The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-22
FINS
From the Kansas City Star.

From the Kansas City Star.
 "HE man to whom historians often refer as Lord Bacon was not a
 ! real lord, as that title is known in
 England. The man so known to history
 rose no higher in the scale than that of viscount However, history calls him
 Lord Bacon, and that is a convenient title
 for him.
 Despite the fact that news dispatches a few days ago credited Bacon with writ ing the King James version of the Bible and certain enthusiasts believe he wrote
 Shakespeare's plays, Bacon was most despicable character. It is not too much
 to say that if he were living today, his
 home would be in the federal penitentiary
 at Leavenworth. Among other things,
 Bacon caused the downfall of friend
 who had given him an estate worth s9000.
 He helped the criwns attorney prosecute
 this friend, the Earl of Essex, and his
 pleading was largely responsible for the
 execution of Essex the charge being trea- son in Ireland.
 After Essex's death there were a few decent and upright men in London who rose to inquire why good man had been railroaded to the headsman's block. The sycophant, Bacon, eager to worm farther
 into the good graces of the queen, sought to answer this public clamor and to jus
 tify the crown, so he berated and defamed the character of his dead benefactor.
 Bacon next devoted his prolific mind
 to graft. The dynasty had changed. Queen Elizabeth had been succeeded ny
 James I and Bacon's ambition to marry a wealthy woman was realized. His wife
 was Alice Barnham.
 By paving court to King James he made rapid progress, obtaining the COW eted office of solicitor generalship. In this office he was always obsequious. His
 unscrupulous cupidity in dealng with the public made him many enemies. His subservience to King James got him in turn knighthood, the title of Baron Veru- lam. and in 1921 he received the last honor from the hands of the king when he was made viscount Saint Albans. The downfall of Bacon came like a thun- derbolt. As lord keeper of the great seal, a. position that his father had held, he basked much in the favor of the king. All the while he was doing the grand salaam his two palms were at his back open for bribes. Parliament met. An in vestigaton was started.
 The bit of evidence jared loose at the beginning was like stone tumbling down from the top of a mountain. It in creased in volume and momentum and before the investigation had proceeded c |, hot tl,a 1nt-I the great seal had accepted many bribes.
 Bacon confessed his guilt. for which he
 was heartily and penitently sorry" He
 wrote to King James: 'I fly unto your
 majesty with the wings of a dove.' This after he had confessed to accepting
 bribes, many amounting to more than
 s5OOo
 He ended the letter throwing himself at the kings feet, thusly:
 That which thirst after. as the hart
 the streams, is that I may know by my matchless friend (BuclSingham) that pre- senteth to you this letter, your majesty's s heart (which is an abyssus of goodness, as I am an abyssus of misery) toward me I have been ever your man and counted myself but an usufructuary of myself. the property being yours; and now making hiysei dii opist'ioh eo ro with me as may best conduce to the honor of your justice, the honor of your mercy, and the use of your service. rest ing as clay in your majesty's gracious hands. FIR. ST. AABANS, cane. All the pleadings of Bacon proved fu- tile. He was deprived of the seal. sen- fenced to pay fine of s2oo,0Oo to be inn prisoned during the kings pleasure and to be excluded from parliament and from