The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-09-02
AN INDIAN IN INDIANA.
BY J. Z. MILLER.

Thy name to Phoebus and the muses. known
Shall in the front OF every page be shown.
Dryden.
That copy of the Daily Sentinel which
broke the ice between the learned Professor
Chum'and me while in the cave near Scion,
has now, 1 fear, metaphorically speaking, got
me into hot water. 1t seems that beside the
Teheran letter to Mr.. Hanna, the paper con-
tanned copious extracts from the Washington
Post of the date of Saturday, April -, 1885,
relative to an alleged wonderful discovery of
the real authorship of the dramatic works
attributed to Shakespeare. As YOU will re-
member, Professor Chum intended first of
all, to devote himself assiduously in the
seclusion of his new American home
to the study of the plays of the bard of Avon;
and as | am passionate admirer Il might
almost say, worshiper) of the great man and
his writings, | anticipate with delight the
eloquent encomiums and graceful commend
atoms of this Indo-Persian scholar.
Filled then with the happiness of antcipa-
ton, after two weeks of impatient waiting to
give the Professor ample time to read and
study "the Tempest" which is a special IA
vorite of mine, l called on Kim and was
cordially received in his cosy study. Did
you ever see the rooms of an Indo-Persian
student? If you have. you will readily I'M
derstand why the scholars there have the
reputation of being close and accurate rea-
sOners. There is nothing about the sanctum
or its surroundings to cause
the mind TO wander The thick carpet, woven
on the looms of Cashmere, deadens the sound
OF every football. The tables, desks and chairs
are so arranged that whether the student is
engaged in reading writing or thinking the
position of the body is perfectly natural and
restful. And most important factor of all, to
promote study as American scholars must
admit no woman, whether mother, wife,
daughter domestic is allowed to touch or
disturb any book or paper upon any house
keeping pretenSe. Study, intense undiS-
turbed study not order reigns supreme in
the Persian Professors chamber. Over the
high mantlepiece engraved on a sword blade,
is the following sentence from HafiZ the
prince of Persian poets: "On every side is an
ambush laid by the robber-troops of circum-
stance; hence it is that the horseman of life
urges on his courser at headlong speed"
Such, and so paradisaical, was Professor
Chums' den when / entered il that
morning, and prepared as L
was to listen TO the praise of my favorite
poem, one whose mind had never been biased
or warped by the dogmas OF teachers you
can imagine my surprise and indignation
when the great scholar, throwing down the
Sentinel on the table exclaimed, This news
paper which you gave me, makes me almost
| a convert to the belief that William Shakes
peare was an actor only and not a drama
fist. He could not be the author of those
| magnifcently written plays which bear his
| name if Donnely's discovery is susceptible
of practical demonstration"
And who is DOnnely" | asked that he
| can upset the faith of over nine generations
OF English speaking people, and what has he
discovered that will rob the great Shakes
peare of his place, the very first in the
| front rank of literary leaders?'
The Professor took up the Sentinel and
read ''Ignatius Donnely is the author of Alta
lantlz, now IN the twelfth edition. and of
| Ragnarok now in the sixth edition. He is
liberal Democrat, whatever that means, and
| has served in Congress. He mas discovered a
cipher of words ingeniOusly inserted in the
body of the plays at certain intervals and so
arranged as TO furnish a complete key TO
| their authorship as well as to show that
William Shakespeare did not write them.
Mr.. Donnely is now unraveling or rather
| translating this cipher, which appears in the
| original folio edition of 1929 and which he
| calls the quintuple cipher, using Bacon's
own designation.
1T seems to me that can render no bet
| ter or greater service to Persia
than 10 examine these PLAYS, as q dsinter-
| ested student OF literature and compose the
words, the sentences, the thoughts and ex-
preSSiOns with those of Lord Bacon, whom
| the cipher history asserts to be the author.
| And then too the lives and letters of Shakes
\ peare and Bacon ought to be studied with
| the same end in view"
"Fiddlesticksi' | exclaimed perhaps lit
| tie petulantly. Nothing can remove Shakes
peare from the pedestal which ne has occu-
| pied for nearly three hundred years, and put
| Lord Bacon or any one else there. Gentle
| Willy is too firmly fixed in the hearts and af-
| fections of all English-speaking people. We
1 would rather believe a lie, even if proved to
| be lie Besides why should Bacon, if
| he wrote the plays conceal the authorship.
| Men and especially writers, like to get credit
| and great reputation for their work"
The Professor did not rebuke me for my
| petulance. He quietly locked up the news
| paper which did the mischief in his desk and
| then slowly said. 81 presume that you are
| right, and that the people would not believe
that Bacon wrote these plays even if Shake
i speare should appear from among the great
/ army of the dead, clad in the cerements of
| the grave, and repudiate their authorship.
1t is natural for us to all play the fool and
hug decisions and believe lies and il is also
natural to hate to admit that we have been
| duped. 1t seems to me as foreigner very
shameful that for..nearly four hundred years
/ this great continent should be called after
| Amerigo Vespucci who did not
| discover il, instead of the
| patient and modest Columbus who did. If
| / had the power / should change the name
now to North and South Columbia. and it
| ought to be done by universal consent on the
18th of October 1892, four hundred years af-
| ter the discovery. AS for concealing author
| ship, j must confess to you that for relaxa-
ton, have been reading the first novel Of
/ your greatest writer of fiction, Sir Walter
Scott. and discover that for many years
the real author of the Wavery novels was
| unknown, and doubt if he ever would have
been found out, had not the bankruptcy of
his publishers Constable Company
| occasioned an overhauling of the
| accounts and correspondence of the firm
i with Sir Walter. OF course have no preiu-
] dice or feeling either way in this contention