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SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR;
THE
OR,
WIT AND WISDOM
FOR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR.
“Not for a day, but for all time."
EDITED BY
WILLIAM C. RICHARDS.
New Xork:
GEORGE P. PUTNAM.
1850.


V 13483.46
HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
JUN 1 1971
ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by
GEORGE P. PUTNAM,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern
District of New York.
E. 0. JENKINS, PRINTER,
114 Nassau St.





.
.
.
· TO THE READER.
· The history of this little book is a brief
one. In May, 1849, I commenced the
publication of “ The Shakspeare Calendar”
in the Southern Weekly Gazette. It was
continued from week to week, and attract-
ed the attention of numerous readers,
some of whom advised the publication of
the Calendar in a volume.
In consenting to this, and putting my
name upon the title-page as its editor, I
cannot forbear to acknowledge more fully
than I have done in the Dedication, my
indebtedness to one whose highest happi-
ness it has ever been to aid me in my di-
versified labors. Beyond the suggestion


TO THE READER.
of the idea developed in the following pa-
ges, the accumulation of chronological
events, and the selection of perhaps one
third of the illustrations, I have had little
to do with the preparation of the book,
except to approve the taste and industry
of her to whom the greater share of what-
ever merit it possesses is justly due.
If it were allowable to plead haste as
an apology for imperfections in a volume
like this, I might venture to say that its
publication as a holiday book was only
resolved upon at a period so late as to de-
mand great dispatch in the preparation of
those portions not embraced in the col-
umns of the Gazette, amounting to fully
one half of the year.
An humble waif thrown thus upon the
stream of destiny, I cannot but hope that
it may be wafted along by the gentle


THE
SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR. .





I a n u a ry.
JANUARY 1st.—The New Years com-
mence on this day.
“What! will the line stretch out to the crack of
doom ?"
MACBETH, Act iv., Scene 1. .
JANUARY 20.—King Charles II. shuts
the Exchequer. 1672. "
"His exchequer is too poor.”
: HENRY V., Act iii., Scene 6.
JANUARY 3d.-Bread-fruit plants intro-
duced into the West Indies. 1793.
“It may well be called Jove's tree, when it
drops for thee such fruit." .
As You Like It, Act iii., Scene 2.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR. 13
· JANUARY 8th.—Battle of New Orleans-
the British repulsed with great loss. 1815.
" Anon,
A rout-confusion thick: Forthwith they fly
Chickens, the way they stooped eagles.”
CYMBELINE, Act v., Scene 3.
JANUARY 9th.–Funeral of Lord Nel-
son. 1806.
" Within their chiefest temple I'll erect
A tomb, wherein his corpse shall be interred.”
HENRY I., Act ii., Scene 2.
JANUARY 10th.—Disturbances in Eng-
land, caused by raising the price of porter.
1792.
“ We can afford no more at such a price.”
Love's LABOR Lost, Act v., Scene 2.
JANUARY 11th. — Spirit thermometer
sunk to 39° below zero in New Hamp-
shire. 1848.
“But this place is too cold for Hell !"
MACBETH, Act ii., Scene 3.
JANUARY 12th.-Herculaneum discover-
ed. 1730.


14
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“ What's to do?
Shall we go see the reliques of this town ?”
TWELFTH Night, Act iii., Scene iii.
JANUARY 13th.—A remarkable comet
appeared. 1470.
“Comets, importing change of time and States,
Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky."
I. HENRY VI., Act i., Scene 1.
JANUARY 14th.—The Newtonian Tele-
scope first exhibited to the King.. 1521.
“ Master! I am to discourse wonders.”
MIDSUMMER Night's DREAM, Act iv., Scene 2.
JANUARY 15th.—Negroes declared free
in Scotland. 1778.
“I shall miss thee,
But yet thou shalt have freedom.”
TEMPEST, Act v., Scene 1.
JANUARY 16th.—Charles V. abdicates
his throne. 1556.
“I swear 'tis better to be lowly born,
And range with humble livers, in content,
Than to be perked up in a glistering grief,
And wear a golden sorrow.”
. KING HENRY VIII., Act ii., Scene 3.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
15
JANUARY 17th.-Revolution in Denmark
-1772.
“ Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
HAMLET, Act i., Scene 4.
JANUARY 18th.—Henry the Seventh's
chapel consecrated. 1504.
“ The Commons hast thou racked; the Clergy's
bags
Are lank and lean with thy extortions.-
Thy sumptuous buildings
Have cost a mass of public treasury."
HENRY VIII., Act i. Scene 3.
JANUARY 19th.—Ciudad Rodrigo taken
by Wellington. 1812.
• 'Till we called
Both field and city ours, he never stood
To ease his breath with panting.”
CORIOLANUS, Act ii., Scene 2.
JANUARY 20th.—Garrick died. 1779.
“ He would drown the stage with tears,
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech :


