4 BACON 



" Remarkable, Mr. C , for what ? " said my in- 

 quisitive friend, the iDOok-keeper. 



" Remarkable, Mr. B ," I repeated, "for its being 



the natal day, or, more properly speaking, the anniver- 

 sary of the birth of three celebrated men." 



" Indeed ! Pray, who were they ? " 



" Why, Mr. B ," I said, " the first was a man of 



most profound wisdom and learning — one of the 

 great luminaries of the Elizabethan age — a scholar, an 

 orator, a lawyer, a statesman, a philosopher ; the first, 

 indeed, of his age and country, and one to whom the 

 nation and mankind in general are much indebted ; but 

 I am sorry," I said, " to be obliged to add, that his 

 fame was sullied by one of the meanest of vices." 



" Indeed, Mr. C , you surprise me ; why, who 



could that be ? " 



" Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam, Viscount St. 

 Albans," I replied. 



" Oh, yes ! I have heard of him. I have read a great 

 deal about him ; he was, indeed, a great man." 



" Yes," I continued, for the dreariness of the morning, 

 and the lack of clients, induced the conversation, or, in 

 an old sea-phrase, I had my jawing-tackle on board ; 

 ^' yes, and it is stated by some ^ that he has been robbed 

 of half his fame — that posterity has given to another a 

 renown that has filled the universe — which ought to 

 have belonged to this great man. Yes, sir, from some 

 unknown, and now for ever hidden cause, they seem to 



1 It was about this time the hypothesis of Lord Bacon's being the 

 author of some, at least, of Shakspere's Plays, first made its 

 appearance in the Northern capital. 



