: —: ancf ^reene j^ A STUDY BY EDWARD JAMES CASTLE, One of Her Majesty's Counsel. (late lieutenant royal engineers.) Miracles are ceast And therefore we must needes admit the meanes. How things are perfected. Folio 1625. Hen. V. Act I. Sc. i. Sontion SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, AND COMPANY, LTD., ST. DUNSTAN'S HOUSE, FETTER LANE. 1897 ; 1 ^.^.'S^c^9 LONDON PRINTED BY C. r. ROWORTH, GREAT NEW STRBBT, FETTER LANE, K.C. ©I^BPAGE. fHAVE had some doubts whether I should publish this book. The world does not like to have its established beliefs questioned ; but so much has already been said and written on the " Bacon theory," and so many attempts have been made to unseat Shake- speare entirely, that I hope more good than harm may be done if we can ascertain the exact relations which existed between Shakespeare and Bacon. The only question which is necessary to be decided in order to effect this purpose is, I think, whether or not my distinction between the " non- legal" and "legal plays" is well founded? For if Shakespeare personally had not the education of a lawyer, then I think it must be admitted he must have received assistance in some of his plays from one who had. There are a number of IV PREFACE. side issues which have been raised in the course of the inquiry, but this is really the only one we have to decide. In these days of critical research, when from hour to hour our fund of information is being continually added to, it may be shown that I have made mistakes in collateral matters. I have discovered some such mistakes myself, which have been altered; others, no doubt, may still be found out. I howeyer hope that, though the position I have taken up may not be accepted by all, I have at least given some novel and interesting facts concerning our great poet. E. J. C. Tempie, February, 1897. ©ONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. THE LA.W IN Shakespeare's works (7). Collier and Lord Campbell's Opinion (8). Chapter I. KNOWLEDGE AND USE OE LAW (11). , Lord Campbell's Shakespeare's Legal Acquirements (13). The Sonnets (14). Poems (16). Colour (19), Chapter II. LEGAL PLAYS (28). Measure for Measure (29). Pre-contract (29). Promos and Cassandra (34). Escalus (42). First Trial Scene (43). Observation thereon (52). Second Trial Scene (58). Henry VI. (60). First Part (61). Second Part (73). Hamlet (83). Lear (84). Chapter III. NON-LEGAL PLAYS (89). Titus Andronicus (89). Macbeth (96). Cawdor (98). Twelfth Night (108). Othello (110). Leets and Lawdays (118). Misuse of Words -^ iVfl«« (126). Doom {121). Enfranchise {U\). Executor {\S2). VI CONTENTS. Chapter IV. SHAKESPEARE—THE AUTHOR (136). Reasons alleged that he was not (139). Shakespeare's Early Life (140). Early Surroundings (142). His Father (143). Traditions (144). Reason for believing he joined the Stage as a Youth (149). Chapter V. EVIDENCE THAT SHAKESPEARE WAS A WRITER OF PLAYS (165). Of Robert Greene (155). Groatsworth of Wit (159). Shakespeare's possible cojinection with Greene (162). Chettle(163). The Poems (166). Francis Meres (169). Chaptee VI. BEN JONSON'S evidence THAT SHAKESPEARE WROTE PLAYS (171). Jonson's Career (173). The Discoveries (175). Re- marks to Drumond (177). Shakespeare's Plagiarism (178). The Poet Ape (179). John Shakespeare's Coat of Arms (182). Every Man in his Humour (186). Every Man out of his Humour (189). Poetaster (189). Return from Parnassus (191). Hamlet in reference to Jonson (192). Chapter VII. BACON AND SHAKESPEARE (194). Legal Friend not necessarily Bacon (194). Query, Coke (195). Resemblance between Bacon and Shake- speare's Writings (196). Identical Expressions, Meta- phors, Opinions (196). Quotations and Errors (197). Mr. Donnelly's Cryptogram (198). Promus (199). Silence of Bacon (203). His Friendship for Jonson (204). The Position of the Stage in Elizabeth's Time (205). The Puritans (207). Bacon's concealed Authorship (208). CONTENTS. Vll Chapter VIII. BACON AND SHAKESPEARE, Continued {210). Gesta Grayorum (210). The Position of Gray's Inn (211). The Prince of Purpoole (212). The Entertainment at Greenwich (213). Mr. Spedding's Views as to Bacon assisting (214). Account of Gesta Grayorum (215). The Comedy of Errors (217). The Indictment of the Sorcerer (? Bacon) (219). The Speech of the First Councillor (223). Reasons for believing Bacon was the Prime Mover (225). Chapter IX. BACON AND THE FOLIO OF 1 62 3 (229). Henry VIII. : Reason for believing Work of Bacon and Jonson (230). A Legal Play (230). Distinction be- tween Canon and Civil Law (234). Wolsey's Fall distinguished from Bacon's (237). Campeggio's Let- ters (238). Cavendish's Account of Wolsey (240). Henry VIII.'s Friendship for Wolsey (242). Wolsey's Arrest, Cause of (243). Wolsey in the Play (244). Bacon's Position (246). The attention given to Wolsey as Chancellor (248). The Eulogy on More (254). The