With peculiar pleasure I now turn to the production of a pamphlet written by Mr. Octavius "A Chronological Table of some of the Principal Events connected with Shakspeare and his Plays. By the Rev. James Plumptre, M. A. The Chronology of the plays according to the system of Dr. Drake: A. D. 1533. Queen Elizabeth born, Sept. 7th. 36. Anne Boleyn beheaded, May 19th. 42. Mary Queen of Scots born Dec. 8th. Lost her father a few days after. 48. Sent into France. 50. Edward (Lord) Coke born. 53. Edmund Spenser born. 54. Queen Elizabeth prisoner at Woodstock. 58. Mary Queen of Scots married to Francis II. of France, April 14th. Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne of England, 60. Francis II. died Dec. 4th. 61. Mary Queen of Scots returned from France, Aug. 9th. 64. SHAKSPEARE born April 23d. Belleforest began to publish his Novels, which in the end amounted to 7 vols. In one of these is the History of Hamlet from the Danish Chronicle of Saxo Grammaticus. 65. Mary Queen of Scots married to Lord Darnley, July 29th. 66. Rizzio murdered, March 9th. James VI. born, June 19th. 67. Monday morning, Feb. 10th. King Henry (Lord Darnley) murdered in the 21st year of his age. April 24th. Bothwell seized Mary. May 14th. Mary married to Bothwell; Mary aged 24, June 15th. Mary surrendered to the Rebels, and sent to Gilchrist in 1808, and entitled "An Examination of the Charges maintained by Messrs. Malone, A. D. 1567. June 20th. Dalgleish taken. Captain Blackadder and three others executed for the murder of King Henry. July 29th. James VI. crowned. Dec. 4th. Murray's Secret Council. -15th. Parliament at which the letters were pro duced. 68. Jan. 3d. Dalgleish executed. May 2d. Mary escaped from Lochleven castle. 16th. Mary fled to England. July 13th. Mary conducted to Bolton castle. Oct. 4th. Conference at York. Mary removed to Tut bury. 69. Duke of Norfolk's scheme for marrying Mary. Earls of Northumberland's and Westmoreland's Rebellion. November, Mary removed to Coventry. 70. Elizabeth resolves to give up Mary. Murray murdered. July 10th. Mary at Chatsworth-at Buxton-at 71. Buchanan's Detection published. 72. June. Duke of Northumberland beheaded. 73. Oct. 6th. Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, born. 79. Spenser published his Shepherd's Calendar. 80. April 10th. Before this Spenser began his Fairy Queen. 86. About this time SHAKSPEARE removed from Stratford to London, aged 22. June 27th. A grant of 3028 acres of land in Ireland to Sept. 20th. Babington and the other conspirators Mary removed to Fotheringay. Oct. 11th. Commissioners arrive at Fotheringay. Chalmers, and others, of Ben Jonson's Enmity, &c. towards Shakspeare;" a little work, which has 7th. Tuesday. Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent arrive. 8th. Mary beheaded. 89. Nov. The Privy Council appoint assessors with the master of the revels. Nov. 24th. James VI. (1st of England) married to the The Old Play of Hamlet, by Kydd, written before this. 90. First three books of the Fairy Queen published. PERICLES written, Shakspeare's first play. 90-1. Feb. Pension of 50l. per annum granted to Spenser. by Queen Elizabeth. 91. COMEDY OF ERRORS written. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST written. 92. HENRY VI., PART 1st, (or 2d, according to the common enumeration) written. PART 2d (or 3d, according to the common enumeration) written. 93. MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM written. ROMEO AND JULIET written. Venus and Adonis published. Written probably between 1587 and 1590. Dedicated to Lord Southamp ton. 94. TAMING OF THE SHREW written. Rape of Lucrece published. Dedicated to Lord Southampton. 95. Two GENTLEMEN OF VERONA written. RICHARD THE THIRD written. Spenser's Amoretti, addressed to Elizabeth, published. completely manifested, in opposition to many idle and malevolent suggestions, the cordial and unin A. D. 1596. RICHARD THE SECOND written. HENRY THE FOURTH, Parts 1st and 2d written. Second Three Books of Spenser's Fairy Queen published. 97. MERCHANT OF VENICE written. HAMLET written. 98. KING JOHN written. ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL written. 99. Jan. 16th. Spenser died. HENRY THE FIFTH written. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING written.. Shakspeare's Passionate Pilgrim surreptitiously published, Nov. Players, and probably Shakspeare, at Edinburgh. 1600. As You LIKE IT written. Aug. 5th. Gowrie's Conspiracy against James. 1. MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR written. TROILUS AND CRESSIDA written. Earl of Essex's Rebellion. Richard II, acted. Prosecution of Essex conducted by Coke, Attorney-General, with uncommon severity. 2. KING HENRY THE EIGHTH written. TIMON OF ATHENS written. 3. MEASURE FOR MEASURE written. March 24th, Thursday. Queen Elizabeth died. May 7th. James I. entered London. May 19th. James granted a licence to Shakspeare, &c. Shakspeare gave up acting about this time. Club at the Mermaid flourished. 4. KING LEAR written. Second Edition of Hamlet published, and enlarged to almost as much again. Dec. 4th. Tragedy of Gowry acted. Ꭰ terrupted friendship which ever existed between these two celebrated contemporaries." In 1812, Mr. Capel Lofft published a thick duodecimo volume under the title of "Aphorisms from Shakspeare," with a Preface and Notes. An A. D. 1605. CYMBELINE written. 6. MACBETH written. 7. JULIUS CESAR written. 8. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA written. Black Letter Historie of Hamblet published, said by Mr. Malone to be a republication, but I see no reason for the supposition. 9. CORIOLANUS written. Shakspeare's Sonnets and Lover's Complaint published. 10. WINTER'S TALE said to have been written, but the date very doubtful. 11. THE TEMPEST written. 12. OTHELLO written. 13. TWELFTH NIGHT written, Shakspeare's last play. March 10th. Shakspeare purchased a tenement in Shakspeare quitted London. Retired to Stratford. 14. July 9th. Fire at Stratford. 16. Feb. 25th. Shakspeare's Will drawn up. April 23d, Tuesday. Shakspeare died, aged 52. The Editor has only to remark that the order and relation of many of the events in the above Chronological Table by Mr. Plumptre, tend much to strengthen the hypothesis which this gentleman has endeavoured, with so much patient research, to substantiate. * The same side of the question has been taken by Mr. Gifford in his "Life of Ben Johnson," and by the Editor of this work in his "Noontide Leisure."-See his "Tale of the Days of Shakspeare." |