The Mystery of Francis Bacon Part 6

[20] That is, never held a brief.

[21] I am indebted to Mr. Harold Hardy for this interesting information.

There is an entry in the State Papers, 1608, Jan. 31: Grant at the suit of Sir Francis Bacon to Sir William Cooke, Sir John Constable, and three others, of the King's reversion of the estates in Herts above referred to. Sir Nicholas, to whom it had descended from the Lord Keeper, conveyed the remainder to Queen Elizabeth her heirs and successors "with the condition that if he paid 100 the grant should be void, which was apparently done to prevent the said Sir Francis to dispose of the same land which otherwise by law he might have done." When Lady Anne conveyed the Markes estate to Francis it was subject to a similar condition, namely, that the grant was to be null and void on Lady Ann paying ten s.h.i.+llings to Francis. This condition made it impossible for Francis to dispose of his interest in the estate, hence Anthony's request in the letter above referred to. It is obvious that his relatives considered that Francis was not to be trusted with property which he could turn into money. There was evidently some heavy strain on his resources which caused him to convert everything he could into cash.

[22] "Story of Lord Bacon's Life." Hepworth Dixon, p. 28.

[23] The two letters of 16th September, 1580, and that of 15th October, 1580, are taken from copies in the Lansdowne collection. That of the 6th May, 1586, is in the same collection, and is an original in Bacon's handwriting. The letter of 25th August, 1585, is also in his handwriting, and is in the State Papers, Domestic. The letter without date, written to Burghley presumably in 1591, is from the supplement to the "Resuscitatio," 1657.

[24] "Life and Letters," Vol. I. p. 57.

[25] This was Sir Christopher Hatton.

[26] "Life and Letters," Vol I. p. 59.

[27] Cott. MSS. t.i.t. CX. 93.

[28] "Life and Letters," Vol. I., p. 110.

CHAPTER X.

THE RARE AND UNACCUSTOMED SUIT.

What was this rare and unaccustomed suit of which the Queen could have had no experience and which, according to Spedding, would make it unnecessary for Bacon to follow "ordinary practice at the bar"?

Historians and biographers have founded on this suit the allegation that from his earliest years Bacon was a place hunter, entirely ignoring the fact, which is made clear from the letter to Walsingham written four years after the application was first made, that he had resolved on a course of action which, if her Majesty liked not his suit, by the leave of G.o.d he must and would follow, not for any necessity of estate, but for his credit sake. Here was a young man of twenty years of age, earnestly urging the adoption of a scheme which he had conceived, and which he feared Burghley might consider indiscreet and unadvised.

Failing in obtaining his object, as will be proved by definite evidence, undertaking at the cost of Thomas Bodley and other friends a course of travel to better fit him for the task he had mapped out as his life's work--returning to England and, four years after his first request had been made, renewing his suit--grimly in earnest and determined to carry the scheme through at all costs, with or without the Queen's aid. This is not the conduct of a mere place hunter. If these letters be read aright and the reasonable theory which will be advanced of the nature of the suit be accepted--all efforts to suggest any explanation having hitherto, as Spedding admits, proved futile--a fresh light will be thrown upon the character of Francis Bacon, and the heavy obligation under which he has placed his countrymen for all ages will for the first time be recognised.

In the seven volumes of "Bacon's Life and Letters" there is nothing to justify the eulogy on his character to which Spedding gave utterance in the following words:--"But in him the gift of seeing in prophetic vision what might be and ought to be was united with the practical talent of devising means and handling minute details. He could at once imagine like a poet and execute like a clerk of the works. Upon the conviction _This must be done_ followed at once _How_ may it be done? Upon that question answered followed the resolution to try and do it." But although Spedding fails to produce any evidence to justify his statement, it is nevertheless correct. More than that, the actual achievement followed with unerring certainty, but Spedding restricts Bacon's life's work to the establishment of a system of inductive philosophy, and records the failure of the system.

