The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-27

to the fact that Shakespeare was not mentioned In any biography of his time
 "A. I give no significance to this fact,
 for the reason that there were no biographies written during Shake speare's time in which he could have been mentioned. The first biographical coll lection in English was Fuller's "Worthies of England This book was begun in 1643 and issued in 1862 In it Shakespeare Is given prominent men tion. This data may be accepted as be- 1 ing authentic, and for the reason that Fuller was able to converse with at least two actors who had been members
 of Shakespeares company; with Sir
 William Davenant, who had known the poet as a child, and with Thomas Hey
 would suggest that e. E. H. should in | this does not mean that Shakespeare was not mentioned during his time would suggest that c. E.. T. should in spect Hughes The Praise of Shake- | speare. He will then, hereafter, be saved from asking at least one foolish question.
 70. 3. Is it possible that a butchers son of 24 could have written the sonnets attributed to Shakespeare? "A. Not only possible, but very likely. | Cardinal Wolsey was a butchers son, so also Michael D. 1ayton. Ben Jonson worked
  shoemaker Keats was an apothecary | boy, and Francis Thompson a street crossing sweeper in London. @. 6. Shakespeare gave his second best bed to his wife. Can you marry this to his verse?
 A Our Baeonan friend evidently has not taken the trouble to read Bacon's will for, oddly enough, Francis Bacon gave his first bed to his servant, stephen 1 Paise.
 "Q. I. Is iliteraey not indicated by the l fact that Shakespeare wrote his name in IA ways?
 "A. It does not indicate anything of the
 sort. If was strange habit of the time.
 If Shakespeare is to be branded as H. literate on this account, what about the other great men of his age? Marlowe's s
 name occurs in 10 different spellings
 Gascolgnes with 19 Percy's in 27, and | Jonson's in various forms. Sir Walter Raleigh spelled his name Rauley, Raul leigh,' 'Raleghe,' and Raleigh Sir Philip Sidney and Edmond Spenser were guilty of the same crime of 'illteracy' 1 @. & Would Bacon, chancellor of
 England be likely 10 put his name to stage play?
 "A. Quite true: only Bacon did not be- come lord chancellor until two years after Shakespeare was dead. Bacon, however, was sent into retirement in 1921. having been found guilty of treason. Then was the time for him 10 have acknowledged the authorship of the plays. He died l0 years after Shakespeare with never whisper of a suggestion that he had any | thing to do with the sonnets, Lucrece, or the plays.
 @. 9. Is it not a fact that all the testi mony indicates that Ben Jonson was bribed into silence?
 "A. It is the most unlikely thing in the world. Nothing on earth could have kept Ben Jonson quiet. As Brandes says: 'Jonson was colossal, coarse grained, vigorous, and always ready for the fray. After Shakespeare had been laid away in Stratford for a number of years, Jonson journeyed to Scotland, where he visited Drummond, the poet They had long, confidential conversations and in these talks Ben Jonson told of his friend Will Shakespeare and discoursed upon his mighty genius. No, if William Shake speare was Baconiau dummy, Jonson would have known if and would have been sure to have placed him in the pill lory. Our friend, C. E. H., evidently knows little of Ben Jonsons character.
 70. 10 If Ralph Waldo Emerson was q Bsconan, do you think it fair to call Us idiots?
 "A. do not think 1t fair or good man ners to call anybody an idot. But the point is that Ralph Waldo Emerson was not a Baconian. Some dishonest person has taken garbed sentence from Elm erson's famous eulogy of Shakespeare and attempted to make 1t appear that he doubted that Shakespeare was the author of the plays. 1 would advise our friend C. E. H. to read this essay by Emer- son. which will be found in his Repre- sentative Men.
 70. II. Is not Bacon's and Shakespeare s style the same?
 "A. Positively not. When Bacon wrote verse he always rhymed. while Shake speare usually employed blank verse. In Baeons writings we find him employing the antithesis and epigram, while Shake speare, as has been said, varied with the passion of the speaker has a gradual growth tending rather to end in a cll- max, when 'ferVors are on him. or to break off abruptly suggesting the mex pressible Shakespeare often mixed his metaphor and crowded his illusions in way Bacon never did. Shakespeare never wrote in the first person; Bacon almost always did It Is evident that our friend
 C. E. II has not read Francis Bacon's works. Can he imagine that Shakespeare was the author of the following, to be found in the writings of Bacon:
 Witches cannot hurt kings.
 The rainbow touching anything causes sweet smell.
 Eggs laid in the full of the moon breed better birds"
 Bracelets made from snakes are good for curing cramps.
 The skin of the wolf might cure the collie. because the wolf has good d- gestion.'
 "Q. 12. Is it not a fact that all the great students of Bacons works have been of the opinion that he was the author of the plays attributed to Shakespeare" "A. e. F.. H. Is here woefully at fault. It is generally acknowledged that James Speeding knew more of Bacon and his works than any man who eyer lived. Spedding was challenged by Judge Holmes to reply to his book. The Authorship of Shakespeare In this book Judge Holmes undertakes to demonstrate that William | Shakespeare did not, and that Francis Bacon did, write the plays. Spedding made the following reply
 "I have read your book on the author