16
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze, indeed,
The very faculties of eyes and ears.”
HAMLET, Act ii., Scene 2.
JANUARY 21.-Louis XVI. put to death.
1793.
“ Your great goodness out of holy pity
Absolved him with an axe !"
HENRY VIII., Act iii., Scene 2.
JANUARY 22d.—George Stevens, the Ed-
itor of Shakspeare's Works, died. 1800.
“You are made
Rather to wonder at the things you hear,
Than to work any."
CYMBELINE, Act v., Scene 3.
JANUARY 23d.—The House of Com-
mons established. 1265.
“ That the laws of England may come out of
. your mouth."
2 HENRY VI., Act iv., Scene 7.
JANUARY 24th.— The order of the
Knights of St. John instituted. 1099.
* For Christian service and true chivalry.”
RICHARD II., Act ii., Scene 1.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
JANUARY 25th.—The Long Parliament
dissolved. 1679.
“Away; for thou hast staid us here too long."
Titus ANDRONICUS, Act ii., Scene 3.
JANUARY 26th.—Michigan admitted into
the Union. 1837.
“ Then you love us, we you, and we'll clasp
hands."
PRINCE PERICLES, Act ii., Scene 4.
JANUARY 27th.-Mozart born. 1756.
“Sir, you are music's master.”
Prince PERICLES, Act ii., Scene 5.
JANUARY 28th.-The Habeas Corpus
Act restored. 1818.
“The law hath not been dead, though it hath
slept."
MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Act ii., Scene 3.
JANUARY 291h.-Emanuel Swedenboro
born. 1689.
“I am a prophet, new inspired.”
Richard II., Act ii., Scene 1.


18
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
JANUARY 30th.—Charles I. beheaded.
1649.
“Thy fierce hand
Hath, with the king's blood, stained the king's
own land.”
Richard II., Act v., Scene 5.
JANUARY 31st.—Massacre of Glencoe.
1692.
“Such a piece of slaughter,
The sun and moon ne'er look'd upon.”
PRINCE PERICLES, Act iv., Scene 4.


20
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
FEBRUARY 4th.-John Rogers suffered
martyrdom, “ leaving a family of nine small
children !" 1555.
“Had not God, for some strong purpose, steeld
The hearts of men, they must perforce have
· melted-
And barbarism itself have pitied him."
RICHARD II., Act v., Scene 2.
· FEBRUARY 5th.—The House of Lords
abolished. 1649.
“Ay, ay, farewell. Thy office is discharged.”
2 HENRY VI., Act ii., Scene 4.
FEBRUARY 6th.-King Charles II. died,
1685.
“Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin
Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanneal'd:
No reckoning made, but sent to my account, .
With all my imperfections on my head.”
HAMLET, Act i., Scene 5.
FEBRUARY 7th. The first almanac pub-
lished in Poland. 1470.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
21
"A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac,
find out moonshine, find out moonshine !"
MIDSUMMER Night's Dream, Act iii., Scene 1.
FEBRUARY 8th.—Mary, Queen of Scots,
beheaded. 1587.
“O! this is full of pity! Sir, it calls,
I fear, too many curses on their heads
Who were the authors.”
Henry VIII., Act ii., Scene 1.
FEBRUARY 9th.— A party of Laplanders
arrived in London. 1816.
“ There was casting up of eyes, and holding up
of hands."
Winter's Tale, Act v., Scene 2.
FEBRUARY 10th.-Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert married. 1840.
“ God, the best maker of all marriages,
Combine your hearts in one-your realms in
one.”
HENRY V., Act v., Scene 2.
FEBRUARY 11th. – Shenstone died -
1763.


22
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“ Hang odes upon hawthorns, and elegies on
bram bles.”
As You LIKE IT, Act iii., Scene 2.
FEBRUARY 12th.—Lady Jane Grey be-
headed. 1553.
“Lay her i’ the earth :-
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
May violets spring !"-
Hamlet, Act v., Scene 2.
FEBRUARY 13th.-Assassination of the
Duke de Berri. 1821.
“Help, masters ! Here's a goodly watch indeed.”
OTHELLO, Act ii., Scene 3.
FEBRUARY 14th.–St. Valentine's day.
“Good morrow, 'tis St. Valentine's day,
All in a morning betime,
And I, a maid, at your window,
To be your Valentine.”
Hamlet, Act iv., Scene 5. .
FEBRUARY 15th. The Pope expelled
from Rome. 1798.
"I cannot tell, good sir, for which of his vir-
tues it was, but he was certainly whipped out of
court."
Winter's Tale, Act iv., Scene 2.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
23
FEBRUARY 16th.— Miss Kelly shot at
while acting in Drury Lane Theatre, by
George Barrett. 1816.
“ Indeed he was mad for her, and talked of
Satan, and of limbo, and of furies."
ALL'S WELL, Act v., Scene 3.
FEBRUARY 17th.—Michael Angelo died.
1563.
“So famous,
So excellent in art, and still so rising."
HENRY VIII., Act iv., Scene 2.
FEBRUARY 18th.—Martin Luther died.
1546.
“ 'Tis much he dares ;
And to that dauntless temper of his mind
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor.”
MACBETH, Act iii., Scene 1.
FEBRUARY 19th.—Battle of Lexington.
1775.
« Their curses now
Live where their prayers did; and it's come to
pass


24
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
That tractable obedience is a slave
To each incensed will."
HENRY VIII., Act i., Scene 3.
FEBRUARY 20th.—The Rivers Sark and
Siddel become suddenly and entirely dry.
1748.
“ These are not natural events”.
TEMPEST, Act v., Scene 1.
FEBRUARY 21st.—Sidney Smith died.
1845.
“Full of comparisons and wounding flouts ;
Which you on all estates will execute,
That lie within the mercy of your wit.”
Love's Labor Lost, Act v., Scene 6.
FEBRUARY 22d.—George Washington
born.
“ This was the noblest Roman of them all-
- And the elements
So mixed up in him, that nature might stand up
And say to all the world, “This was a man !”
JULIUS CÆSAR, Act v., Scene 5.
FEBRUARY 23d. - The French Revolu-
tion commenced. 1848.