William Cecil was a man of considerable cla.s.sical attainments, although these were probably not superior to those of Mildred Cooke, the lady who became his second wife. He was initiated into the methods of statesmans.h.i.+p at an early age by his father, Richard Cecil, Master of the Robes to Henry VIII. Having found favour with Somerset, the Protector of Edward VI., he was, when 27 years of age, made Master of Requests. When Somerset fell from power in 1549 young Cecil, with other adherents of the Protector, was committed to the Tower. But he was soon released and was rapidly advanced by Northumberland. He became Secretary of State, was knighted and made a member of the Privy Council. Mary would have continued his employment in office had he not refused her offers on account of his adhesion to the Protestant faith. He mingled during her reign with men of all parties and his moderation and cautious conduct carried him through that period without mishap. On Elizabeth's accession he was the first member sworn upon the Privy Council, and he continued during the remainder of his life her princ.i.p.al Minister of State. Sagacious, deliberate in thought and character, tolerant, a man of peace and compromise, he became the mainstay of the Queen's government and the most influential man in State affairs. Whilst he maintained a princely magnificence in his affairs, his private life was pure, gentle and generous. This was the man to whom the brilliant young nephew of his wife and the son of his old friend, Sir Nicholas Bacon, disclosed, some time during the summer of 1580, his scheme, of which there had been no experience, and entrusted his suit, which was rare and unaccustomed. The arguments in its favour at this interview may have followed the following outline:--

I need not remind you of my devotion to learning. You know that from my earliest boyhood I have followed a course of study which has embraced all subjects. I have made myself acquainted with all knowledge which the world possesses. To enable me to do this I mastered all languages in which books are written. During my recent visit to foreign lands, I have recognized how far my country falls behind others in language, and consequently in literature. I would draw your special attention to the remarkable advance which has been made in these matters in France during your lords.h.i.+p's lifetime. When I arrived there in 1576 I made myself acquainted with the principles of the movement which had been carried through by Du Bellay, Ronsard, and their confreres. They recognized that their native language was crude and lacking in gravity and art. First by obtaining a complete mastery of the Greek and Latin languages, as also of those of Italy and Spain, they prepared themselves for a study of the literatures of which those languages, with their idioms and peculiarities, form the basis. Having obtained this mastery they reconstructed their native language and gave their country a medium by which her writers might express their thoughts and emotions. They have made it possible for their countrymen to rival the poets of ancient Greece and Rome. They and others of their countrymen have translated the literary treasures of those ancient nations into their own tongue, and thereby enabled those speaking their language, who are not skilled in cla.s.sical languages, to enjoy and profit by the works of antiquity. Your lords.h.i.+p knows well the deficiencies of the language of our England, the absence of any literature worthy of the name. In these respects the condition of affairs is far behind that which prevailed in France even before the great movement which Ronsard and Du Bellay initiated. I do not speak of Italy, which possesses a language melodious, facile, and rich, and a literature which can never die.

I know my own powers. I possess every qualification which will enable me to do for my native tongue what the Pleiade have done for theirs. I ask to be permitted to give to my country this great heritage. Others may serve her in the law, others may serve her in affairs of state, but your Lords.h.i.+p knows full well that there are none who could serve her in this respect as could I. You are not unmindful of the poorness of my estate.

This work will not only entail a large outlay of money but it necessitates command of the ablest wits of the nation. This is my suit: that her Majesty will graciously confer on me some office which will enable me to control such literary resources and the services of such men as may be necessary for the accomplishment of this work; further, that she may be pleased from time to time to make grants from the civil list to cover the cost of the work. I need not remind your Lords.h.i.+p what fame will ever attach to her Majesty and how glorious will be the memory of her reign if this great project be effected in it. Your Lords.h.i.+p must realise this because you and her Ladys.h.i.+p, my aunt, are by your attainments qualified to appreciate its full value. My youth may be urged as an objection to my fitness for such a task, but your Lords.h.i.+p knows full well--none better--that my powers are not to be measured by my years. This I will say, I am no vain promiser, but I am a.s.sured that I can accomplish all that I contemplate. The Queen hath such confidence in the soundness of your judgment that she will listen to your advice.

My prayer to you therefore is that it may please your Lords.h.i.+p both herein and elsewhere to be my patron and urge my suit, which, although rare and unaccustomed, may be granted if it receives your powerful support.

