The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-09-13
SHAKESPEARE AND BACON.
E CIPHER INTERPOLATION.
A Minnesota Man Proves that the Bard OF
Avon is Myth-Richard II
Campaign Bacon's
Head in Danger-Etc.


state which is certain to produce a
worldwide sensation. The Hon. Igna.
4 illus Donnelly, of Hastings, Minnesota,
/ author of atlantis" and "Ragnarok,"
| found, four years ago, in the writings OF
/ Francis Bacon, description, twice re-
j peated, of cipher, whereby one writing
! could be infolded and hidden in another,
comma per omnia-the writing intold-
ing holding qulntuple relation to the
writing infolded.'
lie also noted in Bacon's 'Do Aug.
mentis" (Book vi, chapter y that he was
in favor OF removing certain secrets of
knowledge by "obsurity of delivery"
from 1.-THE capacities of the vulgar" and
to ''reserve them to selected auditors, or
wits of such sharpness as can pierce the
rell."
AS. Mr.. Donnelly was a convert to the
theory that Francis Bacon was the real
author OF the plays attributed to Shaks-
y peare, and az he did not believe that the
author of such works could forever re-
nounce them, it occurred to him that
that this cipher rule was intended by
Racon as hint that there was such a
cipher in the plays, III which he asserted
ms authorship OF them. Mr.. Donneuy
mas worked for four years past with the
greatest industry and perseverance, and
has at last, within the past three months,
found the rule aud solved tho problem.
Lately Mr.. Dounelly was visited at his
residence by Appleton Morgan, author
OF "rhe Shakspear can Myth" and him
self disbeliever in the Shakespeare au-
thorship, though, AZ he has expressly
stated, by no means committed to Ba-
CONAN authorship. Mr.. Morgan looked
At first rather skeptiCally at Mr., Dom
nelly's work, but ultimately expressed
himself satisfied that, ali it was not a
eipher-written into the plays examined
by the method described by Bacon in
the Sixth Book, Chapter |, of his DE
Augmenti5'-it was "a most marvellous
sequence OF identical condolences, and
one forbidden by any known or conjec-
mred law of chances"
The law of chances, in fact, makes it
impossible that whole consecutive, CO.
herent sentences could be worked out
by consistent rule if there was not u
cipher.
The words OF the hidden story hold q
fixed and regular relation to the scenes
and acts of the plays, to be determined
By counting; hence the results are not
matter of guess work, but as demonstra-
BILE as a sum in the arithmetic.
The play Mr.. Donnelly has been prin-
eipally working on is the first part of
Henry ~. He was attracted to this
play by the fact that within few pages
scene p, he found the words "Francis,"
"Bscon" (twIce repeated), "Nicholas"
twice repeatedly, "Bacon's," "son,"
master" "kings," "eXchequer, st. Al
bans"-the latter, as is well known, be-
ing the name of Bacon's place OF resi-
dence. In act H., scene 4, he found the
name "Franeis" (Bacon's first nsme),
repeated on one page twenty
times; while in scene in the Merry
Wives TACT iv, scene u, the name evil
liam" (the first name OF Shakspeare) is
repeated eleven times i'm one short
verse, as II by one reiteration Of these
two names to call attention to the fact
that there was a cipher in the plays.
The name of Shakespeare occurs as
'Shakeh and "speare' or sphere or
as "Shakes" ana "peer," and these
combinations are found in every one of
the plays. II was upon these Clews Mr..
Donnelly labored until he has dis
covered the rule and worked out enough
OF the cipher story TO show that the
plays contain narrative of Bacon's
own life, and q secret history of the
reign of Elizabeth.
IL seems that Elizabeth, during the
Essex troubles, as is known, incensed ut
, the use made of the play of Richard H.,
in which is represented the deposition
and killing of the Kings; aud she made
ii one of the points of prosecution,
which cost Essex his head, that
he had hired the company of players to
which Shakespeare belonged, to repre-
sent it "more than forty times in open
streets and in tavern yards in order to
prepare the public mind for her own
deposition and murder History tells
us that she caused the arrest of Hay
wardc, who wrote u prose narrative Ofthp
deposition of Richard H., and dedicated
IL To Essex, and he narrowly escaped u
state prosecution. The cipher, rs worked
out by Mr.. Dunnelly, shows that at the
same time Shakespeare WAS arrested rs
the author of the plays; he was throat
ened with the torture, and disclosed To
the officers of the crown the fact that
Bacon was the real author of the plays.
Bacon threw himself ON the protection
of his uncle, Lord Burleigh, the great
Lord Treasurer, who saved him from
exposure aud prosecution, but revealed
the truth TO Elizabeth; and this is the
explanation of the fact, that rs long rs
Elizabeth lived, she kept Bacon out of
office and in poverty.
Such n discovery would bc the most
extraordinary in modern literature; II
would settle the long veXod question OF
tho authOrshipOf the plays, aud the dis.
closures that would then be revealed by
the cipher narrative might even recon-
struct the history of the reign of the
greatest Queen of England. Bacon al
ludcs to her in the cipher rs "tho jade
"the wanton,' "the old termpgpnt,'
etc., and narratos, among other things
the well-known scene where she struck
Essex box on the ear for turning his
hacl, upon her. Bacon doubtless wrote
In cipher that which would have
brought his head to the block ir written
in any other way.
MIR. Donnelly has kept his secret from
all but n few personal friends, and II
was not his intention to have revealed
his discovery until no had worked out
the whole story, and until his book,
containing Ii, was ready for publication
but he has recently been nominated fol
Congress in the Third district of Mime
sofa, and will be engaged In the canvass
Tor some timo To come, and this viii
necessarily delay his work. On the adj
vice of his friends, therefore, he has con
scntOd to file u caVoat, 40 far as to per
NIT the announcement of the fact tina
such n cipher has unquestionably beer
found.
His book will probably not bo ready
Tor publication until next spring o
summer, Tor the work of tranSlating tn,
cipher Is very slow aud tedious one
oNery word has TO ho carefully counted
Tor tho miScOunt of a single word woul,
throw not work of whole pages.
minneapolis journal.
important.
When Won Vfatt mr. tnnvo Nav NOrl