THE "STAR THAT'S WESTWARD FROM THE POLE."

FURTHER EVIDENCE FROM ASTRONOMICAL ALLUSIONS SHOWING THAT THE
SECOND QUARTO OF HAMLET WAS WRITTEN IN 1601.

"Last night of all,

When yond same star that's westward from the pole
Has made his course to illume that part of heaven
Where now it burns, Marcellus and myself,
The bell then beating one,

Hamlet I. i-36.

In this article I present evidence showing, (1) that the star referred to in the foregoing lines can be identified; (2) that the time of year in which the star was in the position stated can be determined; and (3) that this time of year corroborates the testimony already given in former issues of NEW SHAKESPEAREANA in regard to the date of composition of the second quarto of Hamlet. Moreover, the allusion furnishes an interesting example of the manner in which the movements of the heavenly bodies serve as a guide in determining questions in chronology. In order to make the subject intelligible to readers who may not happen to be familiar with astronomical matters, it is necessary to say a few words upon the dual motion of the stars in the sky. Upon examining the northern heavens on any clear night, at intervals of a few hours, it will be found that the entire sky makes an apparent revolution around a point near the north star, and that this revolution is in a direction the opposite to that in which the hands of a clock move. Thus, the stars above the pole move to the left; those to the left of the pole move downwards, and so on. This well known motion is only apparent, however, and is due, of course, to the earth's rotation on its axis. At the expiration of twenty-four hours the stars will have completed the circle, and will have returned to about the same position they held when first observed. But they do not return to exactly the same position; and this brings us to the con

sideration of the second apparent motion of the heavens, which, in this instance, is caused by the revolution of the earth around the sun.

Let us suppose an observer to begin his observations at a certain definite hour and date-let us say at ten o'clock P. M. on the first day of January. Let the position from which he makes his observations be fixed and unchanged. And let him determine the exact position of any particular star by referring it to some terrestrial object,—for example, the gable of a house. It will be more convenient if we assume that the star in question is immediately over the north star, and that it, therefore, occupies a position corresponding to the Figure XII of a clock dial. On the next evening, on January second, he will find that the star has returned to its place by the house gable, not at ten P. M. but at about four minutes before ten o'clock. To be more exact, it will be there at three minutes and fifty-six seconds before ten. But let us use round numbers and call the interval four minutes. At exactly ten o'clock on January second, therefore, the star will have arrived at and passed, to a slight degree, the gable, or the figure XII. Similarly on January the third, the star will be in place at eight minutes before ten, and at ten o'clock will be still further beyond the figure XII; and on January fifteenth it will be in its position at one hour before ten, or at nine o'clock; and on February the first will be there at eight P. M.; and at ten o'clock February first will be found to have advanced during the month to such an extent that it now occupies the position corresponding to the Figure XI on the dial. In like manner, after an interval of three months, on April first, at ten P. M. the star will be at the Figure IX or to the left of the pole; after six months at the Figure VI, or under the pole; after nine months at III; and on the following January first, it will have completed its circle and will be found once more at its old position by the house gable, or at Figure XII-all observations being made at ten o'clock P. M. It follows, from all of this, that any particular star, at a given hour, can occupy a certain position on one day, and on one day only, during the year. Therefore, if we know the star referred to, if we know its position in the sky, and if we know the hour, we shall be able to calculate the date; or, rather, the time of years on which the reference to the star was made. In the passage in Hamlet we know the position occupied: "Westward from the pole," or to the left of the pole star. We know also the hour: "The bell then beating one." Problem: Find the date or time of year.

But, before we can solve this problem, it is necessary to identify the star referred to. And here we meet with the difficulty that has prevented all commentators from giving to this passage a correct interpretation. For,

upon examining the northern heavens, we find that there is no bright particular star that excels the others in glory; nor is there any star in the neighborhood of the pole, that is, from its isolated position, in any way conspicuous. In the northern sky we find the well known constellation Ursa Major, or as it is better known in this country, the Dipper. On the opposite side of the pole is Cassiopeia. There are the Little Bear, the Dragon, and other minor constellations. But not a single one of any of the circumpolar constellations contains a star brighter than the second magnitude. It results, therefore, that we must concentrate our attention upon the word "star"; else, in default of any other solution, the problem becomes hopeless. I have been able to find two instances in Elizabethan literature in which this word is used in a peculiar sense; and both of these, published within fifteen years of the date of writing the second quarto, throw light on the Hamlet passage. In Grosart's "Life and Works of Robert Greene" Vol. III, there is published a tale called "Morando, The Tritameron of Love". On page 79 occurs the following sentence: "The starre Cassiopeia remaineth in one signe but ten daies, and thou in one mind but ten howers". It is evident that the word "star" is here used as an equivalent to our word "constellation". Again, in the old drama "The Misfortunes of Arthur", there occur the following lines:

"The whiles, O Cassiopoea, gem bright signe, Most sacred sight, and sweet coelestiall starre, This clymat's joy &c. (I. i.)

Here, again, "star" means "constellation". We must therefore read the lines from Hamlet as meaning "When yond same constellation that's westward from the pole" etc.

Now it is an interesting fact, and one that may be more than a coincidence, that this same constellation Cassiopeia, is westward from the pole at one o'clock A. M. during the second week in December. It should be explained that the dramatist did not use the word "westward" in the modern technical astronomical sense of the word. What he undoubtedly meant was that Cassiopeia occupied a position corresponding to the Figure IX on the clock; or, in other words, that it was horizontally to the left of the pole star. For reasons not necessary to give here, the position occupied by Cassiopeia varies slightly with the geographical latitude of the observer, when the word "westward" is used in the popular sense in which it is used in the Hamlet passage. But the difference is but little. It is sufficient to say that, when viewed from a point of latitude forty degrees north, Cassiopeia is at the present time, horizontly to the left of the pole star at one A. M. about the middle of December. This can readily be verified by any one. In the latitude of London the date is several days earlier. Cassiopeia is a con