The suit was submitted to the Queen, but without result. Probably it was not urged with a determination to obtain its acceptance in spite of any objections which might be raised by the Queen. Five years after, Bacon, still a suppliant, wrote to Walsingham: "I think the objection to my years will wear away with the length of my suit." Cautious Lord Burghley would give full weight to the force of this objection if it were advanced by the Queen. He loved this boy, with his extraordinary abilities, but he had such novel and far-reaching ideas. He appeared to have no adequate reverence for his inferior superiors. On leaving Cambridge he had arrogantly condemned its cherished methods of imparting knowledge. Before power was placed in his hands the use he might make of it must be well weighed and considered. What effect might the advancement of Francis Bacon have on Robert Cecil's career? Granted that the contentions of the former were sound, and the object desirable, should not this work be carried out by the Universities? Never leap until you know where you are going to alight was a proverb the soundness of which had been proved in Lord Burghley's experience. What might be the outcome if this rare and unaccustomed suit were granted?

Better for the Queen, who, though slow to bestow favours, was always ready to encourage hopes, to follow her usual course. She might entertain the motion graciously and return a favourable answer and let it rest there. And so it did.

Then there was a happening which has remained unknown until now.

CHAPTER XI.

BACON'S SECOND VISIT TO THE CONTINENT AND AFTER.

In the "Reliquiae Bodleianae," published in 1703, is a letter written without date by Thomas Bodley to Francis Bacon. This letter does not appear to have been known to Mallett, Montague, Dixon, Spedding, or any of Bacon's biographers. It had been lost sight of until the writer noticed it and reproduced it in _Baconiana_. This is the letter:--

MY DEAR COUSIN,--According to your request in your letter (dated the 19th October at Orleans, I received here the 18th of December), I have sent you by your merchant 30 (the thirty is written thus 30 l) sterling for your present supply, and had sent you a greater sum, but that my extraordinary charge this year _hath utterly unfurnished me_. And now, cousin, though I will be no _severe_ exactor of the account, either of your money or time, yet for the love I bear you, I am very desirous, both to satisfy myself, and your friends how you prosper in your travels, and how you find yourself bettered thereby, either in knowledge of G.o.d, or of the world; the rather, because the Days you have already spent abroad, are now both sufficient to give you Light, how to fix yourself and end with counsel, and accordingly to shape your course constantly unto it. Besides, it is a vulgar scandal unto the travellers, that few return more religious (narrow, _editor_) than they went forth; wherein both my hope and Request is to you, that your princ.i.p.al care be to hold your Foundation, and to make no other use of informing your self in the corruptions and superst.i.tions of other nations, than only thereby to engage your own heart more firmly to the Truth. You live indeed in a country of two several professions, and you shall return a Novice, if you be not able to give an account of the Ordinances, strength, and progress of each, in Reputation, and Party, and how both are supported, ballanced and managed by the state, as being the contrary humours, in the Temper of Predominancy whereof, the Health or Disease of that Body doth consist. These things you will observe, not only as an _English_-man, whom it may concern, to what interest his country may expect in the consciences of their Neighbours; but also, as a Christian, to consider both the beauties and blemishes, the hopes and dangers of the _church_ in all places. Now for the world, I know it _too_ well, to persuade you to dive into the practices thereof; rather stand upon your own guard, against all that attempt you there unto, or may practise upon you in your Conscience, Reputation, or your Purse. Resolve, no Man is wise or safe, but he that is honest: And let this Persuasion turn your studies and observations from the Complement and Impostures of the debased age, to more real grounds of wisdom, gathered out of the story of Times past, and out of the government of the present state. Your guide to this, is the knowledge of the country and the people among whom ye live; For the country though you cannot see all places, yet if, as you pa.s.s along, you enquire carefully, and further help yourself with Books that are written of the cosmography of those parts, you shall sufficiently gather the strength, Riches, Traffick, Havens, s.h.i.+pping, _commodities_, vent, and the wants and disadvantages of places. Wherein also, for your good hereafter, and for your friends, it will befit to note their buildings, Furnitures, Entertainments; all their Husbandry, and ingenious inventions, in whatsoever concerneth either Pleasure or Profit.

For the people, your traffick among them, while you learn their language, will sufficiently instruct you in their Habilities, Dispositions, and Humours, if you a little enlarge the Privacy of your own Nature, to seek acquaintance with the best sort of strangers, and _restrain_ your _Affections_ and Partic.i.p.ation, for your own countrymen of whatsoever condition.

