The New York herald., 1874-09-09

cussed was one evening in 1856, in the cosey Hud
son street library OF Burton. the comedian and
scholar. A clever writer In Putnam's Magazine
afterwards discovered to De Della Bacon, oi
Hartord> had just published an essay modestly en-
titled, "The Philosophy OF the Plays OF shake
speare Unfoided." but written TO prove that Lord
Bacon wrote the plays. Burton took rom the
table book, written by Londoner' haiieo
Smith, on the very same subject, Puohsheu III
book form almost simultaneously, yet tue screeu
of each was clearly unknown to the otner. 30 ou.
! of that the discussion pegan-iil IL eau De caieu
| discussion-when Burton had almost ali tnc taiA'
| as he should have mad from his ShaKespeariah re-
searches Burton was an anti-Baconian. ii re-
| member accurately he was quite oglca ABOUT IT,
1t wa admitted that In ShaKespeare's lifetime
| severaI editions OF his poems were printed with
his name to the dedc ition One OF these Is In the
| British Museum. And Burton argued that CON-
! parison OF the poems with the PLAYS should COM
pete identity OF authorship IN thought construc.
lion, taste, aptitude in metaphor land verbal
condolences, and especially as to llkings Tor pecu-
liar c1aracterstcs IN women. know he gave SO
of either Chief Justice DAILY, Falstaff Hackett
or Richard Grant White to make some counter
diversion.
REPoRrER-The late Mr.. hackett, believe, you
knew well. Wnat thought he of the subject
Mr.. HALL heard him discuss 1t, with MS melo-
dious deep voice and cogent reasoning, at the
groaning dinner tables OF MS son. the Recorder,
many times. He was antiBaconian. The late
James I. Brady, a family Trend, would generally
(and, tnlnk. out OF very mschevlous contraretyl
take the opposite. Brady would talk as Holmes
writes aoout it, like lawyer, beating out the
premises into a thin gold leaf until any other
than the desired conclusion would oe too heavy
to hang ON 10.
REPoRIER-Then you think he made the
Baconlan theory thin
Mr.. HALL-Very good that. But what mean is
Hackett talked like an enthusiastic SnakesperIan
whose affective qualities nsensIDly colored his IN
telectual. The divine bard was his god. he was
an adherent TO the inspiration theory. II am not
much mistaken you will and by recurring to the
HERALD index. that about the time MIR. Holmes
authorship oil Shakespeare appeared he wrote
communication ably combating the BaconIan
theory.
REPoRrER-You have read the Holmes book OF
course.
Mr.. HALL-Several years ago and often since. 1t
combines the logical masterpiece (after asserting
to the minor premse), the philosophical essay and
REPoRrER-I believe there appears In Moore's
'.Lile OF Sheridan careful denials ol charge
rare talent, who sent HIM the manuscript, did
write 1t, and then, dying OF consumption, Sheridan
fathered IL.
Mr.. HALL-Oh. yes; and the charge was well
ratified, IL you believed the authority. But Moore
lound that the plan OF the comedy was skeiched
and hints for filling it In written down on loose
scraps some years before the young lady was sad
REPoRrER-Which was awkward for Mademoi-
selle. But let US keep to Bacon. What Is your
theory to explain how an essentially uneducated
man, like the Bard OF Avon (wnether you speak OF
education In modern, ancient OF sixteenth cen
tury sense), boy married a. eighteen and forced
manager, and accumulating some money had to
purchase farms and houses and pay tythes IN STRAIT
an author who never allowed to live scrap OF an
original manuscript OF his play, poem, episte or
prose composItion-how such man, arriving in
London at twenty three years oi age, could have
begun almost Immediately to produce and continue
TO produce such aatcnless w0rksY
Mr. HALL-"And" lin the apt language or Henry
Hudson. the SlakeSDeAreaQ writer, ITO become
by general suffrage the greatest name in the liter
% o. any county, or ts as sn
better worth living living in, and life nObler and
dviner thing" Let me answer your question by
God Is perfected out OF the mouths OF babes and
suckings Why does Paul ask, "Are all apostess
ers OF mlracless Do all speak with tongues? DO
all interprets" And then add. .but coyet
earnestly the best gilts' lemphasizng this
cha arming and apparently unsophisticated
woman, and one certainly inexperienced in AFFAIRS,
instantly solving some dlfncult business problem
or kno5ty bOtheratlon with her admirable or-hand
suggestions, and giving hints and advice that;
fortune, but, disregarded. pop you over some ugly
REPoRrER-Then You adhere to the explanation
that Shakespeare mad supernatural glits-tnat be-
hind his tnm0st sell stood some spiritual phan-
tom who poured into him Thoughts ideas, revela-
knowledge, &c.G
Mr. HALIe-Sum 1t all up in the word inspiration
anu L answer yes UO you UcucNc u lie
Of course. Then do you believe that the immortal
essence which first blinks vacanty IN infancy
through ne eartn eye "a ana .aen
tion, reasoning, and finally passes away from eartn
in full pienitude Oh intellect, IKE HUMBOLDT Dick
ems Quincy Adams. Webster, &c, &c, ceases TO
develop and expand IN tue spirit worlds Does it
not rather go into fuller and fuller pursuit OF
either good or bad knowledge? What might not
EurlpideS have become at shakespeare Time
or HOMER
REPORrER-Ir he ever lived!
Mr. II cDpti m
wrote that which Lord Derby and Cullen Bryant
have rebathed in Immortality OF verse. Alter all,
Is genius anything more than inspiration May
not influences from the spirit wOrld-mnd you, l
speak OF influences upon mind, not vulgar mani
aaq
soul as had Newton, Harvey, Feneion, Tasso,
Shakespeare, Scott, Dickenss AS ST. Paul implied
in our first quotation, "An DO not speak with
tongues nor all interpret but there are gifts"
Moses and Isaiah had these gifts; so had the Pen.
centuriesY Has Heaven lost Its power OF gifts by
inspiration, or OF teachings by soul influences or
the whole or parts OF knowedgeY May there not
be gifts of material and then oil capacity to cuti-
vate ideas and lrucclfy tnemS Why have hospital
patients who were aosurdly illiterate IN health,
and GreekY Have neither demons nor Satans nor
good angels power 10 approach and impress
soul sops shas is semporary casEeteds 'A' ''O
REPoRTER-Don't forget that there was growth
to the mlnd Of Shakespeare-assumiDg ne was the
writer OF the dramas-and why could not inspira-
ton come full 1edgedp
Mr.. hALL-But there is the gift in power OF cul-
tivation. Nevertheless, Is IL 80 certain that
shakespeare's latest were best2 "Hamlet" Is
15Se-er, and Henry VHl," the latest. One
must not assume either that the inspiration came
from only one spiritual source. Shakespeare ac-
cording to Heraud's absorbingly interesting tome
OF 500 pages on the nler life OF Shakespeare tse-
iectlng one from huge pile which the reporter
had been tumbling down., gives these periods: :
/. The elementary and impulsive-coverlng. for
instance, "rwo Gentlemen Of Verona earliest
PLAY and "Hamletr and ''All's WeI' and "ROmeO."
2. The Historical and Fantastc--embracing
the Richards and three Henrys and -Midsum-
meI Nights Dream.n 3. The purely, comc-in-
Wives" Twelfth Night" 4. The epic and i'm.
aginatve, OF siGple construction, IKE "Othellon y
purely poetic like Macbeth" and of abstract aud
intellectual like "Henry VIII"
MISUNDERSTANDING all these periods-and they
are chronological, see-he certainly had for i'm
nressIanahle saul In pfiuence In the ueyt world q