M a rch.
March 1st.--Annexation of Texas.
1845.
“ You lay out too much pains
For purchasing but trouble.”
CYMBELINE, Act ii , Scene 3.
MARCH 2d.—The King of Wirtemburg
grants liberty of the press. 1848.
“Blessed be those
That have their honest wills.”
CYMBELINE, Act i., Scene 2.
MARCH 3d.-Bankrupt Act repealed.
1842.
“ Bankrupts hold fast,
Rather than render back."
Timon OF ATHENS, Act iv., Scene 1.
MARCH 4th.—Battle of Ivry, causing
the ruin of the League. 1590.
“ Oppression had made up this league."
King John, Act iii., Scene 1.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR. : 29
March 9th.-David Rizzio murdered.
1566.
“ Butchers and villains, bloody cannibals!
How sweet a plant have you untimely cropped.”
3 HENRY VI., Act v., Scene 5.
March 10th.-Illumination in London
for the restoration of the health of George
III. 1789.
“ Make Lud's town with rejoicing fires bright."
CYMBELINE, Act iii., Scene 1.
March 11th.—Penny loaves given away
at Newark-upon-Trent, annually, in cele-
bration of the escape of Hercules Clay
from the Royalists, in 1694.
“ Having often of your open bounty tasted.”
. TIMON OF ATHENS, Act v., Scene 1.
March 12.—The Irish director O'Con-
ner arrested. 1798.
“I had as lief have the foppery of freedom
as the morality of imprisonment.”
MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Act i., Scene 3.
March. 13th.—Cortes lands in Mexico.
1519.


THE SHAKSPEARE "CALENDAR. 31
March 18th.—Robert Walpole died.
1745.
“Get thee glass eyes;
And, like a scurvy politician, seem
To see the things thou dost not.”
King Lear, Act iv., Scene 6.
March 19th.—The first Lunar Eclipse
on record. 721.
." And then the moon vanishes."
MIDSUMMER Night's DREAM, Act v., Scene 1.
March 20th.—Sir Isaac Newton died.
1642.
• Biron. What is the end of study ?
King. Why that to know, which else we should
not know.
Biron. Things hid and barrd, you' mean, from
common sense?
King. Ay! that is study's gºd-like recompense.”
Love's LABOR Lost, Act i., Scene 1.
March 21st.—Rome taken by the Em-
peror Henry IV. 1085.
“ He will shake your Rome about your ears."
CORIOLANUS, Act iv., Scene 6.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
33
MARCH 26th.-Clergy forbidden drun-
kenness by a law. 1741.
“Every inordinate cup is unblessed, and the
ingredient is a devil.”
OTHELLO, Act ii., Scene 3.
March 27th.-Ponce de Leon discov-
ers Florida. 1512.
"O Proserpina,
For the flowers now, that, frighted, thou let'st
fall,
From Dis' wagon !"
Winter's Tale, Act iv., Scene 3.
MARCH 28th.—Gunpowder first used
by the Venitians against the Genoese.
1380.
“Is that lead slow which is fired from a gun ?”
Love's Labor Lost, Act iii., Scene 1.
March 29th.—Battle of Towton. 1461.
“Now breathe we, lords ; good fortune bids us
pause,
And smooth the frowns of war with peaceful
looks;


April.
APRIL 1st.–Napoleon marries Maria
Louisa. 1810.
“Shameful is this league,
Fatal this marriage, canceling your fame."
2 HENRY VI., Act i., Scene 1. '
APRIL 2d. — Kotzebue assassinated-
1819.
“Kill men i' the dark! where are these bloody
thieves ?”
OTHELLO, Act v., Scene 1.
April 3d.—Louis XVIII. reaches Pe-
tersburg, where he is granted a pension by
the Emperor of Russia. 1798.
“Fortune's malice overthrew my state.”
3 HENRY VI., Act iv., Scene 3.
APRIL 4th.—Goldsmith died. · 1774.
“ Dost thou lie still ?
If thus thou vanishest, thou tellist the world
It is not worth leave-taking."
ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA, Act v., Scene 2.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“Such and so finely bolted did'st thou seem;
And thus thy fall hath left a kind of blot,
To mark the full-fraught man, and best indued
With some suspicion. I will weep for thee;
For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like
Another fall of man.”
HENRY V., Act ii., Scene 2.
APRIL 10th.-Chartist demonstration in
London. 1848.
“What authority surfeits on, would relieve us :
if they would yield us but the superfluity, while
it were wholesome, we might guess they relieved
us humanely."
CORIOLANUS, Act i., Scene 1.
APRIL 11th.—Abdication of Napoleon
at Fontainebleau. 1814.
“I give this heavy weight, from off my head,
And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand.”
RICHARD II., Act iv., Scene 1.
APRIL 12th.–Seneca died. 65.
“Full of wise saws.”
As You Like It, Act ii., Scene 7.
APRIL 13th. -- Catholic Emancipation
takes place. 1829.