Coronation Procession (255). Chapter X. THE HISTORY OF THE PLAY OF HENRY VIII. (258). Wolsey's Entertainment at York House (259). Burning of 1 6 the Globe Theatre, 1 3 (260). Dr. Johnson's View as to the Authorship (261). Halliwell's Objection (261). Knight's (262). The Poverty of the Language (263). The Stage Directions (264). Jonson's Masques (265). The Prologue of Henry VIII. (266). Jonson's Lines to Himself (269). Vlll CONTENTS. Chapter XL CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTING BACON WITH THE FOLIO OF 1623 (272). His Fall and Sentence (273). His Letter to the King about Henry Vn. (274). Spedding's View (275). First mention of Henry VIH. (276). Bacon's Application for the State Papers (276). His Excuse for not con- tinuing Henry VIH. (278). Conclusion (280). SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTERS (283). Chapter I. THE actor-author (284). Knowledge of Stage Life (285). References to Acting (285). Knowledge of Stage Business (286). Measure for Measure (287). Lear (287). Hamlet (288). The Posi- tion of the Stage (293). Female Characters played by Boys (295). Malone's History of the Stage (297). View of the Puritans (299). Hamlet (301). Two Gentlemen of Verona(302). Merchant of Venice (304). As You Like It (306). Twelfth Night (307). Devil is an Ass (308). The New Inn (310). Shakespeare and Greene (311). The Character of Adam (312). The Three Parts of Henry VI. (314). Bacon's Secret Compositions (318). The Northumberland Manu- script (319). The Gray's Inn Masque (323). Essex's Device (327). The Masque of Mountebankes (329). Entertainment of Bacon at Gray's Inn (336). Chapter II. BACON & Shakespeare's respective contributions(304). Collaboration, how effected (341). Henry VII., when Written (341). Sejanus, did Bacon assist (346). The Folio of 1623 (348). How Printed (349). The Origin of the Manuscripts (351). Jonson's Con- tributions (352). INTRODUCTION. It is perhaps necessary to offer some explanation for giving this Study to the world. For though what is called the Shakespeare-Bacon question has attracted a considerable amount of attention since it was first raised by Mrs. Delia Bacon in January, 1856, yet the general opinion, seems to be that there is either nothing in the suggestion, or there is. not sufficient data to settle the matter one way or the other. But from Shakespeare, as out of Africa, there is always something new, and as I think I have arrived at evidence which, if true, gives a solution of the problem, I have ventured to bring what I have discovered before that jury which must ultimately decide all questions—namely, educated public opinion. I was led to take some trouble about the matter through coming across Halli- well's Life of Shakespeare, which embraces, it is believed, all the documentary evidence known to exist relating to Shakespeare's career. I thought C. B 2 INTRODUCTION. I would Study it and see whether th^re was any light to be discovered. It was the middle of a rather dull Long Vacation, when " Tibe stands still with the Lawyer," and Jthe /intellectual exercise was some substitute for the out- door amusements which the weather did not always permit. The work grew more and more interest- ing, and was at intervals followed up. I had by no means a theory to support ; was not even an advocate, but one desirous of ascertaining the facts, and I think this is shown by my various changes of opinion as I got more and more into the subject. Originally I, no doubt, leaned to the Bacon theory ; it is, as I believe Burke says, more pleasing to exercise our ingenuity in proving that which is not accepted than to merely support what is. But, after some consideration, I came to the conclusion that Shakespeare was the sole author of the two Poems Venus and Adonis and Lucrece, the Sonnets and the Plays, and that there was no evidence that Bacon had anything to do with them, nor any necessity for imagining that he had. This view was arrived at by a very simple process of reasoning: the great peculiarity, as so many lawyers—Malone, Lord Campbell, and others—have noticed, is the extraordinary know- ledge of law to be found in Shakespeare's works. INTRODUCTION. 3 This "law" is to be found equally in the two Poems as it is in the Sonnets or Plays, and as by common consent it has been admitted, even by the Baconians, that these Poems were Shakespeare's ; therefore it seemed clear if Shakespeare could find the law for the Poems, why not for his other works? There were, no doubt, many ways by which ' he might have acquired a knowledge of law ; he might have shared the rooms with a Templar, and while the 'one studied the other might have written and insensibly have worked in some of his friend's knowledge; but however acquired, if Shakespeare was the sole and undoubted author of the Poerns, then I could find no reason why he should not be thd author of the Plays.