambition. He acted from a much nobler motive than any of the fe, an inviolable attachment to the liberties of his country. He had long entertained a jealoufy of the prerogative; and therefore, in the laft parliament of James I. fided with the party that oppofed the court. This jealoufy was much increafed in the next reign, and he entered, with his ufual fpirit, into all thofe meafures that he thought neceffary to reduce the power of the king within bounds, and became a leader of the Prefbyterian party, as he believed it to be on the fide of liberty. He was greatly alarmed upon feeing Cromwell at the head of the Independents; and Cromwell was little lefs alarmed at feeing fo able a chief at the head of the Prefbyterians. He was, by the Independent faction, impeached of hightreafon, which occafioned his flying, into France. He was employed in feveral embaffies after the Reftoration, when he retained the fame jealoufy for liberty. He refufed the infidious prefents offered him by Lewis XIV. with as much difdain as he had before refufed 5000l. offered him by the parliament, to indemnify him for his loffes in the Civil war. Ob. 1679-80, Et. 81. OLIVEL CROMWELL. LIVER Cromwell, who had the country, made a very uncouth appearance at his firft coming into the Houfe of Commons. "Who (fays Dr. South) that had beheld fuch a bankrupt, beggarly fel"low, as Cromwell, first entering "the Parliament-Houfe, with a "thread - bare torn coat, and a "greafy hat (and perhaps neither "of them paid for) could have "fufpected, that in the space of fo "few years he fhould, by the mur"der of one king, and the ba"nifhment of another, afcend the " throne, be invefted in the royal "robes, and wanted nothing of "the fate of a king, but the "changing of his hat into a "crown. Oliver Cromwell united, in a very high degree, the characters of the politician and general; and occafionally affumed thofe of the buffoon, and the preacher. He broke forth from his obfcurity, at an age when others think themselves doomed to it for ever; and when many begin to entertain thoughts of retiring from the world, he began to make the most confpicuous figure in it. He availed himself of the virtues and the vices, the talents and the weakneffes of mankind; and fuch obftacles as would have been unfurmountable to an inferior genius, helped greatly to carry him on in his career. His moft fignal exploit in this reign, was at the battle of Nafeby, where, in that decifive action, he wholly turned the fortune of the day. This great man, whofe genius was awakened by the diftractions of his country, was looked upon as one of the people, till he was upwards of forty years of age. He is an amazing inftance of what ambition, heated by enthufiafin, re judgment, hypocrify, and aided by natural vi gour He was Oliver Cromwell exercised what he called "ths fword of the fpi"rit," upon every occafion, where he thought the military fword would be ineffectual. He well knew that the people were ever more difpofed to be led by preachers than captains, and, to extend his influence over them, he united both characters. gour of mind, can do. never oppreffed with the weight, or perplexed with the intricacy of affairs: but his deep penetration, indefatigable activity, and invincible refolution, feemed to render him a mafter of ali events. He perfuaded without eloquence; and exacted obedience, more from the terror of his name, than the rigour of his administration. He appeared as a powerful inftrument in the hand of Providence, and dared to appeal to the decifions of Heaven for the juftice of his caufe. He knew every man of abilities in the three kingdoms, and endeavoured to avail himself of their refpective talents. He has always been regarded by foreigners, and of late years by the generality of his countrymen, as the greatest man this nation ever produced. It has been difputed which he deserved moft, "a halter or a crown;" and there is no iefs difparity betwixt the characters drawn of him, and the reports propagated by his enemies and his friends. Colonel Lindley RALPH Lord Hopton, a no affirmed, that he faw him enter into a formal contract with the devil; and Dawbeny has drawn "a Parallel betwixt Mofes the Man "of God, and Oliver the Protec"tor." He died in his bed, on the 3d of September, a day which he had long efteemed fortunate, in the year 1658. The French court went into mourning for him; but the famous Mademoiselle de Montpenfier difdained to pay that refpect to the memory of an ufurper*, There is a fermon, faid to have been preached by him, on Rom. xiii. i. "The laft Lord's "day, in April, 1649, at Sir P. "T.'s houfe in Lincoln's Inn"Fields." It was published in 1680. As it abounds with low ribaldry, and egregious nonfenfe, it carries with it no internal evidence of its being genuine.