38
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“Untainted, unexamined, free, at liberty."
Richard III., Act iii., Scene 6.
APRIL 14th. - Handel, the musician,
died. 1759.
“Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change.”
ROMEO AND JULIET, Act iv., Scene õ.
APRIL 15th. — Calais taken by storm.
1596.
“ Defacing monuments of conquer'd France :
Undoing all, as all had never been.”
2 HENRY VI., Act i., Scene 1.
APRIL 16th.—Buffon, the Naturalist,
died. 1788.
“He has walked the way of Nature.”
2 HENRY IV., Act v., Scene 2.
APRIL 17th. — Sir William Darenaut
died. 1668.
“ The force of his own merit makes his way.”
HENRY VIII., Act i., Scene 1.
APRIL 18th.—Judge Jeffries died-
1689.


40
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
APRIL 23d.—Shakspeare died in Eng-
land, and Cervantes in Spain. 1616.
“: 0, insupportable! Oh, heavy hour!
Methinks it should now be a huge eclipse
Of sun and moon, and that the affrighted
globe
Should yawn at alteration."
OTHELLO, Act v., Scene 2.
APRIL 24th.—Torquato Tasso died.
1595.
“ His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life
Began to crack."
King LEAR, Act v., Scene 3.
APRIL 25th.—Cromwell born. 1599.
“I shall desire to see what this child does."
HENRY VIII., Act v., Scene 4.
APRIL 26th.—Daniel De Foe died.
1731.
“A fellow of most excellent fancy."
Hamlet, Act v., Scene 1,
APRIL 27th.—Sir William Jones, the
Orientalist, died. 1794.


May.
May 1st.—Second Nomination of Henry
Clay for the Presidency. 1844.
“I have seen a swan
With bootless labor swim against the tide,
And spend his strength with overmatching
waves."
8 HENRY VI., Act i., Scene 4.
MAY 2d.-Great Riot in Manchester,
England. 1469.
“What work's, my countrymen, in hand :-
Where go you
With bats and clubs? The matter? Speak, I
pray you !"
CORIOLANUS, Act i., Scene 1.
May 3d.—Machiavelli born. 1469.
“ The devil knew not what he did when he
made man politic.”
TIMON OF ATHENS, Act ii., Scene 3.


44
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
May 4th.-Napoleon arrived at Elba.
1814.
“Eating the bitter bread of banishment."
RICHARD II., Act iii., Scene 1. .
May 5th.—Napoleon died at St. Helena.
1821.
“But yesterday the word of Cæsar might
Have stood against the world: now lies he
there,
And none so poor to do him reverence.”
JULIUS CÆSAR, Act iii., Scene 2.
May 6th.—The South Sea Act passed
the House of Commons. 1717.
“On my life, my lord, a bubble!”
All's Well, Act iii., Scene 6.
May 7th.--A Patent granted to James
Burbage and his Associates for Theatrical
Exhibitions. 1574.
“Good, my lord, will you see the players well
bestowed ? Do you hear? let them be well used;
for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of
the time.”
HAMLET, Act ii., Scene 2.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
45
May 8th.—The battle of Palo Alto, in
which the Mexicans were signally defeated.
1846.
“They shall have wars, and pay for their pre-
sumption !"
3 Henry VI., Act iv., Scene 1.
May 9th.—The battle of Resaca de la
Palma, in which the American arms were
triumphant. 1846.
“Thus far our fortunes keep an onward course,
And we are graced with wreaths of victory."
3 HENRY VI., Act v., Scene 3.
May 10th.—The city of Mexico be-
sieged by Cortes. 1521.
“ Girdled with a waist of iron,
And hem m'd about with grim destruction.”
i Henry VI., Act iv., Scene 3.
May 11th.-Pharaoh and his host
drowned in the Red Sea-B. C. 1489.
“A thousand men that fishes gnaw'd upon !”
RICHARD III., Act i., Scene 4.


46
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
May 12th.-The city of Charleston sur-
rendered to the British. 1780.
“What say you? Will you yield, and thus
avoid ?
Or guilty, in defence, be thus destroyed ?
Gov. Our expectation bath this day an end :
* * * * * * *
We yield our town and lives to thy soft mercy;
Enter our gates; dispose of us and ours,
For we no longer are defensible.”
HENRY V., Act iii., Scene 3.
May 13th.—The Southern Literary Ga-
zette established. 1848.
“ There are some shrewd contents in yon same
paper !"
MERCHANT OF VENICE, Act iii., Scene 2.
May 14th.—Henry IV., of France, as-
sassinated by Ravaillac. 1610.
“ Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand ! No; this my hand will
rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green-one red.”
MACBETH, Act ii , Scene 2.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
MAY 15th.—The American Congress
assumes Independence. 1776.
“ If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly.”
MACBETH, Act i., Scene 7.
May 16th.—The Bill to remove the civil
disabilities of the Jews rejected in the Brit-
ish Parliament. 1830.
“ Hath not a Jew eyes ? Hath not a Jew hands,
organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions ?
Fed with the same food, hurt with the same
weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by
the same means, warmed and cooled by the same
winter and summer as a Christian is ?”
MERCHANT OF VENICE, Act iii., Scene 1.
MAY 17th.—Napoleon ascended the
Alps. 1800.
“ That is a step
O’er which I must fall down, or else o'er leap;
For in my way it lies."
MACBETH, Act i., Scene 4.
May 18th.—Queens of England, France.
and Scotland met together in England.
1517.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
49
“The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
That for a phantasy and trick of fame,
Go to their graves like beds.”
Hamlet, Act iv., Scene 3.
May 23d.—Captain Ross sailed in the
steamer Victory, to continue his search
after the North-West Passage. 1829.
“ The stirring passage of the day."
COMEDY OF ERRORS, Act iii., Scene 1.
May 24th.–Victoria was born. 1819.
“She had all the royal makings of a queen!"
HENRY VIII., Act iv., Scene 1.
May 25th.—King John surrendered his
crown to the Pope's Legate. 1213.
“ Thus have I yielded up into your hand
The circle of my glory.”
King John, Act v., Scene 1.
May 26th.-Prince Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte escaped from the fortress of
Ham. 1846.


