The true Method of learning the Order and Dates of the English
Sovereigns, as of the American Presidents, or of any other list of
Rulers, is to deal with them only in the course of reading. When met
with in History, all the facts are before the reader, and, if he fails
to hold the _order of succession_ clearly in mind in any case, he can
easily correlate the Names together. And if he fails to retain some of
the dates, he can readily make forgetfulness impossible by correlating
names to date-words--or, as the details of the reigns are known to him,
he can at once find analytic date-words. The reader wishes to infallibly
remember that the date of the beheading of Charles I. was 1649. The
formula is "Charles I.--{T}oo {sh}a{r}{p} (1649)." If the reader's
memory-training is imperfect, and he is ignorant of the facts, he had
better correlate. If his memory-education is complete, and the facts are
within his knowledge, he will need no aid, or he will use analytic
date-words as in above case (1) {Th}en (6) {Ch}arles (4) {r}ightly (9)
{b}eheaded. If he feels that he needs some advice to help him remember
the order of succession of the Kings, he can refresh his recollection by
turning back and reading the method already given.