iv BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 



opposition to a joint conference of Lords and Commons on a 

 question about subsidies, although his uncle, the Lord Treasurer 

 Burghley, and the Court p.;rly were strongly in favour of the 

 proposal. Queen Eli/abeth was very angry with him, and seeing 

 that his chances of official promotion were at present slender, he 

 applied himself, with success, to work in the law courts. He 

 might have become Solicitor-General at that time if he would 

 have apologised to the queen for his conduct about the subsidy, 

 but he would not be moved from his constitutional position. To 

 make up for the disappointment which to Essex, who had 

 perseveringly urged his claims, was very deep the latter gave 

 Bacon a valuable piece of land. Bacon characteristically said 

 that he accepted it with reservation of his duty to the Crown and 

 to others. &quot;I can be no more yours than I was.&quot; In 1596, 

 when Essex was at the highest point of success, and was being 

 thought of as a man who might become dangerous even to the 

 Crown, Bacon sent him a letter of advice, which, in addition to 

 much that is excellent, recommends him &quot;to use a variety of 

 petty tricks, to make agreeable speeches, and to appear otherwise 

 than he is &quot; (Gardiner). At the same time he was preparing for 

 publication the first edition of his &quot; Essays,&quot; issued early in 1597. 

 A little later he was trying to persuade Essex to study the Irish 

 question, then so prominent, but Essex s quarrel with the queen 

 intervened, and a peaceful settlement such as Bacon would have 

 recommended became impossible. Late in 1598 Bacon encouraged 

 Essex to take the command in Ireland, and told him that he 

 might gain great glory by bringing the Irish under a just and 

 civil government. Yet Bacon in his &quot; Apology &quot; says that he 

 dissuaded Essex from going, as he would be risking the loss of 

 the queen s favour, and he would find the Irish difficult to 

 conquer. Bacon may have forgotten himself, for the letter con 

 taining the advice to go is in existence, or he may have written two 

 letters and sent only one. It is circumstances like these that 

 support a charge of duplicity against Bacon. He was like many 

 men of his time, willing to seek good political objects by finesse, 

 by diplonacy, by calculating the chances as to which of two 

 courses which might or might not seem morally justifiable to us 