50
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“Therefore, to horse;
And let us not be dainty of leave-taking,
But shift away."
MACBETH, Act ii., Scene 3.
May 27th.–Napoleon defeated before
Acre. 1799.
“Our hap is loss, our hope but sad despair;
Our ranks are broke, and ruin follows us.”
3 HENRY VI., Act ii., Scene 3.
May 28th-Noah Webster died. 1843.
“ You have an exchequer of words, and I think
no other treasure, to give your followers, for it
appears by their bare liveries that they live by
your bare words."
Two GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, Act ii., Scene 4.
May 29th.–Virginia Resolutions against
taxation. 1765.
“Why tribute ? Why should we pay tribute ?
If Cæsar can hide the sun from us with a blan-
ket, or put the moon in his pocket, we will pay
him tribute for light. Else, sir, no more tribute-
pray you now."
CYMBELINE, Act iii., Scene 1.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
May 30th.—The Empress Josephine
died at Paris. 1814.
“ Beguiled, divorced, wronged, spited, slain.”
ROMEO AND JULIET, Act iv., Scene 5.
May 31st.—Haydn died. 1815.
“ His tongue is now a stringless instrument."
RICHARD II., Act ii., Scene 1.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
57
---
"Such a deal of wonder is broken out within
this hour, that the ballad-makers cannot be able
to express it.”
Winter's Tale, Act v., Scene 2.
JUNE 15th.—Magna Charta signed at
Runymede, by King John. 1215.
“On his choice depends
The safety and health of the whole State:
And therefore must his choice be circumscribed
Unto the voice and yielding of that body,
Whereof he is the head.”
HAMLET, Act i., Scene 3.
JUNE 16th. — Salamanca entered by
Wellington. 1812.
“Open your city gates;
Be humble to us; call my sovereign yours,
And do him homage as obedient subjects.”
Henry VI., Act iv., Scene 2.
JUNE 17th. — Battle of Bunker Hill.
1775.
“ One to ten!
Lean, raw-boned rascals ! who would e'er suppose
They had such courage and audacity ?”
1 HENRY VI., Act i., Scene 2.
.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
59
JUNE 22d.—Brougham's first plea at
the bar of the House of Lords in behalf
of Queen Caroline.
“You have here, lady, men
Of singular integrity and learning;
Yea, the elect of the land, who are here assembled
To plead your cause."
HENRY VIII., Act ii., Scene 4.
JUNE 23d.—The French defeated at
Crevelt by Prince Ferdinand.
"Sword, hold thy temper; heart, be wrathful
still ;
Priests pray for enemies, but princes kill.”
2 HENRY VI., Act v., Scene 2.
JUNE 24th.—Josephine, Empress of
France, born. 1763.
“Thou art alone,
(If thy rare qualities, sweet gentleness,
Thy meekness saint-like, wife-like government,
Obeying in commanding—and thy parts
Sovereign and pious else, could speak thee out)
The queen of earthly queens.”
HENRY VIII., Act ii., Scene 4.


60
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
JUNE 25th. -- Battle of Bannockburn.
1314.
“Wben the English measur'd backward their own
ground
In faint retire: 0, bravely came we off.”
King John, Act v., Scene 5.
JUNE 26th. — George IV. crowned.
1830.
“ Yet looks he like a king: behold his eye,
As bright as is the eagle's, lightens forth,
Controlling majesty: Alack, alack, for woe,
That any harm should stain so fair a show."
Richard II., Act ii., Scene 3.
JUNE 27th.-Mississippi Scheme failed.
1720.
“ Thus bath the candle singed the moth.”
MERCHANT OF VENICE, Act ii., Scene 9.
JUNE 28th.—The “Royal George” went
down. 1782.
“If thou tell'st this heavy story right,
Upon my soul the hearers will shed tears."
3 HENRY VI., Act i., Scene 4.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
61
JUNE 29th.-Dark at noon in France.
1035.
“A prodigy of fear, and a portent
Of broached mischief to the unborn times.”
1 HENRY IV., Act v., Scene 1.
JUNE 30th. — Sub-Treasury became a
law. 1840.
“Banish usury, that makes the Senate ugly.”
TEMPEST, Act iii., Scene 5.


64
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“I have in equal balance justly weighed
What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs
we suffer,
And find our griefs heavier than our offences.”
1 2 Hexey IV., Act iv , Scene 1.
July 4th.—Declaration of the Independ-
ence of the United States. 1776.
“ The citizens,
I am sure, have shown at full their royal minds,
(As, let them have their rights, they are ever
forward,)
In celebration of this day with shows,
Pageants, and sights of honor."
Henry VIII., Act iv., Scene 1.
July 5th.-Battle of Wagram. 1809.
“ Let confusion of one part confirm
The other's peace: till then blows, blood, and
deach.”
King John, Act ii., Scene 2.
July 6th.—Flaxman born. 1755.
“ Who, had he himself eternity, and could put
breath into his work, would beguile nature of her
custom, so perfectly he is her ape.”
Winter's Tale, Act v., Scene 3.


