The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-12-28
IGNATIUS DONNELLY
.
DISCUSSES HIS NEW BOOK
The Author of "TheGreat Cryptogram' Again
Demonstrates to His Own Satisfaction That
Lord Bacon Wrote the Plays Which Are
Credited to the So=Called BARD of Avon.'

I which was claimed to be part of the War
wickshire dialect; but it was afterward
shown that this word was common to tn
speech of a good many other counties il
England.
Della Bacon. satisfied that Shakespear
did not write the plays, began to lool
around for the real author, and she be
lieved she had found him in the famous
Francis Bacon, afterward lord chancellor
of England. and founder Of that expert
mental philosophy to which so much of tn,
progress Of this modern era is due
She put forth the first of series of arti
cles in 1885, in Putnam's Magazine, Boston
but the proposition was viewed as so un
reasonable. SO outrageous and even sacri
ligious that the magazine refused to publish
the articles that were to follow it, Della
Bacon afterwards went to England, anG
still further investigated the subject, and
there she published her great book. The
philosophy of the Shakespeare Plays IN
Yelled 1t is work Of great ability and
insight. written in the midst of poverty
much of it prepared in bed sitting up with
the bed clothes wrapped around her for
lack of money with which to buy fuel Her
own family abandoned and denounced her
for her heretical views, and withdrew all
financial aid from her. Suffering, hard
ships and the poverty which she endured
finally broke down her mental and physical
health, and she returned to New England
to die.
DISCUSSION GROWS WITH YEARS
Thus the discussion started. and it has
gone on with rapidly increasing volume
ever since, especially in England. This
country is too much occupied with making
money to give much attention to such a
controversy, but ] think it is safe to say
tnat IN England nearly half the literary
classes either believe that Francis Bacon
wrote the plays, or have grave doubts
whether Shakespeare ever wrote them l
noticed. about year ago. a letter. in one
or the Chicago papers. from an American
lady IN London who described literary
banquet that she attended there, and ex-
pressed her establishment to find that
every one at the table, except herself,
believed not only in Bacon's authorship of
the plays. but even in the existence of the
cipher in them
! took part in a debate at Cambridge
University in England. in 1888, and at its
close vote was taken upon the question.
DID Francis Bacon Write the Shakespeare
Plays?' There were 500 present, and a
great many refused to vote and of those
who did 101 voted that Bacon wrote the
plays while 12O voted that Shakespeare
wrote them.
But why should so much interest be
taken in the authorship Of the playso
Would we not have the plays anyhow. no
matter who wrote them" Mr. Donnelly
was asked
lhey constitute the greatest volume of
writings ever yet produced by any member
Il the human family" was the reply of
ne sage They are. immortal! thous-
ana years from now IL civilization en-
lures the interest In them will be even
greater than it is today The scholars of
europe are rumaging among the dust heaps
II ancient Egyptian cities for scraps of
"riting that Will throw some light upon the
past II tomorrow a piece Of parchment.
,ohtaining some new facts as to the life of
Homer. for instance was discovered It
would be hailed as of inexpressible value
Whole libraries have been written upon
ne Shakespeare question. and the interest
n 1t is increasing with every addition
o human knowledge We are greatly con-
'erned today about the Philippine war and
he war in South Africa. One hundred
ears from now there will not be as much
interest taken in these struggles as there is
oday in the Seminole war or the Mexican
var; but the great productions of genius
which go by the name CT Shakespeare, will
'e more studied then than they are now
STORY OF HIS CONVERSION.
Mr.. Donnelly, how did you come to be
Interested in this discussion?"
Il had read Della Bacons articles and
had read the little book Of William Hen
y Smith, of England on the same tonic.
which made convert of Lord Palmerston |
o the Baconian theory. l had read Judge |
Holmes book and a number of other |
works. on the same question, pro and con.
became satisfied that Bacon was the |
uthor Of the plays. Thirty years ago |
lectured on the subject through the North
vest. There was one point which | could
ot, however. explain. l said to myself |
10 man could have written those plavs !,
without knowing their value: and in the !
comets. the author declares that thew will /
ndure even to the end of time: that they !
'lll live where breath most breathes, even
n the mouths of men, to the judgment day.
SAID to myself that the man who wrote !
nose plays. if it was not Shakespeare, and .
Iho knew their value, would take some |
teps at some future time to reclaim them !
lie would do as Talleyrand did and leave a !
eposit of documents. to be opened so /
r 100 years after his death. While was
mixing these thoughts | one day came
cross the fact that Francis Bacon was !
n inventor of ciphers-that he had made
ne OF the most curious and complicated /
iphers ever framed; and the thought came /
0 me, could he have placed a cipher in
ne plays. which would at some future dav
ssert his authorship?
i said to myself. if the cipher is
word cipher we would find the words
Francis Bacon" in the text of the plays. ;
nd as he wrote the plays in his youth,
efore he had held any high Office in the
tate, and as his father Sir Nicholas Bacon.
ad been the keeper of the great seal of |
England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
e would naturally seek to identify him |
elf by saying Francis Bacon, son of |
ir Nicholas Bacon
CURIOUS FACTS REVEALED.
1T seemed to me also probable that he |
'ould not merely assert his own author
nip, but would deny the authorship Of
and that we would therefore
nd in the plays the words: Shake and
Speare or sounds analogous to the same. !
dilfgent search of the plays revealed
ne fact that on three pages, SO, "a and IS
the Histories, in the Great Folio of
623 (the first book in which all of the
hakespeare plays were published) there
ere scattered through the text the words:
francis Bacon, Sir Nicholas Bacon's SON.
challenged the verdi in my book The
reat Cryptogram.' and in lectures in Eng
Ind and this country, to produce another
lstance where, in any book of that or any