The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-08-15
DOES THIS END TaE CONTROVERSY 7

found in his castle. THESE Ie''''1
the possession OF the British Mo'eo''''
which has furnished Mr.. Franklin Head,
of Chicago with certified copies ol
them. which Houghton, Miflin d 90 u
Boston. have published In Voiuine'
Amongst them IS the following letter 10
Sbakosneare from Sir Francis Bacon
which II IS claimed. settles finally ana
forever the question OF VINO wrote
Shakespeare The letter is as follows:
crav's Inn. London, March %. 1909.
For my beloved William Shakespeare
These: -.
! received thy courteous epSue OF TINS
morning and thy admirable sonnet TO
the fair Lady Mary in return for mine
own. which | had sent TO thee for sug-
gestion and amendment. Understand
ingiy de l say thy sonnet: and on tny
part II is a pleasantly 10 call IL nine
FOR scarcely can l recognize aught o.
mine own handiwork save the name
of the sweet lady TO whom the sonnet
Is addressed. F'ain would claim
share In the creation OF this ex ulslt<
work; yet at most, from suggestion OF
the theme alone. my portion can De Dut
assert that but for itself the radiant
butterfly. which rivals the splendors oil
the rainbow and the sunset hau Ho'
At first marvelled that In thy paean
OF praise 10 this gracious iady thou
hadst suppressed all my trlpute 10 nel
beauty. which is as Of lhe golden daNh'
vet even here ! now recognize WY su-
irene merit. for daily and hourly are
sung to her the praises # this love
illness until the story Is as a ta'e VA
is told and O. WEAKNESS 10 the un1er-
standing; but thy commendau9hs "l nr,
wisdom will be as fresh an ~ ~ ~ az ~
incense. nor VIII thelr tu'''
too closely scanned. -,.o- ou
Tbon knowest that have taken al
knowledge 10 be my province; anu W. .nlt,oI
fore have oft ana lonslLey
into the nowery fields OF that dNin44
art. where to-day IN our n .llui'salf en-
ENGLAND thou art disp0rting thYseh ~
nremely and alone. But when 'ollS,,u'
INV traee1ies, throughout which is dI!iu,3-
cd the inmOst soul or DoeSE, j.! -
vet lab0red metres seem 10 me ~ ~
body of maiden. not indre1 oV ~, rV'' INFO
a certain comelIness and grace, ytt IHto
whose waiting bosom hatn not !e' "'0"
breathed the spirit OF NE ,ho NO
In thy TRACE dies thou hast me ma
leslie grace which in the Atte ases
belonged TO Sophocles alone; u.ou HdsS
the stately march ailu ,nn,rSeS his
ceaseiess iteration Of pred 81 heu VIZ
S,.bicb ranks his heroes outside human
INV: vet the sombre hand OF fate hdih
not more inhexiby driven me Ba,e
Iphigenia TO her doom uian ~ l., ~,
fplinwed Macbeth 10 his foresha2oWed
c rpi, and end But in thy cant cles ~
10 not an o'ershadowiug, MYSTERIOUS anu
traeSc tate. but a gracious ana lyVlhS
p - which. as thyself hath phraS-
go ea1d ~, in His hands the shears Of
9e h1s Commitment on the pulse OF
In iic comedy. Aristophanes is, not ny
master. vet must ! greatly chooSe ~, ny
tragedies as monuments OF my dpIuIi-
fame Funeral dolors rather than brlI1'
caroIs inspire even the harp OF IaNlu.
beloved of the Lord; and the pehcH oi
,ha Holv Ghost toucheth ever the s"auoW
"a nhases OF our earthly lives. ,,,o.
am minded now TO advert 70 anotnSi
tonic from the tale told me by South-
9mnton. that thou vert presently 20 pup-
Iisb a volume OF thy sugared SOilIlctS'
Nav | pray thee that TINS coilecti*n ~
mass not the two sOnnets written Dy W.
FOR me i'm laud OF our Queen EiEaneth
Ia tho one Of this morning? AS thou
knowest. these first were presenter ~
our gracious sovereign as nine own, any,
did so pleasure her as 10 chenE Pfo.PO,
nv advancement Were the true author
nov known II might sadly mar my for-
tunes. In the vastness Of thy riches lHe
absence of these gems SHAH not be notyu.
The loss of a star dims not the splehuoI
of the constellation. The glorious sun
seeks not to reclaim the lustre his rays
have given to the tiny dewdrop.
Withaf I have rendered TO thee solHe-
what OF recompense as | have spoken
at sundry times TO her gracious Majesty
and TO our present an0lnteu sVle1eIsH ~
thy dramas and fostered as best | might
thy interests when they crossed not mine
own. So trust this boon may be awarded
me. and that my borrowed splendors may
not be stripped away The immeasurapIe
superiority, as again evidenced in the SON
net to the Lady Mary, has fixed anew my
resolve as to my predestined field Of labor.
Not for my brow snail be woven the
poets garland Of bays. Yet abundant self
confidence Is mine, and l anger that In
the great work for which l would faln
believe the ages are waiting will be made
clear my award TO be the high priest oil
nature. Exact sciences not yet born shall
be my servitors and the augmenters OIL
my fame BY the methods | have dis
cerned shall mankind discover and apply
those benei1cent innovations which are the
chiefest births OF time. Yet even this
hope hath its flavor Of bitterness as thus
guided my pupils may far overpass me
and my memory be lost. But the love OF
beauty and melody in poesy IS Of peren-
NAL life, and thy memory shall survive
the mutations of time. and shall be the
nations heritage while fancy and imagi-
nation dwell in the souls Of men.
Anew do | now discern that the medita-
ton OF nature and her laws. mysterious
vet exact. consorteth not with the airy
fancies OF the poets vision. and that our
paths are diverse: yet each guiding TO
what Is useful and divine.
Farewell! and unth the dolers Of death
are mine shall l remember thy sweet.
loving kindness and admire thy shining
genius, where wit and wisdom guide the
flight of a sovereign Imagination.
Ever thy friend
FRANCIS BACON
II there Is anything in Shakespeare
more Shakespearlan than this letter. we
have yet to find IT, 1t moves along
like gentle rivulet through a beautiful
and nowery meadow.
That grub-worm asserting paternity
OF the butterfly, that rivals the splendors
of the rainbow and sunset; that glorious
sun that will not reclaim the lustre his
rays have given to the tiny dewdrop,
may march alongside of the most ex-
quisite imagery that Macbeth or Hamlet
can show.
Those who claim that the politician.
the statesman, the Lord Chancellor OF
England, whose career would have been
destroyed TO brand him as a playwright,
wrote these wonderful plays. Will not
abandon that claim on account Of this
letter They will say that if there was
a plot between Bacon and Shakespeare
that the latter was to father the plays.
this is just the sort OF letter that the
former might have been expected to arm
him with
Nor win they fail TO remark upon
the intense appreciation this letter shows
that Bacon had of poetry. II was his
sweetheart. whom he left with sorrow
and despair when driven to pay his
court 10 science.
The controversy will not close with this