66
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
July 11th.—John Q. Adams born. 1767.
“ A rarer spirit never
Did steer humanity.”
ANT. AND CLEOPATRA, Act v., Scene 1.
July 12th.-Confederation of the Rhine.
1806.
“ If we live, we live to tread on kings,
If die, brave death where princes die with us.”
Henry IV., Act v., Scene 2.
JULY 13th.—Peace between Great Brit-
ain and Spain. 1713.
“ Every man shall eat in safety
Under his own vine that he plants; and sing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbors."
Henry VIII., Act v., Scene 4.
July 14th.—Bastile destroyed. 1789.
“ The cannons have their bowels full of wrath ;
And ready mounted are they to spit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls.”
King John, Act ii., Scene 1.
July 15th.—Admirable Crichton mur-
dered. 1582.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
67
“Praise him that got thee, she that gave thee
suck;
Fam'd be thy tutor; and thy parts of nature
Thrice famd, beyond all erudition.”
Troilus and Cressida, Act ii., Scene 3.
July 16th.-Painting in oil-colors in-
vented by John Van-eyck. 1410.
“I'll say of it,
It tutors nature: artificial strife
Lives in these touches, livelier than life.”
Timon OF ATHENS, Act i., Scene 1.
July 17th.—The Hegira. 622.
“The affair cries—Haste,
And speed must answer it.”.
OTHELLO, Act i., Scene 3.
|
JULY 18th.-Marlboro' forces the French
lines at Brabant. 1705.
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once
more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead !”
HENRY V., Act ii , Scene 1.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
69
JULY 23d. — Parliament established in
Paris. 1294.
“God speed the Parliament !"
1 HENRY IV., Act iii., Scene 2.
JULY 24th. — Gibraltar taken by Sir
George Rorke. 1704.
“A very good piece of work I assure you."
Midsum. Night's DREAM, Act i., Scene 2.
JULY 25th.—Madeira taken by the Eng-
lish. 1801.
“That we may
Taste of your wine, and see what castes you have,
For soldiers' stomachs always serve them well."
1 HENRY. VI., Act ii., Scene 3.
July 26th.—Order of St. Michael in-
stituted in France. 1469.
“ He is a knight, dubb’d with unhack'd rapier,
and on carpet consideration.”
TWELFTH Night, Act iii., Scene 4.
July 27th.—Spanish Armada destroy
ed. 1588.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
JULY 31st. — Peace of Nimeguen.
1678.
“Thy threatening colors now wind up,
And tame the savage spirit of wild war.”
King John, Act v., Scene 2.





August.
August 1st.–Savage died of starvation
in the streets of London. 1743.
“Who gives anything to poor Tom ?”
King LEAR, Act iii., Scene 4.
August 2d.—Glove tax l'epealed. 1795.
“Whoever dare to challenge this glove, I have
sworn to take him a box o' the ear.”
HENRY V., Act iv., Scene 7.
August 3d. - Hailstones, measuring
eighteen inches, fell at Alençon. 1774.
“ Are there no stones in heaven?"
OTHELLO, Act v., Scene 2.
August 4th.-East India Docks opened.
1806.
“Which stand
As Neptune's park, ribbed and paled in."
CYMBELINE, Act iii, Scene 1.
August 5th.-Henry I. crowned. 1100.


74
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“I taste grief, need friends, like you; subjected
thus,
How can you say to me-I am a king ?"
Richard II., Act iii., Scene 2.
August 6th.—Sir Thomas More be-
headed by Henry VIII. 1585.
“He was a fool :
For he had needs be virtuous.”
HENRY VIII., Act ii., Scene 2.
August 7th.—Battle of Thermopylæ.
480.
“History shall, with full mouth,
Speak freely of our acts.”
Henry V., Act i., Scene 2.
August 8th.-Charles I. sold by the
Scots. 1646.
“O, monstrous treachery! Can this be so pº
1 HENRY VI., Act iv., Scene 1.
August 9th. — Prince of Con:li born.
1736.
“At thy birth-
Nature and fortune joined to make thee great."
King John, Act iii., Scene 1.


THE SIIAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
75
August 10th.—Louis XVI. cast into
prison. 1792.
“What must the king do now? Must he submit?
The king shall do it. Must he be deposed ?
Must he lose
The name of King? i’ God's name, let it go.”
Richard II., Act iii., Scene 3.
August 11th.—Davis's Strait discover-
ed. 1585.
“ Whose icy current, and compulsive course,
Ne'er feels retiring ebb."
Othello, Act iii., Scene 3.
August 12th. — George IV. born-
1762.
“Believe me, a most absolute gentleman.”
Hamlet, Act v., Scene 2.
August 13th. – Jeremy Taylor died.
1667.
“ His contemplations were above the earth,
And fixed on spiritual objects.”
HENRY VIII., Act iii., Scene 2.


