Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-04-13
For the SPECTATOR.
SHAKEPERE VERSUS BACON.
Editor Of the Spectator:

| of ho S1no
AS"''o, " "'e 'ee''"so''
AS the baconlan craze is the ofoe
OF the DAY, allow me TO make some op
serVatlonS on tne suoJecI. L speil tn
great autnors name as ne hlmsell al
Ways wrote IL, ana as !he IeSisuiy
StralIoro, Whlcn contains lis1 Oh tn
| Dlrths ana oeatnS OF the !amny sno"
| ~ was speiled. Inc PROOF Is conciusiv
GnaI bacon not only 1lu not VIII
hlcnaru Ine 2nd' put tiat ne heVe
read IL: IN the ,declarations OF hoper !,
Da ,alt VI EsseA anu nls Ooinpiiees, Wiz
| de,. to inS+;fy 40 rorrdor of tho faIIo,
- " oiio .iui . M. VI W
lover OF the llcenJlOuS Elizabeth, tnert
| is this statement: The afternoon be
| fore tho rabalIion Marrick with n oroa
number of Others who were afterwards
in the action, had played before then
the play OF deposing King Richard the
end" And further he says, Essex ant
Merrick had this play exhibited forty
times in England in order to accuston
the people to the dethronement OF {
monarch charging most absurdly anC
unJustlfiably that Essex was conspir
ing to dethrone Queen Elizabeth. Now
observe this was in 1901. This portion
OF Richard the Second was not written
until 16OS The editions OF 1897 ano
1913 do not contain the deposition
scene. 80 that Bacon's own evidence
proves conclus1vely that when he wrote
this pamphlet he had not even reao
| the play. While L am on this subject
let me show the character OF Bacon ano
make few observations in refutatiOI
of the idea existing in the minds ol
some persons that he wrote the Shaks
pearian plays. The following versified
passage OF the l04th Psalm by Bacon
would indicate that Bacon possessed nc
poetic genius:
1.-THE fishes their far voyages do make.
To divers shores their journey they do take
Tnere naast S4Ga t SET @ sne n greae t eVlathan 1
pan."
Auo;n ,,o fn5 +bo+ pooo, ,
ASoLi' We nnu 'n"o D"ooii was GA
tremely ignorant of ancient history
Byron. after exposing his Ignorance on
this subject, says, 'That for such mis-
takes a school-boy, tho in his fourth
form, would be whipped" His treatise
on the Wisdom OF the Anclents" is
pronounced by learned and profound
writer as whimsical and puer!le. How,
then, could he have written the Roman
plays-"Coriolanus," Julius Caesar, y
Antony and Cleapotra, and the
Greek play HIrollus and Cresslda. .
We find that all of Shaksperes plays
contain moral, Patriotism, heroism,
honesty and virtue meet their merlted
reward, while treachery and vice are
justly punished. Had Bacon written
them this. order OF things would have
been reversed. At his death, Bacon
bequeathed all OF his manuscript pa
pers to the bishop OF Lincoln and in
them were no evidences OF the divine
genius. Again, none OF the contempo-
raneous writer's speak, ofsBacon the
poet; many refer to Shakspere. JON
son in his lines TO the memory of my
beloved, the author, Mr.. William Shak-
spere, and what he has lefteus," wrote
..sweet Swan of Avon what a sight IT were
TO see thee in our waters yet appear
And m make those lights upon the banks OF
That So e did take our Eliza and orr Jamesr
..nl Tollli DaVies 7: suDscrdoeu certaIu 1ines
ul 10 our Emei1sH lerrence' te1i nj. w hilall
onahspere nInls ~ io!l' Pac9n Mas
~ 1idep.eu ~ Hsse1 ros lIs iitioouctioll
W Iinaaoe.n, W. any ~ ehen t seoie @ ,4iS prIsa.e
papers 70 proxe w. iiis - guiie' oIt ne ninl-
T1L sE1l sun ios. 'Ie iaEol ~ ele S9eGn ~
tL nen 'pnies 6n .no LIZ nS o oI;e;to a1?ueu .o .le
1 ILiohe Haoon t was LI lau4 o9aiSi.ol 3ata sGI
Sdod era 10y aie a., iiUeI 49, ao1eo' !a na..er ne
M aouresseu t,S .ne nine as oe.ns incoin
parably superior IN Judgment, learning
eloq u1io' G aiiu eseIy piinoeiy at.rioute