His Life and Genius 165 



friend, Ben Jonson, whom he used to meet at the 

 Mermaid Tavern and contend with in sprightly 

 wit-combats, and whose play Sejanus he put on 

 the stage, was the friend of Bacon and of many 

 other noble and learned persons, and he himself, 

 like Ben Jonson, had most likely listened to 

 Bacon's grave and stately eloquence in Court, as 

 well as read his Essays ; but there is no evidence 

 that he was known personally to the great Chan- 

 cellor, or ever in the company of persons above 

 him in station, except when they were visitors to 

 the theatre or the tavern. For some reason or 

 other his social standing was not that which his 

 rare genius might have been expected to ensure. 

 To all seeming his life was mostly passed 

 between his industrious work at the theatre, his 

 prudent investments and care of his gains, his 

 recreations at the tavern, his intercourse with his 

 mistress, an excursion to Dover or elsewhere, 

 perhaps to make studies of sea and sky meeting 

 with deafening clamour, of the ship now " boring 

 the moon with her mainmast and anon swallowed 

 with yest and froth," of cliffs from whose tops 

 men moving on the beach looked like mice crawl- 

 ing — and the periodical visits latterly made to his 

 native town.* There it was that so soon as he 



* Not that it is in the least likely his vivid descriptions of 

 tempests at sea were made from personal observations, even 

 if he ever got outside Dover harbour ; the scenes of noise, 

 tumult and confusion on board the labouring ships tossed about 

 in furious storms, as described in The Tempest and in Pericles, 



