Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-06-10
THE 'sGREAT CRYpToGRAM."

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THE "GREAT CRYPTOGRAM."
Ignatius DonneIiy,s Forerumners,
with other Notes on His work.
EDITORS HEaALD-The first person to
claim that Francis Bacon was the author
Of Shakspeare's plays was a woman Of
unsound mind, who ended her days in a
lunatic asylum. Since then several other
persons Of distorted intellect, who knew
little of Bacon and less of Shakespeare,
have made the same claim. Ignatius
Donnelly is the ninth in order OF these
misguided and misguiding people, and it
is strange illustration of the "cipher"
theory to find that from the letters of his
name we spell out "Idiot No. nine." Mr..
Donnelly's cryptogram is one mass Of
mis-statements, errors, and vile and un-
founded ISLANDERS. The words applied by
Lord Macaulay to former apol ogist Of
Bacon-Basil Montague-apply with still
more force to Ignatius Donnelly. Ma
caulay said: 'The character OF his idol
is matter Of faith and the province of
faith is not to be invaded by reason. He
maintains his superstition with a cred
ulity as boundless, and zeal as unscru-
pulous as can be found in the most ar
dent partisans OF religious or political fac
tions. The most decisive proofs are
rejected; the plainest rules Of morality
are explained away; extensive and inn
portant portions OF history are completely
distorted. The enthusiast misrepresents
facts with the effrontery of an advocate,
and confounds right and wrong with all
the dexterity OF Jesuit and all this in
order that man who has been in his
grave during many years may have
fairer character than he deserves"
A plaintiff in well-known suit told
his lawyer that he had no case, and only
wished him to "abuse the defendant"
Donnelly is in the same predicament.
He has been unable to make out even
the shadow Of case; but he has been
guilty of what he himself styles ''whole-
sale lying" about Shakespeare. and vile,
unfounded slander. He calls the Bard
of Avon "poacher, fugitive, vagabond,
land-grabber, greedy cormorant, cold
blooded man, liar and forger," one who
tried to ''rob the poor of their right"
Of Bacon he says he was "gentle,
thoughtful, learned, humane, benevo-
lent, with a mind loftier than YVES ever
before conferred on child of earth. He
had no faculty to grasp money, especially
from the poor and oppressed" Now let
us compare the character of these men
by the light of history. For the sake Of
the comparison let US admit everything
charged by tradition against Shakespeare,
even when it is founded on tradition
only. Let US admit that when lad OF
IA he shared rabbits in the grounds of
Sir Thomas Lucy, and was whipped for
it; although there are no grounds for
this statement beyond a note made by
man who was not born until Shakespeare
had been forty years in his grave. And
then let us turn to the pages of history
not necessary to say anything of his life
years of age, and was servile suppliant
at the court of Queen Elizabeth. He
was the vainest man of his age, and was
80 fond of show that he spent all the
money he could lay his hands on in
adorning his person. We find him
"lying in spunging house in Coleman
street, at the suit of goldsmith. At this
time when he was stepped to the lips in
poverty the powerful Earl of Essex gave
him an estate valued at $4,000 year.
Shortly after this the fortunes OF Essex
began to decline. He lost favor at Court,
was brought before the Council to an
swer for his administration in Ireland,
and was afterwards put upon trial for his
life. Macaulay in speaking OF the ingrat-
itude and perfidy of Bacon towards Es-
sex at this juncture says: "The person
on whom, during the decline of his in
influence he Essex chiefly depended,
to whom he confded his perplexities,
whose advice he solicited, whose inter-
cession he employed, was his friend
Bacon. The lamentable truth must be
told. This friend, so loved, 30 trusted,
bore principal part in running the
Earl's fortunes, in shedding his blood,
and in blackening his memory.
To a high-minded man, wealth, power,
court favor would have appeared of no
account, when opposed to friendship,
gratitude and honor. Such man would
have stood by the side of Essex at his
trial, would have been daily visitor at
his cell, and would have received the
last injunctions and the last embrace on
the scaffold. Bacon did not
even preserve neutrality. He appeared
as counsel for the prosecution. He en-
ployed all his wit and his learning not to
insure conviction-for the circum-
stances were such that conviction was
inevitable-but to deprive the unhappy
prisoner OF all those excuses which
tended to diminish the moral guilt of the
crime, and which, therefore, might in
fuence the Queen to grant pardon.
Essex was convicted. Bacon made no
effort to save him, though the Queens
feeling was such that he might
have pleaded his benefactor's cause
probably with success. The unhappy
nobleman was executed. His fate ex-
cited strong, perhaps unreasonable feel
ings Of compassion and indignation. The
Queen was received by the citizens of
London with gloomy looks and faint ac-
clamations. She thought it expedient to
publish vindication of her late pro-
ceedings. The faithless friend who had
assisted in taking the Earl's life was now
employed to murder the Earl's fame.
Bacon was accordingly selected to write
"a Declaration Of the Practices and
Treasons Attempted and Committed by
Robert, Earl Of Essex" He ex-
erted his professional talents 70 shed the
Earl's blood, and hts literary talents to
blacken the Earps memory. His
faults were--we write it with pain-cold-
ness Of heart and meanness Of spirit"
After the death OF Elizabeth, Bacon
became base sycophant at the feet Of
Villiers, the dissolute favorite Of King
James, and through his intervention rap
idly rose in power, becoming Solicitor
General, Attorney General and, then
Lord Chancellor. While holding the Of
fee Of Attorney General, che was.' to
use the language Of Lord Macaulay,
employed in perverting the laws to the
vilest purposes OF tyranny. y About