In the story of France, you have a _large and pleasant Field_ in three lines of their Kings, to observe their alliances and successions, their _Conquests_, their wars, _especially with us_; their Councils, their treaties; and all Rules and examples of experiences and Wisdom, which may be Lights and Remembrances to you hereafter, to Judge of all occurants both at home and abroad.

Lastly, for the Government, your end _must not be like an_ Intelligencer, to spend all your time in fis.h.i.+ng after the present News, Humours, Graces, _or_ Disgraces of Court, which happily may change before you come home; but your better and more constant ground will be, to know the Consanguinities, Alliances, and Estates of their Princes; Proportion between the n.o.bility and Magistracy; the Const.i.tutions of their Courts of Justice; the state of the Laws, as well for the making as the execution thereof; How the Sovereignty of the King infuseth itself into all Acts and Ordinances; how many ways they lay Impositions and Taxations, and gather Revenues to the _Crown_.

What be the Liberties and Servitudes of all degrees; what Discipline and Preparations for wars; what Invention for increase of Traffick at home, for multiplying their commodities, encouraging Arts and Manufactures, or of worth in any kind. Also what establishment, to prevent the _Necessities_ and _Discontentment_ of _People_, To cut off suits at Law, and Duels, to suppress thieves and all Disorders.

To be short, because my purpose is not to bring all your Observations to Heads, but only by these few to let you know what manner of Return your Friends expect _from you_; let me, for all these and all the rest, give you this one Note, which I desire you to observe as the Counsels of a Friend, _Not_ to spend your Spirits, and the _precious_ time of your Travel, in a Captious Prejudice and censuring of all things, nor in an Infectious Collection of base Vices and Fas.h.i.+ons of Men and Women, or general corruption of these times, which will be of use only Among Humorists, for Jests and Table-Talk: but rather strain your Wits and Industry soundly to instruct your-self in all things between _Heaven and Earth_ which may tend to Virtue, Wisdom, and Honour, and which may make your life more profitable to your country, and yourself more comfortable to your friends, and acceptable to G.o.d.

And to conclude, let all these Riches be treasured up, not only in your memory, where time may lessen your stock; but rather in good writings, and Books of Account, which will _keept_ them safe for your use hereafter.

And if in this time of your liberal Traffick, you will give me any advertizement of your commodities in these kinds, I will make you as liberal a Return from my self and your Friends here, as I shall be able.

And so commending all your good Endeavours, to him that must either _wither_ or _prosper_ them, I very kindly bid you farewel.

Your's to be commanded, THOMAS BODLEY.

Spedding prints this letter (Vol. II. p. 16) commencing with the words, "Yet for the love I bear," to the end, with the exception of the last sentence, as a letter written probably by Bacon for Ess.e.x to send to the Earl of Rutland. He identifies it as "the letter which the compiler of Stephens' Catalogue took for a letter addressed by Bacon to Buckingham,"

which he says it could not be. The original is at Lambeth (MSS. 936, fo.

218). The seal remains, but the part of the last sheet which contained the signature on one side, and the superscription on the other, has been torn off. The letter commences, "_My good Lord_," and ends, "_Your Lords.h.i.+p's in all duty to serve you_." It would appear, therefore, that someone had access to Bodley's letter to Bacon, and, approving its contents, used its contents a second time.

There are two palpable deductions to be drawn from this letter: (1) That Bacon was on a journey through _several_ countries to obtain knowledge of their customs, laws, religion, military strength, s.h.i.+pping, and whatsoever concerneth pleasure or profit. There is a striking correspondence between Bodley's advice and the description of Bacon's travels found in the "Life" prefixed to "L'Histoire Naturelle." (2) That Bacon was being supported by Bodley and other of his friends, who desired him to keep a record of all that he observed and learnt, and to report from time to time as he progressed, and in return, said Bodley, "I will make you as liberal a return from myself and your friends here as I shall be able." This letter was written from England, and there is a paragraph in Bodley's "Life," written by himself, which makes it possible to fix the year:--

"My resolution fully taken I departed out of England anno 1576 and continued very neare foure yeares abroad, and that in sundry parts of Italy, France, and Germany. A good while after my return to wit, in the yeare 1585 I was employed by the Queen," etc.

