cast with the freedom of the English people. Then were first proclaimed those mighty principles, which have since worked their way into the depths of the American forests, which have roused Greece from the slavery and degradation of two thousand years, and which, from one end of Europe to the other, have kindled an unquenchable fire in the hearts of the oppressed, and loosed the knees of the oppressors with a strange and unwonted fear. Of those principles, then struggling for their infant existence, Milton was the most devoted and eloquent champion. We need not say how much we admire his public conduct."

SHAKSPERE.*

WILLIAM SHAKSPERE, the greatest of dramatic poets, was born at Stratford-upon-Avon, April 23, 1564. When he was but three months old, his birth-place was visited by pestilence, and one seventh part of the inhabitants were swept away; but it did not enter the dwelling of his parents. His father, John Shakspere, was a man of respectable standing, and for several years high bailiff, or chief magistrate of Stratford. He appears to have been a landed proprietor, and of the rank of a gentleman, though he doubtless engaged in some kinds of business. It has been said that he was a butcher; but this is a mistake, occasioned by the fact, that another John Shakspere, who was of this trade, lived in Stratford. The name of Shakspere was common in that town, and some confusion has arisen in the obscurity which shrouds the history of the great poet, from that circumstance. His mother, Mary Arden, of Wellingcote, in the

*The name is usually spelt Shakspeare, but it appears, on good authority, that the poet spells it as above. This orthography is, therefore, adopted by the best authorities.

county of Warwick, was of an ancient family, and inherited some property. At the time of his marriage, John Shakspere was in easy circumstances; but there is reason to believe that he was afterwards embarrassed.

It is supposed that John Shakspere was, to some extent, a dealer in wool; but however this may have been, we have reason to believe that he and his wife were well educated, pious people, and that their son William was carefully brought up, and duly instructed at the Latin school of Stratford, which was a highly respectable institution.

The fine old town of Stratford is about ninety-four miles north-west from London. The country around is beautiful, and within a few miles are many objects of deep interest, calculated to attract the attention of a youth such as Shakspere must have been. Within eight miles is the noble castle of Warwick, linked with many remembrances of ancient days and heroic deeds.

At the distance of about a dozen miles is Kenilworth, and in Shakspere's time its castle was in all the pomp and pride of its best days. It had been bestowed by Elizabeth upon her favorite, the Earl of Leicester, and he had expended upon it immense sums of money. The walls of the castle included seven acres of ground, and the whole manor, park and chase embraced a space of twenty miles in circuit. It was at this place that Leicester entertained Queen Elizabeth for seventeen days, with extraordinary magnificence, at the time that Shakspere was eleven years old From what we know of the man

ners of the time, it is highly probable that Will was there, to witness the mighty merry-makings that attended the queen's visit.

At a short distance from Stratford is the lovely "Vale of Evesham," and the venerable ruins of its abbey and the ancient town of Coventry is also near at hand. All these places, rich in historic lore, were within the range of a boy's observation, and, no doubt, young Shakspere was familiar with them. The Avon too, one of the sweetest of streams, with its lengthened valley, presenting the loveliest of landscapes, was always before him. In the absence of positive information, we may fairly infer that these various objects were among the sources of instruction to the great poet, and that they contributed to shape the genius which has shed so much light over the world. As this is at least a probable suggestion, we may indulge the picture of the youthful poet, gazing upon these scenes and storing his mind with those sweet images which charm us in his works.

We have no positive record as to the education of Shakspere, but it was undoubtedly respectable, for he was tolerably well acquainted with Latin, and appears to have been familiar with Roman and other history; circumstances which in those days implied considerable scholarship. From the ease and accuracy with which he uses legal terms, it has been conjectured that at one time he was employed as a lawyer's clerk; but there is no direct proof of this.

We are also wholly ignorant of the boyhood of Shakspere; nothing worthy of note, touching this period of his life, has come down to us. At the early