The New York herald., 1874-09-10
THE ORIGIN OF THE BAC0NIAN THEORY,
Bacon's Fragmentary History and
Shakespeare'S Plays.
A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY.
Facts Showing that Bacon Did
Not Write Shakespeare.
HORACE HOWARD FURNEss VIEWS.
WALLINGFORD, Pa, Sept,

WALLINGFoRD, Pa, Sept. g. 1874
Appreciating the fact that the discussion Just
inaugurated IN the HERALD concerning the aushen-
ITCHY OF Shakespeare's plays was likely to attract
a marked degree OF public attention. and also that
the very conditions under which the debate was
likely to proceed were such as TO draw either upon
one side or the other the sentiments, opinions
and convictions OF Shakespearian students
generally, | find myself, miles away from
the rush and roar Of the Quaker City, In
the handsome and exquisite library OF Mr..
Horace Howard Furness. patiently wai,ing
until he can gain an opportunity to speak to me.
Failing to find him in Philadelphia have come to
his lovely country home, and so it Is tnat find
myself surrounded with his books, his manu-
scripts and papers. There are but few people In
this world who bave exclusively devoted their
time and talent to the study OF the plays OF the
great dramatst, and MIR. Furness Is one OF them.
While 80 unsehsh has he been that ne has given
to the world, in his 'vanorum Shakespeare" the
result OF his lifelong devotion and the product OF
his ceaseiess research and energy. He
has placed In my hand three large and
elegant voumns-two devoted to long
study OF Macbeth" and the other to "RomeO
and Juliet.n On his table are innumerabe pages
OF manuscripts, and he tells me he is soon to give
to the world an extended and exhaustive analysis
OF Hamlet" He seems surprised that HERALD
correspondent should have travelled so many
miles for his opinion, and informs me that II the
paper had no more regard for his convictions than
he has himself, he aud I would have never met.
1t is not my part however to detain the ma.
tional audiences" to which Mr.. Furness is to speak,
and so l give his words upon the great subject
exactly as they fell from his ips:-
The only reason, said he that the authen-
q dOnhfp1 bpcaulQ hay
SO superhuman, and also because we are In great
measure ignorant OF the lie, condition and CTR
simply know that he was born, baptized, married,
came to London, Ii Is supposed wrote plays, and
ignorance Is tnat the Globe Theatre burned down
so shortly alter his death that all his manu-
scripts were destroyed, and. indeed, all that Is
presumption In favor or his being the author OF
his plays is the fact that his intimate personal
snd State a sSs n
with which ne composed his plays was 80
manuscripts from him with scarce q blot" What
gave rise to the present discussion Was the great
discrepancy between the man In the flesh and tue
some knowledge OF this man hey ond the mere ex-
ternal facts or his hle, T. e., his oaptismai and
him-more OF his associations, his tastes. his
social accomplishments; he wanted to know more
OF the construction, bent and organism OF that
remarkable mind, from which has sprung so much
that Is now, and shall be in all iusure imperish-
able-immortal. But Hallams prayer has never
been answered. The origin OF the Baconan theory
was ABOUT 1855. l cannot ten whether william
Henry smith, OF London, or Miss Della Bacon, OF
It, naesa se Ms' ns
of Francis Bacon were propounded BY botn
parties at pretty nearly s the same net time; e;
books, Miss Bacon's being written IN such An OBJ
scure and repellant style that 1t never has re-
markabie construction. Tne main arguments OF
each were founded upon the profound knowledge
displayed IN the dramas, and the impossibility
1ord-on- Avon could have produced them. To re-
concle merely the legal knowledge displayed in
the drama IT has long ago been accepted as fact
that he Was apprentice to a lawyer. Now, sup
posing the plays had been hanoed down to rs by
an unknown author, what man In the Elizabethan
period could we find who would answer all the
requirement. on the score Vi legal knowledge, OF
medicine theology natural history, court lie, DC.
The only party whom the TWO writers mentioned
above could fnd that could meet all these con-
ditions was Francis Bacon, and their theory re-
1rcm posthumOus pamphlet, written oy Greene.
called "a Quip for an Upstart Courtier," in which
an allusion to Shakespeare was supposed to lie
under reference to certain 'Shake scene,n
VINO was spoken of as an upstart Grow"
decorated in feathers that were, not his
ON OF .noyerint" @ o They boldly ACCEPTED and and
proclaimed Bacon the author OF the plays without
even proving taat he had ever written line OF
poetry, although we know now that he dld write q
''masque," which we, however have never seen.
The great corroDorauon which the two authors
taken, was, that in his writings Bacon made use
OF the sentiment that the best method OF teaching
history was by means OF the drama; it is also
known tDat Bacon, under the influence OF this
conviction, actually began q history OF England.
or course that history, as We know 1t, IS only
fragmentary. At intervals in it there are long
.gaps'-and it is alleged that these gaps the plays
OF Shakespeare exactly hll-while what shake
speare has omitted can be found in this irag-
mentary history ol Bacon. Mind yOu Mr.. Cores
pondent, an not giving you my own opinion,
put ap simply reproducing, without comment, the
arguments OF the Baconlans. Again. Bacon was
never known 10 mention Shakespeare's name. In
giving the list OF MS friends and contemporaries
the name OF the great dramatist never was
uttered and BacOnians say this circumstance is q
better proof or their theory than Ii Bacon mad
used the name OF Shakespeare frequently. The
two names OF Bacon and Shakespeare have
never been associated until within the past ten
years. when very remarkable discovery has
editor OF :Bacon,s LIte. after deVot,na foriy
years TO the biography within the past twenty
iour months found among Bacon's manuscript a
over ana over eieTt different and distinct times,
M'p Days aae and se names sSela
more that we have pever heard Of.
The way in which these plays alleged to have been
was according TO the BacOnans, as lollOws:-
Bacon was young man full OF genius. but starving
In chambers and, unable 10 suppress the divine
plays from the very necessities OF his genius. 10
have given them forth under his own name would
then. and even up TO Garrick's day. cassed with
vagaDonds and Egyptians. He therefore handed
them over TO the poet OF the Globe Theatre
VINO was William Shakespeare, to be arranged and
adapted lor the stage, while the plays thus pro-
duced and set forth were naturally attributed by
the pupiic 10 Shakespeare himself Wnen play
mad great run IL was invariably surreptitiously
published. and these plays bore shakespeare IS
name upon the title page, without his authority
consent or knowledge. Now, this Is q fair exp0si-
ton OF the Baconian theory, far as am able TO
years.
That william Shakespeare wrote his plays is
Cear enougl TO me from the fact that his contem-
porares acknowledged them as his and that the
same hand must have written them that wrote
Tue sonnets venus aud AdOnsn and the Rape
OF Lucreee, wmca were all put forth by Shake
every one. The same trains OF thought and tue
same turns oil expression appear In both ms plays
and his sonnets and poems. The poems are the
0ete n0ty OF the Baconians admit that TO xpiain
the vast and comprehensive knowledge evlnced Nv
the dramatist is baf1ing problem, out who shall
define the limits OF the powers of assimilation
possessed by great q geniusS stray hInt
passing al.uston, dropped In conversation bv The