76
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
.
August 14th.—Riot at the Queen's fu-
neral. 1821.
“Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro
as this multitude ?"
2 HENRY VI., Act iv., Scene 8.
August 15th.—Napoleon born. 1769.
“Look! the unfolding star!"
MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Act iv., Scene 2.
August 16th.-Calais besieged and ta-
ken. 1347.
“ Tell us, shall your city call us lord,
In that behalf which we have challenged it,
Or shall we give the signal to our rage,
And stalk in blood to our possession ?”
King John, Act ii., Scene 1.
August 17th.--Highland dress forbid-
den by law. 1746.
“I do not like the fashion of your garments:
let them be changed.”
King LEAR, Act iii., Scene 6.
August 18th.—Great hailstorm in Eng-
land. 1802.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR. : 77
" All hail !"
MACBETH, Act i., Scene 3.
August 19th. - Count Rumford died.
1814.
“By deed-achieving honor newly named.”
CORIOLANUS, Act ii., Scene 1.
August 20th.—The Pope sends a Le-
gate to Prester John. 1178.
"I will fetch you a tooth-picker now from the
farthest inch of Asia : bring ycu the length of
Prester John's foot."
Much Ado About Nothing, Act ii., Scene 1.
August 21.-Bernadotte chosen Crown
Prince of Sweden. 1810.
“Some have greatness thrust upon them.” .
TWELFTH Night, Act iii., Scene 4.
AUGUST 22d.— Alexandria taken by the
English. 1814.
“From Alexandria this is the news.”
ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA, Act i., Scene 4.


78
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
AUGUST 23d.—Edward I. returns from
the Holy Land. 1274.
“ To chase these pagans in those holy fields
Over whose acres walked those blessed feet,
Which fourteen hundred years ago were nailed,
For our advantage, on the bitter cross.”
1 HENRY IV., Act i., Scene 1.
AUGUST 24th. — Massacre of St. Bar-
tholomew. 1572.
“This is the bloodiest share,
The wildest savag’ry, the vilest stroke,
That ever wall-ey'd wrath, or staring rage,
Presented to the tears of soft remorse."
King John, Act iv., Scene 3.
AUGUST 25th.—Order of Jesuits sup-
pressed in France. 1773.
“ Like youthful steers unyok'd they take their
courses,
East, West, North, South."
Henry IV. Act iv., Scene 2.
August 26th.-Battle of Cressy. 1346.
“When Cressy's battle fatally was struck,
And all our princes captived by the hand


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
. Of that black name, Edward, Black Prince of
Wales.”
HENRY V., Act ii., Scene 4.
August 27th. — Queen Caroline died.
1821.
“ Alas! poor lady!
'Tis a hard bondage, to become the wife
Of a detesting lord.”
All's Well, Act iii., Scene 5.
August 28th.—Pleures in Switzerland
destroyed by the falling in of a mountain.
1618.
“What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them,
Can hold the mortise ?"
OTHELLO, Act ii., Scene 1.
August 28th.—The Treaty of Amiens.
1475.
“Grim-visaged war bath smoothed his wrinkled
front.”
Richard III., Act i., Scene 1.
AUGUST 30th.-Henry V. excommuni-
cated by Pope Paul. 1535.


81
September.
SEPTEMBER 1st. — Sir Richard Steele
died. 1729.
“Thou art a fellow of a good respect :
Thy life hath had some snatch of honor in it."
JULIUS CÆSAR, Act iv., Scene 5.
SEPTEMBER 2d.—Lady Lisle beheaded
at Winchester. 1685.
• Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood.”
JULIUS CÆSAR, Act iii., Scene 1.
SEPTEMBER 3d.—Oliver Cromwell died.
1658.
"These eyes that now are dimm'd with death's
dark veil,
Have been as piercing as the mid-day sun
To search the secret treasons of the world;
The wrinkles in my brow, now filled with blood,
Were liken'd oft to kingly sepulchres:
For who lived king but I could dig his grave.”
3 Heney VI., Act v., Scene 2.
6


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
83
Ladies and maids their scarfs and handkerchiefs,
Upon him, as he passed."
CORIOLANUS, Act ii., Scene 1.
SEPTEMBER 8th.-Richard III. crowned
at York. 1483.
“Tetchy and' wayward was thy infancy;
Thy school-days frightful, desperate, wild and
furious;
Thy prime of manhood daring, bold, and ven-
turous;
Thy age confirmed, proud, subtle, sly, and
bloody."
RICHARD III., Act iv., Scene 4.
SEPTEMBER 9th.-Independence of the
Swiss abolished by the French. 1798.
“Our country sinks beneath the yoke ;
It weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash
Is added to her wounds."
MACBETH, Act iv., Scene 3.
SEPTEMBER 10th. — Explosion of gun-
powder at Bremen-one thousand persons ,
perished. 1739.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
85
SEPTEMBER 14th. — Aaron Burr died.
1836.
“O that a mighty man of such descent,
Of such possessions and so high esteem,
Should be infused with so foul a spirit.”
Taming OF THE Shrew, Ind. 2d.
SEPTEMBER 15th.—The French evacu-
ate Portugal. 1808.
“How now, lad ? is the wind in that door, i' faith?
Must we all march ?”
1 HENRY IV., Act iii., Scene 3.
SEPTEMBER 16th. — James II. died, a
pensioner on the bounty of Louis XIV.
1701.
“ Let us sit upon the ground,
And tell sad stories of the death of kings :-
How some have been deposed.”
Richard II., Act iii., Scene 2.
SEPTEMBER 17th.—The Jews banished
from France. 1394.
“If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his hu-
mility ? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew,





