Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-06-10


the King complaining that Pescban had
q dumb devil. Atlength the trial came
on. A conviction was obtained; but the
charge was SO obviously futile that the
Government could not, for very shame,
carry the sentence into execution; and
Peacham was suffered to languish away
the short remainder OF his life ia a
prison."
This is the "gentle. thoughtful, hu-
name, benevolent man whom lgnatius
Donnelly would have us believe capable
OF writing the immortal plays OF Shaks-
peare. Ignatius says that Bacon had
no faculty to grasp money, especially
from the poor and oppressed"
On this point also we will turn to Lord
Macaulay, who says:
"The years during which Bacon held
the great seal were among the darkest
and most shameful in English history.
Everything at home and abroad was mis-
managed. First came the execution Of
Raleigh y y which, under all the
circumstances, must be considered as a
dastardly murder. He (Bacon)
suffered Buckingham to dictate many Of
| his decisions. He and his de-
| pendants accepted large presents from
persons who were engaged in chancery
suits. The amount Of plumber which he
| collected in this way, it is impossible
| to estimate. y His enemies
stated his Illicit gains at one hun
dred thousand pounds. In
a few weeks was signaly brought
to the test the value of those objects for
which Bacon had sullied his integrity,
had resigned his independence, had vio-
lated the most sacred obligations OF
friendship and gratitude, had hattered
the worthless, had prosecuted the inno-
cent, had tampered with judges, had
| tortured prisoners and had plundered
suitors. A sudden and terrible reverse
was at hand. A Parliament had been
summoned"
The number of specific charges Of cor
| ruption brought against Bacon before
this Parliament was twenty-three, and
the amount OF the plunder was, as we
have seen, estimated at no less than half
million of dollars. To these charges
Bacon pleaded guilty in these words: !:
Upon advised consideration Of the
charges, descending into my own con-
science and calling my memory to ac-
count as far as am able, | do plainly
and ingenuously confess that am guilty
of corruption, and do renounce all de-
fense." The Lords condemned him to
pay fine of forty thousand pounds and
to be imprisoned in the Tower during
the Kings pleasure.
OF all the base fatterers and servile
sycophants Of the vile court Of King
James, Bacon was the basest and most
servile. On one occasion, when he had
given offense to Buckingham, he went to
the house of the favorite to ask pardon
orA a hsok1rsax,
laSes:
"That on two successive days he was
suffered to remain ia an ante-chamber
among foot boys, seated on an old wood
en- box with the Great Seal of England
at his side, and that when at length he
was admitted he flung himself on the
floor, kissed the favorite's feet and
vowed never to rise again until he was
forgiven"
So much for the character of Donnelly's
idol. II space permitted, many more
instances could be cited Of Bacon's ser
Witty, perfidy and baseness.
Donnelly thinks he has made strong
point in Bacon's favor when he asks,
"where are the original copies of the
plays?" and shows that no such copies
were found among shakspeare's papers
after his death. But be, In his eagerness,
has overlooked the fact that the argu-
ments he brings forward against Shak-
speare in this respect tell with greater
force against Bacon. Donnelly says,
''See how the papers Of Bacon have come
down to US; the MSS. Of his books, great
piles of letters. M Even his com
monplace books have found their way
into the British Museum and the very
scraps of paper upon which his amanu-
ensis tried his pen."f Well, then, If
Bacon wrote the plays OF Shakespeare
why were not the manuscripts found
among Bacon's papers2 If Bacon had
any reason to deny the authorship of
these plays during the early years of his
life, he had no such reason in the even
ing of his life, when he was in disgrace !;
and as he left no children he could have
had no objection to making mention OF
these papers in his wills,s
Donnelly shows that Shakespeare made
large fortune out OF these plays. Now,
during the time that, Shakespeare was
making his fortune Bacon was poor
man. We have seen him '1ying in a
spunging house in CoierAn street" for
debt. Had he been the aNthor of these
plays would he not have compelled Shak-
speare to divide these profits with him
and released him from the custody OF the
sheriff?
Shakespeare lived in London, with an
occasional visit to Stratford, from 1856
until 1912, during which time he was the
intimate friend of such men as Ben JON
son, Lord Southampton, Earl OF Pember-
ton, Earl Montgomery, Milton, Davenant,
Hobbies, Ray, and all the great intellects
Of that age. To some of these he die
tated poems; by others he is mentioned
in their poems. Is possible that man
of the integrity and honesty of Ben
Jonson, who knew both Bacon and
Shakespeare well, and who assisted Bacon
in many Of his literary works, would
have been party to 30 great fraud as
man Of poor intellect, as Donnelly de-
picts Shakespeare, posing as the author of
such immortal works as the plays, when
he knew that they were the work of his
friend, Lord Bacon? Would Jonson have
written this about fraud: II loved the
man, and do honor his memory, on this
side idolatry, as much as any. He was
indeed honest, and of an open and free
nature" 'My gentle Shakespeare" and
"Sweet WILL" he calls him. "He was
not for an age, but for all time" Jonson
says that both Elizabeth and James were
delighted with Shakspeare'splays. James
wrote Shakespeare letter Of congratula-
ton after having seen one of his plays.
Bacon spent all his life in trying to curry
favor with these monarchs, and if he had
been the author of any plays that
pleased them he would have been the
last man to let another get honors that
he knew were due him. If Shakespeare
had been the illiterate boor Donnelly
tries to make him out to have been,
could he have lived for quarter of
century the intimate friend of the
brightest intellects of his age? 1t is
simply absurd to suppose go. He was
their acknowledged leader. However
they might differ on other matters, there