78 



THE POPULAE EDUCATOR. 



than 1590, the drama was still in a crude and half-formed con- 

 dition. Even in 1580, none of the works of Shakespeare's con- 

 temporaries which have attained any lasting position had been 

 given to the world. Between 1580 and 1590, Lyly first, and 

 Marlowe afterwards, wrote some plays that are still read and 

 reprinted ; but if Marlowe preceded Shakespeare at all, it could 

 have been only by two or three years at the utmost. We must 

 conclude, therefore, that a simultaneous efflorescence of drama- 

 tic genius appeared in several individuals. 



It would be extremely interesting to know which was the 

 first of Shakespeare's plays, and what were the respective dates 

 of his other works, so that we might follow with certainty the 

 development of his marvellous powers. Unfortunately, how- 

 over, we know scarcely anything of these matters, and are per- 

 haps less acquainted with the details of Shakespeare's life than 

 with those of any other famous man of the modern world. In 

 so brief an essay as the present, it would be idle to repeat con- 

 jectures which are incapable of verification. But it is evident 

 to every heedful reader of Shakespeare that his works belong at 

 least to two categories those of a less and those of a greater 

 maturity. To the former, we may refer " The Two Gentlemen of 

 Verona," "The Comedy of Errors," "A Midsummer Night's 

 Dream," some of the chronicle plays, and various other dramas ; 

 "Hamlet," "Macbeth," "Othello," " A Winter's Tale," " The 

 Tempest," " Twelfth Night," and the Greek and Roman plays, 

 are as manifestly the productions of a ripened intellect, pro- 

 foundly acquainted with Nature and with the world. Between 

 the least excellent and the most admirable, are some which seem 

 to mark an intermediate stage, and the best order in which to 

 print the plays of Shakespeare would be according to the scale 

 of merit, but that this would be imposing too difficult a task 

 upon any editor. 



The life of our great dramatist came to a close in 1616, when 

 he was exactly fifty-two years of age. Supposing him to have 

 begun writing at about twenty-two (the time at which he pro- 

 bably left Stratford-on-Avon for London), he had thus, in a 

 period of thirty years, produced some thirty-five tragedies and 

 comedies (if not more), together with a number of poems, be- 

 sides discharging the duties of an actor and a theatrical 

 manager. Many dramatists of that time wrote much more ; but 

 when we consider the degree and variety of power by which the 

 plays of Shakespeare are distinguished, the number in itself 

 becomes surprising. Another remarkable fact connected with 

 this literary phenomenon is the indifference which he appears to 

 have shown to the preservation and correct presentment of his 

 own works. It is probable that several of his plays were treated 

 with considerable freedom by the actors, and, although some 

 were printed during the lifetime of the author, it is very doubt- 

 ful whether he took any trouble to amend the errors of the 

 press. The first collected edition of the dramas was published 

 in 1623, seven years after the poet's death. This was the cele- 

 brated folio, the authority of which is so often quoted in oppo- 

 sition to that of the quartos. In quarto, there is no collected 

 edition of the plays ; but seventeen out of the five-and-thirty 

 were issued in this form previous to the foiio of 1623. Three 

 other folios followed the earliest, at various parts of the seven- 

 teenth century. All these volumes swarmed with the , most 

 ridiculous blunders, and it was not until 1709 that Nicholas 

 Howe, the author of " Jane Shore," published the first of the 

 critical editions of Shakespeare, with conjectural restora- 

 tions of the text. After that followed many others, and the 

 literature of Shakesperian comment is now a library in itself. 



LESSONS IN ARITHMETIC. XXVI. 



COMPOUND SUBTE ACTION. 



5. THE process of finding the difference of any two compound 

 quantities of the same kind is called Compound Subtraction. 



This is performed upon the same principle as simple subtrac- 

 tion namely, that the difference between any two quantities is 

 not altered by adding the same quantity to each. 



EXAMPLE. From 25 9s. 7*3. subtract .14 17s. 9|d. 



Write the less quantity under the greater, with the corre- 

 sponding denominations under each other, and express, for 

 clearness, the farthings in a separate column. 