92 THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
OCTOBER 4th.—Coverdale's translation
of the Bible issued. 1535.
“A very good piece of work, I assure you.”
Midsum. Night's Dream, Act i., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 5th.-Riot in the Isle of Man,
on account of the high price of corn. 1821.
“ • What's their seeking ?
*For corn at their own rates, whereof they say
The city is well stored.'”
CORIOLANUS, Act i., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 6th.—Jenny Lind born. 1820.
“She will sing the savageness out of a bear."
OTHELLO, Act ii., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 7th. — William, first King of
the Netherlands, abdicates his throne, that
he might marry a Roman Catholic lady.
1840.
“ Were I crowned the most imperial monarch-
Thereof most worthy; were I the fairest youth
That ever made eye swerve; had force and
knowledge
More than was ever man's—I would not prize
them


94
THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
“ Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage!
blow !"
King LEAR, Act iii., Scene 2.
October 11th.—St. Salvador discover-
ed by Columbus. 1492.
“What is this world! what news are these !"
2 HENRY VI., Act iii., Scene 2.
OCTOBER 12th. – Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes. 1685.
“ Wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss,
But cheerly seek how to redress their harms."
3 Henry VI., Act v., Scene 4.
OCTOBER 13th.–Seamen's Widows' So-
ciety founded. 1732. .
“Our hint of woe
Is common: every day some sailor's wife
... Has just our theme of woe!”
TEMPEST, Act ii., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 14th.— Tombs of the Kings of
France destroyed. 1793.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
95
“Why may not imagination trace the noble
dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bung-
hole ?"
HAMLET, Act v., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 15th.—Mrs. McLean, the po-
etess, known as L. E. L., died. 1838.
“ And when you would say something that is
sad,
Speak how I fell.”
HENRY VIII., Act ii., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 16th.—Bonaparte arrives at
St. Helena. 1815.
“They have tied me to the stake. I cannot fly,
But, bear-like, I must fight the course.”
MACBETH, Act v., Scene 7.
OCTOBER 17th.– Wolsey deprived of the
Great Seal. 1529.
"Hear the king's pleasure, cardinal, who com
mands you
To render up the great seal presently
Into our hands."
HENRY VIII., Act iii , Scene 2.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
97
OCTOBER 22d.—Civil war between Pom-
pey and Cæsar began at Rome. 50 B. C.
“ Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy.”
JULIUS CÆSAR, Act iii., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 23d.—The world was created,
according to Usher, 4004 B. C.
“The poor world is almost six thousand years
old.”
As You LIKE IT, Act iv., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 24th.–Style of “ King of Great
Britain” assumed by the English kings.
1604.
“This title honors me and mine."
3 HENRY VI., Act iv., Scene 1.
OCTOBER 25th. Mary, Queen of Scots,
condemned. 1589.
'I am about to weep, but thinking that
We are a queen, (or lung have dreamed so,)
certain
The daughter of a king, my drops “f tears
I'll turn to sparks of fire.”
HENRY VIII., Act ii., Scene 4.


November.
NOVEMBER 1st.—Lisbon destroyed by
an earthquake. 1755.
“This is the way to lay the city flat,
To bring the roof to the foundation;
And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges,
In heaps and piles of ruins !"
Coriolanus, Act iii., Scene 1.
NOVEMBER 2d.—All-souls' Day. 1849,
et al.
- This is All-soul's day, fellows, is it not ?"
Richard III., Act v., Scene 1.
NOVEMBER 3d.--Drake returned from
circumnavigating the globe. 1577.
“He has had most favorable and happy speed;
Tempests themselves, high seas, and howling
winds,
Mhe outtered rocks and congregated sands,


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
105.
to the point: 0! the most piteous cry of the
poor souls !"
WINTER's Tale, Act iii., Scene 3.
NOVEMBER 15th. — Charles Lord Mo-
hun died in a duel. 1725.
“ Room for the incensed worthies !"
Love's Labor Lost, Act v., Scene 2.
NOVEMBER 16th.—James Furgurson, the
astronomer, died. 1776.
" These earthly godfathers of heaven's lights,
That give a name to every fixed star,
Have no more profit of their shining nights
Than those that walk and wot not what they
are."
Love's Labor Lost, Act i, Scene 1.
NOVEMBER 17th. — Queen Mary died.
1558.
“ Just death, kind um pire of men's miseries,
With sweet enlargement doth dismiss thee [me]
hence.”
1 HENRY VI., Act ii., Scene 5.


THE SHAKSPEARE CALENDAR.
115
“Behold destruction, frenzy and amazement,
Like witless antics one another meet.”
TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, Act v., Scene 3.
DECEMBER 16th. — Napoleon divorced
Josephine. 1809.
“For no dislike i' the world 'gainst the person
Of the good queen, but the sharp, thorny points
Of my alleged reasons drive this forward."
HENRY VIII., Act ii., Scene 4.
DECEMBER 17th. - Sedition Bill passed
in England. 1795.
“ These things indeed you have articulated,
Proclaimed at market crosses, read in churches :
To face the garment of rebellion
With some fine color that may please the eye
Of fickle changelings, and poor discontents
Which gape and rub the elbow at the news
Of hurly-burly innovation.”
1 HENRY IV., Act v., Scene 1.
DECEMBER 18th. — Tea destroyed in
Boston Harbor. 1773.
- "Defiance-hurl we in your teeth.” .
Julius CÆSAR, Act v., Scene 1.