Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-05-16

| wreath on the brow Of their chosen idol.
Such II seems would characterize the
effort made by Judge Holmes to take the
chaplet SO long worn by Shakespeare
and place an added wreath upon Bacon's
well.crowned head.
| II is true that there Is much testimony
adduced, but IL seems TO be of an ex-
parte nature, and can hardly be said to
| be strictly In the line of justice. Adj
hitting the probable bias Of the critic,
IL may be possible to diyest
| himself of as much as shall
enable him to Judge fairly OF the claims
set forth in the work before as. The
author Is certainly not free from the
suspicion of trying to establish an
assumed position, In various instances
presumipg when no facts are adduced in
support Of his theory. From the ex
tracts given there are certainly remaTka-
BILE parallels, but In none has IL been
proved that Bacon was poets for he
emphatically declares that he is not one,
aud only fora purpose essays sonnet;
to win for friend favor from the queen.
Ben Jonson, a contemporary play
writer with Shakespeare, speaks of him as
"Thou Star of Poets,n and specially COM
menis upon his mind and manners
shining bright, and his well-turned, we'll
illled lines, weapons directed at the very
eye Of ignorance. Admitting Shakespeare
TO be man OF business, . graduate az
fourteen from grammar school, Is 1t not
assuming too much, that In the nine
years previous to the appearance of his
first play, he should have laid up no stores
Of knowledge for his chosen voca-
tlon? That he should have
gained some knowledge Of law
and medicine is not surprising, for in
the Elizabethan period, variety of learn
ing was the fashion, and knowledge Of
different languages essential 10 courter
and literatus. Critics lived then as well
as now, and he who wrote for the public
would certainly avail himself Of all aids
In each special field to secure accuracy of
expression, that he might ward off their
barbed shafts. 1t Is hardly credible that
Bacon absorbed In state-craft and philo-
sophical pursuits would find more time
to court the muse than one who was their
lifelong votary. Less probability is
there that he who sued and sued for
princes favor, ever ready TO crook "the
supple hinges Of the knee, that thrift
might follow iawning" should even
covertly attack the court from whence
came his hope Of advancement. This ar
gument in his case might go for nothing
as his known works and character are ir- |
reconcilable, his conduct being stigma |
tized by Macaulay as star behind the |
ages" and Pope defines him by this para
doXical expression, "The wisest, bright. |
est, meanest Of mankind" 1t is, how |
ever, not the intention of the writer to |
tear down one, that another may be set |
M, but rather to protest against vacant |
niche In the temple so long occupied by |
him who has there an inallenable right. |
High up in that temple on lofty pedestal |
stands Bacon, the great philosopher, his |
laurels unfading and the hight he kindled |
illuming "the long sounding corridors
of the ages.
This book will amply repay the perusal, |
as 1t abounds in much contemporaneous |
history, the argument being certainly in
genlous and from the advocates stand |
point conclusive.
The Prairie Queen. a Monthly Published by |
the Fort Worth Publishing COMPANY Forl |
Worth, Tex. Price, 81 per year.
Owing to the difficulties of transporta. |
ton attending the strike, the publishers
OF this magazine were obliged to issue the |
April and May editions together; but
though delayed, it is welcome visitor. |
Intended for the home circle, and edited |
ny home talent,it deserves the encourage
ment OF home lovers in fostering the en-
terprise. II appeals especially to ladies'
as it has many suggestions for their
province, and, more than that, it is the
editorial work of three ladies'. Bya little
persistent effort on the part of the fair
readers, this little bark, launched on the
sea Of journalism, may ride prosperously, |
and, for ourselves, we wish it "bon voy-
age"