New-York tribune., 1902-01-28

man when he wrote about "Shake-Scene, anu
he was dying in disappointment. destitution'
bitterness, and wrath. He knew well the man
to whom he referred. Hatred is more explicit
than love. Greene was not thinking of Francis
Bacon when he thus named. to Marlowe, Peee.
and Lodge, the troublesome newcomer In the
theatre, the 'upstart crow, beautihed with our
feathers Shakespeare was the man ne meant
the man he hated: the man who had already
become his successful rival. And it was,-as
every circumstance and consideration OF the
matter goes to prove-of this same Shakes
peare that Henry Chettle wrote, in Kind -Harts
Dreame,' published in December of the same
year, 1892 That he was excellent in the
quality (he art of acting) that he processes,
and civil in demeanor. besides being esteemed
for his uprightness of dealing his honesty,
and mis- facetious Gelicitous) grace in writing.
Yet now you are asked to believe,-upon no evil
dence whatever. and against this positive con-
temporary testimony, and only because a few
DonnelIys, Gallups and MallOcks surmise or de-
clare that Shakespeare could not have written
what unquestiohably he did write,-that this
man of honesty, upright dealing. civil demeanor.
excellent artistic talent. and expert faculty as
a writer was. at that very moment. and for
many years thereafter continued to be- the
fraudulent paid jackal and literary stalking
horse for Il London lawyer and politician who,
ness of his life. tossed off the greatest poetcal
works ever written by mortal hand. and was
ashamed of them that he had to hire some
body else to bear the disgrace of their author
ship. 1t is at once the most absurd we'll
the most irnpudent piece of detraction that has
ever disgraced the annals of literary history.
VII.
The truth of Shakespeare is the truth of
nature. The works of Shakespeare are the
works of an imperfectly educated whose
learning largely intutIve and who wrote
with inspiration. Be-, Jonson, indeed, who knew
him well, and loved hin. ION this side idolatry,
recorded in "Timb has testified that he
revised and polished r;s poetr.-, though he did
not blot enough of it. ont this testimony neither
inValldates his natLldI genius nor disparages
his acquired art. Inc ed. Ben JOnSOn is wit
ness whose every Wort on this subject is posi-
tive and conclusive Nidence that the works of
Shakespeare were WI Uen by Shakespeare, and
by nobody else. When Ben Jonson said of
Shakespeare that he Rad small Latin and less
Greek" surely he wag not talking about Bacon.
who had a cOpiOus aDundance of both. Bacon
enthusiasts indeed, have rigged up a theory
that Ben JonsOn was liar; that in all he said
about Shakespeare h" really aludng TO
Bacon but no one of them has produced
one particle OF evidence to suhstantiate such
scahuaIouS chlrge or ever fur- ished one living
reason why Jonson should have descended to
such baseness. OF that old poet nothing is
more certain than that he sturdily honest,
that no temptation sWerved him from his
duty and that no inducement in the world could
nave made him n participant In fraud. He
was censorious, as may be seen in Drummond's
Conversation. and he was egotistical. may be
seen in the Letters of James Howell but the
testimony equally of his writings or of his life
is conclusive for his absolute integrity. He GER
titled :he authenticity of the Droeshout portrait
OF Shakespeare, and that is not portrait OF
Bacon. Furthermore, Fuller. In his Worthless
confronts and contrasts Shakespeare with Ben
higher in learning; which undoubtedly
true, but which would have been far from true
had Francis Bacon been the Shakespeare of
those convivial encounters Finally Jonson
wrote (and his should be the final word this
subject
Soul of the Age,
The applause delight, the wonder OF our stage!
My Shakespeare rise!
Thou art a Monument. without a tomb,
And art alive stil. while Thy Book doth live
And have wits TO read. and praise to
give.
He was not of age, but for all time,
And all the Muses. still were in their prime
When like Apollo he came forth
Nature herself proud OF her designs
And joy'd to the dressing of his lines
Yet must 1 not give Nature all: thy Art.
My gentle Shakespeare. must enjoy apart:
Fer though the poets matter nature be,
His Art doth give the fashion.
For n good poets made. we'll as born.
And such vert thou
Sweet Swan OF Avon' what a sight Il were
To see thee in our waters yet appear
And make those flights upon the banks OF
Thames,
That so did take Eliza and our James!
But stay, l thee in the hemisphere
Advanced and made a constellation there
Shine forth. thou star of poets. and with rage
or influence. chide or cheer the dropping Stage:
Which, since thy flight from hence, hath
mourned like night
And despaires day, but for thy Volumes light"