death. Very little is known of the personal life of Marlowe. At some portion of his short life he is said to have been an actor, and to have broken his leg in the practice of his profession. But for this and other traditions there is very little reliable evidence. The only authentic record of his death is in the Church of St. Nicholas, Deptford, where is an entry in the Register:—"Christopher Marlowe, slain by Francis Archer, June 1st, 1593." Francis Archer is said to have been a "serving man," of bad character, with whom the poet engaged in a tavern brawl. So perished, at the early age of twenty-nine, one who may be considered as the father of English tragedy, and the fore-runner of Shakespeare. Besides his tragedies, he produced "The Passionate Shepherd," "one of the most faultless lyrics in the whole range of descriptive and fanciful poetry."
[See "Biographia Dramatica," "Wharton's History of Poetry," etc.]
Mary,
QUEEN,
Eldest daughter of Henry VIII., and Catherine of Aragon was born at Greenwich 18th February, 1518. Fuller says of her that she "partook of both her parents in her person and properties, having from her father a broad face, big voice, and undaunted spirit, from her mother a swarthy complexion, and a mind wholly given to the Romish religion." The events of her life and reign need not be recorded here. She died 17th November, 1558.
[See "Fuller's Worthies," and English Histories.]
