Evening journal., 1894-04-12
poNNELLY-owENs.

Encouraged by the notoriety obtained
by Ignatius Donnelly, man by the
name Of Owens, following In his foot.
steps proposes TO decipher the imaginary
cryptogram said to be found in the
dramas of Shakespeare proving the
authorship Of Sir Francis Bacon. We do
not know who Owens is, but he processes
to do more than the crazy Donnelly has
done He proves by a convenient and &C
eommodating cipher that Bacon wrote
not only the most famous dramas Of the
world, but that he wrote the books which
have been ascribed TO Robert Green,
George Peel. Christopher Marlowe, Ed
mund Spenser, and last, aud not least,
that he is the author Of the famous and
unique Anatomy OF Melancholy" or.
dlnarily attributed TO Robert Burton
Owens's vaulting ambition does not stop
there. He proposes, in addition, TO re-
veal the heretofore hidden facts Of Eng
lish history and to publish the sensuous
secrets of Queen Ellzabeth's reign. He
issues prospectus replete with
promises Of literary wealth. The
imagination Of the scholarly speculator
is captivated. The appetite OF the book
gourmand Is whetted the passion Of the
pilgrim Of historical progress is infamed
by the delights which Owens, this
publicist caterer, spreads before the
minds Of the incorporates
II Ovens is not more Of a fool than
Donnelly, how could he spend his time
and expect us to waste our time ia fool
ish researches like thisY What boots Il
who wrote the dramas ascrbed TO the
Bard Of Avon9 It would be no less
phenomenon; they would be no less the
works Of the grandest master Of literary
production, whether Bacon wrote them
or whether Shakespeare wrote them.
Whosoever the mind which conceived
them, that mind was touched by the
Promethesn spark direct from heaven
What odds Is IL whether the name OF the
man Is Shakespeare OF Bacon2 The
things themselves are ours and they
exist for our enlightenment and ele-
vation no matter who wrote them.
For three centuries, it has been settled
that William Shakespeare wrote them.
How can a man who is next to a simple
ton, who is only one remove, in fact, FROM
a crazy idiot, because he Is man of one
idea and that poor idea, teach us any
better than we have known for thes,
three eenturies2
This man Owens has come to teach us
that which Donnelly could not teach us
and to teach besides, things, which II not
more useless. are more extravagant
There is no fact Of history better estab
lished than that Edmund Spenser wrot'
the FAerlc Queen. II he did not, how 4
any statement Of history or literature Il
be accepted as true2 Worse even thar
this, II Robert Burton did not write tn
Anatomy Of Melancholy what good is 1
to write history at anl Why waste on
time with mediocre Donnellys an,
Owenses when Hume, Macaullay, Tillot
sen, Allison and Buckle are to be dis
creditedg,
Now the fact is that these works s
called, these imaginary and not even in
genious intrlcaeles Of Donnelly an,
Owens, are not worth mans time
They are sensational plsgiarisms Of tn
worst order; they represent fgments o
dlsordered brains, which are not ever
original with these modern doubters
If they do not represent the worst fes
! lures Of literary charlatanry.
! This is not the end Of the matter.
3 These fellows propose to do grea
3 many other things with books and his
l.. torcal characters which are equally dis
] reputable. OF course, books are write
g to isell-to make money. A pharmacis
3 sells drugs for money, also he sell
drugs, however, to promote healtl
When the drugs which he mixes pr,
< duce death instead, be is arrested, trie
and, II found guilty, punished II
9 same punishment should follow the lite
e sry and historical charlatan which 70
{ lows the drug charlatan. A man wi
. prepares poisonous drugs from Il
u materia medica is no worse than the ma
u who prepares worse poisons from Il
= pharmacopels Of letters.