-Harrifon, Vane, and Peter Pett, were alfo lay-preachers in the time of the Inter-regnum: the first of these perfons was head of a re-baptifed congregation in London. Lord HOPTON. accom plishments of body and mind, was trained up in a good fchool of war in the Low Countries. After exerting himself in the Houfe of Commons in the royal caufe, he retired into the weft; where, in a few months, he raised a formidable army, and fortified no less than forty garrifons. He was fo great a mafter of difcipline, that his army moved as one man; and was, in every refpect, different from thofe * Cromwell's nofe, which was remarkable red and fhining, was the subject of much ridicule. Cleaveland, in his character of a London Diurnal, fays, "This Cromwell fhould be a bird of prey, by his bloody beak; his nose is able to try a young eagle whe "ther the be lawfully begotten: but all is not gold that glitters,' well's nofe wears the dominical letter." " Again: "Crom licentious licentious and tumultuous rabbles, of which there were many inftances in the civil war, that more refembled a herd of banditti, than a well appointed army. His victory at Stratton, which was the moft fignal in the course of that war, is an aftonishing inftance of what determined valour can effect. He well knew how to improve it, and it was only an earneft of feveral others. After he had done as much as courage, conduct, and activity could do, he, for want of fupplies, was forced to retire before Fairfax; and approved himself as great a general in his retreat, as he had done before in his victories. He died at Bruges in September, 1652. Mr. WILLIAM PRYNNE. "Thou that with ale, or viler li (6 quors, "Did'ft infpire Withers, Prynne, "and Vicars; "And teach them, tho' it were ❝in fpite "Of nature, and their ftars, to "write." This voluminous rhapfodift gave his works, in forty volumes folio and quarto, to the fociety of Lincoln's Inn. There is a catalogue of them in the "Athenæ Oxoni"enfes." The most valuable of his performances, by far, is his "Collection of Records," in four large volumes, which is a very useful work. Ob. 24 Oct. 1669. WILLIAM Prynne, a man of four and auftere prin- This writer was, to use the epithet of lord Clarenden, no lefs voluminous as a fpeaker. Clement Walker mentions, with due commendation, a fpeech of his addreffed to the Houfe of Commons, a little before the death of Charles I, in which he proves his conceffions to the parliament to be fufficient ground for a peace. He has, in this fpeech, recapitulated the arguments on both fides with great freedom and propriety. He conti> nued to fpeak roundly of abuses, when others thought it prudent to be filent; and though he had loft his ears for his patriotifm, he was determined to be a patriot ftill, though at the hazard of his head. Sir SIR Sir JOHN SUCKLING. IR John Suckling, the poet, who had made a campaign under Guftavus Adolphus, raifed a fplendid troop of horse, at the expence of twelve thousand pounds, for the fervice of the king. This troop, with Sir John at its head, behaved fo ill in the engagement with the Scots, upon the English borders, in 1639, as to occafion the famous lampoon compofed by Sir John Mennis; Sir John he got him an ambling nag," &c. This ballad, which was fet to a brisk tune, was much fung by the parliamentarians, and continues to be fung to this day. This difaftrous expedition, and the ridicule that attended it, was fuppofed to have haftened his death. Sir John, who was a poet of great vivacity, and fome elegance, was one of the fineft gentlemen of his time. His profe writings, particular his Difcourfe of Religion,' addreffed to Lord Dorfet, are thought equal to the beft of his poetical performances. His ballad on a wedding, and his "Seffion of "the Poets," are oftener remembered than any of his works. This ballad was occafioned by the marriage of Roger Boyle, the firft earl of Orrery, with lady Margaret Howard, daughter of the earl of Suffolk. There was a great intimacy betwixt Sir John and the earl of Orrery, then lord Broghill. In his "Seffion of the Poets,' given us fome traits of the characters of his poetical brethren, and has not forgot Sir William Dave he has nant's nofe; which has been the fubject of more fatyrical jokes than any other nofe that ever exifted. Ob. 1641, Æt. 28. JA Marquis of MONTROSE. AMES GRAHAM, marquis of Montrose, was comparable to the greatest heroes of antiquity. He undertook, against almost every obftacle that could terrify a lefs enterprifing genius, to reduce the kingdom of Scotland to the obedience of the king; and his fuccefs was anfwerable to the greatnefs of his undertaking. By a thousand efforts of ftratagem and valour, he, in a few months, effectuated his great defign; but for want of fupplies, was forced to abandon his conquefts. After the death of Charles, he, with a few men, made a fecond attempt, but was prefently defeated by a numerous army. As he was leaving the kingdom in difguife, he was be trayed into the hands of the enemy, by the lord Afton, his treacherous friend. He was carried to his execution with every circumftance of indignity that wanton cruelty could invent, and hanged upon a gibbet thirty feet high, with the book of his exploits appendent to his neck. He bore his reverse of fortune with his ufual greatnefs of mind, and expreffed a juft fcorn at the rage and infult of his enemies. We meet with many inftances of valour in this active reign; but Montrofe is the only inftance of heroifm. Executed, May 21, 1650. that, in 1628, he was appointed commander of a fquadron fent into the Mediterranean, to chaftife the Algerine pirates and the Venetian fleet. The former had committed frequent depredations on the veffels of our merchants, and the latter had obftructed their trade. He exerted himself with all the fpirit and conduct of a brave and experienced officer; and having brought the Venetians to reafon, made reprifals on the Algerines, and fet at liberty a great number of English flaves, he returned home with credit to his country, and honour to himself. This eminent perfon was, for the early pregnancy of his parts, and his great proficiency in learning, compared to the celebrated Picus de Mirondola, who was one of the wonders of human nature. His knowledge, though various and extenfive, appeared to be greater than it really was; as he had all the powers of elocution and addrefs to recommend it. He knew how to fhine in a circle of ladies, or philofophers; and was as much attended to when he fpoke on the moft trivial fubjects, as when he fpoke on the most important. Tho' he applied himself to experiment, he was fometimes hypothetical in his philofophy; and there are inftances of his being very bold and paradoxical in his conjectures; hence he was called "the Pliny "of his age for lying*." It is faid that one of the princes of Italy, who had no child, was defirous that his princefs fhould bring him a fon by Sir Kenelm, whom he esteemed a juft model of perfection. His book of "Bodies," and that of "The Nature of Man's "Soul," are reckoned among the beft of his works. He fometimes defcended to much humbler subjects, and wrote "Directions for Cookery," &c. Ob. 11 June, 1665.-The curious reader may fee a paper concerning him, publifhed by Hearne, at the end of "Walt. Hemingford,", p. 581: it is worth remarking, as it difagrees with Wood's account; but the facts mentioned by the latter are fufficiently proved in the article of Sir Kenelm Digby in the "Biographia Britannica," p. 1709. note (L). Sir GEORGE LISLE. bookfeller in London, had his IR George Lifle, fon of a military education in the Netherlands. He fignalized himself upon many occafions in the civil war; particularly at the laft battle of Newbury; where, in the dusk of the evening, he led his men to the charge in his fhirt, that his perfon might be more confpicuous. The king, who was an eye-witnefs of his bravery, knighted him in the field of battle. In 1648, he rofe for his majefty in Effex; and was one * There are traditional and hypothetical errors to be found in the works of all the philofophers, who wrote before natural fcience was afcertained by experiment, from the age of Ariftole to that of Charles I. The great Lord Bacon himself was not exempt from them. But there is a wide difference betwixt errors of this fort, and falfehoods evidently impofed upon mankind.The above reflection on Sir Kenelm, was made by Henry Stubbe, who is not always to be relied on for his characters. of |