If this letter was written between 1576 and 1579 it would appear strange that Bodley and others should be providing Bacon with money for his travels, and requiring reports from him, whilst his father, Sir Nicholas Bacon, was alive and prosperous. No such difficulty, however, arises, for the letter, being sent from England, could not have been written between the date of Bacon's first departure for France in 1576 and his return on his father's death in 1579, for during the whole of that time Bodley was abroad. It is stated in it that Bacon wrote from Orleans a letter dated 19th October, the year not being given. This could not be in 1580, for Bacon wrote to Lord Burghley from Gray's Inn on the 18th October, 1580. Spedding commences the paragraph immediately following this letter by saying, "From this time we have no further news of Francis Bacon till the 5th of April, 1582," and although he does not reproduce the letter, he relies on a letter from Faunt to Anthony Bacon, to which that date is attributed in Birch's " Memorials," Vol. I. page 22. In it Faunt refers to having seen Anthony's mother and his brother Francis. Faunt left Paris for England on the 22nd March, 1582. This letter was written on the 15th of the following month, so no trace has been found of Francis being in England between 18th October, 1580, and 5th of April, 1582. Bodley's letter, must, therefore, have been written in December, 1581, when Bacon was abroad making a journey through several countries. From the foregoing facts it is impossible to form any other conclusion. Now for the first time this journey has been made known. There is a letter amongst the State papers in the Record Office, dated February, 1581, written by Anthony Bacon to Lord Burghley, enclosing a note of advice and instructions for his brother Francis.

Anthony was an experienced traveller, and was then abroad. It reads as though he was sending advice and instructions to his younger brother, who was about to start on travels through countries with which Anthony was familiar. If so, Francis would leave England early in March, 1581--that is, if he had not left before this letter was received by Burghley.

Having established beyond reasonable doubt the fact of this journey, a new and remarkable suggestion presents itself. Spedding, when dealing with the year 1582, prints "Notes on the State of Christendom,"[29] with the following remarks:--

"If that paper of notes concerning 'The State of Europe' which was printed as Bacon's in the supplement to Stephens' second collection in 1734, reprinted by Mallet in 1760, and has been placed at the beginning of his political writings in all editions since 1563, be really of his composition, this is the period of his life to which it belongs. I must confess, however, that I am not satisfied with the evidence or authority upon which it appears to have been ascribed to him."

Robert Stephens, who was Historiographer Royal in the reign of William and Mary, states that the Earl of Oxford placed in his hands some neglected ma.n.u.scripts and loose papers to see whether any of the Lord Bacon's compositions lay concealed there and were fit for publication.

He found some of them written, and others amended, with his lords.h.i.+p's own hand. He found certain of the treatises had been published by him, and that others, certainly genuine, which had not, were fit to be transcribed if not divulged. Spedding states that he has little doubt that this paper on the state of Europe was among these ma.n.u.scripts and loose papers, for the editor states that the supplementary pieces (of which this was one) were added from originals found among Stephens'

papers. The original is now among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum. Spedding thus describes it:--

"The Harleian MS. is a copy in an old hand, probably contemporary, but not Francis Bacon's. A few sentences have been inserted afterwards by the same hand, and two by another which is very like Anthony Bacon's; none in Francis's. The blanks have all been filled up, but no words have been corrected, though it is obvious that in some places they stand in need of correction.

"Certain allusions to events then pa.s.sing (which will be pointed out in their place) prove that the original paper was written, or at least completed, in the summer of 1582, at which time Francis Bacon was studying law in Gray's Inn, while Anthony was travelling in France in search of political intelligence and was in close correspondence with Nicholas Faunt, a secretary of Sir Francis Walsingham's, who had spent the previous year in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the north of Italy, on the same errand; and was now living about the English Court, studying affairs at home, and collecting and arranging the observations which he had made abroad, 'having already recovered all his writings and books which he had left behind him in Italy and in Frankfort' (see Birch's 'Memoirs,'

I. 24), and it is remembered that if this paper belonged to Anthony Bacon, it would naturally descend at his death to Francis and so remain among his ma.n.u.scripts, where it is supposed to have been found.

"Thus it appears that the external evidence justifies no inference as to the authors.h.i.+p, and the only question is whether the _style_ can be considered conclusive. To me it certainly is not. But as this is a point upon which the reader should be allowed to judge for himself, and as the paper is interesting in itself and historically valuable and has always pa.s.sed for Bacon's, it is here printed from the original though (to distinguish it from his undoubted compositions) in a smaller type."