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early educational advantages—the other, Shakspere, born in 
1564 received a comparatively scanty education. Bacon com- 
pleted his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he 
distinguished himself at the early age of 16—Shakspere finished 
his educational career at the free school of his native town. 
Bacon’s early life was spent in France, and he was afforded an 
opportunity of travelling in the very provinces in which are laid 
the scenes of the first part of Henry VI, and this play is the 
first in chronological order, according to the best authorities. 
The second part of Henry VI introduces scenes at St. Albans ; 
and the Battle of St. Albans, referred to in that play, was fought 
within a mile and a half of Bacon’s home. 
Shakspere, after leaving school is generally supposed to have 
joined his father in carrying on business as woolstapler, and was 
married at the age of eighteen, the first authenticated fact after 
his baptism. Shortly after his marriage a company of Players 
visited Stratford-upon-Avon, and Shakspere is supposed to have 
followed them to London, where he is found to have been em- 
ployed in a minor capacity about the Theatre. He afterwards 
became attached to the Lord Chamberlain’s Company of Players 
and appeared twice before Queen Elizabeth. 
Francis Bacon meanwhile removed to London to study law, 
and in 1&87 he helped in the representation of an anonymous 
play entitled ‘The Tragedy of Arthur,’’ at Gray's Inn, and also 
in some Masques before the Queen. Francis Bacon had a brother 
Anthony, who returning from Italy in 1592 found Francis in 
embarrassed circumstances through borrowing money from a 
“hard Jew,’’ who cast him into a “ sponging house ” for a bond 
which still had two months to run. Anthony soon found means 
to release his brother; and soon after this ‘“‘ The Merchant of 
Venice”’ appears with ‘Antonio’’ as the good brother, and 
** Shylock” as the “hard Jew.” The name ‘“ Antonio” also occurs 
in other plays—and im ‘ Much-ado about Nothing” we have 
** Brother Antony.” 
The Earl of Southampton, to whom the Poem ‘ Venus and 
Adonis ”’ is dedicated, was a personal friend of Lord Bacon: the 
dedication is signed ‘‘ Shakespeare.’’ Bacon afterwards quarrelled 
with the Earl, and in the subsequent edition of the poem the 
dedication was omitted. There is no evidence of the Earl's 
friendship with William Shakspere, and it is scarcely probable 
that he would have mis-spelt his name in the dedication of the 
poem. 
The paper went on to deal at considerable length on various 
historical facts in the life of Francis Bacon, tracing their con- 
nections with many of the plays of ‘‘ Shakespeare,” as these 
were published from time to time. Special note was taken of 
the fact that in the ‘“ Folio of 1623,’’ which was published eight 
