The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-07
WHAT THE BACONIANS SAY-By Dr. W. Evas

ITO believe that the man William Shak-
spere. was the author OF these plays.
seems to me little short of monstrous.
Francis Bacon was the man. There are
good and sufficient reasons why, II he
wrote the plays. he should have wished to
keep his authorship a profound secret
There is great cloud OF other wit
nesses, but their testimony Is to the same
efrect-that 1t was impossible for the
Actor SHAKESPEARE to have given the
world the works Of Shakespeare, but that
Lord Bacon was the writer.
Shakspere's will may throw a little
light upon this vexed question. He enum-
crates his entire property and makes be-
quests accordingly. He disposes of his
wearing apparel all my plaser' my
my wife my second best bed with the
furniture," to his daughter Judith my
broad silver gilt boie." These things. to-
gether with some money, land and lots
constituted about ell his holdings. But
you will observe that he has not be-
queathed q single book to anyone. Not a
book nor manuscript, Did he not have
one that was of equal value with his
second best bed?" Where was the man
uscript Of Hamlet or Of King Lear or
Of Othello? His second best bed" was
Of sufficient value to be nominated in
his viii; and yet the first writing of
Macbeth or Of The Tempest, this latter
written just four years before he died,
are too Insignificant to name Shakspers
had no library, apparently. He gives
away in his will not one book, at time
when books were worth their weight In
gold. II he had had them would not
he have mentioned themf The man who
wrote the plays, say the Baconians, must
have boon familiar with them for the
plnss disclose a marvellous breadth of
learning. The writer at different times
is a lawyer, a physician, q historian, q
classieist, q poet and always an all round
man Of letters. Lord Bacon was all this.
In the year 1904 that 10 to say. when
Bacon was about 81. he wrote to his
uncle, Lord Burleigh, and In the letter,
which was a long one, he said: Lastly.
I confess that / have as vast contempla-
tive ends as Of moderate civil ends for
have taken all knowledge to be my
province And II your lordship cannot
carry me on I will sell the inheritance
and become some sorry bookmalser or
O true pioneer In that mfne Of truth"
The man who wrote the works of Shakes
peare had, indeed taken all knowledge
to be his province" But whom does this
language describe7 William Shakespeare
the actor or Francis Bacon7 Truth to
tell, there is not a fact in Shaksperes
iilC VI Willth We hAtW ehdt WodiQ suS
gest that he wrote the works of Shakes
peare. Not one. But all that We know
of him would seem to confirm the con-
viction that he positively could not have
been the author of the great produce
lions. He seems not only to have been an
ignorant man himself. but even his
daughter judith at II years Of age could
not write her own name.
Now I shall state several facts that
are most astonishing In their bearing
upon this subject. Mr.. Reed treats them
In a mastery manner and at length.
Ben Jonson calls the man SHAKESPEARE
an ape; but of Bacon he says there is
a mystery in his life (which would be
a brave cause of poy II known to the
nation" Jonson was Bacons bosom con-
fdant.
There are 127 references to Shakespeare
made by writers of that period. All ex-
cept seven refer to the author of the
plays and sonnets The seven that re-
fer to the man Shakspere. who seems
to have been posting as the author Of
Shalsespeare's works, speak Of him as
an apo, jack Of all trades, a sensual
list. pirate, an fmpostsr. and one speaks
Of his wealth.
Lord Bacon had a friend named Toby
Matthews. This Matthews had suspected
the real authorship Of the plays and is
on record a. saying, The most prodig-
ious wit that he knew was Of his lord