St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-29
The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS De-
bate Reaches a Brilliant
Termination.
Prof. Freeman Draws Queer
Results From DOnnelly'S
Cryptogram.
The Sage Shows Freeman's
Peculiar DraWl in Read
ing Verses.
That Donnelly Bested the
Badgerite Is the General
Conclusion.

Despite the most able and learned ar
gumentS Of the giants of intellect, the
question of the authorship of the Shake
speare plays still remains in doubt.
Last evening, at the Peoples church,
vast audience was present to listen to
the closing Of the Bacon-Donnelly
Shakespeare-Free debate, the point
upon which the two gentlemen argued
being"Were the Plays Written by Will
lam Shakespeare" President Northrop,
of the state university, presided, and.
in most felicitouS speech, introduced
the debaters, saying that the audience
would, before the close of the contest.
learn definitely who wrote the Shake
spPare plays. The order of debate was
the reverse Of the previous evening,
Prof. Freeman speaking for fOrty-five
minutes, being followed by Mir. Don
nelly for a similar period, and each
speaker then having fifteen minutes 10
reply.
Prof. Freeman received an ovation on
rising. and said before he brought for
ward evidence to prove his case he
would say something on the Great
Cryptogram." Lord Bacon would
plays had he written them, for he
thought that the English language would
at some time die. and he translated his
fifteen volumes into Latin, SO that they
would never perish. Yet the writer of
the plays frequently mentions that they
will live forever. Bacon would never
have put cipher into the plays for the
purpose OF showing that he was their
author, while he believed that the Ian
guage in which the plays were written
would at some future time perish. Prof.
Freeman then made mt st
Vigorous Onslaught
upon Mr.. Donnelly's cryptogram, and
exhibited a series of charts showing
that by using the same figures and mod
ifierS used by Mr. Donnelly he could
attain 100000 ways of using the cipher.
The chances of the Louisiana lottery
were nothing compared to it. He
charged that his opponent had made his
cipher to suit his own ends, and caused
great laughter 10y stating that, applying
the cipker Of Mr.. Domneliy to the plays,
he could produce any number OF sell
fences. such as MIR. Blaine, the man
frCm Maine, will be elected president in
1892" Henry NJ. Stanley will return
from Africa III $780," 'Rah, Rah, Rah,
that Bacon had inserted these phrases
in the plays?
Mr.. GOnnelly had by applying the
cipher TO the plays produced sentences
which! on their face were out of reason;
for instance he makes one sentence,
u lie Earl is young Harry Monmouth.
Prince of Wales, the Duke of Mon
mouth SON" Yet history proved that
the Duke Of Monmouth was a son of
Charles II. and the title was created
centuries after the time in which Bacon
lived. so that Bacon could not have i'll
serted that phrase in his cipher. Also
the Prince OF u ales was the eldest son
Of The sovereign; how could the son of
the Duke of Monmouth be the Prince of
Wales?
He could fancy figure walking at
midnight in hotel in ST. Paul with a
copy of the cryptogram in its hands,
ana, like Lady Macbeth, point to the
line and say, "Out, damned spot" but
it woQld not out, for Mr.. Donnelly had
gone on record. The Mckinley tariff is
go high that we cannot admit imported
clphers, but have to use homemade
Ones. Could any one possibly believe
the theory of the cryptogram that Bacon
had first drawn up his cipher, putting
al land" here on one page and rs"
there on another, and "ot" elsewhere,
and so on, and then proceeded
to build round them the beauti-
ful sentiments and passages of the
plays, which Mir. DOnnelly termed "eX-
lernal padding" Fancy calling Romeo
and juliet" The Merchant of Venice
and all the grand works external pad
ding" Appleton Morgan, who was a
profound advocate of the Baconian
party, when he read the look Of Mr..
DOnneliy. said: The BacOnian theory
is dead; the cryptogram killed it; it is
not homicide, it is suicide"
At tits point the professor left the
subject OF the cryptogram and pro-
ceeded to show that the contemporaries
Of Shakespeare had
Recognized His Merits
and had spoken the highest words of
praise of him. Frances Mears, of Cam
bridge university, had eulogized him,
so had William Bass, six years after
Shakespeare's death, and greatest of all
was Ben JOnson's preface to the Shake
Speare foliOs, in which he said: Thou
art a monument without a tomb, and
art alive, while yet thy book doth live
That poem alone of Ben Jonsons
should take the Baconian nonsense out
Of any mans head.
In all Bacon'S works there was not a
souch of dramatic skill, yet the plays OF
Shakespeare were monuments of dra-
matte construction. Could any one find
IN the works of Bacon a single touch of
humOr, yet laughter poured in floods
from Shakespeare, even at the open
grave of Ophelia. The plays themselves
proved they were written by passion
ate man, for who bnt passionate man
could have written the love scenes OF
Romeo and Juliet" Venus and
Adonis," and created the sensuous
"Cleopatra," yet Bacon was cold man
Of intellect who cared nothing fol
women beyond proposing marriage tC
every rich widow who came to London
He regretted that his opponent did moi
live i'll BacOn's time, for his subtle ar
gument might have won for Bacon the
only good thing he could find in woman
her money. Why, in his fifteen vol
nmBS Bacon does not speak single
word III praise of woman.
President NOrthrop here intimateC
that the limit Of time had been reached
and Prof. Freeman retired to his sea
admidst loud applause. The Sage O
Nininger was
Accorded an ovation
when he advanced to the reading desl
and said: Ladies and gentlemen. l al
surprised at the course of the debate O
my friend. / came here tonight pre-