Three farthinga cannot be subtracted from 1 farthing. We 



therefore add 1 penny, or 4 farthings, to the 1 farthing of the 

 upper quantity, and 1 penny to the 9 pence of the lower 

 quantity. Then 3 farthings subtracted from 5 , f 

 farthing-s leave 2 farthings. Again, 10 pence 25 9 7 ?' 

 cannot be subtracted from 7 pence. We therefore 14 17 9 3 



add 1 shilling, or 12 pence, to the 7 pence of the 



upper quantity, and 1 shilling to the 17 shillings 10 11 9 2 



of the lower quantity. Then 10 pence subtracted 



from 19 pence leave 9 pence. Again, 18 shillings cannot be 



subtracted from 9 shillings. We therefore add 1 pound, or 20 



shillings, to the 9 shillings of the upper quantity, and 1 pound 



to the 14 pounds of the lower quantity. Then 18 shillings 



subtracted from 29 shillings leave 11 shillings ; and 15 pounds 



subtracted from 25 pounds leave 10 pounds. 



s d. far ^ e ^ ave > ^ ac *> subtracted the less of the 



25 29 19 5' annexed two quantities from the greater, and they 



15 18 10 3 are obtained by adding (as it will be found by 



examination we have done) .1 Is. Id. to each of 



10 11 9 2 the quantities originally given. 

 Hence we get the following 



6. Rule for Compound Subtraction. 



Write the less quantity under the greater, so that the same 

 denominations stand beneath each other. Beginning with the 

 lowest denomination, subtract the number in each denomination 

 of the lower line from that above it, and set down the remainder 

 below. When a number in the lower line is greater than that 

 of the same denomination in the upper, add one of the next 

 highest denomination to the number in the upper line. Subtract 

 as before, and carry one to the next denomination in the lower 

 line, as in simple subtraction. 



7. ADDITIONAL EXAMPLE. 



Subtract 75 gals. 3 qts. 1 pt. from 82 gals. 2 qts. 

 gals. qts. pts. Here, there being no pints in the upper 



g2 ' 2 ' ' ^ ne * subtract the 1 pint of the lower line 

 75 3 1 from, we add 1 quart i.e., 2 pints to the 



upper line, and the same quantity to the quarts 



621 Ans. of the lower line. Then 1 pint subtracted 

 from 2 pints leaves 1 pint. 4 quarts cannot 

 be subtracted from 2 quarts. We therefore add 1 gallon i.e., 

 4 quarts to the 2 quarts of the upper line, and 1 gallon to the 

 75 gallons of the lower. Then 4 quarts sub- , , . 

 tracted from 6 quarts leave 2 quarts ; and 76 g g 2 ' $' * 

 gallons subtracted from 82 gallons leave 6 76 4 1 



gallons. The operation we have really per- 



formed is the subtraction of the less of the 621 Ans. 

 subjoined quantities from the greater, and they 

 are obtained from the original two quantities by the addition 

 of 1 gal. 1 qt. to each. 



EXERCISE 44. 

 Find the difference of 



1. 48 17s. 6jd. and 37 14s. 9jd. 



2. 1,000 and (500 6s. 7jd. + 496 7s. 6d.) 



3. 16 cwt. 3 qrs. 15 Ibs. and 8 cwt. 2 qrs. 8 Ibs. 6 oz. 



4. 85 tons 16 cwt. 39 Ibs. and 61 tons 14 cwt. 68 Ibs. 



5. 69 m. 41 r. 12 ft. and 89 m. 10 r. 14 ft. 



6. 17 leagues 2 m. 3 fur. 4 r. 4 ft. and 19 leagues 1 m. 2 fur. 15 r. 



7. 85 bush. 2 pks. 4 qts. and 49 bush. 3 pks. 6 qts. 



8. 115 qrs. 3 bush. 1 pk. and 95 qrs. 4 bush. 3 pks. 



9. 85 yds. 1 qr. 2 nls. and 29 yds. 2 qrs. 3 nls. 



10. 100 yds. and 55 yds. 2 qrs. 1 nl. 



11. 140 acres 17 rods and 54 acres 1 rood 18 rods. 



12. 465 acres 48 rods and 230 acres 1 rood 30 p. 



13. 446 cubic ft. 75 in. and 785 cubic ft. 69 in. 



14. 30 55' 15" and 55 58' 30". 



15. 71 10' and 36 6' 30". 



16. 160 yrs. 11 mo. 2 wks. 5 d. 16 h. 30 arin. 40 sec. and 106 yrs. 8 mo, 

 3 wks. 6 d. 13 h. 45 min. 34 seo. 



17. How many days from February 22, 1845, to May 21, 1847 ? 



18. How many days from August 25, 1840, to February 6, 1842 ? 



COMPOUND MULTIPLICATION. 



8. Multiply 5 2s. 7fd. by 6. 



We may perform the operation as follows : 



s. d. 



3 farthings x 6 is 18 farthings, or 4 



7 pence x 6 is 42 pence, or 3 6 



2 shillings x 6 is 12 shillings, or 12 



5 pounds x 6 is 30 pounds, or 30 



The sum of all these is 30 15 10 j 



